Hello, readers. A few chapters were modified, and I suggest you re-read from chapter 219 just in case you're finding it difficult to keep up with the storyline. Apologies for the stress it might cause. In the end, I want you all the read quality chapters that worth your coins. With all my love–Gabby Emmanuel.❤️
JARED’S POV) I arrived at the office, intent on doing a little work before returning to the hospital. But concentration never felt like a Herculean task like it felt for me today. The more I tried to focus on work, the more my mind remained restless. My thoughts kept drifting back to Arielle, wonde
"Please, let me take a look," he requested, his voice now professional. I handed him the sachet, watching as he carefully opened it and examined the contents. His expression turned thoughtful, and he nodded to himself. "Yes, this is indeed a very powerful aphrodisiac," he said finally, looking up
(JARED'S POV) "Are you in that much hurry to get rid of us?" I asked Maverick, raising a brow as I tried to stifle a grin. He chuckled, his eyes sparkling with more mischief. "Maybe. My mommy needs rest and she doesn't need two bodyguards watching over her." Dwayne and I exchanged puzzled looks.
(DWAYNE’S POV) I paused in my tracks as I took some moment to take in the sight before me. Arielle was sitting up on the bed, while Jared sat at the foot, feeding her. Scanning the room further, I realized there was no sign of Mrs Meyers and Maverick. Where could they be? But the sight before me w
“Oh, you two are here already,” Doctor Ramirez said, smiling. “Hi, doctor,” Jared and I greeted simultaneously. “Hi,” Mrs Meyers, I called out to the older woman as I was just seeing her for the first time this morning. “Hi, Dwayne,” she called back. “It's good to see you. You missed Maverick a
(ARIELLE’S POV) I turned in my sleep. My left side was beginning to hurt from lying on it for too long. Morning sounds floated around me, and I dated a peek out the open window from my lying position. The lights hit my eye with such harshness that I shut them back and willed myself to go back to sl
“And you’re both squabbling like high school girls again,” I rolled my eyes. “See? He’s a big baby,” Jared pointed out. “And so are you!” Dwayne argued. “Enough, you two!” I cut them both short. They both looked down in shame and their room was quiet for a fleeting second, until Jared broke the
(JARED’S POV) I couldn’t quite put what I was doing in the kitchen into the adequate words, but I felt my way through it. I pulled out a pan from the cupboard above me and placed it down on the cooktop. Moments later, Dwayne shuffled into the room. Arielle had fallen asleep on our watch— more like
(ARIELLE'S POV) I felt Jared freeze on me, and then he relaxed, accepting the hug. We stayed that way for seconds, no words uttered, just silent communication. A few seconds later, I disengaged from the hug feeling much better. It felt like the soothing balm I needed. And without a word, I grabbed
(ARIELLE'S POV) After I left Dwayne at the bar, I had left for the location Jared and I were meeting, and we had both boarded the jet together. We sat side by side with each other, and I awkwardly realized that it was the first time in months that I had been in such close proximity to him, and I fo
(DWAYNE’S POV.) Arielle walked up to the entrance of the bar and stopped, her face etched with uncertainty. We held each other’s gazes in silence. The wind whipped her hair up to her face and she held it away from her eyes. I fought the urge to reach out and pull her under the shade of the building
(DWAYNE’S POV.) For moments after Arielle spoke I remained silent, clenching and unclenching my fists in fury. I gritted my teeth so hardly they might have turned into fine power under the pressure. Nothing made sense. Jared opened his mouth to speak and closed it. Arielle remained silent herself,
(DWAYNE'S POV)I strode into the room, my eyes locking onto Jared. The anger burned low in my gut, rising with every step, threatening to snap its leash. I had known. My instincts had screamed at me, warning me that something was off. And of course, Brown had tipped me off just in time—restless, pacing, sensing an intruder before I even stepped onto the property. Jared. I knew he would do this. Bypass me. Come straight to Arielle. Because he knew exactly what he wanted—to take her away. To convince her to take the risk. Arielle stood calm, as if she had already processed the weight of the conversation before my arrival. She turned to me, her voice measured. *“We were… discussing a possible new treatment.”* A treatment. Right. That’s what he was selling. I barely kept my expression neutral as I shifted my gaze back to Jared. “We already heard the diagnosis, Jared. And you were there when the doctors said it—Arielle’s body isn’t in any condition for experimental procedure
(ARIELLE'S POV) In Flåm, a small town in Norway, I experienced the most peaceful autumn and early winter of my life. When I first arrived with Dwayne, the country was bathed in autumn colors—burnt orange, deep crimson, and golden leaves that drifted lazily through the crisp air. There was a stillness here, a kind of quiet that softened the weight pressing on my soul. I had forgotten what it felt like to breathe without pain, to exist without the ache of memories gnawing at my mind. Three months passed. Winter arrived, blanketing the town in a hushed white serenity. The air grew sharper, filled with the scent of frost, and the world around me slowed. The cold should have bitten into my skin, but strangely, I felt nothing—neither the chill nor the warmth of the crackling fireplace inside my little ranch. My heart had been numb for so long, it didn’t know how to thaw. Dwayne wasn’t by my side all the time. In fact, our one-on-one moments were so rare I could count them on one hand
Regaining my composure, I exchanged a concerned glance with Mrs. Meyers before following Maverick. My heart pounded in my chest, a terrible weight pressing down on me with each step toward Arielle’s room. We found him there—his small arms wrapped so tightly around his mother that his little fingers turned white from the force of his grip. He buried his face into her, as if holding her close could somehow fix everything, as if his warmth could pull her back from the abyss she was slipping into. But Arielle didn’t react. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge the desperate embrace of the little boy who loved her more than anything in this world. She just sat there. Silent. This was what I had been trying to avoid, I wanted to shield Maverick from this, from watching his mother fade away in front of his eyes. But it seemed I was doing a bad job. I stood there, helpless. I wanted to pull Maverick away, tell him that everything was going to be okay, that I would fix this so
(JARED'S POV)I remained in that position, rocking Arielle gently, until her trembling subsided and she fell asleep in my arms. I gently laid her down on the bed, making sure not to disturb her. As I stepped back, the door went open and Mrs Meyers stepped in.“What happened?” She asked, her eyes bearing concern as they landed on the scattered remains of the herbal tea package on the floor.I hesitated, conflicted about my response. “It's nothing,” I said finally, trying to wave it aside. “It just slipped from my hand.” I didn't want to hurt her but telling her the truth.Her eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief, but she didn't press the issue. Instead, she nodded and said, “Alright, I'll have it cleaned up.”I tried to protest, but she waved me off. “Was there any progress?” Her gaze drifted to Arielle, who was still sleeping peacefully.I shook my head, feeling bad about being the bearer of the bad news. “Not much.”She nodded, but I saw her eyes cloud over with disappointment. I felt
She turned to me, eyes burning with rage and something deeper—something more painful. Something I had never seen before. “I do not need your pity or acts of charity. Do you think I don't know how you see me now? You think I'm a broken and useless woman, don't you?” I was momentarily tongue tied as I gaped at her in shock. “Arielle, I–” “Do you think throwing money at this will fix it?” Her voice cracked, but the fire in it was unrelenting. “Do you think you can just buy back the part of me that’s already dead?”I took a step forward, my hands held out in a placating gesture. “I'll find a solution, I promise I will, Arielle, please...” “You don’t get it.” She took a shaky breath, hands curling into fists. “I don’t care about expensive ingredients. I don’t care about world-class chefs. I don’t care about any of it because none of it matters anymore!”She was screaming now, and it made my chest ache. She never yelled. Not like this. I tried to steady my voice, to hold on to reason, be