All Chapters of Nine years to find you: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

19 Chapters

The Promise

Sandra's PovThe apartment felt too small for whatever was sitting heavy between us.I watched Zadok pace near the window, his shoulders tight, hands running through his hair the way they always did when something was eating at him. The silence stretched and my stomach twisted even more."Baby, is everything okay?" I started to ask."Sandra." He cut me off gently, turning to face me. "There is something I need to tell you"I set down my tea, hands already shaking. "What is it?"He crossed the room and knelt in front of me, taking my hands. His grip was warm but his eyes, God, his eyes looked haunted.“Zadok you are scaring me.”"I got a job offer.”“You did?” I squeeled but then I paused midway. “Wait… isn't that supposed to be good news? Why are you sad?”“It's in Singapore.”My smile instantly disappeared. “I got a contract of two years, maybe less if I prove myself fast enough." He paused, watching my face. "The pay is triple of what I make now, Sandra. It is the kind of money th

I'm pregnant!

Sandra's PovTHREE WEEKS LATERI stared at the pregnancy test in my trembling hands, watching the second line darken with a finality that made my knees buckle."No. No, no, no."I sank to the bathroom floor, back against cold tile, and pressed my palms against my eyes until I saw stars.We'd been careful. He'd used protection, I'd taken the pill. Two-factor authentication, he'd called it while laughing.But there it was. Undeniable and irreversible.The deadly double lines that announced that I was pregnant.And he was halfway across the world, unreachable, building the future we were supposed to share.My hands moved to my stomach instinctively as panic clawed at my chest.What was I supposed to do?I couldn't tell my father. He'd lose his mind, or worse, he'd find a way to use this against Zadok and ruin him before he even had a chance to claim the child. And I couldn't tell Zadok either. Not yet. He didn't need the distraction when he was just starting out. This news could derail

The Trap

Sandra's Pov I sat across from them at breakfast, barely touching my food, stomach churning with nausea that had nothing to do with the pregnancy.They talked business, projections, things I couldn't bring myself to care about. My father was charming in a way I rarely saw, engaging Dorian with questions and compliments that made it clear he approved.That terrified me more than anything."Sandra," my father said suddenly. "You've been quiet.""I'm fine.""You didn't look fine." His eyes narrowed. "You look unwell.""I'm just tired.""Perhaps you should see a doctor," Dorian offered."I said I'm m fine," I snapped, visibly irritated. "You should take his advice," my father said with an edge to his words. "See Dr. Mark tomorrow.""That wouldn't be necessary.""I'd be happy to accompany her," Dorian said. "Just to make sure she's well taken care of."My father's gaze lingered on me. "Very considerate, Mr. Carrington."I wanted to scream. Why was no one listening to me?After lunch, Dor

Get your hands off me!

Sandra's PovThe next two months blurred into dress fittings, food tastings, and everything I was supposed to love about getting married. Except that I hated it. I moved through it like a ghost, nodding when I was supposed to, signing documents I didn't read and playing the dutiful daughter preparing for the wedding of the century.Maya was there through all of it, supportive, encouraging and telling me it would work out. I wanted to believe her but every time I tried reaching Zadok to explain, to beg for forgiveness, my messages disappeared. Calls went unanswered and my emails bounced back.It was like he erased me completely and I couldn't blame him.The night before the wedding, I was summoned to my father's study for a "final formality." Dorian was there, along with a lawyer I didn't recognize."Just a few documents," my father said casually. "Standard prenuptial agreements, asset protection, nothing unusual."I stared at the stack of papers, vision blurring again. "Sandra," Do

I already feel like an orphan, Mr Withmore

Sandra's Pov My father appeared in the doorway. "It's time."The words settled over me, suffocating. My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress as something cold twisted in my chest."Dad," I whispered, "before we go, I need to ask you something."Impatience flickered across his face. "This is hardly the time or place Sandra.""It wouldn't take long."He sighed. "Go on.""How did you know?"His eyes narrowed. "Know what?""The pregnancy."Silence pressed in. Then he sighed like I'd asked the most trivial question in the world. "I own the house, Sandra."The answer made my skin crawl. "That isn't an answer."His jaw tightened. "We didn't have time for this."Something in me snapped."No." I stepped closer, voice gaining strength even as my heart pounded. "You've controlled every part of my life these past two months. My whole life actually. My school, my career, every decision, every move. And I let it go because I thought you were doing it from a place of love."His gaze har

The Media Firestorm.

