I had never seen Chloe as nervous about an outing as she was while she prepped for dinner with the Kingstons.Her hands shook as she tried to wear her earrings and I took them out of her hands. She brought me her makeup bag and asked me to do it because she wasn't sure she could do a good job. She was about to change her mind about the blue dress that we'd picked out days ago when I stepped in. I insisted that she looked perfect and helped her out finishing touches to her look.“They're going to love you." I said as I hugged her goodbye.“They better, cos they're stuck with me either way." She said in that typical Chloe way.Caleb was waiting at the door with a bouquet of flowers which she oohed and ahhed over, then handed to me to put in a vase. When they left, I breathed a sigh of relief.I loved Chloe, but on days like this, I realized why she went to parties during our college years and I stayed at home. I was just a tired girl who preferred to binge watch romcoms in her pajamas t
I didn't go straight home. I headed instead to Jordan's single storey home in SoHo. I rapped on the door repeatedly until he pulled it open in a tank top and knee length shorts. He was sweaty and breathing fast, telling me that he had most likely been exercising.“Hey." He said, a little surprised.“I texted you last night." I said, my hands folded against my chest.“Okay?"“I texted you this morning too."He ran his hands through his hair. “Okay, and?"“What do you mean okay and? Why aren't you responding to my messages?" I exploded.“Because last night you asked if we were good. I didn't want to lie that we were and I didn't want to start a fight by saying that we weren't so I thought I'd let off steam and call you after.""And today?”"I've been working.”“That's not okay." I said plainly. “If you have a problem with me, we talk about it, and we trash it out. You do not ignore me to let off steam and then call me after. That's not okay.""Okay. “ He said, shoving his hands in his f
The air was alight with joy. There was loud music playing from a state of the art sound system, and an old man stood at the grill seemingly enjoying what he was doing. Children ran about excitedly, and adults exchanged smiles and hugs. There was a table filled with cupcakes and food close to the man at the grill and everyone had a glass of wine or a bottle of beer in their hands.It was beautiful. It was the sort of beautiful chaos that I thrived in. I looked on with a smile on my face as the couple danced happily and the woman laughed at something her husband said.Brenda Lynn's 20th wedding anniversary was going perfectly and I couldn't help the contented smile that played on my lips at the sight of the fine job I'd done.I walked back into the kitchen with the empty tray in my hands. I'd taken out the last batch of canapes to add to the already full table. Already, a few guests had come in here to compliment the chicken skewers and one little girl had asked if I would make her a gi
The court hearing between Kingston Enterprise and Anthony Smith of Smith Assurance rocked the internet like a storm. The Kingstons took up the case with a vengeance that Anthony hadn't expected. The hearing didn't last long. Anthony was being accused of several counts of misdemeanor with evidence that made it impossible for him to wiggle out of the situation this time. Even his shiny suit lawyer stuttered as he tried to defend his client.Good. I don't know how they'd hoped to win against the entire Kingston family with such glaring evidence incriminating Anthony, but whatever it was, they learnt quickly why the Kingstons were considered one of the most formidable families in all of New York, and perhaps, even the United States. They had connections in all the places that mattered.The ruling was for Anthony to pay a fine of one million dollars for damages against the integrity of Kingston Enterprise. He and his lawyer made it clear that they were going to appeal, but the truth was in
The credits rolled on our third romcom of the night. There was a saccharine pop song playing over black and white stills of the happy couple who in the real world, truly would make a terrible match.I turned to say something to Jordan and found him slumped against the head of the cushion. His head was tilted back, and his lips were slightly parted. There was a quiet rhythmic snore from deep within his chest that made me smile.He was out cold. Looked like this knight had decided that the damsel wasn't in any real distress and had chosen an easier battle: sleep.I smiled, reaching over to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. His breathing didn't even hitch. Careful not to wake him, I went quietly up the stairs, got an extra blanket and threw it over his still, peaceful form.My fingers lingered at his shoulder, tracing the hard line of muscle beneath his t-shirt. Even in sleep, he looked like he was ready to spring into action at any moment. The muscles in his arm were taut, I
I woke up to small kisses being scattered across my face. The feel of his whiskers against the smooth skin of my face felt hot as hell. I smiled as I blinked my eyes open.“Someone's up early."“You look like an angel when you sleep" his voice still sounded a little groggy.As he reached for my lips with his, I rolled away from his reach, forgetting that my small bed was just spacious enough to accommodate the both of us. I landed hard on my butt, and a belly rumbling laughter exploded out of his chest.“It's not funny." I said with a pout but he wouldn't stop laughing.After a short while, I found myself struggling to keep my own smile in check. I liked the sound of his laughter. It was raw, and genuine. It occured to me that I never saw him like this when he was dealing with the outside world, just when it was the both of us. Mysterious billionaire to the rest of the world, crinkly eyed, laughing man to me. I felt my smile grow bigger.As his laugh ebbed, I picked myself off the gro
