The next day, Mona followed Sophie to the audition. The audition was rather quiet since it was being held in private. Sophie and Mona waited for their turn outside the room. She already got the part because of Thaddeus, but she still had to win Giordan’s approval. Giordan was a director with a specific taste, and he had many requirements for his shows. The actors and actresses must all match his expectations. Even if Mona got the lead role with Thaddeus' money, if she could not act or did not live up to Giordan's expectations, the show would not go on. Mona was given a part to act and she was practicing on her own. It was a minor scene in the show. Although Mona had no idea why Giordan picked this scene which was not much of a challenge, she took it seriously and started to get into character. An hour later, the door opened. One of the staff popped his head out and called Mona in. Mona got up. She gave Sophie the script. Sophie calmly said, “Do your best.” She cross
Mona added her own flair on a detail. She picked up some props prepared by the production staff and sat by the rock. With a piece of charcoal in hand, she scrawled a few lines on a leaf before tossing it into an open flame. Athena and Theo watched the bonfire together, and Athena’s gaze trailed the highest peak of the smoke. The actor playing Theo cocked his head to look at Athena’s side profile, surprised by the tears streaming down her smiling eyes. At no point in the script was Athena depicted to weep. However, Mona played such powerful emotions that tugged at the co-star’s heartstrings. Theo reached out and curled his arm around Athena without making any physical contact. It was as if Athena and Theo were happily embracing each other. Since they had their own crosses to bear, Theo was letting his stance known to Athena in his own way. Not one to show emotions, Athena was shedding tears of joy for once, and Theo vowed to preserve her fragile happiness. Mona closed her eye
“It’s utter perfection!” Giordan’s hands were sore from clapping. The others whispered praises among themselves. Truth be told, Mona’s audition knocked them out of the park. Mona bought her way into the production team and found fame through a photo on the runway. Like other hyped-up influencers, she had nothing to show except the knack for doing publicity stunts. At least, that was everybody’s first impression of her. Now, everything they knew about Mona was thrown out the window. It was bizarre to the judges that they had gotten the completely wrong idea about Mona. Giordan emerged from the panel and walked across the room in strides before putting his hand out to Mona. “Hello, I am Giordan Capullaci. Let me be the first to welcome you on board Athena’s Legend’s production team.” Mona took Giordan’s hand, feeling the tremble in the tips of his fingers. Holding his hand tightly, she returned a warm smile and spoke in a raspy voice, “It’s an honor to be able to work togethe
For a moment, the hashtags on Athena’s Legend, Mona Ortega, and the female lead went viral all over Twitter.Opinions varied about Giordan’s unconventional approach to his return to showbiz. He gave a leading role to an influencer, who had not been known to the world for more than a month, with no accomplishment under her belt. The public even went so far as to make assumptions that the production team was on a tight budget to afford an A-list actor. The best the production team could do was a nobody. Amidst the doubtful voices, Mona’s had supporters standing behind her, refuting the disapproving claims. Both parties stood their ground and jumped at each other’s throats. Mona took a fleeting glance at the fiery comments before turning off Twitter to shut off the noise. Sitting by the window, Mona spread the script on her lap. She was accompanied by blue skies and turquoise waters. The white noise of the seagulls’ calls and waves slapping against the shore worked best than anythi
Mona asked Sophie in disbelief, “That’s insane. Where did I get that kind of money for investment?” She joined showbiz to make money, not to throw money around like a sucker. “Mr. Fontaine put a hundred million dollars in the company account when the office was established.” Mona was speechless. She believed that launching the office would require funds, but it never crossed her mind that Thaddeus would be willing to put that much money into it. Concerned that the newfound information would put a lot of pressure on Mona, Sophie explained, “You got a part on the TV show, and you’re also putting money into the production. There are two outcomes to this. Your good acting will double the investment, but there goes the money if the TV show is a flop.” Sophie patiently made the whole thing clear to Mona who quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind. “It’s not a bad idea.” In fact, it worked out perfectly for Mona. She would be earning big bucks if the TV show was a success,
Unable to get a word out of Thaddeus, Maria stopped interfering in his business. Thaddeus asked Maria about what Mona had been up to lately. After Maria answered his question, he dismissed Maria back to the kitchen. The man took strides to the entrance leading to the backyard and opened the door. He drew close to Mona who was sitting on a white rocking bench. With downcast eyes, he looked at Mona and asked, “Are you cold?”Mona was irritated as the man would not shut up. He would not stay out of her business, and it was suffocating. Seeing that she was still sulking, the man bent over and picked Mona up to sit with her on the bench. Mona tensed her body as the man pressed the back of her head toward his chest. She could barely breathe buried under all that skin. Clenching her fists, she started to pound Thaddeus on the shoulders. He refused to let her go despite the multiple blows he sustained. Nevertheless, he released the intensity of his grip to allow her some breathi
