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Chapter 9
Huling Na-update:
2023-07-25 18:20:24
Kaugnay na kabanata
A year and half Chapter 10
"I'm going to be a father." I dodged out of the way the moment Brad's drink broke out of his mouth in a spray that stained the wooden bar and the tender who quickly came down with a rag like he had expected nothing less. "What the fuck!" My blonde-haired friend exclaimed, wiping away the moisture with the back of his hand as he doubled over to release a burst of deep boisterous laughter that made curious heads turn our way, and maybe if I wasn't in such a horrid state of dilemma, I would have found it comical enough to laugh too, but I was.Apparently, rock bottom had a basement and I was currently living in it.I picked up my translucent glass, frustration nibbling on the edges of my nerves as I gulped down a mouthful.Frankly, there was a part of me that wasn't happy about it. Knocking Hope up was the last thing I wanted to do and it wasn't helping my case that I craved having her again. I leaned back into my leather chair and fiddled with my watch. All day long I hadn't been abl
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 11
HopeAs Killian had said, his driver showed up exactly on time and picked me up. The evening air was brisk and breezy and the traffic downtown was heavy no surprise.When the car finally pulled up in front of a towering building, I quickly thanked him, stepped out, and brushed my hands nervously over my skirt. The moment the doorman ushered me into the softly lit expensive restaurant, a model-thin beautiful waiter dressed in native Chinese apparel approached me."Ms. Sterling, the gentleman is waiting for you."I smiled, gripping my beaded purse more tightly in my moist hand as I stepped forward.The waiter led me down a dark hall that had a walkway lined with tall bamboo trees. We passed an opening to a large seating area and once we reached the end of the hall, she opened a door and motioned for me to step. Cautions, I nodded a thank you and entered. It was a small room widely decorated with flowers and Chinese lanterns.It didn't take long for me to spot Killian. He sat leg-cross
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 12
KillianMy office was a warzone. They kept coming in herds; the interview requests, emails concerning wedding bookings, bouquets of congratulatory flowers, and worst of all, constant calls from my stepmother."Killian? Are you still there?" She inquired from three thousand miles away in Ireland and I pinched the bridge of my nose, regretting why I canceled my lunch meeting just to hear her blab about things that concerned my supposed wedding. "Yes, mother," I answered groggily, still a bit woozy from waking up with a raging hangover."You need to bring her home, your father wants the wedding here, you know how traditional he can be.""Mother." I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. "For the tenth time, I have heard all you said and will discuss this with my fiancee. Rest assured, you will hear from us soon.""How soon, I need to meet this girlfriend of yours and see if she's well suited for you.""Soon mother, soon." Irritation pricked at me. "I have to go now, I am busy
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 13
Hope When the knock first sounded on the door, I didn't bother getting off the couch because I was currently elbowed deep in scooping my ice cream and pizza combo, and at this juncture, nothing was worth putting it down for. But when the knocking persisted, I forced myself up, feeling a slight pang in my belly which must have come from vomiting half the day. You know, most women finished with morning sickness and nausea after the first two months. Not me, I still woke up every day feeling like I had the flu. Brushing my hair out of my face, I walked to the front door, silently praying it wasn't my landlady coming to get me. I heaved out a soft exhale and opened the door and one look at the person standing in front of it made my stomach churn in a not-so-pleasant way. "What are you doing here?" "Well, I—" he started but paused when his eyes lowered to my chest. And then his brows cocked up inquisitively. "Why are your tits like that?" I looked down at my
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 14
When Killian broke away from my lips, he didn't pull away, instead, a smug smile crawled on his lips at the sight of my brother's perplexed face."Hey," he proceeded. "You must be..." He wrinkled his forehead as though it was a difficult thing to remember. "Ah yes! Scott is it? It's a great pleasure meeting you again, although I'd hoped we'd met in a much different circumstance."I bit the inside of my cheek and slowly peeked to the side. One look at Scott's horrified expression made my gut tighten. I turned away swiftly, attempting to tug my body away from Killian's but he didn't relent."What the fuck is this?" The grocery bags in his hand dropped to the ground with a thud, his eyes narrowing to slits as he stormed towards us.Shit."Killian, let me go." I urged, trying to break free from his grasp but he held me tight. "Killian he's going to —"Before I could as much as get my words out, I was pushed away to the side, left to watch as my brother threw all of his weight behind a pun
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 15
KillianI was certain I had officially lost my mind.That was the only plausible reason for my behavior today.Fuck. I was such an idiot; a fucked up moron who kissed the woman he swore he hated and what's more fucked up was that I couldn't stop thinking of the other places I wanted to kiss her. The need to taste her, to smell of her, the feel of her so close against me had gotten so out of control that it was almost unmanageable. It was sick and so fucked up, and now to fuck it up, even more, she was in the hospital after passing out, leaving me propped against the wall of the private ward while watching her shitface of a brother prance around with both hands pulling his hair in a clear show of frustration. "Relax will you," I hissed in annoyance. "You're making me fucking dizzy," "It's all my fault," he panicked, cursing under his breath like a crazed man. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the wall. While his protectiveness and loyalty toward Hope fascinated me, it didn't
