"Has your boss been here before?" Rosie inquired with curiosity twisted in her brows.Isabella shook her head. "He doesn't know this address except for mine." Isabella had no idea that her father had sent the address of their home to Richard shortly before she was wheeled home."I think that he must be very busy today to pass on the invitation," Caro voiced while making eye contact with others. "Bella, your boss is so rich and hot. Is he single?" Venita couldn't help giggling with her full set of white teeth on display and almost immediately, the girls fixed their gazes on her. Isabella smiled. "Unfortunately, I know nothing about his private life. You will have to go ask him yourself if you are interested.""Why are you asking? Are you ready to mingle now?" Caro teased."Who said it was for me?" A smirk appeared at the corner of Venita's lips as she took in the different expressions on their faces. "I want to set him up with Bella because right now, I am wishing he was the one she
~Two Years Later~It's been one month since Isabella and Gerald officially divorced, and the latter was set to marry his mistress, Kareen in a few weeks according to the gist brought by 'Scandalous blog.'But that was none of Isabella's business as she had long moved on with her life, especially after getting all the monetary compensation being contested in the divorce, plus her daughter's full custody.She was a free and happy woman now, given that she was about to clock off work for the week.Sitting in her new office, a deep exhale escaped Isabella's lips as she turned off her computer and picked up her phone to check the message she got a while ago.It was from Richard, and the content read; 'Meet me at Le Bernardin by 7:30 tonight.''Huh?' Isabella was a little confused, but as soon as she finished reading the message and lifted her head, she saw Richard stepping out of his office.He didn't even look her way before walking away with his coat draped on his left arm and his bag in
Richard did not get the chance to pull out a chair for Bella because of the toddler in his arms. He had wanted to be a complete gentleman from the start of their date to the finish, but see what she’s caused by bringing a child over.“I asked you out on a date and you brought Isla with you,” he said casually after a waiter arranged another chair for the toddler.Bella who had her secret plans quietly tucked into the back of her head smiled politely as she met his gaze after he had gently settled her daughter on the chair next to him. “I hope you don’t mind her presence?” Richard smirked and peered at Isla who had already picked up the menu meant for him. “Of course, I don’t. Isla is such an adorable daughter. What is there not to like about her?”Bella had nothing to refute his words with as her genes were as clear as day on Isla. She was very proud after successfully creating a mini-version of herself. And by that, she means a beautiful mini-her. Twenty minutes later…Ric
Richard finally confessed his feelings for Bella and she did not look like any of it made sense to her.Bella did not speak immediately because his confession was weighing heavily on her heart and thankfully, Richard understood and gave her some space.If he can be patient for two years just for this day, what is waiting for two minutes just to hear her response?After a while of digesting her boss's romantic confessions and intentions towards her, Bella met his gaze again and tried to ask with a calm composure she managed to muster that second, "You don't have any woman that you like?"Richard was a bit confused by that question as he raised a questioning brow. "I like you."Bella shook her head. He didn't understand her question, so she had to ask again, "I mean, apart from me, you don't have another one?""If there was another woman I liked, I wouldn't have patiently waited and worked hard for two years just to be close to you and your loved ones."The second that revelation made i
Isabella liked Richard. It was effortless to fall for someone who was kind to her plus the added advantage of being handsome.But in any case, her ex-husband was also very good to her at the beginning of their relationship before he changed after the birth of their daughter, and seeing Richard doing the same now, she was afraid that things were going to turn upside down.It didn’t necessarily mean he would cheat on her, but given their connection through her previous marriage, it was hard to see them going far with this new relationship he wanted.Regardless, Bella found herself being unable to say ‘no’ to him. Somehow, it might be because she secretly liked him, or because of her friends bugging her to give him a child or probably because of her daughter who seemed to love him as much.A deep sigh fell through Bella’s lips as she glanced at their intertwined fingers. She stole a glance at Isla and saw how glued her eyes were on the screen of her phone before shifting her gaze bac
Arriving at Isabella’s place, Richard carried Isla up to her flat and straight to her bedroom, and that marked the first time he was stepping foot inside her apartment. “Do you want some water, tea or coffee?” Bella asked from the kitchen Island as Richard walked into the kitchen after tucking Isla in.“A bottle of water will do.” He smiled at her before letting his gaze stray to his surroundings. He was surprised at how clean and tidy her apartment was given the presence of a toddler and wondered how she managed to keep everything together.In the end, his curiosity got the best of him. “Do you have a housekeeper?” he asked even though he would have known if she had one.“No.” Bella grabbed a bottle of water from the double-door refrigerator and spun around to hand it to him. “Isla’s nanny is the only extra help I have.”Surely, there is no way a nanny’s job would be to cook and clean except to look after the child she was being paid to. Richard concluded that Bella was the o