The man’s gaze fell on Mona. From the brief eye contact, Thaddeus was brought back to the past when Mona had been simple and innocent. Back then, he had picked her up from the road and brought her home. Barely dressed, she had sat on the edge of the bathtub and crossed her legs. Her toes were curled up, and her clear eyes read of fear and reliance. Standing there, he looked at her and could tell that from then on, he had become the woman’s whole world. It was a memory that often played in his mind. As time went on, those eyes were no longer clear enough for him to read her mind again. Mona had since then played mind games with him. Gathering her thoughts, Mona picked her head up and propped against Thaddeus’ shoulders to stand up. Just as the man found her unfathomable, Mona stared at the man, who had been missing for a few days, and found him a stranger. The pair sat in silence as an invisible distance grew between them. Yet, they were powerless to stop the distance from
“So, you’re saying that I should just give in to your needs?” Gritting his teeth, Thaddeus fixated on Mona’s tiny waist. The only thing on his mind was to pick her up and give her a good spanking. Mona innocently blinked and took a bite out of the banana before turning her attention back to the cringy TV show playing on TV. Thaddeus gnashed his teeth as Mona managed to awaken the beast within him. With a brooding look, he got up and approached her like a wolf locked onto its prey. Thaddeus took strides toward Mona and held her up by the waist. Feeling the world spinning, Mona soon found herself hanging off the man’s wide shoulders. The banana dropped from her grasp. “Put me down, Thaddeus!” Thaddeus hoisted her all the way to the bedroom upstairs. The man’s eyes burned with a vengeance. “How long will you be away at production? Huh?” he hissed through clenched teeth. “A month!” Mona bit the man’s shoulder. It would be a great month because she would not have to fa
The couple was tired after a time of bonding, and they lay on the wicker chair, closing their eyes before slipping into dreamland. Sometime later, Thaddeus felt a chill and opened his eyes. His T-shirt was wet, and Bobby and Millie were spraying water at him with water guns. The youngest child was nearby too in her stroller. She suckled on a pacifier and watched the bustle. “Where’s your mommy?” Thaddeus shuffled his hair and looked around, searching for Mona. “Freeze, Daddy. We have held Mommy captive. Surrender yourself to us.” Acting like the boss, Millie pointed her massive water gun at her daddy. Thaddeus had indulged his eldest daughter so much that the girl would only have things her way. Nevertheless, Thaddeus played along since it was only a game. He knew his children well. Millie took after Mona and was shrewd. Still, Millie would be on her best behavior when in public. “Hurry up and surrender, Daddy. Put your hands up, and we will release Mommy.” Millie poked
It was a cooling breeze for the Summer as flowers bloomed in the garden of Fontaine Residence. Mona rested on a wicker chair under the wine arbor, holding in hand the latest issue of the weekly design magazine, with her face on the cover. In the photo, she held a trophy up on the stage of a design competition, standing out amidst the radiant background. Since the birth of her youngest, Mona took a month off for rest before picking up her passion again and returning to the world of design. Recently, she won first place in an international design competition and found fame. Mona was happy with her life and enjoyed the rich and peaceful state of things. She had time to herself for once during the weekend, so she found a quiet spot to enjoy time alone while the kids had a nap. The sunlight shone over Mona through the leaves, basking her in warmth. She let out a yawn and closed her eyes for a nap. Thaddeus walked out of the house and saw the woman enjoying the moment of bliss. The t
“Mommy, did the baby kick you today?” Millie wobbled her way over and placed her hand on Mona’s belly. She could feel the baby stirring inside her mommy’s stomach. Millie was pleasantly surprised. “The baby kicked me! Mommy, is the baby swimming inside your belly?” “Yeah. The baby is kicking.” Mona affectionately caressed her belly. The fetus had been kicking and rolling a lot more lately, so she could not get much sleep. The tall and strong man drew near and looked tenderly at Mona. His husky voice lingered in Mona’s ear. “Weren’t you craving strawberries? I placed an order, and the fruit is being airlifted here as we speak. It’ll arrive tonight.” “Yay.” Mona was gleeful. Since the beginning of her pregnancy, she had become quite fussy and craved the strangest food. She wanted caviar from Japan, cookies from France, and strawberries from the highlands. Anything she asked for would be transported fresh to the house the next day.The man had taken good care of her during her en
