Zoe closed the door and leaned on it once she was back in her apartment. She panted lightly and spaced out for a moment.After a long time, she reached out and touched her lips gently as tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t forgive Mason as well as herself. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t turned on by what happened in the car. She kept suppressing her desires, but she couldn’t ignore how her body reacted. He did manage to rouse her when he touched her and pleasured her. A deep sense of shame rose in her chest. It was quiet in her apartment. Mia was long asleep, but she saved supper for Zoe. It’s a shame that she didn’t have any appetite for it. Strolling into her bedroom, she switched on the night light, sat by the bed, and watched Yanni as she slept. Her little girl was doing much better. Now that she had taken the pills Dr. Zara prescribed, she no longer had any nosebleeds.However, not a day went by without her worrying about Yanni’s condition.That was why she went against her
Never had it occurred to him that Ella was actually the one who was dating Farley. The joy he saw on her face was all the answer he needed.Putting the jewelry box on the table, Leslie lowered his head and glanced at her. He wasn’t thrilled or moved about seeing her after such a long time. Instead, there was nothing but despair in his eyes. Needless to say, he thought about the possibility of Ella marrying another man, but he hadn’t expected it to be Farley, whom he might have to meet time and again for business purposes. He cut to the chase and asked, “Are you guys a couple?”Ella was a forthright lady, but even she couldn’t help but respond with a shaky voice, “That’s right! He loves me very much!”He blinked slowly in response. His brows were actually exceptionally delicate, but his sharp features often overshadowed it. He stared at her for a long time before asking her gently, “Have you guys slept together?”The question brought tears to her eyes. She felt miserable seein
It was close to nine o’clock when Zoe managed to put Yanni to sleep. She was about to hop into the shower when Ella came. She looked like a lost soul in the dark of night. Zoe got worried and immediately led her inside. “What brought you here in the middle of the night?”Ella felt a lump in her throat and gave herself a moment. Her eyes turned red and she murmured, “I saw Leslie earlier tonight!”Zoe was stunned by the news. Gripping her sleeves tightly, Ella continued, “I’m scared that Farley might leave me when he finds out about my ugly past. I did tell him about some of it. As far as he was concerned, I was in a relationship and had a miscarriage, but he didn’t know that it was with Leslie.”The tone in her voice was enough to tell Zoe that her friend cared a lot about what Farley thought of her and her history.Lowering her head, she wiped the tears off of Ella’s face and tried to comfort her, “Farley thought long and hard before he started pursuing you, Ella. In fact, he
What he said pulled them closer ever so slightly. Despite the resentment they had for each other, they shared a daughter. On top of it, they had to make another baby for Yanni’s sake.…Half an hour later, his Rolls-Royce pulled into Kirk Manor. There were tears in Zoe’s eyes when she stepped out of the car. The manor still stood proudly in the night, untouched by time, but the people who lived in it were completely different now. Leaning on her father’s chest, she said softly, “Why’s Mommy crying, Daddy?”Yanni couldn’t have understood the harsh reality adults faced in their daily lives. So, she gawked at her mother as Zoe shed sorrowful tears. Not long after, Zoe composed herself and went into the manor. Mason brought all of the servants over from his previous manor. They were informed that Zoe and Yanni were coming today. All of them looked sharp and greeted her as soon as they saw her, as welcoming and respectful as ever.Smiling faintly, Zoe said, “There’s no need to b
Mason looked exceptionally stunning in the rain.Lisa went over to him immediately and said, “Let me see Yanni, Mason. I’m her grandmother, for Heaven’s sake! It’s summer solstice and I made her some snacks.” Then, she asked the servant to get it from her car.However, he asked the servant to ignore her. “Stop wasting your breath! I’ll never let you see her! Also, let me make something clear. Zoe and Yanni are my family, not yours!”Lisa was rooted to the spot.“Ms. Lisa!” The servant who was holding the umbrella for her couldn’t stop herself from calling out to her as she shoved her aside and charged at him. She ignored the raindrops falling on her face, which had effectively obscured her vision, gripped his collar, and cried out in a gut-wrenching voice, “What did you say, Mason? Will you listen to yourself? How am I not family to Yanni? Don’t you know that I love her from the bottom of my heart?”He merely stood there, letting her shake him repeatedly. The rain continued to
Zoe gave herself a moment before responding, “I’m on my period!”“I’m aware of that,” he said, watching her closely. “Is this all there is for us? Sex? Are we doing it just so you can get pregnant again?”He decided he’d just put everything on the table, so they could have an honest conversation.Whipping her head up, she stared at him. The tears in her eyes told him just how much she was forcing herself to do it with him, but she had to. Her lips were trembling when she tugged at his sleeves with her lean fingers. At the next moment, he said in a husky voice, “It's been years since we saw each other. Has it ever occurred to you that we should get to know each other all over again? At least, I feel the need to take it slow before we do it.”He had never been like this in the past. He might’ve made a big deal about it, but she knew he was just making up excuses for them to be spending some alone time. After all, a servant could pop into the kitchen anytime in this hour.So, she
What did he thank her for?It took her a while to understand that he thanked her because she didn’t teach Yanni to hate him. Instead, she allowed their little girl to get close to him. All of a sudden, she felt a lump in her throat.Her voice was soft when she said, “I told you when I left. I wanted to teach her how to love people and live a happy life.” She added, “Yanni’s my daughter. She’s not a tool I use for my own interests.”Mason remained quiet after that. He merely sat in the car with a stern expression on his face. Yanni saw it, cupped his face, and said adorably, “Give me a smile, Dad!”He responded by flashing her a gentle smile, which brought a grin to her face too. He saw her teeth and thought that they looked exactly like Zoe when she was a little girl.Then, he felt a lump in his throat too. If only he had stayed loyal to Zoe in the past, then he would’ve had a happy life with his family. He wouldn’t have to ‘share’ her with another man.He broke the silence and
Mason bore a grudge towards Zoe. So, he wasn’t exactly eager to spend time with Zoe after he came back from Hucksburgh. On the other hand, she stayed out of his way whenever he came over to hang out with Yanni. At first, he found it distasteful. However, he paused and thought that she loved Farley now. Any and all sexual relationship she had with him was just so she could get pregnant with his baby.It had nothing to do with love. The more he thought about it, the more he kept a distance from her. Aside from their mutual love for their little girl, there was virtually nothing left between them now.Soon, the weekend arrived.Mason stood by the window and looked downward from his office on the top floor of Lockwood Corporation. The building looked like it caught fire by the orange glow from the evening light in the middle of autumn.He was spacing out when he received a call from Zoe. She said briefly, “Do you have the time to do it?”Instead of responding to her immediately, h