Celine just smiled.
What happened to turning his life around?
People are only loyal to their own benefits.
When your back is against the wall, it’s normal to turn to your instinct for survival.
She understands that very well.
Isn’t it insulting when someone tries to play you thinking you don’t know anything but in fact you know everything?
Sometimes it’s fun to watch people scramble for words trying to hide their real intention.
But she could see through all the lies.
If she was able to interpret Minerva’s subtle change of tone, or slight pupil dilation or twitch of her lips, reading Clarence’s hypocrisy is very basic for her.
“So, is someone going to pick me up or we will go to the parking lot where my captor is waiting for us?” she asked casually.
“I don’t have a choice, I’m sorry”
“If you think you can get her back, you’r
“Done?” he casually asked. She nodded her head then went inside the car. She has a lot to ask but she’s scared to find out the truth. Knowing Daniel, he wouldn’t sugar-coat anything. “I don’t remember you smoke” she said casually while lowering her window. “I do, sometimes” “You know I was hoping when I wake up, I would be in our room and you would be there” she tried not to sound reproachful but her voice cracked in the end. “I was so scared, Daniel. You asked me to trust you and I did. But you weren’t there” she let her built-up emotions out. Daniel stopped the car on the side of the road and tried to comfort her. She must be very traumatized with what happened. But he remembered the scenes differently. As soon as Clarence sent the details of their meet-up, the restaurant was secured and the people inside were hired men. When she passed out, it was Daniel who carried her in the car and
“Mum, can we meet?” Daniel called Sylvia as soon as he checked-in in his hotel room.“Are you okay, son?” Sylvia’s gentle voice was heard on the phone.“I’m okay. It’s little Annie” he wasn’t able to finish his words when Sylvia cut him off.“Is she okay? I thought she’s abroad. What happened to her?”“Son, please make sure she’s okay. I’ve been dying to see her again. I hope she still remembers me” Sylvia was clearly concerned.Daniel could only close his eyes.He doesn’t know how Sylvia will react if the little Annie that she cared for 25 years ago is right under her nose all along.“Mum, she’s okay. She wants to know about her biological mother”“Is it alright to meet with you?” he heaved a deep breath.He knew he’s opening a can of worms but he could not carry all the secrets
Daniel raised both of his hands as if in surrender.“Mum, Uncle Carlos wanted her to have a private life” Daniel started.To the rest of the world, Roland Yates’ daughter is named Anne Yates.When she turned five years old, every one stopped calling her little Annie and used her first name: Celine.Only those who are closed to her knew about her real identity and she grew up privately as Celine.Away from the media, away from danger.“Little Annie and Celine are the same” Daniel concluded.“But you went abroad, you said to keep her safe. I thought you accompanied her abroad?” Sylvia got confused.“I have kept her safe. But she never left the country”Sylvia looked at the woman in front of her.She could not believe that the daughter she longed to hold for a long time is the same girl she’s meeting every Saturday at the hospice care facility.The gi
When Sylvia recovered from the operation, Marge Stevenson asked her to manage the hospice care facility.Mrs. Stevenson understood how she felt and she tried her best to help Sylvia in other way.One day, Sylvia was surprised when Roland Yates visited her with little Annie.He wanted to maintain his current relationship with her and Daniel and he propose to have a regular get together or vacations.She agreed initially but she started feeling guilty after a few months.She feels like she’s being his mistress.‘Mistress is only applicable if there is a wife’ Roland Yates said meaningfully.‘I’m married only in paper, Syl. I decide who I treat as my wife’‘Don’t think so much. She’s well compensated and she knows her place’Should she be satisfied with that?The paper that he was talking about makes all the difference.Slowly, she started to keep her
“You’re just tired. You don’t mean that” Daniel objected.Does she really think he would just agree to whatever she demands after what they’ve been through?“We already agreed that we will get divorced as soon as I received my money”“This is long overdue” she was surprised at how calm she is in negotiating with Daniel.As if all her energy were drained.“I don’t have time for this” Daniel said then covered himself with a blanket.He clearly disagrees.She knew she cannot force him to sign.And after all that Daniel has put up with her, he deserves all the leniency in the world.She just needs to convince him that they would be better off separately.Why?She cannot answer that right now.She just feels like it’s not right to continue anymore.The ‘why’ and ‘because’ will surely come later.
