The next morning Bella got out of bed, walked to the bathroom to do her morning routine then came out and quickly changed into her workout clothes, slipped her feet into her shoes and left her room.She carefully went downstairs so as not to wake anyone and straight to the kitchen to get a bottle of water. She shrieked when she turned on the lights and saw Jesse bare chested standing by the refrigerator guzzling down water."I'm sorry, did I scare you?". Jesse fought a smile when he noticed her averting her eyes. "It's... I didn't expect anyone else to be awake that's all." She walked to the fridge. She could see the sweat dripping down his neck and all the way down to the waistband of his sweatpants which made her mouth dry up."I've been awake since five." He told her. "heading to the gym?"."Yeah. And you?"."I'm just coming from there. That room is a dream." He sighed. "I can live there all my life and never get tired."Bella chuckled. "You're funny." She shook her head, opened t
"Going somewhere Mr Billion?". Godwin asked from behind Jesse. Jesse turned to look at the landlord with a smile. He'd asked his wife where her husband was but the woman had not known her husband's whereabouts. "I was going to see you Mr Godwin." Jesse said. "Can we go somewhere to talk?". "If it's money talk then sure." Godwin shrugged. "How's Guwen?". "She's fine now." Jesse said. They went to the man's shop and Godwin offered him a drink but Jesse declined it and sat on the bench instead. "So... what do you have to tell me?". Godwin inquired. "I'm staying at my godmother's house for a few days so we won't be here at all." Jesse informed him. "Oh? You have a godmother?". Godwin looked very interested. "Who is she?". "Mrs Arroyo." "Really?!." Godwin's eyes widened. "That woman is very rich o." "I have brought the money I'm owing you." Jesse took out a brown envelope from his suit jacket and passed it to Godwin. Godwin took out the money from the envelope, counted it an
Jesse stared at Aviva in surprise. "Hire me?". "Yes and in turn, everything I own will belong to you. I have shares in different companies in this country and abroad. One company especially that I'm sure you'd like to go back to as the CEO this time." Aviva grinned. "Standard Flour Mills Limited?". Jesse raised a brow. "It's owned by Harrison Allen." "Was owned by Harrison Allen." Aviva corrected. "Last year, Harrison's company suffered a huge loss that cost him billions so he came to me for help. I offered to help him with his company in exchange for being a major shareholder there and he agreed. So now I own at least more than sixty percent of the shares in the company which makes me the boss." "Wow. And no one knew about this?". He asked. "He didn't want his board members to know." Aviva shrugged. Jesse leaned forward in his chair, rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together under his chin in thought. It was a huge tempting proposal and he'd be stupid not to
"Bella dear, are you busy?". Aviva asked joining her in her temporary home office."No Mom. What do you need?"."I want to talk to you... about what we discussed the other day." Aviva said. "About your refusal to get married."Bella threw her head back. "Mom! I told you to leave it alone." She complained. "Who did you talk to now? Abuela?"."I might but no." She shook her head. "I talked to Jesse last night.""What?". She couldn't believe her ears. "You talked to him about me?"."He was horrified that you've refused to get married. He said and I quote; The world won't be able to survive without mini Isabellas running around."Bella arched a brow in surprise. "He really said that?". She sounded skeptical."Yes."Bella smiled. "So what did you tell him?"."He's agreed to marry you but only if you say yes." Aviva shrugged."Mother!". Bella shrieked in horror."Look mi bebé, I've seen you look at him with longing in your eyes. I know you want to be with him and be a mother to his daughter
"This is wonderful news!". Aviva walked over to hug them both. "I'm officially the happiest woman in the world right now." "I'm glad you've finally gotten your wish Mom." Bella said. "Jesse isn't so bad." "So are you." He quipped. "I can't wait to tell Vincenzo about this." Aviva rubbed her hands together. "Your Abuela will be so happy mi bebé." "So this means... I'm meeting the whole family?". Jesse made a face. "Yes." Aviva nodded. "But don't worry, you'll be fine. I'd like to meet your parents as well. I'm sure Martina..." "I don't want them to come." Jesse cut her off. "Why?". Aviva looked surprised. "They're dead to me. I don't want to be related to monsters like them." His face hardened. "Please don't invite them Mom." "Okay. If that's what you want darling." She said. "Thank you." He said. "We'll set the date for the wedding. It should be two months from now." Aviva told them. "Isn't that too fast? We'd like to go on dates and get to know each other better. Right
Jesse slowly turned in his seat to smile thinly at her. She was dressed in a red dress that left little to the imagination paired with black stilettos and her lips were painted blood red. To other men, she was a sight for sore eyes but to Jesse - well he had to hold himself back to avoid puking all over her shoes."Hello Helena." He said. "Fancy meeting you here. I don't see your oldie anywhere.""Harry is too old to be hopping from one bar to another..." Her voice trailed off as she finally noticed Bella. "Wow! Isabella Arroyo!"."Ah. Let me introduce you to my fiancee Bella, babe meet Helena Johnson... Gwen's surrogate mother." Jesse said."Nice to meet you." Bella said. "Jesse's never mentioned you though.""I was his wife and the mother of his daughter." Helena spat."I meant to say, Both of them never mentioned you." Bella sent her a saccharine smile. "I think Gwen calls you... Helena.""I'm going to respect you and not say anything because of who you are but I won't let you insu
Jesse groaned as the sunlight streamed into his bedroom through the open curtains and he slowly sat up in bed. He winced as a sharp pain sliced through his head and he groaned again. This head splitting hangover was always part of the reason why he never drank too much alcohol. He turned his head to look at who was in bed with him and frowned when he realized it was Bella and she was naked with the duvet covering her from waist down then he looked down at himself and he paled."Oh God, no." He muttered. "What have I... Did it really happen?".Bella stirred and turned to face him and she had a smile on her face. She threw her arm around him and tugged thinking he was the pillow but frowned when she realized how hard the pillow was then her eyes flew open."Jesse?". She croaked out squinting at him."Morning." He averted his eyes away from her chest.Bella sat up and pulled up the duvet to cover herself. "What are you doing in my room and why are you...", Her voice trailed off as her e
Jesse frowned. "How did you know that?"."So it's true?". She beamed."How mother?". He demanded."It's all over the internet. A photo of the two of you kissing indecently in front of a club." She huffed. "You know reporters will soon be all over both of you like rashes right?"."The security in this estate is tight so they can't come in." Jesse informed her. "And yes... Bella and I are dating.""Since when? I'm your mother Jesse and you didn't even think to tell me?". Martina looked hurt. "We used to be more than a mother and her son Jesse, we were also friends.""The boat sailed a long time ago." Jesse told her. "You watched your husband condemn my daughter to death and now you want me to remember the time we were supposedly friends?". He air quoted the word 'friends'. "We've been talking for almost twenty minutes now and you have not asked about Gwen once.""I'm sorry. Where's she?". She asked.Jesse leveled his mother with a glare and stood up. "I was just about to leave before yo
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