SASHA’S POVI sat on the cold floor of my bedroom, clutching my knees to my chest. Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't stop them. How did everything go so wrong after the plans I made? I pulled my hair from the roots as if that would somehow pull out the hurt and sobbed uncontrollably.The door creaked open, and my mom stepped in. "Sasha?" she called softly. She crossed the room and knelt beside me, her eyes filled with concern. "Please, calm down. Don’t cry yourself to death we can figure this out."I looked up at her, my vision blurry with tears. "Xander doesn't trust me anymore," I choked out. "I can't face anyone after what happened. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and now it's all ruined. I'm humiliated, Mom. How can I ever show my face again?"She sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Sasha, you brought this on yourself by lying to everyone and running away because of money. But it doesn't matter now. We'll fix it, okay? We'll find a way."
XANDER’S POVI had gone to my private house and locked myself in for three days, shutting everyone out. What happened at the engagement had been too much, and I needed time alone. I switched off my phone, ignoring the calls and messages. I knew everyone was worried, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak to anyone, not even my mom.For three days, the only person I saw was the nurse. She came and went quietly, tending to me. I had caught a fever, probably from the stress and lack of sleep. The first day was the worst. I was burning up, my body drenched in sweat. My private nurse Mary, had brought cool clothes to place on my forehead, spoon-fed me soup, and made sure I took my medicine.“Xander, you need to drink more water,” Mary said, holding a glass to my lips. Her voice was soft.I took a sip, wincing at the effort. “Thanks, Mary,” I mumbled, my voice hoarse.She smiled, patting my hand. “Just rest. You’ll feel better soon.”I kept thinking of how I met Sasha. We had moved the fam
XANDER’S POVBy the afternoon, I felt well enough to leave the house. It was time to face the world again. I switched on my phone, bracing myself for the onslaught of messages. The screen lit up with notifications, over a thousand messages and calls. My heart sank as I scrolled through them. Most were from my mom, my friends and Sasha. I didn’t bother opening any of the messages or calling back. I wasn’t ready for that yet.I packed a few things, took a deep breath, and headed home.Xander!” my mom called immediately I got home, rushing over to hug me. She wrapped me in a tight hug."Where have you been? I was so worried."I hugged her back, feeling guilty for ignoring her. "I'm sorry, Mom," I said, "I didn't mean to make you worry."She pulled back, looking at me with concern "Do you know how worried I was? Why have you been ignoring my calls and Sashas’ too? We were both worried."I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Mom, I really don't want to talk about it right now. I'm to
SASHA’S POV"Sasha, is it true you ran away from your first marriage?" someone had asked, thrusting a microphone into my face.My vision blurred, my head spun, and the next thing I knew, everything went dark then I woke up. I groan getting out of bed, my head pounding. Reality followed me to my dreams now. I was going crazy with everything that had been happening. Everything was spinning out of control, and I was just trying to hold on. Xander hadn't picked up my calls or replied to my texts at all. After telling me to never show up at his house anymore, he had completely cut me off. I still remembered his face and voice"Sasha, I don’t want to see you again. Ever," I stood there, stunned, unable to believe what I was hearing. I thought it was a joke and he’d soon change his mind but he didn’t and I had no choice than to leave.I also deactivated all apps on my phone. Every news page called my engagement a failure. My face was at every corner of the internet; “Engagement Disaster!"
ADELINE’S POVI stared at the paper in front of me. The numbers seemed surreal, almost too good to be true. One hundred million dollars. That’s how much they were offering for this campaign. All I had to do was sign. But the problem was that I had to do it with Xander. After turning down every single brand asking to partner with Xander, I thought they will let me be instead the deals kept coming and they offered more money instead. The truth was I didn’t want to be within a hundred meters radius as him, let alone work closely with him on a project. But the deal was good. Too good even. The visibility, the money, the opportunities that would come from it; it was a dream come true for my business.I thought of Sasha and how furious she’d be if I ever agreed to this and instead of wanting to refuse it the deal became even more tempting.She had called me several times to help her after the failed engagement but I knew better than that now, knowing who she is she’d make sure to turn t
SASHA’S POVI had been hiding from my father for weeks. He hated me, I was sure of it.Ever since my failed engagement our company's stocks had plummeted and he had been fighting hard to save what was left of our family business. The worst part was that the company was being boycotted, and it was all my fault.I made sure to stay quiet in my room whenever he was home. My mother would lie and tell him I wasn't there whenever he asked about me. It was safer that way. I couldn't face him, not with temper.But today, I needed to see Xander. I hadn't heard from him and I figured he must have calmed down by now. Maybe we could talk, clear the air and start over.I decided to dress up for the occasion. I put on a tight red dress that left little to the imagination and smoky makeup to remind him of what he was missing. My pointy heels were just perfect and made my legs longer.I left my room and came down the stairs when I saw my father coming out of his study.He was about to leave the hous
XANDER’S POVI sat in my office, staring at the pile of papers on my desk drumming my fingers on the oak surface. I was so angry and couldn’t get any work done. I had already instructed my secretary to not let anyone disturb me and tell them I was in a meeting but the truth is I was thinking of Adeline and how cold she acted towards me."Xander, you need to calm down," I told myself over and over but I couldn’t. The last time I saw her was at our last shoot. She looked stunning, as always. Her hair caught the light just right, and her smile was as radiant as ever. But that day, her smile didn't reach her eyes whenever she spoke to me. I had asked her to go out and eat with me after the shoot, hoping to spend some time together outside of work and talk but she declined. "I'm sorry, Xander. I have other plans," she said, and then she left.I haven’t felt the level of frustration I felt that day all my life. I clenched my fists, trying to control the anger I felt towards Sasha for ma
ADELINE’S POVI stared at the message on my phone, feeling my stomach twist."We are shooting in Macau," I said angrily to Clarissa, my secretary, who sat next to me in the car on our way to the office. She didn't seem fazed at all."It was in the contract," she said, her tone even and calm.I looked at her, flabbergasted. "Why didn’t you tell me?" I asked, my voice rising."Because you read through it and signed it yourself," she replied. I opened my mouth to argue, but then I closed it. She was right. I had read the contract. But I was thinking of Xander the whole time and must have missed this part. The legal team had confirmed it was a fair contract, too. I couldn't even blame her.I put my head back against the seat in the car and groaned. Clarissa glanced at me, a small smile on her lips."Instead of thinking the worst, why don't you use the trip to relax and unwind?" she suggested. "You haven't had a break since you came to Manhattan.""This is not a holiday," I snapped. "I’l