"What?." Martina paled. "Vincenzo Arroyo told you that?". "Yes. Bella and I are distant cousins." He replied. "Why didn't you tell me Mom?". "I didn't think it was important." She muttered. "What else did he say?". "They've been searching for you for years." Jesse shrugged. "Isn't it time for you to go back home?". "I'm very happy here." Martina said. "I don't wish to go back." "That's not what I mean and you know it Mom." Jesse sighed. "But it's your call." "They tried to sell me off to that stinking old man." She seethed. "I'm glad I was able to escape or else I probably would've killed myself if I'd ended up with that man." "It's all in the past now." He rubbed her back. "You're very happy with dad and I like that." He told her. "I really don't care if he hates me and my daughter." "But he doesn't hate you or Gwen." Martina protested. "That's what she said." He rolled his eyes. "If he doesn't hate her then why would he tell me to leave her to die?". "James is..." "Excuses
"We should get up." Jesse said."We should." Bella agreed but they didn't make any move to do so. "Do you think Mom knows?"."About what?"."That we've been... doing this?". She looked up at him. "You know, the morning we had breakfast on the patio and Mom asked us how our night was and we told her it was good?"."Yeah.""She had this 'I know what you've been up to' smile on her face." Bella chuckled.Jesse smiled. "I like your laugh." He kissed her forehead."Thank you." Bella blushed. "We should really get up though. You have to pick Gwen up from school remember?". She sat up.Jesse groaned. "How did the time go so fast?". He sat up and rubbed his face with his hands."Only when you're having fun." She sighed."Want to join me in the shower?". He winked at her."You know we'll never get out of there." She countered. "I'll go in after you.""Alright." He leaned forward and kissed her then got off the bed and sauntered to the bathroom."Lucky me." She squealed. "I get to have all of t
"Mom!". Bella called rushing into the living room."What is it mi bebé? Why are you crying?". Aviva stood. "Is Jesse okay?"."He's fine." She sniffed. "It's Gwen." She sobbed. "She passed out in school. I think it's her heart again Mom.""Oh my goodness." Aviva gasped. "Did he tell you the name of the hospital he took her?"."Yes." She nodded."Let's go then." Aviva said and picked up her phone from the table and they both rushed out."I hope she's fine." Bella whispered tearfully as the driver drove out of the compound. "I can't lose her Mom. Jesse can't.""Everything's going to be okay darling." Aviva pulled her close and rubbed her back. "Gwen's a strong girl."Bella wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and silently prayed for Gwen's recovery.Jesse sat in the waiting room of the hospital anxiously waiting for news about Gwen but none was forth coming. He'd called Abby to tell her Susan was with him in the hospital and told her not to worry and to just drive safely. He couldn
The next day"But I don't want to be homeschooled daddy. I'm fine." Gwen said and looked over his shoulder at Bella. "Mommy, please tell him I'm fine."Bella sighed and came forward to take Gwen's hand in hers. "We don't want you to be homeschooled too honey but that was what the doctor suggested and you know doctors are always right." She smiled assuringly at Gwen. "Daddy is very worried about you and so am I, infact everyone. You gave us quite a scare there Gwen.""I'm sorry." She apologized and looked down at the hand Bella was holding. "It's just... I won't have anyone to play with and what if I get a mean teacher who's not nice? Miss Ursula wasn't nice to me before but now she is.""We'll find you a very nice teacher." Jesse promised her. "We just want the best for you sweetheart.""I know." She smiled. "Will it be like normal school? I get to play during recess and stuff?"."Sure. It can be like normal school." Bella said. "Except you'll close earlier from homeschool than actual
"Good morning Mr Billion. I'm so sorry that I kept you waiting." The head master Mr Vitalis apologized closing the door behind him and hurrying to his seat. "It's fine." Jesse said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit sir?." Vitalis asked. "I'm here because of what happened to my daughter two days ago." Jesse replied. "I assume that you were informed of the situation right?". "Yes. I'm really very sorry Mr Billion. Is Guinevere alright?". Vitalis inquired. "Yes but she won't be coming back to school." Jesse informed him. "Oh Mr Billion, don't tell me it's because of what happened that you want to withdraw your daughter. I had a word with Miss Frances. She's the teacher who gave Gwen's mother permission to see her. I warned her never to try that again." Vitalis told him. "She's also very sorry about what happened." "Well, what happened caused her to go into shock." Jesse said. "I almost hit my daughter with my car and that is something I'm yet to forgive myself for." V
Bella opened her eyes, looked at his face then at the ring on her finger and gasped."You like it?". He sounded nervous."Is this... my mom's ring?". Bella asked. "It's exactly like my mom's.""Really?". He looked surprised. "I picked it out of a sea of rings.""It's beautiful." She cooed. It was a white gold heart shaped ring that had very tiny hearts surrounding it and it shone bright under the light. "It's gorgeous.""There's something on the inside." He informed her.Bella removed the ring to see what was on the inside shank of the ring and gasped again when she read the inscription. "Always and Always." She breathed then looked up at Jesse. "You mean it?"."Yes." He replied. "With all of my heart.""I love it." She smiled big at him and put on the ring. "I love it very much." She hugged him. "Thank you.""No, thank you." He whispered in her ear. "So how did it go?". She pulled back to look at him. "Gwen's withdrawal from school.""Okay. I got her transcripts and her name is offi