Sandra's PovThe rain came out of nowhere, or maybe it had been falling the whole time and I was too numb to notice.My gown dragged through the mud at the bottom of the steps, heavy and soaked, clinging to my legs like it was trying to pull me back inside. I didn't make it three feet before the flashes started.They came from everywhere at once, blinding white bursts that turned the world into a strobing nightmare. Microphones shoved so close to my face I could smell the plastic."Sandra, is it true you called off the wedding?""Miss Whitmore, are you alright?""Sandra, look this way, just one shot."I couldn't breathe. My chest heaved, my mascara ran in black rivers down my cheeks and my hands shook so hard I could barely hold the fistful of skirt I was using to keep from tripping. Behind me, the church doors slammed shut with a finality that echoed louder than it should have.Then my father stepped out.He looked composed, tragic even, flanked by two security guards and a visibly s

The Filtered Truth

ZADOK'S POVI was lost in a bottle, my phone face down on the coffee table, when it started buzzing in a circle. I picked it up expecting another email from work, that was mostly the only kind of notification I had been getting on my phone since..."Whitmore Heiress Suffers Psychotic Breakdown at the Altar."My glass paused halfway to my mouth as I digested the headline. It could have been any Whitmore and it was really none of my business. I was just about to toss my phone aside when my eyes fell on the image beneath the headline.Running in a dress torn at the hem, mascara running down her cheeks in two black lines, was Sandra.My Sandra. At least, she used to be. A cold feeling washed over me. I set the phone down on my knee, picked it back up and set it down again. It had been three weeks since I listened to her voice on that call telling me she didn't love me. I had replayed it in the shower, on the train, at my desk during meetings, everywhere, every single day, trying to pinpo

Stripped Bare (i)

ZADOK'S POV"One thing is sure," she whispered. "Sandra is not who we thought she was."I didn't say anything. I just sat there with the phone pressed to my ear, staring at a water stain on the ceiling. "I have proof," Maya said, quieter now. "If you don't want it, I won't bring it up again after this."I wanted to say no but some small stubborn part of me that was still standing in the wreckage said the direct opposite. “Send it.” The first file came through while I was still holding the phone to my ear. It was an audio clip. I put it on speaker and set the phone on the coffee table between the bottle and my glass, and I listened to a woman who sounded like Sandra laugh about how easy it was to keep a man on a string once you learned which words made him soft.I played it again. Then again and by the third time I wasn't even listening for what she was saying anymore. I was desperatly haunting for something that made the whole thing fake, even if it was an Ai flop that proved it's n

Stripped Bare (ii)

MAYA'S POVThe bathroom door was still shut, and I heard her throw up for the second time in five minutes, water hitting porcelain in short ragged pulls through the wall. I stood in the middle of the motel room, the retching sound making me shudder. I glanced at the door, playing with the idea in my head. I knew she would be in there for at least two more minutes, and the sound of the running tap was going to work in my favour. Two minutes was enough.Her bag was on the chair by the window. It was cracked at the corners, the strap worn thin where she'd carried it. I unzipped it slowly so the teeth wouldn't hook and brgan to ruminage through the content. First, there was a lipstick, then a folded receipt, half a sleeve of crackers, and as my hand reached the bottom, I felt something hard. I pulled it out. In my hands was a burner phone. It had a cracked screen and looked worn out. I didn't let myself think about it. I put it in my coat pocket and kept my hand moving until I found

A Friend's Poison.

Sandra's Pov"Account Permanently Disabled Due to Suspicious Fraudulent Activity."The red letters on a white screen stared back in my face. I read it in disbelief, rereading like the words might change into something else that made sense if I just looked hard enough. But it didn't. I tried again with shaky hands but same words stared back at my face. I clicked recover account, my hands were moving faster than my brain now, clicking, refreshing, typing my password wrong twice because my fingers wouldn't cooperate with what my eyes were seeing. But nothing worked. It was gone.My email account was gone, along side every email I had sent out in the past. Gone. The drafts I had never worked up the courage to send to Zadok explaining what my father had done, the ones I'd rewritten a dozen times trying to find words that wouldn't sound insane, gone. The call logs that would have proven, that I tried and tried and tried to reach him and I wasn't the liar the world had said I was? Gon

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