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My fingers trembled throughout the journey to Umbria, from the jet down to the car; whereas Noah drove me, he kept watching the rearview mirror, saying nothing, but his eyes spelled everything.I wanted to spill out my wail of embarrassment as I buried my face in my hands in the backseat of the car, but Noah's warning about women crying was enough motivation to keep the tears at bay.I felt hot all over, remembering the roars of the press, more camera flashes, and above all, I couldn't get the expression on Nikolai's face out of my head. It wasn't a blank stare; that eyes had shaken me up; it was like he had forgotten his script, and the real him— glared at me. It seemed to burn me down, my apologies frozen on my lips.So even though Noah angered me, it felt like heaven being pulled away from Nikolai.What have I done?I pulled the pins from my hair, my two hands raking my hair backward as I struggled to catch my breath, "I need air," I whispered more to myself than Noah as I clutche
"A lot of missing links on expenses concerning the company funds, Mr. Mason," I narrated, waving the paper and pushing it towards him; I peered straight at him, "I believe only you can explain what went wrong there?"He matched my glare, relaxing on his seat in my office, which was once his; he wasn't taking any of this seriously; this guy was becoming a pain in my butt."Reaching out to Mr. Moreau, he says he knows nothing about it, and in that report, it states that you sent it to him at the end of the year" I clasped my hand together in front of me."Who wants to know?" he checked his watch for the hundredth time.My jaw tightened, "I don't want to push this into professional hands," pointing at the paper, I gritted, "This is a huge amount of money just to let go like it's nothing." I exhaled quietly, "So, I'll like to know what happened with all this money.""It was used."I shut my eyes holding the reins of my self-control, "By?""The company?""For?""A lot of things that weren'
"Hello, husband..."Those two words had his brows knitted as he watched the red light bathe her almost naked body in a way that had his blood rage. He couldn't get his eyes off her, of the lacy Ivory Bralettes that hugged against her tanned body, that it was see-through had his eyes snaking down her chest to the thong.He would have blamed it on lack of glasses if he wasn't wearing one at that moment, but even then, his eyesight wasn't too bad; what was she doing?She let her finger trace from her knees to the garter on her midthighs further past the thong and finally stopping on her cleavage, and all those while his eyes followed the trail of her fingers.He was going nuts.No, she was going nuts!"You like it?" her sultry voice surrounded him, she flicked her hair back, twirling so her back was to him, and she placed her hands on her ass cheeks, grappling thick flesh, "I think it's quite Elastane, hugs me too much, don't you think?"His thought was a lot of things he couldn't fathom
A slam on the desk. "Fuck Goddamnit!" Noah sighed, watching the president slide back on his chair; this would be the hundredth time he slammed hard on the desk with his fist, his face buried into his hands, jaw clenched, and eyes restless.And him feeling like this wasn't advised; Nico was a demon when he had all these emotions whirling around like bonfires. But he couldn't do anything when the president refused to say what bothered him.Usually, Noah had a clue on what, but since Nico dashed out of his room almost shirtless and redoing the hook of his pants, with his suit bag thrown over his shoulder, it was like all of the president's composure was slowly going down the drain.Meeting with a newly appointed Italian ambassador wouldn't get him this worked up anyway.Something was up, something he didn't want to tell."Shit!"Noah grimaced. How bad was it? "Boss, are you ok?"His kindness was rewarded with a pointed finger tightly clenching into a fist, "Do not ask me that again,"N
Nikolai Star gazed at the phone, swiping through the numerous photos his 'wife' had put so much effort into ruining his life.Well, it was beautiful; she was beautiful, for he had never seen her naked in a bright light, and given the opportunity, she was perfection, hair like a damp mop on her head, skin wet and glistening.Staring into the camera and peering into his soul, eyes naughty and daring.He had begun sweating. And his necktie under his collar had started to feel so uncomfortable that he began to pull it loose right under the gaze of the ambassador, who had a confused smile on her face."Your Excellency, are you alright?" the woman's mild voice reminded him that he wasn't alone.And good thing, for he was about to curse out.Nico swallowed and shut his eyes before he dropped the phone on the table and sent the woman a wavering smile, but even with his struggle, he could feel his fist beginning to fold."Sir," Noah's warning tone relaxed his fingers back on the table.He sig
Although alone with her children, who had forgotten about her again, Elena couldn't stop her fingers from shaking, remembering cold lips against her forehead and icy eyes behind reading glasses.She hugged herself, sitting on Mia's bed.She tried shaking off the feeling that she should be running for her life, which was strange, for she had never felt like this during the years of their contract marriage.He had looked so harmless and felt mild, to the point that staring at him those times, seeing him frustrated about Alexa, she silently wished she could wipe his despair.But right now, she wasn't sure. He was showing her a different side to himself, So different sometimes she wondered if she was the one seeing things.Seeing the children had finally fallen asleep, she switched off the light and left the room, going straight to hers, relieved to have it all to herself for the night; she needed to think things through.One thing was sure; There would be no more flirting with him. How
