Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
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Zeke
I held my breath as my hand unintentionally pushed my glass off the table. It fell to the ground with a clang, smashing into pieces. “Just great.” I massaged my temple. I didn't move though. Fear curdled in my gut, as I hugged myself. The sound coming from the TV was the only source of noise in the living room. My hand subconsciously strayed to my neck.
‘It looks pretty on you.’
Denying that I didn't miss him was futile. I missed him so much to the point of pain. My phone chimed loudly, and I froze. Aside from Nessa and my parents, no one had my contact details. Except it was a spam call. Or maybe something had happened to Nessa. I grabbed the phone with a racing heart. But my eyes darkened when I saw the caller ID. My hands turned clammy with sweat, as my finger hovered over the ‘receive’ icon.
“Hello Mom?” I placed the phone on handsfree, and kept it beside me.
“Mirah, I've been trying to reach out to you for so long. A filial daughter doesn't act the way you did.” Her voice chided me from the other end.
I took a deep breath, tapping on my patience reserve. Reach out to me?
I doubted it.
Calling me only meant that Jayden had threatened them.
“I guess I'm not a filial daughter, then.” I retorted.
“The company's annual party is a week away. Come home.” She ignored my words.
“I can't.” I snapped.
She went silent, and I heard muffled voices in the background. “Father has forgiven you.” Kathryn's voice came on, and I groaned. If my family thought that a couple of calls was all it'd take to lure me back home, they needed to have a rethink.
“What makes you think I'll come home?” I sneered.
“Don't be silly, Mirah,” my sister chuckled. “I don't see what this fuss is all about. I'd kill to be in your place.” Her dreamy voice irritated me.
“Enough. Mirah, you're coming back home, and that's final.” My mother ordered.
I pushed back the urge to laugh. If my family ever decided to leave the socialite world, they could make tons of money from being comedians.
That was considering how they effortlessly cracked me up.
I tugged at the hem of my cashmere sweater, and leaned comfortably against the couch.
“What about Father?” I asked, after my mother was done rambling.
“He was pissed off after you humiliated and tarnished our family's image. But that's it. He'll come around.” She assured
The laughter finally burst out. My fear was forgotten, as I doubled over in laughter.
“Come around?” My voice hardened. “I'm not a toddler. You were present when he ordered his men to capture me dead or alive. A father can never do that to his own child.” I snapped with heat.
Silence.
“Mirah-” She began.
“No Mother, I won't let you guys make decisions for me any longer.” I cut her off.
“He'll disown you. You'll lose everything.” She said in a prim time.
“Already did. If you don't mind, I'd like to sleep now. Since you guys desperately want to become in-laws to the Jaydens, you can give Kathryn my place.” My voice cracked, betraying my hurt.
“Don't you dare hang up on me, Mirabella.” She warned.
I scoffed. “Really?”
As I hung up, I wondered how everything had gotten to this point.
In my mind's eye I could still see my loving parents. That was before we'd become rich. My father had successfully closed a deal, and our wealth had skyrocketed. But at the expense of our relationship. I tried to reconcile the woman who'd spoken to me just now, to the woman that sang me lullabies during the night when I was a child. Tried reconciling the man who'd tried marrying me off because of fame, to the man who religiously bought me vanilla ice cream during my birthday. We'd been rich before the deal, just not so much. But now, a tiny bit of me hoped things could go back to the way they were before.
I heaved a sigh, and turned off the TV. I sent Nessa a text message, and decided to retire to bed. A shower and face routine later, I snuggled beneath the duvet. I tossed and turned until I thought I'd go crazy.
“I miss you, Zeke.” I murmured. All alone in the dark, the tears which I'd been trying to keep at bay tore through my throat. I whimpered as the tears ran down my cheeks in two thick lines. Without the comforting voice of Zeke, the assurance of my best friend, I was just a weak twenty-one year old lady.
The tears rained down fast, my chest constricted, as I sobbed quietly into the sheets.
‘You'll lose everything.’
‘He'll disown you.’
‘We are worlds apart, Mirabella.’
The voices echoed through my mind, as the dam of my tears burst further. “I can't do this.” I whimpered.
‘Of course you can.’ I heard Zeke's firm voice in my mind. He was sitting on my window rail.
Great. I missed him to the point where I was hallucinating about him.
I turned my head to the side, willing myself to fall asleep.
After many sighs and hisses, it still didn't work. My hand trailed downwards towards my pussy.
It moved further, and further, till my finger brushed against my fold. A gasp escaped my lips, and I sank my head deeper into my sheets.
In my mind's eye, Zeke was no longer sitting on the window rail. He was now hovering above me, looking at me with a darkened gaze. His hand replaced mine, thrusting faster and faster. As I erupted into a mind-blowing orgasm, he brushed a finger against my cheek. “Sleep well, Kitten.” When I opened my eyes, he was no longer there. Just great. How bad it had become, that I needed to create an illusion of him before sleeping.
‘Sleep well.’
And I did. I fell into a dreamless sleep.