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CELINE POV - “Is something bothering you?” Lance intruded on the noisy silence between us. “You’re a heavy sleeper, so it’s just surprising you suddenly woke up in a short period of time.” I swallowed hard. “I just... suddenly woke up.” “Do you want me to believe your reason?” He sounded sarcastic yet concerned. My vision gradually blurred as tears formed. I saw the rise and fall of his Adam’s apple while he fixed his gaze at me. "Lance,” the moment I mentioned his name, my tears fell. “Hmm?” He questioned softly. How can I tell him the things that are bothering me when he himself is bothering me? And I shouldn't think about this matter because, after all, we both have an agreement. I shook my head. “I’m going back inside,” I said in a hurry. “Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked before I even took a step. “I want to know how you feel; I want to know if I’ve done anything else that you didn’t like. This morning, I know I hurt you, but no matter what I think,
CELINE POV-Along with my puffiness and redness, my eyes felt dry, especially around my eyes from crying so much. I continued to cry even though there were no more tears coming out of my eyes and they were already hurting. Lance tried to calm me down from crying, and now we were sitting in the cabanas while his hand was holding my hand.Looking at my hand that he was holding, I couldn't help but cry… out of joy.“Hey,”When I looked into Lance’s eyes, he folded his pointer finger and gently wiped my cheek.“You’re about to cry again.”“I just can’t believe it,” I confess.“I also can’t believe your hands are so small.”I quickly glared at Lance.“I was just trying to lighten your mood—but, wow!” He brought his hand closer to my face. “Your face is small in my hand.”“Because your hands are big.” I laughed softly as I said it.Even though my mood was light at this time, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of being tired from crying so much. The joy I felt was still overwhelming.“You’r
CELINE’s POV-After I fixed myself, I left the mansion and hailed a taxi that came into my view. I right away told the taxi driver to take me to Rodeo drive.I will buy my husband Lance a present. Today is our third year anniversary. I felt that he might be busy this whole day and there is a possibility that he will come home late, but I still want to celebrate our wedding anniversary even if it’s simple and there is a possibility that we can celebrate it late.After I finish buying a gift for him, I plan to cook him his favorite food.Lance and I, our marriage, was an arranged marriage. Prior to our marriage, I had no knowledge of him except his name and the extent of his impact on various matters. After all, he is a businessperson and a mafia boss. When I initially discovered Lance’s involvement in the mafia, fear overwhelmed me. I don’t know much about the mafia thing. The only thing I am aware of is that they are dangerous individuals. But at that point, my love for Lance prevai
CELINE’s POV-While waiting at the said restaurant where I will be waiting for my parents here in the private room, I also ordered some food.I took several deep breaths until I felt hurt. Only then did I notice I hurt my forearm from scratching.I was too tense about the reason my parents wanted to meet me, which is why I didn’t notice I started scratching on my forearm that led to me hurting myself again.I took a band-aid and covered the wound on my forearm. Soon, my parents arrived just in time with the server who brought the food I ordered for them. An appetizer of garlic bread and mushroom soup and the main menu of pasta, chicken, and pizza. I order for two people since I don’t plan to eat either.After the food was served and the server left, my parents said what they needed.“We need five million dollars,” my mother began.I silently rested deeply. I knew they needed money from me, but I didn’t expect that they needed this much money from me this time.“But mom, I don’t have
CELINE’s POV-“We are not asking for your decision, Celine.” My mother said firmly. “We are only informing you about this matter. The new billionaire we found for you is just waiting for you to divorce Lance and he is ready to marry you right away.”I feel pain in my eyes and a mass teardrop on both sides of my eyes. An overwhelming sense of fear grips me as I contemplate the actions they might take, knowing that their desires could be advantageous to them in Lance and my situation.“And I also don’t agree with what you want to happen.” I said with all my voice.This is the first time I will disobey my parents. I can do almost everything they want but not to divorce my husband.Maybe Lance doesn’t love me yet, but that for three years, Lance hasn’t brought about divorcing me. I still hope that one day, Lance will love me and we can fix our marriage.“Don’t be ridiculous with your decision, Celine. We all know that Lance doesn’t love you, so what are you afraid of?” My mom asked and h
CELINE’s POV-WITHOUT DELAY, I went to the OB as the doctor said and followed what the doctor said to earlier, which is why the OB doctor took care of me right away. I’m just waiting for my urine test and the blood test. I also had an ultrasound.“This,” the doctor pointed to a tiny dot. “This tiny dot is called a gestational sac.”“Is that my baby, doc?” I ask without taking my eyes off the tiny dot shown by the ultrasound.“Yes. The baby is not fully developed yet, so you won’t hear a heartbeat. After six weeks to nine weeks of your pregnancy, you can return to see your baby for the first time.”“I will, doc. I will return with the father of my child.”“I will look forward to that.”After all the tests and giving me the results, especially the picture of the ultrasound, the doctor gave me a prescription that I can take vitamins and the foods I should eat.“Congratulations, Mrs. Hart.”“Thank you.”When I left the OB room, I was surprised to see my parents waiting outside. I thought
