Chapter 56: A Night of Freedom
Claire’s POV
The club was located in the heart of the city, an imposing structure with a sleek, modern facade with bright lights at the front. As we approached, the exterior shimmered under the city lights, hinting at the luxury and indulgence within. A red velvet rope cordoned off the entrance, guarded by two striking bouncers dressed in tailored black suits. The line of people waiting to get in was proof of the club's exclusivity that only caters to expensive guests. We should not have had a business here and could have gone to a cheaper club but Tanya insisted for my safety. Cheaper clubs are more accessible to different kinds of people including paparazzi and reporters, in here, it is more subtle since the club protects the privacy of their clients, which also explains the expensive price to be paid.
Once inside, the a
Chapter 57: The One I WantClaire’s POVTanya was worried, I could see it on her face even though she did not speak.“Why? What’s wrong?” the man asked when we became silent.“I’m fine,” I assured Tanya and she nodded in understanding. She knew I did not want to talk about it, and I did not want to spoil the mood. We are here to have fun.I pointed at the bar to inform her that I would be there, leaving them for their alone time. And once I had reached the bar, I requested a frozen strawberry with vodka for a drink. I do not know anymore about the multiple liquors I downed this night. They all mixed in my stomach and so far, I have not thrown up yet. I watched the bartender make the drink but my mind was spinning somewher
Chapter 58: DesireClaire’s POVHis hands traveled all over my body, from my waist, down to my exposed thigh, and his forefinger was getting under the hem of the dress. The dance floor was dimmed and packed, and no one minded us kissing each other. They were too drunk to care and to mind other people’s businesses. I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as if the proximity was not enough. He groaned when I kissed him harder, the alcohol taking control of my system. I may be blaming the alcohol for my actions or perhaps I also wanted to, that in truth, I have also wanted him, craved for him. And tonight, again, I would ask the gods for one more. To be with him once again.How unfortunate that we could only have each other when the alcohol was in my system, or when he was drunk. And once we were both sober,
Chapter 59: Her Newfound Toy - ShaftClaire’s POVThe car could not accommodate us properly so he made me sit up and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the leather seat and patted his lap, gesturing me to ride him. I swallowed as my eyes caught the evident bulge in his pants.When I did not move, he took me by the waist and plopped me on his lap, my legs going on his sides, and my naked flesh resting on his covered member. I felt conscious to be in this position— no, not riding him, it was the fact that was fully naked and he was still clothed, my juices streaming down to his black trousers.“Not fair,” I muttered as I ran my hands on his chest, feeling the clothed muscles of his chest before I began to unbutton his shirt, each of them felt like a burning charcoal, and I
Chapter 60: PretenseClaire’s POVI refused to leave my room the next day, fearing that Alex might still be in the unit. But no matter how much I prayed for him to have left for work already when I stepped out past afternoon since my stomach was already rumbling in hunger, I was surprised to see him in his home office upstairs.“You finally decided to come out,” his voice surprised me and I looked up to him, trying to find words.“I… I overslept.” I lied. I woke up early this morning and waited while figuring out how to deal with him after everything that happened last night.He stared at me for a moment and I looked away. I could not bear his scrutinizing gaze. They were too strong, and overwhelming.
Chapter 61: The ContractorAlexander’s POVThe afternoon sun was glaring as I drove toward the headquarters. Early in the morning, my team already informed me that they were able to squeeze some information from the bombing suspect and I had to go and figure out what to do next. However, I stayed in the unit and deliberately waited for Claire to come out of her room. I wanted to see her, and I knew that eventually, she would have to come out instead of just hiding in her room due to what happened last night.I swerved in the next street and the thought of her made my mind reel to the events of the past weeks. I could feel a storm of emotions brewing inside me — anger, frustration, and a simmering fear that I could not quite shake off. The knowledge that Claire had been targeted twice now gnawed at me, a constant reminder of how close I had c
Chapter 62: The Family DinnerAlexander’s POVThe headquarters buzzed with tension as my security team worked tirelessly to track down Mike. Every screen flickered with data streams, satellite feeds, and maps showing every possible location where Mike could be hiding. Despite the evident urgency, I knew I could not stay much longer. The family dinner at Vermont Manor loomed ahead, and my presence was expected. I had deliberately decided not to bring Claire along, a choice I made to keep her as far away as possible from my stepmother, Felicity.As the clock ticked closer to dinner time, I forced myself to shift my focus. I could trust my team to continue the search. They were the best, after all, and they knew what was at stake. With a heavy heart and a mind full of suspicion, I left the headquarters, heading toward Vermont Manor.
