At that very moment, Aaron's cellphone suddenly rang.
Saved by the bell, Victory told herself.
Victory breathed out a small sigh of relief as Aaron stood up and pointed to his still ringing phone.
"Sorry, I've got to take this. I'm renovating my new apartment and I'm going to be meeting the designer tomorrow." He said apologetically as he walked away from the dining table, placing the cellphone next to his right ear.
Victory pretended to continue eating, her anxious heart fervently hoping that no one else would ask her any more questions about the pregnancy.
Ugh, this is hard, she huffed mentally.
She moved her gaze to the wooden grandfather's clock in the dining room, and counted the minutes until dinner would be over. Time seems to slow down when you're falling into an agonizing and painful death, she forlornly thought to her self.
Ten minutes later, Aaron stormed into the dining room. His black shoes were practically thumpin
Hi! What do you think of Aaron’s reaction? And is there anything more to what he said at the end of the chapter? I look forward to reading your comments. xx F.A.R. Ps: I’d be most thankful if you write a review for the book. Thank you!
"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked gently as the dark grey BMW silently sped into the city. He pulled Victory's slender hands into his and gave them a light squeeze, giving her his assurance that things will get better. She tore her gaze away from both their hands which were entwined on Arthur's lap and looked up to observe the damage that Aaron had imposed on his face. His gentle tone was in contradiction to how dreadful his face looks. His left cheek was already swollen in an angry shade of red. Combined with his busted lips and messy hair, within the dark confines of the car, he appeared more sinister and yet still manage to look dangerously attractive. Unconsciously, she pulled up one of her hands away from Arthur's hold and palmed it on his swollen cheek. Her thumb caressed his skin in slow gentle strokes. Arthur hissed as her hand touched the raw and swollen area of his cheek. "Does it hurt?" She asked gently, her emeral
Arthur pulled her into his arms and embraced her while she cried.It dawned on him that he seems to be hugging her quite often now, almost daily in fact. Now that we're destined to a shotgun wedding, might as well get used to touching her, he thought wryly. Besides, as a lecherous thought entered his head, he definitely wouldn't mind doing more than holding hands, preferably somewhere along the lines of what had happened at the Plaza Hotel. In the past, he never had been a hugger. Hell, he still refuses to be one. But Victory appeared so fragile and lost that it compelled him to reassure her that things will be alright. This innocent, former nun wannabe is crying and the least that he could do is offer a shoulder for her to cry on. As the proverb goes, there will be sunshine after the rain. In his case, it's a bloody thunderstorm. They've experienced two storms back to back now, in the form of Typhoon Aaron and HurricaneEdward. 
Saturday rolled in quickly and before she knew it, Victory was already packing her bags and getting ready to leave the apartment. Arthur had suggested that it would be better for them to check in at the hotel for the weekend, thus eliminating the need to drive back to the apartment after the party. In fact, Arthur had booked rooms for all their family members at the Plaza Hotel's executive floor.Well, technically Victory had to do all the bookings since she is still Arthur's personal assistant. She insisted to Arthur that things should not change, despite the fact that she is going to be Mrs. Victory Knight in less than a month's time. In fact, she refused to think of the upcoming nuptials at all, leaving all the planning to both her mother and future mother-in-law. It terrified her to know that very soon she'll be sharing a life with Arthur. Once her bags were ready, Arthur had picked them up and handed them over to Gerald, who placed the
Victory's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She wondered if she dared to say yes, her head buzzing from what had just transpired between them. Her body was screaming with desire and her nerves endings felt like they were was on fire, begging for him to continue ravishing her. Her face flushed as brazened images flashed behind her eyes. Delicious tingles teased her skin where Arthur had touched her.Her heart thumped wildly and her emerald green eyes were glittering with longing and abandonment. At this moment, Arthur realised that she lusted for him as badly as he did for her. Before Victory could answer his question, a knock sounded at the door. Not moving from his position, his hands holding a protective grip over Victory's upper body, he raised the sound of his voice, gruffly asking, "Who is it?" "Hair and makeup," a loud and clear female voice replied from behind the door. Giving out a frustra
After his heart-felt speech, Aaron tried to amble to where Victory and Arthur were seated, a champagne flute held precariously in his right hand. His usually immaculate dark hair is in disarray, his face flushed and his blue eyes unfocused and wild. Alcohol clouding his judgment, he stumbled as he tried to walk. His knees buckled, causing him to sway and fall unceremoniously on the floor, making a loud thumping noise as his body came into contact with the carpeted floor. This was followed by a clinking sound. The champagne flute rolling carelessly on the floor and away from his sprawled body, spilling all of its contents in its wake. Grunting, he tried to push himself off the floor. The ballroom fell eerily into silence. You could literally hear a pin drop in the large room. All eyes were now staring at Aaron in trepidation. Five minutes later, he had to be carried out of the ballroom by security because he was fighting drunkenly with one of t
