SELENA“See,” I sniffed, pulled away from him and flashed him a sad smile. “Mommy is okay now.”Liam nodded once, a lone tear dropped from his left eye and I chuckled, wiping his face with my thumb.“It’s okay, baby, stop crying.” I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.“Mommy,” Liam yawned, rubbing his eyes lazily. “I want to sleep.”“Alright,” I stood up from the floor, hissed when I felt a throb in the cut on my jaw. I grabbed my baby's hand and pulled him up from the floor and took him in my arms.Liam wrapped his hands around my arm and rested his head on my chest as I carried him to my bed and placed him on the mattress.“Sleep here in mommy's room, okay?” I whispered, pulled the duvet and rolled it up to his middle.Liam nodded and shut his lids. “I love you, mommy.”“I love you too, baby.” a warm smile found its way to my face as I watched my baby drifted off to sleep.I strolled towards my dresser and pulled out the stool. Grabbed the first-aid kit to dress my
CHRISTOPHER “Get out!” Selena barked.I watched, horrified, as she shoved the pin into her own skin, blood welling up around the wound. My stomach churned and I turned away, unable to bear the sight. I stumbled towards the door, my heart pounding in my chest. I wanted to run, to get away from the horror of what I had just seen. I didn't leave her like that, but I had no choice than to do as she had asked.I wanted to punch a hole in the wall, to hurt myself like I had hurt her. But I knew that wouldn't solve anything. She would only continue to self-harm if I didn't get out of the room. So, despite my own pain, I forced myself to leave. I couldn't help her if I couldn't help myself.I stumbled out of the room, my hands shaking and my heart pounding. I had to find a way to deal with my emotions, to cope with the guilt and shame I felt. "Uncle!" Liam called out, but I kept walking, my head spinning with confusion and regret. I couldn't deal with him right now, not when I was strugglin
PEDRO“How did I look today?” I asked, staring at my reflection in the full length mirror I asked my secretary to install in my office earlier that morning. Roy stood behind me, his butt resting on my office table as he glared at me.“Hmm, great. Why?”I flashed out a cocky smile at my reflection, couldn't help but fell in love with myself but I still need to hear confirmation from someone else.“Do you have anything to say about my suit? Tie? Shoe? Wristwatch—”“You’re acting weird.” Roy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he slowly moved away from my desk. “You good, man?” he raised an eyebrow and I shrugged.“Quite so.” I chuckled, checked my hair to make sure it was still in perfect place.I turned to face Roy who seemed to be judging me with a hard glare on his face. “Move to the door.” I ordered, couldn't help the smile that crept up my face as he stared at him with confusion carved on his face.“Sorry?” a thin line appeared in between his eyebrows as he moved his gaze
PEDRO This morning was not at all what I had expected. I had taken extra care with my appearance, only for Selena to be physically present but mentally absent. My eyes kept drifting to her, and I couldn't seem to focus on the conference room or the people in it. The meeting dragged on, each minute feeling like an eternity as I longed to get Selena out of the room and find out what was wrong. I had a feeling that something was deeply troubling her, and I needed to know what it was. “The construction project is going great which was unbelievable.” As the project team leader droned on about the progress of the construction project, I could barely focus. My attention was on Selena, who was tugging at her hair, seemingly trying to hide the skin of her neck. She looked uncomfortable and fidgety, which only made me more concerned about her well-being. The words of the meeting faded into background noise as I observed her every move, trying to figure out what was going on. Roy, my ever-
SELENA I stepped into the office, closing the door behind me. The room was silent except for the sound of Pedro's footsteps as he paced back and forth. He stopped in his tracks when he sensed my presence, his eyes wide with surprise. He clearly hadn't expected me to follow him into his office. "Selena," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He ran a hand through his hair, before closing the distance between us. "Why are you avoiding me?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for an answer. His question hung in the air, and I could feel my breath catch in my throat. I knew he had been watching me throughout the meeting, but I didn't think he had noticed me avoiding his gaze. Now he was staring at me, waiting for an answer. "I'm not avoiding you," I said, the lie falling flat even to my own ears. My eyes drifted from his face to his necktie, my attention fixated on the intricate pattern. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. "You might sound more convincing if you weren't
SELENAI walked out to see that Christopher was already in the car. I let out a sad hiss as I dragged my feet towards the car. I got him and fastened my seatbelt, expecting Chris to say anything, to do anything but there was nothing. He started the car and drove us out of the company.Throughout the drive home, Chris didn't say a word and it was practically eating me up from the inside. The Chris that I know would have reacted, he would have said something.“Eh,” I wanted to ask if he was okay, but I was scared. So scared that the words wouldn't leave my mouth.Chris didn't bother to ask me what I wanted to say and that bothered me. He drove into our compound and parked the car in the driveway, stepping out of the car like he had wanted to be away from me.“This can't be good.” I shook my head as I hurriedly packed my stuff from the backseat. Chris hated Pedro and I could tell by the way he reacted the day I told him I met with Pedro. The way he acted that day was the same way he acte
