Trina's POV Standing at the kitchen sink, I submerged my hands into soapy water as I scrubbed at a stubborn stain on a pot. The house was now quiet and the atmosphere a bit more breathable since my impromptu guests have left.However, not all the tension has disappeared as I could still sense that something was bugging Justin as he gathered the remaining dishes from the table and brought them to the kitchen.When he kept them on the counter and started rinsing the plates I have already washed, he finally voiced out what was in his mind in his usual gentle tone.“I still can't believe you accepted that job, Tri.”I sighed, my shoulders drooping as I momentarily halted in scrubbing the pot.“Oof, here we go again! C’mon Justin, we’ve gone through this already. I know it sounds a bit odd, even I thought so at first but after careful consideration, I have made up my mind. This is a great opportunity for me, both at the hotel and as his personal chef.”"Personal chef, huh?" Tylor rolled h
Trina’s POV Upon checking the screen of my Samsung, a frown appeared on my face as it's an unknown number. Shrugging, I pressed the green button and even before I said ‘hello’, I heard a familiar small voice say,“Trina, it's me Jayden. Hope I’m not disturbing you at this late hour after all that hard work you did?”A small smile graced my face. This young boy is just too mature and adorable!“No, Jayden, not at all. Hope you and your dad got back home safely?” As soon as I mentioned Jayden's name, Justin stopped washing the dishes and abruptly snapped his head towards me. He quickly signaled me to put it on handsfree speaker and I simply obliged him.“Yes, we did, thank you. I just wanted to follow up on what my dad discussed with you earlier. I would like you to start working from our residence tomorrow. I need you to prepare breakfast and also a lunch pack that I’d take to school. I hate the food they serve in the cafeteria. My personal chauffeur will be sent to pick you up in th
Trina’s POV My heart instantly skipped a beat when I saw the intense and serious look in Justin’s blue eyes as he said that. Yikes! I just hope this isn't what I'm thinking it is— the moment I have been dreading for six years now. The moment that Justin confesses his feelings and hence, destroy our very good best-friends relationship since I can never reciprocate his feelings.I don't know when I stuttered. “W…what condition, Justin?”He took a deep breath before asserting in a firm tone, with his eyes still locked on mine.“You have to tell Mr. McAllister that I am your boyfriend, just incase he asks.”I finally released the breath that I wasn't aware I was holding. Thank God it isn't really a confession which I would have to reject! In order to lighten the mood that has suddenly turned too serious for my liking, I rolled my eyes at him.“Don’t be so ridiculous, Tin-tin! Why on earth would my boss ask me such an absurd question?! In case you’ve forgotten, he and I are merely boss a
Trina's POV Sitting down with my butt flat on the floor, I closed my eyes and tried to process it all. The call I received two months ago from Justin when I was still in Paris, my return, the job offer and now Justin's warning. Taking a deep breath, I asked myself, did I make the right decision? Is it really worth taking the risk? But then, as the memories of what happened two months ago came flooding back to me, I knew I just had to do it. This is a leap of faith that I will gladly take for the sake of my beloved family…Two months ago, I became very worried when I couldn't reach either Mason or Aunt Pamela anymore. Panicked, I asked Justin to help me investigate and find out why my brother and his guardian were both unreachable. And a few days later, the call that made my world come crashing down around me had come. Justin's voice had been heavy with the burden of tragic and devastating news he was about to deliver."Trina" he had said, his words careful and measured, "I'm so sorr
Trina’s POV The buzzing sound of the alarm jolted me awake. As I sat up on the bed, stretching and yawning, I realized that it was still dark outside as there's no sign of morning light through the curtains. However, I know I just couldn't afford to be lazy enough to lay back down as today is the D-day– my first day working for the enigmatic Mr. McAllister.I made my way to Eleanor’s room, gently rousing her. "Wake up, sweetie. It's time for our new adventure!"Ella rubbed her eyes, confusion giving way to excitement as she remembered. "We're going to the big house today, right, Mummy?""That's right, baby. Now, let's get you dressed in your prettiest dress!"An hour later, we were all set and ready and as soon as we heard a car stop, we quickly got out. A black Rolls Royce had pulled up, and Randolph emerged from the passenger seat with a smile on his face."Good morning, Ms. Trina, Miss Eleanor. Are you ready for your first day?"After exchanging pleasantries, we got into the sleek
Trina's POV Taking a deep breath, I made my way back to the ultra-modern kitchen with the tray. To my relief, the friendly housekeeper, Lila, had returned to the kitchen and so together, we snacked on the desserts and coffee while having small talk.Later, Lila went about her duties, leaving me to start prepping for lunch. I felt kind of lonely when she left because the vastness of the mansion, the opulence and splendor… it all made me feel overwhelmed. Though I was born in wealth, my scheming father and stepmom never let us enjoy our mother's vast wealth and hence, I'm not used to such opulence. However, as I moved through the kitchen, preparing lunch, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of belonging. The atmosphere in the grand mansion is quite welcoming and the occupants very accommodating.In fact, the way all the domestic staff treated me, it was quite amazing. Just like they did earlier when I made breakfast, no sooner had I finished cooking lunch than Sally and Anna came
