(Allison's POV) "Order anything you want to eat, Allison," Jenna smiled at me as she handed the menu to me. At first, I didn't want to eat out with her, but after she kept insisting, I had to agree to her demand. And here we are, dining at an expensive restaurant meant for first-class people like her. It's no doubt that she is a rich heiress, with the way she carries herself and how she dresses. It got me wondering why she showed up unexpectedly at my workplace, demanding we eat out together. Faking a smile, I took the menu from her and placed my order. "Are you sure you just want cocktail? We came here to eat, so you can order any expensive food you want," she said, smiling at me, her legs crossed elegantly. "I’m okay with just cocktail," I replied, faking a smile back at her. My main concern was why she came to see me. "I'm going to have cocktail too," she said to the waiter, who nodded and left. "You're not going to eat?" I asked. "I want to be a copycat," she laughed at her
(Allison's POV) "Stefan!" Aunt Hilda exclaimed as she stood up from the couch to give Stefan a warm embrace. "How have you been, Stefan?" "I've been good, Aunt Hilda," Stefan replied with a smile. I stayed where I was, unsure of what to say to him. Alex leaned against the wall, clearly unhappy to see Stefan. "I thought you'd be back soon, but you were gone for too long. I know New York is your home, but you shouldn't have taken so long to come back," Aunt Hilda said, caressing his palm. I could see the genuine love she had for Stefan—she didn't just love him as a son, but also as someone she thought would be good for me. Even though she didn’t say it to my face, I knew she wanted Stefan for me. She hadn’t pressured me in the past because she understood what I had been through. "I'm sorry, Aunt Hilda. There were so many demands for children's books, and I had to wrap them up before coming down to California to see you all." "You are such a handsome, hardworking man," Aunt Hilda
(Writer's POV)Alex and Stefan ended up at a nearby open bar. It was the kind where passersby could easily glimpse inside. Alex had chosen this spot because it was quiet and different from the indoor bars that played loud, deafening music."Are you in love with my sister?" Alex asked coldly, his tone sharp and authoritative. From the way he spoke, one might mistake him for a spoiled little brat, but he was far from it. Alex loved Allison deeply and was determined to ensure that the heartbreak she had endured before would never repeat itself.He was only fourteen when Scott shattered Allison’s heart, and all Alex could do then was console his devastated sister. But now, as an adult, he had the strength and determination to protect her at all costs, even if it meant confronting anyone who dared to hurt her.Stefan smiled calmly and poured alcohol into Alex’s glass. "Have a drink?""I asked you a question, Stefan. It’s disrespectful to ignore me," Alex fumed, his irritation evident."It’
(Allison's POV) "Where's Alex?" I asked when Stefan came back without him. "He went back to school," Stefan replied, and I frowned. "He went back to school without telling me? When did he start doing that?" I asked, though I didn't expect an answer from Stefan. "He said he had an early class tomorrow, and that's why he went back to school. But don't worry, Allison. Alex will be fine—he's not a kid anymore," Stefan tried to calm my nerves, but I couldn't stop myself from worrying about him. Alex is my younger brother, and I care about him just as much as he cares about me. I quickly grabbed my phone to call him, just to make sure he was back at school, but Bonnie beat me to it—she has a knack for calling whenever I’m about to check on my family. "What's up, boss?" Bonnie said loudly over the phone. She always calls me "boss" when she wants to tease me. "Hey, Bonnie. What's up?" "I'm good. I just dropped your younger brother off at his school." "Alex?" I asked. "How many broth
(Writer's POV)"Hi Alex, can we eat lunch together?" a young girl, eighteen years old, with honey-colored hair and cute glasses asked Alex, who was seated with his friends inside the classroom. Her smile was innocent, making her look adorable. Her name was Skye, and she was an English student."I'm sorry, Skye, but I have another class to attend," Alex replied, and the cute smile on her face disappeared immediately."Oh, I see," she muttered sadly. One of Alex's friends nudged him. There were three of them in total, and all four shared a room in the boys' dorm."What do you mean you have classes? Our classes ended a few minutes ago. We don't have any classes until tomorrow," Jeremy said, while the rest of his friends nodded in agreement.Alex felt like punching their faces one after the other because they had just ruined his plan. He had lied about having classes because he didn't want to be alone with Skye. He wasn't slow-witted; he knew she liked him. She had followed him around sin
(Allison's POV)"Really? Alex called you but didn't say a word?" I asked Bonnie, who was sitting across from me."Yes. I tried calling him back, but he didn't pick up. I don't know why he hates it so much when I call him 'kid brother,'" Bonnie frowned."Or maybe you should stop calling my brother a kid. He's already twenty years old," I teased."He's still a kid to me, Allison. You better tell your brother to get used to it because I am his big sis.""You are just so obsessed with calling Alex your kid brother because you're an only child.""You're right. Should I adopt him so he can accept me as his big sister?" Bonnie asked, and we both laughed at her words. But it's still strange to me why Alex doesn't want Bonnie as his big sister when we all act like a family."So, have you thought of a way to tell your family the truth?" she asked, the smile on her face disappearing as I shook my head.Bonnie let out a deep sigh. "What are you waiting for, Allison?" she groaned."I'm going to te
