JULIE POV"I am here to see Enoch Stanton. Tell him it's Julie Ping, his wife's best friend," I said, and the secretary gave me a one-over, a scoff escaping her lips as she focused back on what she was doing. "You'll need an appointment to see Mr Stanton. He's a very busy man and won't appreciate me disturbing his work just because someone like you wants to see him"Her words didn't hurt; I was used to everyone looking down on me or treating me as if I didn't matter anyway but It was all going to change very soon. I would come out on top, and they'll all be sorry that they were shitty to me. "This is really important...." I paused glancing at her name tag, "Helena, Delia sent me to tell him something important. You do not want to get into trouble with Enoch when he finds out that you deliberately stopped me from seeing him..." "I am trying to work, lady," She cut me off and, this time, held my gaze menacingly. "If Delia Herrera wants her husband to know about something, I am a hund
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED POV "How about we throw a party to celebrate finding your wife?" Séda asked, and I glanced at her, knowing that she wasn't really asking a question but telling me what she wanted to do. "Why would you want to throw a party, Séda, or did you and Father forget what roles you played in her abduction?" I said, watching her expression, but there was no crack in her armor. "She disrespected our name and had to face the consequences. Just because she was your wife, it didn't mean that she was going to get immunity," she said, and I got to my feet and strode towards her until I stood In front of her menacingly."Don't give me that bullshit Séda, you did what you did because nothing pleases you more than suffering and misery. You wanted to destroy me...""No, I wanted to make you stronger. How else would you have shot at your father and brother if I hadn't pushed you to the limit? How else would you have known just how powerful you could be... Celine made you weak; I cou
CELINE HERRERA POVMy anxiety level was through the roof as I inspected the sexy lingerie in my hand and the others that had been handpicked for me as the best options. Could I really do it? Could I play the slut and seduce someone like Belshar. He wanted me now, but how long was it going to take before his desire faded out? It was either this or nothing, I just hoped that I was able to guard my heart from falling harder than it already has. Surviving alone has always been my forte anyway. "I'll take these," I said to the attendant, and she smiled brightly. "They are perfect choices Mrs Belshar. Your husband is going to be absolutely smitten" she got out giddily. The only thing she didn't do was squeal and scream as she walked away from me to package the item. Her enthusiasm was contagious, though, and I found myself smiling. let's see how long you last, Belshar. He said he was going to make me fall in love with him again, but what he didn't know was I'd always been in love wit
CELINE HERRERA POV The sound of the waves beating against the rocks made my eyes jerk open, and I sat upright Belshar had parked the car, and as I stared out of the window toward the vast body of water a few distance from us, a gasp escaped my lips, and I jerked to face Belshar, who had had his gaze on me all the while."You look excited; I take it that you like your surprise."I nodded eagerly, tears springing into my eyes. "It has been so long since I've been to the Sea. How did you know this was my favorite place" He smiled. "I guess my stalking tendencies paid off." I laughed, yanked the door of the car open, and came out, then I took off my shoes so I could feel the sand beneath my feet. The feeling was both exhilarating and nostalgic. I turned to face Belshar. He'd come out of the car and had also taken off his shoe like I did."How does that feel?" I asked excitedly, and he glanced down at the sand as if they were foreign objects beneath his feet. "It feels weird. The last
KAIL ABED NESSAR"He knows you are planning something, Kail," Sedá uttered and I looked up from the weapons I was examining, a sharp breath escaping my lungs as I realized what that meant—visions of Belshar ripping out my heart flashed through my mind."That's impossible" I got out more to assure myself than her. "He might have a hunch, but that's all there is. I have been very careful" "Do not underestimate Belshar, just because he keeps quiet, it doesn't mean he's not aware of what is going on. He has ears and eyes everywhere. There was a look in his eyes that made me uneasy Kail, I am certain that he knows something" I whirled to face her, non-existent dark fumes poisoning my lungs and making it difficult to breathe. "Well, what do you want me to do? I can not stop now when I already have a sizable number of men on our side. Those men would die for me, they fear nothing""Belshar wants you to go to Vratia" she let out, a dead look in her eyes. My body trembled with rage. "Does h