Trina's POV Finally, after lots and lots of careful thinking and meticulous cooking in the spectacular kitchen, I finished preparing dinner. And as Anna and Sally helped me set the table, I carefully set Mr. McAllister’s own portion of the meals in a very attractive set of food warmers I found in one of the kitchen cabinets.And later as we sat down to dinner, I couldn't help but smile as I watched Eleanor choose a seat right next to Jayden on the large, exquisite dining table that could accommodate up to thirty dinner guests. She had really taken a huge liking to him, almost as if she looked up to him as her idol and role model ever since they met. Was it just yesterday? It feels like ages ago due to how close we’ve all gotten in such a short time!But as the three of us were all seated, my gaze shifted to Randolph, Lila, Sally and Anna who were all standing dutifully at attention near the wall. I instantly felt uncomfortable at how formal and odd everything felt to me. They're all
Zane’s POV As soon as the three hour long international conference call finally ended, I loosened my tie a bit as I leaned back in my leather seat, releasing a deep sigh of relief. It has been a very long but fruitful day as once again, I have succeeded in closing a multi-billion dollar deal for my personal company, McAllister Enterprises.As I shut down my MacBook, my eyes fell on the Rolex on my wrist and my left brow raised a little as I saw the time– 7:46 pm. Yet another unavoidable late night at the office. Even though I was quite used to staying very late into the night at the office in the past, I had made it a point of duty to ensure that I return home as early as possible ever since my son Jayden was born. Since I'm the only parent he had, I need to be there for him whenever he needs me.A soft knock came on the door, breaking into my thoughts. "Come in," I called out.My secretary, Claire, walked into my office with a file folder in her hands and seeing that, I instantly sa
Trina’s POV My heart instantly skipped a beat and as I turned to look at him, I felt Justin's hand pull away from mine before he hastily wrapped it around my waist in a possessive manner.Just like that, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Zane descended the stairs in a slow, majestic manner, like a predator advancing towards its preys, with his eyes never leaving Justin. I held my breath, praying to God to intervene and prevent a tense confrontation."Myers." Zane's voice was as frosty as ice when he addressed Justin. "To what do we owe this... unexpected pleasure?"Justin’s arm tightened around my waist, making Zane’s eyes to ever so fleetingly drop to it before instantly looking back at Justin.He responded, "I wasn't aware I needed a reason or your permission to visit my girlfriend and her daughter."O.M.G!! How could Justin do this to me? The word 'girlfriend' hung in the air, increasing the already tense atmosphere a hundred fold more. I felt my heart
Trina’s POV As the kids had firmly locked the door behind them in Jayden's computer and games room and Zane was in his bigger study room which was upstairs, I was all alone downstairs, except for the domestic staff who were all taking a break from their usual duties for the time being.To keep myself occupied, I started browsing about ideas about how to hold a funeral for an already buried loved one and also ideas about the memorial area I want to create in Mom's burial ground after this charade of a pretend marriage is all over. I was deeply engrossed in my research when the intercom connecting the gates to the inner parts of the mansion buzzed. And as I answered, I heard the familiar voice of one of the security guards, Nelson, say to me. “Good afternoon ma’am. There's a Justin Myers here to see you. Should we let him in?”My brows instantly furrowed even as my heart began pounding in trepidation. Justin in the McAllister mansion?! What on earth is he doing here?!Subconsciously,
Trina's POV I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart as I watched Eleanor orchestrate yet another "family" scenario. This time, she had Jayden and Zane himself setting up a picnic in the sprawling gardens of the McAllister mansion. It was quite surreal, seeing the cold and aloof, highly charismatic and intimidating billionaire– The enigmatic Mr. Zane McAllister doing something so domestic as laying out a checkered blanket while his equally aloof and charismatic son, Jayden McAllister, carefully arranged a basket of sandwiches on the spread blanket.As I watched them from afar in awe, I suddenly heard my mischievous little munchkin’s voice break into my thoughts."Mommy! Daddy says we need your famous lemonade for our picnic!"For the umpteenth time, I felt a flutter in my stomach when I heard Eleanor call Zane 'Daddy,' even though I have been hearing it for over a week now and I also know it was all pretend. Forcing a smile on my face, I replied to her. "Lemonade coming
