Luna stared at Alex, surprised at what he was asking her to do. In the short time she spent with him, she had thought he was different, but now she recalled what her friend had told her – that Alex would likely want to have sex with her. She turned to leave, but he held her hand and held her back."Why are you so upset? What is the problem?" he asked. She scoffed, "So, in the end, all you care about is getting in between my legs. I'm so disappointed in you, Alex." He folded his arms and stared at her, a smirk appearing on his face, "But you're not being forced to spend the night in my bed. It's just an option. As I said before, Adrian betrayed his boss, which makes him unfit to work here. If you claim he's your friend and you want to help him, you know what to do. And if you do not want to help, you have no right to point fingers at me because what he did was very wrong as well. Feel free to leave if you want to. But let me tell you something, spending the night in my bed is not th
After taking care of Claire and ensuring that she had everything she needed, Luna allowed her to rest in the bedroom. The nanny Alex had hired for her had arrived that morning, and when Luna saw her, she heaved a sigh of relief.She stared at Alex and said, "Somehow it seems as though you've done this before. How come you're so good at it?""What do you mean?" Alex asked."Well, I was just thinking about who would stay with Claire because we would both be going out and because she's still recuperating she can't come out with us. I was racking my brain thinking of what to do, and suddenly you got a nanny.""No, I had planned to get a nanny for her ever since I told her I was her Daddy. You remember I mentioned it back at the hospital," Alex said."I wasn't paying attention," Luna replied."How would you pay attention? You were too busy finding faults with me," Alex reminded her.Luna smiled, "Either way, thank you very much."She asked the nanny a few questions and told her about the t
Miriam ran to Luna and hugged her, and Luna smiled, hugging her back."I am so excited," Miriam said. "Everything is just so perfect. You know, I came here earlier, but I had to go out because I received a call. But.... seriously this is amazing, we should toast to many more amazing parties and to each other too."The party began at this point and Luna was grateful for it as she found a reason to ditch Miriam. Her picture and Alex's were displayed on the screen. Some of the pictures, she had no idea when they were taken but she believed Alex must have agreed for them to be used because she came out well in all the pictures.After that, they were invited to dance before everyone. Alex took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Knowing that they were being shown live, Luna felt uncomfortable, especially with the way Alex kept looking into her eyes.She thought back to how Allison had said Alex had the hots for her and inwardly said, "No, Alex. I hope Allison is wrong because I never
After Luna left the hotel room and went back to the party, she mingled with more people, danced with Alex, spoke, and laughed until it was time to leave. Alex led her toward their car as they said goodbye to his grandfather and everyone else. However, as she was about to get into the car, she spotted Cyrus coming out of the hotel. She stared at him in surprise, wondering what he was doing there, and he also had a surprised look on his face as his eyes met hers."Alex, look, it's Cyrus," she said.Alex turned his attention toward Cyrus, but at that moment, Cyrus began to hurry out of the hotel.Alex wanted to go after him, but on second thought, he stopped. "I don't have any reason to chase him, but why is he running?""I have no idea," Luna replied."But if he's here, it means he's up to no good. Something is wrong somewhere. Anyway, it's not important. Let's forget about him and go back home," Alex said.Luna got into the car, and Alex drove her back home. She was extremely tired wh
Luna went straight to bed after showering as she was extremely tired. She slept beside her daughter, Claire, and when morning came, they all had breakfast together.Luna had woken up quite early because it was the morning of her wedding. She smiled at Claire and said, "Mommy would be very busy today, but Uncle Adrian will stay with you, okay?""Yay!" Claire said happily.Seeing Claire so happy to spend time with Adrian, Alex felt even more pleased with him.After breakfast, Luna began to get ready, and once again, all the artisans came into the house to get her ready. Luna knew that Claire wasn't comfortable with her nanny since she was still new, which was why she told her that Adrian would stay with her.She asked Adrian to check up on Claire occasionally and play with her if needed."Oh, don't worry about that," Adrian said. "You know that I adore Claire. Of course, I'll be by her side until you get back. I would have loved to be there with you, but I guess Allison would represent m
Luna woke up in the morning to a surprise. She hadn't expected Alex to be in her bedroom when she opened her eyes, and Claire was also surprised. They both stared at him as he stood by the door with tickets in his hands."Good morning, beautiful ladies," he said, and Claire giggled.He walked over to the bed, sat beside Claire, and kissed her cheeks. "You're looking so beautiful this morning," he said."Thank you, Daddy," she replied and hugged him.Luna looked at both of them and smiled. "So, I can see you're holding tickets in your hand?""Yes, that's the surprise I was saving for today," he said. "We are going on a trip. It's more or less a treat from my grandfather. He called it our honeymoon trip, but then I'm looking at it as an opportunity to just get away from everything. You, me, and Claire, just the three of us."Luna wasn't comfortable with going on a trip. She just wanted to stay back with Claire so she could get as much rest as possible. But she saw that Claire was so exc
