Sixty ThreeChloe"Ready?" Addison asked as we alighted from the Camaro. I, her, and David. "I wish everyone would quit asking me that," I mumbled looking up at the building before us. "I'm already a nervous wreck, I don't need a constant reminder that I'm new at this." "Just checking in," she muttered and we both chuckled. My parents' company stood right before my eyes. The sign at the top of the four-story building read Tristan and co Winery. I pursed my lips in indignation. "Two years ago, it used to read Montgomery Wines." David said, "The bastard didn't hesitate to rope all the directors to his side once your parents were dead and carved his dirty name on their legacy." How could he be so greedy? Was the money he lynched off the Benjamins not enough? How could he even face my parents after stealing their child? It was a plain old-hearted felony. "Let's go in, shall we? It's time Tristan saw a ghost," I said, pressing my lips into a fine line. I was Arabella Montgomery. And
Sixty FourNathan "... At ten, you have a one-hour meeting with the telecommunication company. At twelve, you have a meeting with the Admin of education at South Carolina Uni. At six, you have to show up at charity-" I held a hand up interrupting Marcus. "I have to?" He nodded. "Yes sir. You told me yesterday that I had to tell 'you have to' sir." I hummed trying to take in what he had just told me. "What is the charity function for?" "For orphaned kids in North America," Marcus supplied. "And there's a high chance Eduardo will be there." "Ah," I nodded. "Now I get why I have to. Good Marcus. You may take the evening off," "I won't be accompanying you to the event sir?" I shook my head, clasping my hands together as I ruminated on what I had to do that day. If things went quite well, I should be able to go home and freshen up before heading out to the charity. That should work. "Have you received the details of the propose telecommunication gadget from the design team?" I ask
Sixty FiveChloe"Am I smiling too hard?" I asked Addison through my teeth as I smiled at the flashing cameras. I stood on the red carpet. I felt like a freaking princess. I was dressed like one! My dress was a bold red dress that flared out on my waist and was lined with ruffles that swished everywhere I turned.When David announced that I would be attending my first ball that evening, I panicked. There simply hadn't been enough time to master everyone's name on the guest list. So we decided I'd learn a few of the much more prominent ones. I had been worried though. Standing in the eyes of the press, especially the ones that would be at the South Carolina Charity Ball, Nathan could be alerted of my presence. And then what? He probably would not care. Of course, he wouldn't. The magazines were filled with his and Lily's engagement. She was pregnant- again. I wonder where the first child was? I hadn't seen any pictures of the child both online and in the papers. "You're doing just
Sixty SixNathan "Benjamin!" Silver space director, Mr. Hinawa yelled, clapping a hand on my back. It was funny how people still called me 'Benjamin', especially after the whole fiasco with my Family. What else was there to call me? To them, the whole Benjamin family kicked me out and perished immediately. I was the only one remaining to keep the name going anyway. I nodded at Hinawa, a smirk on my face. That was as far as he was going to get. Smiling in public, for me, was wrong and prohibited. I shouldn't be allowed to do so. I shouldn't be allowed to smile after my parents and brother were murdered in cold blood because of the bastard sitting a few tables away. Eduardo. The short bastard was dressed in some silly sequined suit, laughing at something the mayor said. Of course, he would try to win the mayor over now. Anything to get the mafia in and out of South Carolina with ease. "Stop glaring at Eduardo and listen to the poor old man standing before you," Cameron's grumpy vo
Sixty Seven Chloe. "David, I can't go out every single day. Adele rarely sees me. I had to leave her with a stranger yesterday! Did you see how scared she was when we came home?" "I checked the CCTV, the nanny did nothing wrong," David defended. "I don't care. It is perfectly okay for children to be afraid of strangers, yes. But not Adele. She smiles at everyone else! I don't want that nanny ever again." I snapped, cradling Adele in my arms. When we had come back from the ball, she had been huddled up in a corner of the house, crying. Adele was a free-spirited child. If she doubted anyone, then I doubted them as well."Fine, I'll screen for another set of Nanny," David mumbled. "I want to be involved in the screening," I deadpanned.He shook his head in protest. "You can't be. The whole of Carolina knows your face. You can't show you have a daughter in the open yet because Tristan will use her as bait for you. We can let any of the candidates know Adele is your daughter unless
Sixty EightChloe."Yes, it is," I mumbled."How?" "When did this happen?" "Tristan stole their daughter?" "Is this real?" I waited for them to calm down and then continued. "I hadn't believed it at first either. I was raised as Chloe Tristan. He raised me as his daughter just so he could marry me off to a wealthy family and get a lot of money in return.""If what you say is true, how come we've never heard of you from Tristan either?" One of the directors quipped and the others nodded like a bunch of idiots. I had to hand it to Tristan though. He certainly knew how to choose men who were loyal to him. They were having a hard time doubting him even after seeing a video of his wife stealing a baby. Fucking wonderful. "I could show you all the family pictures and videos I took with them, growing up," I said, clicking on a folder on the system. The look on their faces as I swiped from picture to picture and video to video of me growing up with the people I had thought were my pare
