DAMIAN I looked up from my computer in surprise as Anton settled himself into the chair opposite mine with an odd expression on his face. He proceeded to steeple his hands over his chin, jerked his head towards the computer and asked if I was about done. I pushed aside my computer and turned to him. "You didn't tell me you were coming.” "I didn't know I would be coming either, but I just had to so I could impress the seriousness of the situation on you. I didn't think just a phone call would do." "What situation?" I asked curiously, wondering what would have made him leave work very early on a weekday to come see me. It wasn’t like he usually didn’t do that but he had been busy recently. Anton suddenly leaned forward. "Tell me. Have you told that woman that the deal you struck with her is off?" "What woman?" "Who else? Monique, of course." "Ah. Monique? And since when did she become 'that woman'? Last I remember, you were going on and on about her, singing her
DAMIAN “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I slammed my hand aggressively on my steering wheel, my mind hazy with thoughts. How did I get myself into this mess? Monique was a psycho, and I just fell right into her clutches. I drove like a madman all the way home. I could feel my heart racing as I clutched the steering wheel, trying to beat the traffic. I jumped out of the car before it was barely parked and dashed inside. The moment I got in, I yelled for Molly. She came running from the kitchen. "Call a technician," I barked. "Now!" She nodded and hurried off. I began to walk around the house, looking out for cameras. I had to find out if Monique had also bugged my house. If she had, I had to get rid of the cameras before Amelia returned. "The technician is on his way, sir," Molly returned. “Sir, is everything alright?” "Tell me... and think carefully before you answer. Has any form of maintenance taken place here recently?" She thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes. Three days b
DAMIAN I woke up the following day with the hope that everything would have blown over, that someone somewhere had realized that all the accusations against me couldn't possibly be true. How wrong I was! If anything, the lies against me had even gotten worse. When I surfed the net that morning, I found that even more 'proof' about me being a child trafficker had surfaced. Monique was undoubtedly working around the clock to make sure I was ruined. She was doing a pretty damn good job of it. I paced my room, thinking of what to do, of what other steps to take to nip this situation in the bud. On my return from the window, I spotted my phone. Without thinking, I grabbed it and dialed Monique's number. She picked up on the very first ring, and I wondered if she had been sitting by her phone, waiting for me to call. "Monique," I growled. "This ends now." "What ends?" she drawled. "You have had your fun, and it ends now. Listen, I give you less than twenty-four hours to take
AMELIA It was funny how people are always able to think of the right things to say after a confrontation was over. This was exactly my case now. There were so many things I wanted to tell Noah, so many things I had just thought of, things that would have taken him down a peg or two. But he had more or less the last word with that jibe about my inability to conceive. Somehow, I was paranoid that he was right. That I was somehow barren and destined to have no kids. I didn’t have any evidence to prove he was wrong so silence was all I could offer. My day was totally and utterly ruined. As soon as I pulled up in front of the house, I grabbed the groceries on the passenger seat, and marched angrily into the house. And then my anger deflated the moment I saw Damian. He was on the living room settee. The television was on, but muted and I could see that the news vultures as I had taken to calling them, were running yet another news feature on the child trafficking case against him. H
AMELIA THREE DAYS LATER I smoothed my hands over my dress. The dress, bought specially for the occasion of the gala was beautiful, fitted me to perfection. I knew that, but still I was nervous, very nervous. I tried to hide my nervousness from Damian but with each passing minute, it got worse. Perhaps it was because this was the first time I was attending an event of this kind without Damian or anywhere close to me. And then there was the fact that this was my first real outing since the scandal Monique had stirred up. I didn’t know what people would say about me or if I would eventually be allowed into the venue. What if they invited me to humiliate me? I had a thousand questions running through my mind and I had answers to none. "Nice," Damian's voice came from the doorway. I yelped in surprise, my hairbrush falling from my hand and onto the floor. I bent to pick it up but Damian beat me to it. I smiled weakly. "Sorry. It's just nerves, I guess. I'm a little jumpy t
AMELIA The whole hall went so silent that one could hear a pin drop. I had been expecting this, of course. I would have been a fool not to, but the silence was unnerving all the same. I fought the urge to cower, to back down. Instead I held my head high, looked right at the MC. These people thought the Donovans were finished, but I was going to correct that impression no matter what it took. The silence was broken by the MC clearing his throat while adjusting the bow tie of his midnight blue suit. He took a sweeping look at the crowd and his shock changed to amusement at their surprised faces. He chuckled and said, "Mrs Donovan. This is rather... unusual." He stole a glance at the table close to the stage where the mayor sat cleaning his glasses and blinking like an owl. "I will need a second to ask the mayor if you can accept the award on his behalf." There was a rumble of conversation the moment the MC got off the stage. I kept my eyes fixed on their exchange, ignored th
AMELIA Bright and early the next morning, I was at the mayor's office. I was so excited to be there, hoping we were to immediately start preparations for the yearly project. "He is expecting you," the secretary said immediately I introduced myself. "Please step into his office. He will be right with you." I nodded my thanks, confidently marched into his outer office and immediately stopped short. Already seated in one of the chairs, smirking and looking very pleased with himself was Noah. After recovering a little, I took a seat as far away from him as possible. I ignored him, but couldn't help noticing that he kept smiling sheepishly. What was his doing at the mayor’s office? And why did he have that dirty look of his? Minutes later, the door to the mayor's inner office opened. He appeared at the door and smiled at us. "Mrs. Amelia. Mr. Noah. Please, come right in. I was making some urgent phone calls just now. Sorry for keeping you both waiting." I frowned. I thou
AMELIA I was nervous, but again, I took my time to painstakingly go through the contents of the bag I was carrying. I brought out the bulky file, taking special care not to crease the edges. A glance at the wall clock told me I still had a little time left before leaving to meet with membegs of the board. I flipped through the file again, checking if I had not forgotten anything essential for the meeting. The proposal, which I had worked on throughout the previous day and mainly during the night, was good, at least to me. I just hoped the board would not be biased like the mayor had promised. A hand fell on my shoulders. I flinched a little and almost dropped the files. Before they could slip from my grasp, Damian's hands shot out from behind me. He grabbed it, closed it and handed it over to me. "I startled you," he said. He came to stand in front of me so he could look me over. "You look stunning... and very smart." I looked at my clothes: a dark blue pantsuit and match