Belle's POV"Mommy...Daddy..."I kept on crying while hugging my knees. I was hiding in a corner, trying my best not to cause any noise that might get the attention of the armed men walking around. I've heard gunshots and each of them makes my heart beat so fast because of fright."There's a child here!"I was shocked when a man suddenly appeared in front of me. I was just looking up at him with widened eyes."N-No, please don't kill me!" I yelled."No, we're not going to hurt you. Come with us. We're going to escape from here."I blinked a few times with tears filling my eyes. If I didn't remember my mom telling me not to go with strangers, I would've gone with that man immediately. "I won't go with you! Go away!" I shouted.The man kept looking around as if someone would catch him anytime. He looked at me again. "Come on, we're going to save you. The bad guys are going to catch you if you don't come with us.""No! I won't go with you!"Tears continue streaming down my face. Then a
WINTER'S POV"Winter, do you want to go modeling? I can refer you to my agency." Ian asked me while we were having coffee. I shook my head. "I already told you I am not interested in any profession that has something to do with cameras, right?""I know, but you are born to be in the spotlight and to be the star. Even if you keep running away from it, for sure it will keep on following you. Besides, you're just going to be a model, not a celebrity.""But that's what comes next to that.""Your name has been cleared already, Winter. We were able to track down every people who leaked those false rumors and scandals about you, so why are you still afraid to come back as a celebrity?"I heaved a deep sigh. "I don't want to put Matthew and Elisse's life in danger. I want to live as privately as much as possible now. You know what? I actually realized that living peacefully is what I have been craving. Right now, I feel like I am free.""Looks like I can't change your mind now, huh?""I'm so
Matthew's POVAs soon as I stepped inside the house, I saw Winter who was lying on the couch while sleeping. Her eyes were closed and she was even holding her phone as if waiting for someone to call her.Is she waiting for me?It was already past twelve midnight and she wasn't in her room yet. For sure, she really waited for me."Winter.." I tried to call her, but she was deeply asleep.I decided to sit on the couch while looking at her. I swept the strands of hair that were covering her eyes. She looks so innocent when she's sleeping, but when she's awake, she's so playful and loves teasing me around. I couldn't help but smile while staring at her face.All of a sudden, as I was about to carry her to her room, she opened her eyes and looked at me. "Matthew?""Yes. Sorry, did I disturb your sleep?"She sat up and blinked a few times while looking at me as if checking if she wasn't dreaming. After that, she frowned at me. "Yes, you disturbed me. I should be sleeping right now, but I w
Winter's POV"Uncle Ian!" Elisse cooed upon seeing Ian enter the house.Ian then smiled at her and patted her head. "Hello there, Elisse. Are you going to school now?""Yes, Uncle!""Oh, that's good. You should behave at school and defeat all your classmates, okay? Make them see how smart you are!"I laughed. "Coming from someone who used to skip classes in middle school, huh?""H-Hey! What skipping classes are you talking about? We both know I'm one of those smart kids before.""Oh, come on, Ian. Don't try to lie to Elisse anymore."He sighed. "Fine. But that's why you shouldn't be like me. You need to be smart and be better than everyone!""That's right. Don't be a fool like your Uncle Ian." I said while looking teasingly at Ian.The three of us laughed. We didn't even notice Matthew, who just went downstairs from his room."Uh-hum! Elisse, let's go now. You'll be late if we don't hurry up." he said without even looking at me or Ian."Bye, Miss Winter! Bye, Uncle Ian!""Bye, Elisse!
Winter's POV"Come on, stop crying now." Ian kept trying to console me inside his car.I just had a conversation with Phoebe, and she didn't like to see me.I sobbed between my words. "I really... I really thought she had forgiven me already... but she's still mad at me, Ian... I don't even understand... Was it really my fault?""Of course not. It's not your fault, Winter. You don't have to blame yourself for something that you didn't even want to happen. We both know how you cared for that woman. She's just an insecure woman who got mad at her best friend for being more beautiful than her.""I really thought we could finally be friends again. All these years, all I did was pray that she was okay and that we could see each other again. She hates me so much, Ian... She said she doesn't want to see me anymore."Ian tapped my back. "It's alright. If she doesn't want to see you, then don't show your face to her again. As if you would die not seeing her face. Winter, there are things that
Winter's POVJust when Matthew's face was an inch closer to mine, the door of the library room went open and one of the maids stepped inside. Because of that, both of us immediately moved away from each other. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I'll go outside now!" she immediately apologized and left the library room.That made Matthew and I be left alone together again.I could feel the heat captivating my whole face as I pretended to be looking around the library room. Matthew was just sitting next to me, probably wondering what to say next. "W-Why is it so hot in here?" I said while waving both of my hands."I-I'll turn on the other air conditioner," Matthew said as he immediately stood up.What the hell? Why does it feel like I can't even breathe?As soon as Matthew was done turning on the other air conditioner, he turned around and met my gaze again. Because of that, I immediately stood up and averted my gaze from him. "B-By the way, is that all that you want to ask me?""H-Huh? O-Oh, yes. Yo
Belle's POV"Hey, Dr. Belle. You haven't eaten your salad yet. Is there something bothering you?" Nicki, one of my co-doctors asked me while we were inside the cafeteria.I shook my head and looked at her. "I-I'm sorry. I'm just wondering...""About what?""Is it possible for someone to forget about his feelings for someone when he meets someone new? Like, a person he just met?"Nicki took a sip of her lemon tea before speaking. "You mean, there is someone that man loves, then there came another woman. You're asking me if it is possible for him to forget about his first love and love the new woman better?""Y-Yeah.""Well, it actually depends on the man and it depends on the situations that happened while they were away from one another. Most importantly, it depends on whether the man really loves his first love. Because if you love someone so much, then it would be impossible for you to fall in love with someone else."I continuously nodded my head. "I see. Then that means he won't f
Winter's POV"Are you busy?" I almost jumped from my swivel chair when Ian suddenly stepped inside my office. It's been a week now since my boutique started working. I straightened my back as I reached for the cup of coffee that Ian has brought for me. "I didn't know it's this hard to run a boutique.""Of course, it's hard. You'll have to assess everything, observe your employees, the progress of your business, what your customer wants, and what's the trend. Do you think it's more tiring than being a celebrity?" he said as he sat down on the couch."I think so. Because when I was still a celebrity, all I had to do was smile and cry in front of the camera. But at the same time, I think they're quite the same since you should both keep a good reputation."He patted my head. "At least you have a handsome best friend to talk to whenever you feel sad about something.""Handsome and boastful, you mean?""Hey, I'm just stating the fact! At least I'm always present and here for you more tha