MELISSA’S POV My gaze shot up, meeting his. What does he mean by I should be thanking him? For what exactly? Rolling my eyes at him, “What good in particular have you done to me for you to deserve my appreciation?” I asked, his statement irritating my nerves with each passing second as it rang in my ears. He didn't utter anything in response, he only stood still, his hands tugged in his pockets while staring at me with an intrigued expression. I forced my way past him and just as I was about to open my car door, his voice broke through “Let’s see if you'll still say this after you see this…” Snapping his fingers, the boot of his car flung open almost hitting Kevin, who was standing a few meters close to it. Kevin inched closer to the boot, took out something, and closed it before turning to head toward us. I squinted my eyes as my gaze fell on what he was dragging behind him. I was about to look away when it suddenly dawned on me! My eyes widened while my mouth fl
LISTOWEL’S POV. Her question took me by surprise, causing me to flinch a bit. Honestly, it wasn't my intention to spy on her all the time. When she returned to Aphrodite City months ago, I was afraid that she might vanish again overnight. That's why I have my men on guard, checking out if there’s any unusual movement going on with her. But when she became the target of the media’s celebrity drama, I had to tighten the security around her. Lisa might not know but my men have protected her from several media intrusions. She's had so many reporters lingering around to question her unnecessarily but she never bumped into any. I wouldn't really say it is all thanks to me because I was the root of it in the first place. If I had not carelessly interacted with her in public as I did some months back, she would have lived her life peacefully like any normal person. That's why I almost went crazy when I couldn't find her whereabouts nor get a text to the plenty of messages I was spam
MELISSA’S POV My senses heightened as I slowly inhaled the sweet aroma exuding from the coffee before me. Vapor from the coffee hovered in my face as I brought the cup closer to my lips, blowing air over it in an attempt to cool it. While darting around in admiration of my new work environment, I took a sip of the coffee. As soon as the earthy taste of it glided its way down my throat, I got energized to start my day. Settling in the swiveling chair in my office, a wide grin formed on my lips as I glanced around my new workplace in admiration. The large office I was seated in was assigned to me this morning after attending a brief orientation with Mr. Montenegro, the executive director. My office was huge and even though the decor didn’t really suit my taste, I felt ecstatic about it. The exciting and most important part of this all was that I wasn’t sharing it with anyone. My hands shot up to my face as I covered my lips in disbelief. In as much as this was real,
MELISSA'S POV I was pouring the coffee into the mugs when I heard his footsteps from upstairs. I turned, just in time to see him heading to the kitchen, his hair slightly messy from sleep. He smiled when he saw me, and my breath caught in my throat at how handsome he looked. My cheeks flashed pink as I recalled the steamy night we had shared the previous night. His touches were too sweet to resist, especially since I had craved them for so long. He had been away for almost a week on a business trip, and while he was away, we couldn't communicate much. Although that's quite unusual, I would guess he was only busy with work. I had received great news in his absence and I was more than excited to break it to him but his phone was mostly out of reach, so I had to keep it to myself and wait for him to return. He came back last night and I've been finding it hard to keep it to myself. My heart swelled with pride and joy as I envisioned his reaction. I will break it to him at b
MELISSA'S POV I gasp for air, reaching for the glass of water in front of me, but my fingers fumble and knock it over. Before I can fully process what's happening, Listowel is on his feet, moving with that effortless grace of his, pouring another glass and handing it to me. "Here, take a sip," he said and tried helping me with it. I snatched the glass from his hands and without thinking twice, gulped the whole water down. Why is he acting caring when he just shattered my heart? Isn't he the reason I was in this state? He watches as I drink, the expression on his face unreadable. The water soothes the burning in my throat, but it does nothing to ease the sudden tightness in my chest. Finally, able to calm myself, I looked up at him and asked with a shaky voice. "What... what did you mean by that, Listowel? About it being time to get divorced?" My knees wobbled underneath the table, but I held them back to maintain composure, waiting for an answer that made sense. He loo
MELISSA’S POV He may have used me, turn every shred of dignity I have down and ripped my heart open. I wiped the tears off my face, trying to gather what little strength I have left. So, it’s happening, everything I’ve feared, everything I’ve suspected. Listowell never valued me. The thought of it alone crushes me, and before I can stop myself, the tears start to fall again, hot and uncontrollable. I sink to the floor, my chest heaving with sobs. How could I have been so blind? How could I have let myself fall so completely for a man who never saw me as anything more than a convenience? I need to do something—anything to take my mind off the overwhelming pain. I pushed myself up, wiped my tears, and looked around the mansion that once felt like a home. It’s all a lie, every bit of it. I start to clean. I stripped away every decoration, every item that I brought into this house to make it ours. The soft throws on the couch, the family photos on the walls, the flowers I care