Sixty NineNathan Another day, another series of meetings that required my attention, another round of people thinking they could outsmart me but ended up getting fired. Why would anyone in their right fucking senses, try to cavort millions of my money into their account and think I was going to let them go Scot-free. And they say I'm the devil. Hilarious."I'm sorry... Please spare me, I swear I will never repeat it," the man before me begged on his knees. Oh, the old Nathan may have felt pity. He may have thought, "This man must have a family at home, I can understand why he'd try to steal, okay, I'll simply fire him."Pfft. Well, old Nathan got shot in the alleyway with his brother. The new me wasn't going to allow a mere fly to slip past me. I watched the man placidly from my seat. He had worked with me for two years. To solid fucking years. And yet he allowed himself to become greedy and tried to fucking stab me in the back. There was no room for that in my company. Simply fi
Seventy Nathan"Lily, you ready?" I called from the living room. Why were women so darn slow? I had told her to get ready by seven! I had a long day at work. I had hit the gym with Cameron. My muscles were fucking sore and I was damn tired but I had made a promise to myself the day before to do something with Lily that day. So I couldn't back out. I sat on the sofa, wearing a plain tee and cargo pants. There was no way I would wear a suit again. I was too tired to try. Lily finally stepped out of her room. She wore a short gown that flared from beneath her breasts. I had no idea what the dress was called but I was sure it had a name. Women liked to name dresses. "Ready?" I asked, rising to my feet. "How do I look?" She asked, turning around so I could see her. "Good," I replied and made my way to the door. She had said she wanted to go to the movies. I hadn't gone to the movies in a long fucking time, but since she wanted to, there was no problem. She could have anything she w
220Chloe"Dada!" Adele's screams echoed through the air as Nathan swung her all over the place. I smiled at the sight. Her giggles were contagious. I watched through the window. Watched him spin her around, laughing his head off with her and for a minute I allowed myself to get lost in the moment with them. This was the life I had wanted all along. A happy home, a happy place, a perfect family. My eyes fell on my trembling hands and I retreated, allowing the blinds to fall. Except for the fact that we were the furthest from perfect. It had been three months since the accident. Three months since the truth of... Well everything was exposed. Mahn my life was a fucking rollercoaster. The more I thought about it, the more impressed I was that I had survived it at all. And it seemed it all started from that crazy one night stand. The world, my world, cracked and shook around its edges right from the day that I had met Nathan. If he hadn't gotten me pregnant, I most likely wouldn't hav
CHAPTER 219 NATHAN’S POV I headed to the doctor's office to collect discharge papers and a few other documents. Chloe was finally certified to be discharged and I couldn't be as happy as I was now. I was finally getting what I wanted. Signing something on the discharged paper, we started preparing for her departure. When I meant we, I meant Addison and Cameron and it was a very chaotic event. “Stop hissing, it's irritating!” I heard Cameron’s disgusted voice yelling at Addison. “Don’t you dare speak to me,” Addison warned. Feeling very embarrassed, I could see the several burning eyes on the scene happening. They had started with their annoying banter. Couldn't they just get along? I understood that Addison was annoying but Cameron had to behave like a man and stop whining like a child. I was getting angry with their actions and was only trying to cover it up with a smile. Women just loved arguing and that was it for Addison. She wouldn't miss a chance to argue with yo
CHAPTER 218 NATHAN’S POV I got to the hospital parking lot with a smile on my face. Walking into the hospital, I was very excited. Nothing was stopping me from getting her now, both Eduardo and Tristan were rotting in jail and that was all I could ask for. Pushing the don't open, I mentally groaned to see who was there with her. I was about to barge in when something stopped me. Chloe was sitting up while facing Addison and Adele with the widest smile I had ever seen. She was speaking gently and was even laughing. It felt like ages since I have seen that bright smile on her face, Chloe was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She was always smiling and helping everyone regardless of her problems. She had a heart of gold and was always reaching out to others, losing her would be the biggest mistake I would make if I allowed it. I had already lost my loved ones once, I wasn’t going to allow this one again. Not again, she was mine alone! Seeing this just made m