Alexandra Benson had only ever loved one man and his name was Jesse Billion. They had attended the same high school and had been classmates but Jesse never noticed her. Heck, nobody did until a geek who went by the name Albert asked her out in front of the whole class a week before valentine's day. She didn't have a date to the party Jesse was throwing at his house and she really wanted to know where he lived so she said yes.Albert Benedict was the first and last boyfriend she ever had and that was because she held onto the hope that maybe one day... Jesse Billion would notice her and like her, then date her and they'd live happily ever after. He never did. It was her dream thirteen years ago and until recently, still was but now - fate decided to play another joke on her by bringing the gorgeous Mexican billionaire into his life as if his first wife wasn't enough.Alexa plastered a smile on her face as the door opened and Bella Arroyo walked in dressed in a short green sundress pair
The next day"Mom, will it be possible for Alexa to stay with us?". Jesse asked Aviva. "Why?".Jesse shrugged. "She said something about moving out of her sister's house since she just relocated here from the south so I thought it'd be better for her to stay here instead of living somewhere far away but I told her I'll speak to you about it first." Jesse replied."She seems like a nice lady." Aviva said. "She can have the guest room in the staff quarters.""Thank you Mom.""You're welcome honey." She smiled.Jesse hoped that the feeling he had about Alexa making him uncomfortable in her presence was wrong. He didn't want to have to explain to Gwen or even Bella why Alexa couldn't stay. She was the perfect tutor for Gwen."I want you to suit up come Monday morning Jesse." Aviva told him. "Uh... Okay." He looked confused. "Are we going somewhere?"."Yes." She grinned broadly at him. "Vincenzo has a surprise for you."Jesse frowned. "Bella's dad is in Nigeria?"."No silly!". She laughe
Jesse opened the door to Bella's hospital room and poked his head in to see if she was awake and found her sleeping so he walked in and closed the door. He walked up to her bed and took a seat on the chair in front of her bed and just watched her sleep with a smile on his face. She looked even more beautiful than she was yesterday and he guessed it probably was because she was a new mom and… "You're staring." Bella said. Jesse blinked. "You're awake?". She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him and frowned when she saw his red eyes. "Have you been crying?". She asked. "Uh... Well, not really." He shook his head. "I got to see the babies and uh... I couldn't help myself." "They're okay?". She asked. "Very okay." He replied. "We have three boys and a girl." "Three boys? Oh well." She smiled. "This means that I won't have to get pregnant again just to get a boy. I have three girls and three boys now." "Um..." He cleared his throat. "Do you know you just totally agreed
Months laterA phone ringing woke Jesse from his sleep and he reached out to pick it up from the bedside table, swiped the screen to answer the call and put the phone to his ear."Hello." He said groggily."Jesse! It's time!". Aviva exclaimed.Jesse's eyes flew open and he sat up in bed. "What's time?". He asked."Bella! The babies!". She said. "We're on our way to the hospital so meet us there.""Um... Okay. I'm on my way." He hung up, jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to take a quick shower then came out and hurried to his closet to dress up.He was in the process of putting on his wristwatch when his bedroom door opened causing him to look up and saw Jessica standing there with an ashen look on her face."What's wrong?". He stood up.Jessica pointed towards Gwen's room but couldn't say anything."Jess? What's wrong?". He walked up to her."Gwen... Gwen..." She gasped leaning against the door frame as tears poured down her face. "She's... She's not waking up.""What?". He
"Jesse." Bella called. Jesse looked up at Bella in surprise. He'd not told anyone else except his mother and sister about Maitta's accident so he guessed that his mother must have called Aviva. "How's she?." Bella asked joining him on the sofa. "I don't know yet." He replied. "Gwen told me what happened." Bella said. "She didn't mean to do it." Jesse scoffed and said nothing. "She's not someone like that. You raised her." Bella reminded him. "Yes." He agreed. "But I didn't expect her to be so heartless that she'd hurt her own sister. I saw her smiling Bella." "Jesse... She's just a little girl." "Which is why I'm not raving mad right now." He said. "Everything will be fine." Bella told him. "You shouldn't have come. You need to be resting." He chided. "I'm pregnant, not an invalid." She said. Jesse chuckled and took her hand in his. "I'm glad you're here." He told her. "Family of Maitta Deacon?". The doctor approached them. "Yes. We're her parents." Jesse stood up. "