We ordered Thai and stayed in my small, creaky bed through the afternoon. We were wrapped around each other with the sheets tangled at our feet. Chloe texted sometime around noon to say that she would be going to work from Caleb's and I rolled my eyes. At this rate, she could as well just move in with him. She was there most of the time anyway.Later that afternoon, Jordan asked me to get dressed because we were going out. He went into his car for a change of clothes which he claimed he always made sure to leave there ‘just in case'. When I asked what to put on, he said to look casual. We were just going to have fun. Nothing serious. He wouldn't say what kind of fun, though.I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. I made him pick between two sneakers and finally settled on the one he least liked. By the time that we got into his range rover, it was already past 3:00pm. No matter how much I tried, Jordan refused to tell me where we were going.We rode with the windows down. He
We were on the road in mere minutes. We'd hurriedly packed up the basket and the blanket and made our way to Jordan's car. Now, he tore through traffic and drove as fast as possible to reach the hospital.As soon as he found a spot in the parking space, I was out, running through the reception. I had pulled on Jordan's shirt over my jeans. He was behind me in his white tee shirt. Both our hairs were still wet, but that didn't matter as we raced through the hospital entrance.“Nancy Jenkins" I said to the nurse at the reception and she pointed me towards the ICU. I saw Sam first. He stood with his back against the wall, down the corridor. He had a blank look on his face. Chloe sat on a chair outside the hospital room, her knees drawn up to her chin and her shoulders heaving.Caleb stood opposite her, resting slightly against the wall as he watched her and struggled not to break down at how broken she appeared.“Chloe." I said, and she raised her eyes to mine, rushing to her feet and in
Calling 911 was the easy part. Getting Jordan out of the bathroom and to the bed was the hard part.It wasn't the first time that I was helping him like that. But other times, I'd had some support from him. This time, he was limp. He seemed completely devoid of any strength and I found myself helping him to the bed with no support at all from him.The dispatcher had kept me on the line while I gave her details earlier. I’d tried to keep my voice steady, but my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone. I kept glancing at him, with worry eating me up. Now, I reached for his hand as if that would help me pass some warmth across to him.“Jordan, I need you to just stay still. I've called 911. They'll be here soon,” I said with as much calm as I could muster. I couldn't afford to freak out.There was no response from him.“Jordan, stay with me," I said a little more frantically when I felt him slipping out of consciousness.“Jordan!!" I was almost screaming this time.He s
Jordan's heart beat steadily under my head. His arm was wrapped around my waist as I lay against his chest. I liked the warmth. We'd been in each other's arms all day, and it still felt like we hadn't spent enough time together.For a while, I kept my eyes closed and simply listened to the silence of his bedroom. I was at home here, in his arms. The world outside could be chaotic and unpredictable, but right here, in this moment, there was peace.“You’re still awake,” he murmured, his voice low and warm against my neck.“So are you." I responded.He tried to shift me to his side, but I hugged him tighter. “Don’t move. I just want to remain like this.”“Okay then.” He whispered, and wrapped his arms tighter around me.I turned in his arms until I was facing him. His eyes were open now, and in the low lights in the room, I searched his eyes. He looked somewhat tired- work was probably still as stressful. But he was beautiful. He was always beautiful.“I like this,” I said quietly. “Bein
When I returned to the police station the next morning, Chloe was with me. Inspector Ariya seemed to be leaving as we came in. Surprise registered briefly in her eyes when she saw us.She walked up to us briskly. She looked tired but sharp, her dark hair pulled back into a no-nonsense ponytail.“Hello, ladies. I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon.” she said this last part, facing me. “Have you decided to press charges after all?"I shook my head. “Not yet. I haven't. Actually, we came to speak to you, and if possible to her."She quirked a brow. “Her? You're sure you want to do that?”"I don't know. Actually… we found something.”We told her about looking online and seeing that Layla's online presence had been completely wiped off. We told her about the photos of her that we'd come across and how the timing didn't add up. And then out of the blues, Chloe told her about her thoughts that Layla was working with someone.“Why do you say so?" She asked very calmly.“Because I know L