Bella was not willing to divulge one bit of the details regarding her date with Richard the previous night yet.Her friends tried all they could by teasing and drilling her with questions but she remained mute for as long as she wanted. And they all ended up helping her to do one thing or the other in her home since it was a Saturday.One helped her to cook lunch and dinner. The second one spent time with Isla by helping her do her assignments and play games with her while the last one helped with the laundry.By the time it had clocked 11 AM on the clock, Caro started serving the tacos she had just made before calling everyone to the dining area.As for Isla, she was given one from it with healthy snacks and was left in the living room to watch her cartoons. But all eyes kept drifting to that toddler just in case she went around touching things she wasn’t supposed to.Now, this was the moment the girls had been waiting for.“Now, out with the gist already,” Venita urged impatie
“Bella went through a very heartbreak before coming to this point. Do you want to experience her sacrifice?” Rosie inquired.Just thinking about how the one man who used to be everything to their best friend turned out to betray her big time and almost embarrass her on social media, Venita felt bile rise to her throat.“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind killing that kind of man to go to prison if I were to be in Bella’s shoes,” Venita confessed.The other girls glanced at her and shook their heads. They were kind of glad that Venita was not the one who went through what Bella experienced otherwise, they would have heard about their friends being convicted of murder without even getting a chance to hear the full story.A woman like Venita was impatient and strong-willed and no wonder she was still single.When the girls thought they had heard all the interesting and romantic parts of Bella’s date with her boss, she told them of how he sent her and Isla home in his car as his driver follow
Bella didn’t know what to say or how to feel when she saw the news. While her friends were talking about it, she stood up and walked away.Instantly, the chatter died down as the three women exchanged glances before quickly following after her.“Bella, what is wrong? Can you speak to us?” Rosie asked as she soon matched her steps.“I just want to be left alone for an hour. Is that not okay?” She said without stopping in her steps.Venita and Caro glanced at each other before moving their gazes back to her.“Actually, that is not a bad request. A little bit of privacy is not much to ask for but you see, the fetus in your womb is still unstable and the doctor wants us to make sure you are never left by yourself.”To avoid her slipping into depression, her doctor had given them an instruction to follow.Even though Bella might seem to be in a better mental state now than when Miriam died, the child she was carrying was still in danger.Bella’s friends were worried that she woul
Seeing her true colours, Mr. Rowland was grateful to his children for beating the hell out of her some months back otherwise, he would never have thought about monitoring her movements.It was all thanks to them that the thought dropped in his head.He had indeed married himself a gold digger who spent his money on men younger than he was.It was only recently that he found out and when he planned to file for a divorce and chase her away, Richard came to him to ask for help, as his good business partner, he decided to return the favour.He pushed back his plans a bit to help him gather enough pieces of evidence.Richard literally had no idea that Mr. Rowland had already done the basics on how to catch Debby otherwise he wouldn’t be worried right now wherever he was that the investigation on Debby might take too long.“Go ahead and start eating,” Mr. Rowland instructed as he quickly averted his gaze.His eyes burned at the fact that he had been living with a criminal for almost
Richard was not the only one carrying out the investigation. He had the help of his best friend, Matteo.“How is it possible for someone who has been hiding from the police for four months to suddenly jump out to drive into Bella’s car?” Matteo asked. Even he didn’t believe that was an accident.“I’m glad this matter is under both government and private investigations,” Richard said to him.A thought came to Matteo as he complained about what intentions Kareen might have had.“The police are still trying to investigate where that woman has been hiding.”The question was, how did Kareen survive for four months without being caught on any CCTV camera or stepping out to buy anything?The answer was right in front of both men. It was very obvious that she had help.“That woman had help,” Matteo suddenly said. “I think I know who it might be,” he added with a straight gaze on Richard.There was only one known person from their side Matteo thought would want to get rid of Bella.It