Aaron looked at Tiff in confusion.He didn’t think it’s part of publicity when they hold hands inside the car.Or when they take turns stealing kisses from each other.Or when she casually lay her head on his lap when they have a movie marathon.He doesn’t need to suppress the tightness in his pants every time she would give him a bear hug just because of publicity.Maybe it’s time to test the waters.He adjusted his pants and casually walked in front of Tiff.Tiff immediately looked around the shop to see if anyone saw him.“Your zipper is open” Tiff whispered softly.Aaron smoothly hooked his arm around her waist and whispered.“Zip it for me, honey” he said then give a flirtatious wink.“That, doesn’t look like a publicity to me” Celine said when she caught them while Tiff is zipping Aaron’s pants.Tiff turned into a tomato re
“Which side?” Daniel asked.“Both sides. All sides, I don’t care” Aaron was clearly pissed.Daniel smiled.The cool and suave Aaron Stevenson is panicking.This is a refreshing news.“You have it” he ended their call and texted Aaron a contact person.When Daniel reached their house, Celine was not there.“Where are you?”“Cab” she replied casually.He felt goosebumps at the back of his neck.Does she have any idea how dangerous it is to take a public transport?“Exactly where?”“I don’t know. The cab is moving” she tried to be a smart mouth.“Ask the driver to stop at any establishment, I’ll be there in 5 minutes” Daniel said in his bossy tone.“Why were you taking a cab?” he interrogated as soon as Celine closed her door.“Because your dear brother
When they reached the cruise ship, it was magical.The view deck is decorated with midnight blue and silver combination.There were crystal balls and string lights that dances at the blow of the wind.It looked like the galaxy came down on that ship just to grace the event.Celine gasped and grabbed Tiff’s arm in excitement.“This is amazing”“I wonder what the event is” Tiff agreed.But her excitement was immediately replaced with worry when she realized it’s very easy to lose someone in a masquerade party.Everyone was wearing either black or royal blue or purple.Who can tell the difference at night?She felt out of place for wearing red.One thing is for sure, Aaron was right when he said most of the women would wear plunging necklines.She giggled at the thought.The liberation of being anonymous.“Ms. Tiff, please come with us to join the
The wedding was finished in an instant followed by a sumptuous dinner. The guests all stayed for the weekend at the resort and soon it was time for the guests to leave.“Enjoy your honeymoon. But you’ll have to decide how the company will move forward given that Minerva’s position will be vacant” Linda reminded both Celine and Daniel.The mother superior could not be any happier for the two of them now. Now she only wanted for Celine to have babies so she can guide her through motherhood.“Still work, Linda?” Daniel teased.“Actually, no. I want her to enjoy her motherhood so she has to sign the formalities as soon as possible” Linda objected.“Pbbft. Motherhood will only come once she’s ready. Maybe after two years if we’re lucky” Daniel defended his wife.Linda gave Celine a knowing look and she saw Celine shrink back. Clearly, she hasn’t told Daniel about it. Anyway, it’s not her business she just have to wait for her to be ready.When all the guests have left, Daniel decided to br
The eve of the wedding ceremony arrived and Helene’s resort was livelier than usual.Although the staffs were initially told that it was a small celebration, they still decided to close it down when they found out it was Ms. Yates’ wedding. Although the resort is closed for the next few days, all the staffs were present assisting the guests making sure everyone is comfortable and enjoying their stay.The Bloom family was immediately impressed as soon as they stepped foot on the resort.They had never imagined they would see the white beach and turquoise waters that Helene fell in love with during her final days.Grandma Bloom’s eyes were teary seeing the blooming flowers.Those were Helene’s favourites.It’s feels as though Helene would appear anytime in these flower beds.Celine was observing the old couple and decided to give them a back story.“My parents fell in love in this place and this is where I was conceived as a result of their love. This holds a great deal to my mom and I
The old man was really grumpy.And why wouldn’t he?Celine said that the ceremony will only involve a few guests. And it would be a simple celebration. However, as soon as she started setting up her decorations, he knew it wasn’t as simple as she claimed it to be.Since he could not convince them to stop, he left the farm as soon as they started putting up the tent and only came back when he received the message that the farm is back to its previous order.He could already see their eco-friendly rating dropping from the charts. He still needed to submit reports to explain that the event did not pollute the environment.So, he is really grumpy right now. He has a lot of work to do.If the spoiled owner wanted to discuss business he needed to calm down for a day before he would be willing to negotiate.To be honest, he’s beginning to have second thoughts on selling the property to Celine. Who could guess what she’s planning to do next time?If only there’s a way to contact his master’s
