SHAWNAA groan escaped my mouth as I opened my mouth, the bright lights of the room weren't helping matters either. My head aches a lot and my head is so blank.And to top it all, the room looks so strange, I can't even remember how I got here.“You're awake." A familiar voice said, startling me. The person soon came into view and it was none other than Damien.“Where is this?" I found myself asking.“It's my house. You don't remember anything that happened?" He frowned.Shaking my head was a big problem on its own, and the headache worsened. What could have caused this? I can't even remember anything, my head is so blank right now. “No, I don't." I had to do it verbally. “Here, this should help your hangover." He handed over the glass of water in his hand with a pill to me. Hangover? That only happened after excessive intake of alcohol right? What's he talking about? The frown on my face ebbed away when I vaguely remember myself going into a bar.I took the pills from him and swal
SHAWNA“You can't keep me here, I'm carrying your baby," Eugene said. Those words have to be the craziest thing I've heard in a while.I looked at her face, expecting her to laugh or something but she looked very serious, dead-ass serious. “What? That's not even possible." Damien scoffed, looking as shocked as I was."I'm not lying. I'm pregnant and you're the father.” Eugene shrugged, looking unbothered with a smirk on her face. She looks so confident, the kind of confidence that comes from having planned something out.“What are you even saying? I used a condom.”Those words made my heart shatter immediately, the warmness I was feeling towards him immediately turned into a very cold one. Condom? They had sex?“You both had sex?" I asked out loud.“Yes, he didn't tell you? We've been doing-" Damien cut her off with a glare on his face."Shut it Eugene, I only did it because you said that was the only way to get Shawna out of prison.” He snapped."You had sex with her because you wan
SHAWNAI lifted my head from my mother's shoulder as Phoebe walked further into the room. I cleared my throat and wiped the tears off my face.“Hey baby, I didn't see you there." I forced out a smile."Did our daddy make you cry, Mom?” She asked me with a little frown on her cute face."Why do you think so? Not, I was just being emotional.” I moved closer to her, bending down to her level."But I heard you say it.” She immediately ran away from me. I assumed that she was upset or something till she came back with her brothers.“Mom, did our daddy make you cry? Have you found him already? Who is he?” Jasper asked.I was speechless, I didn't know what to say or do. They looked like they wanted nothing but the truth from me and I knew I couldn't look them in the eye and lie to them again.But at the same time, I'd never tell them that Damien is their father. This is just so complicated, more complicated than I ever thought it would be.These kids deserve to know who their father is. But
LIAMShe looked at my face for a response, my head and face went blank immediately and I just had to calm down my nerves and then look around the room.“Let's go to the balcony, I don't think it's good if we talk about this here." She said, referencing her children, those kids act like adults at times and I won't be surprised if they heard us.“Okay," I mumbled and we walked over to the balcony, the cool evening breeze blowing our skin. It's a very pretty sight from here but that's the least of my problems.“Why did you ask that question though?” I asked her and she sighed."I feel like he deserves to know technically that they're his. But at the same time, seeing as he has gotten someone else pregnant makes me want to repel. A lot of things are at stake right now and my kids deserve to know the truth too.”"It's not just that, I thought I was getting somewhere with him then this happens. We were good, I thought he was changing for good really.”"I just don't know what to do right now
LIAM“What the actual fuck, man?" Damien growled, his eyes flashing in anger. The anger that's coursing through me is more than the one in him, the alcohol seems to be amplifying my anger.“I warned you, you're the last person I want to see right now," I said, going to sit down back. I wasn't able to sit properly before he dragged my back by the collar.He punched me squarely in the jaw, making my head loll to the side. A metallic taste appeared in my mouth which is blood.I didn't let him rest too, I didn't even wait to revel in the pain of the punch, I just punched him back. The fight got pretty much more than it was intended to be we were separated by policemen.When did they get here and who called them? The bartender standing behind them made me realize that he must have called them.I threw a glare his way as we were dragged away by the cops, neither of us tried to resist them, we just followed them peacefully.Arguing with them or resisting will only draw attention to us. We we
SHAWNA“I love you, Shawna. And I'm tired of hiding it from you.”I choked on my cough immediately after he said that the words caught me by surprise.“What? What are you saying?" I stuttered.“I love you, I'm deeply in love with you." He repeated those words.“You don't know what you're saying. You're drunk at the moment, you need to sleep." I said, nodding at myself for coming up with that ideology.“I'm drunk but not drunk to not know what I've been harboring for years now. I'm madly in love with you, I've been in love with you for a while now.”"I mean every word and letter of everything I've said and about to say. I don't think I can live without you at this point. You intoxicate me, Shawna. My heart skips a beat each time I see you, it beats for you.”"You don't seem to understand how crazily in love I am with you, I love you with reckless abandon,” he concluded.I couldn't even maintain eye contact with him, the intense look in his eyes was too much for me. It felt like he was
