Before her mirror, she stood, Ella Jameson, looking at her reflection. The dress she had picked out was a simple yet elegant deep blue which fitted correctly in all the needed positions. She applied makeup to her face with an experienced hand and tried to paint away the butterflies in her stomach.Tonight was the charity gala at Waldorf Astoria and it was destined as a social calendar’s highlight for many people who were to be present there. As a journalist, Ella has been through similar events before this time though this time around felt differently. It was like floating between something that could make or break my career.His leather seat was cold against his tailored suit’s skin so Alexander Knight sat at the rear of his limousine. He peered through his window for the landscape moving by him and buildings reaching into the darkness of the twilight sky. He had gone to many galas before but he didn’t find any happiness in them; they were obligatory things that a role of an untoucha
Beams of dawn light filtered in through the billowy silk curtains and bathed the rumpled sheets on which Ella and Alexander were sleeping in a soft, warm glow. The passion of the night had left, and been replaced by a gossamer silence, punctuated only by their breathing.Ella awoke to reality with a flutter of the eyes, morning becoming real. She stilled, the weight of Alexander's arm an all-encompassing reminder that they had gone way over the line.The silence was broken by Alexander's rasping voice as if he had just woken up "Good morning.Her heart leapt as she turned to look at him, his hair all over the place combined with the stubble surrounding his jaw. Good morning, she whispered.They stood, and were faced with the electric question hanging between them: What next? Now, dressed in silence, each of them moved slowly with the sense that it might prolong their final farewell.Alexander stared at her, his eyes burning. "Last night.... he started, but Ella interrupted him.No, it
After the gala was over, Ella had been an array of tasks accumulated that she simply could not catch up with the flow of work and countless sleepless nights. She had blamed it on job stress, but now weeks have turned into days her body is telling things her mind can’t; comprehend. It dawned on her one morning upon waking and, struggling with severe vomiting, the date staring at her from the calendar. She was late.Ella lost the blur of each key, every breaking news story that she was hunting for; she sat in the doctor’s office listening, listening for the doctor to tell her the truth she knew all along. Posters of smiling infants and happy families clad the walls, yet they only brought out the loneliness that she had to encounter every day.“For the last time, it’s miss Jameson?” Dr. Harper said kindly to break through Ella’s chronic copy-like state. Afterward, the nurse pronounces, “The test is positive” you are approximately three weeks pregnant.These words she repeated and sang in
Ella came back to the busy newsroom and felt at home again, but also sensed something different. The boss, Diana Ross, who's great at finding big news stories, noticed that Ella had gained more experience. Diana took Ella to her office with clear walls. They could see the city's tall buildings behind them while Diana asked Ella questions.Diana started with fake kindness in her tone, “Ella, sweetheart, we've missed you.” Then she got right to the point. “There's something about Alexander Knight. I need to know that story.”That sent a shiver through Ella, who clutched onto her notepad tighter. “Diana, I'm not sure—”“Nonsense,” Diana interjected sharply. You know how to reach that boy. That attachment you two share, look past it, use it.The weight of her secret lay heavy in the pit of Ella’s stomach, it stared back at her as if it were a scream trapped within the walls of a hurricane of whispers.Ella tensed, clutching her notepad, making her knuckles white. “Diana, I'm not sure—”“N
There was a topic that filled the newsroom with discussions and debates about the current political crisis; however, that did not occupy Ella’s thoughts. She was seated at her desk, with her hands resting on the computer keyboard yet her mind seemed to be somewhere else. His hopeful eyes filled her mind and the secret she had to swallow weighed her down greatly.“Ella you been looking at that screen for an hour now” A voice interrupted her day dream. She glanced up and saw Michael Thompson a seasoned reporter who is both wise and kind and always ready to make a quip. "You okay?"Ella forced a smile. That she was only thinking about her next piece, a lie she uttered.'Well,’ if you ever need to ventilate, I am here.’To that Ella only nodded, though she cannot accept the offer anyway.That very evening, as the lights of the city came on, Ella peeled potatoes on the chopping block which was in front of the kitchen stove and Lily was playing around the legs of the table. The sudden ringi
When the colors of fall replaced the bright summer, this situation pushed Ella into the crossroads in which each decision is a consequence. The fact that Lily is actually Alexander's daughter has been a hidden truth which has been over-powering Ella. As custom had it, one early morning, Ella got ready for another day at the newsroom only to have her phone ring. Michael Thompson, his voice sounding grim. “Ella, you need to come in for a briefing, there has been a leak.”Ella's heart sank. “What kind of leak?”Michael jumped in, ‘It is about Alexander Knight.’ “There is a new ‘scandal’ unearthed involving a late, secret child.”Ella felt a panicky feeling rise in her chest. “I’ll be right there.”There was utter confusion in the newsroom, journalists ran here and there like bees that had been. Diana Ross was waiting with her eyes bright, excited about the hunting.Ella, there you are, Diana told her friend pointedly. “This story about Alexander Knight and a secret child, it is mind-bl
Ella’s heart beat like a drum, loud within the stillness of the room. The message on her phone was a snake, with words that tightly encircled the girl’s determination. She had to go and see whoever sent it but every ounce of instinct in her body were saying that it was a trap. But what other choice did she have? Ella knew that Lily’s future hinged on this decision. Alexander, however, faced his challenges. The board meeting had been brutal, with accusations flying around just as fast as coffee from the teapot at the center of the table. They required answers and solutions to a leak that could sink business, and Alexander was going to be the one who will plug it. But sitting within this tumultuous noise of unhappy directors there was an annoying thought niggling at him from behind. Lately, Ella had been distant, her smiles too swift, her laughter too bitter. Was she hiding something? He shook the thought away and turned to what was at hand. Alexander recommended one of the boldest m
The opulence in the room weighed down on Ella as she faced Alexander; the tension between the two was palpable. The USB drive was on the desk before her; the physical evidence of her sin, but the truth of Lily’s existence was buried deeper in the unsaid. “Ella,” Alexander’s voice was hard and cold against the silence. “How could you risk all that we have worked for?” Fists were tightly squeezed at her sides, and Ella’s nails dug into her palms. “I had my reasons,” she said softly, almost inaudibly. “Reasons?” Alexander asked bitterly, with a dangerous glint in his eyes. ‘’For what reasons could there be, that would warrant such a betrayal? Ella felt her heart racing, the truth about Lily which she wanted to scream aloud, but could not. But she restrained herself from saying it because she knew that the information would destabilize the delicate reality that they both existed in. ‘No, it is not,’ she said firmly, looking straight into my eyes. Alexander’s laughter was grim, which