Everyone kept their silence when they saw Celine followed by Daniel.If looks could kill, Daniel would have been dead by now based from the glaring stares he’s getting. Even Aaron who adored him looks at him disappointingly now.He knew he made a mistake but he can explain himself if he will be given a chance. All that matters to him now is that Celine agreed to be his wife for real. The rest will follow later on.“Let’s have dinner now. Celine is hungry” Daniel said to break the deathly glares directed at him.The rest of the group snapped out of their own worlds when they heard Celine was hungry.Sylvia immediately went to the kitchen to check on the food while Aunt Marge prepared the dining table.Celine wanted to help but everyone wanted her to rest.She thought about what happened in the afternoon and they must have felt pity for her.Her heart warms up at the special treatment she’s receiving.“Uhhmm. Daniel and I talked about what will happen tomorrow. Since we originally plann
Daniel tried to swallow hard to remove the lump building in his throat.Suddenly, it was very difficult to breathe after realizing what happened.He let the elders scold him so he could punish himself but Sylvia’s silence was more than he could take.No one said another word anymore. No matter what they wanted to say, it’s all useless now.They were at this stand still when the Blooms arrived.“Ah, Daniel you came. Celine would be relieved” Dr. Bloom was filled with vigour.He never expected the wedding atmosphere to lift Grandma Bloom’s spirits.They just came from the make-shift tent where she inspected the final decorations and her eyes were dreamy.“Let’s get married again tomorrow, dear” she joked as she gave instructions to the wedding planning team.“Grandma” Daniel greeted.Grandma Bloom acknowledged his presence but turned her attention to the la
Their reactions were not like as she has expected.“What if Daniel doesn’t want to get married?” Aunt Marge suddenly asked.She was worried that Daniel would have to give in to Celine again.For the Stevensons, they place a high value to marriage and family. Since their businesses could easily attract those unscrupulous characters, they needed the kind of security that only blood and family could provide.“Of course, Daniel will marry Celine. There’s no way that Daniel will object” Sylvia defended Celine from the Stevensons.“I understand all your concern. Of course, Daniel will have to agree this time. Anyway, I prepared the ceremony thinking that Daniel has really found a wife. It turns out, it’s only a ruse to throw off the Solomons.” Celine explained.“Daniel has already said that he will only get married because of love. I guess later I will know if he sees me as his potential
She could hear Britney’s sobs in the background. Daniel must have put their call on speaker mode. Isn’t she really thick-skinned? If it were Celine, she would have definitely dug herself out of that room. But then again, she’s Britney Smith, only she can do what she does and only she can accept this kind of embarrassment.“Britney, just cross Daniel’s name on your list. He’s not used to dealing with emotions so you will really lose out. He’s also not romantic so you will be really bored. Aren’t you embarrassed if you have to set an appointment with me if you want to have intimate nights with him? Even if you managed to marry him, he will not acknowledge your marriage in public so no one will really know that he’s your husband. Trust me on this one, he’s been married for seven years now and yet no one knows about his wife. If you want to receive flowers, you will either have to plant it yourself or order it online to
She felt an inexplicable excitement hearing his deep and powerful voice. But her excitement was quelled when she heard Daniel speak.“I thought I told you to call my secretary for appointment?” Daniel asked without any emotion.“Well, I cannot reach Celine and your office suddenly went into company holiday. So, I thought I can call you again since you’re divorced now” Britney said sheepishly.Daniel heaved a deep breath to calm the rage he felt before replying again.“Ms. Smith, news of my divorce may have circulated but it doesn’t mean anyone can just call me for dates. I’m not that desperate.” he replied in a stern voice.“That’s not what I meant, Daniel. I just got back to the country and I have a project proposal. Knowing your work ethics, you wouldn’t let a good opportunity pass. I mentioned your divorce because I think your ex-wife will not be jealous anymore if we went f
When Daniel came back to their house, he received a call from his family.“Finally, you managed to subdue the Solomons” Aaron called him excitedly.“Yeah” he replied lightly.“Let’s have a drink” he invited.Living with the Stevensons for a while has greatly improved their relationship all thanks to Celine.“Bro, I’m sorry but I have to pass. Mom is feeling under the weather so Tiff is accompanying her for now” Aaron felt cold sweats appearing on his forehead. Never had he imagine that he will blatantly lie to Daniel one day.“Oh” was all Daniel could reply then ended their call.In that case, it’s best to rest early so he can reach Celine before lunch.He decided to leave some reminders to Oscar regarding the company’s affairs.“I’ll leave you in-charge, Oscar. I’ll be gone in a few days. Call me in case of emergency, O