LIAMWaking up has never felt this peaceful, I feel so different. A happy kind of different, the scenes of last night started replaying in my head the moment I woke up.The person in my arms was just like my dose of happiness, her cologne wafted into my nostrils and I was more than happy to sniff it even more.On opening my eyes, I was met with her thick brown hair and her very beautiful face. She's currently sleeping in my arms and she looked very peaceful.A smile came up on my face as I remembered how her pretty face morphed into pleasure as I rammed into her last night.We only stopped when I saw how tired she was, she fell asleep somewhat early while I cleaned her up then slept off with her in my arms.I stared at her all through the night and up till now, I can't just get enough of her. I almost can't believe that we did all that and she's in my arms right now.She stirred in her sleep a bit and I stilled till her eyes opened, clashing with mine. She looked confused at first til
SHAWNAI never imagined that life would be this easy and beautiful. Liam showed me a side of life I never knew existed, he has been showering me with nothing but pure love.I turned off my phone for two days. Yes, I've been here for two days and I've not had any communication with the outside world except to call my kids and mother at night just so they'd know I'm still alive.Liam has been more than good to me and life is just very easy with him. I've been happy and undeniably glowing, it's just so obvious.I'm currently in his arms which has been my favorite position since two days ago. His arms are synonymous with comfort, I can stay here forever.I'm now confused as to why I've never felt this way about him, I've always looked at him like my friend and nothing more. This side of him is one I've never seen or experienced before.He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, his phone in his hands. The phone was right before me and it's almost like we were operating the phone together even
PHOEBEMy whole body was sore. My dress was torn, my wrists burned from the ropes, and my eyes stung from crying. I was huddled in a corner of that cold, dark room, shivering as the last of the men ran out like rats. One second, they were setting up cameras, saying the most disgusting things, and the next, they were gone. Just like that.It made no sense. None of it did. Why would they leave me? What scared them off?I was too weak to stand, too confused to think straight. My head was pounding, and I could still feel whatever they had drugged me with swirling through my system. My heart was racing so fast I could barely catch my breath. My legs were pulled to my chest, arms wrapped tightly around them, as if I could make myself disappear if I just curled up small enough.And then I heard footsteps.Fast. Heavy. Coming closer.My eyes shot to the door.I froze.My heart shot to my throat.Were they back?Did they forget something?Were they going to finish what they started?I couldn’t
RAMONI stood in that hotel lobby staring at the manager as if he'd just announced a death. Maybe he had. Because knowing Phoebe had been taken right from under my nose felt exactly like that, like something had died inside me."She was in your care!" I shouted. "She was supposed to wait for me here!""Mr. Ramon," the manager said nervously, "we thought it was authorized…""By whom? My uncle?" I spat. "You took her because my uncle said so? Did she look like she wanted to leave? Did you even ask her that?"No answer. Just that sick, silent guilt on their faces.I didn't waste another second. I turned on my heel, stormed out of the hotel, jumped into my car, and sped straight to Richard's estate. My hands gripped the wheel so hard they ached. My mind was a storm, rage, fear, regret. I kept seeing her face in my head, her smile, the way she had trusted me. And now...She was gone.When I got to the mansion, the guards at the gate crossed their arms."Sir, Mr. Richard said not to let you
RAMONI was dead tired by the time we finished the meeting at the company. My shirt clung to my back, and my head was pounding from all the numbers and back-to-back discussions. All I wanted was to check my phone and unwind, maybe see if Phoebe had texted.I reached into my pocket. Empty.My heart skipped.I checked the table, the chair, and even under the folder I’d used. Nothing.“Where the hell is my phone?” I muttered.My uncle, sitting across from me, raised an eyebrow. “Lose something?”“My phone. I had it before we came here.”He shrugged. “Maybe you dropped it at the house.”I didn’t like how quick he was to answer.Still, I forced a calm nod and stood up. “I’ll go check.”The ride back to his place felt like it took forever. My mind was racing. Phoebe. Had she called? Texted? What if something was wrong? My gut wouldn’t calm down.When I got to the house, I tore through every room I had been in earlier. The living room. The guest room. Even the damn kitchen. Nothing.My uncle
PHOEBEThe hotel was breathtaking, with marble floors, chandeliers sparkling like stars, a scent of roses, and money hanging in the air. My heels clicked softly as I followed the receptionist, who wore a perfectly polite smile. My coat was still wrapped tightly around me, hiding the dress Winnie helped me pick out. My heart fluttered with a mix of excitement and nerves.“He’ll be with you shortly,” the receptionist said sweetly, opening a suite door for me. “Please, get comfortable. There are refreshments inside. Make yourself at home.”I gave a shy nod. “Thank you.”The door shut behind me.The suite was luxurious, with soft couches, a large table with drinks and fruit, and dim romantic lighting. I let out a small breath. “Wow…”I walked slowly to the table, brushing my fingers along the glass rim of a wine glass. Red wine. A chill ran up my spine, and I shook it off. Maybe he asked them to pour it before he arrived. Maybe this was his way of setting the mood.I pulled out my phone.
