FAZER LOGIN~ Isabella ~
…. “Who would have thought that a saint Mary like you would get pregnant before marriage?" Emily snickered as she made her way into my room, if I could call it that. It could as well be called a storage unit, locked in the fartherest part of the mansion. “And would you like to tell me how that got to do with you?” I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that all that happened was purely coincidental and Emily had nothing to do with it. “Smart, as expected.” She began pacing in front of me. “Turns out, the number of hours you spent studying your godforsaken course didn’t go to waste.” “Don’t you dare… I’m a graduate!” I say, hoping to turn her expression grim, and it did. But she wasted no time in coming up with a comeback. “A graduate who wouldn’t be attending her own graduation ceremony.” Her words hit home, as she hoped they would. Call it my trickiest luck, but the marriage was fixed on my graduation day. Not like I could attend it if it were fixed before or after anyway. Junie had tried talking me into letting her attend my wedding. So we could both miss the graduation ceremony. But I wouldn’t bend. Partly because she deserved to wear her graduation gown and walk down the aisle to receive the degree she’d labored long and hard for. But also because I didn’t want her within Mom’s line of sight. Though I was sure Beatrice wouldn’t go back on her word. But I couldn’t be too careful. “At least I am getting married into a powerful family, and you are not!” “Oh… you think you are?” She smirked. “It’s high time you snapped out of your fantasy and embraced the reality that Emmerson Winters will never love nor accept you as his wife!" “And yes, you really don’t have to worry about me…" She flaunted her diamond-ringed finger in front of me. “Zach proposed, and not only will I be becoming Mrs. Rogers in three months, but I will also be the only heir to Mom’s empire.” “And you? You will have nothing to show but a love-less marriage of convenience.” She snickered, leaving me alone to my misery. …. I’ve imagined my wedding day in so many ways, but none of them involved me having to wear a pink wedding dress and walk down the aisle alone. And most importantly… have to say “I do.” To what? A stranger? I had found it weird when I was asked to go first and almost feared I'd be dumped right at the altar. But that didn’t happen, as Emmerson’s silent mutter of ‘I do' saved the day. The priest, who probably knew this was arranged, saved us the embarrassment of mentioning the bride should be kissed. He simply declared us man and wife, and Emmerson walked out right after. Not like I had been expecting him to stay and pretend any of this was planned anyway. …. The master bedroom felt like a royal king’s room, and I couldn’t help but marvel at its decor as I was led in. Surprisingly, the maids that had been assigned to me by Rebecca Winters, his grandma, had been quite nice. Though Rebecca was obviously not nice and made sure to remind me of the sole reason why I was here. Which, well… was to provide an heir for the family. What I found interesting was how unspecific they were about the gender of the heir. Or maybe they weren’t really as archaic as I was deeming them to be. I sat on the bed, with my veil covering my face, whilst I waited for the said groom. To me, it all felt unnecessary since I was already carrying a child… but the maids insisted that some traditions had to be followed and I was no exception. Had I been expecting Emmerson to be gentle with me when he came in? No. But what I hadn’t expected was how rough and harsh he’d be. And by the time he finally left me alone… I couldn’t hold back the tears I’d been holding ever since my life turned upside down. I always thought I had my life all figured out before now. Graduate uni, get married to Zach, apply for a master’s, then a PhD before we start planning to be parents. It wasn’t just a plan I had in my head, but rather something that had been premeditated and frequently visited by Zach and me. But well… as it turns out, it was all in my head. …. I’d just finished a retching session when my hair was suddenly yanked from behind, and before I could react… my face was being struck twice in succession. My skin stung and I suddenly felt more nauseous than it previously did. But before I could give in to the tiredness that followed, Sally’s harsh voice followed. Who would have thought that the very first encounter I would have with her would be in the bathroom where she’d abused me, a pregnant woman? “You slut! How dare you come into our lives and try to ruin it?” She grabbed my now fragile body and shook me violently. I saw stars as I tried to keep myself from falling. Though it’s been barely a month since I found out I was pregnant… The pregnancy had not only taken a toll on my mental health but mostly on my physical health. My energy levels were dangerously low and ninety-nine percent out of the time. I felt like a complete mess. “I didn’t–” Even though I knew my words wouldn’t matter at this point. I still tried to defend myself. Though I was cut off before I could continue even further. “Listen well, and listen good, Slut. I plan to make your already hellish life full of darkness and pain.” I winced as her long nails dug into my skin. This should be illegal in every way. But who was to decide that anyways? “If you know what’s good for you… you’ll pack your bags and disappear from my sight before I can even catch you.” That was impossible. There was no way I could escape Gabriel’s tight security, and she knew that. “Just the thought that Emmerson had laid a finger on you… makes me want to disfigure your face.” And she did; at least she tried when she pushed me to the floor with such force… that I felt like I’d have a concussion, but I ended up with more than that when I passed out. But just before then… I felt a sticky liquid gush out of my body and for a moment there… I prayed that I’d miscarry. That way, my pain would cease.~ Isabella ~I hadn’t anticipated making a new friend… and certainly not had I expected to find a friend in Gabby, Kaden’s sister of all people.But for some reason… I couldn’t pinpoint… I just felt drawn to her like glue.Though I was still yet to find out if it was a bad thing or a good thing, really.“Lemme guess… New York has grown on you?” Were her first words when we met at Gold Coffee. “I’m being too obvious now, aren’t I?” I smiled, hugging her before we each took our seats beside each other. “Capuccino and blue berry muffins, please.” She winked at the young waiter. “Iced tea and a croissant.” I watched him nod as he took down our orders. “So my brother mentioned you’ve been living with Emmerson Winters for months now.” There was no judgment or accusation in her tone, just pure curiosity.“Guilty as charged.” I replied as we chuckled. “The guy is pretty hot, though.”“Maybe…” he was technically my husband on paper, but it kind of felt wrong to think of it that way, since