Jayden McAllister's POV I could feel Eleanor's excited eyes on me, trying to get an eye contact so we can celebrate our mini victory but I refused to allow the contact since Dad's highly perceptive eyes were on me and I don't want to risk him finding out about our plan.Later after breakfast, as we made our way to Dad's sleek black car, I couldn't help but notice how Mom hesitated before taking the front passenger seat. And when he drove us to the school, I noticed that Dad's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, as if he was also nervous about the whole thing but keeping cool about it like the aloof and indifferent billionaire everyone knows him to be.Unlike her usual self, Eleanor was very quiet during the ride to the school and from the rearview mirror, I could see Mom stealing glances at her with a concerned look on her face. When she could no longer handle it, she turned in her seat to look back at us. "Aren’t you excited, Ella sweetie? First day at a new school is always
Jayden McAllister's POV I must give my twin sister her well deserved accolade– she's indeed a master when it comes to plotting and mischievous pranks, especially when she sets her heart into doing something. And she has not only set her heart, but also her mind and her soul into bringing our parents back together after whatever it was that separated them in the past. On that fateful day when Dad announced we were going on a family vacation to his hometown, I had caught Eleanor's eye across the breakfast table. She gave me that mischievous look of hers– the one that said she was up to something– and I knew right then that our lives were about to get a whole lot more interesting! And when I said my goodbyes and set out to go to school, I had lingered at the door, only to hear her say to them in her characteristic chirpy tone."I'm going off to my kingdom as well but before then, remember what my big bro just told you; practice makes perfect. Jay-jay and I have already started our ow
Trina's POV “Mr. McAllister comes from a middle-class family in Dripping Springs, Texas. His father, Donald McAllister owns and maintains a ranch there. The ranch is a family heirloom, it's been in the family for generations. Zaynie is his only son."This time around, he didn't bother to correct his slip of tongue and that made me realise that Mr. McAllister and him might be closer than they appear to be if he calls him by a nickname."Zaynie's mother died immediately after giving birth to him, and his father remarried early… too early if you ask me.”I shook my head as I said, “That's so sad. So he grew up without knowing his own Mom!”Randolph let out a grim smile as he heard that, before saying, “Yeah, but what was even more sadder was the way his father and stepmom treated him. You see, my family worked for the McAllister ranch for generations and so I grew up there, working as the dairy person in charge of milking all the cows. So I have known Zaynie ever since he was born. As a
Trina's POV Time seemed to slow down as I sensed Zane’s hand a fraction of an inch away from my face. With my heart pounding so hard like never before, I held my breath, waiting for the touch of his fingers on my skin...However, it never came.Instead, I felt a slight movement of air as his hand reached past me. My eyes flew open just in time to see him grab his suit jacket from the hook on the wall behind me."Then you better start practicing about how to act as a caring wife," he said, his voice calm and cool as if nothing had happened. "I'm off to the office."And just like that, he was gone, leaving me pressed against the wall, with my heart still pounding dangerously and my mind reeling.I stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened– or rather, what hadn't happened. Had I imagined the tension? The heated look in his eyes? The way his gaze had lingered on my lips?Shaking my head, I pushed myself away from the wall and took a deep breath. This arrangement
Trina’s POV Eleanor's eyes widened as big as saucers, and even Jayden looked pleasantly surprised. But before I could process their reactions, Zane quickly added, "As a pretend family." He paused, his gaze sweeping over all of us. "I've made an arrangement with… your mother that will benefit us both. And to make this… venture successful, we will need your maximum cooperation."I watched the children carefully, trying to gauge their reactions. To my surprise, Eleanor and Jayden exchanged another look, this one filled with something I couldn't quite decipher. Was that... a wink from Eleanor to Jayden? Hmm, judging from her hyper excitement from earlier and her actions now, I know my mischievous little munchkin was definitely up to something. But the question is, what? And how on earth had she managed to thaw the usually cold and aloof Jayden like this?"A pretend family vacation?" Eleanor asked, her voice dripping with innocence that I knew was entirely feigned. "That sounds like fun!
Trina's POV As my little munchkin and I made our way to the McAllister mansion, I couldn't help but notice her unusually bubbly demeanor. Even though my little firecracker was always full of life, today she seemed to be practically bursting with excitement. I’ve never seen her being this restless and excited over anything. As if she read my mind, she hyper excitedly squealed, “Mommy, hurry! I can't wait to see everyone!"I chuckled, before glancing at her in the rearview mirror and asking, “Calm down, sweetie. We go there every day, remember? Tell me, what's got you so hyper this morning?”She flashed me one of her famous mischievous grins before responding in a fake innocent tone. "Oh, nothing, Mommy. I just have a feeling today's going to be a great day!"Alarm bells instantly rang on my head so I quickly said. “Ella sweetie, remember the promise you made to me when we started going to the McAllister mansion? You wouldn't break it by playing a prank on anyone in the house, would