CHAPTER 116 : Kiss Me, Arian! ( Beverly Hills, California. ) The light from Naomi's laptop made her sleepy. It was two hours after midnight but she wasn't yet done with the report she had to submit first thing in the morning. Sitting Indian style on her office floor made her legs cramp! She couldn't sit on her office chair either because her butt felt stiff. Her grey eyes were dull and for the first time, she let her ponytail fall free. A light knock sounded on the door and Jake walked in. Lifting her head, she saw him shake a white paper bag in his hand before kicking the door behind silently. "I saw your lights on so I guessed you might still be working." He dropped the paper bag before crashing on the floor near her. Naomi's eyes widened in disbelief, either because he was sitting next to her or because of how casual he looked. His suit jacket and bugs were nowhere around and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. It was the closes
CHAPTER 117: 1499... ( Beverly Hills, California. ) Arian gently fluttered open his eyes, afraid his nightmare would follow him back to reality. Hot sweats trickled down his face but he felt cold, so cold. The familiar smell of his bedroom assured the ill French that everything was still sane. Feeling the effect of the sedative still strong in him, Arian was about to drift off again when the soft whispers of his mother filtered into his ears. "Doctor Stephen, will he really be alright?" Her frail voice was teary. "Of course, Rose! Have some faith. It's only a high fever and nothing more." "But I'm not just talking about his physical health! I know my son. Deep down, I know he's not fine!" "There's nothing wrong with the young master physically but I fear..." "Afraid of what?!" The frightened mother interjected. "I fear that he'll need some intense psychological therapy as soon as possible." "Are you insinuat
CHAPTER 118: Privately Hired. ( Beverly Hills, California. ) ( Some days later. ) "To those we've loved and lost." Esmond daintily raised his champagne glass and Natalia raised hers too. "Cheers." She smiled. They gently clinked their glasses for the, probably, fortieth time that evening. Natalia laughed and sipped hers. Her tongue was already feeling numb and heavy. "How many more times shall we make a toast?" She teased and leaned back on the extremely soft white couch. "I don't know. You tell me." He breathed and fell on his back, closing his eyes. Natalia giggled and looked away from him towards the vast ocean. Her alcohol tolerance was getting better but she was still drunk!No, slightly drunk. Slightly. They were at Esmond's private beach house which had an awe inspiring view of the ocean. Christmas was in a week and the city was buzzing with Christmas lights and carol songs. Esmond had thoughtfully invited her over so sh
CHAPTER 119 : Impatience, Anger And Absolute Disgust. (Beverly Hills, California.) "You deserve so much more, tramp! And guess what? I'ld have taken you up on your offer if there was any sort of relationship left between us. Now, If you have any sense of decency left in you, let me pass through before your abominable sight make me do something I'll totally not regret later!'' Bianca threatened. "Bee, I'm sorry! I know I screwed up big time but it wasn't my fault. It wasn't our fault. It just happened. We both fell in..." "Yeah, with MY dad?! And behind my back! How much more shameless can you get? Seeing you sickens me! Remind me how we became friends again? And what home do you want me to go back to? A one where I'ld be your step daughter??" She viciously seethed. "Well, listen clearly! You don't know me and hell, I can't even know a slimy bitch like you! Let this be the last time we unfortunately cross paths." "Bianca, please don't push us
CHAPTER 120 : Congratulations. ( Beverly Hills, California.) Arian De' Argent sat at the most boring family dinner ever. But that was probably his new life till he died. He couldn't sleep well the entire night and had to be sedated because he was restless. His fever broke this morning but he wished it didn't, so he'ld skip being at the stupid table. Aside the De' Argents, the Campbells, Winterfields and Lorenzos were also present. Though they tried not to show it, Arian knew they were expecting some kind of drama from him, judging by their silent stares. Even Tommy was openly gazing at him from where he sat across the table! "I'm thinking of a family trip to Venice for the holiday." Williams breezed, breaking the awkward atmosphere. Sir Williams Campbell was Jeffrey's father. "The country is so beautiful and the air is nice. It'll be nice for the baby." Mom Rose smiled at Mom Felicity, the Californian beauty. "Tch! I know
CHAPTER 121 : Love Problem. ( Beverly Hills, California.) "So you're really gonna keep avoiding him?" Elva questioned, looking at her best friend pointedly. "Avoiding who?" Natalia looked innocent. "Don't play dumb! You know who I mean." She nudged her. "Actually, I don't. I'm avoiding a lot of people and I'm seriously thinking of adding you to the list." Natalia stated, pulling her head warmer closer around her ears. Elva stopped to throw her a threateningly look. "I dare you!'' "I'm serious!" The Royal insisted. Arla purred between them and Natalia crouched to grin at her. "You know I'll never avoid you, right?" She fondly scratched her hair with gloved fingers. A bird flew by and Arla chased after it. They were talking a stroll around the miniature forest with a dozen of guards following slowly behind. Natalia stood up and shoved her hands into her jacket. The garden was snowy and the weather was really cold.
