Hello and welcome to the town of Quinns Park, Andriette. Before we dive into the complicated loves and lives of our characters, let’s get to meet them first, shall we?
Book 01: MAIN CAST
• Dr. Kiera Irwin Phoenix
• Alexander ‘Xander’ Laurent
• Lieutenant Storm Sloan
SECONDARY MAIN CAST
√ Romazaria Laurent
√ Princess Janice Reeves
√ Attorney Katya Popov
√ Thorne Phoenix
√ Catherine Jones
√ Dr. Arielle McBride
SUPPORTING CAST
|•| Prince Nigel Reeves
|•| Princess Erika Reeves
|•| Baldwin Montgomery
|•| Dr. Naseem Kumar
|•| Pierce McLaughlin
|•| Dr. Skylar Phoenix
|•| Celestina Phoenix
|•| Vida Sloane
|•| Detective Tobias Richards
Others
~ King
~ Dr. Andrew Khumalo
~ Attorney Edward Khumalo
~ Nancy McBride Khumalo
~ Olivia Taylor Laurent
~ Martin Laurent
~ Joanna Adams
~ Chuck Adams
~ Agatha Adams
~ Detective Daud Micheals
~ Cameron Phoenix
~ Ester Phoenix
~ Natasha Sarmiento
~ Clarence ‘D’Man’ Lincoln
~ Mayumi Fujii
The Departed (Will be updated accordingly)
• Vivienne Irwin Phoenix
• Ester Phoenix
• Cameron Phoenix
• Clarence ‘D’Man’ Phoenix
• Monique Shetty Beaumont
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The blue 1969 Mustang convertible drove through the ultra-luxury neighborhood. A soft pop-rock song played on the stereo. The driver, an elderly man in his sixties, donning the black chauffeur uniform stole a look at his young charge through the rearview mirror.
Five-year-old Romazia, sat strapped in, reading a book.
“Are you okay back there little Miss?”
The girl nodded engrossed in her book of fairy tales. The girl threw him a toothy grin and nodded before getting back to her story.
The driver, Mr. Andrews smiled as he drove through the electric gate of the Laurent mansion.
The girl looked out and her face lit up with excitement when she saw her father’s white Chevrolet packed in front of the house.
She jumped out of the car no sooner had Mr. Andrews parked and ran into the house. She had not seen her father for over five months. He has been abroad for business and he had promised to bring for her a special gift when he returned.
”Miss Romazaria, slow down,” he called out but she was already inside the huge mansion. He chuckled and retrieved her bags from the back.
She hurried up the stairs and rushed to her parent’s room, her ponytail bouncing up and down. She was just about to open the door when her mother’s teary voice carried to her.
“Why are you doing this to me?” her mother, Amelia Dubois Laurent asked, her voice broken and desperate. “Why Martin?”
Romazaria opened the door slowly and peeped her head in. She saw her mother wipe away the tears from her face. Her father stood with his back to the door.
In Romazarias eyes,Martin Laurent was a doting husband and father it was baffling for the five year old when he just stood there watching her mother crying and him, doing nothing.
”I didn’t mean to hurt you. Things just happened, Olivia and I never…”
”No. No don’t you dare mention her name to me. Don’t you dare, Martin!” she protested vehemently , ”If you say her name to me this will become real. I don’t want this to be real. If you don’t mention her name, it will all be but a bad nightmare.”
”I’m sorry.”
The young beauty who had both French and Indian blood flowing through her veins laughed through her tears and covered her face.
“Sorry? Sorry? You are breaking my heart and you tell me you’re sorry? Fine. What about our daughter? What about her Martin? Is she not working out too? What do I say to her?”
“We don’t have to tell her immediately…’ Martin began quietly.
“Oh yeah, ’cause it’s what’s best for you right? You are a real bastard Martin.”
“I’m just thinking of what’s best for her.”
Amelia dropped her hands to her sides and stared at him hopelessly. She pulled the sexy blue lacy lingerie closer to her. She wanted to die out of mortification. When he had called her five hours earlier as she dropped off her daughter at the preschool and told her he was coming home, she had gone to work on herself.
She had first gone to the spa and gotten herself a Brazilian wax. She had been dreamy. Five months has passed since she had felt the touch of his hands on her skin or hot breath on her as he whispered sweet nothings. She wanted to make the most of it. The spa had provided her with the full package, manicure, pedicure, Brazilian wax, and hairdo.
As she had sat under the hairdryer, she had flipped through the spas lingerie magazine and had picked on five sexy outfits. The midnight blue she wore as he broke her heart, being her favorite.
“What’s best for her,” she hissed through clenched teeth, “Is for her family to be whole.”
Martin sighed frustatedly and ran a hand through his ash blonde hair. ”Look, am trying my best here okay?”
”When did you intend to tell me?”