CHAPTER 217 NATHAN’S POV I walked casually with Cameron beside me as we met with Officer Alex. “Good morning,” we exchanged pleasantries as he welcomed us into his office. We couldn't interrogate Eduardo a day before because he had been taken to hospital because of some minor injuries. “Are you ready?” Alex asked as we walked to meet Eduardo. “Never been this ready, I had been ready for this my whole life,” I added as I put on a forced smile. Wishing that Chloe was here to witness this, my mind drifted to her. I was going to make sure I call the nurse after this. I was also worried about her safety and had stationed two private guards for her. As far as Eduardo is concerned, he could strike anyone. I was very wary of that man and didn’t want any accident to repeat itself twice. I was never going to allow Eduardo to get to my family again, especially when I was still alive! Even if it means killing him, I would gladly do so without hesitating. He had done more than enoug
NATHAN’S POV I walked casually with Cameron beside me as we met with Officer Alex. “Good morning,” we exchanged pleasantries as he welcomed us into his office. We couldn't interrogate Eduardo a day before because he had been taken to hospital because of some minor injuries. “Are you ready?” Alex asked as we walked to meet Eduardo. “Never been this ready, I had been ready for this my whole life,” I added as I put on a forced smile. Wishing that Chloe was here to witness this, my mind drifted to her. I was going to make sure I call the nurse after this. I was also worried about her safety and had stationed two private guards for her. As far as Eduardo is concerned, he could strike anyone. I was very wary of that man and didn’t want any accident to repeat itself twice. I was never going to allow Eduardo to get to my family again, especially when I was still alive! Even if it means killing him, I would gladly do so without hesitating. He had done more than enough already! “Go
NATHAN’S POV I walked into the police station with Cameron as he discussed something with them. “You are back again?” I heard a policeman ask. “Yes, I want to reopen the case of Noah Nathan and his family,” I said as the cop went through the file. “A murder case,” I added again as they searched for it before finding it. Going through it, he nods his head. “I assume you have several pieces of evidence now?” He asked as I nodded my head. He invited me into his office and I started discussing everything with him. “That’s fine, let me arrange for an arrest,” he said before calling a junior officer. Everything was finally falling in place, I was going to get my revenge and also get my girl back. Eduardo shouldn't have played those silly games and thought I wouldn't get him. Though it was difficult, he shouldn't have messed with me. I was going to teach both him and Tristan a very good lesson. “Arrange for an arrest, Mr. Tristan, owner of….” I heard the cop saying b
NATHAN’S POV “Focus man!” I heard Cameron’s frustrated voice as I failed to carry the heavy weight for the fifth time. “I am not in the mood for this shit!” I said angrily before walking away. Not knowing why I was angry, I tried calming down my nerves. Cam was just trying to help, I shouldn't have snapped at him in that way. Everything was only because of her, it's been days since I last visited Chloe. Calling the nurse to ask if she was doing fine. I understood if Chloe wanted space and that was what I was giving her but it wasn't easy for me. My heart yearns for her presence. I was slowly going crazy with everything that has been happening lately. Every thought was connected to her, now that I knew she was innocent of everything I feel so stupid for even doubting her. She was the mother of my child and the least I could do was trust her but I had failed woefully. I had one job to do, to trust and love her but I had failed. Remembering how I had spoken to her that night
NATHAN’S POV I groaned as I went to the kitchen to search for something to eat. My mind wandered off to Chloe. “I am sure she will be fine,” I said to myself as I grabbed some cookies and a glass of juice. Walking to my office, I settled down and started some serious work. I was planning an event for models, actors and everyone in the entertainment sector so it had to be perfect. I started my work and didn’t know that time had passed, I was so buried in my work that I hadn’t noticed. Time flies as they always say, you wouldn’t believe it till you start experiencing it yourself. I went down the memory lane of how everything started. My meeting with Chloe, our relationship, everything was just so fast and now we were here. Judging by Chloe’s action I don’t think she can forgive me. I have been trying to deny that for a long time but it is getting obvious daily. She doesn’t say much and would rather ignore me. Sighing heavily, I rubbed my temples anxiously. Her being with
NATHAN’S POV “I don’t still support you buying her these flowers,” Cameron argued as we walked into the hospital. “Ohh please, Chloe is my wife and I know what she wants,” I announced angrily. “Technically, she isn't, you are only trying to win her over,” Cameron said with sarcasm. I wanted to strangle him, when you are friends with someone like Cam he does everything to annoy you. Facing him, I gave him a hard glare before storming out of his sight. “Wait, I am sorry,” I heard him say but rather chose to ignore. “I need to use the restroom,” he said but I still ignored him. “Dickhead!” I cursed before entering the hospital room. Looking bewildered, I couldn’t believe the person I was also seeing. Someone who despised me with her whole heart. “Hey Addison,” I greeted with a crooked smile as she scowled at me. Addison was always with a scowl, I wondered how Chloe was friends with her. Chloe was always happy while Addison was always the opposite. So uptight and annoying! Breathi