*THE HOLLEN SERIES 03*
????????????EPISODE 11????????????
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*?? MORE THAN FRIENDS ??*
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Zenia’s POV
I remembered it clearly.
—————————–Flash Back
It was November of last year.
Haria, Janice and Sacorra wanted me to tag along with them to a Halloween p@rty at a guy’s house.
Those three girls were wild and ratchet, guys were always in and out of them.
My best friend Ashley, hated them but I never pas-sed any judgement. Everyone is different and makes different choices in life. Everyone wouldn’t be a saint and Ashley wasn’t.
After listening to her going on and on about those girls, I turned a deaf ear.
I got dressed up in a little Red ri-ding Hood costume outfit before meeting Janice, Haria and Sacorra outside.
I wanted to do something wild and crazy. My sister had left me and she said she wouldn’t be coming back. I missed her badly and I took it pretty ha-rd when she just turned her back on the rest of us, but I un-derstood why she did it. I hated it though.
When I got to the p@rty with the girls, it was alre-ady in full swing. Alcohol and sweaty arm pits wrecked in the air. I instantly felt sick but I wasn’t about to punk out before getting my groove on.
Three hours into the p@rty, I was alre-ady dizzy from the liquors and I began dancing like a diva on a pole.
Ask me how I got on the pole… I have no damn idea.
What I remembered- I spun around, lost my footing and fell into the arms of the most handsome young guy I’ve ever seen.
I felt a wave of electricity being washed over my b©dy, and for a moment, it felt like it was just me and him in the room.
His grey eyes sparkled and his smile met his ears before he settled me on my own two feet.
“Are you okay?” He smartly asked me.
“Yeah. umm, thanks for catching me,” I answered, my hands still wra-pped around his n£¢k in support.
The p@rty erupted when Drake, the ra-pper, made an appearance on the stage and began singing ‘h0tline Bling’ and doing his comedy dance as he sang along.
With all the rushing and pushing and squealing from the hor-nyfan girls, I was knocked over again.
He picked me up and carried me upstairs to a be-droom where it was safer.
“You can stay in here,” he said.
“Just me? plea-se don’t leave me alone in here. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Where are your friends?”
I hadn’t a clue where the girls disappeared to. I lost sight of them when I went up the pole.
“I don’t know,” I answered him and threw myself face down on the be-d. Headache creeping on and an upset feeling in the pit of my stomach.
‘Damn this alcohol.’
‘Damn my ex b©yfri£ndfor breaking my heart.’
But the guy next to me, looking at me with concern, I pu-ll-ed him onto the be-d with me and began k!ss!nghim.
He hesitated at first, but eventually gave in when I k!$$£d him more pas-sionately and with meaning, like I knew what I was doing and what I wanted.
“What’s your name?” he stopped and asked, alre-ady p@n-ting.
“Just call me Zee. And you are?”
“You can call me E-Jun.”
______________
My best friend was mad at me.
My sister left me.
And my ex-b©yfri£ndbroke my heart when I found him in be-d with another girl.
I wanted someone I could hold on to even for a short moment, and E-Jun was definitely going to be that person, even if we were both drun!k. Me being the one more wasted.
The k!ss!ngresumed and clothes were re-moved, but the darkness of the room hid our secrets.
E-Jun was so gentle with my b©dy. He made me felt like a treasure as he took control as if I belonged to him. He wasn’t having s-x with me, we were ma-king love.
mo-ans increa-sed in volume and cli-maxes were reached.
At the end of it, I got up, dressed and walked out the room, leaving him alone.
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One month after that encounter,
I met up with those girls again, and we went to another p@rty.
I saw my ex b©yfri£ndthere with the same girl I caught him in be-d with.
I was hurt. I was so good to him and he was cheating all along.
I tried drowning the pain away in alcohol. I drank twelve sh0ts and tequila, six white Russians, three bottles of wine, double scotch and five draft beers.
drun!kwas an un-derstatement to describe me on that day.
The next day, everything changed and because of my carelessness, I lost my baby and I may never be able to have another pregnancy.
***********End of flashback
“Zenia, you can’t hide something like that from EJ. You both were responsible for what happened so you nee-d to tell him.” My sister was still trying to crack me.
“I can’t tell him Jasmine. I can’t bring myself to tell him. He’ll hate me. He might think I willfully got rid of the baby.”
“Zenia, you didn’t know you were pregnant. You made a mistake. You two were both drun!k, sle-pt with each other and forgotten each other.
But how is it possible that you remember him and he doesn’t remember you?”
“I was wearing a costume, and we did it in a dark room but I never forget his face. I liked him the moment I looked into his grey eyes.”
My sister pu-ll-ed me into another hvg. Tears poured down my face again.
What would it of been like if I had that baby?
Was it a boy or a girl?
I’ll never know. I’ll never have a chance to give birth to another child.
