MasukThe balcony door had been open for more than 2 hours, and the sun was about to set.Lillian had stopped keeping track of time since she had sat there. She couldn't even tell how long she had been there. She sat still, her cheeks turned red from crying. She didn't want to keep crying because there was no use. Jessie’s voice kept replaying in her head.You didn't even want it, and you got it all. The way she'd laughed when she said it, Don't you remember when I told you he was hot?Lillian remembered when Jessie admired a young billionaire and told her about it, but that was a long time ago. She had no idea it was Alex not until today, and that was the heaviest thing in her chest right now. She realized she had been careless with it, and she just missed it. She pressed the heel of her hand on her chin and exhaled deeply. Jessie had felt invisible. She stayed and watched things fall into Lillian's lap that she'd wanted badly and never gotten.That was why she couldn't let go. She als
The apartment became quiet after Justin left for school, and everything felt different. Lillian had been awake since six. She had made coffee and sat with it on the dining table until it went cold. Then she went into her room and opened the drawer where she had hidden the folder. She brought it to the kitchen table and waited for Jessie. Jessie finished with her morning routine and came out around eight-thirty in her robe, her hair loose around her shoulders. She had expected an ordinary morning where she would make breakfast and fresh coffee. Then she saw the folder, and her facial expression changed. Lillian noticed the change in her expression before she forced her face to be normal. Over the past few months, she had been at Alex’s, and she had learned how to recognize the moment before someone lied. She had watched powerful men hide the truth behind calm faces and steady voices but noticed their lies. She saw it now on Jessie. “Sit down,” Lillian said.Jessie slowly sat, h
The next morning, Lililian walked into Jessie’s closet searching for a spare toothpaste. They had forgot to M to get some while doing grocery shopping yesterday. She opened the cabinet, and searched the spare products when her eyes landed on the pin. A pregnancy test was sitting on top of the a folded tissue paper with a visible result showing negative. Lillian eyes narrowed. “What?”She stood up and reached for the toothpaste and then she walked out to look for Jessie. Jessie had left her room and she was in the kitchen making coffee. “Jessie,” She turned when she heard Lillian’s voice. “Hey relax, not even a good morning. What is it?” Jessie smiled. "I wasn't snooping," Lillian said. "I was looking for toothpaste." She paused and looked at Jessie in the eyes. "Are you okay? Jessie, talk to me."Jessie looked at her coffee cup. "It's nothing. Just a scare. It was negative.""Are you sure you're alright?""I'm fine." She looked up. Smiled. "Honestly, I'm fine.”Lillian felt diff
On a Thursday afternoon, Jessie sat down with a cup of warm coffee on the sofa with Lillian. Her hands wrapped around the cup as she drank. Lillian sat with her legs folded on the sofa, her eyes fixed on Jessie. Then Jessie set her cup down. “I need to tell you something."Lillian looked up, furrowing her brows. "It wasn't Vicenzo who gave the order about Baba," she said softly. "It was Alex. He gave the authorization. Vicenzo just carried out what Alex decided."Lillian said nothing. She just stared at her sister's face with concern. The way she said it was like she was so sure of it. She wondered where Jessie got her information and whether Jessie thought she was a fool for thinking she didn't know she had been Vincenzo's informant."I know what happened, Jessie," she said. "Alex told me everything, and I believe him."Jessie's facial expression changed. “What?” she asked."He told me his part in it. All of it. He didn't try to come out looking better." She set her own cup down.
Lillian was lying in bed. She pulled the soft duvet over herself and lost herself in her thoughts. Jessie stayed awake staring at her phone in her room. She sat upright, her hand cupping her face, her elbows resting on her knees. She had been waiting for Vicenzo’s text. The room lit up again, and Lillian’s phone flashed. A notification came in. She could read it without picking up the phone. Breaking: Alexander Nick was photographed at an exclusive club with an unidentified woman.Her eyes widened, and she reached for the phone, and her mind went blank. Her jaw dropped. Before her brain could process it, her body had already become weak. She lay still on the bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She didn't know how to react.It was so hard not to believe because she knew Alex. He had never been seen with a woman so close except with her. If he is this comfortable with a woman, then they have something going on already. Lillian felt used at that moment because she thought Alex kne
The hospital visit had turned into a normal thing for Lillian. After a few weeks of visits, she began to feel comfortable. The antiseptic no longer smells.What she noticed was her mother. There was a small green plant resting beside the window, and the leaves were facing the sun.On the bedside table, there was a picture frame of their family, all four of them, which was taken years ago. Her mother's legs were covered in a soft yellow blanket, which gave her warmth. Her mother had always possessed a quiet talent for making any place feel inhabited, even loved, with her presence and grand gestures. Lillian stepped into the room carrying a grocery bag filled with things for her mother. She brought fresh fruit, tea bags, flowers, and magazines. Clara looked away from the TV as Lilian walked in, and her gaze landed on Lilian; then she noticed the look. “Where is he?” she asked, and Lillian stood still. She wanted to pretend not to hear her mother, but she knew it would be a waste o
Lillian changed into a pair of sweatpants and a plain white shirt. The outfit was tidy enough for her trip since she didn't have much to pack. Just a few clothes that one of Alex’s maids had given her. The clothes could hardly fill her small luggage. Since she came here without anything. Even her
The room was filled with silence and tension as Lillian screamed out her breath. Her hands gripped the edge of the bed, and her knuckles turned pale. Alex stood quietly with Marcus as the doctor helped stretch her ankle. His hands hovered around hers, hesitant as if he was unsure whether he should
Days had passed since Lillian’s ankle injury. Her ankle still throbbed faintly when she placed too much of her weight on it, even though the swelling had gone down. She had been confined to a penthouse. A luxurious prison with skyline windows, which she calls it. Lillian had not set her eyes on A
Lillian’s muscles screamed with every step that she took from yesterday’s shooting session. She thought she would be able to get enough rest, but she never knew this was just the beginning. Her mind had also been on her mother, her brother and Jessie. It had been weeks since she heard from them. E







