CHAPTER 96M I R A N D AI remember how the church looked amazing with all those tons of beautiful roses that filled the entire venue. I remember how happy I was when I married Hugo. I remember how it felt to finally kiss him in front of a real altar with guests witnessing us being married. I remember every single thing and I feel so happy when I try to look back at it.We were all happy that day and even when we got to the wedding reception, everyone congratulated us. I was massively thankful and happy that they accepted the fact that I married Hugo even though I know some people are raising eyebrows at me cos I married him after divorcing Landon.I don't care anymore. All that matters to me is to make my family complete, to make the kids happy and to be with Hugo.I love him so much that I think no words can explain how my heart beats when he's around me and how I love him very dearly. I think even though I hug him as tight as I could, it still wouldn't be enough to show him how muc
EPILOGUE PART 1B E NEver felt like the entire world is on your shoulders? I do.All the time, actually.When your father is the greatest businessman named Hugo Saintclare who owns the biggest conglomerate in England and some parts of the world, you'll definitely be pressured to actually do your best as his eldest son. Everyone is expecting me to be as great as my father but I know I can't be as best as he is.I don't say that my dad is a bad man, because he isn't. He's even the most amazing person that I've ever met aside from my mother. They've been married for twelve years now and I think during that span of time, they've shared so many moments together with us.I'm happy and very thankful that he's my father, but despite being blessed with all we've got, there are still disadvantages of being a child of Hugo Saintclare.One, I've grown up with paps following me since I was a young even until now and it's annoying when cameras are on my face.Two, I always doubt the people around
EPILOGUE PART 2B E N Coral leaves my office. I faced my back to the door as I begin to take my blazer from my chair. I hear the sound of the door opening again, the same time I placed my blazer around me. I fixed my collar as I push my hair off my face."She's here sir." Coral states.I nod.The sound of the door closing."I'm so honored to have this kind of opportunity Mr. Saintclare." A sweet voice speaks and I know it wasn't Coral. "Thank you so much for letting me have this quick interview with you." She adds.I spin myself around to face her, "I actually didn't want--" I stopped with what I was going to say when I finally saw her.I paused.I stare at her longer.Her long hair was strawberry blond, and her eyes... I think they were a pair of light blue. She stood there, squirming and felt uneasy standing before me. I look at her from head to toe and she was simple. She was wearing a dirty coveralls with hand prints on it, a tank top beneath, and a pair of dirty white Converse s
PrologueHe placed the money on top of the table right in front of her. Her eyes were quick enough to land at the bills."That's $3,000." He says.He kept staring at her eagerly while his hands holding onto each other."What's your name?" He asks."Well... You can call me anything you want to, babe." She flirts, trying to hide her real identity.She smiles at him as the music blares loudly through the walls of the club."Why are you doing this?" He asks.She grins at him while she twirls her glass of champagne in little circles."Why not?" She asks back.She slightly pulled her head up to him and just smirked at the man who was wearing a charcoaled black suit and tie with a white dress shirt under it. He sits right across her with his leg over the other as he tries to study this kind of woman that he hasn't met before."You don't have to do this you know? You don't have to be this.... kind of woman that you're not." He adds."You don't know me." She says."But you don't have to be lik
1T H E AI walk my way to Mrs. Victoria's office with my heart thumping hard against my chest. To be honest, I don't like walking inside her office all alone. It's like walking inside a lion's den.Everyone knows that she's very strict and very moody. Bipolar, at some point actually. When she wants you inside her office, it's either she's going to scold you for doing something wrong at work or either she fires you. Either way, it's always negative when she calls an employee inside her den.I'm not saying that she's always moody or angry, but there would be times that she's nice but that's very very seldom to happen. Then there are most times when she's maddening and bossy as hell which happens almost always in every day of the week.Sometimes I questioned myself why did I ever wanted to be an intern here. Maybe because she deceived me. She was nice when she interviewed me, I guess it was all for the show just so she can lure employees in to work for her. Hence the magazine name, Lure
1.5T H E A I get on Twitter and searched for his verified account; @BenStyles. I wasn't shocked anymore to see his 30 million followers on it. That's already the total sum of the populations of so many countries. I expected a huge amount of people to follow him anyways, and this dude sure is famous as hell. So I was one of the 30 million that follows him.My doorbell chimes so I rushed to it only to find Kylie Moore and Jonah Jane, my two best friends slash board mates. We live in one apartment building where we were just doors away next to each other. Kylie lives next to me while Jonah was just across us.The three of us are like Neapolitan ice cream. Kylie and I took up English Literature, and Jonah took Modern Art. Kylie and Jonah came from a well-off family, I didn't. Kylie and I are tall in height. Jonah is the elf. Kylie and I use logic in all aspects of life most especially when it comes to relationships and falling in love while Jonah is Team Feelings all the way. Jonah is t
