Angela's POVThere was something off about her this morning. She wasn't her usual bubbly self. She looked so moody and down as if someone stole something essential from her and I couldn't stand to see her that way.I have been with Selena for years now she is like a daughter to me. I loved and cherished her.When my car ran her over that day, the rest of my life had changed. Despite being a stranger, I was not even skeptical of her and I have watched her grow. I have watched as she gave me grandchildren.For some weeks now, she has been looking gloomy and whenever I asked her what the problem was, she wouldn't say.Selena was not too open about her feelings. She didn't like to be a burden to others. She preferred handling things alone.I have told her countless times that she was my daughter and whatever problems that she was facing, she was free to come to me. I wonder if it was because her children have been pestering her about their biological father.I knew they would be curious o
Raymond's POV"This is outrageous, Mr, Hemsworth. You can't just breach our contract this way. I have put a lot of money in our investment and you are just going to pull the plug on it that way? This is disrespectful! Your father would never do this," one of the clients screamed out profanities at Maximus who remained calm, staring at him."You are right. My father would never do this because he condoned shady businessmen like you. Do you think you can hide under the umbrella of my business?" Maximus started, glaring daggers at him."Drug possession, trafficking of illegal firearms. Your son was charged with sexual assault. I knew there was something off about you the first day I saw you but I decided to take a leap of faith and do business with you and you are trying to steal money from my company?""You even have the audacity to buy one of my employees. Too bad the person you used was not really the brightest in the bunch. I knew that someone was siphoning money out of my company. T
Jess POVI was feeling restless. The last time I felt this way was when I was supposed to get married to Maximus for the first time. I felt nervous and restless and when I knew that I was going to be tied down at such a young age, I ran. Even though that wasn't the only reason why I ran away from my supposed marriage, I didn't even want to dwell on that.I knew there was a reason why Maximus has been acting so strange and now that I've found out that little b**** is back, it seems as if all my worries are back.I know that I have been feeling off for some weeks now but I have been brushing it aside. I just never knew that Selena was back in the city.I can't believe that even after all these years, Maximus was still pining over that girl, staring at her pictures.I didn't even know he had one hidden somewhere and he lied to me telling me that he was working in his study while he was staring at the picture of that gold digger.I can't stop asking myself what Maximus sees in Selena tha
Maximus POVThis has got to be the worst family dinner I have ever had in my entire life. The tension in the dining room was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.Mother was trying so hard to keep the conversation flowing but I could tell that my father was extremely angry with me, not that I cared.There was nothing I ever did that he approved. He always had something bad to say about my decisions. He wanted me to run everything through him as if I was some two-year-old. He didn't treat me as a grown up nor did he see me as a CEO, despite the fact that I was his child.I have done everything in my life to please my father but nothing was ever enough for him. He always saw his children as a failure. No one was greater than him in the business world.The first time he appointed me as a CEO, I saw hell. He monitored my every move I made. I never had freedom of my own.I've never experienced what a happy childhood was especially when it comes to my father.All through my life, all
Selena's POV"Let us have a girl's night out at the bar. Maybe you can find a nice, interesting, charming young man who you would spend the night with. Come on Andrea, I am really worried about your sexual life."I facepalmed. If I didn't know Avery, I would have found it hard to believe that she was a doctor.The only thing that ever came out of her mouth was only her patients and sex. Sometimes I even wondered why we were even friends in the first place. She was so different from me.I wonder what her reaction would be if she found out that I had two children and was once married to Maximus Hemsworth. I'm definitely sure she would scream my ears off."You don't have to be worried about my sexual life. I have told you about this countless times, I am not interested in spending my Friday in a run-down bar. I have other priorities in life Avery, and clubbing is not even among them.""I just want to go home right now, take a nice w
Raymond's POVI leaned over her desk, talking with her. I have been making a move on Maximus' secretary for months now but haven't made any progress.It's either she wasn't interested or she was too oblivious to my feelings.If Maximus were to see me right now, I'm sure he wouldn't be happy. He often said that I was distracting her from her work but a harmless flirting wouldn't do anything wrong. Besides, I was bored.He wasn't even around. I have no idea where he went to, all I know that is he ordered a bouquet of flowers and left in a hurry but something tells me that it was for his ex-wife.I don't think I have seen Maximus buy flowers for Jess, at least not recently. The last time he did that was years ago.I don't understand why he was still in that marriage. He should just divorce her.Most times I pity Maximus. He was so keen on pleasing his father that he didn't even know what happiness was anymore.The old man was the one who suggested an arranged marriage to the Norman famil