Luna stared at Alex for a while and pulled her hand away from his hold. She said, "Listen, Alex. I've gotten used to solving my problems myself. I've always taken care of whatever is thrown at me. Yes, I have had a few assists from my friends, but I practically had to do everything for myself since I left home. I'm not saying I do not appreciate your efforts. I see the support you give me here and there, but I don't want to rely on anyone. I don't need you to look out for me or fight my battles. Alex, when the time comes, we will definitely go our separate ways, and I do not want to get used to being pampered or seeking help from you. In all honesty, if my daughter had never become sick, I would not have been here. Ever since I left Cyrus, I made up my mind that I will never rely on a man ever again. I never planned to get married again, and neither did I plan for everything that is going on right now. But I can't do anything about it. However, I will simply say something. I don't
After making plans with his brother, Ethan, Matthew went to meet his grandfather, who was in his bedroom. The moment he saw Matthew, his eyes lit up and he smiled.Matthew went to sit beside him and asked, "You seem lost in thought, grandfather. Are you okay?""I am okay," he said. "It's just that at my age, sometimes I feel as though I'm too hard on all of you. But the truth is that I want you all to make something out of your life. I want you to strive for the best. You cannot have things handed down to you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"Hearing his grandfather's words, Matthew became uncomfortable. Under Ethan's coaching, he had come to convince him not to give Alex his fifty percent share of the company.However, as though his grandfather could read his mind, he was already explaining his reasons to him. "Why are you feeling bad about your decision, grandfather?" Matthew asked. "I know that whatever you decide for us is the best.""That is why I like you," his grandfather s
SIXTEEN MONTHS LATERClaire already closed the files on her desk and got up, about to walk out of her office.At this point, she heard a knock on the door of her office. She walked over to it, opened it, and came out of the office.She was shocked to see her employees standing in front. "Surprise!" they all said, holding balloons, flowers, and cakes."Happy first anniversary," one after the other, they all wished her.She stood, staring at them with a smile plastered on her face. She had barely breezed into the office to sign an important document before coming out; she didn't know her employees were going to surprise her once again.It reminded her of how her last anniversary had gone. However, this time, it was different because she was happy."Thank you all so much," she said. She walked closer, took a bite of the cake, and said, "Wow, this is really delicious. You all should have fun, enjoy yourselves, and take the day off."Her employees all cheered happily while she hurried out o
Lucas sat in his house, waiting for feedback. Although he knew that Claire was eventually going to tell her parents everything, he was hoping that they wouldn't want a divorce since it was going to be a stain on her reputation. Also, the fact that Asher was his friend would make her convince them to give up on Asher.He was waiting for a call from either Alex or Claire. That way, he could properly tender his apology and ask for a second chance.However, the person who called him was none other than his father."Come home right away," his father said.He looked at the time; it was already late. "Is everything okay?" he asked."Mr. Cooper just left the house. Come back right away," his father insisted.The moment he heard that Alex had been to his house, Lucas rushed out of the house and went to see his parents.He walked into the living room and sat down. Seeing the expression on his parents' faces, he asked, "Did something happen? What is the problem?"His father shook his head. "I'm
Luna stared at both Alex and Claire, wiping the tears from her eyes. She still could not understand what was happening."What's going on here?" she asked."Claire, I don't get it. I thought you got married to Lucas because you both were in love with each other. Why would he start treating you so badly from the first day of the marriage? And why did he think you forced yourself into his life? There are some things that sound really strange. Please, I'm lost here," Alex said."Hold on, I'll tell you everything, Luna," he proceeded to tell her how he forced Lucas into marrying Claire, and she screamed."Why would you do that? No, that is wrong. You should not have done that," Luna said."Calm down," Alex said. "It has already happened. It's all in the past. It was a mistake we made, and unfortunately, Claire suffered for it."Luna shook her head. "All this time, you went through so much, Claire, and I didn't even know. I can't believe I slapped you. I can't believe I accused you. Oh no."