Now that their engagement has been announced to the world, in public Arthur appeared to be more attentive to Victory. Whenever they are together in public, his hand never left her body. He was either holding her hand, hugging her waist or putting them around her shoulders. His lips often makes their appearance, either grazing her cheek, forehead or the crown of her head. The poster image for the world's greatest fiancé, as Victory labels him in her mind. Never in a million years would she have expected that the fire-breathing dragon is a big fan of public displays of affection or PDA. Grouchy Luci is fast becoming Barney the Dragon, Victory realizes.She won't be surprised if he's going to start wearing a bright purple suit, put on sparkly sunglasses and wear bright leather boots to outshine Elton John. Honestly, Victory does not know what to make of him. Despite his PDA, he keeps his hands to himself when they a
Victory groggily woke up to the sound of machines beeping loudly next to her. She tentatively opened her eyes and they were instantly flooded by bright lights, causing her to squint. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the brightness and her blurred vision came into focus. Where am I? She asked herself. Her green eyes roamed slowly across the small room that she was in, trying to note of her surroundings. White concrete walls, bright flourescent lights and sterile linoleum floors greeted her eyes. I'm in a hospital room, she realised. She looked up to her left at the machine that was beeping next to the hospital bed where she lie, it's high-pitched sound reverberating in the small room. Her eyes moved down and followed one of the transparent intravenous line that were connected to a drip next to the machine, leading to the back of her wrist. It was then that she noticed a familiar mop of dark hair resting on the right hand side of the bed next t
Things became extremely chaotic for Victory and Arthur as theirwedding day loomed closer. Both of them were only given respite from wedding duties for only one day. And thatwas the day that theyhad returned from the hospital. In the following days, both their mothers had demanded the two of them to attend fittings, rehearsals, food tasting, wine tasting and so many other things that the bride and groom are supposed to approve for the wedding. It is not a surprise to find both of them refusing to attend to any of these nonsense. Nonsense is what they both labelled the various appointments that their mothers had arranged. Victory needed to recover from her miscarriage whileArthur had pleaded he couldn't attend due to work. Both gave free rein to their mothers to decide on whatever they wanted for the wedding. Despite using work as an excuse, truthfully, Arthur did not step into Knight Towers after Victory's mi
Arthur salaciouslytraced every inch of Victory's body with his hands, mouth, lips and tongue. He expertly devoured her, his actions fueled by her whimpers, basking in gratification every time he heard her plead and moan his name. His pale blue eyes darkened with lust as he gazed at his bride who was writhing with pleasure in front of him. He was facing her groin, his tongue lapping, teasing the swollen nubbin at her entrance as his fingers pumped relentlessly inside of her. Victory twitched in response,her skin tingling in excitement, the sexual tension was too much for her to bear. She was so close to losing control, her fingers desperately clutching his hair, trying to find an anchor to the passion that is threatening to take over her senses. Deliberately, heremoved his tongue from her clit and raised his head, causing her to groan and rock her hips in agony. She was so close to reaching her pinnacle and yet Arthur wasdel
Two weeks later. Unlike their wedding day debacle, Victory and Arthur's second attempt at getting married occurred during one of the worst downpours New York has ever seen. The weather was increasingly tempestuous, the wind howling ferociously as the heavy and almost continual rain soaked each and every guest that arrived at the church. Even the bride and groom were not spared. Despite being shielded by a huge umbrella, the bottom half of Victory's dress was absolutely drenched by the time she made it inside the church's complex. Those who were superstitious might consider the gloomy weather as a bad omen, but Victory and Arthur were indifferent. The both of them only had eyes for each other and the weather was the least of their worries. In Arthur's case, he is more worried about Victory leaving him at the altar as she did the last time. So, in order to avoid Victory from doing another episode of the runaway bride, Arthur ha
"Arthur, look! Someone's proposing!" Victory called eagerly to Arthur, waving her hands, beckoning him to come towards her. A wide smile had adorned her face as she eagerly peered through the darkness, trying to see if she could spot a couple under the canopy of trees in Central Park. Her elbows were resting on the railings, her body leaning forward as a dreamy sigh escaped her lips. She wasn't able to spot anything underneath the clump of trees so she lether eyes wander across the buildings surrounding Central Park, wondering which unit were owned by the soon to be betrothed couple. "Aww... This is so sweet, don't you think so?" She cooed as she looked wistfully at the fairy lights, her emerald green eyes trailing over the words, Will You Marry Me? Whoever did this must have done some meticulous planning indeed, Victory thought to herself. How many fairy lights did it take to pull this off, she wondered, a frown marring her forehead.She was
The next day arrived quickly. It is the day where Victory and Arthur will finally go on their third date. Despite her excitement, this day also means that Victory will have to move her stuff from her Upper West Side Apartment to Arthur's apartment not far from Fifth Avenue. And just like any billionaire heiress out there, Victory has a LOT of STUFF in her apartment in the form of clothes and shoes. Victory was so busy with packing and moving into Arthur's apartment that by the time the last box had arrived in Arthur's apartment, the sun had dipped in the horizon. Glancing at the time, she hurriedly entered her bathroom, she was feeling all hot and sticky and desperately needed a shower. Almost an hour later, she exited her walk-in closet, wearing a demure, white Ted Baker dress with a huge black bow across her chest. Perhaps this is Victory's way of saying she's gifting herself to Arthur, all wrapped nicely in Ted Baker's oversized bow.
