Claire let Donald lead her to the suite on the next floor. Axel's father really chose his words to hurt. She kept going over them in her mind, until she had a headache.Donald pressed the button for the elevator. "Are you okay?"Claire folded her arms across her chest. "Not really, but it's fine."Donald scoffed. "No it's not. That was unfair."Claire pouted. "I know right? It's understandable, though. Paul died and we didn't tell him.""That gives him no right to blame it all on you."The doors opened and they stepped in. "It's fine, Donald, really. Don't worry about it."The men were assembled when they got off, and rushed to them as soon as they entered the suite."You look pale." Hunter squinted at Claire. "Did something happen?""What did the Chairman want?" Jubril asked.Donald led the way to the conference room. "Get in here, all of you."His tone surprised the men, but they did as they were told. Jenise was already inside, nursing a sandwich."Hey!" She waved Claire over and p
Claire unconsciously took a step back. "Isn't Director Tim the one Myla claimed gave her the box?"Donald finally saw Myla. "Hey Myla. What brings you here?"Myla shook her head, her cheeks stained with tears. Donald raised a brow at Axel."What's going on?"Axel explained the whole situation to him, and Donald regarded Myla with an incensed expression."Are you that dumb, Myla? Even a child would be suspicious of such instructions!"Myla hung her head and said nothing. She merely tightened the grip on her child."Let's go." Axel ordered. "Donald, I need you to find the security feed from an hour ago." He turned to Myla. "I suppose that time is correct?" "Yes sir." She muttered hoarsely.Claire felt bad for her. She desperately wanted to believe her friend, to defend her and take her side. But she had been hurt too many times. She was not about to take the risk that Myla had indeed tried to hurt her.Donald led them down to the men's suite. He brought his laptop out to the sitting ro
Axel held on tightly to his seatbelt. "I know I said we should hurry and find Danielle and Eric, but I didn't say I would like to die by car accident."Donald laughed and eased his foot on the accelerator. "Don't be such a sissy. The roads are clear, and rush hour is over.""You nearly ran three lights!" Axel glared at him."They were all green when I passed them, alright." Donald swerved to avoid a car that had suddenly stopped in front of them. "You should be telling this to drivers such as this one.""I hope Danielle's okay." Axel mused. "If anything happened to her, Claire might never recover.""I know." Donald pressed his foot down on the gas. "That is why I'm going at maximum speed. You should be glad I'll get us there on time."They reached the apartment in record time. There were no cars parked outside. They alighted cautiously and went up to the front door. Axel tested the door handle. It was locked. He pressed the doorbell. There were no signs of life in or around the house.
Claire returned to the men's suite a little less afraid. After their little stunt, she had stayed back to help Axel get the meal ready. It was nice just being alone with him and cooking together. She just did not want their time together to end. Donald came up to help them move the dishes to the next floor. There, the other women made them sit, while they took over.Somehow, Eric had found himself some decent clothes that looked suspiciously like Hunter's. He had also managed to break Myla out of her little cocoon of horror. She was holding Coco now, pretty calmly and not with a death grip. They sat down to eat, all of them together with the men. Jubril turned on the television."I heard from my source at NewsTv that there is a big news update coming this afternoon." Jubril stared at the men. "He claimed it would shake New York, and one of the major companies."Axel looked up from his plate. "I wonder what that is about.""The only major company I know is Lyn Corporation." Eric chippe
Rose sat in the cold detention cell. She had been here for what appeared to be several days, and was already losing track of time. Mr. Davinsky had put out a notice for her arrest so his men could kill her, and it was a good thing Axel's men had intervened. Instead, she had been put in this dreary underground prison. There was very little light filtering in from the tiny windowThe doors made that scraping sound of steel on steel, just like it always did when the warden entered their bunker. However, this time, instead of his face appearing on the other side, she saw a quiet looking and smartly dressed young man. He held up his identification."Hi, I'm from NewsTv. I am here to request an exclusive interview, to follow up a recent news report. Would you like to tell us what you know?"Rose glared at him suspiciously. The last person that had claimed to want to help had put her in this cell. She saw the identification card alright, but anyone could fake one of those. Her only ticket to
Claire's lips trembled. "I knew it."Axel was speechless. He wanted to facepalm, but his hands were too busy holding her stiff frame."What are you talking about, Claire?"He lifted himself up on his elbow and stared down at her."You didn't tell me you loved me." Claire pouted.Axel was confused. "Did something happen? Something that made you feel I don't?"Claire jutted her chin out. "No. I just wanted to know."Axel gave her a suspicious look. "I do love you very much, Claire Lysander. Now tell me what the hell is going on."Claire lowered her eyes. "I saw the way you were with Coco."Axel sat up, and Claire hesitantly followed. He pulled her between his knees and put his chin on her head."Did I treat her badly?" He whispered."No." Claire sniffed. "You did very great. It made me wonder if we could have some of our own too."Axel stilled. His silence made Claire look up and try to meet his gaze. The shutters of his eyes were pulled down so she could not tell what he was thinking.
