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FORTY

last update Last Updated: 2024-01-14 06:22:58

LATER THAT day as the setting sun bathed the driveway in a warm, golden glow, Brad pulled up and was immediately struck by the sight of Doris' shiny new car—a sleek and stylish number that had clearly been through the wringer. A deep gash marred the otherwise pristine paint job as if the vehicle had been slashed by some vengeful wild feline with claws of steel.

Perplexed, Brad jumped out of his car and approached the damaged vehicle, running his hand along the jagged edge of the gash.

"Whoa!" He muttered under his breath. "What in the world happened to her car?"

He furrowed his brow as he tried to imagine what could have caused such a scar—a hit-and-run, a run-in with a mailbox, or perhaps even a very disgruntled rival.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, he decided to save the sleuthing for later. For now, he had more pressing matters to deal with. Instead of walking into the main building, he made it straight for Doris' apartment and pushed the doorbell.

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  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   FORTY-TWO

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  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   FORTY-FOUR

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  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   FORTY-FIVE

    "LANA. . .?!" Doris' eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open in shock. It was Brad's sister, Lana Bruce. Lana closed the remaining distance between them. Her countenance was identical to Doris'. "Doris, What. . . what are you doing here?" She stammered. Doris' face broke into a small smile. "Well, I just got enrolled for this class," she answered. "What are about you? What are you going here?" Doris was most certain Lana shouldn't be here at this time. She should be at the firm, or in the court defending her client. From the little she knew about them, The Bruces were nothing but serious when it came to their field of work. Take Brad for an example. That man was MAD when it came to work. Lana chuckled, a little too nervously. "I'm the temporary instructor for this class!" Doris' features froze for the second time that day. "You're what? Shouldn't you be at the Law firm? Do your family even know you're here?" Lana scratched the back of her neck. "W

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    HE HAD DONE IT NOW. There was no turning back. No pondering if he should have or shouldn't have. No second-guessing. He'd taken the leap. For better or worse, he'd made love to her, and now he would have to deal with the consequences. The events of the past hour were still fresh in his mind. And yet, for some reason, he wasn't the least bit unhappy. He didn't even feel he'd made a mistake. On the contrary, he couldn't remember ever being so content, so satisfied and so looking forward to the future. He knew that even if it was a mistake, it was a mistake he was glad he'd made. He looked over at the woman sleeping next to him, a peaceful smile on her lips. Doris was so beautiful, so amazing and so much more than he'd remembered. She felt so right in his arms, she might have been designed with him in mind. He watched her as she slept. He wanted to snuggle next to her and watch her sleep till the break of dawn but he knew he had to get up and go home.

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Latest chapter

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   WRITER'S NOTE

    PHEW! Finally, we've come to the end of the beautiful love trip! And to everyone who boarded this ride—TENKISSES! I can't begin to express how thankful I am for giving this book a chance and I hope you loved it just as you loved the first book "When The Wrong One Loves You Right" I'd love to hear your thoughts so don't hesitate to leave me a review. It means a lot to me. Now, to my nieces, who inspired "Nora and Maxie" character, I love you so much. To my incredible readers, editor, and everyone who helped make this book a success, I'm so thankful to every one of you for your support through it all. You're all awesome! And you all deserve a Happy Forever!Big Heart, Bethel W.C. Eke

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   EPILOGUE

    TWO MONTHS LATER. . . Doris was finally happy with her family! And she enjoyed every moment of it. Her life had been a roller coaster in less than a year. She'd been through heartbreak, and pain, and had almost lost her son. Now, all she wanted to do was enjoy the little beautiful moment she shared with her family. She'd kept her promise to Lucy. She had transferred her sister to a better hospital where she was receiving the best treatment. And as for Lucy, she dropped all charges against her. She wanted to live her life in peace and happiness and she also wanted the people around her to be happy. And that was why she was riding Sam to the Evans Mansion to meet that hard-headed father of hers. Doris had flown all the way to Italy and spent a week there just to convince Sam that no woman was better for Charles Evans than her. The moment they walked into the mansion, Doris watched as they watched each other for a long moment. No words were said. And then, th

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SEVENTY

    DORIS SLOWLY made her way up the rooftop of the almost dilapidated building. Praying with every wrinkle in her that the kids were safe. As she rode alone to the address that Lucy had sent her, a lot of thoughts and questions kept swirling in her head. Why was Lucy doing this to her? What wrong did she do to deserve? She tried to think of how and when she'd offended Lucy. She'd been nothing but good to her so why was she doing this? As Doris got to the rooftop, the voices of three kids who were tied to chairs so close to the very low railings, called out to her behind the duct tape muffling their cries. Doris' heart dropped to her stomach as she watched them struggle. She ran towards them to free them from their bondage but Lucy held Max's chair, tilting it towards the low railings, causing the poor kid to whimper in fright. "Move another inch and I will let go," Lucy threatened in a matter-of-factly tone. Doris held up her hand in surrender. "Okay, Lucy," she