CELINE HERRERA POV "What's your favorite color" Belshar asked as he threw the ball to me. I caught it, then inspected the ball as I mulled the question over. His eyes came to mind and I smiled. "Green," I said and his eyes widened. "You love my eyes don't you" he grinned and I threw the ball back to him with more force than was necessary but he caught it with ease, the grin never leaving his lips. "Does that mean I am right""No, you're just full of yourself. It can't be helped I guess" I got out and he chuckled. "What is your favourite colour""Blue, especially the shade of your eyes kind of blue," he said without missing a beat and I rolled my eyes. "For a mafia king, you are so cringe" I got out and barely caught the ball as he threw it. "It used to be red. Blood red, nothing pleased me more than cutting into the flesh of my enemies" I paused, staring at him. "Did you always enjoy killing people""I never wanted to kill anyone, but I had to. In my world, it's either kill or b
DELIA HERRERA POV My nails were bitten short from anxiety. I'd gotten that video with no context whatsoever and no demands were being made, so I didn't know what to expect. I didn't even know who bloody sent it.I tugged at my hair, then stopped as the door opened. Enoch stepped into the house, his eyes moving around the room until they came to land on me. There was no smile on his face, and his eyes looked a bit dilated. We both stood staring at each other and when I had enough of the awkward silence, I spoke up."You're late. You never come back this late" He snorted, then yanked off his suit "Were you waiting up for me? You don't look like it." he got out dryly as he let the suit drop to the floor, then he regarded me more keenly, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you look like you've committed another heinous crime and now you're worried you are going to get caught" The breath in my lungs ceased to exist for a second."What did you just say" I questioned, my brain firing In differen
CELINE HERRERA POV The board meeting went as planned and Delia stepped down for me to take over just like she said she would. I could tell that the smile on her face throughout the process was fake though and I wondered just how long she was going to keep up the charade.Everyone was happy to see me back, but there were so many problems the company was facing that after the reappointment, we all got together to deliberate on how to move the business forward. Delia acted like she didn't know what the problem was as we conversed but I was sure she knew just how low sales had dropped in recent months because of her bad business plan and company funds that couldn't be traced to any activities. We were even falling behind on our annual quotas. "We need to come up with a solution as soon as possible. Our rivals are gaining in on us and even though the other companies are doing fair enough, we as the mother company are far behind on what we should be realizing""You don't have to worry Mr
CELINE HERRERA POV The shot was a warning and Delia flinched, getting distracted for a second, but that was all I needed. I shoved at her hard and she fell to the floor, a gasp escaping her lips. The gun skidded out of her hold and she crawled after it. I got it before she could, then I kicked her in the face with my leg. She grunted, her head smacking against the hard concrete. She slumped to the floor, blood seeping out of the cut on her head. The cops lying in wait all rushed up to the roof, then they swooped in and grabbed her by the arms, handcuffed her hand, and dragged her to her feet. Delia looked around wildly as her shock wore off, and then her gaze met mine in disbelief. "How... How" she stuttered but I felt no pity for her. I'd always wanted her to pay for her crimes and now that it was happening, It felt like a breath of fresh air."It was pretty easy Delia. You are not as sly as you think you are" Once I was sure they had her secure, I walked toward her and wasn't s
CELINE HERRERA POV "I'm so glad you are here Grandma. I thought you wouldn't make it" Grandma held my face In her hand, a smile on her face. "I would travel over the seven seas just to celebrate you, my child.""Aww, that is so Sweet. I am so sorry for the stress though. It must have been exhausting for you""You don't have to apologize. I should be able to do this much after everything that happened" I frowned. "Didn't we say we were going to forget about that, Grandma?" "Oh right, we said that. I'm sorry, I keep forgetting about that. You look so beautiful by the way. You're so pretty, it's making me tear up" she said and I laughed "You're going to make me cry too, Grandma"She patted my head and then looked around. "Where is Belshar. Why isn't he here by your side? He's been gone for a while hasn't he""I'm sure he'll be back soon," I said, glancing around. The music suddenly got louder and the DJ encouraged everyone to get on the dance floor."See, he should be here with you.
