The doorknob turned, and Clarissa walked in carrying a sleeping Levi in her arms. Scarlett quickly wiped the tears from her face.
Clarissa gave one long look at the man in the room and then at Scarlett. “I didn’t know you had company, Scarlett.”“Jaxon just stopped by…”His eyes bored into hers. It was almost threatening.Clarissa stared at them quizzically, not missing the looks they shared.Scarlett averted her gaze. “I had a long day at work…”“Your clothes are damp!” Clarissa noted. “Were you out in the rain? You’re going to catch a cold."Cameron said…” She halted and looked up at him. “Jaxon, this is my mother.” She turned to her. “Mum, this is Jaxon. My son Levi is asleep.” She was thankful for that. It made her somewhat at ease, made it easier to stand in the room shivering but strong, like she didn’t fear for her life moments ago.“Oh, Jaxon, the boyfriend,” Clarissa replied in an unenthusiastic voice.If he wasn’t already annoyed that morning, he was now that he saw the gifts on her table. He forcefully drew out his chair and plopped down on it.Hadley gave him a funny look, “Someone’s in a mood...” She whispered and chuckled at the expression on his face, “What could be the matter?”He didn’t answer her. He just continued with his activities like she wasn’t there. He had met her at the reception area waiting for him. He tapped away furiously at his laptop.“Is it because your secretary is getting all those gifts from her lover?” she asked, leaning backward and crossing her legs, “Does that make you jealous? angry?”He stopped scribbling mid-way and gripped his pen hard until his knuckles turned white. She was completely unfazed by his reaction. She had given him too much space to roam around and pick up girls, and now she had to put a stop to it. It was fine before when it was purely sexual for him. She had a few flings, nothing to cas
Scarlett leaned against Cameron’s office door, trying to steady her breathing. Nothing prepared her for what she saw, nothing at all. She blinked back tears, but it was futile as a few drops trickled down her cheeks. She wiped them off furiously. Did he call her to his office just to show off? Was it so easy for him to move on? Only yesterday, he was talking about how much he loved her and didn’t want Hadley, and the next day, she was sitting in his office, her clothes crumpled on the floor beside her.She took a few steps forward, away from the door, as thoughts of what could be going on in there flooded her mind. Was he kissing her with passion like his life depended on it, just like he loved to kiss her? Maybe he was showering her breasts with kisses, as he always seemed to love breasts.She grabbed the chair handle to steady herself and shook her head, trying to dispel thoughts of Cameron and Hadley. She lumbered towards her chair. Almost immediately, the d
Scarlett rushed to the door, and opened it. Her brows shot up in surprise, her mouth fell open.“Good morning Scarlett,” Cameron greeted. He took in her shocked expression. She looked slightly dishevelled. Her hair was tied atop her head in a messy bun and she had on a big t-shirt and from her pointy nipples poking through the shirt, he assumed she had nothing on underneath. The mere thought of it, of her made him grow stiff in the pants. He cussed under his breath. It was futile to try to rein his feelings were it concerned her. They seemed to have a mind of their own and went wild at will, “Scarlett?”His calm voice jolted her, she opened the doors wider, giving him room to walk in, “I’m sorry, I was just surprised to see you,” she explained. He was casually dressed in casual pants and a shirt, it made him look much younger and then there was her, she hadn’t showered all morning, her hair was a bird’s nest on her head and she had on only a shirt, that stopped
Hadley was back at her family home, and she hated being there. It didn’t offer her any warmth or kindness at all. Right now, she was in the living room, her head bowed, clutching tightly to her purse.“He’s just a man, Hadley, a normal man,” Mrs. Coleman chirped in. She was a tall, slim woman, her height accentuated by the six-inch heel she had on, with identical blonde hair like Hadley. Despite the annoyance in her voice, her face remained stiff, owing to the years of Botox she had injected into it. “He’s even promiscuous. It shouldn’t be that hard to get a proposal. That was how I got...” She halted.Hadley shot up to look at her, then glanced at her father, whose frown deepened.“No need to mince words, Crystal. Everybody on the bloody earth knows you married me for the money,” he, a way older man, tall and lanky, said.Mrs. Coleman looked away. “That’s beside the point. We are addressing our daughter right now. That is what’s more important.”“It’s not my fault you didn’t teach yo
Belinda Grayson hurried down the stairs, her brunette hair tied up in a ponytail. "Hadley?"Hadley rose to her feet when she saw her. "Mrs. Grayson."Belinda opened her arms wide for a hug. "Silly, I’ve told you, you can call me mother."Hadley shut her eyes and leaned closer for a hug. "Mother," it warmed her heart in a different way. She lingered in her arms.Belinda pulled away and peered at her, cupping her cheeks. "When the housekeeper told me you were here, I was pleasantly surprised. The last time we spoke, you told me you’d be out of the country by this time."She smiled politely at her. "Yeah, about that. I cancelled. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to work."Belinda searched her face. "Are you okay, hun? Is everything alright?"She heaved a deep sigh. Belinda grabbed her hand and led her to the couch. "What is it? You didn’t tell me you were coming, and also what happened? You had a
Cameron didn’t respond immediately, he buried his head in his hands and sat still. He was trying so hard to win Scarlett back, and when it looked like he was making progress, something would always just come up.Belinda’s brows creased in worry as she watched him. She had imagined what his reaction would be. Her best bet was he would flare up in anger and shout. She was used to that, she had listened to one too many of his temper tantrums as a growing child. That, she could handle, she was his mother after all, not this defeated silence. She couldn’t bear seeing him look like this, his shoulders slouched, his face buried, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “Cameron....” She tried to break the ice.He didn’t respond immediately.She swallowed.“What do you mean by plans are underway for you two to be married?” he asked.She almost sighed in relief, thankful that he was at least still talking to her. An argument wa
“No, I couldn’t bear to watch you break your hearts countless times, searching for something that isn’t there, that just doesn’t exist for you,” she replied. “You two are friends, and I tell you, that’s all you need to have a wonderful marriage, Cameron.”“I disagree,” he said in a flat tone. “When all of you made the marriage arrangements, you didn’t plan it with either of us in mind. You sought a way to preserve your wealth, to increase it, to keep it amongst yourselves...” He trailed off.She shook her head, "Cameron, let me..."“It was all monetary benefits for you, for father, for the Colemans when you arranged our marriage and buried it under layers and layers of contracts. You wanted to ensure we were trapped, unable to get out of it because that was the only way you could ensure that your empire expanded.”She shook her head, “You two were never going to be able to find someone who truly loves you simply for who you are.”
When Cameron walked into work that morning, he found Lucious speaking excitedly with someone outside his office.“Good morning, Mr. Grayson,” Lucious greeted with a wave and a wide smile plastered on his face.Cameron tipped his head at him, “Good morning, Lucious.” He was curious about what had him so excited early in the morning. It was typical of him, but there was something more.He was disappointed when he walked through Scarlett’s office and she wasn’t seated. He always looked forward to seeing her every morning, she brightened his day. He plopped down on his chair and let out a huge sigh. Maybe the reason she wasn’t yet seated was that he woke up way too early than usual and rushed down to work just to see her. It was pathetic, but it was the truth. He could barely sleep or do anything now that she wasn’t speaking to him.He dived right into work, there were stacks of files on his table, pending workload that had been backtracked from the previous day. He was nose-deep into hi