Arabella POV....."Beep" the sound of my phone vibrating on the kitchen counter broke my concentration on chores, with soap still on my hands, I washed my hands, before I grabbed the phone eagerly. It was a message from Joseph, my husband. In five years of our marriage, it was the first time he had reached out to me directly rather than delivering his message through Ruby or his mother, but now his direct message filled me with a mix of surprise and happiness, "Bella, meet me at the Blue Royal Hotel at 7 PM, let's celebrate my appointment as CEO."I still couldn't believe whether it's a dream or real, for a moment, I allowed myself to believe that Joseph was finally recognizing my love and support, maybe tonight, he would publicly acknowledge me as his wife, maybe all my dreams might come true tonight, this is moment I've been waiting till now.But my brief moment of happiness was shattered by the cold voice of my mother-in-law's cursing echoing from the living room, "Bella! You use
The warm rays of the sun straight on my face pulled me out of a deep sleep. My head is extremely heavy, and everything felt like a blurring image, still sleepy, I mumbled to myself, "What's the time? If I'm late and miss making breakfast, Mother will kill me." The moment I opened my eyes completely keeping aside the sleepiness and looked at my surroundings, the reality hit me hard that I wasn't at home and this isn't my room, this realisation turned into bewilderment.Memories of last night started to appear in front of me as I saw my clothes scattered across the floor. "I can see that you're loving it by the way you're moaning with pleasure under me, right, little lamb?" That husky voice ringing in my mind even now. The man from last night wasn't Joseph, nothing is my imagination, moreover the bloodstain on the bedsheet confirmed it I had lost my virginity to a stranger, this confirmation clenched my heart.Tears began streaming down my cheeks, not because of physical pain but from
I was stunned by her words, "a wild night with an old man?" I repeated her words, unable to understand what she meant by, she just shrugged casually, "Come on, Bella, I thought you were smart since you excel in everything, but you're a real fool to be frank, you're an emotional fool."My silence seemed to make her happy, "just one message from him and you rushed to the hotel without thinking about anything? Is there any fool like you?" She taunted at my helpless situation, I snapped back, "Whether you believe it or not, I got a message from him.""Oh, I know you did," she smirked with a proud smile, "Bella, meet me at the Blue Royal Hotel at 7 PM, let's celebrate my appointment as CEO, isn’t that what you got?"My eyes widened in shock, how did she know the exact message I got from my husband? She tapped her fingers in front of my face bringing me out of my thoughts, "you must be wondering how I got to know the message, it's because I sent it to you."I was speechless as she continued
"Mommy... mommy!" The sound of my children’s voices pulled me out of the nightmare that has been stressing me, I opened my eyes to see Abigail and Alexander, my everything, looking worried, seeing me opening eyes, they quickly hugged me."Mommy, we were so worried," Abigail was the first one to jump on me with a worried look, while Alexander mumbled wiping my tears, "You were crying in your sleep, are you okay, Mommy?"I smiled at them, trying to ease their concern, while ruffling their hair, "Yes, I'm fine, just a bad dream, Mommy's okay." They hugged me tighter once again, and filled my face with kisses."These are good luck kisses," they announced with a proud smile."Oh my goodness, I’m going to have so much luck," I chuckled at their innocence playing along with them, these past six years of hellish life, they’ve been my only ray of hope to dream about the future.I thought back to the day of the accident, the day I lost consciousness in the arms of a stranger, when I woke up, I
"I thought I was on time. Am I late?" My presence in the dining hall left everyone stunned, the surprise on their faces was quite evident, I had anticipated this reaction, after all, they never expected me to return, since they wanted to hide their sins forever. Their hateful glances made that clear.As soon as she saw me, my grandmother approached with a warm smile, "Oh dear! You're finally here, I missed you a lot," she exclaimed, pulling me into a loving embrace, I hugged her back and smiled, happy to meet her after a long time, "Yes, I'm here for you, grandmother, happy birthday."Holding her hand, I glanced at her smiling face just as always, but she is weak than before, wrinkles on her face more visible now, "How is your health, grandmother?""I'm fine, especially now that you're back, I'm much happier," she replied, her eyes brighter with full of happiness, her glance shifted at my children, and I introduced them, "This is Abigail, and this is Alexander, they're my children."S
The moment I decided to give my grandmother a limited edition Sapphire and Pearl necklace from Star Light Jewels as a gift, I anticipated this kind of reactions from everyone. This necklace, a limited piece even among VIPs who are in queue to get this into their hands, but this is something I designed personally for my grandmother.Britney glared at me, with suspicion, "Don't tell me you brought a knockoff as a present for my mother's birthday, you should be ashamed of yourself and your actions."I smiled calmly being surprised by her confidence to call it a knockoff without any proper knowledge about what she is speaking, "A knockoff?"Natalie sneered with a frown, "If it’s not a knockoff, do you really think you could get your hands on a limited edition necklace from Star Light Jewels? When even Joseph struggled to get one for me."My father sighed in disappointment as always, "If you can't afford something like this, why embarrass yourself and us with your foolish actions? I'm sorr