SELENAMy heart pounded in my chest as the realization of what was making Christopher act the way he had been hit me like a ton of bricks. He was losing his mind because he was in love with me and didn't want me to be with anyone else. My head ached as I thought about the past few days and all the strange behavior that now made perfect sense. Christopher's insecurity was rooted in his unrequited love for me and the fear that I might go back to Pedro. The thought of losing me to someone else was too much for him to bear. He couldn't bear the thought of me being with another man, and his erratic behavior was a symptom of his heartbreak. Mitchell's voice rang out from the phone pressed against my ear. “What do you want to do now?” he asked. I paced around my room, shaking my head and holding my throbbing head in my hand. I had no idea what to do. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, and I was having trouble putting them into words. How could I explain this situation to Mitchell? How could
PEDROMy fingers tightened around the knot of my tie as I craned my neck to look through the car window. My father's sleek black sedan was parked in front of the penthouse, and I knew what that meant. He was already inside, waiting for me. My stomach twisted into a knot as I steeled myself for the conversation to come.I knew I wasn't ready for the conversation that was about to take place. My father, who had cut me off physically and emotionally five years ago, had asked to meet with me. And I was certain that he would be asking me to make a difficult choice - marry the woman who had once broken my heart, or lose the major shareholder in the of my company. It was all speculation on my part, but I was bracing myself for the worst.“I need to call Selena. I need to hear her voice to calm down.” I said aloud, reaching for my phone. I quickly dialed her number, my hands trembling slightly as I waited for her to answer. But instead of hearing her voice, I was greeted by the monotonous ton
SELENA "Selena, repeat after me," the officiant said, his voice clear and steady. My eyes darted from the diamond ring in my hand to the beaming face of Pedro, who never seemed to stop smiling. “I, Selena Leah Empress, take you, Pedro Joshua Lopez…” “I, Selena Leah Empress, take you, Pedro Joshua Lopez…” the words felt so foreign on my lips. “To be my husband, through the good times and bad. Through successes and struggles…” A lone tear rolled down my eyes as I stared at the ring on my finger. “To be my husband, through the good times and bad. Through successes and struggles…” my lips parted in a smile. I didn't realized he meant it when he was asking about marriage the previous night. It's happening. I would be officially married to Pedro Lopez, in a matter of minutes. I would be married to the first and the only man I had ever been in love with. “Through richer and poorer, and in sickness and health, I will treasure you for as long as we both shall live.” As I recited the vo
PEDRO‘Liam... Selena's baby boy, Liam. He's my son, and they're coming home with me. I'm coming back to the city with my family.’I remembered my words to Roy, my best friend over the phone when I packed little Liam's bags earlier. I still couldn't believe it that the sweet little boy was mine. Selena had a son for me. She loved me, she cherished what we had years ago and decided to keep my baby.“Hey, good to see you too.” I grinned, then stepped out of the car to fetch my son from the backseat."Hey there, Papa Liam," Roy taunted, walking out of my apartment with two glasses of booze in his hands."How did you get in?" I asked, cradling my son gently on my shoulder as I reached for the glass of booze from Roy's hand. He seemed more interested in looking at my son than handing me the drink."I still can't believe we're both fathers now," Roy chuckled, raising his glass in a toast. I clinked my glass against his, and for a moment, it all felt like a dream."Cheers to fatherhood," I
SELENA“I’m going to miss you.” Margaret whispered into my ear as she hugged me tightly to herself.I never would have thought a day would come where I would be saying goodbye to the Andre. They were like a family to me, not until moment ago when I returned to the Villa and Christopher asked me to pack up and leave with Pedro.I had thought it was all a joke until Pedro told me that was why he came; because Christopher asked him to come get me out of his life.“Don’t blame yourself for his recent attitude, I swear, I also have my own share of his sudden change of character.” Margaret further said as she squeezed my shoulders gently.I didn't know what to say to this. Everything happened so fast and I couldn't believe I wasn't the one to be blame.“He used to be good to me, at least I'm going to hold on to that.” I smiled as I pulled away from Margaret.I looked around, making sure I wasn't forgetting anything. It felt awkward to think that I was been chased out of the Villa because I