Claire woke up before sunrise. She expected to find Axel dead to the world beside her, but he was not there. The sound of running water from the bathroom reached her ears, and she rose groggily. She pushed open the bathroom door and strutted in. The curtains were pulled shut, and she could hear the sound of Axel whistling in the shower.Claire smiled to herself. They were all expecting some good news that morning, and she was glad it put him in a good mood. He suddenly emerged from behind the curtains. The look he gave her could have melted diamonds."Hello, wife."She gulped and looked away quickly. He was dressed in nothing but his birthday suit, and the sight weakened her knees instantly."I'll just…go get some towels."She fled the bathroom, before her mind could begin to imagine the things he could do to her. She got dressed in the closet and went out only when someone knocked on the door. Surely, Axel would not come out of the bathroom without getting dressed. She heard the bath
Axel had not realized just how much he had missed the company. The sounds, smells and sights of people working to make more money for him were intoxicating. He ran his hand over the railings of the second floor workspace as he stood overlooking the reception. The staff had slowly returned to their positions after putting the shootings behind them.The glass doors and windows had been fixed. Axel had to acknowledge just how much his father's presence had affected the running of things. Not a single thing was out of place. Everyone seemed active at their duty posts. It seemed things were gradually returning back to normal.The Chairman vacated Axel's office immediately his son stepped into the reception. They met halfway between the distance to his office."Hello Father." Axel greeted him with a nod."Can I go home now?" His father asked gruffly. "If you ask me to stay one more day, you will have to relinquish your rights as the CEO."The corner of his lips turned up briefly. "That won'
Okay, I'm in tears right now. I can't believe we have come full circle with this story. I'm proud of you all readers, and so grateful for all your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope this story has taught you a lesson on life and love.I can't thank you all enough. You have made it possible for Claire and Axel to come this far. Without your support, I would have given up on this story.I love you all. Thank you. Here's a truckload of hearts and kisses and love and flowers and everything beautiful for you all! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🖤😘😘😘😘🧡🧡🧡Stay healthy, stay safe, stay loved! 😍😍
“You're still watching that?"Claire looked behind her from where she was curled up like a ball on the sofa. Axel stood by the pillar, his hair dripping wet. He was barechested, and Claire had a full view of his godlike body. It was one she had worshipped the night before, and the memories flooded her head. She felt her face go hot.“Why not?" She blustered. "As much as I am concerned about the trend of animal abuse, I get a kick from watching you tell them off.”Axel scowled at her. "That's a very mean thing to say.” His face brightened instantly. "I'm not complaining, though. Why are you blushing?”Claire touched her red face. He was coming closer to peer at her curiously. She squeezed her eyes shut.“You should put some clothes on."Claire felt the sofa dip where he sat down beside her.“No." His breath tickled her face. “I would rather not." Claire rolled her eyes, but kept them closed. "Fine, whatever.”He grabbed her jaw and roughly pulled her against him. "Look at me.”Her eye
Axel had planned the wedding just like Claire wanted, so they moved on straight to the reception in the same place. The dance floor was cleared for the couple to have their first dance, and open the floor. The orchestra struck up a tune, and Claire put her hands around Axel's shoulder.“I can't stop thinking about them."Axel placed his forehead on hers. “Maybe that's because it's about time we got rid of them. I don't want anyone spoiling your mood.”Claire sighed. “There's a little problem though." He whirled her around before holding her close again. "What is that?”She leaned into his chest. "I am finding it rather difficult to leave the comfort of your arms right now.”Axel grinned. "Then don't. We can go after the dance. Besides, we are making a lot of people jealous here. This isn't a chance you want to pass up.”"I've already put my mark on you." She smiled with belligerence and dug her fingers into his suit. “No one can take you away from me." That cracked Axel up, and he s
Axel stood by the altar, watching the heavenly beauty in white walk down the aisle towards him. His heart was beating erratically, and he found it funny how she still made his heart race after all this time. He made a mental note to thank Jenise for making the most beautiful wedding dress for his woman.With each step she took, he found it increasingly difficult to breathe. She stole his breath away, and she had not even said anything yet. Axel was watching her intently, so he easily caught the shift in her gaze and expression. He looked over at what had crumbled her face, and blinked, twice.“What the hell?"“What is it?" Donald was his best man, and was standing close enough to hear him curse out loud. He followed his line of sight to where Rose McLennie sat, and beside her a woman that looked like her older form. They were both wearing sneers on their faces, sneers that were at that moment directed at Claire.Axel turned to him. “How did they get in?"Donald shrugged. "No one got