Chloe stared at me like I’d grown another head. “You mean, like, private investigator type digging?” “If we have to,” I replied, folding my arms. “Because I can’t sleep at night knowing she might not be done, and that she meant what she said. We have to get to the bottom of this, Chloe.” Chloe looked at me skeptically. “I don't know, Rissa. I can't say that I agree with this being a good idea.” “Well, are you going to help me or not?" I demanded. Sighing, she reached for her laptop and pulled it into her laps. "Okay, Sherlock. Where do you want to start?” I hadn't actually meant for us to start immediately, but we did. We weren’t police officers, and we weren’t detectives. But we had working brains and the internet. And at this point, that felt like enough. “I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” she muttered, typing rapidly. We searched for everything we could think of. It was as though Layla Freeman didn't exist. We scrolled through pages of irrelevant news and articles. The
Chapter 103I stared at her in dazed shock.There was a venom in Layla’s eyes I had never seen before, and as I watched her now, some of my anger gave way to something colder. something worse. Fear.“What the hell are you talking about, Layla? What do you mean this is only the first of many? What else are you planning?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it trembled as I spoke.“She will not be doing anything, Miss Colton,” Inspector Ariya’s voice cut through the tension, drawing my attention away from Layla. “Come on now, you. Get up.” She grabbed Layla by the arm and pulled her to her feet.I watched as they began to leave. I didn’t want them to. I wished the inspector had let me speak to her just a little longer. There was something unfinished, something dangerous in Layla’s last words. A few hours ago, I might have dismissed them as a threat—a pathetic attempt to scare me. But not now. Not after seeing her admit, without an ounce of guilt, that she had set the fire. Not after wa
Chloe was still in bed when I left for the police station the next morning. She’d already told me before that she didn't want to go. What was the point anyways? Whatever she was going to find out from speaking to Layla, she would find out when the police were done with their investigation.In any case, I didn't want to go with anyone either. Not with Jordan, and not with Chloe too. I wanted to just go alone. I needed to speak to Layla by myself, see her with my own eyes, and listen to whatever explanation she had. It just needed to be me. Just me.The drive to the police station only lasted about 30 minutes but it felt like 3 hours. As I drove, my mind kept going back to the last few weeks since we met Layla at that restaurant. I thought of how I had been skeptical about letting her into my space and then I thought of how Chloe hadn't really liked her or trusted her. Then I went on to remember how over time, she had sort of broken our resolve, mine especially, and had slowly made her
The silence was deafening. We all stared on in silence at the image on the screen. It was her. It really was Layla. It didn't make any sense. How could she have tampered with the wiring? She'd been a part of the entire planning, after all! She had put in so much effort to make this work so how was it even possible that she would be responsible for ruining the night."That can't be." I said shakily. "Maybe there's a mistake. Maybe it's..."Inspector Ariya's voice cut me. "The footage is very clear, ma'am. That's the culprit."I swallowed. I didn't know what to say. I didn't think Chloe did either. Again, it didn't make sense. I didn't think as I sat backwards on the couch with knees pulled to my chest like I could somehow protect myself from the storm that had just torn through the room. Chloe sat beside me in stunned silence. Her arms were wrapped around her body like she, too, was trying to keep herself from falling apart.The laptop was still open on the dining table, the paused f
The silence in the room after I said those words was thick enough to suffocate a person. Chloe blinked at me, with her mouth slightly open. Her brows knit together in first, confusion, then alarm.“What do you mean someone set the bakery on fire?” she asked slowly, like she was trying to give the question time to change into something less terrifying. “You know that's impossible. The firemen said it to Caleb.I shook my head. “That’s what the guy from the insurance company just now said. He said… he said the wires were tampered with. Deliberately.”Chloe stood up and began pacing like the movement would somehow bring clarity. “But who? Why? That doesn’t even make sense. Who would do something like that?”I didn’t have an answer. All I had was a sharp ache in my chest and a hundred questions tumbling over each other in my mind.Someone had intentionally tried to sabotage me. Who could it be? Why? I felt my heart squeeze at the thought of the obvious betrayal. Everyone at that launch y
Jordan dropped me off at home at a little past noon. When we pulled up to the house, Chloe was already waiting at the door. As soon as I stepped out, she rushed toward me, wrapping me in a tight embrace.“Everything’s going to be fine,” she whispered, her voice steady. “We’ve got each other.”I clung to her, feeling a weight being lifted off my shoulder. The scent of the lavender shampoo that we both shared filled my nostrils and for a brief moment, replaced the acrid smell of smoke that had plagued me since last night. Now, having Chloe hold me like this after such a chaotic night served as a reminder that amidst the chaos, some things remained constant. Like friendship. And family.Jordan was at my side by the time that Chloe broke off the embrace.“You're sure you'll be okay?" He asked, gently."Yea, of course. What am I, like an egg?” I asked and managed a small smile. “Plus, I've got Chloe. I'm absolutely fine, Jordan. You can go.”“Okay." He said, nodding.He reached out and bru