(Allison's POV) Is he crazy? I thought to myself, staring at Scott, who looked deadly serious about what he had just said. Both Bonnie and Peter had surprised looks on their faces as they tried to process why he wanted to join our date. "Boss, I thought you said you had something to attend to?" Peter asked, while Bonnie’s eyes remained fixed on Scott. She had met him but still had no idea he was my ex—the same man she loathed so much. "I changed my mind. I’m going to have lunch with the four of you," he said. With every word that came out of his mouth, his gaze was locked on Stefan’s hand, which was still firmly placed on my waist. I could clearly see the jealousy in his eyes, but I didn’t care. He shouldn’t be part of this date. What if he spilled the truth about having access to being Liam’s father out of jealousy or anger? "I don’t think that will be possible, Scott," I said. At the mention of his name, Bonnie quickly looked at me, wondering if this was the same Scott I h
(Allison's POV) "What are you doing here? No, how did you get into my house?" I demanded, certain that I never gave him the password to my house. "I see you're back from your date," he said, like a husband who had been waiting for his wife to come home. "You haven't answered my question, Scott. How did you get in here?" I asked, walking up to him. "Did you break into my house?" "I am not a thief. Why would I break into your house?" Scott replied, clearly entertained as he continued eating from the bowl of cereal in his hand. "Then tell me how you got in!" I shouted, letting him know I was dead serious. He put the bowl of cereal on the table and stood up, his height towering over me. We were so close that I had to moved back a little. "Tell me how you got in." "Liam helped out," he answered. "Liam? He’s supposed to be in school. So what the heck are you saying?" I asked, anger bubbling within me. Of course, I had to be angry. What if Stefan had come in with me when I
(Writer's POV) Stefan caressed his lips with his hand as a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He stood up from the wheelchair and walked towards the table to pour himself some wine. He sipped and smiled again. He was over the moon that he could feel the warmth of Allison's lips on his. He had kissed her on purpose. "This is just the beginning, Scott. If pretending to be unable to walk for the time being is the only way to make Allison come see me every day, then I'd gladly do it. I wonder how you'd feel knowing she's lying to you and that I kissed those lips you thought were yours?" Stefan rhetorically asked, then smirked. He sipped his wine again and went back to the wheelchair to sit in it. "I won't stop until I have Allison for myself. I've waited for years just for her to say yes to me, and I won't allow you to steal her from me, Scott. She is mine," he snarled before sipping his drink again. **** A WEEK LATER Alex heaved a sigh as he stared at the skyscraper
(Allison's POV) "How can you do such a thing to my uncle, Allison? I know he hurt you in the past, but I thought you both were trying to fix your relationship," Clara asked with a hurtful voice. "It’s not what you think, Clara," I said, trying to hold her hand, but she jerked my hand away. "Not what I think? Then what am I supposed to think, Allison? My uncle loves you so much, so why are you going for a man in a wheelchair? If you no longer love my uncle, you should just tell me rather than cheating on him." "Can you stop it!" I yelled at her. She was jumping to conclusions without even allowing me to speak. Clara went silent, giving a disapproving look. "I followed you here just to give you your handbag, which you left in my care, but I wish I had just thrown it away rather than following you to discover you're cheating on my uncle!" She spat and dropped my handbag on the ground, walking away from me. "Clara!" I called, going after her and catching up. "You've got it
(Allison's POV) I woke up the following morning with a pounding headache. I had cried myself to sleep. I was extremely hurt by what Scott had said to me. I wished he hadn't told me, but then again, it was better hearing it from him than from Jenna. If Jenna had been the one to tell me, it would have felt like she had won. I wanted to hate Scott for what he did, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. Although he might have ended our relationship when he had sex with Jenna, why on earth did it have to be on the same day he shattered my heart? It hurt so much. I didn’t want to create memories of Scott’s night with Jenna, but the images kept forming in my head—how he had kissed her, how his hands had roamed over her, and worst of all, how he had given himself to her. Fuck! I shouldn’t be imagining these things because they would only hurt me more, but I couldn’t help myself. "Mummy!" Liam's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He was already dressed for school—a reminder that I hadn’
