Joey and Nic went their separate ways. He went back to the Casinos and she went back to her house. She turns on the light and is frightened by Stephen sitting on her couch. "Why are you sitting in the dark like that?" she questions him.
He glares angily at her. "Did you enjoy your night with Nic?" he questions her back.
"I don't know what you're talking about." she replies taking off her shoes as she walks into the kitchen.
Stephen follows her and grabs her arm. "Let me go!" she yells. "Why are you going crazy about?" she asks. "You know Simon sent me on this mission with Nic!"
"You were with him last night and it seemed like you enjoyed his company a little too much."
"How do you know what I was enjoying or not last night?"
"I went to kill him yesterday." He replied.
"I can't believe you're cold hearted enough to kill a good friend of yours!" she snapped at him.
"You saw the assignment from Simon that day. If I don't kill Nic, Simon will take you away from me. I can't live without you and you can't live without me!" he shouted holding her arms tightly.
"Let go! You're hurting me!" she said pushing him off her then continuing into the kitchen.
"Why would you care if I kill him or not? You've never cared about anyone I had to kill."
She poured herself some juice. "I don't care about him. You just don't seem like you would kill him." she said looking at him as she takes a drink of her juice. Stephen comes closer to her. She puts the glass down "Anyways, I'm also wondering why Simon wants me to seduce him, but wants you to kill him. Are you sure this isn't a trap?"
Stephen shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know and I don't care." He replies pulling Joey close to him. They are face to face. She can practically hear his heart beating. "I only care about you." He says leaning in to kiss her.
She pushes him away. "You only care if I'm yours." She said and took another drink of her juice. "If you really loved me, you would have saved me already, you wouldn't let me live like this."
"I do love you! You know it!" he yelled. "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have to be under Simon's control. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have done all this, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have betrayed Simon." Stephen declared pounding the table.
"You what?" Joey asked in shock. "How could you betray Simon, He'll kill you." She asked alarmed. "Or he'll make your life a living hell."
"No, not this time. We're going to get through this together. We're going to be together in the end." He said wrapping his arms around her.
This time Joey didn't push him away. His words were scaring her. She closed her eyes and laid on his chest. Betraying Simon was something she didn't know if she and her sisters could handle but now another person she cared about was putting himself in the same danger.
Joey had to admit she cared about Stephen, maybe even loved him, but she also found herself caring for Nic that day. She didn't know what she really felt for either man at the moment.
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DAYS LATER...
Ekin woke up besides Nnadia and gazed at her as she slept besides him. She was laying tummy down facing him. He kissed her lips tenderly which made her stirred a little but she still remained asleep. He smiled and took a good look at her.
He used his fingers to trace her face then he moved down to her body. He noticed a scar on her right shoulder. It seemed like a burn from a cigarette but found it strange because Nnadia didn't smoke. He continued tracing her body to her back and noticed another scar on her back which looked like it spelled out a word but Ekin wasn't sure what it said.
As he leaned in closer to take a look, Nnadia woke up and pushed him. "You pervert, trying to take advantage of me when I'm sleeping." she said playfully.
He held onto her tightly and said, "Yeah you better be careful now that you're married to me I can make-love to you at anytime." He joked and held her down as he kissed her again.
She wrapped her arms around to kiss him feeling sensational. She was never supposed to feel like this with any other man but one. He caressed her breast. She pulled away and smiled at him. He grinned mischievously pulling her closer to him and pressed his lips against hers rolling his tongue in her mouth. It felt more sensational than the first time. She was vulnerable to him. He started making love to her.
"Uhhh...." She moaned loudly feeling so much pleasure. He smiled arrogantly because she was in complete ecstasy and he knew it.
Their breathing became harder and heavier as they made love. She felt his breath on her face and neck as he shifted up and down against her body. Finally she felt an orgasm, something she never experienced with the men she manipulated. She trembled feeling great pleasure. He stopped and kissed her passionately on the lips again. They were both drenched in perspiration from the incredible interaction they just shared. He fell next to her on the bed, wrapped his arms around her, and continuing kissing her passionately. She returned his tender kisses.
Hours later Nnadia woke up and put on her robe. This was not supposed to happen. She was not supposed to enjoy sex with Ekin. This is just sex! No love, only sex she told herself. She was delirious. She ran into the restroom throwing water on herself.
She looked at herself in the mirror and thought of another man, the man she met in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) that day. The handsome man she had fallen for that day. She splashed more water onto herself and collapsed to the counter top crying.
Ekin woke up and looked around for his wife. He saw the bathroom light on and assumed she was in there. He put on his robe and walked over to the bathroom and opened the door.
Nnadia was coming out of the shower. He smiled at her as he wrapped his arms around her. "You want more?" he asked her playfully.