I cried. I cried ha-rd . All the hurt and pain c@m£ hitting me at once all over again. I was running away from the past but it had caught up to me.
Whenever I saw my nephew, I remembered my own child. Keeping something like that away from everyone, was eating me up like a cancer.
After an hour, when I had calmed down and gotten myself together, Jasmine left.
________________________
Ethan Junior’s POV
I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.
I stepped out the pri-vate elevator and made my way to his office. Dressed sharp in my formal men’s attire, and leather shoes, I was re-ady to take on the position of COO of Hollen Tower: Second in command.
It had been a long and unforgettable college run. My father was always on my tail, ma-king certain I was giving my all to my education and studies, just like the way he pushed Evan and Emily to their very best. I was molded and shaped to follow in his alre-ady hvge footsteps.
I knocked on his door before entering. Although he was my brother, I was afraid of ma-king him angry. Evan Hollen was different. The only people he had patience with, were his son and his fiancee.
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“You’re late!” he snapped upon seeing me.
“By only one minute,” I pleaded.
Was he serious?
“Let’s get started.”
I heaved a long sigh which made me earned a deadly eyeing from him.
He was not about to take it easy on me, even if I was the little one.
“Okay, so you alre-ady know you job description and position and your salary. Do you have any questions?” he asked, leaning back in his chair like a mighty king.
“Where’s my office dude?”
“I’m not your dude. In Hollen Tower, we speak with formalities and respect. The fas-ter you adapt to that, the longer you’ll keep the job.
I’m your big brother but so help me EJ, if you get me cross, I’ll fire your as-s so quic-k it would actually smoke.”
“Okay, Mr. Hollen. I apologize.” I threw up my hands in surrender.
Sometimes Evan could be so strict.
“Your office is across from mine. When I’m not in, you’ll be in charge. When I’m in a meeting, business trips, or even one minute late, you’ll be in charge.
I know you’re just twenty now, but you nee-d this shaping.”
“Why can’t I just have my own company? You wouldn’t be retiring soon so I don’t see the nee-d to follow in your footsteps.”
His eyes went dark and I knew my silly statement made him mad.
“You don’t see the nee-d? EJ, did you really went to college? Were you always slee-ping in your clas-ses?
You’re not doing this for me nor even dad. You’re doing this to brighten your future with experience! This is for your own good.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“Here. Sign these,” he said and handed me a checkbook.
I stood up and straightened my suit. I turned on my heel to leave, my brother’s fiancee, Jasmine walked in.
Her eyes locked on me with anger with them.
Did I do something wrong?
*THE HOLLEN SERIES 03*
????????????EPISODE 12????????????
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*?? MORE THAN FRIENDS ??*
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Zenia’s POV
I felt better.
I confessed and I immediately felt better. The truth had been buried inside of me and had been eating at me like a cancer for far too long.
______
I got dressed. I went to the do the most favorite thing I loved doing the very most.
Work at my boutique.
I got started on my sister’s wedding dress designs as I hummed along to Rihanna’s Russian Roulette.
Ashley c@m£ busting throu-gh the doors, un-der tears and looking a wreck.
I leaped at the sight of her. I had never seen her in such a nas-ty condition before. I went over to my best friend immediately.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” I asked her in de-ep concern, pu-lling her into my arms for a comforting hvg.
“It’s… It’s… Alex!” she sobbe-d.
“What did Alex do?” I feared her response. If Alex had broken Ashley’s heart so quic-kly, there would be a very serious problem.
“He….he….. he said he doesn’t believe in long terms relationsh!p. He… doesn’t want to get serious with me!”
I felt her pain. My heart ached as she said those words.
Ashley and Alex mounted very quic-kly and they were alre-ady slee-ping together. But I knew she cared de-eply about him. The girl was basically going nuts just to have his attention. Now she had finally gotten what she hoped for, I knew she wouldn’t do anything silly to jeopardize her bond with him.
So it had to be Alex. That coward.
“Sit,” I instructed her. I handed her a box of tissues and ru-bbe-d her back gently.
“Ash, it’s going to be okay.”
“No it’s not going to be okay. I love him but he doesn’t love me back.”
“Alex must be just scared of commitment. We’re all still young and want to live our lives and experience different things.”
“You mean different people. Is there another girl in the picture? I swear, I would kill a bit-ch!”
“Ash, calm down. That’s not what I’m saying. I think you gave yourself too soon to that guy and maybe that’s why he’s having second thoughts.”
“But I loved him since…”
“I know that sweetie. But he’s a guy and he’s just thinking like one.”
Sometimes, I should listen to my own damn advises. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have had a broken heart and a child who never got to see the light of day.
Sigh.
That poor baby.
After Ashley had calmed down and stopped crying, she began working like nothing had happened. She picked herself back up like a boss but I knew on the inside, she was still heartbroken.
Just wait until I set my eyes on Alex.