Thinking back now, he knew that was the first night he had let his composure go down the drain before her, and he knew she noticed it too.Maybe he had even done it on purpose to see her eyes fill with questions she couldn't answer herself. It fascinated him to the extreme.Her eyes scrutinized him as if what she sought was buried under his skin.How had he not perceived this side of her? She was an unpredictable human, constantly devising, and although it was dangerous, he couldn't wait to see what she came up with under that brown hair of hers.It had been a while since he sat down to enjoy anything, and her show just seemed to catch his attention. She had effortlessly gotten under his skin with just a few moves, and no one knew, but he was just one to keep danger close.Now as he brushed the already-dried painting of his daughter, he couldn't help but smile out his satisfaction, although knowing she might take a peek at it and then drop her attention back on what she was doing, then
Elena's POV."...another day to live for ourselves." Nikolai stood beside me in front of a large building, peering into the crowd, his eyes full of life, and yes, you guessed it, another public appearance, "But sometimes the Universe needs someone who can stand up to look out for others."Unlike the last time when he had told me about it a night before the event, this time, I was given a whole week to prepare myself.So this time, I wasn't overly apprehensive like the last time; this time, I clunge closer to him than his cologne, staring at him with made-up adoration to give the press pictures to talk about.I even went the extra to brush the shoulder of his suit, and he looked into the crowd and sighed, "She can't take her hands off me."We were in an opening of a new hospital, and according to him, the fund that was about to be given to them was in my name, so not only was I going to stand with him, I had to say something on the mic if I wanted to.Learning my lesson, I didn't try
"Is that it?" Gianni frowned when I finished. "You've got to be kidding me." Midway, I had almost burst into tears, explaining in as much detail as I could that the men's beachwear collection, which would have been next week, had to be postponed because of the lack of models."You don't get it." I sniffled, dabbing my cheek. "It's bad for business. Bad publicity goes a long way, and the investors...""Hey," Maya says, wrapping her arms around my shoulder, shooting Gianna, still sitting, a glare. "There has to be something we can do about it." "You've got to be kidding me!" Gianna retorts again, "That's why you're crying?" "I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "I don't know why I'm so emotional; what's wrong with me?!" "Oh, I know." Clara mumbles."Gianna!" Maya's tone is laced with a warning tinge. "Be nice." But she was right. This was nothing to cry about; I was a grown woman. It was shameful that once they thought I was the epitome of strength, but now they knew I was just a crybaby."Do
The next few days we spent indoors; still, it was hard to see Nico. The air in Calabria was hearty, the laughter infectious. It wasn't hard to notice that Nico and Zayne still stayed away from each other. They had tried to hide it, but they didn't try hard enough to take off our suspicions.Milo, sometimes in the middle of a conversation with the whole family, set up opportunities for them to exchange a word two, but like two peas of the same pod, we found them, mouth full and chewing slowly until the attention was taken off their back."You want me to do it for you?" I asked Nico when we were alone in the room, watching his face as I applied my lipstick, "I could talk to Zayne, Nico. It doesn't have to..." I wasn't done when his arms curled around me, flattening his opened palm against my stomach, sending my heart racing, and then he kissed me, shutting me up briefly.When he broke it off, sending me breathless and wanting, he searched my eyes and murmured, "It's all right. It's my
Authors POVElena didn't look back as she walked away with the others, Milo staring at the top of her head with amusement as he pushed Gianna out of the sitting room.Nico didn't like that look in his eyes. It was the same look he held for Gianna, and now, whenever Milo was around, Zayne had to work for a bit of time with his wife.He pulled his eyes off the door they just walked out of, and when he turned to Zayne, who continued to give Matteo audience, his countenance a mixture of pride and sadness, Nico felt his stomach churn.He wasn't prepared for this, wasn't ready to be knocked down from the truth he believed in. He thought that Zayne would let the children die, all for petty malice, but all this while, it had been him who did nothing to help.Then why did he hide it? Why did he go through all that only to give all of the praise to Milo? Was that why Milo distanced himself for so long? Suddenly, he felt like he wasn't part of a family he had always known."How are your injuries
