Lowering his head, he looked at Gabriela. He held her waist and carried her up. He brushed past Zoe and said in a cold tone, “See to our guests, Zoe!”It was an afternoon in spring. The sun was shining bright, but Zoe didn’t feel a shred of warmth. Her husband had humiliated her and made her look bad in front of their guests. It was a good thing she didn’t invite Ella to this party. Otherwise, she just might pick a fight with him here and now.The party guests started murmuring among themselves.Everyone was wondering if Zoe could hold on to her status as Mason’s wife. His choice was obvious from his earlier reaction.That was when Rosemary raced over and said in a fit of rage, “Gabriela has stepped over the line! She disgraced herself, trying to hold onto a married man!”Smiling bitterly, Zoe said, “It takes two to tango! She isn’t the only one at fault here! If Mason hadn’t given her the chance, she wouldn't be able to get close to him.”Rosemary’s heart broke for her. Then,
Evening rolled on and Zoe was instructing the servants to clean up the manor after the party. Her waist was sore from all that work.Taking a half-hour bath didn’t seem to help with it either. Then, she went downstairs to have dinner. Layla asked her sheepishly, “Should we wait until Mr. Mason comes back?”Then, the clock struck seven times. Apparently, it was seven o’clock now. She responded lightly, “Serve dinner. We’re not waiting for him!”Layla knew her mistress was in a foul mood. So, she tried to make her feel better when she was serving dinner. “This is your favorite dish, Ms. Zoe. It’s grilled salmon! They say that the fish tastes the sweetest in this season. Try it.”Zoe nodded and took a bite. She had just chewed the salmon once, but she already felt nauseous. Covering her mouth, she rushed to the restroom and started dry-heaving. Nothing came out.Layla grew worried. She went outside the restroom and knocked on the door, “Is everything okay, Ms. Zoe?”“I’m fine!” Zo
Half an hour later, he took off his coat and walked into the pitch dark bedroom.Lying down behind her, Mason embraced her wordlessly. Pressing his face to her neck, he couldn’t help but gulp!After a long time, he pulled her out of the blanket and into his arms.He was burning to the touch!Zoe remained quiet and she didn’t push him away. Then, she heard his husky voice, “I don’t love her! The only thing I liked about her was the way she looked at me. It reminded me of you when you used to love me. You’d do anything for me back then!“No one has ever broken my heart and disarmed my pride the way you did, but I still can’t let go of you! In fact, I’ve thought about giving up on you. I tried to convince myself that you’re just another lady. There was no need for me to be that obsessed with you!”Holding her tighter, he rubbed her back tenderly. Then, their foreheads pressed against each other. With his eyes closed, he murmured, “I’m miserable, Zoe! I love and hate you at the same
Zoe checked her notifications. It was Liam. He sent over a document and asked her to print it. Putting her phone aside, she raised her eyes and wanted to continue her conversation with Mason.However, he was already on his way upstairs. He said nonchalantly, “We’ll continue this after I come back.”It was warm in spring, but she felt cold all over.He was her husband and yet he was acting so aloof towards her. She said softly, “You kept saying that I don’t treat you the way a husband deserves, Mason. Well. Have you been treating me with the respect a wife deserves?“You can say that you’re getting together with Gabriela and the other ladies because you wanted to rile me up. However, I think you know very well what Lilith’s role is in our marriage. Now, you’re going to take a flight to be with her and I can’t even have a minute to say something to you.”He stopped in his tracks. After a brief moment, he leaned over and looked at her quietly, “What did you want to tell me?”She was
Mason stayed in the study for a long time.Picking up the split vinyl, he looked at it for a while before tossing it into the trash can. Then, he slumped onto the couch listlessly and raised his head. Feeling that the light was blinding, he shielded his eyes.His hands still hurt from the earlier slap. It was proof of how hard he hit her.He couldn’t believe that he actually did it. Closing his eyes, all he could see was her faint smile from earlier. There were tears in her eyes. She was a lady who was raised in a wealthy family, surrounded by people who loved her. No one had ever slapped her.It was outrageous that he slapped her while claiming that he loved her!Then, his phone rang. It was Ava. “We’re here, Mr. Mason. Are you coming down now?”He responded nonchalantly, “Push everything back by a day!”Ava said without thinking, “The medical professionals are already waiting for you, Mr. Mason!”His voice was cold and unfeeling when he responded, “I said, push it back by a
Mason was sitting in the car when he raised his eyes and looked at the second floor. He asked softly, “Is Zoe home?”Layla paused for a moment before answering, “Ms. Barbara hadn’t been feeling well. Ms. Zoe was taking care of her at her place. She's been there for a few days now.”He visibly relaxed and asked the servant to take his suitcases upstairs. Then, he drove toward Lockwood Manor.Half an hour later, he had arrived and parked at Lockwood Manor. He didn’t ask the servants to announce his arrival to them. Instead, he walked straight into his grandma’s bedroom. It was quiet in there. Barbara was leaning on a pillow, resting her eyes while Zoe leaned on the side of the bed. It looked like she was asleep.Instead of waking Barbara up, he sat next to Zoe and touched her cheeks lightly. She had gotten slimmer. Her face, which was already small to begin with, looked smaller than his palms now.Then, she jolted awake. She remained quiet, even though she saw the weariness on his
It was dark in the car and both of them were panting.Zoe was still sitting on his lap. Her fair skin looked more perky and graceful against his deep grey long pants. Her stockings, which he had pulled down, were hanging on her tender ankles, adding a trace of erotic air about her.Mason didn’t come to his senses until after a brief moment.He was going to be a dad!It was something he looked forward to for a long time. It might even been a little girl, just like he wanted. However, he found that he lacked the courage to embrace Zoe. A month ago, she told him she needed to have a word with him, but he pushed her away by telling her that he needed to go overseas. Then, they got into a fight over Lilith and he even slapped her at the end of it.She was pregnant and he slapped her!Gulping, he touched her cheeks with his lean fingers. There was no sign of the slap at all, but he couldn’t help and asked her again in his husky voice, “Does it still hurt?”Instead of answering him,
After a brief pause, Layla continued, “Ms. Lisa and Barbara aren’t aware that Ms. Zoe is pregnant! I think it’s better if you tell Ms. Lisa about it. Otherwise, she’ll keep trying to set you up with Ms. Gabriela! She had all but forgotten that you’re a married man. On top of that, you’re about to be a father soon!”Mason felt better at what she said, and responded lightly, “Alright.”Snuffing out the cigarette, he was about to climb the stairs when he saw a ball of white fur scampered down. It was Sherry. It had been a long time since the little puppy saw him and it missed him dearly, as was evidenced when it yapped at him repeatedly. Bending down, he picked it up and carried it upstairs. Then, he bathed and dried it before letting run around in the bedroom.Zoe, on the other hand, had taken a bath. Dressed in a silk sleeping gown, she was reading ‘What to Expect When You're Expecting.’ In fact, she was so engrossed in it that she didn’t even notice him walking in.He started to