LISTOWELL'S POV It’s been three days since I left the mansion. I had received a call from my butler that I had to come to the office as soon as possible. A rival company had something on my company, Gordon Inc so I had to rush out and get it sorted. Later in the day, I received a call from Mr. Macinni, Wendy’s grandpa. I had a meeting with him and in the course, I lost my phone. I had wanted to call Lisa and inform her that I wouldn't be coming home but I stopped because I thought she might be angry with me. I still can't wrap my head around her reaction, the other day. Our marriage is purely contractual, and she's aware of that. Well, I’m home now, we can sort things out and if it is money she needs, I will triple it up for her. As I walked through the front door, an unfamiliar scene greeted me. I was expecting to see Melissa standing by the door, her graceful smile playing widely across her face. She would have come to hug me and take my briefcase while asking if I had
MELISSA'S POV ****SEVEN YEARS LATER**** “Congratulations Miss Mugins, you've been selected to participate in the Silver Edition of the Legal Hour Conference! See you at Aphrodite City Soon!” That's how the message read when it came through the mail that morning. I couldn't hide the excitement I felt as I saw my name boldly embedded in the list of eligibles. My dream has finally come true. It is indeed happening. My dream of becoming a lawyer is finally here. Seven years have passed, yet it feels like a lifetime. It feels like yesterday when I promised myself, to come back to Aphrodite City as the best version of myself. I left this place as a broken woman, a woman whose heart had been shattered into a million pieces. I didn't know where to go neither did I know my next move. It was as if the world was moving while I stood still. Everyone and everything was progressing while I stood still, hiding in my shell. I spent years of my life caring for that one person to the e
MELISSA’S POV My senses heightened as I slowly inhaled the sweet aroma exuding from the coffee before me. Vapor from the coffee hovered in my face as I brought the cup closer to my lips, blowing air over it in an attempt to cool it. While darting around in admiration of my new work environment, I took a sip of the coffee. As soon as the earthy taste of it glided its way down my throat, I got energized to start my day. Settling in the swiveling chair in my office, a wide grin formed on my lips as I glanced around my new workplace in admiration. The large office I was seated in was assigned to me this morning after attending a brief orientation with Mr. Montenegro, the executive director. My office was huge and even though the decor didn’t really suit my taste, I felt ecstatic about it. The exciting and most important part of this all was that I wasn’t sharing it with anyone. My hands shot up to my face as I covered my lips in disbelief. In as much as this was real,
LISTOWEL’S POV. Her question took me by surprise, causing me to flinch a bit. Honestly, it wasn't my intention to spy on her all the time. When she returned to Aphrodite City months ago, I was afraid that she might vanish again overnight. That's why I have my men on guard, checking out if there’s any unusual movement going on with her. But when she became the target of the media’s celebrity drama, I had to tighten the security around her. Lisa might not know but my men have protected her from several media intrusions. She's had so many reporters lingering around to question her unnecessarily but she never bumped into any. I wouldn't really say it is all thanks to me because I was the root of it in the first place. If I had not carelessly interacted with her in public as I did some months back, she would have lived her life peacefully like any normal person. That's why I almost went crazy when I couldn't find her whereabouts nor get a text to the plenty of messages I was spam
MELISSA’S POV My gaze shot up, meeting his. What does he mean by I should be thanking him? For what exactly? Rolling my eyes at him, “What good in particular have you done to me for you to deserve my appreciation?” I asked, his statement irritating my nerves with each passing second as it rang in my ears. He didn't utter anything in response, he only stood still, his hands tugged in his pockets while staring at me with an intrigued expression. I forced my way past him and just as I was about to open my car door, his voice broke through “Let’s see if you'll still say this after you see this…” Snapping his fingers, the boot of his car flung open almost hitting Kevin, who was standing a few meters close to it. Kevin inched closer to the boot, took out something, and closed it before turning to head toward us. I squinted my eyes as my gaze fell on what he was dragging behind him. I was about to look away when it suddenly dawned on me! My eyes widened while my mouth fl
