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~Isabelle~“Gosh no!” I said again as I buried my head in my palms and sobbed.I could not believe that this was happening to me. Just when I thought that I had successfully gotten away from Victor and his callous family, and that I was going to begin my life afresh with my family, and my baby on the way…“What is the conclusion?” Jason asked, deeply worried for me, but then again, he allowed me sob sadly.After I was done sobbing, I cleaned my wet cheeks, but my eyes were puffy and red from the tears, and when I raised my head and looked at Jason, I saw worry and anger in his eyes.“The divorce is getting readdressed,” I said as though it was the first time I was saying the word.Of course, Jason already knew this, but I was so confused, angry, and dejected that I did not even know what to say.“I know that, Isabelle,” Jason said. “What is the conclusion with Barrister Andrew? Can he sort it out himself?” He asked.I shook my head regrettably. “He cannot, Jason. I have to travel back
~Isabelle~“Excuse me?” I asked the moment I got out of my shock.“You are under arrest for abduction of personal property,” the police officer repeated.“I think there has been a mistake,” I said as my eyes went to Sara who stuck out her tongue at me.He turned to Sara who quickly maintained a straight face and asked, “This is the woman you reported to us, right?”“Yes, she is,” Sara answered.“How on earth did I steal from you?” I asked, glaring at Sara.She was pulling another stunt. The first one was at a party, making Victor and his family to attack me profusely, and now this? How did I even run into Sara of all people? “Here…” Sara said as she pointed close to the seat I just got up from.We all turned to look, but I was shocked to see her bracelet lying on the chair, right next to where I stood up from. How did that get there? When did Sara put that there? Because I knew for a fact that when I sat on this chair, it was completely vacant. I began to wonder how she might have ac
~Victor~I arrived at the court with Barrister Joe about fifteen minutes earlier, and it was an intentional act. I looked around, and I just knew that Isabelle hadn’t arrived yet. Due to the nature of the divorce, a judge had been involved, which even made it a more serious issue.“What happens if Isabelle is late or doesn’t show up at all?” I asked Barrister Joe.“Like I already told you, the divorce will be revoked,” Barrister Joe responded, and I could not help the smile that formed on my lips. Barrister Joe looked at me confused and skeptically. “I thought you also wanted the divorce,” he asked.“It is no longer about who wanted what, Barrister Joe,” I answered vaguely. “Let’s go in,” I added and began to walk into the court without waiting to check whether Barrister Joe was following or not.When we arrived in the same courtroom that we had used, we met Isabelle’s lawyer already waiting. This courtroom reminded me of the divorce as though it happened a minute ago, and worse, it re
~Isabelle~It was a miracle that I had made it to the courtroom in time. My single question to Sara had made her realize that pushing to get me arrested would prevent her from living her dream of happily-ever-after with Victor Walters, so she had been willing to tell the officers that there seemed to be a mix up, and they had let me go just in time for Sasha’s arrival to the station.“What happened?” Sasha had asked when I entered her car and she began to drive me to the court.“I am going to give you all the gist later, but I need you to drive as fast as you can, because I cannot be late to the courtroom,” I had answered instead.“Uh, I am not about to let you push me into getting pulled over by the cops for over-speed,” Sasha had said with a chuckle, even though she understood that I needed to get to the courtroom as fast as possible.“You are right though; if we get pulled over for speed, I would end up missing the court hearing all together,” I had admitted.“How are you and the b
~Victor~I had expected Isabelle’s outburst, and in all honesty, I was pleased that the judge moved the next hearing to next week, because it would give me the chance and time to win Isabelle back. I knew she would be angry and devastated, but I just had to do this so that I could try and work things out with her, because after realizing that I did not want to be divorced from Isabelle, I just couldn’t sit by and watch her go.But what I didn’t expect was for her to throw up on me.It was a disgusting smell, and while Barrister Joe covered his nose in irritation, something else struck my mind.“Isabelle, are you pregnant?” I asked.This wasn’t the first time that Isabelle was throwing up on me. After all, she had been pregnant several times before, only that the babies never stayed. She had thrown up on me during the first two times that she had gotten pregnant and I had been excited with high hopes, and I could never forget what it smelled like.This was not any different.I waited f
~Isabelle~“Belle, you haven’t said a word since you came out of that courtroom,” Sasha said worriedly as we both stepped into her apartment. “What happened in there?” Sasha asked.I couldn’t blame her for being so worried, but I was not also in the mood to speak to anyone else. After Victor’s declaration, my world had simply fallen apart. There was no way I would be able to escape Victor finding out about the pregnancy if he took me for a test. Although Barrister Andrew promised me before we left the courtroom that he was going to do everything in his power to ensure that I wasn’t subjected to a test I didn’t want, I still doubted that he would be able to.Victor Walters was powerful and influential. If he could seek for an already signed divorce to be readdressed and got it, then he could certainly force me into a test.That alone was enough to make me stay silent. I was enraged, and usually, when in that state, I just stayed quiet to prevent me from lashing out. Besides, if I hadn’
