Late in the afternoon, Joshua woke up hungry. He looked around him where there was no one but he saw Clarice's bag lying on the sofa while he was still naked covered by a blanket.His face scrunched up as he remembered Clarice leaving with Flora, but he didn't know if she had just returned or if she didn't go. Joshua pulled on his pants and went downstairs to see Clarice."Clarice!" he exclaimed, calling Clarice's name.Clarice heard him and her head snapped up and her eyes widened. It was a good thing she had come downstairs with Joshua's shirt because she was sure he would look for her without a top."Oh, no. Wear this shirt! I don't want you walking around shirtless," Clarice said, as she looked to her right and left, making sure no one was looking at Joshua, her husband.Joshua's forehead wrinkled at her attitude, but he grabbed the shirt and put it on. "Hmm, what's going on? Don't you want people to see my body, huh?" Joshua began to tease her, bringing his body closer to Clarice
All was silent as they heard Clarice's sudden confession. Not only Jessy and Tristan but even Joshua was shocked. His expression was completely fixed as if he couldn't believe what his own wife had said. Clarice, sensing the silence, immediately opened her voice. "Oh, c'mon, don't be so surprised that I confessed to loving him. It's just that I've never been honest about my feelings, so now seems like a good time." Her hand rubbed Joshua's arm, snapping him out of his silent reverie. Clarice smiled at him while Joshua seemed to be holding himself back from the angry outburst that had somehow upset him when Clarice confessed her feelings in front of Tristan and Jessy. "Well, then we can start dinner," Jessy said, breaking the ice. Dinner was quite short. Joshua and Clarice ate quickly as if they were pressed for time, but somehow they managed to agree to eat quickly without realizing it. "So, Tristan, if you're dating my cousin, does that mean you like or love her already?" asked J
"Hey, Tristan ... are you okay?" asked Jessy, as they were on their way home.Tristan tried to look calm. He drove the car and it was only a matter of time until he was done dropping Jessy off at her apartment. And when he looked at Jessy for a few seconds, he smiled."What do you mean, Jessy? I'm fine," Tristan said, replying.Jessy shook her head and chuckled softly. "I mean, this is the first time you've come face to face with my cousin, Joshua. He ... his remarks really sounded rude. I really feel bad for you and I’m sorry.""He's right, Jes. You have nothing to be afraid of. He's like that because he must have had a bad past."Jessy's face immediately looked shocked when she heard Tristan's response. She became more interested at that moment. "What do you mean?""Are you going to get mad if I talk about your cousin?"Jessy shook her head again. "No, not at all. I'm just curious about what you mean. I know that Joshua has a past, but what do you know about him if you can sum him u
They didn’t speak when they got home. Clarice’s face looked nervous even though she didn’t know what to do because she felt Joshua was angry with her. She stood on the edge of the bed as Joshua took off his suit and began to unbutton his shirt.Joshua, feeling noticed, looked at her in the mirror of the wardrobe that reflected her. The gasp that came from Joshua’s mouth made Clarice look scared. Moreover, his sharp gaze at her seemed to imply that she had indeed made a mistake.“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” asked Joshua.“Are you going to scold me?” asked Clarice. She approached Joshua slowly until she was standing behind him.Before Joshua could answer, Clarice suddenly hugged him from behind. Her hands were wrapped around his waist and her heart was beating fast, so Joshua could feel that.Clarice surprised Joshua with what she had done tonight. Plus, this time she was hugging him on her own initiative. The sudden movement and confession have surprised anyone
Joshua waited for Tristan with two cans of beer on his table. He looked calm, controlled, and completely in control of himself. Until there was a knock on his door, Tristan walked in and the smile on Joshua's face widened."I'm here," Tristan said, looking tense, as he usually was when he met Joshua."Well, sit down and have a drink with me for a while, Tristan."Like a sweet puppy living for his alpha, he complied and opened the beer can, and joined Joshua for a drink. Joshua looked at him for a moment and then took a breath and let it out slowly. "You made a decision I didn't expect you to make so quickly, Tristan. What made you rush into dating my cousin?""I think I like her, too."Joshua looked at him for a long time, searching for evidence of whether Tristan was trustworthy or not, but he realized that he couldn't trust what his enemy did even if his enemy was afraid of him.Joshua had found someone betraying him too many times. He had trusted someone too many times when he fel
For the past week, Joshua had been keeping himself busy by monitoring Terry's activities and he was still making sure the witnesses were actually doing their job.The witnesses actually lived in London, which meant he had to visit them one by one, plus he also had to take Clarice with him because if he didn't, then Terry would contact her again and come to see her."London?" asked Clarice in shock as Joshua told her the plan for their departure."I have business there and I want you to come along. So, pack our belongings.""Ho–how long?""Are you in a time crunch, Clarice?"Clarice nodded her head."Then pack up," Joshua told her.Clarice immediately moved to pack their things. And when he saw that Clarice was having a hard time packing their things because of her pregnancy, he called some maids to help her.Clarice was a bit surprised when the maids came to her, as she knew that no one was allowed to enter the second floor except her and Joshua.She then looked at Joshua who was busy