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-NINE

    THE NEXT morning, Brad rode in Doris' car as they hurried toward the private apartment where the special detective, Jean, Evelyn, and Jason awaited them. Detective Jean who was helping them with Doris' stalker case had sent them a collective test that he'd gotten a lead that could help them identify the psychopath terrorizing her life. Yes, it had all been a plan! Doris coming into the limelight with all that maximum force wasn't only because she wanted to pursue her career again but also because it was a plan, she'd come up with to pull the perpetrator out of his hole in order to capture him once and for all. They were basically fishing and Doris was the bait. As Doris narrated the whole plan and where they'd left off, Brad couldn't help getting increasingly worried. He still hasn't gotten over the fact that she'd almost lost her life and that they'd lost their daughter four years ago. Now, she was putting her safety on the line to catch a criminal. A

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-EIGHT

    AS EXPECTED the anonymous threats came flooding in again but this time Doris was not scared. In fact, she'd been going all out. Ever since the press conference that had announced her as the president of D&M agency and her comeback as Supermodel Doris Evans, she'd been nowhere but in the public eye. She revived her social media presence, attended as many interviews as possible, and rode on whatever publicity came her way. She'd even given Geneviève the permission to commerce project expand D&M. She was not going to let some psychopathic person pull her down. AGAIN. She wasn't about to go down without a fight. And she was very well prepared. After a busy day at work, Evelyn drove Doris back home for their once-in-a-week "Girls' Night Out". That was just their upgraded version of a slumber party. As they drove into her driveway, Doris was surprised to find Brad and Nora on her doorstep. The moment they stepped out of the vehicle, Nora screeched wit

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-SEVEN

    BRAD WAS A MESS! He'd never been this messed up in his entire life. Not even when his ex-wife had cheated on him. He missed Doris so much. The thought of her consumed him and filled him with longing and regret, but he knew there was no going back. He tried to focus on the present moment, but it was like a mirage, shifting and changing before his eyes. He thought about her every moment. He was even beginning to see things. He saw her everywhere he looked, her face smiling at him from every corner of his home. . . at work. . . at the coffee shop. . . everywhere. He thought he could get over her by overrunning himself with work. But, the more Brad tried to bury himself in work, the more he found himself thinking about Doris. And when he turned to alcohol for comfort, it only served to make him feel even more empty inside. He was in a vicious cycle, unable to escape the memories of her that haunted him day and night. It was as if she had become a ghost, a specter th

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-SIX

    IT WAS already a week and Doris still couldn't get over her pain of losing Brad again. She missed him so much. She was in great pain that it hurt to even breathe. Ever since she got back to Paris, no one knew she'd arrived. Except, Max's Nanny, Lucy who had been nothing but an angel, looking after not just Max but also Doris. Doris hadn't even contacted her best friend yet. She wanted to make sure she was at least sixty percent before she met anyone she knew, especially Evelyn. Because she was bound to have another emotional breakdown once she faced her and knowing her best friend, she would book the first flight to LA to give Brad a piece of her. And she didn't want any more chaos. Doris wasn't the only one who was wrecked by the whole situation, Max was in an even more terrible state. He'd been diagnosed with separation anxiety two days after they arrived. He couldn't eat or sleep properly. And that only added to Doris' list of concerns. She hated seeing her son thi

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-FIVE

    BRAD TURNED to face Lydia. Lean, dark features set with chilling intent as he gave her a quelling look of granite hardness. "What are you talking about? He demanded harshly. Lydia crossed her arms and gave Brad a condescending look. "Oh, please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, Brad. I know you're a smart guy. And I'm pretty sure you've known a long time that Nora isn't your biological daughter." Brad's hands curled into fists as he tried to curb his temper. Lydia was right. He did know that Nora was not his biological daughter. He'd found out about the onset of her condition when the hospital had run an overall test on Nora and her Blood type had come out as a Blood type O whereas he was a type AB and so was Lydia. That piqued his curiosity which had led him to run a paternity test. He'd been shocked to his bone marrow when the result came back negative. The little princess he adored, the only beautiful thing that came out of his failed marr

  • Love's Inferno: When Fire Meets Ice   SIXTY-FOUR

    "WHAT IS it, Mrs. Hopkins?" Doris prompted, a mixture of anxiety and concern in her tone. "It's Nora," Mrs. Hopkins replied. "She wouldn't stop crying since she arrived from the event." "What? Why?" Doris was saying those words a lot today, that she was starting to dread them. Concern shifted to anger on the older woman's face. "Well, apparently, her so-called mother left her a few minutes after they got to the museum to attend to a very crucial appointment and promised the poor child to return just in time. But still, now, her mother is nowhere to be found. She's not even taking her calls. Nora was brought home by Ethan's mom and since then she hasn't stopped crying. . ." Doris began to hurry towards Nora's room as Mrs. Hopkins followed behind her. How could Lydia do this to her daughter? As she approached her room she could hear her whimpers from within. She knocked softly on her door. "Nora, honey, are you okay?" "GO AWAY!" Nora screeched as her wailing am

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