Chapter 63: The AbductorAlexander’s POVThe atmosphere at the headquarters was tense, almost electric, as the screens around the room flickered with streams of data. My eyes remained glued to the largest screen, where a live feed from our surveillance drones displayed an aerial view of the region. Every few moments, I would glance at the digital clock on the wall, each second ticking by with an agonizing slowness.My team was exhausted, their faces drawn tight with fatigue, but there was no room for rest — not until we had Mike. He was our last hope, the missing piece in a puzzle that had haunted me since the day Claire was abducted. The fact that he had evaded us for this long was a proof to his ability, but now we were closer than ever.Mr. Jones, my head of security, was in constant communication with the tech
Chapter 64: Passed OutClaire’s POVI woke up the next morning with a slight ache in my neck from sleeping at an odd angle. The early morning light streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the room. I stretched and rolled over before I slipped out of bed, my feet hitting the cool wooden floor, and padded out of the bedroom.The apartment was eerily quiet, except for the distant hum of the city outside. As I reached the living area, I froze. Alex was there, passed out on the couch, still in his clothes from the day before. His shoes were kicked off haphazardly, his tie loosened around his neck, and his shirt was rumpled and stained with something I could not quite place. What shocked me the most were the two guns sitting on the coffee table in front of him, alongside his tablet, phone, and an empty bottle of beer.
Chapter 81: The ProposalClaire's hands trembled as she fought to shut the door. Her voice was low and angry, almost a hiss, "Leave, Alex. Leave. I don’t want you here." But no matter how hard she pushed, Alex's grip on the door was stronger. He wasn't letting go this time.She glared at him, her heart pounding in her chest, but the truth was, his sudden presence after all these months had unraveled her. She was pregnant, alone, and already emotionally exhausted. Seeing Alex, of all people, standing in front of her only intensified everything she had bottled up inside. Her emotions clashed violently. The man she loved — the man who had hurt her — was standing just inches away.“I’m not leaving,” Alex said firmly, his voice filled with a quiet desperation. “Claire, please… just let me talk to you.”Tears pricked at the corners of Claire’s eyes as she struggled with her emotions. She wanted to hate him, to push him away and protect herself from any more pain. But as she stood there, fac
Chapter 80: Leave, AlexTanya’s sharp voice cut through the phone after the nonstop calls from Alex. "What do you want, Alex?" Now that he learned about Claire’s pregnancy, he couldn’t calm down, and the search for her was too slow and it was making him restless, he could not just sit down and wait. There was an easier way, and that was through Tanya, so he reached out to her multiple times.Alex took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. "I need to know where Claire is." Silence. Tanya refused to reply. She promised Claire that she would not tell a soul where she was."I know she's pregnant, Tanya," Alex continued, his voice betraying a hint of desperation. "I need to find her. I need to be with her."Tanya’s sigh crackled through the phone. “Pregnant or not, you’ve lost the right to know where she is. You made your choices, Alex. Now, Claire’s making hers.”Alex closed his eyes, pushing back the frustration. “I understand how it looks. I made mistakes — I was so focused on the compa
Chapter 79: His Child“We’ve found something,” Jones’s voice said, pulling Alex from his haze.“What is it?” Alex asked, straightening up in his chair, suddenly alert.“We tracked down Tanya’s relatives in the Philippines. Took a while, but we’ve confirmed a connection. She’s got a cousin there, and from what we can tell, Claire could be staying with them.”Alex felt a rush of adrenaline, a flicker of hope he hadn’t felt in weeks. Finally, there was something concrete.“Do we know where they live?” he asked, his tone sharp, all business now.“Not yet, but we’re working on it. We’ll need to send someone over, a private investigator. We’ve already got people on the ground following up leads, but it’s delicate. We’ll need time.”“How much time?”“Could take a couple of weeks, maybe more. We’re doing everything we can.”Weeks. The word echoed in Alex’s mind. Claire could be slipping further away every moment that passed, but there was no other option. He had to be patient. Something he ha
Chapter 78: MiserableThe following days passed in a blur of frustration, alcohol, and regret. Alex could not shake the feeling of loss, the gnawing emptiness that had settled in his chest since Claire disappeared. He had always prided himself on being in control, on having everything within his grasp, of everything going his way. But now, everything felt like it was slipping through his fingers like he was not in control of things anymore. Claire had become an unforeseen factor that was driving his life into ruin. His apartment, once filled with the quiet presence of Claire, felt cold and empty. It was not just the absence of her physical presence — it was the absence of the warmth and life she had brought into his space. Without her, the apartment felt like a hollow shell, a reflection of the growing void inside him. Before, he never minded, he never noticed, for he never let anyone in ever again after Aubrey Chen, but somehow, Claire made everything different. The once cold and ho
