Saving Maria Maria’s POV “I received your text last night. How did you know that I was the one in need of a white knight?” I asked her with an emotionless tone. I had to thread carefully because I had made too many moves where my company was concerned that had led to a backlash. “You are not famous, Maria; but you are also not a nobody. After our last discussion, I did my own findings about you and realized that you were the one having corporate troubles.” “Your message indicated that you would be my white knight but I could pay back in my time and terms. Why? We’ve only just met so why do you want to help me?” She sighed deeply as if remembering something that happened previously, then she said. “Let’s just say that I encountered something similar in the hands of my husband. If you don’t act fast and smart, everything you own will be taken away from you, mishandled by people who know nothing about your vision, and then tossed back to you in shattered pieces with nothing lef
Evil Intention Turned Sour Maria’s POV After my meeting with Aiva at the Fiction Nook, we went from one meeting to the next and because of that, I wasn’t home much. Surprisingly, I didn’t see much of Helena that weekend and her phone was busy. It was Monday morning and the meeting would commence in a few hours, and from the information I gathered, they were poised to take my position as CEO from me. I smiled and replied to the greetings and compliments from my staff as I made my way to my office. I could see the questions and subtle confusion on some of their faces, but I believe that the staff meeting that would be held at the end of today’s meeting will clarify a lot of things for them. My personal assistant joined me on the way to my office and when I stepped in, I went straight to the bathroom to have some pep talk with myself and admired myall-white outfit, which was deliberately chosen because I told myself that after today, there will be newness and a breath of fresh
Dinner With The Bolts Maria's POV “I need a vacation, Helena. I need to go away for a whole month. The events of the past weeks have been so crazy, my head ached a bit.” Helena laughed as we entered her car to head to Sebastian’s house for dinner. “I am here for all the drama. It has been a wild ride. Clubbing and multiple boyfriends didn’t give me this much excitement.” “I am glad that my life is entertaining you. It gives me joy to know that.” I replied sarcastically and playfully rolled my eyes. After meeting his mother at the stakeholders’ meeting in my company, Sebastian and Aiva had stayed back in the room and talked for a long time. Later that day, he invited Helena and I to dinner with his family. I couldn’t believe that Aiva was Sebastian’s mother that he had been looking for and I also couldn’t believe that the Bolts were the family that Aiva talked about with so much longing. “I can’t believe that you met Sebastian’s mother and was even friends with her fo
Marry Me Properly Sebastian's PoV I took in the lively chat and warm atmosphere around me as I watched everyone interact. The joy I felt about finally finding my mother cannot be matched and I was even more happy as I watched the interactions between Maria and my mother. They behaved more like mother and daughter than acquaintances but I was also a little bit saddened by Maria’s actions. I was shocked when Helena came to my office and told me about Maria’s company. I thought she was joking at first and later found it hard to believe because Maria gave me the impression that everything was fine in her company even after I asked her numerous times. Immediately after Helena told me everything, I called my private investigator for an urgent job which caused so much money but I didn’t care about that, I was more hurt by the degree of chaos we found out and the fact that Maria didn’t tell me anything about it. Helena tried to defend her and said that she may not have known ab
Cupid Operation Helena's POV I rushed to the door as soon as I heard the knock because I knew that it was Maria. “For someone who was hesitant to stay behind last night, you sure look like you enjoyed the night you spent at his house.” Maria smiled shyly and placed her hands over her mouth. “Helena, you are one crazy bitch.” “Yes I am!” I replied, please with myself and then I gasped loudly when I saw the ring on her finger and covered my mouth to prevent myself from screaming loudly. I did not want to scare Nathan. “No way!” I half whispered and pointed at her hands. “Is that what I think it is?” Maria nodded excitedly and said. “Yes, Lena. It is what you think it is. Sebastian proposed properly last night.” I jumped up happily while clapping and then wrapped my arms around her bosom and carried her up. “I am soooo happy for you and Sebastian. You have to tell me what happened. I need the tiniest detail, Maria.” “Urghh, Maria, I am tired. I need my bed.” She complai