CHAPTER 122 : Caught Red-handed Cheating. ( Beverly Hills, California.) The funeral of Ashley Dan's dad went smoothly. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him as a kind philanthropist so it was more sorrowful. Despite his busy schedule, Sir Campbell attended the funeral not because they knew each other, but because of the fact that the philosopher cared for his son when he failed as a father. Though, he left after an hour. Ashley didn't have any other relatives. Her divorcée mother didn't even show up. Nicky's soft heart went out to the broken girl with red, puffy eyes staring lifelessly at the whole procedure. A few hours later, the last sympathiser left leaving Nicky and the employees of the house alone. Jeffrey was trying to make Ashley fall asleep while Nicky sat alone at the kitchen counter with her first meal of the day... a glass of orange juice. The evening sky was getting darker and the maids were making some nice soup for the mistr
CHAPTER 123 : Manipulating Her Senses... ( C-mega Mall, California.) Natalia warmly gave Tommy a hug but her eyes were stuck on his older brother, Arian De' Argent. He was the only person she could see. Arian's beautiful eyes were glued to hers also, boring holes into them. But she forcefully tore her eyes away and stared at Tommy who was bubbling with excitement. "Natalia, you came back! I missed you so much." He pouted and hugged her again. "I've missed you too, Tom." She whispered and held him closer. "Why didn't you call?" He demanded. She simply smiled, stalling for an excuse but thankfully, Arian came to her rescue. "It's enough, Tom. Let's go home." Gosh! That voice. Natalia thought, feeling his enchanting accent pulling at her heartstrings all over again. Tommy stubbornly wrapped his arms around her neck, refusing to let go. "Esmond, meet Arian. Arian, Esmond." Was the only thing she could mutter to end the awk
CHAPTER 185 : Final Epilogue. ( Beverly Hills, California. ) "What are you doing?!" She bulged her eyes and moved away. "What?" Arian sheepishly groaned. "Don't 'what' me! You know what I mean!" She stated, playing their usual nightly 'what' game.....which usually followed the same pattern. Arian seductively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "We have the rest of the night to ourselves." He deliciously bit his lips and swept down to capture hers.But Natalia stepped away. "I need to check if the twins have yanked their heads off already." She tried to escape but Arian blocked her. "You're just coming from the nursery." He sexily pouted and Natalia almost gave in. She shook her head to reject the temptation. "I think it's time for Adrian's milk." She tried again but Arian easily caught her. "Adrian's asleep and his milk isn't until midnight. So..." He kissed her and slowly
CHAPTER 184 : Epilogue (2). ( Beverly Hills, California. ) "By the way, where is Jake?" Elva curiously asked. "He had some work to do and promised to be here this evening." Naomi answered. Natalia had set up a special committee of her most trusted ministers to hold the Empire for a few days. Jake was among the members so he had a little delay. "I really admire you." Naomi continued, taking the attention away from herself. "Being an Empress, a wife, a mother, a philanthropist and also a role model, all in one package!" She dramatised. "It's no wonder you haven't changed much with three kids! On the contrary, it made you hotter. I'm just expecting my second child but I feel like a granny!" Nicky joked and fondly rubbed her huge baby bump. "No! You're not a granny. You're my mommy." Louisa raised her head and pouted.The girls giggled when Nicky blushed. "It's no wonder you don't miss Jeffrey whenever he goes away on b
CHAPTER 183 : Epilogue. ( Beverly Hills, California. ) "How was your night?" Arian kissed Natalia as Adrian rubbed baby drool all over his face. Natalia stretched lazily and closed her eyes. "Stressful." She pouted. "I know, right? This champ is quite a handful at night.'' He tickled Adrian who hung on his neck like King kong. "Da-da! Da-da!!" He squealed happily which echoed arouund the room. "As if you weren't a handful yourself." She scoffed and turned away, pulling the duvet closer around her. It made Natalia a little jealous that Adrian hadn't yet learnt to call her mama. In fact, Dada was the only word he knew! Arian noticed it and chuckled, pulling her back to face him. As usual, he was shirtless wearing only sweatpants. Some habits were just so hard to break! Not that Natalia was complaining though. It made her husband look uncontrollably sexy! Adrian grinned down at his mama in his diapers. Fa
CHAPTER 182 : The Seal Of Their Love. ( Astheria, Australia. ) Still sitting on the floor, Naomi slowly arranged her things inside a cardboard box. She shivered a bit because she was still wearing her clothes. But Naomi didn't care. There was more important things to be done than caring if she had gotten a cold by wearing her wet clothes for so long that it'd dried still on her. A knock sounded on the door. "Please go away. I'm a little busy." Her hoarse voice sounded. Naomi knew the visitor wasn't on an official business. If the Empress or the royal assistant needed her, they'ld have easily sent an email. And so far, they hadn't. Naomi couldn't blame them though. She felt embarrassed and hated her family's history. And after everything they had done to the Santianas, she couldn't bare to look at anyone anymore. After a while, the knock sounded again and this time, the person walked in without consent. Naomi didn't bother to l
