Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Second Bite At The Cherry: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

ONE PENELOPE "When exactly are you going to give birth to a child, Penelope?" My chest tightened. I turned away from the stove to take a look at my husband, Duke. He pushed his breakfast plate away from him with disgust on his face. “Didn't you hear me?” He demanded after a soft tsk sound. I said nothing. Only watching him. He had that look on his face. The one where his eyes were somewhere far away instead of right there. One that had nothing to do with me. I took a deep breath. "Duke, I thought we have been through this already?" I asked quietly. He leaned back in his chair. "Have we?" He asked. I watched as he curled his brows. "Haven't we?" I inquired. "You tell me Penelope," he added. His arms folded across his chest. I swallowed in preparation for exactly what I knew would follow next. "Nothing has changed, Penelope. It's been two years—two years and still nothing." I set down the spatula. "I am trying, Duke," I started to say in a shaky voice. "You know

THREE PENELOPE It was almost eight o'clock by the clock on the dashboard when I finally lifted my head.I realized that I had been sitting in my car in that parking lot for several hours. My eyes were dry now because there was nothing left in them to shed. I started the car without knowing where I was going and I just drove out.I stopped at a small pharmacy on the edge of town to pick up the prescription I had been ignoring for about a week now. Any distraction would be welcome now for me before I drowned in sorrow.I was inside for maybe ten minutes. Somehow, I dragged around dreading going back home to see Duke sitting there.When I came back out, the parking lot was darker than I had remembered.Two of the overhead lights had gone out while I had been picking my prescription.Also, for some reason, it was odd that there were no other cars near mine anymore.But I was too caught up in my own world to pay attention to my gut feeling.Too drained to make sense of everything tha

FIVE PENELOPE One moment I was plummeting straight into the horrid darkness below. The next moment I was being pulled up by an invisible force towards a bright light. I gasped as I came to life, sitting afore my makeup table in a pearly white robe. My heart was beating loudly with force as if it wanted to escape from my chest. I pressed my hand down on it to keep it steady and in place as my brain lagged. Quite a while passed as I stayed still trying to understand what happened to me. My breathing was ragged as I stared at my own horrified face in the mirror. No bullet wounds on my forehead where the gun had delivered it from before. Shock widened my eyes. My hand reached up to grasp at the spot more in disbelief than concern. How on earth was I here, back at my home from the warehouse, afore the mirror? What was this? Astral travels? What happened to the gun shot to my head? I had clearly felt it then. The bullet had shaken my entire body and my eyes had closed in fina

SEVEN PENELOPEThe hall erupted in chaos.Mics from the cameras flashed in our faces as they threw questions at us.I felt Lorcan take my hand into his and started to turn towards him.But he wasn't looking at me."Mr Duke would be able to give you more tangible information on this matter," he said to the eager paparazzi.They instantly flocked away like hungry dogs to Duke's sides with the battalion of questions they had for him.Lorcan looked at me then."Let's get out of here."I nodded.He drew me closer and we hurriedly slipped out through the side exit before we would be discovered.Meanwhile the chaos he had left behind was still swallowing the room whole.He took me through the narrow hallway that followed, gratefully quiet.But someone else wasn't.Petra.She was whispering in my ears instantly."His grip is firm and warm," she cooed inside of my head as I walked.I ignored her.The elevator at one side of the hall was where we finally ended.We stepped into the elevator the

NINELORCANThe look on Penelope's face when she slowly lowered the phone and just stared at it made me cross the space between us. "What happened?" I asked.Her eyes moved to mine as she turned the screen towards me without a word. I read the first headline and then the second, and I had seen enough."It must be Thalia," she said quietly.A nod moved my head."Yes," I agreed with her.My hand dipped into my pocket to take out my own flip phone.I dialled Victor who only picked up his line after the first three continuous rings."Mr Callahan," he began to say.I interpreted him."Victor, I will need all of the planted fertility stories about Penelope Davenport to be pulled down by tonight," I ordered.There was a small pause."That is a tall order," Victor said.One of my brows quirked."Tell whatever outlet is running them that I will give them an exclusive story."His scoff reached me."I promise it would be worth three times more the traffic those circulating pieces are generatin