Andrew “Hey bro,” I greeted and hugged Vincent. “Since the locks have been changed, I couldn’t get access to the house. That’s why you see me knocking like a stranger,” I said with a smile. “I’ve got the spare upstairs. I’ll go get it for you,” he said and was about to walk off, but I stopped him. “Where is mum?” I asked, taking a step into the house. “She left right after you did yesterday,” he replied, and continued walking. I’d come here yesterday after I called Anne and found Vincent, Arya, and my mum in the living room. I was scared mum must’ve rudely sent Anne away, that was why after I welcomed my brother and talked with him for a while, I left and called Anne. I had thought she’d met my mum, but after our discussion yesterday, I found out she only met Arya when she arrived. “Uh…Before you go get the keys, I’d like you to meet someone,” I said, making him stop again. He turned and looked straight at the door. I closely watched his every expression and demeanor. This woul

Anne The next phase of our plan was to relive that time Vincent and I spent a night together on the couch. It was kinda a touchy topic because Andrew was into me at that time, but he assured me he was good. I told them what had transpired, so we made a plan to have me go over to Vincent’s. But before we did, Andrew had to pick a day Arya would be on call throughout the night. He had gotten this information from his buddy at his dad’s hospital. The day came, and I got ready to go at 6 pm. The only thing we couldn’t control was the rain, so we decided I wasn’t going to spend the night because that would be awkward. There wouldn’t be a good explanation for that. Miraculously, the rain did fall on that day, but not at the time we all desired. It happened that on my way, heaven let up, without so much as a single warning. The downpour was massive. Just the short distance from the taxi to his front door got me drenched right down to my panties. I felt our plan had flopped. The rain was

Anne My thoughts were reeling. I wondered what he was doing in his room. He’d probably be reading a book or… another book. That was Vincent when he was alone. He should be curious, shouldn’t he? He felt something that time at the door; I know. So, he should be curious why he felt that way, right? He may probably pace his room, thinking of why we had so much intimate tension between us. I shook my head and flung up from the couch. I needed to pass the time. It would be weird when he comes down and sees me staring into space. So, I picked a movie that would successfully distract me from the thoughts of him. I was heading for the television when I began hearing the rapid dangling of keys at the door. I paused my movement and stared at the door. Andrew wasn’t supposed to be coming. Did he change his mind? Unless it wasn’t Andrew! My heart sunk when Rebecca entered my head. She was the one that had the house redesigned, so she should have a key, right? I grabbed the lower part of t

Andrew “Did you get her pregnant?!” mum yelled at me. I didn’t respond. I just stood there and stared at the floor. “Andrew! answer me this instant,” she barked, walking up to me. She forcefully dragged my face up to face her, then with the same force, raised her hand and struck me against the face. My head almost bounced off my neck, but I didn’t flinch. I simply returned my head to its formal position. According to mum, she had hired a private detective to look into Anne before they left India. Well, the detective must have found information about Anne and the baby, and how I frequented her place with baby stuff. Mum must have put two and two together, then decided that Anne’s baby was mine. “I said it!” she spat. “She’d always wanted to plant herself in this household. She had been after our wealth! She’d started with you, then moved over to Vincent, who she believed was the heir. Since I took Vincent away, she now seduced you! You let her! You let her!!” mum yelled, pounding

Anne Scared was an understatement. I was mortified. I didn’t know where Andrew was going with this, but hearing my baby cry was terrifying. It was too early for Vincent to know about Lucy. Plus, God forbid, if he has another migraine episode, I don’t know how bad it’ll be this time. Vincent bent his head to the side as if listening clearly to be certain it was really a baby crying. For the first time in my life, I was going to deny my baby. I had opened my mouth, ready to say that the cry was from my little niece, but Andrew beat me to it. “Marie, Lucy is crying. Go fetch her,” Andrew ordered, like it was the most normal thing for me to have a baby crying in the room. I widened my eyes in shock at Andrew’s bold utterances. He was acting crazy. I blinked at him when I caught his eyes, expecting him to get his acts together, but he simply turned his face away and did the worse. “Marie has a baby girl,” he said to Vincent, with a huge smile on his face. Vincent turned and looked