All eyes were fixed on Cara and Romeo yet the two walked without a care of the world. Cara would not lie that a part of her was feeling nervous but she managed to keep it from showing. Thanks to the man she had right next to her, anything seemed possible and nothing seemed impossible. She walked with her hand wrapped around his, keeping each other close no matter what. Romeo on the other hand was not worried a single bit, it was not the first time for him attending such a gathering and it was definitely not the first he would have all eyes focused on him. He had gotten used to having so much attention on him and being in the spotlight from a very young age thanks to the family he hailed from. It was his strength and weakness. Mr Knowles rushed from the stage and hurried towards Romeo. "Mr Armani! I didn't know you would be the one attending the event." Romeo gave him a gentle smile. "It is a pleasure to see you too Mr Knowles. Is my presence not gracing enough?" He let his b
Cara stared at Sarah's reaction and realized that something was wrong. She knew the woman quite well, after all that was her mother in-law for years. Obviously, Jessica had something against her and was making her dance to her will. It even became more glaring when Sarah unwillingly wrapped her arms around Jessica and gave her soft pats on her back. People applauded the obvious fake act of love just because. No one was interested in the family problem they were having although they did not mind gossiping about them. "What do you think is going on between those two?" Romeo asked as he leaned in closer to Cara, keeping his voice to a whisper loud enough for only her to hear. She was surprised that he had even noticed it but then again, Romeo had proved to be a man of keen sight. She turned to move closer to him and responded. "I did not think you would notice. It is obvious that Jessica has something against her mother-in -law, that is if the Jessica I know is still in there, then
"Oh dear!" Jessica suddenly screamed, placing a hand on her forehead and acting like she was in distress and was about to pass out. A princess in distress. "How long will I have to put up with this?" She cried out. All eyes were now fixed on the catastrophic show that she was putting on. Murmurs followed without a second's pause. "What is going on?" "Is there a fight between the former couple?" "Is something going on between Mr Knowles' son and his ex wife?" Jessica pretended like she was heartbroken even though she was a woman without a heart. "How long will I live in the shadows of Cara Smith?!" She demanded firmly, letting her voice overshadow the murmurs of the onlooking crowd. She walked towards her husband and stood in front of him. No one expected the next cause of action, not even Chris, until a loud and resounding slap landed on his face.Gasps erupted in the hall, from Cara as well. Meanwhile Romeo just stared in awe. Chris growled angrily. "What the f*ck did you just
"What in the name of the heavens is going on here?!" Sarah yelled out as she rushed towards the scene. Jessica, once frozen and lost in the mystery of Romeo's eyes, now sprung awake and back to her senses. She snatched her hand from him and stumbled backwards. "She-- she was-- she said that--" every single attempt at forming a sensible sentence was futile as Jessica spoke. She stopped and shook her head to clear her sense of reasoning. "She said something so preposterous! How can she say something as insulting as that and not come with proof?" Cara opened her mouth to speak but Romeo's mellow voice cut her off ever so softly. "My woman would never tell a lie just because." He did not look at her as he spoke but she felt a cold shiver run down her spine... In a good way. His voice grew hard in an instant. "I hope the Knowles family acknowledges this as a sign of disrespect to the Armani family and are ready to face the consequences of this action?" His attention was fixed on the
A groan escaped her mouth as she tried to open her eyes, a brain crushing headache hit her so hard that she thought she would pass out again. In a second, it disappeared like it was never there. She managed to open her eyes and sit up. Looking around, she was met by the white of a hospital room. She tried to remember what had happened before it all blacked out. "--it's possible that she wakes up now-- oh, Miss Smith! Right on time." A man in a white coat said as he walked in. Right next to the man were a set of green eyes she recognized. "Cara, you're awake." Romeo said, he walked over towards her bed and sat down next to her. Taking her hand in his, he continued. "How are you feeling?" She looked confusedly around. "What happened? Where-- I mean, like what happened after the event? Why am I here?" "You passed out." Romeo responded. "But don't worry, no press was around to cover it or else your former friend and ex husband would have found a way to make it tomorrow's headline." H
Cara found it hard to understand the words that she had just heard even though it was simple spoken English. She sat with pricked ears, "I'm sorry, I don't... I don't seem to understand... What do you mean by... I mean I can't--""Calm down, take a deep breathe." Romeo said to her. "If you are feeling this excited then just imagine how happy I am. I couldn't believe my own ears when I heard the words from the doctor." Cara sat up straight in the bed. "But I... I was told that I could not have kids.""Were you?" Romeo asked with an arched brow. "We don't really know who had issues between you and your ex husband, now did we? But you accepted the blame because your ex husband always claimed to be fine."Cara understood what he was trying to say but at the same time, she had to stop and think properly about it. Her brain refused to work properly though no matter how hard she tried to make it. "Miss Smith," the man in white called her name. "I want to let you know that from the series