CHAPTER 181 : Where's Naomi? ( Astheria, Somewhere in continent Australia. ) ( Hours Later. ) "She's not in danger but I still recommend a lot of rest. You can see her. Just make it as quick as possible." The aged doctor whispered and walked away. Elva Thompson and Jake Buniz nodded before walking into the Royal study. They found Natalia leaning on her desk, gently running her fingers over her grandmother's diary. Louis had kept it safe like he'd promised. "You should be resting. Doctor's orders." Elva let out a small frown in displeasure. "I'm fine." Natalia curtly said and stood up. The thick sweats she was wearing matched with her pale skin. She returned the diary to one of the drawers and faced them back. "Tell me. The casualty report?" She ordered. "We lost a good number of our men while the rest are being taken care of." Jake reported. "And Max?" Jake lowered his cold eyes in hes
CHAPTER 180 : The Battleground (3). ( In The Carribean Ocean.) The Mob boss snickered which sounded like something made in hell and back hugged Natalia, erotically pulling her closer. Arian fought the impulse to take a step and lunge at him! He was purposely riling him up to draw him into the sensors! "Tsk! Don't make her feel bad!" He clicked his tongue. "You were smart, my love. But sentimentality was all I needed to sneak into your lives.... And you gave it to me." He nuzzled her hair and possessively trailed kisses down her neck. Arian's insides cringed feeling his control slowly snap while Natalia's self hate increased each passing second. "Let her go!" Arian snarled, running out of patience and clenched his fists. "And you expect me to ask 'Or what?'." Leonardo cocked a cocky brow. "Look around you, fool! We ain't in some shitty movie. This is my turf! I run this freaking game!" He viciously barked. "What do you want?" A
CHAPTER 179 : The Battleground (2). ( In The Carribean Ocean.) Meanwhile, the automatic doors trapping Arian De' Argent in the hallway reopened after the lights had suddenly turned off and returned after five seconds. Arian turned to continue the search for his love but stopped when Naomi froze....and then fainted. He hastily caught her before she could crash land. "Hey, hey!" He called seeing her drowsy eyes. "What..." The French heir froze on his interrogation when he saw four darts pierced into her pretty brochette and a fifth one stuck on the skin of her neck. Naomi had thrown herself in front of Arian when she noticed the danger he was in without thinking. Arian pulled them out and tapped her lightly. "Hey, stay with me, okay?" The timid spy tried to nod but the snake venom was working tremendously fast, already at the second stage of the symptoms which was total paralysis. "Hey!" Arian yelled. "What?!" Max yelle
CHAPTER 178 : The battleground (1). ( In The Carribean Ocean.) "Who do you want to go first?" He casually, but deviously asked. The gunshots continued more fiercely and through the cameras, Natalia and the few in the room could see the gory battle going on. As observers seeing the whole battle ground, anyone could bet that Astheria had an upper hand! "The only game we'll be playing is the one you'll be losing." She seethed in confidence. Leonardo coldly smirked which gave her goosebumps for some reason before placing his hand on a screen which scanned his fingerprints. "Good evening, Master. How may I be of service?" The voice of an artificial intelligence echoed from thin air. "Ava, place the fortress on lockdown." He ordered. "As you wish, Master." A moment later, metal doors sprung up trapped everyone in. Those who were fighting outside couldn't get in and those who were in couldn't get out. Natalia's heart skipped a be
CHAPTER 177 : Let's Play A Game, Shall We?... ( In The Carribean.) "Something is wrong." Jake Buniz stated, pacing restlessly around the communication tent. The geniuses among the little battle squad was in the same tent, doing what they did best with the gadgets and devices in there. They were all dressed the same with silent and serious features. "She should've made contact by now." The Captain of the army continued. "Let's think more positively. It could be that Naomi hasn't yet located the Empress.... Even though it's not really a positive thought. However, you above everyone else knows how shady these Kelions are. There's still a few hours till midnight. We should give her a little more time." Max offered, more relaxed than his superior as as he typed away on a computer. "I trust my instincts. And right now, something doesn't feel right." Jake stopped behind him and leaned over with a hand on his chair and the other on the table.