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 16
HopeScott poured me a glass of vitamin water and handed it to me. "How'd you sleep?" He asked. I propped my elbows on the kitchen counter and took a large gulp. "I feel sick." He smiled. "I'm sorry, baby. Is that what you go through every day, the vomiting thing?" I sighed and took another chug at my water. "That's just half of it." He pulled out the chair next to me and sat. "Don't you think it's best to skip the charity event if you don't feel good? You need to be resting full time." I shook my head. "It's fine. I can manage." "You're still adamant about telling mum about your wedding tonight, aren't you?" A sinking feeling weighed heavily in my belly. I sighed a little. It'd been almost a week since we last saw or spoke to each other. I felt like the worse daughter on planet earth. "It's the only chance I'll get and sooner or later, she's going to see it somewhere." He nodded. "That's true but just try as much as possible to s
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25A year and half Chapter 17
KillianI readjusted my bow tie and tugged my sleek white tuxedo the moment I arrived in front of Hope's apartment door. "Hope?" I knocked, eager to see her for a reason I didn't fully understand.I guess I was just a little jiggy to drink her in the outfit I had picked out for her since I had never really done this for any woman before. With Megan, it was straightforward. She liked to do her own shopping and always questioned my fashion taste whenever I went out of my way to get her clothes, shoes, and accessories, so I stopped and just handed her my credit card instead.I shook her thoughts away from my head instantly. Right now, my main focus was on Hope and my child. When a minute passed and she still didn't open, I stepped forward and knocked again. "I'm sorry. Give me a minute!" Her voice boomed from inside the room, the shuffling noises indicating that she was pacing around quickly. I glanced at my watch. We were already running behind schedule. I groaned, leaning forward
Huling Na-update : 2023-07-25
Pinakabagong kabanata
A year and half Epilogue
HOPEA month later. Giving birth was the easy part— the heart-stopping contractions. Sweating like a donkey and trying to push while being spread out like some farm exhibit with strangers gawking between my knees. The yelling, the bleeding. Having my vagina stitched—it didn't seem terrifying at all.Know what was?Having to deal with all this baby weight that came after.I cursed my misfortune, turning to look at myself sideways in the mirror. After my pregnancy with Ryan, my body has yet to regain its original shape and for me, that was pretty devastating. "What's taking so long?" Killian asked, as usual, walking into my room unannounced but I was too annoyed to care if he saw me standing in my underwear or not. "What's wrong?" He strolled with lith grace towards me, and I found it ironic how he got to look this perfect while I carried all the scars and weight that came with birth. "The dress I picked out didn't fit. I feel humongous." "Hope." He sighed and stared at me through
A year and half Chapter 69
KillianI sleepwalked through the all process of wiping the blood away from my hands and strapping into a blue overall. My brain didn't recollect any information, except the one where I was being ushered into a room with doctors hovering around the elevated bed like wild animals. I carefully stepped inside, My heart wrenching painfully in my chest as my eyes landed on Hope. She was laying with a thick pink blanket draped over her parted legs. Her pale face was strained with tears, her hair flying wildly across her face. She was sweating, eyes closed tight with the pain."Hope, you need to push," the doctor demanded, but she shook her head, groaning in pain. "I can't," she breathed, keeping her eyes closed as her legs quivered. "I can't. It hurts.""Hope..." My voice broke as I moved closer to her, calling her desperately and I wasn't sure if she had heard me but then her bloodshot eyes pushed open and the moment they met mine, my chest felt tight; like I was being suffocated. "Ki
A year and half Chapter 68
Killian My heart wasn't made of stone. It was just like everyone else's, and right now, it hammered against my ribs so painfully I was sure I'd die. But I didn't stop.I squeezed the stirring wheel as I sped down the freeway, trying to exhaust myself, trying not to think. I was running—away from my life, away from my thoughts, away from Hope.The look on her face when I'd zoomed off taunted me. Hearing the pain in her voice as she begged me to stay wounded my heart. It felt like someone had cracked open my ribs and gripped my beating heart in their hands only to nearly squeeze the life out of it. The guilt ate me alive. I shouldn't have left her that way, but despite the pain, I did it because I was hurting, because I was scared that if I stayed, I'd only be caging her. I couldn't do that. I couldn't hurt her any more than I already had. So I wanted to go. I wanted to go back to my life where she meant nothing to me.But how could I ever do that when she'd taken up all the space t
A year and half Chapter 67