Jessica swallowed. She did not know how to respond to the words she had just heard. Everything they said was true and it was not in her intention to cause any trouble but the deed had already been done. With all the damage she had caused, she stood and spoke with her full chest. "The Armani will not break off a deal with a good company like us for something so little and irrelevant." Chris arched a brow at his wife. "Little and irrelevant? Little and irrelevant? You think something as large as this will not cause any issue? That spoilt son of a b*tch is the main face of the Armani family, you really think that he won't do anything?""I want us to stop arguing and find a way to settle this now!" Michael yelled out loud. They all fell quiet at his voice. Neither of them had an idea on how to fix the problem on ground. "I know what to do." Chris said in a soft and composed voice. All eyes fell on him as he spoke and he continued. Turning to face his wife, Chris started, "Jessica has
Plans were made on how to begin their finding for the truth, of course, Romeo offered to carry all the responsibilities so he would avoid stressing her. He put her to bed that night and left early in the morning after preparing breakfast for her and every other necessary thing. Cara woke up early in the afternoon, feeling refreshed after a good night rest. She freshened up and went into the kitchen. She was not surprised to find freshly cooked meals in the kitchen but she was pleased. All day long, she kept touching her stomach, thinking about her baby that was now growing inside of her. How was the baby doing? Was the baby healthy? Did babies inside the womb sleep? If they did, was her baby sleeping?She did not know whether to eat much or not, but she did not have appetite to eat that morning. Shaking her head, she told herself to stop thinking about the baby and focus more on the new task at hand. Just at the thought of the Knowles family, her phone started ringing and it turne
Cara spent the next few days in the comfort of her home, not bothering to go to work or even go for her pregnancy check up. Her doctor had reached out to her due to her absence and Cara simply said she would visit when she could. She stared at her phone all day, wondering when Romeo would finally call to check up on her. But nothing came through. Not even by accident.Were they really over? She wondered. He asked for a break not that they should cancel their wedding right? Speaking of their wedding, she did not even know if it was already canceled. She could not know anyway, Romeo's parent had taken full charge of planning the entire event and simply told Cara and Romeo to relax. All they had to do was to be there on that day. That day having being a few days away, anxiety was a small word to describe what Cara was feeling. She did not know whether to reach out to him first and ask if they were still getting married. How stupid would that sound though? Or nonchalant and not even
Those were the exact same words she had said to him just now, to take a break, so why was she so heartbroken? Why did she feel a sudden chill snake up her back? Why did she crumble to the ground? Why was it hurting her so much? Tears trailed down her eyes freely, her heart beat like it was about to explode, it was not built for such pain. The way it made her feel, watching him walk out on her and slam the door without looking back, she was at the edge of losing her mind. Her heart was soon to explode. "Come back..." She mitered softly, hoping he had not left. Hoping he was still by the door outside, hoping he was only waiting for a second before walking back in and engulfing her in his arms. "Come back to me..." She muttered softly. She strength to even speak any louder than that had evaded her. No matter how hard she tried to reach for it, it kept slipping out of her grasp. So she remained on her knees, tears washing down her face like heavy rain, heart as burdened as ever, soul
Romeo took Cara home later in the evening, she had been silent all through the ride and it was to his notice. As they arrived in the living room, he was supposed to turn back and leave, after all, Giovanni was still waiting for him. They had some catching up to do. But instead, he sat her down and sat next to her. "Is everything alright? You did not say a single thing all through the ride back home." Cara had been lost in her own thoughts but she was thankful that he had noticed it. She sat up properly and asked him, "did you hear what your mom proposed to me today?" Her voice was soft. "The merger?" Romeo's brow arched as he asked her and she nodded her head in response. He continued. "Yes I did, what about it? I wasn't really paying attention to her." Cara let out a soft sigh. "Well you know enough to know what her proposal was. Why do I have to merge my company with yours?" "It's not that you have to, it's just something that seems like the right and normal thing to do." Rome