MELISSA’S POV “Can I have the bill, please?” I asked, gesturing towards a waiter who was passing by. Nodding in response, “Would you like any other thing else ?” He asked, leaning in closer to my shoulders. “No I’m fine,” I replied, wiping the oil on my lips with the tissue paper before me. “Alright, please give me a few minutes. I will get it for you.” He replied before turning to leave. Digging my hands into my bag, I grabbed my purse while checking in my head which card to use. My eyes felt hazy and a small yawn escaped my lips. I couldn’t wait to get home and nap for a while. In no time, the waiter brought the bill and it was nothing like I had anticipated. The price was quite pricy for just a plate of jollof rice. Maybe because this isn’t a local restaurant,” I thought in my head as I swiped the card on the atm. Beep beep..! My heart almost burst out of my chest as my card declined. “Oh God, what kind of embarrassment is this?” I muttered warmly as I pull
MELISSA’S POV Letting out a deep breath, I let go of my grip on the seat as the pilot announced a successful landing and welcomed us to Aphrodite. I love taking flights and traveling around the world. But throughout all the countless flights I’ve boarded, one thing I couldn’t get used to was the shaking of the plane during landing. My hands were clutched tightly on my seat because of the anxious feeling I get whenever we are landing. Standing up and heading to the door, the harsh breeze of Aphrodite City hit my face as if to remind me of the kind of life I’ve been enduring here. While descending, I reached out for my shades, put them on, and headed to the check-in point. Coming back to Aphrodite City was like a bitter pill that I couldn’t escape. It was bound for me to swallow. I guess no matter how many times I flee this city, I will still find my way to it. Or should I say the city itself will still find its way to me? That’s why I made a silent pledge to mysel
LISTOWEL’S POV The urgency in Kevin’s voice caused me to shift to the edge of my seat. “What is it?” I asked keeping a straight face even though my ears were itching to hear what it was. Kevin gestured for me to hold on but my patience was already wearing thin. “Tell me,” I demanded, my voice low yet commanding. Kevin looked unfazed by my tone. His calm expression as he continued to listen to whatever he was being told over the phone didn’t match the urgency with which he had previously exclaimed. “Yes… yes, I understand, Hold on,” he said as he lowered the speaker to his lips and spoke into the phone. Turning towards me, “Sir, one of the men at the airport believes to have spotted Miss Muggins,” he relayed, cutting me an enthusiastic smile. My heart skipped a beat and I felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders. But no, I wasn't going to believe that easily. I wouldn’t be fully relieved until I made sure that what he is reporting was tr
LISTOWEL’S POV Seated in my living room was Kevin on my right and Joey, the best hacker in the country on my left. Joey is said to be very good at what he does and only operates underground so it took lots of resources for Kevin to get him to me. He is a blonde-haired teenager with piercing sharp eyes. Based on his height, I would guess he is an inch above six feet. Although he appears imposing, his slender arms and legs create a contrasting impression. He’s wearing an oversized hoodie and joggers and has on a black face mask which covers a significant part of his entire face, making it hard to describe his other features. Ever since he sat down and got to work, he hasn't lifted even a brow nor has he said anything. His gaze has been focused on the laptop before him while his fingers rhythmically click on the keyboard. I had requested to be brought here so that he could track Melissa for me. Although the police are still working on the case, they are too slow to like.
MELISSA’S POV Nancy glared at me, her lips pouted as she fumed, “Are you trying to make fun of me or what?” No…, why would I? I'm just concerned.”I said back, fighting the urge to burst into laughter because I know very well her current relationship status. “Melissa! Are you trying to tell me you don't know how bad I am at relationships? Or you've forgotten that my last talking stage barely lasted a week?” Slipping from the couch to the floor, I burst out into a loud hilarious laughter as my guts threatened to burst from the choke. Nancy has always had bad luck when it comes to men. All the men she's ever gone on a date with either had a flaw that was too much to ignore or had an overly cringeworthy perfection. I brought up the question of kids just to distract her from the subject she was pushing to discuss. Leaning back on the couch, she rolled her eyes at me and said, “I know you are just trying to be messy. I won’t mind you.” I didn’t say anything again. I only l
MELISSA’S POV “I think we will go in for this.” I finally said to the realtor on our third round of inspections. We had already checked on four different apartments but none of the designs fitted our taste. With that, the realtor handed me the document which bore the transfer of ownership agreement, prepared for me to sign. Glancing at Nancy and Crystal who were also gazing at me with so much delight in their eyes, I heaved a heavy breath before I accentuated my signature. Afterward, I handed over my credit card after which a sum of $180,000 was deducted. Yes. I didn't just rent the apartment. I bought the full house. Crystal jumped and spun around in excitement. “Can I have a big room? With a desk and a big shelf for my dolls?” “Yes, my love. You’ll have your room, and yes, a big space for you to arrange your kids as well,” I said, smiling wall to wall. Nancy hopped onto the queen-sized bed, spreading her arms wide as she giggled like a child. “I can’t believe this