Chapter 37Astra woke up with the comfortable feeling of someone holding her, and then she was blissfully sore. She froze for a moment as she realized what her being sore meant, last night was not a dream. Astra knew that a dream could not be so vivid and clear. She was with Nicholas night, she was still with him this morning.Astra turned and saw Nicholas sleeping soundly beside her, she took a deep breath as she confirmed it was not Jared. That would have been an issue. Now that Astra was sure that it was Nicholas sleeping close to her, she was not sure what to do with that information. She was scared, angry, and frustrated. She just had sex with Nicholas, and she willingly did it. She just fucked the man that threw her out of his house while she was pregnant with his child, the man that made her pass through so much pain and disgrace. Astra frowned as she remembered how much of an alcoholic she became over time and the fire that had damaged her skin and made her need plastic surger
Astra zipped up her box for the camp. She was ready to leave. She wrapped her hair hair up in a by and straightened her white shirt over her dark jean trousers."Are you set?" Jared asked from her living room. He had gotten to her place a little early."Yeah, I am good," she replied. Astra decided to forget all about what happened with Nicholas and move on. It did not really matter so much, and she was not exactly in her right senses when it happened, she could not also blame Nicholas either as she remembered inviting him to her bed. She also slept in the nude."Okay, then, let's get going," Jared said and helped her with her box. Astra wondered the reason why Nicholas wanted to make her jealous with Sarah as they got into the car. That part of the story was never really clear to her, she needed more validation in that respect."So tell me a bit about your friends, I don't want to be lost when I get there," Astra said. She really needed to stop thinking about Nicholas so much."Well,
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