Before We Knew It Novels & Stories

Because we both knew what that had been. A message. A reminder. We see you. And they didn’t care that I was watching back.

B‍e⁠fore me,‌ bef‌ore the company, bef‍ore t‌he scandal and b‌efore our ma⁠r‌ri‌age bec⁠ame compl‌ica‌ted‌‌. Sh‍e had a‌ life here, a sma⁠ll⁠ li​fe, perhaps, but one she ha‌d b‌uil⁠t with⁠ h‌er own‌ hands​ a‌⁠nd‌ somewh‌ere along the wa⁠y⁠, I h⁠ad bec‍ome​ s⁠o consu‍med with protecting‌ h‍e‌r that I had forg‍otten som‍eth‍ing‍ imp​ortant‍.

It was mid-Feburary and the leaves had started to change from it's greeny nature to a slightly light brown, kinda carton colour nature. It was Saturday, so we didn't really have much to do. After the oh-so-dramatic breakfast in the morning and the phone call with Zacks mum, we decided to go grocery shopping since I would be staying a while. So, there we were in the mall heading towards the grocery section with I, pushing the trolley and Zack, at the back like a protective boyfriend/bodyguard. We each had different yet similar tastes so as we walked, we put whatever we liked in the cart.

And as we set into motion, preparing to fight back, I knew one thing: whatever this test was, we wouldn’t let it break us. Because together, we could face anything. But what we didn’t know was that Robert was already two steps ahead of us. And the game was about to change.

Searching. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well… you were taking too long, so I just guessed." A beat. "Am I right?" I swear my heart nearly bursts. I want to hug him. Shake him. Cry. He remembered. Not consciously, not fully— But his body remembered me. His mind remembered me. Something in him still knew me. "Yes," I breathe quickly, turning to Alex. "That’s what we want." Alex just stares at us—between me, between Hermes—with his lips pressed into a hard line.

How did I not see it before? He knew who I was when he approached me, the realisation slams into my chest. I don't know why I didn't think about it before. When we spoke it sounded like he knew more about me than he was letting on. It felt weird back then, more than weird but I pushed it out of my mind before it could fester.

I wasn’t sure where the road would take us, but I knew one thing for sure: we weren’t running anymore. We were going to fight. ⸻

One city unprepared. The night swallowed the echoes of our footsteps. The world that thought us absent remained blissfully unaware. But we were here. And the reckoning had already begun.

I stomped off angrily, when I leave this mansion I would make sure they regret everything they ever did to me from the beginning. But one huge mistake I made was being impatient and stomping out before they could finish their discussion about me, how I wish I could turn back time but I guess it was too late for that. I continued to live in the fantasy world I created for myself with Alpha Prince Ray and of course keeping him in the dark but for some unknown reason Theresa stopped being a threat and just then I thought I had won, but the the mysery in my life had just began just like I said in the beginning.

Just to be sure. Unbeknownst to either of us, in the quiet rhythm of our bodies moving in sync, a tiny seed had been planted. Nestled deep, already starting to bloom.