"Don't stand me up."Those were Axel's last words as he had left the cafe the previous day. Now, as she stood in her flowing wedding dress, she could not help but wonder if his earnest plea was the reason she had put in this much effort to look beautiful.Myla had done wonders on her hair, packing it all to the back bridal style. Her face popped out at anyone that looked, and Myla was grinning at her over the top of her head.“Wow, Claire, just…wow!”Eric had just stepped into the room, and his eyes filled with tears.“I thought today is supposed to be a happy day." Claire said with a soft smile. “Let's save the tears for later, mm?"Danielle was standing by Claire's side, smiling widely. She had done her makeup, and there could be no other exceptional way to do it. Claire looked perfect, beautifully perfect. He took her hand and kissed it. “You have such gifted hands, Danielle." Jenise peeked out from the closet. "I made the dress, hand me my flowers.”Eric chuckled and pulled out
Axel shrunk under the gaze of the women. He saw the men around him do the same. They had had their bachelor's night out the previous day, and the prank had fallen on him. He couldn't get out of it like he had wanted. Earlier, he had tried dissuading the guys."What if she passes out?"Donald had pushed a mask on to his face. "All the more fun, then.""Tomorrow is the wedding!"Hunter snickered. "The worse thing that could happen is if she leaves you at the altar."From her thunderous expression, Claire looked like she just might. She had been terrified, that much was obvious from how her entire body was still trembling. Her legs gave way, and she fell into a chair and began sobbing again.Axel longed to go over to her and put a comforting arm around her, but the look Danielle was giving him stopped him. She looked ready to burn any male that came within a foot of where the women were huddled together around Claire. Eric was not excluded from the ostracization. He had tried to dissuade
It was the ladies' turn to exchange glances. "How can you not know what happens the day before a wedding?" Myla asked. "Even my Coco knows!" Axel raised a brow. "I do know about the bridal shower, but you already had one yesterday."Jenise nudged Danielle. "Tell him. Put them out of their misery." Her voice rang with mockery.Danielle and Claire giggled. "We are going to the spa and hair salon!" Hunter rolled his eyes. "For a second there, I thought something really important was going to happen."Jenise puckered her lips. "Getting a massage and your nails done is "something really important", especially if you are getting married the next day."Axel rose. "You should tidy up the rest of the invitations. Donald, make sure you send them out, along with the accompanying emails."Claire ruffled through the invitations. "I didn't accidentally put one for Croatia in there, right?""Claire." Axel extended a hand towards her. "Walk with me for a second."She reluctantly took his outstretc
Axel stared at Claire in wonder. "You stayed up for most of last worrying about my whereabouts, and now that I'm back safely, you find yourself something else to worry about?"Claire drew her lips into a pout. "I waited up for you because I already had that in mind! Then we couldn't reach you and I forgot what I was worrying about."Axel had to suppress his laughter. "Oh. I see. Well, I have not sent any invitations out yet."Claire sat up. "Really? The wedding is in two days!"Axel furrowed his brows. "Um, yeah?""How would the guests have time to ready their outfits?"Axel snorted. "If anyone cannot get a proper outfit for an occasion, even if it is thirty minutes away, that person would not be in my list. You know the circle I belong to, Claire. If I give them the invitation that morning, and tell them to dress a certain way, they'll show up at the wedding before you."Claire frowned. "That would not be very polite.""I am not polite, sweetheart. I thought you knew that."Claire bi
Danielle gently shoved her forward. "Don't worry about that. At the rate at which you're eating, you'll probably not fit into the dress by weekend."Jenise snorted out a laugh. "I guess that means we will need to do the fitting of the dress on Friday night."The ladies giggled in amusement, and Claire glowered at them."That's not funny, guys!" She grabbed Coco's hand. "Come on, Coco, let's leave them to their impolite behavior."Her reaction only made them giggle more. Claire was not particularly upset. She felt pretty good that they were at least having fun. She could not begin to imagine what they had gone through when she had been in the state of coma. She had not even properly thanked them yet.Claire could see Donald from afar, through the glass doors. He was leaning on the limo, speaking into the phone and smiling widely. Occasionally, he would draw circles with his toes or scratch the back of his head, an indication that he was speaking to his new girlfriend. His relationship