(Leigh’s POV)“I’ll just make a call,” I lied to Kayla, padding toward the door.I was almost in the doorway when Dyna called me. “Leigh, why do you look suspicious?”“Huh?” I blink at her, unsure if she is joking or if she notices I am lying to them. I shook my head. “I just don’t want Abuela to wake up,” My lips curve a forced smile.“Let her go,” Kayla said, shaking her head, breathing out. “At least, her excuse now is much better than before,” she stopped typing. “Do you remember when she said she’ll just pee, but she just came from the restroom?”Dyna chuckled softly, not wanting to wake up Victor and Ellen, now snoring. I frowned at them but continued to go out of the room. I breathed when I got out and saw that Royce and Alex were no longer in the hallway. Instead of taking the elevator, I used the stairs. The presidential suite, where Abuela is confined, is on the tenth floor, while Dr. Facer’s clinic is on the fifth floor.I was panting when I reached the fifth floor. I have
(Leigh’s POV)“The restroom in the suite was clogged, so she went to Dr. Facer’s office and used her restroom to pee?” Royce couldn’t stop laughing as he peeled the orange fruit for Abuela.My nostrils are flaring in anger and embarrassment as I look at Royce, telling the story to everyone. His face was red from laughing while he shared what had happened last night when they saw me coming out of her clinic. This was the second time he said that story, last night with my Kayla and Dyna, and now with everyone visiting Abuela early this morning.I gave Alex a sullen look when he laughed with them, but when he caught my icy stare at him, he shook his head, mouthing ‘sorry’ as he kissed the top of my head.“Why did you visit Dr. Facer at that hour, Leigh?” Eloisa asks me, smiling as if waiting for good news.“Visiting her doctor, of course,” Abuela answered for me. “When are you giving birth?”I caught Kayla mouthing at Alex, “I told you.” He chuckled at her.I looked at the ceiling, count
(Leigh’s POV)“Captain Kayleigh.”Alex calls my name in a sensual and husky voice. I stumbled into my bedroom, laughing hilariously when we almost tripped the floor because of wanting to get inside in a hurry.When he tries to pull off my shirt, I hold on to the hem of my shirt. “The door.”He groans, dashing to the door, making sure to lock it. When he returns to me, he stops and smiles. “Captain Kayleigh, why are you still fully dressed?”“Oh,” I mumble, raising my index finger to stop him from coming to me. I took my phone and played the song Señorita on low volume. He chuckled, showing his sweet and beautiful smile as he remembered the night I first danced it.“You really love that song,” he chuckled.“Just setting the mood for you, Alexander Hearst,” I said as I licked my lips and pulled off my shirt. “I might not be able to do this soon,” I smiled, opening the button of my jeans. If I am expecting a baby, then I might as well do everything now to please my dear husband.I swayed
(Alexander’s POV)Dyna put her index fingers on the corners of Leigh’s mouth, lifting them before we go inside the room. The doctor gave Abuela permission to go home after having better lab test results, but after the news, Leigh and Dyna went out of the room, and I found them outside talking. I had to hide to know what was bothering her because she was silent, and her eyes were puffy, which I was not sure if it was because of crying.“What’s wrong, Leigh?” she asks, trying to make her smile. “Did you and Alex fight?”She shook her head. “I told you, it’s headache and colds.”Dyna scoffed at her. “That’s not colds. You can wipe out the whole city when you have colds, Leigh, because you sneeze a lot.”Leigh chuckled sadly. “I’m fine. I have already taken some medicine, so you have nothing to worry about, okay?”She pursed her lips. “I don’t know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just weird you’re like that. Is it the pregnancy thing? Is Alex pressuring you to get pregnant?” Sh
(Leigh’s POV)“Callie,” I looked under the table as my puppy comfortably lay down on the floor, nibbling my shoelace. I smiled, thanking her silently for doing it because I needed a few seconds to breathe. My whole body is trembling in anger and pain, but I have to pretend everything is okay.Alfie bent, taking Callie away from my shoes, but she barked at him.“Just let her,” I said in a hushed tone and then straightened up to continue our planning.Elle browsed our list and smiled, “And the budget?”“Sky is the limit,” Alex said, not breaking his eyes from me.I shook my head. “If this is a double wedding, we must split the cost. I don’t want to remember my wedding like having it as a freebie, Alex,” I sighed and turned my head to Sebastian.“My answer is the same as Alex. The sky is the limit, sweetheart, but you’re right, everything should be fifty-fifty since it’s a double wedding,” he explained.“Good!” I said briefly. “The ceremony venue?”“Anywhere is fine with me,” Zyra turns
(Alexander’s POV)I lay sideways on the bed, holding Leigh’s hand and playing at the diamond in her engagement ring she was wearing. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she smirked at me.“Are you planning some pranks on me, Alex?” she teased, raising her hand to look at her engagement ring. “You told me I can keep this. Was I too hard on Zyra yesterday?”I shook my head. “No,” I lowered my head, kissing her forehead. “How are you feeling now? I panicked last night,” he said, grinning.Leigh laughed. “Yeah, you even made my whole family panic, Alex.”“What can I do? You fainted and burning with fever,” I told her. I almost brought her to the hospital last night. “How can Mama be so calm about it?” I brushed her hair with my fingers, and she closed her eyes when I grazed my fingers on her face.“With seven children and twenty-four grandchildren, how can’t she be calm?” Leigh smiled. “I’m now okay, so don’t worry about me much, Alex,” she assured me.She had no fever this morning, but every ne
