SEBASTIAN HOLDING:Wyatt parked the car in the parking lot. He wanted to go with me, but I told him to finish his work so he could retire to his room. A text message, huh? It would be better if it was something serious. Something that would make me smile. "Mr. Willis!” I called the butler. “Where is she?" I asked the butler the moment I entered the mansion. It was already quiet inside. No maids in the hallway. No one to greet me. Everyone had rested? "Mr. Willis!" I called the butler again. My voice was like thunder echoing against the hallway. He had been constantly bombarding Wyatt with text messages even when we were traveling. Which meant something serious had happened to her. Not that I cared anything about it, but I still needed her now. And I never had given her the signal to die. A fifty-year-old man came running in my direction. Sweat broke from his forehead. "Yes, Sebastian," he answered. "My apologies for not answering right away. I've been to her room.""You answer o
SEBASTIAN HOLDING:I wanted to laugh at Mr. Willis's allegations. Mr. Willis was damn sure I would spare my time in killing my own mother. "You think I am a murderer, Mr. Willis?" I asked, smirking not even offended by it. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, while I looked at him with an intense glare. "I am only concerned for you, Sebastian. Your mother cannot defend herself anymore. Killing her is a crime."If I wanted to kill her, she would have been dead already a long time ago after what she did to me and Father. Killing her too soon was not something on my mind. Mother had to suffer like how I suffered under her hands. "I do not understand why you keep on defending that woman. It was her who tried to kill me, wasn't she?"It was when I was four years old. She put poison on my drinks when her jealousy ran extreme. It was Mr. Willis who was able to notice Mother's evil plan of killing her own son. Mr. Willis wiped the sweat on his forehead. "That was a long time ago. The
POPPY:Who is calling me at this hour? I grumbled. The incessant ringing on my phone awakened me earlier than I set my alarm to. It had been ringing nonstop. I was supposed to be dismissing it, but it wouldn’t fucking stop! The caller should be thankful he or she was not destroying Kelly’s peaceful sleep. If not…still, this person needed to receive an earful of scoldings from me. Popping one eye open, the ray of sunlight had not entered my room. Not the time to awaken, yet. The ringing won't stop and the caller also had no plans of dropping the fucking call!Left with no choice, I slid my fingers on the screen and answered the phone. “Who is this?” I answered groggily. What day was it? Weekends? Weekdays?Too tired to know the answer. “Are you still lying on your bed?”Wait. That voice seemed familiar!My drowsiness disappeared upon recalling who was on the end of the line. Sebastian Holding. The devil incarnate. The reason why I am suffering now.I glared at the ceiling. Now
POPPY:You…It wasn’t meant to cause me embarrassment. So why do my cheeks keep on flushing as if I was damn affected? I was certain Sebastian did not mean anything to it. That question was based on pure curiosity. He is waiting for your answer on the other line, Poppy. Right. He did. But there was no way I would be telling him the truth. “Y-You heard wrong, Mr. Holding. W-why would my child want me to marry you?”“That child obviously has a taste in men.”“If you’re talking about yourself, then I would rather that she remain a child than grow up and face men like you,” I answered, not even sugar-coating my words. That was my baby down there. I heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side of the line. “Women said I am a catch.”“Perhaps it’s time I question my sexuality,” I retorted. “You have a sharp tongue, woman.”I smiled even if he did not see it. “That’s because I got to face a lot of men like you, Mr. Holding. Can we drop this topic and tell me what you need? I don’t
SEBASTIAN HOLDING:Women are the most complex individuals living on this planet. I could not imagine how a simple coffee would make Olivia agree to our marriage. There was nothing extraordinary about coffee. You needed her, the other part of my mind declared. I gritted my teeth. Fuck it. This should be worth a shot and if not, I will get back to that woman. She suggested this. I should be working by now, but instead, I wasted my time going there at Olivia’s house.“Where to?” Wyatt asked the moment I arrived at the garage. He was standing, leaving the passenger seat door open. “Anthony Hills.""We will be visiting Miss Olivia?” He raised his brows, surprise on his face. “At this hour? You normally do this.”"You're not the only one who is surprised."I was amazed at how I agreed to this. Making coffee for Olivia, huh? "What changed?"Nothing changed. I needed Olivia in my life. I wanted the company. Olivia is one of the women I needed to achieve that ambition. “Poppy, that wo
POPPY:I was already done bathing Kelly and cooking our food as well as cleaning the house but my mind was on Sebastian Holding which I knew shouldn’t be. I was supposed to hate him, not be worried about him. I shifted in my sitting position while staring at the mountain of plates on the sink. Because of Sebastian, I could not manage to touch the dishes. What the heck was wrong with you, Poppy? I did my best and now it was up to Sebastian to do the job right. If Olivia had turned him down again, it was not my fault anymore. If he did fail, knowing Sebastian Holding, he would always put the blame on me while saying he had given me the money. I should do my best, and I should give him the right result he wants. As if I had a hold on Olivia’s heart. Still, I could not help but wonder what had happened on his visit to Anthony Hills. As much as I did not like him, I should give my all in helping him to make this end as quickly as possible. Did he fail or did he succeed? Ugh. The w
POPPY:Sebastian Holding was coming over. My body went numb and my breathing became erratic. Why did my heart jump all of a sudden as if I had done something wrong to that man or was I wanting his presence?I shook my head. No. No. Impossible. This is madness.It was still a few days when I met that man and I could not allow myself to feel like this. I had a child for Pete’s sake and my child was my focus, not some silly feelings or whatever you call this. You stop feeling as if you will be seeing your crush for a long time, Poppy. So what if he came over? I looked at myself. Still wearing my sweaty pajamas. I needed to shower and wear something decent before Sebastian Holding arrived. Decent? It was not a requirement to make myself presentable. We will be grocery shopping and wearing shorts this summer season is also acceptable. It was time to show some skin, but not that much to attract perverts. “Mommy?”I was brought back to the present and was reminded that Kelly was stil
POPPY:You knew the feeling where it seemed like your mother had found out that you had done naughty things and you were busted?That was what I felt now as Sebastian Holding was giving me an intense stare. His gaze burned a hole in the top of my forehead, making me shuffle on my feet. I felt like I was small under his penetrated gaze.“What is it, woman?”“N-nothing. I did not say anything to her. It’s only her idea. Why would I also tell her that something seemed to be going on between us? It’s not like I like you.”I held my breath upon smelling his seductive smell. Was this what billionaire people smelt like? Delicious.No! Not delicious. Sebastian Holding was not an appetizer. He was not food. “You better not like me. I will repeat this over and over again. Do not fall for me, woman.”My brows furrowed. “I won’t, Mr. Holding. You are the last person I would ever fall in love with. I don’t have any plans on allowing any man to enter my life. Not even my ex-husband.”"It's too ea