PHOEBEI slammed the front door a little harder than I meant to when I got home.Winnie looked up from the couch, raising an eyebrow. "Whoa. Somebody’s in a mood. What's wrong, sunshine?"I dropped my bag by the door and flopped onto the armchair with a loud sigh. "It’s Ramon," I said, pouting like a child.Winnie immediately perked up. "Ramon? Spill. What happened?!"I buried my face in my hands for a second before looking up at her. "We kissed. Like... really kissed. It was amazing. He kissed me like he needed me to breathe or something."Winnie squealed, hugging a throw pillow. "Oh my God! Finally!""Yeah, it was incredible," I mumbled, my cheeks heating up. "But right after that, he got a call. Emergency at home. He had to leave. Just like that."Winnie’s face softened. "Oh, babe...""I know he had no choice," I said quickly, fiddling with a loose thread on the armrest. "But... it sucks. I’m losing my mind over him, Winnie. I’m slowly going crazy. I want him so bad it hurts."Winn
PHOEBERamon’s eyes burned into me like I was the only thing he could see. I felt my cheeks heat up under his stare, and I shifted awkwardly on my feet.“Phoebe,” he said, his voice low and rough, “I want all of you…every part of you. I’m not afraid of being with you. I’m just... trying to restrain myself.”My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out at first. Then I swallowed hard and said, "I want all of you, too, Ramon. I’m not scared."Something snapped between us.Ramon closed the space in a single, hungry heartbeat, grabbing me again and crashing his mouth onto mine. This kiss wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet. It was rough, fierce, almost desperate, like he had been starving, and I was the only thing that could satisfy him.His lips crushed against mine, demanding and urgent. I could feel the heat pouring off his body as he kissed me like he needed me more than air. His hand slid up, fingers threading into the hair at the nape of my neck, then wrapping
RAMONI tossed and turned all night. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t sleep. My mind kept racing, full of everything Uncle Richard had said... and Phoebe. Always Phoebe.I was falling for her. Hard. It scared the hell out of me, but it also felt so right. I didn’t just like her, I needed her. Every smile, every look, every word she said stuck in my head like glue.When morning came, I dragged myself out of bed, showered, and dressed like a man on a mission. I didn’t even think twice. I was going to see her. I had to.No more running. No more hiding.When I got to the worksite, she was there already, sorting through some papers, looking so focused and beautiful that it made my heart twist. She looked up and blinked like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing."Ramon?" she said, her voice small but full of surprise. "I thought... I thought you weren’t going to be available anymore."I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling awkward and stupid all at once. "Yeah, about that. I’m
WINNIEWinnie stared at me like I had just grown two heads. "What do you mean you don't know if Ramon likes you enough to be intimate?" she asked, her eyes wide.I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling small and stupid. "I don’t know, Win. Maybe... maybe he’s just not that into me. Maybe he sees me like a kid or something."Winnie shook her head fast. "No way. Anyone with eyes can see Ramon is crazy about you, Phoebe. Seriously. He looks at you like you hung the moon!"I smiled a little, but it didn’t reach my heart. "Then why is he so hesitant? Why does he always back away when things get... close?"Winnie opened her mouth to say something, then paused. Her face changed slowly, like she was putting puzzle pieces together."Wait a second..." she said carefully. "Have you guys ever... you know... done it?"I looked down at my lap, my face burning. "No," I whispered.Winnie’s mouth fell open. "Wait. You mean... never?"I nodded, feeling like I was about to sink into the floor."And he kn
RAMONI stood in the garden, massaging my temples and trying to figure out what just happened. I hated seeing Phoebe hurt. I hated that I was the reason for that look in her eyes, the one that made my chest ache. I wanted to run after her, fix it, explain everything better.I had just taken a step toward the house when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Billy and Jasper coming out. Great. Just what I needed right now.They stood there awkwardly for a second before Billy cleared his throat."Hey, man," he said, not meeting my eyes. "We, uh... we just wanted to say sorry."I blinked, surprised. "Sorry?"Jasper shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. For looking down on you. We didn't know... well, we didn't know you were who you are."I sighed, not really wanting to have this conversation. "It's fine," I muttered, even though it really wasn't."But," Billy added quickly, "we still think you're hiding something. And honestly... we don’t think you're worthy of our sister."Tha