CELINE POV-“Are you done?” I asked Lance after he scolded me for everything he did he said was effort and love for me. “If you would just scold me for everything you did, you wouldn’t have bothered to spend time bothering me.”Lance’s eyebrows slowly furrowed until his facial expression softened. “No. No, Celine, that’s not what I meant. I don’t blame you for anything. I’m happy to see you, even though you’re pushing me away. I just want you to see everything I do to prove my love for you.”“You have nothing more to prove to me, Lance. I am content with my life in Chicago. I lived and coped without you. You also been okay with six without me in your life—”“No!” he cut me off. “I have been miserable every day since the disappearance. I always look for your presence. Goddamn! I almost went crazy looking for you. I can’t… I can’t live without you, Celine.” he weakly said. Lance took my hand. “Celine, please. Let’s forget everything that happened before and let’s start—”“No.” I immedi
CELINE POV-“What?” I asked in disbelief.I heard what Lance said clearly, but what he said didn’t sink into my brain and I hoped I was just wrong in what I heard.“We will not leave here until you accept my wedding proposal.”“Are you really crazy, Lance? Why do you insist on what I don’t want?”Lance took out the red box again and took out the engagement ring. “Just fucking wear this fucking ring to let you get out of here.”I looked at Lance in disbelief. “Lance, stop this–Lance! What are you doing!?”Lance took my hand. His grip didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t get rid of his grip either.I circle my fist after Lance forced me to put the engagement ring on my finger.“Just fucking wear this ring, Celine.”“And you really want me to be a mistress, huh, Lance!?”It was only then that Lance realized he was still married. He let go of my hand and hid the engagement ring in his tro
CELINE POV-“How dare you?” My voice wavers and stutters, lacking stability. “What right do you have to question my love for you? I gave you everything. I fought for my love for you. I fought for our marriage even though I shouldn’t have fought for anything at that time. I gave you everything. My whole being, I am ready to give my whole life for our marriage to be with you. But what did you do? You divorce me and marry another woman.”I shouldn’t worry about what happened then. I also don’t want to blame Lance for everything I did because in the first place I was the one who wanted to fight for my love for him.Now, I realize that I’m even more angry with myself for letting all of that happen out of fear of losing Lance.“You did all that because you just needed me, Celine...” Lance said hoarsely.I was stunned by Lance’s criticism of me.“Have you admitted to yourself that you only need me? That’s why you stayed with me?”“Do you still think of me that way? That I only want money f
CELINE POV-* * ( C O N T I N U A T I O N O F T H E F L A S B A C K ) * *-“M-Mom… D-Dad…”Horror filled my entire system when I realized my parents were also here. I didn’t know my parents were also here.My body trembled not because of hunger but because of my parents, who were both glowering me.“What do you think you’re doing? Are you leaving this room? For what? Show the people downstairs and get their attention?”I quickly shook my head in denial of what they were saying. “I just want to get something to eat.” I almost cried because I was so scared. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday..”“And you want us to believe what you say?” my father asked me as he unbuckled his belt.My feet voluntarily retreated away from them to get away. By the time they got close to me, that thick belt was sure to hit my skin until it broke.When they entered my room, they closed the door.“You deserve to be taught a lesson,” my mother said angrily. “Then remember that you should not disobey
CELINE POV-Lance hugged me without breaking the kiss. He pressed his body towards me until he walked and I couldn’t do anything but walk backwards and at the same time I sat on the bed.During the three seconds, Lance doesn’t remove his seductive gaze from me as he unbuttons three buttons of his clothes. “Lance–”Lance claimed my lips with his lips again. I did not open my mouth to not respond to his every kiss. For this reason, it didn’t take long for Lance to pull away from the kiss and he stared at me.“Celine, please. I want you...” he said in his throaty voice.When he is about to kiss me again, I tilt my head to avoid his kiss.“Why can’t you give me a kiss?”If I followed the impulse of my body, I would have given Lane more than a kiss. But I would rather endure the body heat I feel than give Lance a kiss and give him a slight chance to be a fool to him again.“I will sleep in another room.”I stood up without looking at Lance.Lance’s warm body pressed against mine from beh
CELINE POV-I was thinking hard about whether I should continue touching this part of Lance’s body. I’m not sure if it’s right for me to touch it without him being conscious and without him knowing.I need to touch that and not just pinch.I took another deep breath before doing what I had to do.Using my thumb and pointed finger, I grabbed the end of Lance’s shirt and slowly lifted it up, until I saw Lance’s abs, then I let go of the shirt that was held by the tip of my finger.I check Lance’s face and I don’t think he woke up.Is Lance fast asleep while holding my hand or is he just pretending? I will know the answer to what I will do.I stared, and I didn’t blink for a few seconds in the time looking at Lance’s tan skin abs. Lance’s abs were shining in my eyes. I might call his abs are sparkling eight pack abs.I shook my head and closed my eyes. What are these things I’m thinking? I shouldn’t think about anything. What I need is to get out of here.I pinch Lance’s four abs first.