Shattered Bliss Maria's POV It had been two weeks since Sebastian proposed again and those two weeks had been nothing but blissful. Sebastian and I spent almost every free time we had together which was not enough time and so I looked forward to marrying him already. We made our first appointment with the wedding planner last week and since that time we have fully entered wedding planning mode. The next step was Nathan. Sebastian indicated that he would love to spend more time with Nathan, just to get to know him and each time he talked about that, I would always think about the day that I would tell him that Nathan was his son. After careful consideration and discussion with Helena, I decided to tell him on our first lunch together with Nathan which was two days away. “Have a great day at school today, baby. Mommy loves you so much.” I whispered in Nathan's ear when we arrived at his school. “Nathan loves mommy so much.” He mimicked me and pecked my cheeks as I smile
Finding Maria Sebastian's PoV I was in a virtual meeting and in the process of finalizing a deal with one of the top companies in Russia when I received Maria's message. A picture even accompanied it and I saw that she had taken the ring off. I sent her a text asking where she was but I didn't get any reply and it was starting to irk me. After a while, I realized that I couldn't concentrate in the meeting anymore so I texted one of my senior executives to take over, and share a believable excuse about why I had to leave the meeting. “What the hell is going with you now, Maria?” I asked myself and then dialed her phone but she didn't answer the phone. I called her numerous times but she didn't answer nor call me back. I thought that she was avoiding me and was starting to become restless. Seeing that there was nothing much I could do, I sent the message to Keith and he called me immediately. “Are you sure she was the one who sent that message, Seb?” “That was her ph
Welcoming The Darkness Maria's POV Hours had passed in the company of Richard and Cassandra. I was tired, hungry and worried, very worried because of Nathan. I knew that Helena would have picked him up from school because she was listed as the only other person who could do that but then something was not right. Richard looked unstable. He looked as if he was not alright mentally and I fear that he would do something irrational. He had been having a heated argument with Cassandra for a while now, but I have no idea what they were going on about. Just as I was about to lean my head backwards, I heard him shout. “I will do whatever I want to do and your bloody opinion does not matter.” Cassandra held his elbow, trying to stop him. “You can't do that, Richard. You could get us arrested.” ‘No, I would get the world rid of the pest called Maria. That's what I would do, besides, who's going to call the police? One eyed Maria?” He asked with a mocking smile on his face.
Surprise Wedding Maria's PoV I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation with Sebastian a few hours before I was discharged from the hospital. Nathan and I had stayed for five days and in all that time, Sebastian had attended to and taken care of us as if he was on some special mission to do so. Immediately after I opened my eye on the first night, he gave me water, called the doctor to examine me and when they were done, he got me food and other essentials and then apologized for how he had behaved in the past weeks. We had talked a lot after that time and I felt relieved to know that my ex-step mother had been arrested alongside Cassandra. I felt bad for Cassandra but she also knew that the consequenced of her actions would come. During one of the conversations, Sebastian informed me that he knew about my pregnancy and also that he was the father and that he wan
Final Crackdown Maria's PoV “Hey! Hey!” Cassandra shouted as the man moved closer to me. “You don’t get to harm her, so go back to your position.” Cassandra moved closer to me and started untying the ropes on my feet. “What are you doing?” The man asked Cassandra. “Dancing on a private jet, what the hell does it look like I am doing?” She replied him rudely as she continued to loosen the rope around my leg. When she was done loosening the rope around me, she stood up and said. “My mother wants me to bring her to the other room. We need to teach her a lesson before we move out.” “But your mother didn’t mention such. I didn’t receive any instruction as such.” The man responded with a deep frown on his face. I could see that he was trying to connect the communication device in his ear.&nbs
Family Reunion Maria’s PoV I woke up with a start, and all that I could hear for a while was my throbbing heartbeat. ‘What is going on? Where am I? How did I get here?’ I asked myself as I looked around the dimly lit room. A subtle movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Nathan lying on the floor beside me. At that moment, a flood of events that led us to this place rushed into my head. The thoughts made me gasp and look around in fear. ‘Oh my god! Have we been kidnapped again? Who brought us here?’ Pulling on strength that I didn’t have for some unknown reason, I moved slowly towards Nathan and shook him softly. “Nate, Nate, wake up baby. It’s momma.” “Momma?” He asked weakly and I saw that his eyes were barely open. “Oh god! What’s going on?” I asked