~ Emmerson ~I never thought being out of the house could feel so freeing.Though I had been cleared over a week ago, Isabella had insisted I stay indoors until today.Not like I was complaining though… I enjoy spending time with her and our little make-out sessions whenever she comes over to check up on me.Like me, she hadn’t completely taken a break from work… but has shifted most of her work to virtual…We hadn’t spoken of what her plans for the future were.Heck… We hadn’t even been able to talk about us and where we now stood. I’d tried to bring it up so many times, but for some reason… the words always fell flat before I could fully utter them.But that changes today. I was going to surprise her with an impromptu dinner date and ask her if she’d be willing to do life with me. I was just about to head to the next aisle in the supermarket when I felt a hand on my shoulders.I sensed her before… she said a word.“Emmerson.” I didn’t have to turn around… I knew who she was… Sall
~ Isabella ~“Hey, sweetheart.” Carl waved as soon as our video call connected. He was in his favorite pajamas, lying lazily on his couch bed… in his living room.“Hiiii.” I smiled, loving how at ease I felt already by just hearing his voice.“So… what’s up?” He said lightly, his focus completely on me, which made me feel special.“Nothing much, just—"“You know when a lady says nothing… it means everything.” He winked… reminding me that I wasn’t the only one that had gone through the man bible.Though our relationship had kind of flowed… from the very beginning. I had to admit that our mutual love for books had actually cemented it. “I was just thinking….” I paused and wasn’t surprised to see him already listening attentively.“Is it weird that I wished I had my dad here with me, though it’s my mom that died?”Carl didn’t respond immediately… but simply stared at me until I got tired of waiting and was about to speak when he finally responded.“You wished you had a dad.”“Yes… but h
~ Emmerson ~I wasn’t surprised that Isabella tried to prevent me from getting involved in her mother’s case… because Jordan Wesley was indeed a dangerous man.It now made me wonder how Beatrice Chan got entangled with it. It couldn’t have been because of the money since she has that and more… so what?!I leaned back on my study chair. It’s been over a month since my surgery, and I was now cleared to do work. Not like I have ever needed anyone’s permission. But this time, I not only had to worry about my wife… but also my twins.Well… That still sounds very weird coming from me.Cos… when did I start thinking like a family man?Sally had never made me feel like that because she was almost always absent… but now. I do.I picked up my ringing phone and placed it in my ear. It was my assistant.“Boss.”“What’s up?” “We’ve got an offer from… Carl Rogers.” Isabella's dad… I widened my eyes as the thought struck me. I doubted Isabella knew about his position as her dad… but then I’m sure
~ Isabella ~“Have you eaten?” Emmerson suddenly asked, and I stared at his smooth face. He‘d recently been able to get a clean shave and looked more handsome than ever.“Not yet.” “Eat with me.” I didn’t understand what he meant… until he gently pushed the spoon I was holding into my mouth. I chewed on the banana oats while staring wide-eyed at him.“We can’t use the same spoon.” I muttered, looking around for extra cutlery.“Why not?” “Because—”“We’ve kissed multiple times, which, if you ask me… involves more exchange of fluids than this.”"But…"“No buts… just eat with me.” And I did just that, until the plate emptied out. I was about to stand up to dispose of the plate… and head back into my shell when he stopped me.“Stay.”“No, I—”He frowned. “Why are you being so hard?” “And why are you being so clingy?”“I love your presence; that’s why.” He responded without batting an eyelid. My heart skipped a bit at his words… I don’t think I’d ever get used to this version of Emmerso
~ Isabella ~“Are you okay?” Emmerson’s voice jolted me out of my daze… and I brought my attention back to his bandage I was changing. It’s been two weeks since he got discharged, and his wound was healing nicely. It was only a matter of weeks before he could go back to work.“Yes.” I say, nodding…though the truth is…I was far from it. It’s been so many days, and I still haven’t gotten any death on my mom’s suspected killer.I was running out of time…As I was regularly reminded by Emily…But what could I do?I couldn’t hire a professional private investigator, as some of the best ones were under his influence.I could only work with the ones I could afford, and apparently… they weren’t enough.I would have happily asked Junie for help… But I couldn’t drag her into this… not when she's got her triplets to think about… and we still haven’t figured out who sent the gunman.The man had insisted he was a freelancer and often had no idea whom his bosses were, and this time… It had been n
~ Isabella ~ I woke up from a dream I have always had, one where I saw myself being awarded my doctorate in clinical psychology. It never ceased to make my morning and always made me look forward to the grind of the day. I’d just lifted my eyes when I froze… the room felt unfamiliar. I tried
~ Isabella ~“Ma’am… the fall you had was great, and you’d lost a lot of blood as a result. We’ll have to perform an operation on you to bring the baby out.” I nodded, feeling a tidbit of gratitude at being told what would be done to my body.My consciousness soon began floating after I was shot wi
~ Emmerson ~ I’d always dreaded this day and always hoped it would never come. But as it turns out… it did. “I just heard from one of my sources that you’d gotten one of Beatrice Chan’s daughters pregnant.” I froze hearing my grandpa’s words. “How… did you find out?” “You think I wouldn’t fin
~ Isabella ~ “Congratulations, ma’am. You are two weeks pregnant.” The doctor announced, her tone matching the atmosphere of the room. “If you need anything. You can always reach out to the nurses.” The Obstetrician said, exiting the room to give June and I the privacy we desired. “What wou