CELINE’s POV-“Celine, what do you need from Hanna?” Astrid asked me.“I just have something important to ask her.” I answered, almost in a whisper.I saw in the rear-view mirror Astrid open her mouth, but she closed it and did not ask again. In the passenger seat, Christine turned to me and smiled. I returned her with a small smile, then I looked outside.After what happened last night with Lance, I haven’t talked to him again, nor have I been able to look at him until I’ve met Hanna.Hanna Matthew is Lance’s right hand or underboss in his organization. Hanna is often with Lance when Lance transacts in the underground. Also, Hanna once lived in the mansion we live in now. Hanna only left the mansion because of me. Hanna told me the one time I talked to her she knows her boundaries as Lance’s friend and that it is not good to see if she will stay in the mansion as her friend Lance is married.I was so hurt last night and felt bad for my baby. My baby is still in blood and growing, ye
CELINE’s POV-While in the car, Astrid was unable to refrain from reacting to what happened earlier, even though she hadn’t yet inquired about the reason behind my actions.“Oh, my gosh. My brain still can’t process what happened earlier.” Astrid reacted again while driving. “But if Hanna mentioned that she and Lance had an affair, I might be unable to restrain myself from reacting towards Hanna. Good thing she and Lance don’t have an affair.”“Astrid, just drive first. We might get into an accident if you don’t focus on the road.” Christine disobeyed her. “Yeah, we need to get to the restaurant so that we can find out all the details from Celine. Fasten your seatbelt.”And as usual, when Astrid said that, she sped up driving. What was supposed to be a half hour drive for us turned into only about ten minutes, including the parking.We went straight to the restaurant we often go to and because Christine reserved, someone assisted us to the VIP floor, which is on the second floor.“T
CELINE POV-Along with my puffiness and redness, my eyes felt dry, especially around my eyes from crying so much. I continued to cry even though there were no more tears coming out of my eyes and they were already hurting. Lance tried to calm me down from crying, and now we were sitting in the cabanas while his hand was holding my hand.Looking at my hand that he was holding, I couldn't help but cry… out of joy.“Hey,”When I looked into Lance’s eyes, he folded his pointer finger and gently wiped my cheek.“You’re about to cry again.”“I just can’t believe it,” I confess.“I also can’t believe your hands are so small.”I quickly glared at Lance.“I was just trying to lighten your mood—but, wow!” He brought his hand closer to my face. “Your face is small in my hand.”“Because your hands are big.” I laughed softly as I said it.Even though my mood was light at this time, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of being tired from crying so much. The joy I felt was still overwhelming.“You’r
CELINE POV - “Is something bothering you?” Lance intruded on the noisy silence between us. “You’re a heavy sleeper, so it’s just surprising you suddenly woke up in a short period of time.” I swallowed hard. “I just... suddenly woke up.” “Do you want me to believe your reason?” He sounded sarcastic yet concerned. My vision gradually blurred as tears formed. I saw the rise and fall of his Adam’s apple while he fixed his gaze at me. "Lance,” the moment I mentioned his name, my tears fell. “Hmm?” He questioned softly. How can I tell him the things that are bothering me when he himself is bothering me? And I shouldn't think about this matter because, after all, we both have an agreement. I shook my head. “I’m going back inside,” I said in a hurry. “Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” he asked before I even took a step. “I want to know how you feel; I want to know if I’ve done anything else that you didn’t like. This morning, I know I hurt you, but no matter what I think,
CELINE POV - It’s been over an hour since I put Sunny and Skye to bed. After dinner and playing with Lance, I put them to sleep easily because of the tiredness. But, for me, no matter what, I’m tired too, and no matter how hard I try to close my eyes, I can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, our laughter and what we did all day suddenly come to mind. What happened all day was like a dream. No. Even in my dreams, I wouldn’t have thought that these things would happen. Lance would be with us full of joy and happiness. I forget to think of anything like the fear of if he would hurt our children, if he would throw me out, if he wouldn’t get furious because I talked to him. For me, this is kind of magical that I don’t want to end. That’s probably why I can’t sleep right away; I'm scared. I don’t want to think about things like this in front of my children. I don’t want to think that even what Lance showed our children wasn’t true. I got up and made sure there were big pillows on bo
