Jessica Belle Lavigne stood up to her full 5ft 10 inches height, her beautiful face contorting in anger after reading through the email sent to her by the owner of Tasty, the famous magazine company in London where she worked as the executive editor. Jessie let out a frustrated sigh, wondering what Ms. Lenore Bernard, the CEO of Tasty meant by rejecting her request for promotion. Jessie had been working in the company for four years and although she was one of the most respected journalists in the company because of Whispers, the column which she had been writing for two years after getting promoted from a regular journalist to the executive editor, she still didn't think she was where she wanted to be. Despite the very fat paycheck which she received two days earlier than others did, Jessie wanted more, she deserved more. When the former Editor-in-chief of Tasty, Bianca Banks had a miscarriage and resigned, blaming her loss on the stress of the job, Jessie saw it as an opportunit
CHASE'S POVI walked into Cavelli Hotel where my former high school classmate, Cesare Cavelli was getting married with his fiance Lenore Bernard."Mr, Reed I'm so sorry, Sir," Bianca, my personal secretary said.I stopped in my steps and looked at her before asking, "What's the matter, Bianca?""I just got a text from my daughter's nanny. She said Blanca is burning up with a fever. I would have left her with her dad back in London, but my husband is also on a business trip and I had to be here with you, so I just had to bring her along. I need to rush back to the hotel to check on her, Sir," Bianca replied looking terrified."Of course you can go right away, send her to the hospital if possible, I'll cover the medical expenses. Your daughter is only five, she needs you right now. You're free to go Bianca," I replied.If not anyone else, I knew how hard it was to take care of little children, especially when they were sick. I made a mental note to check on the kids I left with a nanny
JESSIE'S POV"I still don't know how I feel about this whole seducing and deceiving thing. I don't even like dresses, can't I wear my regular slacks and chiffon shirt? I'd feel more comfortable in those, this is just too revealing, Lee," I complained to Chanel over the phone while eyeing the outfit that Lenore sent to me this morning for her wedding."I also don't think it's a good idea. A friend of my elder sister's was fortunate to win a date with Chase when he was still a musician. She said he was so easy-going and lovable. He's a total gentleman, what if you fall in love with him, just like it happens in the movies?""Oh come on Chanel, you're watching too many romantic movies. No such thing would happen, my relationship with Jacques was enough to put me off romance.""What about Chase's feelings, he's innocent, you know? You'll be deceiving him, that's not good.""But this promotion means a lot to me, Chanel. I've already told Lenore I'd do it," I said."Here's what you'd do, jus
CHAPTER THREE"Mr. Reed, could you please tell us what's your relationship with this lady and why you were wrapped in a passionate embrace with her," one of the paparazzi asked."Yes, Sir, what's going on between the both of you?" Another asked."Ladies and gentlemen, as much as I know how exciting it is to see Chase Reed with a mystery woman for the first time in years, you must understand that a wedding reception is going to take place here, the wedding that everyone has been looking forward to. Security please send them away! Now, Mr. Reed, Ms. Dubois, please follow me," Alexander Rowland, Cesare's personal assistant said and with the help of the security guards, the paparazzi were sent away. Not sure of what to do after what happened in the elevator, but wanting to know if Jessie was alright, Chase asked, "You okay?""I guess I'm still a bit shaken, but I'm fine," Jessie replied before pretending to feel dizzy."Are you sure you're alright?" Chase asked as they all went into the
CHASE'S POVI had to get out of there as soon as possible. I didn't know why, but I was getting bothered about the reaction that Jessica provoked in me. I needed a break from her to calm down for a while. She seemed to enjoy tempting me, almost like that was her intention. Could it be possible that she approached me on purpose? Many ladies had done that in the past, some even tried to force me into relationships with them, but I was always good at only playing along and eventually dumping them.I no longer do that anymore, just like I abandoned music, I also stopped womanising, it just wasn't fun anymore. I had tried about three times to get into serious relationships with women since then, but they all seemed too materialistic and uninterested in having a family.I couldn't imagine introducing the twins to them and so I quit the relationship. How about Jessie? Could she also be that way? Was she also uninterested in marriage and kids? If I told her about my twins, would she run to
JESSIE'S POVI sighted Chase coming back into the room and quickly put his phone on the table. Jacques Bernard, my ex-boyfriend from college suddenly showed up to annoy me. Chase walked up to us and we all talked for a while before I quickly dismissed Jacques, before he could expose the truth about my true identity.Chase wanted to know about Jacques and I so I told him a little about us before changing the subject.We sat in silence before Chase explained, "Sorry, I had to contact my secretary, Bianca. Something came up earlier, so she couldn't attend the wedding with me," Chase explained when he took his seat across from me."The lady with you at the lobby earlier?" I asked trying to find out what exactly she meant to him.If they had a thing going on, it wouldn't be surprising, the lady was hot, I had to admit."Oh, you saw us earlier? You must have been staring for a while," he teased, revealing his perfect teeth and dimples."Yeah, I was. Is she your girlfriend?" I asked, avoidi
