Richard's POVA cold chill takes over my body, and my breathing hitches the moment she walks in gracefully and sees the huge birthday cake.She isn't smiling.Not looking surprised. Not angry.As I stare at the cake while remaining hidden, a wave of panic washes over me.I want to start blaming myself for coming unannounced and for throwing such a surprise when Natalie was clearly against it, knowing Arabel wouldn't like it.Now I regret doing this.I just wanted to impress her. Make her happy. Surprise her.Suddenly, Daisy emerges from hiding, following my instructions, and starts singing the happy birthday song, while everyone else follows suit.Emotion is back on her face. She must have forgotten her birthday, too. Or perhaps no one knows her birthday or has wished her a happy birthday in years.A sense of pride fills me up.When Ashley appears in front of her, Arabel gasps and rushes into her arms, laughing heartily. When they disengage, Caleb is right next to his wife, and he hu
Arabel's POVHyperventilating, I shoot up from my bed with a cold panic.Panting.My heart is thumping wildly in my chest. Sweat poured all over me. My mouth dried in terror.That nightmare. Again. But this time, it is different. It is more dreadful, frightening, and scary. I was struggling in my sleep before I finally woke up.This time, I saw his face.I had never seen his face before. I only saw what he was doing. Until now, I never knew who was behind it. This time, not only did he point a gun at me, he also pointed a gun at Daisy, and finally, when someone rushed in to save us, he pointed a gun at him too.Richard.Alex.Realizing my body is still shaking from the shock, I drape the duvet around me, grabbing my phone and flickering the bedside lamp on.Hugging my body to myself as I shuddered once more, remembering vividly the nightmare this time. Frantically, I begin to search for a number.Richard's.Did I see Alex's face because I was thinking about him last night? For a mome
Arabel's POV“Arabel, what happened?” His expression hardened, signifying how worrisome he is becoming.Firstly, I arrived unannounced and in tears. I am not with Daisy. His head must be racing with wild and silly imaginations.“I…I…I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to…I'm fine.” I find myself stuttering, admitting the turmoil inside of me.“Are you okay?" Is Daisy fine?” He demands again impatiently, unable to keep calm.To stop him from worrying, I nod. “Yes, we are fine. Daisy is in school, and I am here instead of going to the office."“Ok?” He urges me to go on.Avoiding his exposed chest so I can at least focus on what brought me here, I gulp down nervously before announcing. “I had a dream. A terrible nightmare.”He doesn't say a word. He is just staring at me with an expression that tells me to go on.“It was so scary, Richard. I wanted to call you, but I held myself back…”“Why didn't you?” He cuts me short with a grim look on his face, showing his displeasure at my refusal to cal
Richard's POVCupping her jaw with my hand, her lips tremble.Not averting my eyes from her gaze as I take in all the emotions on display, I kiss the back of her wrist, wanting to feel her pulse against my lips, just like how I felt her heart beat last night.Thumping. Beating. Pounding.For me.I turn her hand and kiss the inside of her palm, my eyes locked on hers.She trembles against my hold, and I pull her away from the wall before embracing her.I know she is shocked by my revelations. I couldn't hold them in any longer. When she isn't pulling away like I think she will, I disengage from the hug, staring at her face. She is also looking at me, our hearts beating in sync, bringing tears to my eyes.Grateful.Regretful.Happy.Excited.And most of all, appreciating this moment. This is a moment I never want to end. Except for Daisy.She is the only one missing in the picture of my perfect and dream life. When Daisy is here, then everything else will be perfect and complete.I don
Arabel's POVBarely parking, I jump out of the car, racing into the teacher's office.Kicking the door open, I rush in, only to stop dead in my tracks when I see Daisy, sitting quietly beside Mrs. Mathew.There is a strange guy standing at attention by the door. Mrs. Mathew is seated, and the proprietor is also seated.Two other male teachers, whom I recognize, are standing next to the strange man. It jerks me back to reality as I rush towards Daisy.“Baby,” I cry out, and she embraces me tightly. “Oh, baby.”Someone bursts in, and I know it is Richard. He had been on several calls on our way here, but I didn't even pay attention to any of them.My mind was in disarray. My head was spinning. And dread was engulfing my whole existence as I realized that my dream was about to come true.Seeing Daisy now, when I thought she must be long gone, has brought relief to my existence. Right now, I don't even care what happened or how it happened.The most important thing is that my baby is her
Richard's POVHer “please” came out as a demand request instead of a plea.It makes me stare at her intensely, wondering what I have to do to win her back and have everything to myself.“Please, Richard,” she mutters again, this time with her eyes soft in humbleness. Quickly, I nod.I suggested we move in together, probably at the mansion or at the penthouse, so I can have them guarded and have my eyes on them all the time.At the mansion, I have my eyes everywhere because of the cameras installed in every corner of the mansion.I never thought I would think of living in that mansion again until now. I left because of her, and I would gladly go if she wanted us to.However, there are no cameras installed anywhere in the penthouse. It is my private space. My safe haven. From the world.I didn't bother with the cameras because I hadn't needed them until now.Arabel quietly disagreed with me as soon as I let out my suggestion, until Daisy chipped in. “Let's stay with Daddy, Mommy. I am
Arabel's POVAs soon as I park the car in the garage, I turn off the engine before stepping down.As soon as I am out, my gaze flickers to the green car outside. The same car has been trailing me for a week since Daisy, Richard, and I arrived in New York.They are Richard's men.Our guards. Seeing them behind me whenever I am out fills my insides with relief. Especially when I am out with Daisy.Tonight, Daisy is staying over at Ashley's. When I told Richard, he insisted on having some men at Ashley's place, despite the tight security at Ashley and Caleb's home.To be honest, I am deeply relieved and assured that nothing will go wrong.Those men are capable. I have seen them. Once.We arrived in New York that night. I noticed how hefty they were. They were fully armed and would do anything to anyone who attacked Daisy or me, according to Richard.If I was told years ago that I would trust Richard again, I would deny it. But in this case, I trust him.Nothing is going to happen to my
Richard's POVEvery ounce of shame, guilt, and regret fills me inside, making my heart thump wildly.“I'm f**king sorry.” I drag a hand through my hair, looking down in defeat. “I'm sorry, Bella.”She sniffs and moves away. For a moment, I think she will leave and never come back again, but she surprises me by going to the couch to sit with her two hands over her forehead.I stay rooted in a spot, unsure of what I am supposed to say or do. Not sure if moving close to her is a great idea.She is sensitive to the topic of our divorce. And I understand.When she looks up at me, the raw pain in her eyes causes fear to gnaw at my heart. Even though she has forgiven me, forgetting everything is highly unlikely.I find myself moving towards her. When I am close enough, I kneel in front of her, her gaze fixated on me, I mutter. “I'm so sorry.”“It's fine.” She nods. “Just a date, right?”Shock completely submerges me, but I nod anyway. She let out a sad smile before leaning backward. “A date