(Leigh’s POV)“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Seb asked me, peeking at me in my office.“Almost,” I answered, sending my emails to our suppliers. I glanced at him, smiling as I turned off my computer.Callie barked at Seb when he attempted to enter my office. He raised his hands in the air, looking at her.“Do you really have to bring that mutt to our dinner, sweetheart?” he asked, frowning at the puppy and definitely making me raise my eyebrows. Alfie came to my office. “This one’s not a mutt, Sebastian, but a spoiled baby here in the office. Come to papa, Callie!”Callie barked at Seb, and I wondered if she could smell that he was never a dog person. I sighed, wondering what to do with her if Alex and I divorced. She ran to Alfie.“You want me to babysit for Callie for a few hours?” he offered. “I’m not busy tonight. Plus, I like your apartment.” He grinned at me.I chuckled. “Are you sure?” I rose to my feet, approached Alfie, and pet Callie, scratching her head. “Would you like that
(Leigh’s POV)Distraction.It was all I needed to forget Alex, but heaven must have found my life entertaining that the file Elle gave me was the pictures from yesterday. I heaved a deep sigh, adding more patience to myself because Alfie and Elle were staring at me as if I was a piece of art in Italy. Even Callie was sitting beside me, wagging her tail.I propped my elbow on the computer table, clasping my hands and entwining my fingers as I lowered my head to look at her.“What do you want, Callie?” I asked, smiling sadly at her. She barked at me, coming to me closer and resting her head on my shoes as she lay down.“Mommy, I want to know what’s wrong?” Elle changed her voice, speaking for Callie.Alfie scoffed at Elle, shaking his head and perhaps telling her today wasn’t a good time for jokes.“What?” Elle raised her eyebrows. “You always do that when you talk to Callie.”“Come on, just ask me. You know that I hate you gawking at me like that when you have a gazillion questions.” I
(Alexander’s POV) “You may kiss your wife,” the officiant said, but my lips molded Leigh’s lips before he could finish his line. Leigh and I laughed as we watched Alfie’s video that he had sent us. I saw myself as tears rolled down my cheeks as I claimed her mouth, tasting the sweetness of my wife’s lips and feeling the overflowing happiness that we had finally renewed our vows. We were seated on the couch, facing the king-sized bed where the twins slept soundly. “Renewal of vows,” Leigh whispered as she leaned her head on my shoulder. “When I saw you and Chase talking this morning -” I cut him. “He was telling me the big problem I’d face if I continued my plan of marrying Zyra.” Her almond-shaped eyes gaped at me, looking at me with wonder. “Why didn’t you sign the divorce papers, Alex?” I planted a kiss on her hair. “Because I always hoped we will have our chance, Leigh.” “Me, too,” She smiled, but her eyes squinted and asked me, “When they said that the groom was missing, I
(Leigh’s POV)The groom is missing.How dare Alex ruins his multi-million-dollar wedding? I was puffing out air, thinking about what came to his crazy mind running away on this special day.When Ellen and Kayla came to my room, they were quiet. They seemed to have known the problem, but they chose not to talk. Kayla placed little Alexander in his stroller while Ellen approached me, taking baby Amanda from me.Elle opened the door and helped me fix the skirt of my wedding gown.“An update, Elle?” I asked her.“Alfie’s fixing the problem,” she said, glancing at my sisters, who padded out of the room. She laughs nervously when she notices I am worrying and don’t know what to pick first. “Focus, Leigh. This is your wedding. You’re not the one who loses the groom, so give that beautiful smile and have a blast,” she said, picking up my bouquet and giving it to me.“I just saw him a while ago -” My voice trailed off, realizing it was nonsense to talk about him now. “And why are you here? You
(Leigh’s POV)So much for my plan of beauty rest!I hardly had a wink last night because baby Amanda was crying almost all night that I wanted to rush her to the hospital, but whenever I danced her in my arms, she would stop crying and go to sleep. George brought Maxine yesterday to our house, and since she couldn’t come to our bedroom, she has been howling and crying until midnight. Only when Kayla got Callie out of my room that she stops whimpering.“What happened to you?” Elle blinked, looking at me as she entered my room.I climbed down from the bed lazily, went to my dresser, and saw my hair worse than a haystack. I groaned, looking at my eyes.She rolled her eyes, tugging me back to the bed.“What time are we leaving?” I asked, lying again on the bed. I need sleep—more of it.She chuckled. “We’re actually leaving. Just sleep in the car,” she suggested. “You need to have your hair done, makeup, and everything.”I groaned, going under the covers of my blanket. “Why is it that it d
