(ARIELLE'S POV) "I'll be stepping out now, please ensure that nothing goes wrong in my absence," I said, as I took off my chef apron and hung it on the rail in the kitchen. I had just finished teaching the chefs a new delicacy and was about to rush off because I had somewhere important to be. "D
"And Good morning to you, too, Mr Smith," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Good morning, Arielle. How're you?" "Save the pleasantries and let's leave already," I said, curtly. He seemed hurt, but nodded, and turned the car on, as he careened it out of the street into the highway. The rest
(ARIELLE’S POV) I paused in my meal, my cutlery gently slipping away. And then my face heat up in embarrassment. "Oh, Jared and I, we're working on it," I stammered, trying to deflect the conversation. But Jared quickly intervened, his expression sheepish. "Actually, Grandma, it's my issue. I'm th
(JARED’S POV) When morning finally arrived, I couldn't shake off the feeling of relief I felt. I had never wished for morning to arrive like I did last night. Sharing a space alone with Arielle had been a terrible idea. Last night had been pure torture. Her scent had driven me wild. But I was glad
(SOFIA’S POV) Everyone was against me. It was maddening, but I couldn’t sit around brooding any longer. I needed to act, and I needed to act now. My mother’s words rang in my head on repeat: Let Jared know and believe. I had to let him know I was pregnant! But just reaching Jared was a Hercule
He took out his phone and punched on it, dialing Jared's number. He placed it on speaker afterward, and let it ring. As the phone rang, my heart jumped into my mouth as I thought of Jared's reaction. Would he be happy I was bearing his child and finally come back to me? Would he finally realize ho
(ARIELLE’S POV) "No way! You actually spent the night with him? Just because of his grandmother?" Ashley's voice rang with disbelief. "Shh! We didn’t sleep together, Ash!" I felt the heat rise to my cheeks at the memory of last night. "We just… stayed in the same room, that’s all." “Oh, sure," sh
The restaurant was a beehive of activities, as it was noon, it was bustling with lunchtime crowd and orders. We approached the bar, and that's when I saw her. Sofia. Of course. Not a surprise for me anymore. Standing by the bar, her eyes locked into mine with a mix of malice and fierness. Her
“I won’t be long in the shower,” he promised as he dashed into the bathroom. I picked up my phone and found a couple of missed calls from Michael Langley. A little frown crossed my face until I realized he might’ve worried after checking on me at my suite. I didn’t owe him any explanations of cours
(ARIELLE’S POV) I was awake—eyes closed, but very much aware of my surroundings. I could feel the gentle early morning breeze dance over my skin as it traveled across the room. The warmth of Jared’s skin against mine, his spring arms wrapped around me like a second blanket, brought back very vivid
(MICHAEL’S POV) I was on a zoom conference call with my strategy team back home when my phone rang. Normally, I’d just ignore it and let it ring out until whoever it was on the other end got the message. But when I looked at the caller ID, I thought better. “Jared. Is everything okay?” I asked my
“That bounce in his step? You’ll only ever find it in a man who’s in love. And you.. your skin has a different glow this morning. Plus you arrived an hour late for our appointment,” Ellen finished with a shrug. “Morning, Dr. Keystone,” Jared nodded as he walked into the room. “Good morning, Mr. Sm
(ARIELLE’S POV) I woke up in his arms, this time, fully aware and hardly willing to break the contact between our bodies. I slowly turned around to look at his face, to be sure none of it was a dream. Jared’s lips stretched in a smile and his eyes peeled open gradually. “Hey,” he said. “Hey,” I e
She opened her mouth to speak, but her words died away in the back of her throat the moment I slid myself into her. It felt like heaven. It felt like returning back to a place I’d vowed never to set foot in, only to realize I’d never really left in my heart—if I was being honest with myself. She
(JARED'S POV) When we arrived at the hotel, Arielle insisted on stopping by her room first for a quick shower and to change her dress. I didn’t object because I thought I could use the time to surprise her with a little culinary adventure. The poor chicken I put in the oven would have fared better
(JARED’S POV) It was all I could think about for most of the day. And I feared it bothered her somewhat too. It didn’t help my case the slightest bit that she built a wall between us, pushing me off every time I tried to broach the topic. Of course I knew that had to be the reason—our adventure of
“Sorry about that. I just wanted to go through everything we have to do first,” Julian explained, earning a little roll of the eyes from his ex-wife. I was glad that I didn’t need to be sedated for the tests they were about to conduct. Something about lying still and unconscious again with no defin