Lisa could not believe her ears. Was he so shameless to openly confess his feelings for Claire right in front of her? Donald gave her a satisfied smirk."You shouldn't have bought the dress." He leaned in and whispered. "Stop trying so hard."Lisa gave him a bored look. "I don't know what you're talking about."Donald gave her a knowing smile. "Sure."Axel cleared his throat quietly again and they were forced to cease their bickering."I'm open to ideas."Lisa smiled and placed a hand over Axel's on the table. "That's something you need to figure out for yourself, Ax. It's your first time in love and a wonderful moment. You should learn by yourself."Axel pulled his hand out from under hers and turned to look at Donald. Donald shrugged."You're asking the wrong guy, Axel. I've never been in any serious relationship."Axel sat back in his chair and moved it slowly to the left and right."I guess I'll have to do this on my own then." He stopped moving the chair when he was directly facin
"What do you mean, your subject got away?"The person on the other end of the line stuttered. "Someone came in a car and drove her away.""Are you proud of yourself? I gave you just one job, to ruin her clothes so she will be late. That way, she is going to miss the interview. How difficult was that?""I'm sorry ma'am.""Oh, you will be, if that bitch gets the job!" Lisa yelled and disconnected the call.She sat in her car, heaving. Why was nothing going her way? At this rate, she would just have to do the job alone. She spied Axel's car turning into the parking lot and hurried out of her car to meet him. He nodded to her in greeting as he emerged from the driver's seat.Lisa looked around. "Where is Donald?""He said he had something to take care of.""And he didn't mention where he went off to?"Axel shook his head. "Why?"Lisa gave a delicate shrug. "It's an important day today. Surely he can't let anything go wrong. He has to be here to supervise most of the events."Axel bent in
After Axel had left her at the car park, Lisa had gone to check if Claire had arrived at the interview hall. Sure enough, there she sat at the waiting room, talking to someone on the phone. Lisa moved over quickly to the other side to get a better view, but Claire must have seen her and stopped saying whatever she had planned to.Lisa stood in the hallway for a while, just breathing. She needed to control herself if she was going to get any of this done. When she was sure she would not suddenly lash out, she adjusted her outfit and walked in. She kept her head down, using one part of her hair to cover her face."Hello. Are you here for the interview?" She asked, staring down at her phone.She held her breath, praying Claire did not recognize her."Lisa?" Claire squinted at her. "What are you doing here?" Damn! Lisa thought, how did she recognize her so quickly? She brushed her hair back and looked up. She contemplated telling Claire that she owned the company, but decided against it.
Claire was starting to wonder why the other applicants had not arrived yet. Surely, she couldn't have been the only one to apply for such an amazing job opportunity. She wanted to wander around, take a good look at the company, but she was afraid she was going to bump into Lisa again.Lisa had already made her have second thoughts about working at the company. The thought of seeing her often made her stomach churn. Besides, even if Lisa were not here, she was too strung up on nerves to get up from her seat. Claire didn't know she would feel so relieved when she saw a stream of applicants being led by Donald into the waiting room. She raised a brow at his presence, but refused to comment. He would probably just give her another one of his obtuse responses. Or worst still, a charming smile.As expected, his face lit up with a heart stopping smile when his eyes landed on her. He turned to the other applicants."Please, take your seats. Your interview will begin soon. Allow me to convey
Claire felt her knees tremble as she walked out of the interview room. He was there. How could he be there, seated at the head of the table? She had thought she would never see him again. Heck, she had thought she would never see any of them again. Somehow, all three of them had ended up in her life again. Why was fate so cruel to her?Myla rose when she entered the waiting room. "Oh dear, you look pale. Was it so difficult?"Claire shook her head and took her seat. "No, I was just a little surprised is all."Myla nodded sympathetically. "Is this your first interview?"It wasn't Claire's first, but she sure had never applied to a big company before. Better to let Myla think inexperience was the reason behind her reaction, than to let her know the real reason."Yes, it is.""It can be like that sometimes." Myla squeezed her hand. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll pass."Claire exhaled on a shaky breath. She didn't have a problem with passing. All she thought about now was working under
Axel craned his neck from side to side. The kink in his neck just refused to go away, no matter how much he stretched. He sighed and rested his back on the car seat. Donald was casting glances at him through the rear-view mirror, but he was too weary for another bout of argument. He sank further into the seat and pulled out some files from his case, hoping that they will distract him from his thoughts, or maybe even help him fall asleep.The files surprisingly interested him, and he managed to get some work done. Before long, he was making calls and arranging to view another site in Paris. The headquarters of Lyn Corporation mainly invested in real estate. They owned almost half the buildings in New York and many more in other countries. Several more branches of the company handled gaming and tech, the movie industry and even cosmetics.It was Axel's job to keep everything running smoothly, but he mainly focused on real estate. He loved travelling to work. He could get to see new plac
Donald smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder again."Are you sure you're going to be okay, my damsel in distress?"Claire laughed at how boyish he looked. She couldn't resist ruffling his hair. Surprise registered in his eyes, but he didn't say anything."I'm going to be fine. I can handle myself, alright? Now go on, or you're going to miss your flight." Donald groaned. "But I don't want to go!"He pouted as he whined, and some hair fell over his eyes. He shook them out of his face and gave her a heart stopping smile. Claire felt her heart twitch, just a little. She swallowed loudly. She needed to get out of here and call Danielle."I'll see you around, Donald. Bye!"Donald furrowed his brows at the way she hurried away, then shrugged. He knew he was in big trouble once he entered the car and found that Axel had decided to ride shotgun. He couldn't even bring himself to smile at his scowl."You locked me in."Donald turned on the ignition. "It was necessary to prevent you from let
Lisa had not stayed idle since Axel had sent her away. She had gone to make preparations for Claire's arrival at the company. Her investigator still had not been able to access Claire's file."What's taking so long?" She barked into the phone."You need an insider, someone from the government to grant you access. The person has to be one of the higher-ups."Lisa thought quickly. How lucky was she that her informant had told her Axel was going to Paris? She could hitch a ride with him and get someone to open the files for her. She wore a black dress on purpose. It would be a day of mourning for her, because she would have to give up something she had saved for Axel alone, just to get rid of Claire.Her parents, the Davinsky's, had raised her to not give herself up to any man who was not her husband. It was a very old fashioned way of thinking to Lisa, but in the society she ran with, a pure and untouched lady was more valuable than a harlot. Her parents planned to marry her off as a mai
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