After more driving about for a while, Claire finally calmed down. She thought about everything that had happened and made up her mind on what she was going to do. But first of all, she wanted to have a conversation with Asher because she felt that her mom had spoken very rudely to him, whereas he wasn't at fault for everything that had happened.For some reason, she couldn't help but blame herself. Perhaps if she hadn't hidden things from her mom, Asher would not have been yelled at or belittled.She drove back to the house and was surprised when she got in to see the damage that had been done to the door which led to Asher's room.She went into the room and saw Asher sitting on the bed. He quickly got up the moment he saw her and said,"Claire, you're back."She nodded and walked over to where he was."I'm sorry," she said.He held her hand, pulled her closer to his body, and hugged her."No, Claire, don't be sorry for anything. You did nothing wrong. It's just a misunderstanding. Yo
When Luna arrived, she saw Lucas in his car, which was parked right in front of the house.She came out of the car and met with him. "So, this is really not a joke. I mean, the fact that you're here...""It's not a joke," Lucas said, pointing at the door."Okay, alright. Let's go."They walked toward the door, and Luna wanted to knock; however, Lucas said, "No, I... the last time I came here to confront them... I... got one of the keys. So, I think it would be better if we just go in."She looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"He said, "Yeah, in the end, he is still my friend, so it wouldn't be a big deal."She folded her arms and waited for him while he put the key into the key holder and unlocked the door.He pushed the door open, and his eyes instantly caught Asher and Claire on the couch. He turned to look at Luna and said, "Right this way."At this point, though, Asher and Claire were so engrossed in what they were doing that they didn't realize what had happened. Her eyes we
Seeing that his words were not moving Claire, Lucas picked up the divorce papers she had placed on the table and turned them into shreds.She smiled."I thought we were having a peaceful conversation. Why did you have to tear the divorce papers?""Well, this is me telling you that I'm not going to give you that divorce, Claire. I've told you that I want us to work on our marriage. Couples face problems, but the important thing is to find a way to resolve them."She smiled. "Haven't you been listening to everything I said, Lucas? I don't hate you. I don't even think it's possible to hate you. So, everything I say to you does not result from hate. I'm just saying that between the both of us, it's no longer possible. Maybe, just maybe if Asher hadn't come into the picture, I... I may have reconsidered giving this, whatever this is, another chance. But as I told you, once I've given up on something, I don't go back to it.""Just in case you're not observing, I tossed my wedding ring the d
Lucas's words did not surprise Asher. The moment Claire had returned and told him about what Lucas tried to do at home, he suspected that this would be Lucas's next line of action."What exactly are you asking me to do?" Asher asked Lucas."I think you understand exactly what I am asking of you," Lucas replied. "I want my wife back, Asher. You've ruined my relationship with Vivian. You can claim that you didn't know what you were doing, you didn't know she was my girlfriend or whatever it was, but the fact still remains that that relationship is ruined because of you.""Go ahead, I have given up on Vivian. You can have her; she's all yours. But Claire? Leave her alone. Claire is mine; she loves me, and we both know that she has loved me for so long. She doesn't love you, Asher; she's just using you as a rebound. I am telling you this from one man to another. For the sake of our friendship, leave Claire alone. After all, I asked you to go after her, so now I am asking you to give me ba
After leaving Asher's house, Lucas was fuming with anger. He drove straight to Vivian's place of work. Once he arrived there, he called her to come out, and she did. He stood by his car, staring at her - the woman he had loved for so long. She ran up to him and hugged him."Hi baby, you came to see me at work? Meanwhile, what happened? You didn't go to work today?""Cut the act," he said. "How could you do this to me, Vivian? I have loved you for so long. I did everything I could to make you happy, and yet you cheated on me with my friend. As if that is not bad enough, you've been calling him, seeking his attention, and telling him there's nothing going on between the both of us?"She rolled her eyes."Oh, I see you finally found out.""What? That's your reaction?""What do you expect me to do? You have your wife, someone at home. You don't expect me to keep waiting for you until I get old.""How can you say this, Vivian? You know that my relationship with Claire means nothing, and yo
As she heard Asher and Lucas' voices from outside, Claire stood in front of the window, staring at them from inside. Although they couldn't see her, she could see them. She didn't understand why Lucas suddenly seemed so upset. She knew it wasn't about her and kept wondering.Meanwhile, Asher was enjoying this. Initially, he never wanted to rub it in Lucas' face, but after the way Lucas insulted Claire inside the house and kept making sarcastic remarks about her, he couldn't bear it anymore."I didn't want to say anything, Lucas, but why would you say I'm not your friend?" Asher said to him. "This is not fair. I just explained what happened to you. At the time, I was single, and I thought the girl in question...""No! Do not tell me this," Lucas interrupted."Listen to me, Lucas," Asher continued, "what I'm trying to say is..."Lucas charged at Asher this time and punched him in the face."How dare you? Okay, let's forget about everything else. Was there a need for you to bring this up