2Later, after Kylie and Jonah had left after we had dinner together so they could finally sleep, I decided to stay up for a bit. I head to my bed, settled on my pillow with my laptop on my lap.I stayed up until one in the morning, reading more and more since I've already dug up some dirt about him.Benedict Edward Rose Styles. Twenty-five years old. Fuckingly wealthy. He got a headline the day when the world found out he was the first born of Harry Styles from a one night stand. Mr. Harry Styles used to belong to an insanely famous boyband years ago called One Direction, later he turned to be a ridiculously filthy rich businessman. His mother, Miranda Rose Styles, at first kept him in secret for seven years from Harry and the entire world since she wasn't ready to tell everyone about him. Mrs. Styles was also married to her ex-husband Louis Tomlinson which was Harry Styles' best friend who turned out to also be a part of One Direction.Not too cliche kind of love triangle.At age se
3The building itself looked amazing with every fancy mirrored windows all piled up beautifully. Oh god I'm really here. I take a deep breath in before stepping inside and my own reflection pains me.Inside the lobby, the floors were in white marble and granite that spreads all through out from one end to another beneath my feet. Here holds a steel that keeps the glass staircase in tact which leads to the second lobby floor and a see-through elevator that zooms up and down. The building looked like an edgy nightclub but as quiet as a museum.As I walked passed the revolving doors and deeper into the reception. Oh fuck me, everybody at the lobby is looking at me. I can't do this. I just can't.I take a deep breath in and exhaled. Get your shit together Thea, this is a once in a lifetime chance. Your internship is at stake. You'll embarrass the name of Lure Magazine. Even though I'm already embarrassing the magazine's name because of how I dressed.I walk up to the reception even though
87 T H E A Sebastian committed suicide. He ended his own life with a gun in his head. No one even knew how he had a gun in the first place and no one had any idea he was going to do that. He was supposed to meet Ben and the others tomorrow for a reunion. He was supposed to live a new life after being sentenced in prison for seven years. He was supposed to live in a tropical place and start a new life for himself. He was supposed to live a life filled with dreams now that he is out in prison. Sebastian was supposed to live. I was supposed to forgive him. The autopsy report stated that it happened around twelve midnight which means just a few hours after he left our home. I have never felt so depressed in my entire life that I wasn't even able to tell him a lot of things that I wanted to say. I didnt know what I was exactly feeling, completely lost in my thoughts and emotions after Sebastian's passing. I knew that there was something wrong in his eyes when he talked to me becaus
86T H E A"How have you been?" He asks.Sebastian wore blue, white and light pink plaided top, a pair of faded jeans and a dirty white sneakers. He looked older than the last time I saw him and his hair has gotten longer too. He looked different, but those eyes still frightens me.Those merciless eyes.I couldn't stare at him longer and I had to look away from his gaze. I clear my throat, "I have been well." I answered."I'm really glad that you are." Sebastian tells me."Um, do you want to drink something Sebastian? Tea?" Ben offers.I quickly held his wrist, stopping him from leaving me alone in here and stared into his eyes as I said to him. "Please don't leave me here."Ben stares intently at me before he turns to Sebastian who speaks, "You dont really have to offer me anything."I bite my inner cheek and breathe in some confidence before I faced Sebastian. "What are you doing here?"Sebastian stares at me eagerly."What do you want?" I asked firmly."I came here to see if you ha
85T H E AI couldn't sleep the entire night as I was bothered about Sebastian's release happening in just a few hours.Thoughts were filling and piling inside my head one over the other and I don't know if this was going to let me sleep at all.So I slipped out of the bed where Ben was sleeping soundly and headed out of bedroom to get myself a glass of wine from downstairs. I hate myself when I turn to alcohol every time my thoughts are fogged up and fucked up. I hate when there are questions left unanswered and my solution is alcohol.I hated it.I hated it so much I hate myself too.I finished two glasses of wine and spent almost thirty minutes just sitting on a chair where I tried to drown and sort my troubled thoughts. I finally pulled myself up and headed back to my bedroom only until I saw Xavier heading out of his room, crying. I rushed to his side and wished that he wouldn't smell the stingy scent of alcohol from my breath."Xavier." I cooed. "What happened?""Mommy I had a n