~Isabelle~Sasha was so wide-eyed that I thought her eyeballs were going to fall off her eyes. “Well, if he is that rich and influential, then he might never think of me again,” I told Sasha.“Don’t forget that you are not a real waitress,” Sasha warned, giving me a side eye. “Hold on, did you tell him your surname?” Sasha had asked me.“Gosh, Sash, I already told you that I left my father’s stifling influence and name back home to come here and have a good time. I am not about to use my name to start getting preferential treatments,” I had told Sasha.“So acting like a waitress is better?” Sasha had asked.“I didn’t act as a waitress; I was just mistaken to be one,” I had responded.“Girl!” Sasha had squealed in delight as we made our way out of the café. “You met with Victor Walters! If it was me, I am certain that I would have collapsed, because you only see men like that on TV and elite parties, which I would never get invited to because I am not from an influential and powerful
~Luther~“Was the bouquet delivered safely to her?” I asked over the phone to the person I had assigned the task to.“Yes, Mr. Luther, it was successfully delivered to her; we ensured that she received it,” the receiver said with confidence.“Then that is all I need to know,” I said and ended the call.Then I sat down to begin the job of the day. Running a growing empire was not a child’s play, and every time I stepped into the company, I could barely wait for it to become mine. My dad was getting really old, and even though I had hoped before now that he would be retired, he still kept showing up and taking his position as the CEO.My desk phone rang, jolting me out of my thoughts, and when I took the call, it was my dad.“Luther, get into my office this very minute!” He barked into the phone and ended the call without even giving me the chance to say a word.I sighed heavily.Mr. Gates was the most ruthless man I had ever seen, in business and even as my dad. A lot of people feared
~Victor~I felt like a complete zombie as I drove out of Sasha’s neighborhood. Things with Isabelle had gotten worse than I had anticipated, and that was way different from what I had hoped would happen. At the same time, I was more than grateful that I had followed my instincts, because the thought of what might have happened to Isabelle sent shivers down my spine.My heart and face hardened as I thought of Mr. Hedge.I knew he was a dangerous man, but I never anticipated that he would that dangerous enough to try to kill Isabelle simply because she seemed to be standing in the way of me and Sara. I was getting close to the house, and I knew that if I wanted to do anything, I would have to do it before I got there, so I took my phone and dialed the number of a senior cop whom I had once made his acquaintance a while back.Thankfully, he picked on the first ring. “Mr. Victor, it is such a delight to be getting a call from you,” he said cheerful the moment the call connected.Upon hea
~Isabelle~I squeezed my eyes in pain as Victor left. I did not even bother keeping my ears alert to be certain that he had left the apartment, even though he now scared the hell out of me; I was too broken and my heart was too pained to even listen to anything else.I continued to close my eyes tightly, because I was trying every means possible not to cry; that was exactly how I was feeling deep inside. It was bad enough that Victor had hurt me in more ways than one since I filed for a divorce, and if he had simply let me go, I would not even have seen or known about any of this.Was this why he pushed for the divorce to be readdressed; so that he could drag me back to Seagate City and torment the heck out of me?What was the story behind this attack? It was obvious now that Victor either knew something or was even involved, and I could not even explain how that made me feel. I would never do anything to hurt or harm Victor or even any member of his family even though I deeply hated
~Isabelle~I wondered why I hadn’t even thought of that to begin it. Usually, in situations like this, after knocking him down, Victor would have been concerned about holding the attacker down and instantly calling the cops so that he would be arrested, and whoever sent him would be known as well, because I had no doubt that someone must have sent him to me.First of all, Sasha had lived in this very apartment for more than four years, and there had never been a break-in; not in her apartment or any of the other apartments situated in the neighborhood, and secondly, he waited until Sasha had left the house before breaking-in to attack me. It was very obvious that he did not come to steal or rob us; he intentionally came to kill me.The thought of it even made me shiver.“Can you answer that?” I asked when Victor kept mute.I caught a flicker of guilt in his eyes before it was quickly replaced by regret and sadness, and it made me even more uncomfortable? Did Victor have anything to do
