I walk out of the elevator once it reaches Axel’s floor. After we landed in Chicago, Tamara and I immediately came to Axel’s apartment complex, while Beau went to the hotel with our bags. The plan is to meet him there later. Speaking to Axel couldn’t wait. His mom even texted me to say she’s worried about him.He hasn’t shown up to work the past few days and is shutting everyone out. His mom, my Aunt Caroline, tried talking some sense into him but it didn’t work. She’s hoping Tamara and I will have better luck. So much so that she even met us in the lobby to give us her set of keys to his apartment in case Axel wouldn’t let us in.Just as we’re about reach his door, I stop in my tracks. “Camila?” I say, shocked to see her standing there. She didn’t tell me she was coming.“Hi Lilah, Tamara,” she says, her voice low. She doesn’t look good. There are bags under her eyes, and her nose is red. She’s obviously been crying. If I hadn’t seen her without makeup before, I don’t think I would e
One Year LaterI stare at Beau’s handsome face as he sleeps soundly beside me. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that we’re finally together. I softly peck his lips before slipping out of bed, making sure to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake him. I pick up my purse and walk to the bathroom with it. Opening my handbag, I take out the object I’ve been hiding from Beau since I bought it yesterday.How wonderful will it be if the result comes back positive?I take the pregnancy test, then set the timer on my phone and wait impatiently in the bathroom. Beau will be so happy if I’m pregnant. We haven’t been trying to have a baby, but I know he’ll be pleased regardless. We’ve spoken about starting a family one day, so I know it’s something we both want.After what feels like an eternity, the timer on my phone goes off. I pick up the test and see two lines. I’m pregnant.“Two lines!” I scream. I can’t believe it. It feels like a dream come true. I know this isn’t the first tim
Standing up from my chair and walking to the window with a cup of coffee, I look out and take in the scene before me. Many cars are trying to beat traffic and make it to work in the city of Austin. A crowd of people swarms the sidewalk heading towards the various buildings in the center of the city. I take a deep breath as the morning sun shines on my face. A ring sounds, snapping me out of my thoughts. Setting my coffee mug on the table, I pick up my phone. The caller ID reads Daddy with a crown emoji beside it.“Hello, Dad,” I say, answering the phone.“How are you, Delilah? Are we still on for lunch today?” “You saw me before I went to work this morning,” I reply, shaking my head and smiling. I can’t believe he’s worried about how I’m doing. “It doesn’t matter. A lot can happen in an hour or two.”“Really, Dad?” He’s nothing if not protective. If the man had his way, I wouldn’t work at all, but it hasn’t always been like this. We only became close after my mom died and I moved to
I pace up and down my office, thinking about ways to murder Beau. It felt so surreal seeing him after all this time. The nerve of him to show up today as an investor. Did he expect me to smile and welcome him? He must be on something to think I would forget what he did to me. Seven years have passed, but it doesn't mean I would open my arms wide and welcome him as if nothing had happened. It’s going to take longer than that for me to forgive him."Lilah, you need to calm down. You look like you’re about to kill someone," Camila says, sounding worried as she watches me."That's because I want to, or rather I need to." I say, fuming with anger."I’m very sorry I invited him. I swear if I knew it was the same Beau who broke your heart years ago. I would’ve never picked him to be our investor. I’m so sorry." Beau and I started dating when I was sixteen and broke up before I went to college, so Camila never met him. But she’d heard the stories."I know. You don't have to apologize. I’m sur
TWO WEEKS LATER“Morning, Lilah,” Camila says when I enter her office, her gaze staying focused on the papers in front of her.“How did you know it was me without taking your eyes off the papers in front of you?” I sit on one of the chairs in front of her desk.“You are the only person in this building who would enter my office before I say, ‘come in’.”“Oh.” I knocked but didn’t wait for her to let me in.“I know why you’re here, but unfortunately, I don’t have good news.” She finally tears her eyes away from the pile of papers in front of her, taking off her glasses. The look in her eyes only increases my worry tenfold.“Why is it suddenly so hard to find an investor?” I ask, exasperated. Camila has been trying for the past two weeks to find someone other than Beau to invest in our company, but so far, she has had no luck. I know it was hard to find Beau originally, but I don’t understand why it seems more challenging to find someone else this time around.“I don’t know, but I have
I ask the waiter to refill my glass again while waiting for Beau to arrive at the restaurant. It's been 30 minutes since I got here and no trace of Beau yet. I'm starting to think he's not coming, but I also don't think he would pass up the opportunity to have dinner with me. I'm confident that my threat will work, and Beau will back off because of where I'm from. I was born and spent some of my youth in Nigeria. His mother always hated me because of the color of my skin and didn't try to hide it. She looks down on Africans. If the bitch had her way, Africans would still be her slaves.I watch as the clock in the restaurant strikes nine o'clock, which means an hour has passed and still no sign of Beau. I can't believe he’s standing me up."Ma'am, would you like to order now?" The waiter asks for—if I’m not wrong—the tenth time tonight."No, but I would like a bottle of whatever you have been filling my glass with.""Alright, ma'am."The anger I’m feeling is all consuming, the best thi
DELILAHI move closer to the intoxicating scent around me. It smells so familiar, but I can't place where I’ve smelled it before. It smells so good that I don't even want to open my eyes to check where it’s coming from. It calms my heart and makes me want to spend the whole day wrapped around it. I let out a sigh and feel my breath bounce back against my face. That's odd; why did that happen? I slowly open my eyes to find out what's wrong. My eyes widen as I come face to face with a rock-hard chest. I quickly check my body to ensure I didn't do what I think I might have done. I know I drank a lot last night, but I am not one to have a drunken one-night stand. A breath of relief escapes me once I see I am fully clothed. Thank God, I didn't have a one-night stand.I tear my eyes away from my body and look up to see the owner of the magnificent chest in front of me. Every finger is itching to rub my hands all over this beautiful man's chest, but I stop myself because I need to know who i
"Lilah, what are you doing here so early?" Tamara asks once she opens the front door."Where do I start?" I walk past her into the house."Maybe you can start by explaining why you are wearing a dinner dress so early in the morning.""I spent the night out." I sink into one of the couches in her living room."You spent the night out! Oh my God, it's been so long. I have to ask, with whom?" Tamara asks, getting more excited by the minute. I didn't date much after Beau, so it is no surprise that Tamara is eager to hear about a date."Beau.""You had sex with Beau?" Tamara asks, wide-eyed."Of course not; I just spent the night over at his place.""How did that happen?""I don't know, but I guess he was called to the restaurant after I passed out.""You passed out at a restaurant?""Yeah," I say, staring at Tamara's TV screen."Why are you looking at the TV? It's switched off. Is something on your mind?""Beau kissed me.""He did what?""He kissed me." My hands automatically touch my lip