She lightly pushed him away, trying to act coy. "I have to go to Pasadena to talk about opening a franchise there with Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Brown. I'll be back in a few days." She said trying to avoid more sex with him.
"You never told me about this." He questioned with a frown.
"Remember the two men I had a meeting with at the Dragon Lounge before we got married?" she asked. Ekin thought about it and nodded remembering them.
"Well we were talking about opening a franchise for 'Fortunes' there and the project has been approved. I just need to go sign a couple of agreements and ok a couple of things."
"I'll go with you." He said coming closer to her.
She dodged him as she pinned her hair up and walked into the bedroom. "It's okay, you have so much work to do here. I'll be fine going by myself. Don't worry." She said pulling out a suitcase from the closet.
"You don't want me to go?" he asked in a suspiciously playful way.
"No, I just don't want you worrying about my problems. I've caused enough trouble for you already and I don't want to cause anymore trouble." She said because she knew he was suspicious but didn't know if he was joking or serious.
Ekin held her shoulders firmly and looked straight into her eyes. "You're my wife. It's my duty, honor, and privilege to help you when you need it. If you fall; I will catch you, if you jump; I will be by your side, if your heart stops breathing; my soul will freeze. "I'm here for you. Let me share your life."
Nnadia was touched by his words. Tears came out of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around him closing her eyes as he embraced her. For a those brief moments only Ekin existed, only he was important, only he mattered.
"I love you." he said holding her tightly.
"I love you too." She said the second time without an intention to deceive.
Moments later when she snapped back to reality, she insisted, "Thank you for everything you've done for me but I really want to have my own business and handle it. Can you let me do that?"
Ekin nodded. "Sure." He replied holding her tightly. "When you leaving and coming back?" he asked.
"I'm leaving on a flight tonight and I'll be back in a week." She replied.
Ekin held her close to him and kissed her again. She felt so wrong, so evil, so bad. She tried to remind herself, She was only using him and this was just only hot sex nothing else, no emotions attached.
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Later that night... Louis was throwing darts in the recreation room of their mansion. Ekin walked by and noticed him. "What you thinking about?" Ekin asked.
Louis shrugged. "I don't know."
"What do you mean 'You don't know"? You know everything" Ekin teased. Nicholas walked into the room and greeted broth of them. "Dai Guo, Yi Guo." he said walking to the pool table.
"Hey." They both said to greet their youngest brother. Nicholas let out a deep sigh.
Ekin raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you two?" he asked picking up another pool stick.
Louis threw another dart and continued, "Well, I'm confused. At first I thought Kristy was just after my money so I was jsut using her for sex, but lately from the way she's been treating me it doesn't seem to be about the money." He said.
Nic raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about the Kristy at Sapphire?" he asked. Louis nodded.
"Don't you like Ada?" Ekin asked.
Nic smiled mischievously. "Hye hey. man if they both want uou. I'll have two sister-in-laws." He joked patting Louis on the back. Louis gave him the evil eye.
Nic laughed and watched Ekin set up the game. Ekin bend down to break. The balls slide randomly across the table. Two stripe balls went into the goals. He continued again and missed. Nic started his turn.
"I thought I liked Ada because she wasn't after out money but now... I don't know." he shrugged. "How'd you know you love Nnadia." Louis asked Ekin.
Ekin smiled thinking of his new wife. "I don't know. I just do. You know how it is when you feel something for someone, you just know its there."
"Why? Can't decide between the two?" Nic asked.
"Ada caught my attention because she was different. But now her and Kristy don't seem so different. Sometimes I see Ada in Kristy or vice versa." He said thinking about the two.
Ekin and Nic looked at him in confusion. "Huh?" they both asked.
"I don't know, they have similar features like their eyes, nose, and lips. If I didn't know better I would have mistaken them as sisters." He joked. "i mean they both have this alluring persona to them and they're both dam good in bed!" he joked.
Ekin and Nicholas high-fived him as a manly joke then laughed about it. Why don't you just keep both of them for now until you decide?" Nic suggested.
Ekin whacked him lightly in the head. "How would you feel if the girl you liked had you and another man on the side?" Ekin asked not realizing the truth in his counter inquiry.
Nic thought about it and said, "I think I'm falling for Joey. If she had another man, I'd probably want to hurt him."
Ekin and Louis stared at him. "The girl robbing our casinos to pay her grandparent's hospital bills?" Ekin asked.
"Are you sure she's not after our money?" Louis added.
"I'm sure. She didn't know who I was before Dai-Guo's wedding." Nic said.
"How do you know you're falling for her?" Louis asked.
"I always think about her and its not even about the sex or anything. I just want to be with her, hold her, embrace her, and make love to her." He said coyly.