CHRISTOPHER “Is that really a good idea?” my hands clenched and my shoulders heaved as I walked down the hallway. My heart broke into a million pieces as the thought of giving Selena up flooded my brain. “I own her. I fucking own her. She's living the life she wants all thanks to me.” a single sweat rolled down my temple as I took the hallway that led to my room. I couldn't help but feel like an actual loser as I saw my mother, standing in front of my door. Her back was on me, but I could already tell what she was imagining. I hated to be seen as a loser. Selena of all people should have known better than anyone. I had always strived to win whatever I set my hands on. My mother might have sensed my presence. She made to turn and I halted on my track, making sure to put as much distance between us as possible. “Chris…” she gasped, her face held worry but I knew better than anyone not to read much into her expression. She didn't care. She used to care for me but that was in the
PEDROMy hands clenched to my sides as I recalled how my father explained the incident to me. Maybe if my father hadn't told me, I wouldn't have to be in a close wall to have to tell Selena.She deserved to know the truth behind her parents’ death. Even if it would cost me my future with her, she still deserved to know.That was the promised I made to Edward. If I wanted to earn her trust, and want her to tell me her secret I should tell her mine. Letting her know she could trust me.“My mother was engaged in money laundering which my father, nor any other person known of. She was very careful not to let it get out, even to my father. My father would never support that act so she kept it a secret.” I stared at Selena, it was a surprise she wasn't throwing a fist. She only sat down and let me talk.“Your father was my father's driver, my father admired him a lot. I believed your mother worked for my mother, I never knew what her work was but I knew she worked for my mother. Your father
SELENA"You need to go," I said, struggling to free myself from his embrace. I grabbed his hand, my intention to guide him to the car, but he suddenly grabbed my elbows, his grip firm as he held me in place. His eyes searched my face, pleading with me to stay still.I could feel myself melting under the gaze of his deep purple eyes. I longed to be wrapped in his arms, just like he'd done so many times before. But I couldn't give in to that desire. I had to get him out of here, before Christopher arrived."Please, you have to go," I pleaded, my voice breaking as I rested my head on his chest. I tried to control my breathing, to calm my racing heart, before pulling away. "It would be... It would be bad if Chrissy found you here." I couldn't say the words. I couldn't tell him he was in danger. Not like this.The last thing I wanted was to tarnish Christopher's reputation, to damage his good name and possibly his career. I cared about him too much to do anything to hurt him, no matter how
PEDRO“Tomorrow is the boy's birthday. Come to the address I mailed to you, Selena has something to say to you.” Christopher Andre’s voice erupted from the other end.I stared at my phone in shock, making sure I wasn't imaging things. But it was real, he was really calling me.“You… you know who this is, right?” I stuttered, pinching myself to keep myself from crashing to the floor.“Just do what I said.” he groaned and the call went off before I could get my thought straight.Christopher Andre was really the one who called me. After he walked out of the conference hall that night, I bet my life on it that he would never let her see me again.I was right, he terminated the contract the following day and that prove my assumption right. They never come back to the company. He took Selena away and I was so sure he would never let me see her again.“But this?” I stared at the phone, still doubting if the person who had just called was truly who I thought it was.“Why is he having a change
SELENAI watched from the corner as the maids dressed my son in a crisp white tuxedo. His hair was carefully curled, with a few soft strands falling across his forehead.His smile was blinding. I chuckled from my I stood, watching him pouted his round lips at his nanny.“I want to go to uncle.” he whined, shaking his head to mess up with his hair.Huh? I gulped down nothing before moving away from the door.“Uncle is not here yet.” I cleared my throat once I got behind them, grabbing their attention. “Uncle went to get you a gift.”That seemed to got to him. His purple eyes widened, a glint of pure joy shone brighter in his eyes.“Really?” he asked in his sweet little voice, turning on his seat to stare at me. “What’s the gift?”I shook my head, kneeling beside him and took his hand in mine. “It is a surprise gift uncle is planning. Of course, mommy don't know what it is.” I smiled, squeezing his hand.He pouted and nodded slowly. “What about mommy?” he asked, his lips parted, exposin
PEDRO"I'll take a look around, and let you know if it meets my expectations," I said to the realtor, who gave a slow nod of agreement.Turning away from me, he looked around the living room, before turning back to face me. "If you don't like this one, I can find you another one in any location you'd like," he said, flashing a smile that was missing two front teeth."It's fine, I'm sure I'll like this one," I said, waving him off and turning my attention to the stairs."I'm at your service, Mr. Lopez," he said, a broad smile spreading across his face. He offered his hand for a handshake, and I took it, feeling a little more at ease.“Alright.” I retrieved my hand and turned away from him.As his footsteps faded away and the door clicked shut behind him, I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding."This is insane," I said aloud, chuckling mirthlessly as I took in the apartment that had once been home to Selena and baby Liam. A week ago, they had been living here, but now t