Author's POV.Matteo continued to chatter, "...He said you were coming for us, Dad, and you came." his innocent smile didn't match the struck expression on his father's face, which also mirrored mine."Can I say hello?" He askedSeeing Nico couldn't say a word, I took charge, "Of course, Matteo, go tell your uncle Hi.""My uncle?" His eyes widened, "Cool Ma," before he was running off towards his sister and Zayne, who, on seeing him, seemed unsure at first, but then slowly, he went on his knees and wrapped his arms around my son.That first hug held a lot of warmth for someone who had ensured he avoided Matteo initially."What's going on?" Maya asked Nico, "Why is everyone so quiet?"Nico, appearing utterly helpless, felt his tense muscles relax as he gazed ahead, overwhelmed by guilt and discomfort. Without even making eye contact with his mother, he softly responded, "Yeah, just surprised," his voice almost trailing off, "Mia doesn't talk to strangers."Although Maya wasn't entirel
He returned to tell the kids they could move before he was gone again.After a bit of fun with them, to which half my attention was not in, I left them an hour later, only to discover Nico was gone.Out of the Manor, no information, just like that, disappeared into thin air, making me wish I had stayed long enough at work, for in my head, I was running wild, helpless, and perspiring.The deja vu kept coming repeatedly; it hit me out of the blue. Standing there, watching her get into his car, his chin up, refusing to spare me a glance as she planted her thumb on his chin.My stomach churned as I let out a bitter laugh. Adding to the already complicated situation, I was pregnant. It felt like the only missing piece to complete that agonizing scene from years ago was walking into his office and discovering the papers on his desk.But I wasn't going to do that; I folded my fist against the window pane, and neither was I going to cry; that girl was gone, and in her place was a grown woman
"You're so choosey." Joey huffed, biting into a doughnut, the chocolate toppings sticking to the tip of his nose as he narrowed his eyes at Charlotte."Well, I'm sorry for wanting to make everything perfect instead of just picking out anything my lazy ass tells me to," Charlotte retorted, shuffling through the pictures on my desk, "And believe me when I say, I still haven't found that perfect model."Joey sipped noisily from his coffee cup, and when Charlotte narrowed her gaze at him, he rolled his eyes at her.Seeing this made me wonder how La Belle had endured two people who would fight about everything, including what toppings they wanted for their doughnuts.If I had come to La Belle with the hopes of finding everything for the launching of the men's beachwear project finished, then no surprise, it wasn't even half done.With all of the models unappealing to Char's taste, everything was left on standby.Remembering I left all of the work to them for weeks, the least I could do was
"Can't believe you're giving her thirty million, Elena," Noah huffed, "There are a million reasons she doesn't need it but wants to see your pride smolder."Complaining was never Noah's thing until I came to him that morning, cheque in hand, and explained everything that had happened while he was away.His reaction made me understand why Alexa demanded he didn't come alone.I did feel as if my pride was smoldered, but the feeling was nothing compared to how it would have been if she had eventually waltzed back into Nico's life.Nico had written the cheque immediately after he walked into the room, even before he strolled into the bathroom. When I entered the room, while the showers still gushed, it was sitting pretty at the edge of the bed.The first action I took when I picked it up was to inhale it, proving my desperation. The unbelief was gone. In its place was a dripping heart that he was bent on proving me wrong on all of my beliefs.He hadn't asked. Yet I had been digging up a l
Nico and Noah were unavailable for two days straight until, watching the news, I discovered the campaign for this year's election was about to commence.There he was, the smile on his face giving the aura that he had no problems, shaking hands with his shoulders straightened and chin held high.The control he exhibited standing right on that platform, the mic close to his face, talking to crowds was unnatural, and although I was just behind the TV, it was as if he was staring straight at me.I spent most of the time in the sitting room, losing my attention at the slightest distraction. 'That's a small sum for the two people that mean so much to me.'When I told Clara, she didn't look as affected as I was; instead, she frowned, "I'm surprised you don't have that amount on you right now."It dawned on her immediately, "Really, Elena?"At first, the decision to be financially independent had come from a place of keeping up my esteem; I mean, being paid to be a wife was low enough. Or t
"What did you just... What?!"The sterile white walls and the scent of antiseptic were starting to affect me, along with the news that Clara had just uttered in the most awkward imaginable.She knew this wasn't good news; she knew how much this would ruin my life. I didn't need something like this now! Not when I wasn't sure I could even hold myself up..."You're six weeks pregnant, Elena," she repeated, the papers in her hold; she seemed to be scared of my reaction had to explain why she was a safe distance away.I clutched at the buttons of my shirt, fighting to breathe, every damn passionate night returning to me.That was what the morning sickness was all about, the emotional roller coaster that had me weeping my eyes out with every bit of provocation.I thought it was stress, the children's abduction, and now the fear that Nico would leave me.And here I was, within the four corners of a hospital that I and Clara had driven to, with Noah waiting in the car.Nico had been called t