CELINE POV - At this time we are here at the inflatable playground. We are in the part of the slide that goes straight to the sea. Lance is already in the sea; he slides first while holding a phone pointed at us. Lance slid first to catch Sunny. We are all wearing life vests, but it is still dangerous for Sunny if her vest gets stuck to her body, and she might have difficulty breathing in the sea. Sunny sat down, then raised her hand and, without hesitation, slid down. Next, Skye got ready to slide. “No!” Skye yelled so Lance could hear that Skye didn't want to be caught. “Okay!” Lance simply replied then effortlessly placed Sunny around his neck. “One! Two! Thre–” Before I could finish counting, Skye slid happily, while I almost felt my heart jump out of my body from the nervousness of what he had done. When I saw Skye descend smoothly into the sea, my heart rate returned to normal. I realized that I was next; my nervousness returned. This was my first time going into the se
CELINE POV-“Wow!” Sunny pointed to the huge playground.“Wow!” Sunny pointed at the zip line.“Wow!” Sunny pointed at the pool.“Wow!” Sunny pointed at the sea.“Wooooow!” Skye and Sunny utter in amazement while looking at the large and spacious house.From where we stood outside the house, we could see what Sunny had pointed out.Lance took us to the private villa he took me to when he kidnapped me.I didn't expect it, I didn't even know that he would bring us here. A lot has changed in this place, there have been things Sunny has pointed out. There is also a large inflatable playground in the sea and I can see a speed boat. There is a kiddie pool around it with statues of Skye and Sunny’s favorite cartoons. There is also an open area cottage not far from the sea.The area looked like a private beach resort with fun activities and more relaxing because there were a few plants around.“Did you like it here?” Lance questions the two.Skye and Sunny turned to face Lance. “Yes!” they
CELINE POV - “Good morning, sweethearts!” Sabrina greeted us warmly as we entered the kitchen. “Good morning, Auntie!” The kids greeted back at the same time. “Are you leaving?” I asked Sabrina while supporting the kids to sit down. “Wow! You are a big girl and big boy.” Sabrina complimented the two of them then turned her attention back to me. “Yep. I’m going to go to the store I saw; I might run out of that book if I did not buy it right away.” “Do you want me to accompany you with the children?” I offered while sitting next to her. “After all, it's weekend now.” “Thanks, but no thanks. Conrad will be with me, other thing,” Sabrina leaned her face close to my ear. “Maybe you have a family bond.” I don’t think so. Since yesterday, I haven’t known what’s going on with Lance. He didn’t pick up the kids; he didn’t send a message if he was coming or when he was coming. I don’t think we’ll be expecting Lance today. “Ask him if he knows anything about next week.” He was
CELINE POV - When I arrived at the hotel, I noticed that there were people working at the former Stellar restaurant's place. “Madame Celine, you’ve arrived here. I was planning to come to you at the cemetery.” “Ah, yes. I left there early it because—” Possibly he’ll tell Lance that Tristan and I met. “What’s being done there?” I changed the subject as I pointed to the former Stellar restaurant’s place. “Matthew’s restaurant is opening soon.” “Matthew’s restaurant? Hannah’s brother Dylan’s restaurant, right?” “Yes, Madame. Would you like to take a look?” “Is that okay?” I’m curious that Dylan agreed to have a branch here, from New York to Chicago. Christine and Astrid had told me before Dylan didn’t want Matthew’s restaurant to have multiple branches because it was too tiring for Dylan. “Yes, Madame. Let’s go? I’ll join you inside.” I nodded and followed Conrad. When we entered, it was no different from the main branch in New York; it was just a smaller place
LANCE POV-“Lance.” Hannah stopped me.Hendrix lifted one side of his lips.I tightened my grip on his collar. “You and your brother, you both stay away from Celine.”“Don’t forget you’re not in your territory.”He seized my hand and released my grip on his collar.“Lance!” Hannah whispered loudly and pulled my suit from behind to make me sit up. “I will let this go, as compensation for what your men did in helping Lucian during your wedding,” he said while fixing his tangled collar.I turned to Hannah for an explanation. She shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what Hendrix was talking about.“What are you talking about?” I asked him.“Lucian went to Fire-Hart Castle six years ago,” he casually answered.Six years ago, that was the time I got married there.“He is with a woman, which is why your man let him in.”He is with a woman; it’s possible that Celine was with him. That means that day she was there and witnessed it. I didn’t know she was there that day. Surely she herded every
CELINE POV-“Mummy, this is delicious!” Sunny praised what I had cooked.I made a simple spinach dish. I boiled the spinach to soften it, mixed it with tomatoes to reduce bitterness and trout fish to give it a more delicious flavor, and I partnered with brown rice so they would be full and have more nutrients in their food.“Mummy, is Lance coming here?” Sunny asked.I noticed Skye suddenly stopped eating. It seemed like he was also waiting for Lance; he just couldn’t say or ask.“I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to him yet,” I replied to them.I want to surprise them by saying that Lance and I will take them to school.I gaze at Skye. “Continue your food; you might be late for school,” I reminded him.“Yes, Mummy.”After we ate, I helped them brush their teeth, then washed our dishes and returned to my children in the living room.I eye at the digital clock next to the TV. We had to leave so the kids wouldn’t be late for school, but Lance wasn’t here yet.Not long after, someone rang