Josh was in the guest room—the one he had been occupying ever since he woke up from the coma—when he heard something crash outside his room.His heart leapt into his throat, and blame it on the deeply seated paranoia in his bones, before he could help himself, his brain was flipping through the worst-case scenarios.In seconds, he had thrown open the doors and seemed ready to save or tackle whatever it was.To his surprise, it wasn’t either Caleb or Elena who needed the help, it was Kelsey.And to his absolute horror, she was lying on the floor with her back to the wall, broken pieces of a vase scattered all around her.Before Josh could come to a conclusion about what the hell he was witnessing, the sister of his dead wife hiccuped.“Josh!” she practically sang his name, her eyes a little droopy. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t…” she wiped her face with the back of her hand. “…I didn’t see the vase. Who the hell keeps a decorative right in the middle of a hallway though?” She tried to get up bu
Josh stormed back into the room, feeling like breaking someone’s face.Goddammit! Who the fuck did she think she was to sputter such nonsense like that? And about her own sister? Who the fuck did that? And why? What did she think she would gain from it? Why did she try to stain the name of his wife?God, he was pissed off.Shaking his head, he went to his study and took a bottle from the small bar in the corner. He poured himself a tumbler full of whiskey and gulped it down without pause. He winced, his throat burning with a sensation that almost hurt.But he held it in. He slammed the empty tumbler back on the table before making himself another round.Shit.The last time he wanted to get drunk this badly was a long time ago.But now, he just wanted to keep drinking until everything that dumb bitch had said about his wife was drowned by the alcohol. He just wanted to forget about it, forget it in a way that he never remembered the conversation ever happened.Could he do that? Was it
It was the worst night of her life.Elena Matthews sat in the dimly lit movie theater, her fingers absently tapping on the armrest as she watched the huge screen flicker to life with images of love and betrayal.A sudden vibration in her purse, alerted her to a new message.With a furrowed brow, she discreetly retrieved her phone and unlocked the screen, her heart racing at the sight of the notification. A text from an unknown number. The message was brief yet jarring, causing her breath to hitch in her throat as she read the words that would forever alter the course of her life.“Hotel Sunset. Room 721.”Her hands shook uncontrollably as she brought the device up to her face, reading the last text once again.Suddenly, Elena was consumed by rage. Clutching the phone tightly to her chest, she grabbed her purse and bolted out of the theatre.She could explain to Danika later. Her best friend’s new movie screening was important, but it paled in comparison to the chaos now unfolding in h
The slap on Elena’s face stung like a bitch, but instead of snapping back or stopping the abuse of her mother-in-law, she chose to swallow her anger down her throat.It was not the time. Or the place.“How dare you do this to my son? How dare you? It is because of you he’s in this condition right now. All because of you.”Well, that certainly wasn’t a lie. No matter which way you looked at it, the truth remained the same. If it weren’t for the rage that blinded her, she wouldn’t have struck her husband with the largest vase in the room. And she certainly wouldn’t have stood there, watching him bleed to death after the blow to his head.Thankfully, Cecelia knew what to do, the same adopted sister her husband had been fucking for God knows how long. Even the thought of his betrayal brought a bitter taste to her mouth, shot a piercing pain through her chest and made her want to scream her head off.Elena clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought to keep her compo
The Aristocrat Health Institute was one of the best private hospitals in the world.Not only was it the most prestigious, but not everyone could afford to pay its exorbitant fees. Despite this, many people high on the social ladder, including powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business tycoons, sought medical treatment here. The highly trained and experienced doctors and nurses working there were always ready to go the extra mile for their patients.The Aristocrat Health Institute was also owned by the Matthews and Sons Group.But ten years ago, Elena Matthews had left everything behind so she could prove her worth to her father.If her father’s words were to be believed, Elena was never going to get anything in the business anyway. Her brother was everything her father wanted: smart, obedient, and business-minded like their father. However, the one thing that set the father and son apart was the faith her brother had in Elena.Her brother, Josh Matthews, always had her back, no m
For hours, Elena sat next to her brother. She held his hand, whispered prayers and words of encouragement in his ear, anything to keep him with her. But nothing seemed to work. He was in a deep, seemingly endless, coma. When the doctors finally came in and asked her to step outside, she refused. “I’m not leaving,” she told them firmly. “But Madam—” “I said I’m not leaving.” The doctors shared a concerned look before turning back to her. “All right,” one of the doctors agreed. “But we’re going to have to run a few tests on him, so if you could please step outside the room for a bit, we’d appreciate it. And I’m not sure if someone informed you or not, but Mr Matthews' son has been shifted to the children’s ward. He might wake up soon, so maybe you should…check on him.” Elena swallowed, wiping her wet lashes. The doctors were right. She should check up on Caleb, now that he was out of the observation room. She could always come back to Josh later. Or maybe she should finally visi
One year and six months later.“The car is ready, ma’am.” Betty Adams told Elena, as she stepped out of the airport and glanced around the familiar city.New York had been her home for more than a decade, but after Richard’s betrayal and the accident that shattered her once-perfect life into millions of painful pieces, she couldn’t stay any longer. She needed a break. A change in the scenery. And so did Caleb. The boy had lost his mother and had almost lost his father, too, if not for Elena who refused to pull the plug.Elena nodded and adjusted the sunglasses on her face.She was tired, jetlagged, and hungry.After spending a year and a half in Milan, Italy, she was finally back home.Betty, her trusted personal assistant, led the way towards the awaiting car.Elena followed her, her mind drifting to everything that had happened over the past year and a half.It was still hard to believe that her brother had been in a coma for so long. She thought he would wake up after a few days, b
The next morning, as Elena barely stepped out of the car on her way to the NYC office, a beautiful woman in an equally stunning designer dress stood in front of her, blocking her way. Elena frowned, her four guards mere microseconds away from pushing the woman aside, when Elena’s gaze fell on the woman’s face, and a smile, full of surprise, cracked across her lips. “Danika?” Elena chuckled, silently gesturing her guards to stand back as a familiar face smiled brightly at her. “You slut!” Danika grinned, throwing her arms around her best friend. “You’re actually back, and the first thing you do is head for work? What kind of joke is that? Get on that phone and cancel all your plans. Today, you’re all mine. We are getting shit-faced drunk, and you’re telling me EVERYTHING. Is that understood?” Elena hugged her friend before pulling away. “Don’t you think it’s too early to get drunk?” Danika laughed heartily, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Not early enough to not have a good tim