ELIZABETH'S POVAunty Lucy, now conscious, beamed with joy when she saw us. She couldn't let go of my hand as she grasped it tightly, tears streamed down her cheeks each time she looked at me. My mom and Uncle Stanley stood by her bedside, offering words of encouragement for her. Mr. Stanley, overcome with remorse, apologized for his previous intentions to divorce her and he vowed to remain by her side. To make Aunty Lucy feel relaxed, uncle Stanley started to crack jokes and the laughter gradually filled the room. I was also glad she had been distracted from her condition. I was jaw dropped when I saw my father standing in the ward doorway, his presence unexpected and surprising. Our laughter and mirth suddenly hushed as we all stared in disbelief. Just hours earlier, he had refused to accompany us, saying he would have nothing to do with Aunty Lucy again. And now here he was, standing before us, his face sober.My mother shared a confused glance with me, both of us struggling to

Liam's POVI was summoned to the doctor's office as the only Lucy relative waiting behind in the hospital. I made a gentle knock on the doctor's office door and was met with a calm invitation to enter.The solemn atmosphere within was immediately apparent as the doctor's face remained serious and unsmiling. Hesitantly, I took the seat the doctor offered as I anxiously waited to hear the reason for the unexpected call."Please you will need to take heart, sir". He began. My heart rate accelerated as the doctor's words began to fall upon me like a heavy blanket, suffocating my already tenuous composure.I shifted in my seat, the sharp movement a reflection of the tumultuous thoughts racing through my mind. Could Lucy's condition have worsened or what could have happened to her?. My mind was a maelstrom of questions and fears, but I knew I had to maintain my composure so as to hear whatever the doctor had to say. "We tried our best, but I'm sorry to say…." He paused, his voice heavy w

ELIZABETH'S POVAfter the baffling encounter with the strange woman, I noticed my mom's expression shrouded in mystery after she had discretely pulled her aside for a hushed conversation. The stranger, having whispered her piece, departed with as much intrigue as she had arrived. This perplexing occurrence seemed to cast a shadow over my father's mood, his silence lingering throughout our return home like a dense fog that refused to dissipate.My father's temperament, an amalgamation of fierce protectiveness and simmering jealousy, stirred like a tempestuous sea within him. Perhaps it was the sweet nothings exchanged between my mother and the strange woman that suddenly changed his mood. For my father, any display of closeness between women was akin to a treacherous path, one he adamantly discouraged me from traversing. His aversion to female friendships for me was a riddle I had yet to decipher. As the car came to a halt, my father uncharacteristically alighted without performing h

Asher's POVAs I reclined in the comfort of my room, my daughter, Elizabeth, hurriedly entered with a look of bewilderment etched on her face. "Mom". She said "There is someone at the door asking for you," she said her voice laced with perplexity. "It's a woman, and she looks like that strange aunty we met at Uncle Stanley's birthday party. I think it's that aunty Pearl". Her eyes, wide with surprise, revealed the flutter of curiosity that stirred within her.On hearing Pearl's name, panic gripped my soul, and I sprung from the bed with haste. A silent prayer ascended from my heart, a plea that it wasn't her after all. And as I dashed downstairs, my heart racing in anxious fear, I was thankful that Liam wasn't around. If Pearl had indeed graced my doorstep, Liam's presence would have ignited a storm of trouble.My feet carried me swiftly to the living room, where my worst fears were confirmed. Pearl was already sitting comfortably, her very presence an unwelcome enigma. How did she di

Asher's POVMy hands were immersed in a sudsy mountain of laundry when my phone's beep rang out, signaling a new message. I glanced at my phone's screen and saw that the message that came in was from Pearl and it read "I need to discuss something very important with you, and I would like you to come to my house to discuss it."My mind whirred with possibilities as to what she could be talking about, nothing coming to mind that couldn't be discussed via text or call. Anxiously, I dialed her number to find out if it could be discussed over the phone. The call went unanswered at first, but my persistence paid off when Pearl finally picked up. There was no friendly greeting or small talk, only her urgent message, "I'll send you my home address. It's very serious please." She ended the call after that before I could even utter a word.My mind raced with questions as I rushed to finish my laundry, speeding through the last stages of my cleaning routine. As I started to dress, a text from P