“What? You were eavesdropping on us?” Sterling asked in a tone that was hard. He glared at his brother and waited for a response. I too was waiting for him to respond. But I already had a feeling that he was. I just wanted him to confirm it. “Were you?” Samuel released a sigh and then placed his hands in his pockets. “Yes. Yes, I was. I did not hear everything, but I think I heard enough. Why are you two talking with a murder suspect?” He pursed his lips.I looked at Sterling for help but he had the same look that I’m sure was on my face. We both were stressed, taken aback, and searching for a way to get the situation under control. “Summer did not kill Patty,” Sterling told his brother the truth. “She only took the fall for it because she was manipulated. Patty was actually killed by an assassin. And that assassin was hired by your girlfriend’s mother.” Samuel scoffed and then shook his head slowly. “No. That can't be true. How?” His forehead scrunched in confusion. He looked at
The car came to a stop right in front of a brick building. We had driven a little over two hours to get there, but at least we were finally there. Summer was already outside, standing at the door. I was no longer sobbing; my tears had dried, and I felt much better now that I had exploded and let it all out. I opened my side of the door and got out of the car. After my breakdown, we had not really said anything to each other. Sterling was quiet. Samuel was quiet. And I was too. When the others got down from the car, the doors were closed and locked. I led the way to the house while they followed. “Hi,” I said to Summer and flashed her a small smile. I sniffled dryly and breathed out a sigh as I waited for a response from her. “Are you okay? You look like you were crying,” She pointed out and I chuckled nervously. “But it’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.” She smiled back. “Hey.” Samuel nodded toward Summer. “It’s been a while, innit?” Summer scoffed lightly and s
“You want me to give you a reason to stab me? Come on.” Sterling laughed in Summer’s face. “If you were brave enough, you would have done it already.” He closed the small distance between them, causing the shard to poke his neck. “Man, what the hell? Stop taunting her!” Samuel scolded his brother. He turned to me. “Now, do you want me to call the police?” I swallowed and breathed out a shaky sigh. “I–I don’t know.” I could not explain it but a part of me just really believed that Summer was not going to hurt Sterling. She was in love with him before and could still be. She even killed someone because of him. I did not think that she was going to do it. “Do it. Do it. Do it!!” Sterling’s tone was rough and his eyes were crazy. The shard was dangerously close to his neck and blood had already started to show. “Please…do something good for once in your life. Do it.” His voice broke. “Wait!” My voice caught everybody's attention. “Summer, you don’t want to do that. He’s playing you a
I stood to my feet and paced the living room as I chewed mentally on all that Summer had told me. To be honest, it crossed my mind that maybe she could even be playing us and just telling us what she thinks that we want to hear.But again, I did not think she was. Everything she was saying was adding up. This was the chance to finally not be in the dark.“We already have money and power. The Smiths are one of the richest families in the world,” I explained to Summer. “We already have generational wealth.”“Yeah, but your mom wants more. She always told me that everything she did was for the greater good. She planned the contract marriage and allowed it to play out just how she wanted.” “Is my dad part of any of this?”She shook her head slowly. “I don't think so. He’s oblivious to it all. You and I know that your family merged one of their biggest companies with one of the biggest companies of the Williams. And just a few months after that, you people get conned? It was all Mrs. Smit
The car ride was quiet for the first ten minutes, but after that, Sterling was the first to break the silence. “So are we reporting your mother to the detective?” He turned his attention away from the window and looked at me. “Or are we going to let her get away with killing Patty?” His eyes were filled with pain. I did not know how to reply to him or explain how I felt. I wanted more time; more time to be able to understand fully what was going on. Or maybe even though my mom had done something despicable, I just did not want her to go to prison. He scoffed. “Your silence says it all.” He turned away from me and stared out the window. Samuel glanced at me and I exhaled deeply. “Okay, fine. Let’s report her to the police.” “Wait, really?” Samuel asked. We were now in traffic and the car was not moving anymore. “I know your mom did something awful but she’s still your mom. Would you seriously consider sending her to prison?” I shrugged and relaxed my weight on the car seat. “She h
Laying on Samuel’s chest had me feeling a sense of normalcy and security. It reminded me of the good old days; of how things used to be so simple and almost perfect. “Okay, let’s talk about it. Letting fear paralyze you from making a decision does nothing good for you. You would still have to make that decision. And the longer you wait, the more complicated and uncomfortable things would get,” Samuel explained. “And if you wait even longer, life would make the decision for you. And we all know that life tends to do things that are unfair and messy. So, let’s go. We are going to talk this out like we used to do with everything that came out way. And you are going to make a decision,” He continued. The cloud of anxiety and fear hovering over my heart was still evident but I felt like I gained a little more control after Samuel’s speech. “Gosh, I love you so much.” I giggled, and he planted a kiss on my forehead. “And as you, my love for you only grows stronger by the day.” His voice
I swallowed and then glanced at Sterling and Samuel for some support. “What do I tell her?” I mouthed to Sterling, and he shrugged. Samuel had a worried look on his face but it was clear that he did not know what to say either. “Hello? Are you still there, Mrs. Williams?” I nodded as if she could see me but then corrected my mistake by speaking. “Yes. I’m here. And to answer your question, yes, I did meet with Summer. But it was not a story that she fed to me. It was the truth.” I heard the detective scoff on the phone. “You know that I can hold you for obstruction of justice, right?” “Wh-what? I’m only trying to help find the actual killer.” “And you so happened to get that information from our main suspect that has been on the run.” “She’s not on the run,” I tried to argue but Samuel mouthed to me, “She is.” “Mrs. Williams, I promise you that if this happens again, I would have you arrested.” Her voice was firm. “But as a detective, my job here is to find out the trut
“I’m the real loser here,” He breathed out the words and then sat on the bed. “Not only did I lose Patty, but with you breaking out of the contract marriage, that would take away the first heir right from me and give it back to Samuel. Everything that I had ever hoped for, imagined, and worked for, would be gone in a blink of an eye.” “Samuel does not want to be heir,” I tried to convince him. I closed the distance between us and sat next to him on the bed. The clothes and the small bag of toiletries that I had in my hands were placed on the bed also. “And he told you that?” He looked at me and sniffled. “Who wouldn’t want power, influence, and wealth?” He made eye contact with me, and my heart broke for him. Sadness was all I could see in his beautiful eyes. “Sammy wouldn’t.” I smiled weakly. “Remember, he had it all at first but threw it all away to come to New York and make a life for himself. Trust me, he does not want this life.” “Mm…then why did he break up with you with a n