•••NO POV•••Arabella's words shocked everyone in the room. Even Natalie, who usually stays over confident, flinched by the furiousness of Arabella, they were all used to the old Arabella, the one who never spoke up against them no matter how they treated her, but this Arabella, standing confidently before them, wasn't even hesitating to taunt or even threaten them.Natalie’s outburst in anger making everyone to look curious to know who is speaking the truth, "You, don’t you dare accuse him as you like!"Arabella looked confident while responding to Natalie's outburst, "Accuse him? Is that what you think I’m doing? Then, my dear sister, why don’t you go and talk to him yourself? Find out whether I’m accusing him or simply telling the truth, why don’t you give it a try? Everyone of us here will know the real truth."Arabella’s confidence was no joke, each word she spoke is full of certainty, since she already knew exactly how the tables will turn out once the truth comes out.Natalie r
Natalie wanted to see Arabella break down emotionally, expecting her to be devastated by the news of her beloved man marrying Natalie. Instead, Arabella smiled brightly and looked at Natalie being pleased by the news, "I'll be waiting for an invitation, my dear sister, make sure to send me one." With that, Arabella and her children left without even looking back, showing no signs of sadness, it was as if she wasn't concerned about whom Joseph is willing to marry. Olivia glared at Natalie after the departure of Arabella, "I told you to keep your mouth shut in her presence, after six long years, she came here only because I begged her to attend my birthday lunch, not knowing how long I had left to live, all I wanted is a peaceful lunch with my entire family and here you are, trying to hurt her while she’s being mature and understanding." "Grandmother, you're misunderstanding me," Natalie tried to defend herself being furious, "Can't you see how unbothered she is? She never loved Jos
"Xan, just don't give up, I don't think it's too late," Nova said while Xenon agreed with him, "Nova is right uncle, Bella will understand for sure if you try to explain, so don't take any rash decisions." But Xander looked the same with disappointment and sadness, Nova and Xenon took Xander home, as he is already drunk totally.Xander isn't even sure when he fell asleep on the way.In the morning, Xander woke up with a heavy hangover in his own house as he was brought to his place instead of his parents house by Nova and Xenon.Since they doesn't want to worry Xander's parents, they hid the situation going on in between Xander and Arabella a secret."Here take it," Nova offered strong coffee to Xander to get rid of heavy hangover.As he was about to take a sip of coffee, Zara entered the living room with a usual serious demeanor, but her hesitating face is quite visible as walked in with a file in her hands.Xenon glanced at her curiously, "what are you doing here Zara? What's that
"Bella?" Viola opened the door after hearing to the calling bell and was surprised to see Arabella at her door in a time like this, "what are you doing here?" Arabella spoke with a voice not even barely audible, "can I stay here tonight?" "Of course you can, come inside first," Viola said inviting Arabella inside and gestured her to sit on the couch.Tears filled eyes, pale face, and heavy breathing, uneven gasps of Arabella made Viola to understand something is wrong with Arabella.Immediately going into the kitchen, viola returned with a cup of hot coffee, and sat beside Arabella hoping it would bring some comfort, "Bella, drink something warm, you'll feel better." Arabella shook her head, to which Viola sighed, "You’re going to make yourself sick like this." Arabella let out a bitter laugh that quickly turned into heavy crying, "Does it even matter, Vio? I’ve already lost everything, my life… it’s a joke already, isn’t it?" Viola frowned being confused by Arabella's words, ge
Xander stood frozen, Arabella’s words echoing in his ears, the weight of her accusations sinking deeper than his thoughts.The vibrant setup he had affectionately prepared now felt like a mockery of his intentions. He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself, but his emotions threatened to spill over, still he doesn't want to speak anything harsh which might hurt Arabella's heart."What do you mean by that, my love?" Xander managed to ask almost like a pleading painfully.Arabella turned sharply to face him, with an eyes full of anger, "Stop it! Stop calling me like that," she shouted using her trembling voice, "please stop faking it! I'm already tired of all these." Xander flinched hearing to her loud voice and teary eyes, "Bella, I don’t understand anything dear, what exactly are you trying to say? What do you mean by I’m faking it?" Arabella’s laugh was bitter and sarcastic despite seeing the desperation in his eyes, "Your love," she spat with a cold tone, "aren’t you faking