Martin kept mum, staring at the carpeted floor.
”God damn it, Martin! At least have the decency, to be honest with me! When the hell did you intend to tell me?”
“I was trying to find the appropriate time.”
“How. Long?” she bit out each word and walked over to him ever so slowly.
“She gave birth to our son yesterday.”
A sharp slapped landed across his, echoing off the walls.
Romazaria gasped at the violent act before her. Tears welled up in the eyes of the little girl.
Amelia forced her jelly-like feet to move away from him.
“I’m sorry…”
Amelia turned sharply and began to hit him on the chest. Hot tears ran down her face. “Monster… you are a monster Martin how could you do this to me…to our daughter… how could you exchange us for another family…”
She stepped away from him and sat on the edge of the bed overwhelmed with despair.
She cast him a dispirited look as his words sunk in. He guiltily looked away.
“Birth…she gave birth… .How do you expect me to take the news? All those overseas trips, all those long months you were gone…”
He looked down confirming her worst fears. An anguished sob escaped her mouth.
She walked over to her cream-white vanity and grabbed the white terry cloth robe draping over the stool to cover her nakedness.
It didn’t feel right to be standing clad in an outfit that could pass for her second skin in front of a man who just told her, he didn’t love her anymore.
“Was I not ever a good wife to you? How did I fail you? Why did you have to go be with another woman when you had me?”
“I’m sorry.”
Amelia let out a croaky chuckle. That again.
“Amelia I…,” Martin began but before he could finish conveying his thoughts into a sentence, Amelia grabbed the family picture frame off the dressing mirror and hurled it at him.
Guilt made him stand still and not want to dodge the flying missile.
The frame hit him on the forehead and almost instantly, blood gushed out from the wound as the frame fell to the ground and the glass shattered, just like their family.
The blood trickled down onto his shirt.
“I don’t want your goddamed sorry. I want my husband back!”
Romazaria shocked by the series of events screamed and ran in.
She ran to her sobbing mother and hugged her legs.
“Please stop fighting…mommy daddy please don’t fight anymore,” she begged her little body shaking from the sobs.
Amelia hugged her little girl as she cast her soon-to-be ex-husband a fiery, hateful glare.
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Amelia was seated in the lounge with a bottle whisky and a box of Kleenex for the company when she heard Martin come down the stairs, dragging two suitcases with him. The wound on his forehead was dressed and he had changed out of his bloody shirt.
“I will go ahead,” he said. “I will send Andrews for the rest of my things. The house; it’s yours and Romazaria’s. It’s in your name. I will keep paying for the bills and upkeep.”
Amelia snorted. “It’s the least you can do. Don’t expect me to roll over in gratitude.”
“No, of course not.” Noting the nearly half empty whiskey bottle on the table and tumbler with its amber contents in her hands, he frowned. He looked at her with a complicated look in his eyes. “I know you are upset, but I don’t think taking to the bottle is the right decision.”
“Oh, just go to hell Martin. You lost the right to worry about me the moment you started screwing that bitch. Go live your life with that slut and her bastard son.”
”Daddy?”
They both turned at the sound of their daughter.
Amelia frowned as she watched the girl descend down the stairs in her tiny legs. She had earlier put her to sleep and had believed she was sound asleep in her bed all this time.
Amelia stood up but remained rooted on her spot.
Martin covered the distance between him and the girl. He knelt by her side.
“Daddy, don’t go,” she whispered, tugging on his shirt. “Stay with us. I promise I will be good.”
“Princess…”he began, his heart breaking at the sight of the heartbroken girl before him.
Amelia sneered and stared at her soon to be ex husband with schadenfreude.
“I will be really good. I promise I won’t be any trouble. Don’t go, stay with us please daddy.”
Tears cascaded down the girls cheek. Martin reached out and wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb.
“Princess, this has nothing to do with you. You are a good girl. Someday, when you are all grown up, you will understand. Be strong and look after a mommy for me.”
Amelia scoffed at him.
Romazaria shook her head, tears furiously rolling down her face.
“No daddy don’t go please don’t leave us…”
A large lump settled on his throat. He blinked away the tears in his eyes. This was the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.
“No matter what happens between your mom and I, you will always be my little princess,” he assured her.
Even though he no longer had any feelings for his wife, Amelia, his daughter, Romazaria was his world.
The tears in her eyes slashed at his heart like a thousand razor-sharp knives.
“Please don’t go…” she whispered, pleasingly.
“I’m sorry princess,” he whispered as he pulled her to him and kissed her on the forehead.
He stood up got his suitcase and walked away.
Romazaria ran after him calling out his name. The door closed on her, she hit on the door crying and begging him to not leave them.
“I will be a good girl, I promise daddy…” the girl cried till her voice became hoarse and she passed out by the door.
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