Maxwell’s fork clattered to the plate as frustrated anger built inside him.“I think you should leave now, Celia,” he said very slowly, as he looked down at his plate.“I am sorry for disappointing you, sir, but I am not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what is eating you up, of course.”Maxwell gave her a forbidden look which she countered with a smile.Then she raised her finger and said “You know what? I already know what is eating you up, but the question is, what are you going to do about it? Apparently, your plan of drowning away your problem did not seem to be working.”“It was working just fine before you got here,” Maxwell said as he pushed the plate away from him.“Keep lying to yourself,” Celia said. Then answer, “While you are at it, kindly answer my question.”“What question?” Maxwell snapped, even though he remembered what she had asked.What would she want? Apparently, she wanted nothing from him!She wanted nothing to do with him!And she couldn’t care less if he
Reyona couldn’t remember the last time she had been this carefree.As she approached the borders of Sydney, she wondered why she had never taken this much time to herself.She had always been so careful about everything.The old Reyona would never have dared what she had done in the past month.She looked at herself in the car mirror and flicked back her red hair.Who could have thought that she would have dared to go for such a bold colour?She had never even tinted her hair before.Not even in college where her coursemates had seemed to go through the hair colour craze at a point.Yet here she was with a hair tint so artfully done that one could have mistaken her for a natural redhead.She smiled as she looked at her fuller face and nodded her head in sync with Aria’s new song, “Here For You.”As she stopped at the checkpoint and watched the border security do their thing, she thought of a popular saying that couldn’t be more than true for her at the moment.“Out of sight, out of mi
“You are so full of surprises these days, you know?” Toria said as she tossed the shrimp cracker into her mouth.“What can I say? I aim to please.” Reyona answered with a shrug as she leaned back in the lounge chair.They were in the garden oasis in the backyard of her Bellevue Hill home.Kayooma still can’t get over the perfect blend of sophistication and luxury that the home offers.Phil had outdone himself.She removed her slippers and trailed her toes over the lush grass just outside the paved path of the oasis.Of all the beauty of the interior of the house, the oasis had easily become her favourite place.She loved the serenity of the lush greenery and the swirling fairy structures at the entrance of the oasis never failed to amuse and intrigue her.She couldn’t get enough of the sound and fresh scents that came from the small babbling brook that cut through the backyard into the property of the neighbouring house as well.Reyona loved everything just as she loved her new carefr
“Toria!”“What?!”“Get out of that car now!”“What are you talking about?!” Toria asked as she gunned the engine.“I am talking about; I am not letting you drive in that state of yours. And I am tired of running after you.” Reyona said as she got to the car and went around to the driver’s side. “Get out. I am driving.”“But…”Reyona gave her a look and she unbuckled her seatbelt.“Fine” Instead of getting out of the car, she scooted over to the passenger seat and Reyona got in the driver's seat.“You need to hurry,” Toria said anxiously.“I am not going to get us killed in the process. Where?” “Chippendale,” Toria said as she quickly put on the seat belt.Reyona quickly input the address into the map navigator and drove as fast as she could.She looked sideways to see Toria tapping her finger nervously against the window.“What exactly is going on? Who is back?” Reyona asked to calm her sister.“Her motherfucking, restraint-order-defying husband. He is back and she is all alone!”Rey
Thomas Lanoth kept his face passive as he walked out of Ironshield Security Solutions.He walked further and turned the corner before he pumped his fist in the air.With excitement, he hooted. “Oh yeah!”Finally!He was finally on his way back!He was not afraid of hard work, and would work his way back to his right spot in life!He might have fallen off the wagon because of different circumstances, but he was going to get everything back eventually.If he could get a job, then he could do anything.He had heard that ISS was the top security firm in Sydney, which means they only work for the top companies too.Thomas was counting on that.He was going to get to work at a top company.He would be so diligent at his work that the owner of the company would soon notice him.Very soon, he would be made the chief of security. From there, he would have access to a better position.Very soon, he would get back everything he had lost.This time, it wouldn’t be because of anyone.He was going
“So that will be all for today. Charlotte, tell Ryan to send me those data as soon as possible. I need them before the end of the day”.“Yes, ma.”“Okay, then.” Reyona waved.“Bye, for now, boss. I am so looking forward to the day we will have you here in the flesh, you know,” Phil said with a smile.“Soon, Phil. Soon. Everything in its time. You are doing quite fine.”Samantha cleared her throat loudly and Reyona smiled.“So are you, Samantha. You are doing a brilliant job.”“Thank you, ma,” Samantha said with a preening smile that made Phil roll his eyes. “You look so good, by the way.”“Thank you,” Reyona said.“I didn't realise we were sucking up to the boss today. I will have come with my A-game, you know.” Phil said with a smile.Samantha rolled her eyes and said “Hey, I don't need to suck up, you know. Acting CEO here, in case you are missing it.”“I am the one with the title of CEO attached to my name, remember? You should attach some respect to that, miss.”Samantha laughed h
“There is nothing wrong with your body, ma’am. You are perfectly fine.” the doctor assured Reyona.The look on her face was enough to let the doctor know that she was not buying her explanation at all.The woman leaned back in her seat and said “I am sure you trust us to take very good care of you, madam. Dr Romano also recommended me because he knew I will do what is best for you and your baby. You are in good hands, ma. I just need you to trust me.”“I do trust you, okay? That is why I asked you to do the ultrasound, so you can be sure that my baby is fine. Though I still don’t want to know the gender yet, I believe what you said that the baby is fine. But I don’t…” she shrugged as she unconsciously lowered her voice. “I mean this urge is just weird, you know. I think I will take the regular morning sickness that most people dread over this.”The doctor smiled and said “I doubt that, ma. Not when you have to go through it nonstop at least.”“Anything is better than this,” Reyona sai
“Boss, I am so, so sorry. I have no idea that…”“That you were going to fall sick? Who has prior ideas about stuff like that? Come on, stop worrying your head and get the rest you need.”“It’s just that I understand that you had no intention of showing up now, and yet I messed it up. I…”Phil’s croaky voice turned into a wracking cough that had Reyona wincing from her end.“Sorry, are you sure you don’t want me to come take you to the hospital? I can do that and still…”“No, no….” cough “I have done enough. I can just…”“Babe, you really need to stop talking. You are going to keep hurting your throat.”Reyona raised her eyebrows in amusement as she heard Phil shush the male voice at the other end “Sshh. I am talking to… this is important, okay?” cough.“Oh, I am sorry, but you shouldn’t be talking this much. See? We need to go to the hospital right now. Jeez, babe, you are burning up.”“I know… I… just…go, okay. I need to…”Phil must have covered the phone because Reyona stopped heari