“No. I won’t let myself go.” The man huffed heavily after finishing his sit-ups. Then, he rolled out of bed and got changed in the walk-in closet. Mona stared at the man’s well-toned back, gasping at his body upkeep. People would probably have a hard time believing he was a father of three. With that in mind, Mona became aware of a potential threat. She got up and drew close to the man. “You’re responsible for taking care of the baby once the child is born.” Thaddeus straightened his tie. “Alright. I can do that. I want to be present in the baby’s life and your pregnancy. You should rest at home once your belly gets bigger. I’ll handle Bobby and Millie’s school run, okay?” The man pinched Mona’s face dotingly. “Now you’re talking. Are you heading out?” Mona got up on her tiptoes to brush off the dust from his shoulders. “Yeah. I need to sort out a lot of paperwork.” “I wrote down notes of the meeting I attended on your behalf a few days ago.” Mona walked out to retrieve a
Thaddeus was in the hospital for a week before he was discharged. The election day for the successor of the Fontaine Group was two weeks later, but Thaddeus had not made a full recovery in his legs. He remained in a wheelchair and persisted in his daily physiotherapy. Mona had a room freed up in Fontaine Residence for Thaddeus’ rehabilitation. A specialized doctor would come around the house every day to help Thaddeus with his recovery. Thaddeus was a strong man to fight through the pain in his physiotherapy sessions. That day, Mona watched as the workers hung a decorative painting on the wall in the hallway. She ordered paintings of her preference and had them shipped from abroad. Mona instructed the workers to put it up, not paying attention to the wobbly painting that had been hung behind her. The painting was about to hit her from the back. Thaddeus was exiting the rehabilitation room when he caught sight of the danger. Getting up from his wheelchair, Thaddeus took large stri
The few pictures of Mona and Victor at the height of a tussle gave the impression that they were having an intimate moment. Thaddeus went through the photos with a look of disdain. “So you stood there and pretended to take pictures of me to show me these? You set my wife up with another man to tell me she was cheating on me?” It was not hard to guess the game the paparazzi were playing, but who was he trying to fool? The man was dumbstruck, as it never occurred to him that Thaddeus could see through him. It had taken the three of them to come up with the idea. However, it had not taken much for Thaddeus to foil their plan. Mona let out a relieved smile. She thought that Thaddeus would be furious at the look of the pictures and had prepared herself to give a long explanation. She was surprised that Thaddeus quickly saw through the attempt to drive them apart. Their relationship was solid, and no one could come between them. Mona thought to herself with glee when she took
Mona stood in front of Thaddeus, blocking his face as she confronted the paparazzi who took their picture. “Hand over the camera!” “There’s nothing in the camera. Besides, it’s my personal property. Why should I give it to you?” “You clearly took a picture of my husband. You have some nerve to say there’s nothing.” Mona grabbed the man by the wrist and lifted her foot to kick. Thaddeus grabbed her wrist to stop her. “You’re pregnant. Think about the child.” Thaddeus pulled Mona back, leaving himself exposed to the paparazzi. “Why do you want to photograph me? Do you want to see me in a wheelchair? Take a picture then.” Thaddeus pulled a straight face. His nonchalant gaze spoke of intimidation. Dumbstruck, the paparazzi looked at Thaddeus’ legs and smiled dryly. “What happened to your legs, Mr. Fontaine?” Thaddeus did not answer. However, his dark eyes flicked chillingly as he looked murderously at the paparazzi. Even in a wheelchair, Thaddeus did not have to say anythi
With the help of the two caretakers, Thaddeus sat in the wheelchair. He had overcome his emotions and pulled himself together. His mind was clear as he sorted out what he should do next. Thaddeus called the assistant into the room and laid out the following plan. “I won’t attend any media interviews before the election, but I won’t disappear from the public eye either. I don’t want to give the press something to talk about. My wife will represent me. Going forward, whatever she says or does will be considered my own. She has the authority to attend all corporate conferences, big or small.” Mona dropped her jaw in shock. She was to attend company meetings and speak on his behalf. It was trying to make the impossible happen. On second thought, Thaddeus must have his reasons to do so. She had the confidence to do a good job anyway. The assistant took note of everything Thaddeus said. The Fontaine Group was about to choose its next leader, and with Thaddeus still in recovery, the
“It’s okay. That’s normal after surgery. The doctor gave me a heads-up. Since it’s a brain operation, you might have damage to the motor nerve. With the help of physiotherapy, you’ll be back to running in no time.” Mona consoled Thaddeus. Thaddeus lifted his hands and gave Mona a gentle push. “Leave.” Mona froze. She looked at the man who was fine a second ago, not knowing what to do. “Can you leave? I need some time alone,” Fixing his gaze on Mona, Thaddeus spoke callously. “Okay. I’ll be right outside if you need me.” It dawned on Mona why the man was persistent in driving her away. He did not want her to see him at his worst. In a way, he was trying to protect his pride and dignity as a man. However, they were a married couple. Mona would never turn her back on him. Mona could understand the man’s vulnerability and his feelings at the moment. Hence, she said nothing and quietly left the ward to give Thaddeus the time and space to sort his emotions. Instead of doing n