The next morning Victory woke up to find Arthur quietly snoring beside her. Savouring the rare occasion that she gets to observe him without him knowing, she gazed at the man who had managed to steal her heart. There is a softness to his expression when he's sleeping and her hand itched, wanting to stroke his face. However, she refrained, not wanting to wake him up from his slumber. Luckily they remembered to draw the curtains last night so the room was still covered in darkness. She turned away from Arthur and her hand roamed to the side table next to the bed, picking up her handphone to check the time. Eight o'clock. That's odd, she thought to herself. Arthur has never slept in as late as this. He is usually very punctual with his time. They didn't sleep that late last night either, both falling asleep right after they made love. What Victory did not know was that Arthur had sneaked out of the room last night for a rendezvous with
"Arthur, what do you think happened between Faith and Aaron all those years ago in high school?" Victory asked after they have left the Halloween party. Her forehead wrinkled as she tried to think of the connection between Aaron and Faith but nothing came to mind. Victory has not been a good best friend to Aaron for the past few months. Granted, she has had her hands full with adopting to her new position at A. K. Media, battling Arthur in court over the custody of Astor and now rebuilding her relationship with Arthur. And whenever she would talk to Aaron, it was always about her problems and not his. She hasnot heard a peep from Aaron about the mysterious girl who took all his clothes and left it outside the toilet and she is curious about her. It was a relief that she was able to easily find his clothes, otherwise she might have to resort to taking the table cloth from the registration counter for Aaron to use to cover his nudity.
By the time Arthur and Victory returned to the hall three hours later, the Halloween Party have just begun. A. K. Media's immersive parties are legendary and quite rare, as they are hosted only a handful of times in a year. The last immersive event that A. K. Media hosted was the blackout luncheon at The Peninsula hotel when Victory returned to New York from Switzerland.There is a long waiting list of celebrities and social influencers clamouring for an invite to the event. The invitation list is exclusive, limited to a small number of people. Tonight, the guest list only includes 300 people. A small line can be seen at the entrance of the hall, party-goers handing over their black and gold invitation card to catwoman and supergirl manning the registration counter. This being a Halloween Party, everyone was garbed in various costumes, and that also include the staff of A. K. Media who are working tonight. A gift bag is handed to each party-g
Red-faced and choking on my saliva, I ran out of the living room to my bedroom, muttering some lame excuse to Faith about not feeling well. My heart was pumping wildly, interlaced with fear and disbelief. Why did I have to say that? Why does my mouth always seem to get me in trouble? Urgh! I feel like punching myself, if that is even possible. I went to lie on my bed, trying to make sense of my thinking. Strange thoughts popped up like bubbles on the beach, one after another. I gave out a frustrated sigh, trying very hard not to pull out all of my hair, thoroughly annoyed at myself. As I was drowning myself in regret, my phone suddenly beeped, a message popping up on the screen. Relieved to have something to divert my attention, I picked up my phone. Arthur: "Do you want me to accompany you tonight, honey bun?" Speak of the devil and here he is. I huffed in annoyance, pursing my lips as I consider on ignoring the
And just like that, the very next day Arthur picked up Astor and Susannah from my apartment and took all their belongings with him. He was so confident that I will follow suit that he cleaned up everything in both their rooms, insisting that they won't be coming to visit me as I will be coming to stay with him soon. He even offered me to let him bring my stuff as well but I was adamant for him to wait until after the third date. No mule is as stubborn as a Victory Sinclair. We were standing at the front door of my apartment, Susannah and Astor had left with Gerald and are waiting for Arthur in the car. I stared at his pale blue eyes while he stares into mine. Neither of us backs down, for we have arrived at an impasse. Which is weird because he wants me in his bed and I also want to be in his bed. No surprises there. The only thing holding me back is my insistence at going for the third date, simply because that is what we had agreed upon.