84T H E A“Why didn’t you tell him?”Benedict's question still lingers in my mind.Why didn't I tell Sebastian back in the day?I have been asking myself that same question over and over again for the past couple of years. I used to tell myself that I wasn't ready and I know I wasn't ready. I lied to myself when I said I was ready to confess to him about our child but I was absentmindedly denying the fact that my mind was filled with so many thoughts as soon as I faced Sebastian.When I saw him, I was reminded of how he raped me mercilessly. When I saw him, I was reminded of how dirty of a woman I was. When I saw him, I was reminded of how I didn't want this baby to be born if only it hadn't been for Ben.Ben has always been my rock and my strength after everything that happened to me. All these years, he accepted me no matter what and I have been beyond blessed to have a man like that in my life.That kind of love and care he showed me is going to be something I didn't want to waste
83T H E AI stare at my own reflection in front of the mirror, I gained weight but I look different compared to the old me a few weeks ago. My eyes travelled down to my baby bump and as I turn to my side, I feel more anxiety building in the back of my head. I am not confident enough that I will be a good mother to this baby once it’s out when I know this baby came from a man who I trusted so much but just raped me. My bump is starting to show now and I know I have a lifelong responsibility waiting ahead of me. I just hope I will be responsible enough.I rub my hand over my small tummy then smiled at myself.“You will be fine.” I told my baby.Ben is here for me and for us. He always has. He made everything feel better. He made me better and happier without asking too much in return. He is a very selfless man and I owe him my life. My everything and all that I have left.I breathe out heavily and tucked my hair behind my ears as I stare at myself wearing this white dress and white ba
82B E N E D I C TShe stands by the balcony sliding door, staring at an empty space wearing my shirt and some pajamas. Standing here afar from Thea, looking at her, I can see and I can feel that her mind is full. It’s full of endless thoughts and worries. I wish I could take some from her restless bothered thoughts and I wish I could help her with what she is going through.Thea is strong but I don’t want her to have another breakdown. I hope I can share the pain and confusions she is going through right now. I wish, at least I could make her happy despite of what has happened lately.But I don’t know what to do as well.I am bothered too, restless, anxious, troubled and angry. I still have this growing hate in me and unwillingness to befriend Sebastian.I hate him.I walk towards Thea and wrapped my arms around her. She didn’t budge but still sets her eyes out the window. “There are no stars tonight.” I say.She sighs heavily.“Aren’t you hungry sweetheart?” I ask.She didn’t answer
81B E N E D I C T“The CEO of Saintclare Enterprises , finally off the market!!”I read mentally the newspaper’s headlines as soon as I got into my office. I scan through the magazines which were also over my desk, and the headlines were also all about me.I sigh. “I knew this was gonna come out first thing in the morning.”The phone on top of my desk rings, I quickly picked it up, “Yes.”“Mr. Saintclare everyone is calling in for an interview with you. They’re all asking if you have any available time.” I can hear telephones ringing from my secretary’s background.“Cancel all interviews. Tell them I have a busy schedule up until next week.” I hung up.Suddenly the phone in my pocket rings. I stare at the screen and it was Mrs. Brown, my PR.I sigh as I answer, “I know what you’re going to say.”“It’s everywhere. My phone has been ringing since six o’clock this morning. I don’t know what to answer them.”“Did you say anything about Thea?”“No. Not unless you tell me to. I’m only wait
80BENEDICTI stare at Thea, and she has been looking out of the window for minutes now. I know she still has a lot of things in mind with what has happened lately and I’m sure she’s tired of thinking about it too. She has talked to Khaleel and I have had talked to him too. Despite her past, we wanted to keep it to ourselves than letting the others know about it. They wouldn’t understand what she went through to survive and it isn’t our story to tell.I have asked myself a couple of times why she had to choose such job but then I didn’t have the courage to ask her. I don’t want her to feel bad about herself and the more I ask about her past, the more she would think it bothers me.Honestly, it has been in the past and we all have had done crazy shit a thing or two. All of us deserves a second chance and women like Thea who strives hard to change herself to become a better woman deserves more than that. I am proud of her and she knows it.A smile creeps on her face as soon as I rubbed
79THEASometimes, in our lives there are instances when you just want to disappear because of awkward situations or embarrassing moments. And right now, that’s what I want to happen. I want to teleport to another place far from here.It feels like everything inside my system malfunctioned and brain feels dead. I have never felt more disgusted of myself and my past than how Sebastian is embarrassing me right now in front of Ben. No one has ever made me feel so little of myself, only Sebastian.This bastard. This one of a hell man. I wish he dies.My tears were just flowing from my closed eyes and I feel this growing pain against my chest. I try to breathe in but the pain grows as I exhale so I remained quiet. I don’t want to face anyone or see how they look at me with disgust and filth. I just want to disappear like one pop of a bubble or run out of this house and never look back.But I cant, I know I have to face them now. I have to face Khaleel. I have to face Benedict even if it’s