(Writer's POV) "Why the heck did you do that, Scott?!" Jenna shouted, shocked that Scott had punched his own father. "There’s no rule that says I can't punch my own father when he misbehaves," Scott said, burning with anger. Gwen and Jason rushed out of the house after hearing Jenna's voice. The moment Scott saw Jason, he charged at him and threw a punch. "What the heck is wrong with you?! Why did you hit my son?!" Gwen shouted, slapping Scott's chest. Hugo emerged from the pool, his clothes dripping with water. "Scott!!!" he bellowed. Scott turned to face him, his eyes burning with rage. "Have you lost your mind?! How dare you punch me?!" Hugo roared. "You’re the one who's lost his mind, Hugo!" Scott shot back, calling him by his name. "What gave you the right to approach Allison and threaten her?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" he shouted. "As if that wasn't enough, Jason dared to attack her. How dare you?!" He snarled and threw another punch at Jason, but th
(Writer's POV) "Good night, ma'am," Allison's new secretary said to her as she was about to enter her car. Allison had spent most of the day making new designs for sale, but if she were honest, she had spent the entire day working on those designs to avoid thinking too much about Hugo's threats. "You too, Lillian," she beamed at her secretary before getting into her car. She had brought her car to her clothing line, as her plan was to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things for Stefan. She hadn’t visited him as she promised because she was too preoccupied with Scott's dad’s threat. "Don’t dwell on it, Allison. He wouldn’t be able to hurt you. It’s just a threat," she exhaled deeply. Allison continued driving until she noticed a car behind her. She cleared the way for the car to pass, thinking she might be blocking its path, but the car drove past her and stopped in front of her at full speed. Allison screamed loudly as she slammed on the car brakes. If she hadn't been wea
(Writer's POV) Bonnie sighed for the umpteenth time as she called Peter, but he kept ghosting her calls. "What's going on?" she muttered to herself. She sent him a text message, but he neither viewed nor replied to it. "What's going on, Bonnie?" her mom asked as she entered her room. "You didn't touch your food. Why?" "I'm going to eat it later," Bonnie replied with a sigh. "You're going to eat later?" Her mom furrowed her eyebrows. "It's not like you to ditch my cooking, Bonnie. And come to think of it, you've been on your phone all day. Don't tell me you're trying to make up with Allison? I don't like you being friends with that woman!" "Mom, can you please just stop! I'm not trying to make up with Allison. I still hate her for what she said, if that's what you want to hear," Bonnie hissed and stood up from the bed. "Where are you going?" "I'm stepping out for a bit." "You can't do that, Bonnie. You haven't eaten all day," her mom complained. "Where I'm going is
(Allison's POV) "Good morning, sir," I quickly greeted after he introduced himself as Scott's father. This was the first time I was meeting a member of his family face-to-face. "And what's so good about the morning?" he asked. "Huh?" I raised my eyebrows, wondering why he was speaking to me in such a tone. "You and Scott broke up six years ago, right? What's your relationship with him like now?" he asked. "Well, I—" "I don't want to hear it," he cut me off with a hateful glare. Why does he hate me when he's just meeting me again for the first time? But then I remembered his relationship with Scott. If such a man could hate his own son, why would he like anyone outside his family? He was no different from what Scott had said about him. "I'm not here to have a conversation with you, Allison McCall. I'm going to get straight to the point. Stay away from Scott," he declared. Is this some kind of movie where the female lead is hated by the male lead's family? "You're not fit to b
(Allison's POV) "Allison!" Clara quickly hugged me when I arrived home. I hugged her back, my eyes scanning around for Scott. "How are you doing, Clara?" I asked, forcing out a smile. "I'm fine, Allison, though my uncle keeps insisting I’m not. It's just a bruise—I'm totally fine," she said. "He's just worried about you, that's all." "Yeah, I know. Is it fine if I stay here and go to school?" "Of course, it’s fine with me. It’s your uncle’s house—you can do whatever you want." "Thanks, Allison! You're just as sweet as your cooking," she grinned, and I nodded. "Where's Scott?" I asked, wondering why I hadn’t seen him since I arrived. "He took Liam to school," she replied, and I sighed. I had almost forgotten Liam needed to go to school. "Why didn’t you come home last night, Allison? My uncle was worried about you," she pouted. "Something came up, that’s all. How did Scott take it?" I asked curiously. "I don’t know. He didn’t say much about it, but I could tell h
(Allison's POV) I waited patiently at the doorstep for Stefan to open the door. The receptionist had called him, and he had told her he knew me, which was why she gave me his room number. "Stefan," I knocked on the door when he was taking too long to open it. I stood there for three minutes before he finally answered. He was sitting in a wheelchair. "Stefan," I muttered his name. "Why are you here? Why can't you leave me alone? Haven't you hurt me enough?" he asked. "I'm sorry for what I did," I apologized sincerely. "Your apologies won't mend my broken heart," he sniffled. "I know that, and that's why I'm here—to at least try to fix it. I want to make up for hurting you by being here for you. I want to take care of you until you get better," I said. "Does Scott know you're here?" he asked. I knitted my eyebrows, wondering why he cared, but I still answered his question. "No, he doesn't." "Why didn't you tell him?" he asked again. "I chose not to because I want