I was in a complete daze when I walked back into my apartment.My heart broke and it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I didn't want to believe that Killian was gone. I didn't want to believe that he had left me again. Maybe it was all a dream, maybe if I closed my eyes or if I pinched myself hard enough he'd—"Great, you're back," Scott's voice pulled me out of my tailspin. He stepped out of my kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand and looked at me like nothing had happened; like he hadn't just sold his pride and driven the love of my life out of the door. "Now that you're here, we can talk about your flight schedule." My fist clenched by my side. When I said nothing but glared at him with all the hate and anger and fury I could muster, he released a long breath. "Come on, why are you looking at me like that." He walked toward me and stretched out his cup. "Drink this, you'll feel better."I slapped his hand along with the cup out of my face and watched as it shat
A year and half Chapter 66
My heart was palpitating. It pounded hard, so hard that I swore it would burst out of my chest. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Scott barked, charging at him again but I quickly wormed my way in between them."Scott please stop.""No." He hissed, his eyes filled with so much rage as he shoved me aside and jammed Killian against the wall. "I thought I told you I didn't want to see you anywhere near my sister?! What part of leave her the fuck alone didn't you understand!" Killian groaned. God no. He was bleeding. This was all my fault. I shouldn't have let him in. I shouldn't have asked him to stay. "Scott, I'll explain," I held his arm desperately. "Please let him go.""Stay out of this," he gruffed, flinging his arm away from mine so harshly that I stumbled backward but caught myself with the support of the counter."Let me fucking go!" Killian barked, ripping Scott's hand away from his throat and staggering back, fighting to get his air. For a moment, he looked like he woul
A year and half Chapter 65
"Kiss me," I implored, once again enslaved by my body, unashamed of my words. "Kiss me, Killian."I never really understood the power of desire until this very moment, until we were both inside my apartment, standing inches away from each other, feeding off the sensations, the overwhelming sense of need and desire. "I'm afraid to do so." My breath quickened. "Why?" "Because," he took a step closer to me, so close, I could barely breathe. But rather than kissing me, he swept my hair over one shoulder and ran his fingers over my bare neck. "There's so much I want to do to you right now, there's so much I feel." He admitted, trailing his hand down my arm. "But I'm afraid I might hurt you again."A burst of pleasure shot through me at his words. "You won't hurt me, Killian, I know you won't. So kiss me right now.""Are you sure?" he murmured, his words falling mere inches from my lips. "Because once I do, I might not be able to stop.""I trust you."That seemed to do the trick because
A year and half Chapter 64
HopeAfter dinner, Killian and I walked the beach a while in comfortable silence, watching the scanty crowd. Life here seemed so different, so surreal, carefree, easy. "Everyone here seems happy. It's amazing.""If you like it so much, we could always relocate."I snapped my head to look at him. He shrugged. "It'll be a good chance to get away from everything. There are lots of free rooms, we could maybe make one into a nursery." I released my breath in a soft sigh. "Killian, stop saying things like that."He chuckled softly. "I mean it. You're the only woman I've ever brought here, that's because you mean a lot to me.""Not even Megan?" I wanted to suck the words back in the second they slipped out because he stared at me with an emotion that choked me. "On second thought, don't answer that," I said quickly and looked away from him. "Not even her." His words sent a flutter to my belly. "Really?"He smiled. "Let's find somewhere to sit, your feet must hurt."They did. I nodded an
A year and half Chapter 63
HopeI stood in front of the large mirror on the wall and smoothened my dress over my bump. As much as I would've loved to lay down in my bed and cry my feelings away all night, I still had an evening with Killian Fobster to get through first. For some last-minute adjustments, I applied eyeliner and pinched my cheeks, satisfied with my look. I took in a deep breath and flitted back into the bedroom in search of my shoes. That was when a knock sounded on my door. It had to be Killian.My nervousness topped up a notch. I quickly kicked the pizza wrapping underneath the couch and padded barefoot towards the door, trying not to show entrepreneurial oomph.When I opened it, his dark eyes caressed me, gliding from my head to my toes before lingering back on my face. "Can I come in?"I blinked away the hotness I felt and immediately released the door handle for him to step in."You're here a little earlier than I expected, I'm not done getting ready yet," I told him, watching as he looke
A year and half Chapter 62
Killian I'd spent the better part of my morning clearing the piled-up stacks of documents on my desk. The other part consisted of planning a date that put me in a royally pissed mood because nothing was going the way I wanted it to. What the fuck was I thinking when I'd said that in the first place?I had rehearsed last night a thousand times since my conversation with my mother. What I'd say to her, how I'd make my plea. And I thought I'd figured it out but then this happened and I had only a few hours to plan the perfect date. That woman was going to be the death of me; I just knew it.I took off my glasses and tossed them on my desk. My mind was trying to narrow down a plan but nothing fit, nothing fucking fit. I scrubbed my hands over my face and I inhaled a deep breath before pressing the intercom button. "Cleo?"I waited for her to reply or at least walk into my office but when nothing happened after a minute, I pressed it again. "Cleo?"Another minute passed. Was it so impo
