Amaliah's brows furrowed as she caught Sheila staring intently at her, head cocked to the side. "What?" She asked. "I've been trying to ignore your eyes boring holes in the side of my face, but I can't do it anymore. What is it?" "You tell me," Sheila replied with a smile. "I have nothing to say," Amaliah shrugged. "Are you sure?" Sheila arched a skeptical brow. "Forgive me for bringing this up, but it's been a week since Courtney Norman showed up to ruin what I thought was Rafael's perfect image, and you look like you couldn't care less that he'd cheated on you," She stated. Amaliah sighed. It wasn't that she didn't care that Rafael had been unfaithful to her; she just wasn't ready to face it yet. Maybe next year or five years from now. "Liah?" Sheila probed. "I do care that he cheated on me. I just... I'm not ready to put a name to whatever it is I'm feeling." Amaliah replied. "Out of sight, out of mind." "Are you sure?" Sheila looked concerned. "It's okay to talk about it, y
Driving up with speed and rounding the water fountain, Caesar narrowly missed hitting the red car parked haphazardly in the driveway. Swerving at the right moment and applying the brakes, he stared at the car in shock, breathing heavily as he tried to compose himself, wondering who was stupid enough to park their car that way.Parked in the spot was an Audi R8, and there was only one person he knew who couldn't care less about how things were done, only about her own feelings: Anastasia Knight. She gracefully alighted from the driver's seat, waved at him, and shut the door. Caesar unfastened his seatbelt, opened his door, and stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut before stalking over to her, eyes blazing with barely controlled fury."I must not have made myself clear before, Anastasia," He growled. "I told you never to show up here again.""Oh please," She snorted. "I know you're still angry, but it's been almost two weeks, and I've let you be. I want to come back."Caesar s
"Where the hell is she?" Caesar wondered as he stared at the elevator doors for the umpteenth time, clutching a bottle of greek yogurt in his hand. Granted, the last time he spoke to Amaliah had been a coincidence and that had been two weeks ago. They'd not made any arrangements to meet here on the rooftop but he'd been hoping that a miracle would bring her back up here again. He had nothing to share with her, but the idea of simply sitting together, gazing at HavenHill Central's skyline, crossed his mind. He wondered when she might trust him enough to let her guard down. "Maybe never," A voice chimed in his head. "Rafael's lies could be deeply ingrained in her mind about you. Forget it." "You," An unamused female voice interrupted him from behind. Caesar turned, surprised and relieved to see Amaliah. She was here! He masked his excitement and cleared his throat. "Hi," He greeted. "This isn't a coincidence," She stated, suspicion narrowing her eyes. Amaliah was adorned in a m
Two weeks laterHe missed her and it felt as though a part of him had been severed, causing him pain. The irony lay in the fact that they weren't even friends; he had regarded her as such, but she had merely tolerated him to avoid appearing distant. No longer visiting the rooftop, he strived to conceal his emotions from Bryan, believing he had succeeded. However, Bryan barged into his office with a determined expression on his face.He realized that his illusion of control had shattered, as Bryan, the perceptive genius, had sensed his distress. Had he inadvertently revealed himself during the morning meeting with the department heads? His preoccupation had caused him to miss his own name being called until Bryan intervened with a tap. Yes, undoubtedly, it stemmed from the events of that morning."That's enough," Bryan declared, his patience worn thin. "I've given you ample time to brood. I refuse to leave until you spill the beans. It's not like you're going through a midlife crisis
Amaliah's opportunity for a discussion with Caesar was thwarted when Mark Robles, the office gossip, informed her of Caesar's one-week trip to Belize. She hadn't asked him, but he had willingly offered the information when she accidentally mentioned going up to the executive floor to see Caesar.If she were someone else, she knew he would have bombarded her with questions until he was satisfied."Why do you want to see Mr. Masterson?" Mark questioned, his raised eyebrow nearly vanishing into his hairline. "You two are seeing each other, aren't you?"Despite knowing his tactlessness and lack of a filter between his brain and mouth, she still felt offended by his assumption. She was starting to show, and office rumors were circulating about the real identity of the biological father of her baby. She knew the entire situation originated with Mark as the source, yet she hadn't bothered confronting him as she deemed it a waste of time. After all, he would only twist her words when recount
"For dust we are, and unto dust, we shall return. May the soul of our dearly departed brother, son, father and friend rest in peace.” The priest’s voice reverberated in the otherwise quiet cemetery. Amaliah’s gray eyes were glazed over; raw, dull and full of grief. She was in shock, and she would’ve collapsed on the floor and rolled into the freshly dug grave if it was not for her mother’s firm grip on her arm and her friend's support on her other side. She reached up and ran her hands through her loose ponytail, raking her fingers over her scalp. She didn't care if she bled, all she wanted was the pain and relief that came with doing that. The scrunchie she had put in place to hold her hair came off, and her lush brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her limbs were stiff and her legs threatened to give way under her. A dizzying feeling washed over her and bile rose in her throat. The coffin was lowered into the open grave, and Amaliah started to tremble. The priest grabbed a
Amaliah's friend, Sheila Brown was perched on the kitchen counter eating from a bag of chips and chatting with Amaliah when the latter's phone rang. “Hello, am I onto Amaliah Rivers?” a gruff voice spoke up on the other end the instant Amaliah picked up the phone. “Yes, this is Amaliah Rivers speaking. Who is asking?” She placed her cellphone between her ear and her shoulder and continued to chop carrots for the salad she was making. “This is Ted Williams. I'll go straight to the point ma'am. I work for a loan shark, and we deal with loans and investments. Your now-deceased husband, Rafael Rivers took up a loan of $350,000 with an interest of $150,000 to be paid back after five months. All attempts to get across to him have been futile, and after making our findings, we heard that he was buried three months ago. Fortunately, I was able to get your contact information from a source. So I'm calling now to know how and when you intend to make the payment." The knife clattered to th
Whenever they were asked, Rafael would say it was love at first sight. It was for him, but his wife didn’t quite agree that it was so on her part. For Amaliah, it was an intense attraction at first sight, but it wasn’t love, she was sure about it. They met on a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the summer, after Amaliah’s shift at the coffee shop downtown. He had first caught sight of her a few days before then, but she had no idea. She had been standing in front of the coffee shop, consoling a lady whose shoulders were heaving with sobs. From their body language, he guessed they were friends, and he watched in admiration as Amaliah finally succeeded in making the crying friend smile and wipe her tears. It was a beautiful view, and he felt good watching them. Not many people could make someone smile after they just cried their eyes out. He came to the coffee shop for a few days after that, watching her until he was able to take note of when she usually got off work. On that Th