Mr Ben's POV"I am sorry for visiting you on such short notice but it has been long time since we sat down and had a glass of wine together. Don't tell me that our friendship is now diminishing just because you are no longer the chairman of your company."Maximus' father grunted. He adjusted the collar of his shirt, looking a little bit uncomfortable.I know he was feeling awkward from the ongoing feud I have with his son. That arrogant brat who was hellbent on humiliating me."I must say that it is a surprise seeing you in my house. Shouldn't you be more concerned about the lawsuit my son is fighting against you? He is determined to make you pay.""Tell me Benjamin, what made you even think of stealing money from his company? What kind of demon possessed you to exhibit such a stupid act? This doesn't sound like you."He adjusted himself on the chair, and leaned closer. “Money isn't a problem for you, so why are you choosing to steal instead of investing or buying stocks like how you
Maximus POVI was seriously going to punch Raymond in the face when next I saw him. Why would he even tell Jess that I was at the office when I wasn't? He couldn't come up with another excuse than that? Now she was following me around the house as if I was some sort of criminal, nagging my ears off.Honestly, this was all my fault. If I didn't divorce Selena in the first place, I wouldn't be stuck with Jess and her paranoia.She was more unbearable than my father. I am just glad that I no longer live with that old man anymore. I would have been tempted to push him off the stairs if he kept on annoying me but now I am stuck with her.I knew that I could not divorce her, I couldn't do that to my daughter. I don't want her to have a divided home.She was already missing me too much. Her mother was driving me insane that was the reason why I no longer came back home on time and by the time I got home, my daughter was already fast asleep.
Maximus POVIt has been over a day since I found out that I had children with Selene but it still felt like a movie for me. I felt as if I was watching a stage drama and I was the main character. How could it be possible that Selene was pregnant and I didn't know? Could it have been just before I divorced her or weeks before I started treating her so badly?I felt so bad. I felt like a complete jerk. My children were grown up and the same age as Kylie and yet they didn't have the presence of a father in their life.I knew Serene was lying when she told them that so that they would stop worrying so much about me being their father. I missed five years of my children's life. I wasn't there when Selene went to her first ultrasound. I wasn't there with her when she gave birth. I saw how agonizing birth pangs can be. I was there when Jess gave birth to Kylie. I knew how agonizing it was and I let Selene go through that all alone.I now understand where all her hate was coming from. It was
Selene's POVI have been feeling quite overwhelmed ever since Maximus discovered that he had children with me. I know I have been acting differently. I was constantly on edge, wondering when he would barge into my house, demanding me to hand over his children to him, or one day when he would take it to court for child custody. I didn't want to put my children through that trauma. I was certain that Maximus was the one threatening to take my children away from me. The same number that called me when I was looking for Anna and Asher at the mall called Nelly as well.I was convinced that Maximus was doing all this to spook me. There was no other person that knew about my children right now besides Maximus. I was worried that he would tell his family and they would harass my children and me. I didn't want Cecilia Hemsworth anywhere near her grandchildren. She was the one who tormented me every day, calling me barren and that she was a disgrace to the Hemsworth family and couldn't give b
Mr Ben's POVI picked up the golden ring with a dragon and gold-blue design, and an onyx stone embedded in it. I knew it belonged to the boss so what was it doing here? Could it be that one of the Hemsworth family members was the man I was working for? It couldn't be Maximus, he was too uptight for that. And why the hell will he ever want to sabotage his own company? Mason was too much of a coward to even come up with such a brilliant plan. He wasn't really the brightest in the bunch which was why I was surprised he actually graduated from law school and owned a firm. I knew that the ring wasn't sold in jewelry stores, it was customized. My boss has a thing for making his belongings outstanding. He always had a symbol that indicated what was his. He said that's always made him iconic but to me, I thought it was stupid.It was easy to find him with such a symbol. I just needed to know who the ring belonged to, then I could finally know the psychopath who was under the mask and whom I
