CHAPTER 43 : So cliché! "Jeffrey?... I've known since like forever. She's my sister. So it's no big deal." He shrugged and she breathed out.Sometimes, Elva forgot they were twins. "If you're VIP, you might wanna follow me back stage. ' Cause they're gonna kick them out when practice starts. Too much noise." He updated. Elva looked around and nodded in agreement.Before she could register the speed of the moment, Elva's right hand was swooped into Ricky's left as he pulled her somewhere at the other end of the theatre. The popular hottie, pausing every time to throw greetings around didn't favour Elva because it gave the female casts a lot of time to stare and glare maliciously. Teenagers will never change! Became her new theory.If they could act that way with her, then how'ld they act with Nicky who was gonna pretty much kiss one of their favourite crushes repeatedly in their faces??Elva suddenly grew grateful for herself and pitiful towards her friend. FINALLY, t
CHAPTER 44 : For Everything."Who did this to her?" He snarled as a cold killing intent flashed across his eyes.Elva lost her voice in panic. Before she could weigh out her options, Nicky drew away from him and wiped her tears quickly. "It's nothing. It's just...I was just...it came....I thought....No, I was just rehearsing a part in the play that's all." "You don't expect me to buy that crappy bullshit! Now, tell me what happened or if I should find out myself, Nicky I... " He threatened. "I said it's nothing! I'm serious." Nicky got scared that her greatest fear was about to happen. Ricky ignored her and sharply turned to Elva. "Was it some idiot in the drama club? Did she get bullied? Did someone say something nasty??" Elva flinched in fear. She had never before seen him so angry! "I said it's nothing, Rick! I was just going through the part in the script where Romeo and Juliet died, that's all!" She stood up and picked a powder brush to gingerly dust her
CHAPTER 45 : For Everything (2). "Natalia, I'm hungry." Tommy pouted, leaning on the door frame. With lightening speed, Natalia's eyes flew open and they broke apart in a flash! She stared, with a flushed face, at everything but at the boy before her. "O..Oh. L..let's go?" She stuttered and rushed Tommy outside. Arian stood still, staring after her.That was....He was one second from kissing her? No, he wanted to kiss her.Badly! The young French had never met a girl who'd made him lose control over his emotion in a heartbeat and that realization freaked him out! Slowly, he started to recall all those strange moments he'd caught himself smiling at her memories, looking forward to seeing her and now, losing his rationality being so close to her?Was mom right?Was he really in love??Or was he just attracted??? Gosh! Rick was right. Figuring it out will leave you close to insanity! He shook his head and walked out. In the adjoining living room, Arian spot
CHAPTER 46 : Natural Flirt. "Do you think any of this is easy for me?? Watching my sister get hurt because of my best friend and standing on the sideline unable to do a thing! "Nicky, it kills me to see you cry and get hurt repeatedly." He ended on a softer note."And do you think any of this is easier for me too? Stupidly liking a person who likes someone else and who might probably never look at...." She was cut off by a big hug from Ricky.The tears Nicky had been trying so hard to control started trickling out. She shook beneath him. She felt so weak and tired and stressed that her head started to spin from too much tears.Nicky clutched him tighter like a scared little girl. And that was the truth.She was scared, scared of facing a rejection...*****Ten minutes later, Ricky tucked his sister in bed and laid beside her. They silently faced each other and he kept on tucking stray hairs behind her ear in a soothing way....knowing she needed it."I'm sorry." He muttered after a w
CHAPTER 47 : A New Friend."That jerk is starting to piss me off!" Arian De' Argent growled to himself as they made their way to their penthouse.The elevator moved at the usual pace but to the young French, it was slower than heck! The images of what happened at the parking lot kept surfing through his head, pissing him off!How dare he kiss her?And how dare she let him?!Just to see her, Arian had forced his best friends to come to school early and even ditched Selena, going against his dad's orders to always drive her to school.And eventually, what did his passion get him??Arian wanted to spend time with Natalia. At least his fake illnesses and pains did the trick since the past few days. But now, he wanted her all to himself!Even if she was mad at him, he'ld be glad to accept her temper but won't accept to stay a day without her.Yeah, it was that bad!But the Jerk and the Douchebag, by the name Damon, wanted to ruin his peace!"If I didn't know better, I'ld say the great Aria
CHAPTER 48 : His Sinful LipsArian walked around and sat next to Natalia on the bench."And what's that supposed to mean?" The Princess was still shocked."Sugar, it simply means that to everyone here in the academy... we're together." He gave a sexy smile and softly entwined their fingers. The feel of his warm hand on her tender ones shot tingling sensations up Natalia's arm making her gasp.Natural flirt!Natural flirt!!Her head snapped into action and she flung his hand away, glaring at him in the process. Natalia stood up to leave but Arian held her back in a flirty way."Let go of my hand." She gave him a blunt look. Arian continued to smile and stood up straight, intimidating her with his tall frame."Where are you running off to? It's not like you have a class or something." He pouted his sinful lips like a kid."I...I have to talk with Leonardo." She was adamant."Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I see the jerk following the DM around some minutes ago?" He looked innocent
CHAPTER 49 : THAT NIGHT...The girls had Econs after break. Elva and Natalia sat together at the front while Nicky sat alone behind. They were talking until someone slipped in beside her. Nicky turned to pass a greeting but stopped seeing Jeffrey's smiling face. She looked away immediately.Sorry Jeff, but you aren't gonna make getting over you harder for me."Hey, Nick." He grinned but she only nodded. After saying hi to Elva and Natalia, they naughtily winked at her and faced forward.Silly girls! When did they turn to matchmakers??Nicky thought of leaving. It was the best thing to do. She looked around to see if there was a free seat but found none. The class was full."Is there a reason you're back to being distant?" He worriedly asked. Maybe the 'uninterested' vibe would shun him. She thought and faced her books."Nicky, what happened to our friendship? Are you mad at me?"She still ignored him. When Jeffrey tried to take her hand, she stood up instantly."Who wanna switch sea
CHAPTER 50 : HIS SEDUCTIVE TOUCH."No, no! I meant nothing serious happened between us! Please stop crying. I'm not good with crying girls...or people in general." Arian pleaded and Natalia stopped a bit.He grabbed one of his phones nearest to him. Thankfully, it wasn't ruined like the rest and logged into the school's blog. What Arian saw nearly made him laugh out!It was a picture of the both of them earlier at the school garden. A student obviously took it when they almost kissed. It was shot in a way that it actually looked like they were kissing!They looked so cute together!!"What are you grinning at?!" Natalia whined, wiping her tears completely. Was he really smiling??She tried to poke her head in but Arian kept it away from her, admiring how cute she looked in curiosity."Arian, let me see!" She demanded making him chuckle. The Princess impatiently glared at him. But to the young French, not even the glare could make her less attractive."Okay, fine!" He chuckled when she
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.