Cara despised pettiness, so she despised herself for what she did next. "Remember, Jessica, that bug could still be around here." She hinted at Jessica's ugly secret. Jessica knew what she was saying and fell quiet. She clenched her fist in anger. Cara continued. "If it pleases you that I leave the room, I will, just know that whatever Romeo decides is of his own choice and not mine." Jessica still did not say anything. Tori shook her head, "that's absolute nonsense." She touched Cara's hand softly. "You are the new woman in the home of the Armani, every decision taken shall be in front of you. We are one. You can counter his words if you wish, or you can comply. Whatever you do will be accepted because you are a part of us now." Cara responded with a soft smile. "Now," Romeo started off in a tone that rose with authority, "back to your case. My decision still stands, same as it was before. The Knowles family has been with us for a while now, sure, but ever since power was switc
As Jessica noticed that they were all walking towards her, she rose to her feet and tried to act as composed as ever. "So...?"Cara wanted to roll her eyes, knowing well that Jessica was acting like she was not worried of the situation. Romeo could discard her right away if he wanted to, Jessica ought to be smart enough to know that. But she said nothing about it and continued. "It has been decided. Both of you, you are going to pretend like you don't know each other. We are just going to tell Mr and Mrs Armani that you have a very low tolerance rate for bugs and you saw one under the table. That was why you ran out." "And if they ask about the bug or want to call the manager to take care of it?" Jessica questioned. "Then we will just tell them it has been taken care of. No story." Cara responded. Jessica was silent for a while before speaking. "Why are you helping me this much? It makes my skin crawl." "Because no matter how much of a b*tch you are to me, I am not a petty woman
Romeo discarded the restaurant's manager respectfully, after they made sure no one else was going to overhear their conversation, they continued to address the issue on ground. Romeo pulled Giovanni aside, "how could you do that, Giovanni?" Giovanni arched a brow. "How was I supposed to know she was married and involved with your company? With a kid! I had a one night stand Romeo, not everyone is as committed as you are. Even in your bachelor years, you did not hook up with any woman. You're perfect but I'm not." Romeo gave a roll of his eyes. "This is not about me being perfect, besides I'm not. I didn't do any of that because I chose not to. And I spent my nights at the company while others spent theirs at a club."Giovanni scoffed. "Oh please, that's just an excuse. What about college years? Even the time you spent with me in Japan, you are too good for your own health." "My college years were pretty wild, Giovanni, believe it or not. Not in the hooking aspect because I was com
The Armani family-- Cara included-- along with their guest stared at Jessica as she dashed out of the room, ignoring Tori's call to her. They could only wonder what could have resulted to such impromptu action. All except Giovanni of course. The look on his face was neither surprise nor pleasure. He was just simply staring. Cara involuntarily rose to her feet and chased after her former best friend. She had not even expected herself to do something like that but she was already standing outside the room before she realized it. "Jessica!" She called out to the runaway princess. Jessica stopped and turned around, surprised to see Cara outside as well. She waited until Cara had walked up to her before she began to spit out without a second thought. "What are you doing here? Did you come here to make fun of me? Did you come here to let me know how much of a failure I am?! Huh?!" "Calm down." Cara said softly. "You need to breathe or else you'll pass out at this state." Jessica stil
Jessica had made up her mind, she was more than ready to sleep with the handsome man that was standing right in front of her, opening the door to his hotel room. Thankfully, he would not be able to tell that she was a married woman due to the fact that she had hid her wedding ring.She was young and pretty, this knowledge was known to her herself. So there was nothing wrong in her acting like a young and careless spinster exploring the world and by the world, she meant different men. Chris would care less anyway. And so the door opened and he led her into the fanciest room she had never known existed in the club. Obviously, from his aura alone, she could tell he was a rich man and now the room confirmed it. Behind the closed doors, she was in his arms again. They were strong and manly, her chest was firmly pressed against his. Their bodies emitted warmth that made her want to growl in delight. She enjoyed it, the feel of being in a man's arms. She clung tighter onto him, wanting
Jessica was elated! She had been able to get a call through to Romeo's dad and managed to plead an audience with the man. If it all worked out then she would not be sent out of the Knowles family. "I can't believe that I scored such a huge goal! If I can just manage to convince him-- I hope I can-- then I will be able to embarrass Cara for treating me like shit!" She twirled around happily in her bedroom. "There's no time to waste!" She cautioned herself. Hurrying to her wardrobe, she dressed up in a fancy and official mini dress and combed her hair until there was not a single strand loose. Her looks alone would be her first impression that day to Marcus and she knew it. She her make up quite obvious to add to the depth of her beauty. She looked ready after putting on her nude colored heels but she did not feel ready. With a nervous breath, she picked up her hand bag and walked out of her room.Bumping into Chris in the hallway, her face was drained of its smile. She thought to