Why stomp on someone whose only intentions are loving you?
He was a coward! A pathetic piece of sh!–
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The morning went by as normal. I resumed back the wedding dress designs I thought my sister would absolutely love and have a ha-rd time deciding on which one to actually make.
I could just picture her craziness.
Wait Zenia, I love this one more.
Omg, this other one is perfect.
No no no, let’s go with the second one.
What do you think about the third one?
Which one do you love the most ?
Jasmine could never make a fashion decision without my approval.
A small smile pla-yed on myl-ips which immediately disappeared as she walked into the sto-re.
What does she want?
She walked right up to me, at my desk.
“Hi Zenia.”
“Madison.” Slight annoyance in my tone.
“I nee-d to get a dress.”
Is EJ paying for this one too?
“What dress are you looking for?” I asked with my fake usual smile I gave to customers I did not like.
Ashley eyed her. She knew she had been very friendly with EJ but lately, EJ and I had been getting closer and closer.
“Something simple but elegant. I prefer white.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“A celebr@tion.”
“Okay. Right this way.”
I took her to the mannequins dressed in white dresses.
“Ohh, I love this one. What’s the price?” She asked as she pointed to the third dress. It was designed by Ashley.
It was simple but clas-sy. Gold spaghetti stra-ps, dropped low at the back -right above the bu-m, and flowed down your b©dy to the ankles. The material was pure silk.
I checked the price tag. “Two thousand.”
She scoffed.
“Two thousand dollars? Two thousand dollars for this rag? Are you crazy?” she asked rudely and a bit too loudly.
Ashley heard her. And in a split second, she was standing between us.
“Is there a problem here?” she asked Madison, eyes daring her to repeat what she had just said.
“Madison here thinks the price of the dress is ridiculous because it’s a rag.”
I wasn’t about to sugarcoat anything.
“Oh, is it because EJ isn’t paying for it this time?If you can’t afford the dress, there’s no nee-d to insult it. Just get your as-s out the boutique and try Old Navy.I’m certain you’ll find something there to fit your budget.”
I snickered. Ashley could be so blunt at times.
Madison glared at us with pure hate.
“You bit-ches,” she mumbled before walking out.
_____________
“I was so close to pounding her as-s like a drum,” Ashley said.
“I think she has a vendetta with me actually.”
“Because of EJ? It’s not your fault that he is in love with you and not her.”
I laughed before pla-yfully pushing her away.
______________________
Ethan Junior’s POV
I settled in my new office easily and were almost finished signing the paychecks when my cellphone began chiming in my pocket.
I retrieved it.
Madison.
“Hey,” I answered.
“E.. J.” I heard her sniffing.
“Mads, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“I’m just coming from Zenia’s boutique and she was so mean to me EJ, you wouldn’t imagine.”
“What? What happened?”
“I told her I wanted to see one of her white dresses and she bec@m£ so hostile when I couldn’t afford it. She yelled at me and practically threw me out of her sto-re.
Cursing at me and telling me to go shop at Old Navy and using your name to offend me even more.”
“Why my name? Why would Zenia do this to you?”
“I don’t know. But remember when you first bought me the dress for my birthday? Well she told me I can’t afford anything without you.”
That was so cruel and totally uncalled for. I couldn’t believe Zenia could be this petty.
“I only went back there because she had really nice dresses and you referred her to me.”
“Stop crying okay. I’ll speak to Zenia.”
“She’ll only lie about it. She wouldn’t want you to get angry with her.”
I raked my f!ngersthrou-gh my hair as I listened to her crying. She must of felt so embarras-sed.
_____________________
I finished work at 3:00 pm. Evan was being lenient because Jasmine was with him.
I drove to ZENIA’S.
Pushing throu-gh the door, my eyes immediately saw her, talking harshly with Alex while he stood there, listening to everything like a child.
I got in the middle of the conversation, putting a halt to everything.
“Can I talk to you Zenia?” I intruded.
“Sure.”
We walked to the back of the boutique.
“What’s up?” she asked innocently.
“Why you lashed out at Madison today?”
“Wait, what?”
“She called me on the phone, crying her eyes out because you insulted her.”
“What! I never even said anything to…”
I cut her off.
“I really thought you were better than that. She’s my friend. You don’t have to be mad at her because you don’t like her.
I was the one who referred her to your boutique. She just wanted a dress for my celebr@tion tonight.”
“Your celebr@tion?” She folded her arms and arched an eyebrow at me.
Oopppss.
“She’s invited and I’m not?”
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you as yet,” I covered.
“Oh but you got a chance to tell her EJ!”
She moved pas-sed me so quic-kly before throwing a white dress at my face.
“This is the dress Madison wanted! Why don’t you buy it for her again and have fun at your celebr@tion!”
“Zenia!” I called out to her but she was alre-ady out the door.
TO BE CONTINUED……