“Come in.”A raspy growl echoed from inside the office, harsh and guttural. His voice carried no welcome, just the echo of something like disturbance.I swallowed the hard lump and curled my trembling palm around the doorknob. My heart was drumming so fast.“Breathe in, Rora.” “Breathe in. He doesn’t bite. He’s still the Jax that you used to know.” I kept whispering the words, and the next thing—I pushed the door open.And his eyes, shadowed and still, flicked to the door. And once they landed on me, his facial muscles sharpened, disgust glinting under those harsh green eyes. “Mom, I saw him again. I saw Daddy.”I quickly shook my head.And put on a faint smile, hiding my nervousness.“G…good morning, Mr. Grey.” I fiddled with my fingers, fighting the anxiety. “You called?”Those eyes moved from me to his wristwatch before refocusing back on me. It now seemed more sharper and chillier, making my throat tightened. “8:40 a.m.? Who comes to work at this time?”“Actually...” I cl
I sighed and gently kneaded her head."It’s fine, babe. Now you have to go back to sleep—you’ve got school tomorrow,” I murmured in a whispering voice.“Mom," Aria pulled away and stared back at me. Her arched brow reminded me of Jax— his expression whenever he was deep in thought.“Are you sure that Dad is dead?”My hands turned instantly sweaty. I closed my mouth and quickly wiped them on my clothes. “Look, Aria—”“Mom, I’m sure of what I saw. I saw him, and it looked so real.”I tried to hold her face, but she moved away, and a deep sigh slipped from my lips.“Baby, I think it’s just your imagination. Look, get some sleep. Once you wake up, you’ll feel better.” I forced out a smile, but deep inside, my heart was breaking.Aria shook her head, her drowsy eyes crinkling in a frown.“I saw him. He has green eyes. He’s tall… way taller than you, Mom.”My heart skipped a beat. This can’t be possible.“I saw him again, Mom,” she added. “I want Daddy.” Her voice cracked, and I quickl
"Then why is a hospital contacting you for bills?"Her words cut through my thoughts, and I looked up to see the concern written all over her face. I gulped, swallowing a bit of saliva."It's about my mother." I told the truth, and she gasped.She knew I stayed in Germany with my mother before I came back here for jobs to survive. Well, that’s all I told her—but from my struggle, appearance, and behavior, she could easily tell things were rough for me—something even a blind person could see."So sorry about that." I nodded with a strained smile."But the $2000?""Dex paid for it," I said, and a sudden silence followed instantly. Confused, I tore my eyes from my phone and lifted them to find a wide, proud smile on her face."Girlllll… this guy loves you!"Love?I know it's good, but I knew what she meant—and it's cringe."We are just friends, Emme," I quickly corrected her. I didn’t want ideas in her head.Dexter and I are just friends—not that he's even seeing me in that way, which I
Aurora Avery Brooks.I was only shown my space and allowed to go home. According to Liam, my resumption starts tomorrow morning so I came back early. Although it's night now, I have managed to tuck Aria to bed but I just couldn’t sleep no matter how much I struggle. So at the end, I strode to the kitchen thinking a glass of water was going to help quench the flames in my heart down. But the moment I walked in, my gaze flickered to the closed drawer beside me. With a trembling hand, I retrieved the small golden-colored necklace from there, my heart breaking as I opened it – it was a picture of Jax and me in our college days. My eyes burned again, and more tears streamed down as I traced my finger along his handsome face.We both had this piece back then as our sign of love for each other, until that very day… I cried out and squeezed the necklace close to my heart. Regret washed all over me, although somehow I wasn’t regretting the decision of choosing my mother…just the regret of
Jaxson Grayson Pierce"Hey, man. I got your message," Brian said, coming to a stop in front of where I was sitting. "You sounded so urgent," Julian added, pulling out a chair and sitting by my left side.I huffed softly, swirling the alcohol in my glass, my jaw tensed. I had fucking left the office early, needing to clear my damn head. Brian slid onto the other vacant stool by my right, their curious faces turned toward me."What's going on, bro?" Julian asked."She's back," I mumbled, a crease forming on their faces. And Julian frowned. "Who?"My mind drifted to those amber eyes, and anger surged through my veins. Not just the anger of seeing her but the anger of her returning and acting like nothing had happened. Like she hadn't left me miserable for years for a rich asshole. She even changed her surname thinking that I couldn’t recognize her. Not when I could still remember her words, even now. They taunted me in sleep, during the day, and every moment since she walked away.
She was rooted to the spot, ghostly pale. "Au...Rora," she sputtered, still not believing it was me. Surprise hinted in her eyes. I smirked and straightened myself, my gaze running over her. She wasn't looking bad. What did I expect when she was literally the most lovable, doted-on daughter of the Russell household? She looked stunning, as always, while I looked... hmm... battered by life. Merely looking at her caused my anger to boil over again. She was the last person I expected to see. In fact, she was among the people I never prayed to set my eyes on again in this life.Months of returning to this city, I made sure to keep a low profile and avoided the Russell family like a plague, but fate seemed to be making a fool of me. Not only did I meet Jax today, but I also bumped into this manipulator, wicked, cunning, and heartless girl. Anything worse than those is what she is.Growing up wasn't so good. My mom and dad always quarreled almost every night, but things got drastic when D