Xander woke up earlier than usual, as he is so excited about the surprise. The conversation with George last night had been revolving in his mind throughout the night, and he was determined to do whatever it takes to make things right with Arabella. "She deserved more than just a few simple words, she needed to feel loved and appreciated. I couldn't even give a grand wedding to her, at least this grand gesture of mine should remind her of the love I've towards her." After a few phone calls and careful planning, Xander arranged everything for the surprise. It wasn’t just a simple outing; it was a day meant to bring them closer and show Arabella that he is extremely serious about them and their relationship.He spent entire the morning setting everything according to his plan, arranging a private area in the theme park, filled with her favorite things. A beautiful romantic setup arranged at a secluded spot, with flowers, candles, and her favorite food. Once when everything is done
"Did you call me, love?" Xander asked as he stepped out of the shower wiping his wet hair. Arabella shook her head, avoiding his gaze, "nothing." Noticing her turning of face away, Xander felt it's out of shy and approached her to hug, but Arabella stepped back abruptly leaving Xander confused."I’ll sleep with the kids tonight," she said with a low and steady voice.Xander frowned, and he is extremely about sudden change in Arabella's behaviour. "What happened? Are you okay?" "Nothing," she replied coldly, and her voice sounded distant expressing her interest in getting away from him.He took a step closer, trying to study her expression. "Are you on your periods? Is something bothering you, love?" She avoided his concerned eyes and repeated the same thing, "as I said it’s nothing," and left the room without any further word.Xander stood frozen in confusion, watching her leaving, her sudden change in behavior puzzled him as he couldn't understand whether it's really nothing o
"There's no such thing," Arabella said with a sigh, "I never thought I would fall in love or trust someone, but I did fall in love with him and I trust him." Zara frowned slightly, "then what's the problem, Bella? What exactly is stopping you from talking to him?" Zara's question wasn't tricky, even though it's a simple question still Arabella has no answer for that.However she decided to speak it out, just as she was about to speak, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and it was none other than, one of their team members, holding a stack of files. "I'm extremely sorry to disturb you Ms. Arabella, but these are important files which need your signature, if you don't mind can you check them?"She apologised for interrupting Arabella's conversation with Zara, looking at her hesitation, Arabella just smiled. "It's okay, come in," As the files are placed on the table, Arabella immediately checked and signed them, once the work is done, the lady immediately left the ro
"Good night, my love," Xander whispered, pressing a tender kiss to Arabella's forehead before pulling her into his warm embrace, "you must be tired, I'll not disturb you." Strangely Arabella was asleep before even Xander came to the room, so Xander thought Arabella must be tired because of the party.Just as she began to settle into his arms, her phone buzzed on the bedside table.With a small sigh, Arabella reached for it, her brows furrowing when she saw the message from the same private number that had been texting her recently."Are you sleeping, Arabella?" The message popped up, "how can you even sleep?" She let out a sigh, as her unease growing. These messages had become persistent, and she couldn’t understand why someone would be doing this to ruin her peace.Another message appeared almost instantly, "do you think your husband truly loves you?" Arabella’s breath caught in her throat as she read the words.A third message followed almost immediately, "Is everything your husb
"Scoundrel!" Xenon pushed him away, "what bed? Why would I go to bed with you?" Aaron stepped closer to Xenon, "if not bed, I'm okay with the couch too, we have done it many times on the couch too, didn't we?" Xenon closed Aaron's mouth with his hand, "how can you be so shameless?" "I prefer you shut my mouth with your lips than your hand," Aaron kissed on Xenon's palm, Xenon withdrew his hand immediately muttering, "pervert!" Aaron gave a peck on Xenon's lips, "this is what I meant by, it's love and I'm a lover boy not a pervert." Xenon stood frozen, his lips tingling from the brief kiss Aaron had stolen.He could still feel the warmth of Aaron’s breath on his skin, and his chest tightened at the overwhelming mix of emotions passing through him. He wanted to push Aaron away, to demand answers, but his body betrayed him, lingering in the space Aaron had closed between them."Aaron," Xenon finally spoke with a trembling voice, "I don't want you to get back into my life, do you thi
"Sure, I'll not say to anyone," she dramatically acted zipping her lips shut and grinned, promising to keep his secrets safe, she broke down the final barrier of his carefully maintained composure.Xenon couldn’t help but chuckle witnessing her cute antics.As the party finally completed, Xenon left the party with mixed emotions. The support and confidence Arabella gave lingered in his thoughts, but there was an underlying current of unease, an unshakable feeling that the day wasn’t quite over yet. When he finally arrived at his apartment, the sight of Aaron sitting casually in the living room while waiting for him left Xenon caught off guard."What are you doing here? Didn't you leave yet?" Xenon asked in a sharp voice, masking his surprise with mock annoyance.Aaron, looking as usual with eyes full of love, leaned back against the couch with a soft smile. "Waiting for you, finally you're my back, my dear."Xenon frowned, feigning irritation, though his heart screaming with happine