I swallowed hard, and halted in my tracks. That voice belonged to none other than Jordan - my ex-husband. My heart was beginning to thump fast in fear. My instincts were right after all. Was he the mystery caller? How did he get my contact? And how did he find out about Tristan? ''Emily?'' my tone had a hint of surprise in it. I should have guessed this right. The moment Emily walked into the scene, I knew she was the brain behind everything.''Hello, Ivy,'' she sneered at me with a haughty smile as she walked over to Jordan, ''Or should I say, Valerie?''This was a joke. No, it had to be one! This wasn't happening. Emily wasn't standing with Jordan, maybe I was hallucinating or imagining weird things. But, on a second thought, they were both standing side by side and sneering at me. What if Emily had told Jordan about the twins I had for him while in jail? What if he had Kyle and Khloe in his custody? What if my kids were with him? No, that couldn't happen!''Emily,'' my teeth gri
As I slowly opened my eyes, the harsh reality hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in a cold, dark room, my body aching all over. The memories of the previous night's events came flooding back, and I felt a wave of fear wash over me."Tristan?" I whispered, my voice shaking."Valerie, oh, thank God you're awake," Tristan exclaimed, rushing to my side. "I was so worried about you. What did they do to you?"I winced in pain as I tried to sit up. "Jordan...he knows about Kyle and Khloe. He took them away from me."Tristan's expression turned from concern to anger. "That bastard. I'll make sure he pays for what he's done to you."I felt a surge of gratitude towards Tristan. "You saved me, Tristan. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened to me."Tristan's eyes locked onto mine, filled with determination. "We're going to get your children back, Valerie. And we're going to make sure Jordan can never hurt you again."I nodded, feeling a sense of hope for the first time in da
''I need to do something to silence Jordan for good,'' I muttered as I walked around aimlessly in the house. He had managed to hurt me, but I was prepared to show him that I wasn't the naive Ivy Winters he got married to ten years ago. I was now the powerful and fearless Valerie who was tougher and rougher.''You need to rest,'' Tristan tried pacifying me, seeing the worried look on my face that threatened to worsen my health, ''We can talk about getting back at your ex-husband later,''I halted abruptly. Emily... Emily had the right to give information about my twins to Jordan. She betrayed me even after knowing everything I went through in jail. How could she forget so suddenly? She was my prison warden!''I can't rest,'' I threw back at Tristan, declining his suggestion, ''Jordan now knows about our children. He's taking them away from me. And the fact that I haven't seen them since they were born is weighing me down. I have to do something,''Tristan knew better than to keep argui
As we drove away from the party, Hailey looked at us with a mix of confusion and fear. "What's going on, Aunt Valerie?" her tiny, innocent voice asked me, "Where are we going?"I smiled, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry, Hailey. I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay?" The little girl nodded her head, still sipping her fruit drink.Tristan glanced at me from the rearview mirror, his eyes warning me to be careful. We couldn't let Hailey suspect that we had kidnapped her and that we were using her as leverage against her father - Jordan.Meanwhile, back at the party, Aurelia was starting to panic. She looked around frantically, searching for her daughter. "Hailey! Hailey, where are you?" she called out, but there was no response.She rushed over to Jordan, her voice trembling. "Jordan, Hailey's gone missing! I can't find her anywhere!"Jordan's face turned red with anger. "What do you mean she's gone missing? She was just here a minute ago!"Aurelia's eyes welled up with tears.
Two people were hurt. They were innocent people who were a victim of the circumstances regarding my quest for revenge. Watching Hailey's little body drop to the cold floor unconsciously, I couldn't help but feel the hot tears that were streaming down my cheeks.I didn't plan to hurt her. I didn't plan for any of this to happen. Tristan was rushed by an ambulance to the nearest hospital. And I couldn't bring myself to look as his body was wheeled to the emergency unit. My tears kept pouring in full force and without my control. And, my thoughts kept drifting off to Hailey.What if she was dead? I would never be able to live with myself, or even forgive my actions. I know it was a mistake, but I ended up hurting my own blood. I saw Hailey as a daughter of mine, and she trusted me so much not to care about seeing her parents for days. She loved and respected me. And what did I do to her in return? I had pulled the trigger on her little, tender body.I knew Jordan would come for me if Hai
It was funny to think that barely six months after I got released from jail, I was back in it. I felt stabs of pain too, just sitting in there and knowing I was jailed for something that was clearly unintentional.But, the law wasn't going to believe me. They didn't see things like that. Unintentionally or not, I had hurt a little girl. And, I still had no idea if she had survived the bullet or not.Tristan… what about Tristan? He had done nothing but try to save and make me get all I wanted. For the few months since we found each other, it had been pure bliss. Never had I imagined seeing a kind soul like him, but now he was hurt. And it was nothing but my fault.Jordan wasn't arrested, even when it was known that he had shot Tristan in his chest. I was paying for my crimes, but he was still living out there in freedom.‘’Maybe I shouldn't have tried to take revenge. It's all a disaster,’’ I kept wailing and crying to myself while sitting on the cold walls of the prison. Now, that I w
‘’About Hailey…’’‘’Yes? What happened to her?’’ I probed at him, already feeling uneasy at his hesitation. He kept quiet for a few more seconds, heaved a deep sigh, then stared at me uneasily, ‘’She's alive… Hailey survived,’’‘’My sweet little girl,’’ I cried out in happiness and relief, placing a hand over my mouth in surprise, “I’m so happy right now. Thank God she survived,’’Tristan nodded his head, then clicked his tongue as he watched me sob. Now that I knew Hailey had made it alive, I was willing to retrace my steps and make a change. This whole madness with Jordan, Aurelia, and Elena had to end.‘’We have to put an end to all this, Valerie,’’ Tristan uttered to me, like he could read my mind and thoughts, ‘’I think it's best if we get what we want without hurting innocent lives. Let's be more careful with our actions and decisions,’’I nodded in agreement with him. I wasn't going to keep on making innocent people suffer and get hurt. All I had to do was find a more safer way
I knew Aurelia wasn't bluffing. She was definitely going to come for me after what happened to her daughter. I watched Hailey closely with tears in my eyes. My bullet had gone straight to her left leg, and it was making her leap.‘’Aurelia, just listen to me,’’ I said to my stepsister in a pleading tone, ‘’I really didn't mean for that to happen. I mean, I love Hailey so much like my own daughter,’’She scoffed at my words, clicking her tongue as she bit down her lips in anger. I was the one who wanted to get back at them at all costs, but here I was, pleading and begging the ones who had done nothing but made my life miserable from the start.‘’I know I wronged you, Ivy,” Aurelia sounded like she was about to cry, and I could feel my tears forming too as she spoke to me, ‘’But, never will I even have the thoughts of hurting your own children. Hailey did nothing to you. I pleaded with you to not hurt her, but you broke your promise. You almost took the life of my only child!’’ My tea