DELIA HERRERA POV Celine was smiling and moving through the crowd. She looked so happy that it made me sick. I watched as she spoke with some group of people, the happy smile on their faces making my fist clench. Bunch of people pleasers. I was sure most of them didn't even like her. They were all just pretending so that they could get something out of her. It had been annoying to find out that despite all the money I'd siphoned out of the company, she'd still managed to rebrand it and keep it running. Then she went on to change the name, erasing Herrera from it. She destroyed my very legacy. All the time that I suffered, she'd spent it in achieving great things and being happy with Belshar.Tremor racked through me all of a sudden and I swayed on my feet. My hand trembled and my body grew hot. I knew exactly what I needed. The darn pills that Zane had gotten me addicted to. Why hadn't I taken the stupid pills? I thought I could survive without them but now as I shook like I was c
BELSHAR NESSAR ABED The party was in full swing. My gaze stayed on Celine as she laughed and mingled with the guests, and I couldn't help but fall deeper in love with her. She was so damn perfect, she made my heart ache. As if attuned to my gaze, she glanced up and our gaze clashed. Her eyes brightened, then she blew me a kiss. I made a show of catching it then grinned as she grinned bashfully and put her hand over her heart.I mimicked her gesture and then gave a nod back. Celine's smile widened, but then she pressed her lips together and pointed with her chin that someone was behind me."Belshar" My expression hardened as I turned to face Kail. It was one thing that Celine had invited him to the party but that he was shameless enough to come was another. "Thanks for inviting me..." "Don't bother with that Kail, I didn't invite you. I am also sure you know how I feel about you being here. Didn't I warn you to stay out of my sight" He blanched, then stepped back. "I just wanted
DELIA HERRERA POVZane was right about everything and I hated that he was. His words rang in my head, driving me Insane.Wanting to get rid of those voices In my head, I reached for the bottles of pills, my hands trembling as I uncapped them. I glanced inside it and noticed that there wasn't much left Inside. I frowned, wondering just how many I'd used up in two days, then recalled that each time I felt even the slightest discomfort, I'd drowned the pills as if they were the solution to all my problems... Maybe they were. I didn't feel as shitty when I was high on them.I picked out two of the pills and then stopped as I brought them to my mouth. Was I really going to do this too myself? Was I just going to watch everything crumble like dust around me?I couldn't. Throwing the pills away, I capped the bottle shut and got up from the bed.A quick shower helped to reduce the tremors in my hands and also helped clear my head."You are Delia Herrera, Delia," I told myself because it was
DELIA HERRERA POV "You said you wanted to watch me kill Celine. It's been three days now and you still haven't told me how that's going to happen. Are you stalling because you're having second thoughts? You've also been spacing out lately. Are you thinking about her " I asked unable to keep it in.After the last sex we had on the day he arrived, he hadn't touched me and it was driving me Insane just thinking that it was because of Celine. It was infuriating and recalling his words about how he was going to let me kill Celine because he couldn't have her made it worse."Are you not going to answer me" Zane glanced at me from across the table then sighed, before flinging his spoon to the wall. "Can you stop? You're fucking ruining the romantic atmosphere, Delia" he growled but I was too pissed off to care about his anger."You're so fucking delusional. There's nothing romantic about this setting" I screamed then dragged my hand through my hair, before clutching at it tightly and pull
CELINE HERRERA POV "I think I am going to take some time off work" I got out and Belshar's gaze jerked to mine in surprise as he stopped pacing.He'd been walking in circles for a while and at first I just thought he was agitated from excitement, he was, but he was also worrying and I could see it on his face.Belshar was damn perfect at hiding his emotions, so if he was so expressive this time, it meant he was really stressing over it."You are" he asked, his tone disbelieving. Deep down I knew he was throwing a fist in the air. "Are you sure about that" I gave a quick nod, then smiled. "Yes, I'm sure. I think Karen should handle things in the meantime. She's really the best at what she does. I'm sure she'll be able to handle things in the office without me, Besides, I feel like if I don't stop working, You're going to pace a hole into the ground" I joked, then narrowed my eyes "Tell me the truth, you were trying to come up with a reason to make me stop going to work, weren't you"
CELINE HERRERA POV "Congratulations, Celine. You are approximately four weeks pregnant" the doctor announced and I jerked into a sitting position, my eyes widening as I looked from the doctor to Belshar whose jaw was literally on the floor.He'd stepped inside the room just in time to hear the news and It was a miracle that he didn't drop the glass of water he'd gone to get."I'm pregnant?" I asked dazedly.It was quiet for just a second and then Belshar threw a fist in the air. "Yes! That's what I am talking about" he grinned as he rushed at me and engulfed me in his strong arm, then he proceeded to pepper kisses all over my face while I struggled to shove him off. "Oh my god, Belshar" I groaned even as I laughed. "You're suffocating me" I got out and he quickly let go of me. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to hold you like that" he asked as he looked me over, worry written all over his face. "Will you cut it out? I am perfectly fine. Stop fussing already" "You're carrying a ba
DELIA HERRERA POV "A present," I asked, my heart thudding hard against my ribcage. Zane nodded. "Yes, I did. " He said and pointed to the shopping bags he had dropped beside the bed. It wasn't what I was curious about but I forced a smile to my lips. I've learned that if I was patient enough with Zane, he would eventually tell me what I wanted to hear."Thank you so much, Zane," I said and picked them up, my hands trembling. Zane noticed it and my breath hitched in fear when he frowned. He grabbed hold of my hand and I held my breath, waiting for him to hurt me. "Have you been skipping out on your pills You're shaking so badly" I let out a gasp of air. "There are only two pills left and I didn't know what day it was. You've been gone for so long..." "I was gone only for a weak" I fidgeted. Had it really just been a weak? It felt so much longer. "You never let me go out of the house, so I can't tell how long it's been" "Are you saying you want to go outside""No of course not