Louis threw a dart at Nic. "You're starting to sound mushy."
Nic dodged it. "Hey when it comes to love that's how it is." He said proudly.
Ekin nodded proudly at his younger brother. He patted Louis on the back. "You'll realize who you truly like sooner or later. Just let it come naturally."
"Yeah I've been waiting for it to come naturally and now I'm confused as ever."
"Here does this help." Ekin started saying. "Nnadia asked me this on our wedding night." He said looking at his two brothers. They looked attentively at Ekin as he continued, "If you died tomorrow, whose eyes would you want to look into. Who's lips do you want to kiss? Who would you want to say goodbye to?"
Nic immediately replied, "Joey!"
Louis smiled as he thought of her. "I know now. I know who I want to see before I die. I'll see you guys later." he said as he got up to look for her. Ekin and Nic smiled knowing their brother made up his mind.
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At the same time, the sisters were meeting together again in Nnadia's suite. They were all quiet because everything was breaking apart. Their plans were not going accordingly. Nnadia broke the silence. "Ekin and I made love again." She said softly.
They looked puzzled at the way she said it. She had sex with countless men and it was nothing special but her choice of words and tone of voice told them it was more than nothing. "I actually enjoyed it. I don't know what's happening to me. Could I be falling for him? Is this another trap?" she asked.
Ada, Kristy, and Joey look at each other. "How is that possible?" Ada asked.
"He's been really nice, a great gentleman. He's very sweet and seems really wonderful. I don't know. I just... I just... I just think I like him. But I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is.. is.. is.." Nnadia started to stutter in confusion.
Ada immediately corrected her. "It's just anxiety, I'm sure. You must be stressed from all this. You can't possibly have feelings for him. You don't love him!"
Kristy shook her head, "It's possible. We're humans, we have feeling, why can't she love him?" she asked thinking about Louis.
"Have you also gone mad!" Ada asked in denial.
Joey looked at them. "Is it possible to be in love? I've been with Stephen for a year now. He told me he loved me. He promised to take me away so I could live a new life, but he never did. And now he wants to risk his life for me. Is that love?"
Nnadia looked at Joey. "I don't know if its possible to be in love but I know that I'm confused and I don't know what to do." she replied rummaging her fingers through her hair
Joey started crying. The other three looked at her. Tears came out of Joey's eyes, "How could someone love you and treat you like this, there's no such thing as love if this is what love is!" she shouted.
Kristy ran to hug her. "True love does exist, it really does."
"No it doesn't! 'Father' claims to love us but he forces us to do all these things! I don't believe anyone truly cares for anyone but..." Joey yelled. Father was what Simon had them all addres him as after he adopted them.
The small and short word, LOVE, that could cause a decade of confusion, suddenly startled Ada more than anything. "No buts." Ada said. "Don't tell me Nic has touched your heart." She said still in denial.
"But Nic has shown me that people can truly care for people they don't know. He doesn't know me or my supposed grandparents but he's willing to help them and me." Joey finished.
"No, we can't fall into another trap set by the Wong brothers. None of us are permitted to fall in love with them!" Ada demanded. "They are our enemies!"
Kristy shook her head at Ada. "You like Louis. Admit it! You have feelings for him!"
Ada shook her head. "I don't! You do!" she yelled.
"I know how much you love him." Kristy started to say. "I can see it in your eyes when you look at him." She said as tears came from her eyes.
Ada started crying also as she hugged Kristy. "No I don't." She said realizing that she was in denial. "I'm sorry."
Nnadia and Joey hugged each other. "I want to go home." Joey cried on Nnadia's shoulders. "I want to see mommy and daddy again." She cried.
Nnadia hugged her sister and said, "Don't worry Sui Yee (Joey's real name) I promise you; you will go home. That I promise you!" She said again.
Ada and Kristy now united with Nnadia and Joey. "I promise all of you!" Nnadia started saying. "We will all go home and we will have our revenge on all the people that have made our lives this miserable." Nnadia declared.
Ada shook her head, "Ling Ling (Nnadia's real name) you've done so much already. Don't do anymore."
Nnadia shook her head. "Fun Jei Jei (Ada's real name), Kung Ru (Kristy's real name) I promised you that we will all go home and I mean it." Naadia said determinedly.
They nodded to agree with her. "Just one more person and we'll be free." She said. "We'll finally be free." She said again.
The three of them all looked at each other then back at Nnadia. "Can any of us truly be free if we have a past?" Joey asked them.
Ada didn't know how to respond. Kristy shrugged. She didn't know either. Nnadia took a deep breath and closed her eyes thinking about the answer. She couldn't answer it either.
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Copyright © Nov. 2, 2003
IiI Sorrow IiI
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