I came to a halt and gazed up at the full moon, which illuminated our surroundings during this quiet moment. The distant sounds of the party on my family's vast estate filled the air."Celeste," he called my name in his hoarse voice, causing me to turn towards him."Hmm?" I responded.He furrowed his brow and turned to face me, his eyes filled with an intense fear that caught me off guard.Was this related to what I had witnessed earlier?"Why, Arik?""Please, be mad. Aren't you mad with me for what you saw earlier?" His voice was pleading, and it nearly made me chuckle.He reached out and took hold of my hands."Should I be angry?" I asked him simply.The crease on his forehead disappeared, but he still seemed perplexed. His jaw clenched as he gazed at me with affection.When I had seen him hugging Hannah and crying, my first thought was to inquire why she had returned from the UK and why she was in tears.When I asked him, he

When I looked up at Liam, he was staring at me again, his expression blank."I-I need to go home, please. Someone is waiting for me. Let me go," I pleaded, but he paid no attention, instead lighting a cigarette."Who's waiting for you, then? Is it that guy Arik?" he asked firmly, leaving me momentarily speechless.When he looked at me again, a faint smirk played on his lips."The little family you built?"I was shocked to hear that. My heart raced, and I felt lightheaded.No. No. He couldn't involve innocent people in whatever he planned to do to me. This couldn't happen. Not my child."Tell me, Celeste, why can't you just let everything passed and stop involving my family with your affair? You have your own, right? Why do you have to involve dad in searching for your mother's killer?" He was fuming mad which gave me shivers in my spine.He seems to be able to hurt me at these times.I bit my lower lip hard and blinked."I don't know

My anger surged as I spoke, and I was catching my breath, fueled by hunger, the wounds on my wrists and legs, and the fact that no one had shown up to rescue me. I bit my lower lip in frustration.Arik wasn't here either. No one was coming to save me, and I didn't know what to do. It felt like my courage was fading, and escape seemed impossible."You don't know Liam that well. Maybe you're right, he's lost it. If I were you, I'd just go along with whatever he wants," Xavier advised before leaving.I wanted to ask him more questions, but it was too late. When I looked back at the table, I was shocked to see that he had left his gun. I immediately stood up even though it was difficult and jumped over to the table to pick it up.Exactly when I got the gun was the opening of the door again and the blank expression of Liam exposed to me.My chest throbbed with extreme nervousness. I simply put the gun behind me and remained standing there."You'r

The night fell when I couldn't see my daughter because I wasn't allowed to leave, and she couldn't come over. It was also a night when I couldn't connect with anyone because I suddenly lost my motivation for everything. My only thought was the longing to go home and be with Ariah because I miss her so much.I slowly sat up and glanced at Oliver, who was busy on his laptop. Aurora and Dad had left earlier since she has work tomorrow, so I didn't hold her back.I tried not to stress about Ariah's well-being because she was at the mansion, but I couldn't shake off the anxiety about what had happened to me, something I had feared.Particularly, the realization that I hadn't even been able to protect what I had been carrying with me, and it was now gone."Do you need anything?"My attention was caught when I heard that from Oliver. It was only then that I realized he was in front of me.I smiled tiredly at him but it never reached my eyes."I… I just want to ask something," I told him hesi

I felt even more burdened about telling both of them about Ariah's illness. Like Arik, Ariah had no knowledge of her own condition. How could I tell them without causing pain to any of us?"Hush, baby. I'm so sorry daddy took so long. But don't worry, I'm here. Daddy is here. I will never ever leave you again. You will never have to wait long again. Not anymore. I promise."After that emotional scene, Arik didn't speak to me anymore. He had spent time playing with Ariah, and now they were sleeping side by side in his hospital bed while I occupied my own. I couldn't help but smile as I watched them sleep, seeing how much they resembled each other.Even with their eyes closed, their similarities were striking – their eyes, sharp noses, the right amount of redness in their cheeks, the shape of their faces, and the color of their complexions. There was no denying that they were father and daughter."Feeling out of place, huh?" Kim's voice brought me bac