Chapter 77: Can't Hide ForeverThe phone rang again, its shrill tone slicing through the suffocating silence of Alex’s office. He was slouched in his chair, a half empty glass of whiskey resting on the edge of his desk. The burn of alcohol did little to numb the persistent ache gnawing at him ever since Claire disappeared. For a few seconds, he stared at the phone, considering letting it ring, as if ignoring the call could somehow silence the storm raging inside him.But something about the persistent ringing was tugging him from his haze. With a frustrated sigh, he reached for the phone.“Yes?” he answered when he recognized the caller, his voice rough and groggy from drinking all day.“Sir, it is Jones,” came the steady, familiar voice of his security head. “We have finally tracked down Claire’s last known whereabouts.”Alex straightened in his chair, his heartbeat quickening. “Go on,” he urged, gripping the phone tightly.“She boarded a flight to the Philippines. We confirmed it th
Chapter 76: Fight for HerAlex pulled out his phone, staring at Tanya's contact. She had always been close to Claire, her best friend. If anyone knew where Claire had gone, it would be her. With a deep breath, Alex tapped her name and waited for the line to connect.The dial tone rang once, twice, then a click as Tanya picked up."Hello? " Tanya's voice came through, cautious.Alex cleared his throat. “Tanya, it is Alex.”There was a pause on the other end. "What do you want, Alex?"“I need to talk to you. About Claire.” His voice was firm but not demanding. He did not want to escalate things, but he needed answers. “I need to know where she is.”Tanya scoffed, the sound sharp and unforgiving. “You need to know where she is? Are you serious? After everything, Alex? After all those photos of you and Aubrey?”“It is not what you think,” he started, but Tanya cut him off.“Oh, it is exactly what I think. Do you think I did not see the articles? The photos? Claire saw them too, Alex. She
Chapter 75: ClosureA few days had passed since the divorce papers landed on Alex’s desk, and despite that he had pushed the papers in his table drawers, out of his sight, the fact that he had to make a decision and the existence of CClaire’s signature on the paper did not leave his mind. The cold reality of Claire’s absence became more noticeable as he moved through his daily routines. She was gone, and there was no escaping it. He tried to bury himself in his work, as he always had when things got complicated, but this time, even Vermont Corp. could not keep his mind from drifting back to her, in addition to the relentless inquiry of Alessandro Vermont about Claire each article he had read on the internet about Aubrey Chen. Alex never had an answer to them and just let his father get mad over it, accusing Alex of manipulating him to get the position he had wanted, only abiding by the conditions he had set to get what he wanted, and now that he had it, he had completely neglected his
Chapter 74: Life He Wanted, Needed"Mr. Vermont, this just arrived for you," one of the assistant secretaries in his office said, placing it on his desk.Alex barely glanced at it, offering a distracted nod. "Thanks, just leave it there," he replied, his eyes still on the screen. He had been engrossed in back to back meetings, discussing expansion strategies, reviewing reports, and making decisions that would impact the company’s future. His mind was occupied with the endless responsibilities that came with being the new president.The envelope remained unopened on the corner of his desk until he finished reviewing a lengthy financial report and he finally reached for it, intending to deal with it quickly before moving on to the next task.He frowned looking at the envelope with only the return address of Humprey’s Law Firm printed on it. He had no idea as to why the law firm had sent him papers knowing that he was not facing any lawsuits or any legal matter which if it involved the c
Chapter 73: The AnomalyThe soft murmur of conversation and the clinking of glasses surrounded Alex and Aubrey as they finished their dinner at one of New York's most exclusive restaurants. The dim lighting cast a warm glow over the elegantly set table, making the evening feel almost intimate despite the public setting. Alex glanced at Aubrey, who was smiling softly as she swirled the last of her wine in her glass."That was lovely," Aubrey said, her voice smooth and melodic. She set her glass down and looked at him with a satisfied expression. "It has been a while since I have had such a relaxing dinner."Alex nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "I’m glad you enjoyed it." He signaled the waiter, who promptly brought the bill. As Alex reached for his wallet, he could not help but notice the flicker of movement outside the restaurant's large windows. Paparazzi. They had been spotted.It had started with a few people recognizing them, whispers spread through the restaurant like w