They arrived in London in the late afternoon. The cold in London was obviously different than in New York. That was one difference Clarice felt. Fortunately, she had followed Joshua's orders to wear thick, warm clothes because London was very cold even though it was cloudy.Hugging herself, Clarice waited for Joshua to retrieve their luggage as she looked around, taking in the surroundings. It was like a dream to Clarice as she couldn't believe that she and her husband were already in London. It didn't matter how many times Joshua had been to London, but for her, this was the first time with him. Her lips smiled to herself, imagining that if only Joel hadn't died and they had carried out their plan, their relationship would have been even closer and lasting. But the smile immediately faded when Joshua suddenly appeared in front of her smiling."Reminiscing about the past, huh?" asked Joshua, sarcastically.Clarice immediately looked down and remained silent. Earlier on the plane, Jo
The first thing Clarice saw when she opened her eyes was that the room and its contents were still unfamiliar to her. She wasn't at the Mansion, and it took her several times to confirm that she was in London, not New York.Clarice rubbed her stomach which suddenly felt hungry. She then slowly got out of bed so as not to wake the sleeping Joshua, she headed for the kitchen to see if she could find any food or ingredients in the fridge.But unfortunately, she found nothing in the fridge of the new apartment. She only found mineral water and she couldn't help but take a sip to wet her dry throat.Clarice then unpacked the snack bag she had when she and Joshua flew from New York to London yesterday, where she had brought a lot of snacks during their flight.The only thing left was a chocolate bar, at least it was enough to fill her hunger. She sat at the dining table and ate the chocolate slowly."What are you doing, Clarice?" asked Joshua, who suddenly appeared wearing only training pan
Clarice cried after she heard the judge's decision that Joshua's sentence could not be commuted or even reduced. Because Joshua committed a murder that left two victims dead, Joshua was sentenced to life imprisonment.Clarice immediately left the courtroom and chose to take a deep breath of air outside. Her body shook with unceasing crying. Her chest felt so tight that she couldn't bear to see Joshua in person forever.Then Darren came and touched her shoulder. Clarice immediately turned around and looked at him. "What?" she asked."He's waiting for you. Meet him, I think he wants to have you at a time like this. He needs you, Clarice."Clarice almost refused. Yeah ... she wasn't in the mood to meet her husband for now, but what Darren said was true. She just needed to strengthen her heart more to face her husband.A big part of Clarice also blamed herself because if she hadn't told Joshua that she would be relieved if he confessed at the police station, then the life sentence wouldn't
A month without Joshua in her life still leaves Clarice struggling to cope with new days. She continued to visit the prison and even the phone calls from Joshua came every day. Clarice always considered her visits to the prison as a form of encouragement for her even if it only lasted for a few hours, because she was honestly never satisfied with that limited communication.Her relationship with Darren was also still going on as it should. Clarice continued to think of Darren as her mentor while Darren always secretly monitored Clarice's condition when she was away from him because he thought that was what Joshua wanted from Clarice; to be safe when she was away from him.Clarice finally managed to understand some of Joshua's work after a month of learning from Darren. She was glad that she understood so quickly that she didn't have to keep calling Darren or meeting him because all she wanted to do was get away from Darren.Joana had even started living at the Mansion as well so they
Darren put Clarice on his bed. He took off her high heels and covered her with a blanket. Sighing and massaging the bridge of his nose, he stared at Clarice for a few moments. He felt that this was the first time he would have a special relationship with his best friend's wife. All this time he had been with other women who were different and single of course. Then fate made him have to have business with Clarice. Joshua's offer was tantalizing, any man who saw Clarice would immediately want to agree to the offer. But his little heart said it was difficult."How can you share your wife with me just because you're in jail, Joshua?" he asked as he looked at Clarice who had fallen asleep due to drunkenness. "What if I fall for her, Joshua? Doesn't that make our friendship break?"This time Darren restrained himself. He rolled out the bed cover on his couch and picked up a pillow. He lay down on it and closed his eyes to sleep.The next morning Clarice woke up, opening her eyes slowly. S