(Leigh’s POV)“For you… For you, I will…” I breathed out, clutching my shirt, wondering why I couldn’t memorize my wedding vow.I inhaled… and then exhaled, looking at the perfect blue sky. It was a miracle that the weather today cooperated with us. Since Alex left that night, the sky has been crying with me, and though my family and friends saw me smiling, my heart was aching from the deep wound of the hard decision we had made.As long as we are together, every step or decision we make will be a mistake.“The flowers are soooo beautiful, Leigh,” Alfie uttered, admiringly looking at the different flowers, from roses of different colors to other flowers that we hardly recognize unless they would tell us what they were.I smirked at him. “When you get married, and the budget is sky is the limit, this is the result.”“But the couples would go to hell after,” he sighed.“Don’t say that,” I said, looking at the large and open meadow.It was last week when Mr. Hearst, the older Mr. Hearst,
(Alexander’s POV)After dinner, George went to Aunt Ida’s house, her temporary place to stay while we were here. Even if I don’t ask her, I know how she likes staying here because of the homey feeling we are experiencing.I heaved a deep sigh as I looked at the dark sky, trying to gather my senses together, thinking of what happened today and what I would do after this. For a honeymoon idea, I knew how much Leigh wanted to go back to the farm. We could spend our time there as one family, and when the twins are one or two, maybe we could all travel together.“Beer?” Royce asked, giving me a bottle of beer.I smiled, taking the bottle.“Reconsidering?” He sat on the wooden bench, gazing at the sky.“About Leigh or the twins?” I smirked, causing him to chuckle.He drank his beer, giving me a silent answer to tell him my plans for them.“As much as I hated Leigh for lying to me, I still love her, Royce,” It was easier to be honest to him than tell Leigh my feelings. She is one complicated
(Leigh’s POV)Was it the warm sprinkle from the shower? Perhaps Zyra’s fingernails have poison causing me to feel like this.Before he stepped into the shower area, my body was burning with desire, and there was a need inside me that wanted him to touch me… and kiss me.“Leigh,” His voice trailed off because as soon as he was in front of me, my hands grabbed his head, curling my fingers to his hair, never wanting to let him go. My heels have their own mind, raising my body to reach his soft lips, making my tongue do its work, exploring his mouth, taunting him into an adventure that I didn’t care if we would regret in the end.I must have turned on something in him, too. He pinned me to the wall, and his hands excitedly touched every part of me, feverishly arousing my heart, body, and soul. We were on fire, kissing intensely, touching passionately, caressing our bodies like we have hungry for a long time.He brought me into a new world when he thrust his manhood to my core, rocking and
(Leigh’s POV)Before I went to the kitchen to drink water, I brought the three babies to the porch and continued working there. Being a single mother, I had to work, but I mostly handled special editing projects, so I could still work from home. I asked Dyna to watch them for a while as I went inside, but as soon as I returned to the porch, she left in a hurry to go to her bakeshop. If only I could pull the days to our wedding day so that this would be over. Yet I also wished to stop the time, hoping that Alex would not get my children from me. I was in the middle of editing a picture when a familiar car stopped in front of our house.I rose to my feet, walking in the direction of the white vehicle because I was not sure at first who could our unexpected visitor be, but when the passenger door at the back of the car opened, I was surprised to see Zyra.She dashed to me, looking furious as she approached me. “You bitch!” She screamed angrily as she pulled my hair toward her.I could n
(Alexander’s POV)With a crib in Kayleigh’s bedroom, it was impossible to add another bed, and despite everyone’s disapproval of letting me stay in her bedroom, they didn’t have the choice when Carlito spoke up, explaining the reason why. I received sullen looks, especially from her brothers, but no one shared their disagreement.I have been staring at her ceiling for an hour now, listening to her even breathing. I felt guilty for taking our children on the day of her birthday, but I didn’t know, and I was already consumed by much anger that I didn’t think much.When I heard baby Amanda cry, I closed my eyes immediately when I felt Leigh move. She got up, still yawning, when she climbed down from the bed, taking our daughter from the crib. She sat on the chair next to the bed and pulled off her sleepwear to expose her breast to her. When I heard her even breathing as she breastfed our baby, I opened my eyes to check on them, watching her look like she was sleeping.As my little girl w
(Alexander’s POV)Kayla and Eloisa came into the room with little Alexander and baby Amanda. When the twins cried, it was like something snapped inside Leigh’s mind, making her blink. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring me in front of her and seeing only her two children.“Alex…” She cried.Eloisa, her eyes puffy from crying, nodded. “Yes. Alex came back and returned them.”“Are they hungry? Is Alex…” Leigh said, pressing her breasts and shaking her head. “Never mind.”“You have to eat and clean up first, Leigh,” Kayla told her.“Of course,” she said, pacing around the room, not knowing what to do first. “Is Alex -”She stopped again, perhaps she still didn’t know how to ask it, but couldn’t she see me? Kayla placed Amanda in the crib and approached her sister, putting her hands on her shoulder and holding her in place.“Alex is fine. He’s very much okay. You don’t have to worry about him. Listen to me, Kayleigh, gather yourself together because the twins are hungry. Eloisa will help