CIARA'S POVI waited in the Toyota Corolla I had rented, sipping coffee from the flask in my hand. This was what Tristian Ravenford had reduced me to. A stalker. I was next to his house, disguised in a brunette wig and brown contacts in my eyes, praying he wouldn't recognize me. I had taken Mrs Ravenford’s words to heart. If I really wanted my man, there was no need to sit and watch. It was up to me to fight for him, it was up to me to continue trying until I could try no more. And for Tristian Ravenford’s hand in marriage, I was willing to do more than just stalk.I was eating the cookies I had bought along with the coffee when the gates opened to reveal his car. Twisting the rearview mirror and checking it to make sure my disguise was in perfect order, I slid my hand out of the window, wanting to appear casual. He was dressed in a flannel shirt and was sitting upright in the passenger seat next to his driver, his blonde hair a messy crop on top of his head. I liked when he carried
TRISTIAN'S POVI was happy that I had persuaded Kayla into inviting me over to her house for dinner. If there was anything I wanted, it was that feeling of being close to her, that feeling of being around her. It made me feel at home, it reminded me of family, and most of all, it made me comfortable.“Tall man. Will you sleep in the same bed with my momma tonight?”I drop my phone, my face clouding with embarrassment. His smartness was becoming a real pain in the ass, and I wondered how Kayla coped with him. “I cannot say, Liam. Hopefully, let's see what the night brings.”“Are you saying it depends on my momma?”The boy is definitely too intelligent. I prayed silently that Kayla hasn't overheard us because I knew what was coming if she heard the one sleep and my momma in one sentence coming from her five years old son.“Yes, Liam. It depends on your mother. See, women are complicated creatures. Concerning them, you learn to thread with caution. If not, you'll regret in the end.”I w
KAYLA'S POVTwo years agoI hailed a taxi, my heart hammering in my chest. I was excited. This was the day I had been waiting for, the day that had kept me awake all other nights in anticipation, the day that I had planned about for the past month. It was the day that Marcus Turner and I had began dating—it was our anniversary.Marcus and I had come a long way. The first time he had approached me, I was in a restaurant with my friends, Bella and Trisha, and we had been eating chicken and chips. It was one of those days when we were bombarded with school work that we had to go to school hungry, then run into the restaurant opposite the school to have a bite before we resumed again.That day, I was very tired and in my worst state of mind. My hair was in a mess even though I had tied it in a bun that morning, and I was sure my makeup was already done for. Bella and Trisha looked the same, haggard and tired. What choice did we have? We were fighting for our degrees, we had no other choic
TRISTAN'S POVI packed up the remnants of my belongings, ignoring my mother at the door. She still had that look of disbelief on her face, and I'm pretending I've not seen it. I packed all my clothes into a duffel bag while she stared, surprised and shocked that I am serious with the proposal I made to her and my father some days ago. “You've got to be kidding me, Tristian. How are you gonna survive? Who do you know out there?”“I'll survive mum. I want independence, I don't want to be the heir to the throne you and Dad have created. I want to be my own man.”I continued packing, having just one place in mind where I could spend the night—Ciara’s house. Ever since I had met Ciara, my life had changed. I knew what love meant, she made me understand that I was an adult and not a teenager anymore, she made me understand that I was not that teenager that waited on his parents for dough anymore.That was why I had told my parents a few days ago that I wanted to live on my own and wanted t
KAYLA'S POVI was lying down on the bed even though I knew that the clock had struck eight o'clock a long while ago, I couldn't bear the pain of waking up. I couldn't even beat the thought of waking up to face the day. That was what Marcus Turner had done to me, he had succeeded in making me a wreck, a shadow of my former self.I rolled on the bed, stifling a groan. I had been crying for days till the tears refused to flow any more, and I had to gradually come to the realization that I was done crying, that I had no more tears left in me. Trisha had been a good friend so far, from accommodating me to making sure I ate even when I said I wasn't hungry, I wondered what I would've done without her. I could hear her movements in the kitchen, the frying and the beautiful aroma of the bacon and scrambled eggs that filtered into the bedroom. What Trisha lacked in physical beauty, she made up through her cooking and the inner beauty she possessed. She was very kind, and at such a low moment
CIARA'S POVAccommodating Tristian Ravenford was harder than I expected. I cleaned up after him, I washed the dishes, and I did all these things while still finding time to take care of my barbershop. It was driving me insane. I loved Tristian Ravenford, but I had to admit that I love the Tristian Ravenford with money, not the one without money. I was picking up his dirty clothes and piling them into a laundry basket, wondering when this caricature of a life was going to stop. I was tired of babysitting Tristian, and I wondered why he hadn't seemed to notice my dilemma. I was accommodating Tristian Ravenford our of love, and out of the fact that things were going to get better for him. I wondered what he had been thinking when he decided to move out of his parents house. That life was a bed of roses? I hated the fact that he thought I was going to babysit him for the rest of his life. It was irritating, and I desperately wanted him to know.I was piling the clothes into the washing
KAYLA'S POVI stared at Marcus Turner, my heart abandoning my firm resolve to never have anything to do with him disappearing as soon as I saw his beautiful green eyes and his firm jawline. He was perfect all round, just like how he had been when we had met.Trisha was staring at me, adjusting her glasses which she propped at the bridge of her nose comfortably. I knew she was waiting to see my reaction. She was waiting to see my reaction, if I was going to accept the man who had made me stay in bed for days, if I was going to go against my already concluded resolve.“Please, Kayla, come home. What happened was a mistake, and I promise it won't repeat itself.”He was begging profusely, his knee on the marble tiled floor. There was no way I was going to let the love of my life stay there, looking like a stray cat. He looked so pitiful that I had said it before I could stop myself.“Do you love her?”“Love who?” He asked, surprised. I knew I had taken it by surprise. I had to ask the qu
TRISTIAN'S POV I was beginning to notice Ciara's attitude towards me. She seemed kind of stressed out, and I could tell that it was more than just work stress. It had to do with me, and I could tell from her actions. A few days ago, she had come back late, and when I had asked her how her day went, she refused to reply, giving me the cold shoulder and the silent treatment.That was what it was now; it seemed like everybody that used to love me when I was under my parents were starting to love me less. Although the case was different with my friends, Julian and Daniels, I had cut them off on purpose, I wanted to focus, and stop partying and spending unnecessarily.That was why I was meeting up with the loan company today, ready to take the risk and start working towards my future as soon as possible.I was adjusting my tie when she came into the bedroom, her face showing that she wasn't going to entertain any reception from me. “I'm going to the loan company today, I was told that m