Jessie hid her caller ID before calling Jean, a member of paparazzi wit. He answered after three rings, "Hello, you're Jean Louis, right?" She asked in French, trying as much as possible to sound different from her usual husky tone of voice."Yes, I am. Who am I speaking with?""You don't have to know. You see I have a credible piece of news material for you, of course, that would only be if you were interested.""What sort of news? Is this a prank call? Where did you get my number?""You were at the wedding party today. You were the first person to get a photo of Chase Reed and a mystery woman in an elevator, weren't you?""Yes, I was.""I want you to know that I heard Mr Chase and the very same woman talking about spending the night together. You might want to come and take some photos. Who knows you might trend when you upload it on your blog," Jessie laughed."At the Cavelli Hotel, right? Do you know his room number? I'm somewhere around there, right now? How much do you want for
CHAPTER SEVENCHASE'S POVI watched the clock strike midnight, today was a big day, Chris and Crystal were turning ten.It was so surreal, I almost couldn't believe the twins were in Year 5 now. They were growing rapidly. I was only twenty-one when they came into my life. They were only two years old then and I didn't want kids, especially with the way my musical career was growing. I didn't think I'd ever want them, but after taking them in, I just couldn't help, but accept them as my children.Today being their birthday, I was going to surprise them with gifts that they've wanted for a long time now. I remember when Chris asked me yesterday over dinner, "Dad, will I get the roller skates this year? I asked for them last year.""Of course not, Dad. He'd only get hurt with that," Crystal screamed into my ear."I'm sorry Chris, I can't get you roller skates. It's too dangerous," I replied even though I had already bought the thing. I was only pulling his legs."I want roller skates an
FOUR MONTHS LATER"Oh my God, it's the Cavelli Hotel!" Jessie exclaimed as she and Chase got out of their car at the hotel's entrance."Yes, my darling. I told you I'll make our time here in Paris, unforgettable. How best to do that than starting right from the beginning? We met here for the first time, remember?" Chase smiled, holding her hand in his.The valet took care of their car as they walked in. They had arrived in Paris the previous night for their two week-long honeymoon and had stayed at Jessie's family house until this morning.Jessie had no clue whatsoever that they were going to spend their honeymoon at Cavelli Hotel.After she was discharged four months ago, Chase had been like a bodyguard, monitoring her every movement and tasting all her meals before she took them. He had done that for a full month, until Jessie made him stop. She needed him to understand that she was safe.Recently, he had gotten very busy with the new restaurant branch in Rio and had flown there on
THE NEXT MORNINGThe police car pulled up at Chase's mansion. Two officers alongside Pierre and Olivier got out of the car and into the house."What is going on Desmond? Why is the police here?" Octavia asked in her heavy Brazilian accent."Is Mary in?" Desmond queried, impatiently."Yes, she's just about leaving for her vacation. Why do you ask? Is Mrs Reed alright now? I was so worried the entire night.""Yes, she's getting better. It turns out that Mary was the one behind Mrs Reed's condition," he replied."Oh my God! That's not possible, Mary is such a sweet girl, she'd never do such a thing," Octavia replied, terrified at the news."Ma'am we do not have all day, we need to get Ms Mary to the station for questioning," the female officer said, impatiently."Okay, her room is on the last floor.""Alright, let's go in. She must have heard our siren. She might try to get away now," the other officer said."Okay, let's go," came Desmond.When they got up to the last floor of the buildin
VANESSA'S POVI called Mary to ask about the task, I gave her and she answered almost immediately."Ms Vanessa, the task was done accurately. Ms Lavigne loves sweet things, she ate the cake and finished the drink without suspecting anything. The smoothie she had this morning also contained peaches.""That's very good. I knew I could trust you. It's so unfortunate, Jessie thought that she could still be with Chase even after he knows what she did. She will be dead, long before Chase even understands what's wrong with her. It would be the worst honeymoon ever," I laughed."It is such a relief to know that Jessie would finally leave the picture. I had tried everything, pushed her into the pool, badmouthed her to Chase, sent her ex, Jacques to keep bugging her, but now, injecting all the food and drinks she had with peach extract is finally going to do the job,""I'm a bit scared Ms Vanessa, what if Mr Reed finds out about my role in all these? Everyone knows that I was the person in charg