CELINE POV-Returning home, Lance went straight to the second floor and entered the main bedroom, then turned me over to the king size bed.“Why don’t you just let me go, Lance?”“Not until you come back to me, Celine.”“Comeback to you?” I stand up. “I am not losing my sanity to come back to you. Can’t you see? My life now is happy in Chicago–”“Because of whom? Is it because of that man that you are happy?”“Because I was free from you. Because I was free from our marriage. Letting you go is one wonderful decision I made in my life.”“And letting you go was the stupidest thing I did, Celine.”I looked away from Lance and turned away from him. I can’t keep up with how he glares at me.“Celine, why don’t you just give me a second chance?”I shook my head.“Don’t you love me anymore? You don’t even have a little love for me anymore and you prefer to be with that man?”“Tristan... never hurts me. He always thinks about my welfare.”Lance gently grabbed my arm and made me face him. “I w
LANCE POV-The time I heard that, I ran to the room where I locked Celine. I used my gun to remove the locks. Immediately upon opening the door, we went inside one by one. I right away looked for Celine on the bed but she was not here. I was about to look for Celine in the other part of this room, I just saw this man carried that Celine. This man put the denim jacket on Celine’s body.“Put her down!” I threatened and pointed a gun at the man.Instead of obeying my order, he went straight out of this room. I was about to fire him a gun, but Hanna quickly covered my gun with her palm.“What are you doing!?” I shouted at Hanna.“Madame Celine has wounds on her forearm.”“What!?”“On her neck there are a few small scratches. Did you do that to Madame Celine?”“Are you sure you didn’t hurt Celine like that?” Hanna asked with judgment towards me.“H*ll, no! I never and even then
CELINE POV-“Why did you do this?”“I didn’t. I just saw that your car’s tires were flat.”“Do you know how much perversion you have done?”“Your tire will be fixed right away. These people can take your car to wherever you are before the end of the day.”I glanced quickly at the two people Hendrix was referring to, then at him.What else can I do? I can’t change the tire if I get angry. This needs to be done immediately so my children don't have to ride public transportation, which could be harmful to their health.“Wait a second,” I told the two mechanics.I went to the passenger seat to get my kids’ bags. “Let’s go, sweethearts. Our car needs to get fixed first.”Skye got out first, followed by Sunny. After I got off them, I took the key and gave it to the two mechanics.Once the two mechanics reached for the key, they quickly moved. One opened the truck door and the other started my car. After they got in my car, they left immediately.“Mummy, why did they take our car?” Sunny as
CELINE POV-As soon as Conrad got out of the elevator, Lance went inside.“B-Boss…”As the elevator closed, Conrad looked my way. His eyes widened after he saw me.“Madame Celine,” he called me in surprise as he came closer to me.“Hmmm?” I asked without opening my lips.I forced both ends of my lips to curve upwards while holding back tears.“Have you been here a while, Madame?”I opened my mouth. When I felt my voice getting hoarse, I took a deep breath before speaking. “Yes. Before the elevator opened.”He turned quickly to the elevator that Lance had taken and then immediately looked back at me.“Did you hear what Boss Lance said?”“Why did you come here?” I changed the subject.“Have you talked to Boss Lance?”I shook my head. “I don’t think we need to talk anymore. I’ve heard his reason.”“I think you need to talk to him,” he handed me my car keys. “Your car is parked outside the building, Madame.”“Thank you.”I followed Conrad’s gaze as he walked back to the front of the elev
CELINE POV-“Are you sure of what you are saying?” I asked her.“Yes,” she answered confidently. “Conrad went to the restaurant to meet you there. He can’t call Sir Lance's phone either.”“Conrad couldn’t call Lance’s phone number?” I assured her.“Yes.”Is it just a coincidence that Lance’s phone number couldn’t be called and he didn’t come?“Celine!”I looked at Sabrina in surprise after she yelled at me right in my face.“Why?”“I am asking you why you are not with Sir Lance. Did you know someone rang the doorbell yesterday, and then I checked the intercom? The man had his back turned, but I doubt it was Sir Lance; that’s why I didn’t open it. Because Conrad told me not to open the door if he’s not the one outside. I’m not one hundred percent sure if it’s Sir Lance because he has his back turned and seems to be talking to someone on the phone.”I assumed Lance had come here. Maybe something unexpected happened that made him not arrive?“CELINE!”I felt like I was going to be deafe
CELINE POV-Hendrix extended his palm. “Shall we go in together?” He asked me.We toured the theme park, rode the few rides we had planned to ride before, and we also played the machine games as well as the arcade games.Now we were in front of the Ferris wheel, and we planned to ride it last.“No, thank you.” I refused the hand he offered.I rode the Ferris wheel first and as he rode someone locked the door and started it.During the few hours I was with Hendrix, I didn’t think about anything else. I tried to focus and try to enjoy this place.Once we reached the top, the Ferris wheel stopped whirling.It was scary, but I still found myself smiling slightly after I saw almost the entire theme park.“The Ferris wheel is actually what you've wanted to ride the most since then.”I nodded without taking my gaze down. “The way you drew the Ferris wheel before, it was colourful, and you could see a lot from just one seat. Then it was close to the stars, and this is the exact one you showed
