“All you have to do is sign here and that’s it. We’re done!” the boss announced loudly. Hayden didn’t seem at all surprised at how his father seemed to be rushing and impatient about everything. Instead of bothering us to travel to the city hall, the boss had a representative from the city hall turn up to our mansion with our marriage registry ready for signing. The thin and frail middle-aged man who had the misfortune to be selected for this task looked like he couldn’t wait to get this over and done with so that he could go home. The ride to this mansion with a blindfold on must have been harsh on him psychologically if not physically as well considering his age. I fully sympathized with him, and I had to say that from my experience I could understand what it really felt like. The way the man trembled as he stood in front of us reminded me of the old and unfortunate priest that was supposed to wed us twice at the church. I wished that our union wouldn’t need to involve any more un
I wondered if other people saw him this way as well or if it was just me because I was probably too obsessed and in love with my husband. That was a question that I kept to myself in amusing wonder. “Do you want to come along?” Hayden asked suddenly when I finished with his tie.“I can?” I exclaimed in shock. “You can’t leave my side, if you’re fine with that then you can,” Hayden replied with a smile. “I’m fine with that. I need to get dressed…like right now…” I replied in a shocked whisper before quickly turning around to head to the dressing room. I heard Hayden laughing behind me as I rushed off to get some presentable clothes on. After marrying Hayden it wasn’t made entire clear whether I could leave the house and go out as I liked like normal or not. Even with the improvement in the situation with Silva and the other small gangs after my kidnapping, Hayden was still cautious about taking me outside. I did my best to be patient and understanding about all this. My not-so-plea
“Well, if there are no questions. Let’s start the discussion. Ethan, why don’t you try to tell everyone why this is such a great idea…” the boss said as he waved his hand at Ethan to stand up. Ethan’s face clearly showed that he didn’t expect that he had to make a speech of any kind. Regardless, he stood up and smiled around at everyone at the room. When he started speaking, I was awestruck by how mature he sounded and looked. Had he always been like this? Probably not. He’s changed so much from the time that we were together and probably in a way that was better for him and the gang that he now leads and controls. I didn’t focus on what he was saying at all because I was too busy admiring the man that he had become. Sure, he turned out very differently from what I imagined he would be like in our future together during the time that we were together. However, I doubt that I turned out the way that he had imagined me either. “Stop gawking at him or I’m going to make sure that this
“So, why isn’t that fair?” I asked, still not getting his point. Hayden grinned at me and gave me a look that seemed to pity me and my stupidity. I glared back at him as I silently demanded for an answer. “Think about it, Malissa. People are asked the put up their hands. Nothing in the rules states that they have to put their hands up at the same time. So, say…who will put their hand up first?” Hayden prompted me to think. “Huh?” I murmured in confusion. “Even worst…let’s say that I don’t put my hand up when they ask who is in favor. What do you think those old Torex folks are going to do?” Hayden asked with an innocent smile on his lips. They won’t put their hands up. If the next heir doesn’t put his hand up, they probably won’t put their hand up to vote in favor. This is all because they can see what the other people are choosing to do, and they can react to it. Everyone will be watching everyone else. Why didn’t I realize this before?I thought of the eyes of the Torex manage
All eyes were on Hayden’s raised hand including my own. The silence that dominated the room made it feel like time had stopped. Suddenly, many more hands shot up into the air at the same time and it was like time had resumed itself again. Although Hayden had told me that something of this effect would take place, I still found myself a little stunned at the almost comical scene in front of me. This whole thing was pretty much rigged for sure from the start. It was like the managers didn’t even put any thought in the partnership and was just blindly following Hayden and his choice. That being said, not every manager of Torex hand their hands up in the air. It was just like before, not all managers seemed to be on Hayden’s side or in favor of him taking over. Although that was the case, I could tell that there were more than enough hands in the air for this proposal to pass. “Thank you. If there is no one else, then we will proceed forward. May I ask everyone who votes against his pro
After coming back to the mansion from the hospital, I had left the letter there with the thought to read it later alone when I had time to relax. It wasn’t like I had forgotten about it, more like I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. “In my closet. Should I go get it now?” I offered.“No. Eat first. We can read it right after dinner,” Hayden said as he began eating. I chewed at the food while my mind wondered why Hayden wanted to read the letter that Ethan gave to me so much? Was he just jealous and wanted to pry into what Ethan had written? Was that it? Finally, dinner was over, and we headed to Hayden’s living room where he waited for me to go fetch the letter that Ethan had given me. When I opened the envelope there was another envelope inside that looked much older than the one on the outside. Something about the old and slightly worn envelope told me that the letter inside wasn’t written recently and that it wasn’t written by Ethan. There was no point in wondering or gu
‘In my time with the mafia, I had been fortunate enough to help raise two boys who will be influential in the mafia scene when they get older. Their names are Ethan and Hayden. If you meet them, which I am sure that you will, please apologize to them for me for not taking care of them until the very end. Those two should have grown up into very respectable men right now. If they know who you are, they will undoubtedly help and support you. Hayden’s father and I are very close friends. When he helped to rescue you from danger, we made a funny promise that you would marry Hayden in the future. We doubt that that would really happen, but we would be beyond happy if that is how things have turned out. Lastly, we love you and we just want you to know that we are proud of you and whatever choices you made for yourself.’“With endless love…” I finished reading the letter. “Don’t cry, Malissa,” Hayden told me. “I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized as I wiped my tears away with my hands. “It’
Staring at the dark circles under my eyes in the mirror, I was finally convinced that I had to do something about this recurring nightmare before I really lose it. The answer was simple enough to identify but as always it was much harder to execute. I should tell Hayden about the dream and simply ask him about it. There are two reasons why I haven’t done that just yet. First, I had been trying to understand what the dream could mean and how it may have a link to reality. So far, I’ve come up with a very plausible theory even if I do say so myself. Second, it was just plain hard to bring this topic up to Hayden. Something told me that he wouldn’t like to discuss it with me. I’ve realized it way before now that Hayden wasn’t a fan of digging up old relics from the past. It was a few days later when I found the perfect opportunity to talk about it with Hayden. Thankfully, we didn’t have to do anything in preparation for our wedding ceremony or celebration. The boss was happy enough if