They had just arrived at Chase's father's mansion. They were expected to spend the night there before leaving for Paris the next morning for their honeymoon.When Jessie realised that Paris was their honeymoon destination, she was surprised because it was something Chase had kept a secret. She was very happy to know that he thought of taking her to her hometown.She would have been the happiest woman alive had it not been for the fact that her husband was so mad at her that he barely even looked at her throughout the entire drive from the Cavelli Hotel where the reception was held to his father's mansion.Her husband, did she just think of Chase as her husband, but of course he was her husband after all. They had only been married for hours, but it felt so natural to think of him that way. She was confident that when she explained everything to him, he'd forgive her and they'd once again be happy as they had been before."Now, how was that, Jessica? My acting wasn't too bad, was it? Ev
Jessie was confused, she knew something had to be wrong with Chase. He seemed frigid at their wedding reception when he was all smiles and compliments for her during the wedding ceremony.It was time for their first dance as a couple and Chase seemed so stiff and unwilling to go through with it as to moved to the dancefloor."Are you sure you're alright, babe? You seem a bit off since the beginning of the reception," she asked as they glided across the room.The music was one they both chose together. They had danced to it a number of times already and it was Chase's favourite, so it was surprising to her that Chase was so uninterested in dancing to it.After a full minute of not replying, he gave her an icy glare, as he replied, "I'm fine, I just want us to get this over with. I have some questions for you.""Why do you sound and look that way?""What way?" He asked through clenched teeth."Like you're mad or something. You keep clenching and unclenching your teeth. Is something the m
Two Months Later...CHASE'S POVI smiled to myself as I looked at the little grey box in my hand. Today was almost surreal to me.On this day, I'd finally get what I've wanted for a long time now. I adjusted my tuxedo with shaking hands.I couldn't believe how nervous I felt. This was going to be a very private matter with only close friends and family present. Why then was I so impatient and nervous about it at the same time.Nathan walked in, smartly dressed in a similar black tuxedo as mine, he smiled and gave me a pat on the back."I still can't believe you're finally doing this. Remember what you said to me on my wedding day? "I will never make the stupid mistake of getting married. Have fun while it lasts." Those were your exact words, weren't they? How come you're getting married now?" Nathan teased me with a mischievous grin."Nathan you should know that now isn't the time for you to tease me. I'm so nervous and I don't even know why. I keep wondering if Jessie would show up,"
"Can I have your attention, everyone?" Chase asked, as he took the stage.All the guests and members of the press, fixed their eyes on him, expectantly."I want to address the recent article concerning I and my family which appeared on this week's publication of The Whispers Column of Tasty Magazine. I'm sure you're all curious as to whether those things printed are true or not. I'm going to explain everything now.""Mr Reed, does this mean that the information in that article holds some truth?" One reporter asked in a loud voice."Yes, Sir. Tell us, were you ever an addict?" "Is it true that you are a womaniser? It it also true that you neglect the children rumoured to be adopted by you?" The questions kept coming from the reporters.The hall was filled with tension and whispering from the guests present. Chase calmed them down with a wave of his hand."Relax everyone. I would tell you this, I have never abused any drug. I was only very stressed towards the end of my career and then
"I guess you haven't seen the article yet. I was tempted to sue, but after finding out who's behind this, I changed my mind.""What do you mean? Who's behind it? Can I see it?" Jessie asked in a shaky voice.As she read the article, pretending as though she was only seeing it for the first time, she wondered if Chase had somehow found out already about her role in the publication of that article."Remember Cesare? His wife Lenore is the owner of the Tasty Magazine. It's the company that published the article.""Oh my! Why would she do something like that?" Jessie feigned ignorance."I don't know," he replied with a deep sigh."So what are you going to do about it?""I want to hold a press conference. I'll have to finally introduce Chris and Crystal as my kids.""Are you sure that's a good idea? Are they ready to face the media with their questions and all?" Jessie queried.It hurt her deeply to know that she put such a beautiful family in such a difficult situation."I've talked to th
Jessie woke up the next morning to the sound of her phone ringing. It was Chanel calling."Jessie have you seen it yet?" Chanel asked the moment she answered the call."Seen what?" Jessie queried rubbing her eyes sleepily.It was only a few minutes past six and she couldn't understand what Chanel was talking about."The article. It was you, right? I didn't know you were going to take it that far," she yelled."Take what far? I simply talked about Chase's twins, that was all. I haven't seen it myself," she replied."Well, you better look it up. There are lots of pictures of the kids scattered everywhere. The article is a bit too detailed, it describes Chase negatively as some sort of negligent parent.""I never wrote such things. What pictures are you talking about. I never sent her any pictures of them. I hope Lenore didn't tweak a little too much. What if Chase finds out that it was me?"Just as she said the final statement, Mary walked into the room without knocking."You know what?