CELINE POV- “I don't have time to joke around.”“Likewise,” he said meagerly.I calmed my feelings down first. “You won’t hurt me, will you?”“No,” he answered sparingly but directly.Somehow his answer made me feel at ease. I had no choice but to just believe what he said. I didn’t have anything with me except the mini makeup kit in the purse I was carrying.“Where are you taking me?”“To my gift for you.”“Gift?”“Don’t you accept late gifts?”“No. That’s not what I meant.”I didn’t explain anymore, and I didn’t open my mouth for a while.I’ll wait until we get to where he wants to go, so his nonsense can end.“We’re almost where we’re going,” I heard him say as I looked out the window.————About ten minutes later, he stopped in front of an amusement park.“Come on!” He was so excited that he even giggled.I laughed a little at his reaction.I also got out of the car. I looked around; except for the amusement park staff, Hendrix and I, I didn't see anyone else.What was surprising
CELINE POV-“Thank you,” I said with a smile to the manager and the female server who served me a glass of water earlier when I saw them in the lobby.“Ma’am, wait!” They exclaim at the same time.I stopped walking when they ran towards me.“I want to apologize again for what happened earlier,” the woman regretfully said.“I also want to apologize for my negligence,” the manager said and bowed his head.“Don’t think about that. It’s okay,” I told them. “Is that all you want to say?”“Ah, no.” They suddenly panicked.The manager handed me a paper bag. I took it and peeked at the contents. Inside the paper bag was a suit coat and a familiar calling card.“What is this for?” I asked.“Sir Hendrix Morgan left those. He asked me to give you the paper bag.”I returned the paper bag to the manager, but he didn’t take it.“Give it back to him,” I stated.The manager took a deep breath. “I…” then he exhaled, and his face was covered with worry. “I’m sorry, ma’am. If you give back to me, he war
CELINE POV-“You should have let the woman kneel down earlier,” my eyebrows furrowed at Hendrix’s words. “Or you should have let her terminate her job.”Is that the kind of person he is? He likes seeing other people suffer? Didn’t he think about that person’s situation? Maybe that person’s job was too valuable to her. That person wouldn’t dare to lower her knee to the ground if she did not badly need the job.“Don’t judge me,” he said, laughing.He read my thoughts?He faced me, he crossed his legs, and rested his elbow on the table. “Someone like her needs to learn a lesson; she needs to pay for her mistake—that’s all I’m saying. It’s not just the surprise that that person ruined but also your feelings. That person not only ruined the surprise for you but also your feelings. She hurt you badly, and your mind was confused by what happened. Who wouldn’t think and be glad that you were expecting someone, but then the wrong person would come in front of you? Right?” He raised his pointed
CELINE POV-I couldn’t move from where I was standing as I turned to look at the man who uttered my name.My forehead wasn’t wrinkled, but my body was full of wonder as I looked at him, and I was sure the question was, 'why is he here?' was printed all over my face.What’s going on? Why is he here? Why is he in front of me? Why is he in front of me in this situation?“Hendrix?” I utter hoarsely.After seeing his face, my tears came back to my eyes; I felt again the pain in my back from sitting for over five hours and the hunger I was feeling. Most of all, the hope may be that the proposal was from Lance.I couldn’t make a mistake in my gaze; I’ve been looking at his face for a few seconds, and his appearance hasn’t changed. I also couldn’t be hallucinating because there was no reason why I should see him in my mind. I never thought about him after our last encounter.Why is he here? Why isn’t the person I expected and waited for here? Why isn’t Lance in front of me now? Where is he?
CELINE POV-Here’s my tear again while looking around. I smile and quickly wipe away the teardrop before it even falls down my cheek.I was taken to a high-end and exclusive restaurant where Lance rented the entire building. It was quite far from the hotel, which took more than an hour to travel.When I looked around again I smiled. The only light at this time was the scented candles that each table had. What made the ambiance even finer was the night view from where I was sitting overlooking the bright city lights outside the glass wall. Each table had a single red rose flower and on my table there was a bouquet of red roses.The surroundings were quiet until my attention was caught by a server who went to three tables and replaced the scented candles there. She checked on me and smiled at me.“Ma’am, would you like us to serve food for you? We have an appetizer ready for you.”“No,” I refused. I coughed softly because I felt my throat tighten and dry. “Can I have a glass of water?”