Reflexively, my lips curled into a smile as I saw him, through the glass walls of the bureau, alight from his car and sauntered toward the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.I arrived here about five minutes ago and I had half expected that I would have to wait for quite a long time before he would get here. But here he was waltzing into the bureau just like we agreed.He spotted me quite fast. Then he turned and walked toward me."Well, hello."He nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Hey.""I didn't expect you to be this early," I said as I got on my feet, hanging my bag on my shoulder.His shoulders didn't move more than an inch as he shrugged slightly, "I told you I was gonna be here at the time you stated. I gave you my word, I wasn't about to go back on them."I raised my eyebrows, unable to stop myself from grinning. To be honest, I was impressed. Was this Doris influence?"Okay, let's go." I told him and led the way to the office of the judge.My smile widened eac
The rest of the ride straight to work was smooth. It was as if the universe was against Richie; there was no more traffic stop on the way.In no time, I reached the company. The tires screeched noisily against the floor as I abruptly pressed my feet on the brake and parked clumsily. I looked around for the cops' car as I locked my own car but there weren't any of their cars around nor were the twinkling or sound of their red and blue light bars anywhere around."Good, I'm on time," I muttered to myself and hurried inside. I ignored the greetings I got as I rushed to the elevator. I took the elevator and went to the floor where Richie's office was situated. As I rode there, I dialed the line of the head security."Good morning, ma'am.""Morning." I managed to answer his greeting and went straight to the reason why I had called him. "Right now, I want you to tightly guard all the exits and prevent Richie, the customer service department head, from going out of the premises if he ever tr
After ensuring that Richie had been taken away, I called a mini meeting with all of the employees and gave a stern warning to all of them. If they knew they weren't ready to work then they had better turn in their resignation letters. Since I wasn't stuck in a marriage anymore, the era where there was no strict and consistent supervision was now history. Then I instructed the HR team to start to carry out the recruitment process from within the company for the most suitable person to occupy Richie's position.After the meeting, I rushed to the hospital. It was finally the day Grace would get discharged. Finally, she would get out of that uncomfortable hospital bed.On my way out, I met with the head of security and instructed him to still keep the place tightly secure. Who knows how many of Bran's type Richie had?I drove to the hospital, getting some groceries and veggies on the way so that I would make some home cooked meals for Grace. She has had enough of those hospital meals. She
"I think this is okay, Grace. You already look stunning. Even as you laid in that bed, unconscious, you still looked beautiful."She groaned and rolled her eyes, "Oh please, don't remind me of those days. It was crazy seeing my face like that, I was terrified that the scars would never fade."I laughed as I moved closer to her as she adjusted her dress. I helped her put on her necklace around her neck - the emerald one I made for her. "Well they did."She stopped, seeming frozen for the briefest seconds then she screamed and hugged me tightly. "You found it!""I snatched it from that witch's neck, she had it on.""Maybe, you should have strangled her with it," she suggested and we both broke out in a git of laughter."Oh no, please," I said amidst laughter, "I don't want to end up in jail like Richie. I'm sure her father would make sure I rot in jail.""Mark wouldn't allow it," she wiggled her brows.I rolled my eyes, "Oh please, that one is in the past now." Funny enough, since the d
SIX MONTHS LATER.I picked up my car keys, as I spoke into the phone trapped between my ear and shoulder, "Tell the pilot to slow down, I'm still at home."Grace chuckled, "Why don't I give the phone to the pilot so you can speak to him, dummy."I laughed out loud, almost letting the phone slip from my shoulder. "You brat! I hope your tongue isn't the only thing that got sharper during that trip.""Come pick me and you'd find out." There was a pause on her end.But I could hear the muffled voices of people in the background and the somewhat clear voice of someone softly issuing out instructions. It must be the flight attendant. "Please, rip your phones, secure your belongings as we would land in the next couple of minutes.""Okay, I've got to go," Grace finally said, "We're about to land." Then with a manufactured deep stern voice, she growled, "Don't keep me waiting, Sydney!""Yes, ma'am," I said even though the line already went dead.I stuffed everything I might need into my handba
MARK'S POVRecently, I have been very troubled, my mind kept skipping a beat each time it wandered and I remembered that kick I felt on Bella's tummy. Most times, it was almost always as if I could feel how it had felt in my palm again, as if I was reliving that moment. It was like a daily reminder that I was going to be a father soon. I was going to father a child I had no idea if I wanted. A woman I have started to have conflicting feelings about was carrying my child and I had no idea how to deal with that. I felt stuck.I had thought I loved Bella and I was ready to do anything to be with her. Finally, I got to be with her but I wasn't so sure if I loved her anymore. My heart didn't skip a beat at the sight of her or her smile anymore. I didn't feel at home whenever she was around me anymore, instead I felt…suffocated and suddenly want nothing but to be away from her.The only good time between us was whenever we had sex. Those few minutes where I get to satisfy the itch were the
SYDNEY'S POVI slammed my laptop shut and some of the attendees raised a brow. I smiled back at the person and turned back to the speaker for the day.The day had been hectic since I arrived in the morning. It was one work after another, one meeting after another.We had just finished the first session of the seminar on jewelry design that was hosted in our company. Thankfully there was a short break before the second session again.I traipsed to my office, dumped my laptop on my desk and walked out of the building complex, exhausted.I just wanted to be alone while getting some fresh air after being stuck in that conference room for hours!I walked to the cafe next to the office building for a cup of coffee. The cafe was a perfect place I could hide and none of the other employees would spot me and start trying to engage me in a conversation I wasn't interested in.After ordering my coffee, I got a seat on the far end of the cafe, just beside the cafe's glass walls. At first, I found
"What the hell?!" I threw my hands in the air and said as my breath calmed, "Why did you just appear like that? You almost gave me a heart attack."She folded her lips, "You almost gave me a heart attack when I noticed you sitting here too." She arched her sleek brows, "Have you been stalking me? Well, I'm sure today's stalk was a success because you heard everything, didn't you?"I looked at her, "You…you…"A cold smile formed on her lips, "You what? Don't tell me you heard nothing." Then she tutted and her brows furrowed in concentration, "Don't lie now, Sydney."I rolled my eyes, "What I meant to say is, you shouldn't drink so much coffee, you're pregnant."Bella chuckled and I wondered what was funny about what I said. Then she sobered up, rolled her eyes and said, "Who asked you to order coffee?"I gaped at her, at a loss for words. The coffee was ordered for me! I didn't invite her to sit down and share a drink, but I didn't want to argue with a pregnant woman. Besides, it was n