Selene's POV"Just look at how happy they are. I can't believe they didn't want a party, that is so unlike them. Do you remember their last birthday?"Nelly chuckled beside me and I glanced at her. She was smiling widely while staring at Anna and Asher. I was glad she loved my kids as much as I did."How could I forget? They almost gave Mom a heart attack. When they were bouncing off the trampoline, I thought Mom would have passed out in fear," Nelly and I chuckled as we reminisced.She smiled, walking away with my children towards the toy section. The ringing of my phone made me stop in my tracks. I furrowed my brows at the unknown number.I swiped to answer but the person kept quiet, only their loud breathing was what I could hear."Selene Norman, leaving your kids unattended was a mistake. Now watch me take them away from you. They are mine to keep. I can do whatever I want with them. Time is ticking. Can you save them or would you forever not see them again? You choose. Your count
Jess POVWhat was taking her so long? Doesn't she have any idea how cold the weather is? I can't believe I have to leave the comfort of my bed to come out in this stormy weather. The rain was just too much. I should be back at home, watching Netflix. Instead, I'm out here, brainstorming ideas on how to bring down Selene and I know the only person who could help me do that. I couldn't hurt her directly myself anymore, not with Mason breathing down my neck and watching me like a hawk. I was making sure to keep my end of the bargain. I couldn't hurt Selene even though I was itching to do so. I wanted to inflict so much pain on her.When I saw her a few days ago, she was looking nice and healthy, no longer limping. I am tempted to hire heavy artillery or even a sniper just to put a bullet through her head, but that will be an easy death. I want Selene to look at me as she takes her last breath. That would be the most satisfying. So that she will know that even in her miserable life, even
Selene's POVFor the fifth time, I rejected the call, deciding to switch off my phone. Mason has been blowing up my phone with calls and text messages. I don't even know what to tell him. This is so awkward. He is my best friend, he cannot be my lover. I did not see him that way. I never even pictured in my mind that I would date Mason and he would take care of me.Mason was handsome, don't get me wrong and any woman will be lucky to have him. I know that he would love and care for me if I gave him a chance but I just didn't view him that way. I only saw him as a brother and a best friend. I don't understand why he is pushing it so much with me to date him. I don't have any romantic feelings towards him.What was he hoping for? He couldn't give me a good reason why he wanted to date me. He didn't tell me what he saw in me either. The only reason he told me was that he was in love with me. I don't know why I found that very hard to believe. And he wasn't even thinking about how awkward
Maximus POVMason kept on staring at me, looking confused. Things had been weird between us for the past few weeks, especially since I found out about the little stunt he pulled with Selene. I knew he was avoiding me as if I had a deadly disease on me. I have no idea what kind of game Mason was playing but I was not interested in finding out. I specifically told him that Selene was off-limits. I didn't know when Mason became so daring. I know he didn't propose to her but with the sly gestures he made in those videos and pictures, a lot of people have been misunderstanding the whole situation and it annoyed me every single time to see everyone talking about that.I wonder how Selene was taking all this. Was she happy? She has never been someone who loved public attention."Both of you have been staring at each other for a while now and there is too much male testosterone right now in this room. Maximus, if you have anything to say to Mason, now is a time to do so.” Raymond uttered, ma
Selene's POV"I can't believe that this is the beginning of summer. We are going to have so much fun. Avery, you don't look too excited. You always say this is your favorite holiday, so why the gloomy face? Don't tell me you are missing me too much. It is just a one week conference and besides, you are the one who volunteered to go instead. Who knows, maybe you will make new friends there. Just try to make the best out of it and don't be so stuck up b****, okay?"Avery opened her mouth in disbelief then she covered the camera with her palm.I stifled my laughter when I heard her screaming into her pillow in the background."I am not a b****! People just don't know when someone is polite and jovial. Those are two different things, Selene, come on. I wish you were here with me. Dr. Riley is no fun. She has had her head buried in books ever since we arrived at this conference. Why did this have to be for a week? When I get back, I'm going to spend my three days at the beach, sunbathing a
Maximus POV"Is there a reason why my daughter is staying with your parents for more than a week? It's been a while and I haven't seen Kylie. Why did you take her out? Are you trying to separate my daughter from me, Maximus? What is next? Are you going to give her to Selene, your ex-wife or are you going to also make me look like the bad guy again? What is it going to be this time? Come on, tell me! She should be with us right now, having breakfast like a normal family should but instead, you shipped her off to her grandparents. Do you expect me to be okay with that?"Jess complained, fussed, and questioned all at once.It was too early for her to start her whining. I had enough problems on my mind and I don't need her adding to it."I don't need to make you look like a bad guy. You are already evil. And besides, your daughter is the one who suggested that she wants to take a little holiday at her grandparent's house. Since when do you treat Kylie like your own child? She is constantly