Chapter 39Astra could say that she enjoyed the weekend with Jared and his friends. Apart from the awkward moment when Rina had warned her not to hurt Jared, everything else was fine. They seemed to take her like a sister and that was something that was rare to Astra. Like it barely ever happened that someone would take her so closely.She even had some painting classes from the men and even bonded with the ladies. Both Tricia and Rina were actually good artists, something that Astra did not expect.The weekend was full of laughter and vibes. She did not expect it to be so fun. She even grew closer to Jared. Astra was not still very comfortable with physical touch from him, but she could talk to him more, it was easy for her to tell him about Nicholas and about her family. She learnt to make a few dishes from Tricia and Rina, and she as officially invited to Rina's wedding. It was not something that she would miss. Astra began to view herself with Jared. It was so easy to imagine her
Astra fidgeted as she struggled to sit still. Jared was taking a sketch of her. She actually went through his sketchbook while she was at his house for the weekend and saw an unfinished portrait of herself, she was quite astonished as it was beautiful, she then volunteered to sit for a sketch on their next date, little did she know that it was going to be this stressful. "Relax Astra, you are allowed to move," Jared said, he had obviously noticed her discomfort. Astra smiled at his concern. He was just that kind of man. It was something that she was growing to love about him, his concern for others.Astra was officially Jared's girlfriend, they had grown close after she told him about the death of her daughter. Astra knew that she only told him because she was beginning to trust him more, for her it was a sign of moving on, it was the type that she needed.Jared asked her out over dinner at her place. She offered to cook for him for being there for her for so long. She had talked to
Chapter 41Astra sat on her bed thinking. What Jared told her was chilling and she was not sure how to take it. She started to feel bad, terrible for dragging him into her mess, she began to feel worried because there was a possibility that Ray might do something to hurt Jared and there was nothing she could do about that.After began to think about going through the legal route. Stephanie was still in danger and Astra had not figured out a way to bring her out of the dungeon, and now she was finding out that Ray might have done more, much more than she thought. The legal route seemed like a dead end though, as there was no evidence to show that it was actually Ray that did all of that. In the eyes of the law, all these were speculations without base. It was sad.Astra was still thinking about Ray and was wondering if he was a part of the little issues Astra and Nicholas had faced at the beginning of their marriage. They were both very much in love at the beginning, but they still had
"What is the matter? Whatever it is, we should meet, I have a lot to discuss with you," Nicholas said to Astra. Astra was a bit far from her phone when he called at first and that was why she did not pick. When she saw his missed calls, she figured it was a sign. She had to meet him and tell him about Stephanie too, maybe he will be able to help her."Okay, I will come to your place right away," Astra said. There was no need to be coy, it was a matter of urgency."Oh, okay," Nicholas said. He sounded confused by her reply but he did not say anything to show his confusion."I am at home. I will wait for you," he replied."I am on my way," Astra said before disconnecting the call. Astra fidgeted as she picked up her car keys and her purse, leaving her apartment. A lot of things were bothering her, first, there was the problem of Ray threatening Jared and the fact that it could end up ruining her relationship with him. There was also the problem of Stephanie claiming that she didn't want
Chapter 43Astra was not sure what she wanted to do with information that Theo was kidnapped. The cute little boy that looked so much like Nicholas had been kidnapped and because of her for that matter. It was not something that sat well with her. On top of that, Stephanie was still not picking her calls. That even made matters worse."Try to calm down, Sarah," Nicholas said as he rubbed her hair and held her close. Sarah was sobbing loudly and her entire body was shaking from the sobs. And it was all her fault. Astra had no idea what she wanted to do. She felt like crying too but that would be selfish on her part so she calmed down."My baby is gone. His birthday is in one week. My baby is turning one and he is nowhere to be found," Sarah said still crying."Maybe it's some misunderstanding, he will be back soon. Just calm down and relax you will be with your baby by his birthday," Nicholas said to Sarah."It was her ex that took him, I know this. He is probably trying to use him to
Chapter 44It had been twenty four hours since Theo was kidnapped and they also hadn't heard from Stephanie. Sarah was growing frantic and the kidnappers had not called, they were sure it was Ray now though. The CCTV cameras caught the car that Theo was in on camera and it was the same one that Thompson used, and they all knew it belonged to Ray. The police was trying to track Ray down to where he kept his victims, but all to no avail. It seemed like he was too smart for all of them combined. They could not figure out where he was after the entire day. The fact that a child was wit him made the situation much more complicated."I think it's time for us to draw him out," Astra said as they all had lunch together, Nicholas, Sarah, Jared and her. It had been bothering her so much over the entire day. It was all her fault. It all started because Ray wanted. If she was the one that Ray wanted, he would get her."How do you propose we do that?" Sarah asked snarkily. The woman had the good g
Chapter 45"He thought you were cheating on him?" Jared asked. Astra had even forgotten that it was not just her and Sarah at the table.Astra turned to him and sat down."It was one of Ray's tricks. He had this video and pictures. I saw them. I thought they were me. I was naked, with five men, five different locations. He also did something on fraud to make people leave Nicholas' company. Ray can be very ruthless," Astra said and Jared looked shocked."Why would he go that far? I cannot even imagine how much hurt he caused just by that. That man would hurt you Astra. He already did, and he would hurt you even more," Jared said and Astra felt even more scared."He won't hurt me, he believes he loves me," Astra said even if she wasn't convinced by her own words."You surely don't believe that Astra. Talk to her Sarah," Jared said. Astra shrugged."We will be very careful, the fact that he is dangerous makes it more obvious that we cannot leave a child and a pregnant woman with him. I w
Chapter 46"I am willing to do anything, as far as you promise to let them go," Astra said and took a deep breath. She hoped she was not making a wrong decision. She knew that it was a but reckless to make a decision at all without telling anyone in the first place, but it was an emergency and everyone would understand. Besides, she already made up her mind to set herself up as bait."Anything?" Ray asked from the other end of the phone. Astra took in a deep breath. She was grateful that she had called Yvonne earlier and asked of her baby. "Yes, anything. You have to assure me that Theo and Steph will be safe though," Astra said. She was hoping that her voice sounded as confident as she needed it to be. She was already scared. She did not need him to add to her fear."Well, in that case, you have to meet me up at the cafe in front of your house in thirty minutes. You will be one the phone the entire time, no funny business. I will let Theo and Stephanie go and I will show the video e