Clarice drove her car to the prison where Joshua was. She had the desire to visit Joshua every day when she finished work or when she was free. Unfortunately, she didn't bring Axcel this time as she went straight to the place. She smiled to herself just thinking about seeing Joshua. She even tidied up her appearance and wanted to show off a little to Joshua that she was now a career woman. Even though Clarice was still upset with Joshua about the talk about Darren and her, she was still going to see him.Clarice waited in the meeting room with her body sitting up straight and her heart beating fast."Hey, gorgeous," greeted Joshua who Clarice had been missing for the past day.Clarice stood up and hugged him immediately. She even aggressively kissed him blindly, not caring about some of the other visitors.Joshua then pulled away realizing that Clarice's lust had peaked. "Hey, are you alright, Clarice?" Joshua asked. They ended up sitting together, side by side with Clarice's head on
"Alright, Clarice ... based on the expression on your face, I think Joshua told you about you and Darren things. Is that right? I mean, no offense because I was told by him too so as not to be surprised if something happens between you two," Joana said quickly in one breath.Clarice's eyes widened in shock. "He told you that too?! What the hell is he doing?! I got so upset when he said things like that to me. I mean ... How could he—"Clarice chose not to continue because she was honestly embarrassed and didn't know what to do. Just the thought of her being with her husband's best friend made her shudder with horror because it was tantamount to cheating on her."Look, Clarice ... I've been in the position of not being able to have sex a few times. So sometimes I choose to have one-night stands with other men on different nights. I mean, I just want to say that staying horny is not fun."Clarice sighed as she rolled her eyes. Her hands were clasped around her waist and she seemed to be
Accompanied by Joana and Darren, Clarice entered the police station and began to meet Joshua who was now wearing an orange suit which means he was now a prisoner. Clarice, Joana, and Darren stood tensely as they waited for Joshua to appear. Although there were chairs and tables, they were not interested in sitting down until they saw Joshua in person.Joshua arrived shortly after they had waited. Handcuffed and then released to meet his friends and family, the warden left him behind."Boss … I'm glad you okay," Joana said, sounding sad."Joshua, I'm going to try to get you out of here as soon as possible," Darren said without any reply.There was only Clarice who didn't say anything but remained silent with her body trembling and her eyes filled with tears.Joshua looked at her with a smile that was so strange to Clarice's eyes. Yeah ... they looked at each other but Clarice saw a different smile from him. A sad smile that Joshua had never shown in his life."No hugs for your now con
Her eyes flickered as she sighed looking up at Joshua. And Clarice knew the meaning of that look, that Joshua wanted her to talk about what she was feeling. "So," Joshua said with a sigh, then sat back in his chair, "what haven't you told me about how you feel lately, Baby?"Like she was in a game where she had to choose one or the other, Clarice really couldn't choose. She was so reluctant to even tell him what was bothering her that her tears came, falling.Joshua quickly stood up and his burly hands touched her wet cheeks and wiped them. "Hey, what have I done to make you cry, Baby?"That was the problem. Clarice's lips were almost closed and she couldn't open them. She couldn't say it because she didn't want to hurt his feelings."Look, if something is bothering you lately, you should tell me immediately. And if it's because of me, I'll be prepared to listen.""That's the point, Joshua! I can't! I can't tell you how I feel these past few days!" responded Clarice quickly. "I can't
The year of Axcel's birth was the biggest celebration Clarice has ever had in her life. She didn't even expect that her son's birthday would be celebrated as big as her wedding with Joshua But she's happy that it was the celebration he deserved.Although Clarice initially told Joshua that there was no need for a big celebration, Joshua made their son's birthday celebration a big one with the help of Joana who was always ready whenever Joshua needed her."So, what about all this? Do you like it?" asked Joshua, whispering at her side.Clarice smiled without looking at him but at the festivities of Axcel's birthday."It's too much. But I'm happy. Well, I don't even know if Axcel understood his birthday or not because he's only one year old."Joshua put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "It doesn't matter if he understands or not, the important thing is that we try our best for him, Clarice, and we made a picture moment with him.The smile on Clarice's lips was always ther
They returned to the mansion just the two of them. This time they again left Axcel at Harry and Flora's house because Joshua felt that he and Clarice needed to rest without interruption.Actually, Clarice had never minded Axcel's presence at the Mansion even when she was tired. But she knew that she couldn't defy Joshua's orders which sometimes she really couldn't refuse."Would you like a warm bath? I'll prepare it for you, Clarice," Joshua said, looking at his wife with a tired face."Hmm, yeah. I think that's a good idea. I'll rest for a while until you finish preparing the warm water," Clarice said.Joshua watched her until she lay down on the bed and then he went into the bathroom and started preparing the bathtub for them to soak in together.When Joshua came out of the bathroom, he saw Clarice already asleep on the bed, snoring softly. Joshua didn't have the heart to wake her up because Clarice looked so peaceful in her sleep.Joshua then decided to take a shower first to clean