Shocking News Maria's PoV My body had been feeling funny for a while but I thought that it was probably stress. It was weeks after we came back from the conference in Paris and when I came back, I had more work to do because my company was in the scaling phase. Two days ago, Aiva invited Helena, Nathan and I to breakfast at Ailene's penthouse. It was a beautiful time but I became sick again when I got home. Helena suggested that I go to the hospital and see a doctor but I refused because I already suspected why I was feeling sick. After we left the house in the morning, I dropped Nathan off at school, visited the nearest pharmacy to pick up the equipment that would confirm or refute my suspicions. After that, I texted Helena to come straight to my office because I had something important to show her. I waited for Helena to come to my office before taking an
Girl Time Aiva's POV I smiled when I heard Maria's hearty laugh as she listened to Ailene's joke. Helena was at the other end fixing Nathan's buttons which had come off while he was playing around with the huge toy car that Sebastian had bought for him while he stayed here with Ailene and I. Upon my request, they had visited a few days after they returned from the conference that took place in Paris. “Here you go. Breakfast is ready, everyone.” I dropped the full jug of juice on the table that was already filled with a variety of food and wine. I also instructed the maid to take Nathan to the smaller table nearby and feed him because I was certain that me and the girls may have adult conversations. “Mom, I told you that Maria also saw the man with the huge jacket. He gave everyone a good laugh during the conference.” Ailene turned towards me with laug
HelVINI Helena's POV I couldn't get over the excitement and joy when Maria was given an award after her speaking session. When she got to her seat, she texted me to meet her in the bathroom and while there she cried until she was too tired to, then I reworked her makeup. By the time the conference was over, she was exhausted and wanted only her bed. Ailene bought her food and escorted her to the penthouse. “Helena Montoya, I look at you and Maria Bellucci and I can't help but see two very phenomenal women charting paths in their various fields.” Vini had nothing but praises for me and Maria when we settled down for dinner after the conference. “Thank you, Vini.” I gave the wickedly handsome man a bright smile. “Where's Maria?” Vincenzo asked, looking up from his phone for the first time since we sat at the table “Maria was a little tired after the conference so she called it a night early.” “And we all leave Paris tomorrow morning.” “Yeah. We leave first thing in
Flowery Moments Maria's POV My heart banged wildly as I rushed back to my penthouse after exiting Sebastian's room thinking that I would turn around and see him coming after me. “How could you do that, Maria? Come on, how could you do that?” I repeated to myself over again as I walked back. My body still trembled from Sebastian's touch and longed for it but my brain was seriously beating my body for betraying us. How could I just jump into bed with him after months where he ignored me and didn't even care one bit? How could I just jump into his bed after the naughty tantrum-like behaviour he displayed when I was with Vicenzo? I opened the door to the penthouse and when I entered, moved straight to the bathroom. “Are you alright, Maria?” I turned to see Helena on the sofa and she looked as if she had been waiting up for me. “What's the time?” “It's five AM.” I sighed resignedly and slumped down on the sofa in front of Helena, then bit my lip to prevent from cryi
Burning With Jealousy Sebastian's PoV The endless meetings concerning the annual business conference were taking their toll as usual. I was moving from one meeting to the other with the top guns so I hadn't even had time to ask if Maria had arrived or if she was settled in the penthouse. I wanted to give her the best experience while she was in Paris, so I instructed my other pilot to bring her down to Paris with my other private jet and I also instructed the host that when they arrived they should only be given the best. The meeting I just came out from lasted for hours. Don't get me wrong, it was meetings such as that one that placed me on a higher pedestal than businessmen of my age but it was long and I was tired physically. When we came out of the boardroom, my physical exhaustion changed to anger and burning jealousy when I saw Maria with some other guy. The guy was pleased to see me and I didn't mean to be rude but I was burning too much with jealousy to even thi
The Annual Corporate Conference Maria's POV The journey to Paris was more enjoyable than the last time because I was not treated as a first time speaker but a seasoned writer. Helena and I were taken to Paris with a private jet and when we arrived, we were lodged in one of the best penthouses in one of Sebastian's highrise buildings. When we entered the penthouse, Helena whistled and turned to me. “At this point Maria, I doubt that all of this is because you are a speaker. You were a speaker last year and we didn't get all of these.” I folded my arms and then raised my brow “Really? Why do you think we were given this type of treatment then?” “Isn’t it obvious? Sebastian of course. We came in his private jet and now we are in one of the best apartments in his highrise buildings.” I chuckled and shook my head. “You of all people know that Sebastian doesn't give a damn about me so yes, he may be the owner but it could have been that the panel decided that it had to be that