6 times latterly. Lila’s POV. “ Are you sure you want to do this? ” Dad has asked mute this question about ten times since we left the pack. Her answer is always the same. “ Yes, Leon, I ’m sure. ” I ’m sat in the reverse of our auto next to Levi and Elias. I can tell mums nervous; I can feel it through our bond. From what she’s told me over the times. I do n’t suppose I could do it. “ Elias, do n’t go to sleep. We ’ll be there soon. ” Levi poked Elias on his forepart. I snickered and glanced at them. Levi got his wolf two times agone
. No bone was surprised to find out they were mates. As they got aged, their relationship grew. They came more than musketeers before they both turned sixteen. Levi will be taking over as nasceAudrey Danler doesn’t have “wedding hookup” on her bucket list. She is more than a hundred percent sure of that. Especially when there’s no bucket list in the first place.So far, she’s lived an uneventful like filled with endless meetings and deadlines. Anything unrelated to her darling magazine ′Sassy’ doesn’t interest her. Audrey steered clear from adventures and settled with running the town’s bestselling women’s magazine. But she’s happily made an exception for her best friend’s wedding.However, as she gripped the bedsheet firmly to her nakedness, she’s definitely wasn’t happy. She inhaled a few yoga breaths as she tallied the strings of mistakes she idiotically did all in one night.Tons of martinis.Staying at the bar.Entertaining a blurry stranger.Flirting back.Sleeping with said stranger.That one gigantic mistake still lied on the bed as if to mock her. It wasn’t the impressive sneak peek of him that horrified her. It was the v
Vren rapped his fist against his forehead. The sun glared from where it’s made a cruel invasion and it bit at his arm. Next door, a vacuum hummed mechanically in crescendo to the pounding in his head.He groans.Vren Parkinson had never been this hungover since college.His hand reached over the other side of the bed and fumbles for another pillow to shield himself from the sunlight, freezing when he’s met by rumpled sheets.Sheets that smelled of the feminine perfume he had vague recollections of. He burrows his face on the pillow, struggling to remember.Neat bun.Platinum blonde hair spilling into silky smooth shoulders. Spilling deliciously into his hands.Olive-green dress. And underneath was dainty skin he explored all night.Slender fingers gliding up and down his back, leaving marks as he leaves his own on every inch of her.Shit!Audrey.His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, ignoring his pulsing head. He was alone in b
Two interns scrambled out of her way, their eyes round and alarmed. Audrey likes to think they were running errands hurriedly. And that it’s not her stiff poker face that has given them the impression she was a spin-off of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada.She pushes through the doors of her office and marches inside in sky-high heels. She expelled a breath as she gracefully sinks behind her organized desk. Fresh out from the weekly story updates, she needed five minutes after her next meeting.Her team has given her a brief rundown back at the conference room and she knows this month’s issue is going to come together as planned. Sassy will reign the newsstands like it does every month. Audrey can’t possibly take the credit to the magazine’s success though.It’s not her.It’s the amazing, independent women in her floor. So far, her Relationships department is Sassy’s pride. Aimee, Alexis, Violet and Julie (her new columnist) are the darlings of t
When Vren asked his friend Nathaniel Forester to have a drink with him, he half expected him to decline. He gets that he has kids to spend his time more productively, and don’t forget the beautiful Chassie George he’s happily married to.It’s not like Vren Parkinson is the type to settle down. However, something gnaws at him like an insistent itch he couldn’t scratch. It was wise to shun commitments when he was younger. But now that he’s lagging behind his friends, it isn’t fun as it used to be – not that it makes him any lesser than a bachelor that he was once proud to be.“Where are your kids?” Vren noticed the lack of cherubic cheer from a mile away. Hell, he would’ve noticed over the phone when he talked to his friend.“At my parents. But they’ll be home soon.” He took a swig from his bottle of beer and glanced at the swimming pool.It was predictable to be invited for a few drinks at his house by the swimming pool. He’ll never have the heart to leave h
“Mom, I can’t answer your calls every second of the day.” Audrey groaned; her phone glued to her ear as she made her way to her office. Traffic wasn’t a delight to start her morning and now a call from her mother – more like a thorough inspection of her barren love life to her mother’s disagreement if she ever were to start drinking tap water.“I’m just worried about you. I think you’re barely eating. Why don’t you take a vacation and come home?”Audrey sighed at the resurrection of the topic. “You know I can’t.”“Why not?” She asks stubbornly.Audrey stepped into the elevator and hammered at the control panel. “I have this life over here. I can’t just up and leave.”When the elevator pinged, Kylie was already on the other side with her coffee in hand. “Good morning. Black coffee.” She beamed, handing over the to-cup.She murmured her thanks and took her coffee. The thing about her assistant is that she never fails to smile no matter how shitty the