“Why did you take me back home?” Bella inquired as their car pulled up in the driveway.Richard threw her a glance before climbing out of the car. He managed to get her out and sighed in relief when Isla appeared.He let the little girl distract her until they got into the master bedroom before sending her away.“Bella, I’ve got some bad news to share,” He revealed as every fake emotion disappeared from his eyes.He looked a little sad and that scared the shit out of Bella. Plus he called her by her name.“Did anyone die?” She managed to ask as she felt her heart racing in her chest. She almost couldn’t breathe properly.Richard didn’t answer that question. He let out a deep sigh, confirming her fears.Bella quickly rose from the bed as her eyes turned red. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared down at him.“Who died?” She asked as a tremor wrecked her lower lips.A deeper sigh escaped from Richard’s lips as he rubbed his hands together. “Miriam got into an accident with you
It’s been two weeks since Bella and Richard found out they were pregnant.Richard’s excitement knew no bounds as he did everything beyond his power to ensure that Bella was comfortable getting over the horrible morning sickness.To think that thing was powerful enough to drive him out of their master bedroom for a week simply because Bella couldn’t stand the smell of his bathing soap.The man was forced to change it seeing that things were serious.How could he forgo cuddling his wife every night just because of his bathing soap?Richard literally employed a live-in nurse but was forced to sack her the very next day after Bella threatened his entire being.He was really scared of his wife this time around since her hormones were on the high side. Fortunately, he learnt to adjust quickly to the new situation. He wanted a baby with her, so this was the other side of it which he was very much willing to experience.Bella soon returned to work. On the first day, she slept all t
How was Bella supposed to answer the question she hasn’t confirmed yet?Mrs. Cooper couldn’t understand the thoughts running in her head as they continued to stare at each other, but she could see the signs, so she raised her brows, prompting Bella to answer.“I think so, but I haven’t confirmed it yet.”She and Richard started trying for a child in December and if she was pregnant, the signs and changes to her body would have started by now, especially depending on the date it happened.“That’s good news then! I shall help you get some pregnancy test kits,” Mrs. Cooper announced and sat down next to her, taking her hand gently with her eyes filled with gratefulness.“Please don’t mention any of this to Richard. I only want to break the news to him when it’s been confirmed. I don’t want to raise his hopes high and then flop it if the result turns out to be negative.”Even though Bella was still mad at him for no reason, she cared about his mental health and wouldn’t like for him
Caro made a V-log at the end of their Switzerland Christmas trip and posted it on her page for all eyes to see.The majority of Bella’s fans knew she was her friend hence, some of them were already following her Instagram page since they got to see the fun side of Bella all thanks to her.So, while everyone was wondering what was up with Bella since the last time she posted on her page, they got notified about Caro’s latest V-Log and went to watch it.Two hours later, the video went viral as blogs reposted it. Everyone interested got to see how cute and interesting Bella and Richard’s marriage was. The side death glares from Bella and the grin on Richard’s face as he tried to pacify her after annoying the hell out of her.Richard’s playful side also got exposed to everyone, especially with the stunt he pulled after the group lost their way and ate ice cream before he called his bodyguards to come show them out.No one knew that millionaires could have this sense of humour.Of
Bella stared at him wide-eyed. “You...”“Shhhh.” He shushed her. “If you don’t want us to get caught, don’t scream,” he said and continued to use his fingers to tease her down there.Bella whimpered. How was she expected to keep her mouth shut when he was doing those things to her?She wasn’t a tree but a real woman whose hormones and neurons were functioning properly.Unless she covered her mouth, she wouldn’t be able to hold back her moans, so she covered her mouth to stifle the sounds.She would have suggested for them to draw the curtains, but that would even attract more attention as everyone would know what they were up to.Fortunately, Richard didn’t torture her for a long time before letting her go. Also, no one left their seat during the event.Several hours later, they touched down in Switzerland and two luxurious Mercedes vans came to pick them up from the airport along with four security cars that accompanied them.Everyone settled in the big mansion that Richard h
Venita and Caro giggled as they climbed the stairs to the private jet. They couldn’t believe they were going on such an expensive and interesting trip to celebrate Christmas.The flight attendants treated them like Royalties and showed them to their seats.Bella figured that the two friends would need to keep each other company during the flights, so she arranged for them to be given a space where she could join them for a chat as well.Richard finally managed to bring his father on the trip along with his doctor. The old man’s time was almost up and according to the doctor, he had only a few years left.Richard figured that he might actually help his father travel out to enjoy Christmas once even if he wasn’t in his best healthy state.Bella’s parents got onto the plane and were assigned seats before they were helped to secure their seatbelts.They were happy to enter their son-in-law’s private jet once again as their wedding had been the first time they ever got to experience