CHAPTER 45 Fareeda fizzled around with the key in her pockets while turning her head around to check if anyone was coming. For now, she wasn't interested in any small talk or long talk, she just wanted to take a hot bath, eat strawberry oatmeal, drink cranberry juice, throw the bloody clothes she was wearing away, watch the last episode of Love Island, and then sleep. Any other plans she had would have to wait till tomorrow.She opened the door, and the familiar scent of raspberries filled her nose as she shut the door. Lord, she missed her bed. "Hopefully, I don't have any more far away jobs I need to handle," she muttered to herself and started stripping herself off her clothes before entering the bathroom and washing up.After she had her bath, she moved to where the light switches were and turned them on, illuminating the room and causing her to kick those bloody clothes under her drawer. She turned back and the look on her face spelled horror as she saw Alex on her swivel c
CHAPTER 46Days later, in the quiet solitude of her room, Valerie traced her delicate fingers over her flat and warm belly as she rocked herself forward and backward on the rocking chair that she got from Shein last week. She was a hundred and one percent sure that she had taken dozens of birth control pills after having sex with Alan. What was she going to do now? What are people going to say? What are his parents going to say?She imagined a scenario of her and Alan informing his parents together about her pregnancy… except, it wasn't for the man she married. She could picture the shock on their frail faces when those words comes out of their mouths, "Mom, Dad. We are pregnant," The only positive thing that could come out of this interesting piece of information is that she was pregnant with their grandchild immediately after their first grandbaby passed. The blogs were going to eat this up if they ever found out, but it was hard to keep a secret when you live a life as an unpre
CHAPTER 47 The soft glow of the computer screen cast a pale light in Fareeda's dimly lit office as she sat hunched over her desk, her fingers danced across the keyboard with ease, and her tongue constantly moved to lick her lips and twist them out of impulse. Alex thought that his little confrontation days ago would have done something to change her mind about ruining him and his self-entitled family, but he didn't know that he was in for the surprise of his life. Even if she knew Alex was a dimwit, she wished she knew what was going on inside his big, empty head. He was definitely planning something but she was ready for him.A smirk appeared on her lips as she began to form a composed and carefully worded email, her words laced with veiled threats and calculated manipulation. When she finished, her fingers hovered over the "Send" button and her heart raced with anticipation as a tight-lipped smile appeared on her lips. She felt a surge of grim satisfaction fill her and then
CHAPTER 48Valerie wrapped her coat around her shoulder tightly as she sighted the black limousine just a few meters away from the estate's gate. A small sigh left her lips as she began to walk briskly toward it, constantly whipping her head around the area to check whether anyone was following or watching her.She noticed the tinted glass as she drew closer. The glass slowly winds down to reveal a brunette woman in a pair of big black shades that cover half her face.She tried to remember if she had seen or come across the woman but she couldn't recall, or maybe they hadn't met before, but why was she here?"Please get in," Irene Colette said in a soft voice.Valerie quirked an eyebrow and raised her hand to protest, "Who are you? And why on earth would I want to get into a car with a total stranger?" Irene Colette smiled and answered, "Think of this meeting as your redemption or your road to freedom," Valerie pressed her lips together to form a thin line, contemplating whether or
CHAPTER 49Irene sat on the couch in her office and took a sip of her black coffee while cross checking the story that her team had written and was waiting to publish at 9 pm sharp. A video recording of Valerie's testament and the files that Fareeda sent her were already in the story. The only thing that was left was for Irene to tell her team to press the release button.Her publicity team had been working all day to tell the public to tune into their pages on all social media platforms for a mid-week scandal.Overall, everyone anticipated the scandal, they knew that it was a big deal if Hush Havens couldn't wait until the weekend to release the story. Her team even went as far as to tease the contents of the scandal with the headline being, "BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS THAT CONCEALED THE UGLY FACES OF BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE," Irene was thrilled to release this story not because she was already loving the engagement that the teaser was getting, but because she knew what Alex was like.Alex
CHAPTER 50 "She was brought here just in time thanks to you. Any further delay would have brought even more complications to her and the baby," Valerie heard the doctor say from where she was pretending to be asleep.She had woken up some time ago but she couldn't open her eyes because she heard voices in the room. Besides the voices in the room, she'd hear the door open and close at intervals, and at night she'd feel as though someone were watching her. Not Fareeda, but the woman who shot her.She remembered the harsh dark lines that ran across her forehead down to her lips. Those lines drew her back to the memory she thought she had kept hidden away. Now, everything was coming back to haunt her."The baby?" She heard Fareeda ask quizzically."Yes, the baby. Valerie is pregnant and I'm happy to confirm that the baby is still alive," Valerie impulsively ran her free hand that was not held by a large needle and was connected to a drip over her stomach. "Is she awake? She just ran h
CHAPTER 51Valerie was discharged from the hospital the day before Alan's wedding at the estate. As her driver pulled over at the estate parking lot, she was too consumed with her thoughts to even notice the changes that were going on in the compound.The trees were shaped evenly to form Scarlett and Alan's ship names. There were gold chairs lined in tow at the far end of the estate greens, and an unusual amount of people walked up and down around the place. A low grunt left her lips as Fareeda helped her out of the car and her face contorted into one of distaste as she took in the new changes. Fareeda shifted close to her and whispered in her ear, "Do you want to see him?" Him.Valerie should have known that Alan's good guy facade was too good to be true. But, what hurt her the most was the fact that she allowed herself to be loved by him and she was sure that she put in her all to make the relationship work.And this was what she gets for falling in love? Valerie gulped and fak
CHAPTER 52 'This is so wrong Valerie,' a voice in her head told her several times before she actually broke the kiss.She placed her hand on her head and paced around the room, still breathing heavily from the kiss they had just shared."This is so wrong," she said and sat on the foot of the bed, taking a moment to swallow thickly and catch her breath. "What was I thinking?" she whispered under her breath and sprang up from the bed. Alan rushed toward where she stood and cupped her face to meet his eyes, "I know that I'm supposed to be married tomorrow but we will figure it out, right? We will," Valerie pushed his hands off her face, her lips quivered as she tried to hold her tears in. "What baffles me the most about this whole thing is that you thought I was going to forgive you so easily! And like a fool I opened my arms to welcome you back, forgetting all I went through in these past few weeks. Harsh realizations hitting me from all corners and now you want to take advantage