Vren is usually great with first impressions. If he hadn’t been drunk, he would’ve impressed the hell out of the Audrey Danler—sweeping a woman off her feet is his strong suit, after all.He never wanted to be on the wrong side of Audrey. That wouldn’t have been the case had she been more accommodating. Or if Audrey hadn’t left before he woke up,In her defense, that’s how wedding hookups work.He never meant to blindside her. Her assistant kept dismissing him, so he had to turn to a few more resorts. Luckily, she’s an old friend—yes, being a past fling makes her an old friend.Willingly enough, she gave her appointment to him. Audrey wasn’t thrilled by it though. It was pretty obvious.The bottom line is he had to do what he had to do.Vren drummed his fingers on the table and glance at the seat across from him. He was never early for a date. Hell, he was never this desperate for dinner with a woman.He reached for his phone on the table and to
ONE MONTH LATERAudrey sank onto the cold tiled floor of her bathroom. She tried to grasp the truth indicated by the two lines on the pregnancy kit.Even when her hands are shaking, she neatly placed the stick next to the five others on the floor.She’s forgotten about the possibility of it.The entire month that she’s been working, it never occurred to her that she would actually get pregnant. Or if she ever did think about it, she shoves it back to the back of her mind.However, the truth lies before her in two heart-stopping lines.For the first time in years, she doesn’t know what to do.Oh, God. She needs to tell her mom.She tucked her knees up her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down—as her mother taught her. But her mind was racing, and she couldn’t keep up.She was close to forgetting that one fateful night. But, it was impossible because Vren Parkinson kept reminding him b
Vren sipped his whiskey and re-read the text his secretary sent him. He’d hoped Audrey would call him herself but just add it to the pile of his disappointments.Disappointments aside though, he was nervous.Hell, he couldn’t stand to be in a crowd right now. So, instead of staying by his mother’s side as he promised, he went to hide on the terrace.It’s her birthday. Sure enough, she’s thrown a huge party with every single person she knows at it. Knowing his mother, she’s met more people in her life than he could count. From where he was standing, they looked like scattered glitters on an empty canvas.Vren saw a shadow behind him. He turns around only to find Kathie looking like she was about to run. “Sorry. I don’t know you’re in here.”“Hey. I don’t mind sharing the terrace.”Kathie fiddled with her wedding ring. “Nah, I don’t want to intrude.”“Come on, it’s just me.” Vren tries not to look bothered by the fact that his sister-in-law is a b
Audrey nodded, sweeping her gaze on every faces in the conference room. She was in one of their weekly meetings. She was following up on their stories, barely speaking because there wasn’t much to say to the competent and insightful women around the table. The fitness team were just giving her an update when her phone buzzed with a text message from Vren.She clicks her pen, wishing nothing more but for the meeting to be over. And when it did, she watches in agony as everyone exits before her. She types a reply on her phone, changing her mind when a man she recognized in one glimpse comes in as everyone else was going out.The lingering glances didn’t go unnoticed. She was getting used to the female attention he constantly gets wherever he goes. She still has her moments though – where she just couldn’t help but get jealous. But, of course, Vren doesn’t have to know that. The things is, she really thought the women would eventually subside once he no longer have the lux
“Berry, nude or matte blue?”Audrey squinted closer to her computer screen where Jessica was holding three nail polishes and Kathie was shifting in her enormous couch. “Nude.”Since two out of three has had hassles going to places, they resorted to video calls.“Yeah, nude.” Kathie nods, pausing to fluff a throw pillow.“Boring. I think I’ll choose matte blue.” She glances briefly at them, then snort laughed.Audrey shot her a glare. “What?”“Nothing. My screen is ninety-five percent round bellies. Five percent faces of my best friends.” She shakes the bottle, grinning at the screen.“I’ll kill you if you take a screenshot right now.”Jessica bellowed a laugh. “I’d like to see you try with that belly.”“Just wait until you get one of these bellies too,” Kathie chimes in a sing song voice. She adjusted her phone, angling it to her face.Their friend merely snorted and started painting her toenails.Audrey would’ve given a skeptical eye
“Sweetheart?” Vren closes the door behind him. She hasn’t opened the door for him. Although she only meets him at the door on a few occasions, he’s still allowed to expect a peck from his girlfriend. He padded quietly inside his penthouse, chest fluttering as he hears her elegant voice from the living room.He watches in amusement as the woman he’s been obsessing over for months now chided someone over her phone. He couldn’t exactly hear the entire conversation but he was able to get the idea that it was about an advertiser who pulled out from a prime spot at the last minute.She’s supposed to be on sabbatical leave but she kept everything monitored through Kylie. Although she reassured him she’s keeping herself from stress, Vren tries to get her off the phone. Mainly for his own personal gain because he needed the attention. Some days she’s hunched over her laptop, maybe checking her emails, and sometimes engrossed in a video call with her friend Rachel Myers whom she
