Anne It all felt like a dream. The moments with Vincent felt like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from. He transformed what I had imagined was going to be the worst year of my life to the exact opposite. He showed me the true meaning of love and care. Not just towards me, but to my family. He visited almost every evening to have dinner and spend time with us. It was now a routine to discuss health matters with mum during dinner, play with Joan till she goes to bed, then chat with Makayla and me till the late hours of the night before going back to his hotel. On weekends, we would all go on a brief stroll to the park. Sometimes, Makayla would call her boyfriend Matthew and he’d join us. The lockdown created a lot of restrictions, but it didn’t deter our fun. We made use of the open places and kept the social distance in crowded areas. On days he couldn’t make it due to work, I’d scurry over to the hotel, spend annoying minutes at the entrance, then spend the remaining beautiful b

Anne I braced myself as we entered Vincent’s family house. We had gone straight to his house and dropped our stuff right after we landed, before heading for the family house. I was scared. More like terrified. I knew things weren’t going to go down so well. All I did was brace myself for the worst and hope my defense would hold. The entire house was eerily quiet when we arrived. It was still the early hours of the evening, at about 6 pm. The time I was here, 6 pm, was dinner time. Everybody would have come down and the house would’ve been alive with chattering and sounds of cutlery against plates. But that wasn’t happening. Before returning, we had discussed deeply the challenges we would face when we got back. It was during this discussion that I told him about Joshua and the info he shared with me before I left. Vincent told me that Joshua had told them everything before traveling, but the tale wasn’t as detailed and disturbing as mine. Being the manipulative guy he was, I knew J

Anne The blow never came. The first second went by. The second, third went by, still nothing. I was sure it should have arrived already. Did I pass out even before I could feel the pain? I highly doubted it. I still felt conscious of my surroundings. A few more seconds went by before I slowly squinted my eyes open. Andrew was standing right in front of me. His fist was still in the air. From the looks of things, it never came down. He had stopped. I felt Vincent’s chest directly behind me. I turned my head and saw his hand midair, still ready to stop the blow from landing successfully. His other hand was gripping tightly to my upper arm. I guess he sprang back the second I pulled him aside and was aiming to pull me aside too, judging by the firm grip he had on me. I looked into Andrew’s eyes and saw the intensity of his anger slowly seep away, replaced by another intense emotion. It was pain. I saw pain in form of steamy tears fill his eyes. His lips quivered as he stared into

Vincent He might have been seen as the devil, or the soulless surgeon, but my dad had a heart. He just didn’t allow people to see it. It made him feel weak and vulnerable. All kind gestures, almsgiving, and anything relating to showing care to the outside world were done in secret. This was why people felt all he did was take from the society and, asides from saving lives, had never given to charity or anything of that sort. He always called it “tough love”. My dad might have shown little to no emotions concerning the current dispute between my brother and me, but would you believe me if I told you it bothered him the most? It kept him up at night. He had known right from the party where he first met Anne that something would go amiss. He mentioned that to me. He said and I quote, “Anne Marie Scott is one of a kind. Most men would find her worthy to be by their sides, including my sons.” Naturally, he pays attention to details. He scrutinizes all his doings and that of his subordin

Andrew “All I ever hear you say is how much you love that lady. But, I’ve never heard her return the gesture. Don’t you think it’s a one-sided love?” My dad asked from where he sat behind his oak table. “She wouldn’t care for me the way she did if she hadn’t feelings for me, dad. She was with me, throughout the time I made my music for the golden studios. She pushed me to keep going. She chastised me when I slacked. She gave me her honest and brutal opinion about the way I do things. She practically molded me into a better person. Who does that to a total stranger?” “She, apparently,” my dad replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. “Yes! Dad. She did. It can only mean one thing. She cares for me.” I impassioned. “Why then is she with your brother instead of you?” my dad interrogated. “Vincent brainwashed her. He went behind my back and wooed her. We all know women fall for his cool and collectedness. Plus, he has a way with words. I strongly believe Anny has been misled. She has f