Maitta's sleep was disturbed as she kept inhaling smoke wondering sleepily where it was coming from until she opened her eyes and let out a scream when she saw the fire licking at her door. Her room was already so filled with smoke that she could hardly breathe so she took her robe and covered her nose with it and called out to Trisha tearfully. "Mommy!". She didn't want to get up from her bed. "Mommy!". She screamed. It was like a very horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. She got out of bed when she saw that Trisha wasn't answering or banging on her door and ran to her window. She drew back the curtains and opened the shutters and was grateful for the breeze that was blowing in until she heard her bedroom door give way to the intense heat of the fire and fall to the carpeted floor then she really got to see how unsafe she was in the house from the fire raging in the hallway. "Daddy." She sobbed. "Daddy please save me." She couldn't climb out of her window because it
A week later "Can we talk Bella?". Jesse asked. Bella looked up from her laptop to him, surprised to see him but she only nodded and continued with her work. Jesse pulled back a chair and took a seat. He didn't say anything for a long while and just stared at her causing her to look up and raise a questioning brow. "Well? Are you going to say something or you are just going to watch me all day?". She inquired. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "For what?". She looked irritated. "For everything." "Okay?". She sounded bored. "I'm also sorry that I lied to you last week." He said. "You lied about so many things. What exactly are you sorry for?". Jesse took a deep breath. "I told you three weeks ago that I couldn't love you... well that was a big fat lie." He looked contrite. "I realized how much of a loser I was when I heard the news about your supposed death and all I could think of... was that I'd take everything back if I could get another chance with you." "Oh." Bella said. "So
Two weeks later "Daddy!". Gwen shook Jesse awake. "Wake up!". Jesse stirred and forced one eye open to stare at Gwen. He was hung over and felt like his head would come off if he attempted to lift it. He'd drank himself to stupor the night before after he and Aviva dropped Bella off at the airport. She'd insisted on taking a commercial flight back to Mexico and there was no talking her out of it so they'd let her and Aviva had cried on his shoulder making him feel like a horrible human being. He'd gone to the bar from the airport without inviting his friends but when he realized he'd drank too much, he called Olly who came to meet him and brought him home. "Daddy! Mommy is dead!". Gwen shook him. "Mommy is dead!". "Yes I know." He muttered. "Helena died months ago." "No! Aunt Bella!". Gwen exclaimed tearfully. Jesse's eyes flew open and he propped himself up on his elbow. "What?". "It's on the news." Gwen pointed to his TV. She grabbed the remote and turned it on, waited a fe
A few days laterBella sat in the gazebo working on her laptop when she heard the horn of a car that sounded very much like Jesse's and she suddenly lost interest in what she was doing and set her laptop aside.Jesse drove into the compound and pulled up in front of the house, alighted from the car and shut the door. He rounded the hood to open the door for someone and Bella saw a little girl get out of the car and her breath hitched in her throat when she locked gazes with Jesse and she wondered if he was going to come over but he steered the girl towards the house and they went inside.By the time Bella got inside the house and walked into the sitting room, she met her mother having an animated conversation with Jesse's daughter while he just watched them with an amused smile on his face.Jesse turned his head to look at Bella and his smile faded. He wondered why she was still around when she'd told him just two days ago that she was leaving and he'd told her goodbye but he really d
Gwen opened the door to Jesse's bedroom and slammed it shut when she saw Maitta sitting on his bed watching something on his laptop and laughing out loud but the door slam caused Maitta to look up at her in surprise."Oh, hi." Maitta said. "Want to watch Merlin with me?"."I don't like the movie." Gwen said. "What are you doing in my father's room?"."He told me I could stay. We were watching it together but he left to take a call." Maitta replied."I see." Gwen muttered."What do you like to watch then?". Maitta inquired."I watch movies like high school musical, Hannah Montana, Frozen and others." Gwen answered. "Merlin is an adult movie.""Daddy likes it." Maitta said.Gwen walked over to the bed and stopped in front of her. "Listen to me, I don't like you at all." Gwen informed her. "And just because you're his real daughter doesn't mean you'll take my father away from me with your miss perfect attitude."Maitta looked stunned. "But... I'm not trying to take daddy away from you."
"Maitta, this is the moment you've been waiting for." Trisha spoke up. "You've always wanted to meet your father and here he is. Say hello.""Hello." She waved shyly."Hi." Jesse said. He looked at the bear. "This is for you." He set the bear on the sofa.Maitta's eyes widened. "Really? It's huge!". She rushed to hug the bear."What do you say when someone gives you a gift?". Trisha asked her, frowning at her."Thank you." She said and blushed looking embarrassed."It's fine." Jesse said. "Can I take her now?"."Um... Sure." Trisha nodded. "She's eaten so she's good to go."Jesse smiled at Maitta and held out his hand. "Let's go?"."Okay." She shyly placed her hand in his and butterflies erupted in her stomach when Jesse's hand tightened around hers. "Bye mommy.""Have fun darling." Trisha bent and kissed her forehead. "Don't miss me too much okay.""Okay." Maitta nodded and left with Jesse.Trisha blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as she walked back to the kitchen to cle