Audrey paces in her bedroom. The pink interior slowly transitioned into an irritating shade because her room looked happy in contrary to the dread dwelling in the pit of her stomach. Her mother came over to her Aunt Gemma’s house—the first time she went out of the house since she has been discharged from the hospital.A revving car from outside snapped her out of her thoughts, reorienting her to the task at hand. The engine groaned loudly into a stop but she couldn’t care less about it. She leaned her back against the wall, looked out the window where the sun was streaming in several hours ago. There wasn’t any trace of it anymore which means she’s spent the day fruitlessly.The wall felt cold against her back. She gathered a calming breath in through her nose and scrolled through her contacts one more time. Swallowing the bile in her throat, she rings him. The soles of her feet were freezing as her palms. She hoped it will go to voicemail and save her from the embarras
One call. All it takes is one phone call. For Pete’s sake just call. She’s been staring at her phone all morning. She’s been mustering all the courage she needed to make the call. Since when did a single phone call became her toughest obstacle?Right. When she started mooning over Vren Parkinson without control over it. And that’s why she’s been wanting to call in the first place.Audrey figured she needed the fresh air to clear her mind, so she sat in the front porch and breathed in some courage.She’s been so occupied she didn’t pay attention to the car easing onto the driveway. Her head snapped to the direction of the driver’s side where the car door just closed with a soft thud. Her hands clenched at the sight of a familiar face she’s known by heart.He hesitated when he sees her on the porch swing. Mistaking her lack of movement for something else other than pure surprise, he turns and reopens the door.“Dad, it’s okay.” She bolted upright, stopping her
Vren pursed his lips irritably as he reaches the end of his contacts. Yet again. In emotional conflicts, he would resort to calling a past fling. But, surprising himself, he was deleting each single one from his contacts.What the hell was he supposed to do?For a great portion of his life, he had women as proven distraction from the noise of business ordeals. However, he haven’t met Audrey then. He didn’t have a deep emotional conflict that could only be relieved by one particular woman.His life is way off course. The only solution to put it back on track is to have his Audrey back. Whatever it might cost him. He had long lists of grand gestures he’s taken a mental note of. If that doesn’t give away how much he hasn’t been sleeping, maybe the dark circles might.He was on the verge of smashing his phone for having no one else to call. He takes out a heavy sigh and pressed that one phone number he has considered to call.Damn it. What the hell?Vren cli
Audrey won’t talk about it. She won’t even think about it. She wrapped her arms around her legs and tucked her knees against her chest. Her fingers shielded her eyes from the sun. She peeks through the space between her thumb and forefinger to assess how much she overslept. Her arm slumped back to her side as she wishes she could sink further to the cushions.He loves me.She shakes her head aggressively, shoving the thought out of her head.She told herself that this is how things are supposed to be. It was right to keep him in arm’s length. The barely there suggestion of marriage triggered everything she had kept at the back of her mind and pooled all over her. The mention of the ring really did a number on her. Her mother’s words that angered her then, came back to haunt her. However, she developed the habit of setting aside outside influences from her decisions over the years. So if Audrey were to screw up, she has an accusatory finger right to her face.Aud
Audrey sink to the rug, her gaze going over the opened door of the bathroom where she just spent the entire morning after having a round of morning sickness and some other stuff she doesn’t want to think about. A small sob slipped out, followed by another.She began crying in the quiet of the guest room. Her chest heaved from huge, racking sobs that doesn’t seem to end. She pulled her legs close, tucking her knees to her chest. She buried her face on the comfort of her thighs. Hoping it will muffle the sound.She was fine yesterday. She was doing well in keeping her mind off the soft spot. But waking up today with a terrible morning sickness felt like stepping right onto a landmine. Amidst the distressing process of cleaning her stomach clean, she thought about how bearable it once was when Vren was right on her side, holding her hair back, rubbing her back and his voice so soft on her ears.“Damn it!” She hissed as the memory flood in fresh new tears to her already
Vren’s hand covers hers, snapping her out of her stream of thought. They were in the kitchen having coffee after lunch. He wanted to stay for the weekend. Badly. But he had important business to attend to that he couldn’t reschedule. He likes to think that Audrey was just sulking that he couldn’t stay, but that’s not Audrey. She won’t show her need for him to stay because that would be demanding him to stay. And she’s not the kind to hold someone back.“You’re awfully quiet, Audrey.” He links his pinky finger with hers, finally drawing her attention to him.Her other hand grazed the curving handle of her mug. “It’s nothing, really.”“What is it? Maybe I can help?” Vren wasn’t dense not to notice her mother locking herself up in her bedroom. Audrey leaves her be.She kept her eyes on the mug like she found entertainment in the swaying steam of her coffee. She was silent still.Vren urges her face up with a finger beneath her chin. “Is this about getting a rin