~Isabelle~I heard a loud thud as I closed my eyes, which even made me confused, because I had been dreadfully anticipating a painful slit over my throat, or a piercing stab to my stomach, but the thud came as a shock, and more confusing was the fact that I did not feel any pain.Then I opened my eyes.“Isabelle, are you okay?” Victor asked.I hadn’t known when Victor entered into the apartment or when he even did, and although I was surprised and still confused, I was more than relieved. I looked down and saw the man writhing on the floor, but almost immediately, he struggled to his feet and scampered out of the apartment without anyone of us chasing after him.“Isabelle, breathe…” Victor was saying when I continued to look dazed and confused.I tried to breathe, but I had held my breath for too long that it had become stuck, and so I didn’t even know when I slid into unconsciousness. I felt myself being carried in the air and laid gently, but I just couldn’t open my eyes or protest
~Isabelle~After taking a hot bath with the words of the doctor stuck in my head about the condition of my pregnancy, I came out of my bedroom.Since Sasha stalked off angrily, she hadn’t come out of her bedroom. Even when I made dinner and had a fill to my satisfaction, she did not show up, which indicated that she was very pissed off, but then again, this wasn’t her decision to make.I meant it when I said that neither Victor nor any of his family members would know anything about this pregnancy. The only persons that knew were Sasha and Jason, and I already made them promise to keep it a secret. Every time I got pregnant, Victor never wasted time to announce it with glee to his family, except the last one before this one anyway, and so now, I just wanted to carry this baby in secrecy.Then there was also Laura Walters who would not mind killing me if she ever found out just so that I would not in any way be connected to her precious little family anymore.I thought of going to Sash
~Victor~The choice my mum gave me was a crucial one, and with the fiery look in her eyes, I knew that she was dead serious. If I didn’t know her, I might have thought that this was just a mere choice, but there was no way I was going to get out of this.“Which is it going to be, Victor; your family or that woman?” Laura asked as she tilted her head, waiting for a response.My eyes went to the gigantic expensive and customized clock on our wall, and I was again reminded that time was ticking by really fast, and that if I didn’t do something, Mr. Hedge was going to get to Isabelle, and I would live the rest of my life in regret. I could have decided to call Isabelle right now and send a warning to her, probably ask her to leave Sasha’s apartment for now, but then again, there was no way I could achieve that while standing right in front of my mum, and more importantly, Isabelle was too upset with me that she would not even take my calls or read my texts.I inhaled and exhaled, knowing
~Victor~The thought of anything happening to Isabelle almost made me go insane, and I just knew that I had to do something. Running out of the house like a cat on a wild chase was crazy, but I could not think of something else. First of all, I wanted Isabelle back, and secondly, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Isabelle because of me.I got into my car; there was no need for any driver or bodyguard, and I drove towards the gate, but to my utmost surprise and anger, the gate refused to open up for me, which was strange.“What is going on?” I asked as I came down from the car and proceeded towards gate.The security guard was standing by the gate, erect with a serious look on his face. Although it was an expensive gate, I had expected an excuse to the gate not opening that it was having some sort of fault.“What the heck is going on?” I asked. “I am hurrying out and you are just standing there,” I said, getting increasingly upset.“Mrs. Laura has instructed me not t
~Victor~This was the most difficult question I have ever had to answer in my entire life, and I just wished that things weren’t so hard and tight.The warning and dread that came with that question, although unspoken, was a clear message of what I would suffer, along with my family, if my answer was negative. Mr. Hedger would have my head on a platter, and just like he had said, he would make my company go away and never get back up again.I was conflicted and devastated.I wished that I had been more prepared before being crowned the CEO and handed the company to run, but then again, things had happened so fast in my family that I had had to step in. Right after high school and university, I had gone to one of the biggest business schools in the world to continue my education and prepare myself for the company’s takeover. According to my dad, he had wanted me to be perfectly ready to become the CEO.“I think you should start showing him the ropes of the company, Walters. He is no lo
~Victor~“How could I have made that stupid mistake? How could I have been that foolish?” I asked myself as I paced about my bedroom, confused.Actually, if I was being honest, I think I knew exactly why I had made the mistake of saying Isabelle’s name instead of Sara’s; it was Isabelle that I was thinking about deep down, otherwise, who mentions another woman’s name when proposing?I felt like knocking myself in the head, but then again, the only regret I had from all of this was the huge contract that I caused my company to lose. I never wanted that bloody proposal anyway, and it had all been Sara’s idea. If she had accepted, we would have been discussing wedding dates and venues and dresses by now, and it would have driven me insane.The only woman I wanted in my life right now was Isabelle, and no one else.Then my phone rang, and much to my dismay, I saw that it was Mr. Hedger, Sara’s father. I didn’t know what to expect of the call, and his call was not something that should not