Sean's POV"You're still here? Didn't my secretary kick you out?" Dallas looked angry, not happy to see me in his presence. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you."The elevator doors suddenly opened before I could reply, revealing several employees who looked like they wanted to enter but aborted when they saw Dallas. I stood far apart and did not look friendly to anyone. I immediately closed the elevator again, continuing our conversation."I'm serious about Bella, Dallas. Can't you trust me, who's been your friend all these years?"Although I did admit that I was not in a position that was not entirely right, our friendship should be able to make him lenient towards my actions. Not to mention that Arabella's status is practically an adult, and doesn't have to abide by unreasonable dating restrictions. Dallas still didn't answer. He stepped out of the elevator that had arrived at his office floor and entered the office, ignoring Summer's greeting. I followed him in before he could cl
Sean's POV"Hunting... you say?" Dallas seemed to think about my words for a few moments.I hadn't done any hunting in a long time other than when we were younger. I'm sure Dallas was the same since we'd both developed businesses after college, him continuing his parents' business while I created a new one. There were many formal events to attend to introduce our respective companies to the world in order to gain more exposure from all directions.Hunting is a pretty fancy hobby for businessmen, more so than golf, but it's a fun sport to do once in a while. I seem to recall this city offering such an activity somewhere. I'll have to find out more or have Sarah do it to shorten the time.I looked at Dallas, who still seemed to be thinking, taunting him a little to keep him from changing his mind. "Are you scared? I won't force you to do this bet, Dallas."Dallas looked offended. "I'm not scared. I should be the one telling you that. Don't let you suddenly run away because you're scared
Dallas’ PovI looked at the clock after reading the message Sean sent me. He had already prepared the hunting grounds and asked me to come today. I didn't refuse. I smiled a little, already envisioning victory in my hands. "You'll be humiliated there, Sean."He had too much courage to challenge me to a hunt even though it had been a very long time since he had come to the young entrepreneurs' gathering that was regularly held. I was busy at work, but I never missed those activities to strengthen relationships with other companies. Sean relied too much on himself and hasn't changed until now."You have to pay for the impudence you did to Bella with this, and I can never imagine seeing her as long as I live." I was determined while storing the gloves in my pants pocket for me to wear once I got there. I would do everything in my power to hunt Sean out of my and Arabella's lives.I chuckled as I recalled his words that started the bet. He seemed too confident to get Arabella back. It was
Dallas PovI entered the forest in a different direction from Sean, not wanting our hunting grounds to get mixed up with each other. I wanted to defeat the man immediately and hunt multiple animals at once without any interference. Besides, if we came simultaneously, the animals might have already run away when they realized we were making noise with each other.I rode far enough until I came to a sturdy-looking tree and a more open sky than the side of the forest I passed through. "Over there...." I muttered softly, keeping an eye on one of the birds that seemed perched, unaware of my presence, and cleaning the inside of its wings.I shot the bird after a perfect aim, then approached it. It turned out to be quite a bit smaller than I had imagined. I held the bird's carcass in disappointment. "This size is not enough." I gritted my teeth.There should be plenty of deer or rabbits roaming around the forest, but I hadn't seen those two common animals since earlier. There were many birds
Sean’s PovI took a different path than Dallas and rode slower in search of the game. It had been so long since I'd hunted that everything about this hunt felt foreign. Luckily, I'd set our stakes so I could prepare before today.I practised for two full days, confirming the gathering point of the animals and familiarizing myself with the long-barreled rifle I would use. I practised shooting elsewhere to strengthen my weak experience until I was fully prepared as I am now.The sound of leaves rubbing together made me stop. A squirrel looked up at me and took off running, jumping into another tree before disappearing. I rode back, looking for a part of the more crowded forest with larger animals. "There should be a pond around here," I muttered, trying to remember.There were many pond spots in the hunting grounds, each in one region but located quite deep from the starting point. I was still looking for the game around me when I finally found one deer that still looked young but quite
Sean’s PovI helped Dallas out of his horse-ridden condition. The man's horse seemed to faint for a moment but woke up as soon as we tried to wake him up. The horse immediately clung to my horse and didn't go anywhere.I turned to Dallas, who was checking on his condition but had not spoken since earlier. "Are you okay?""Of course not. I'm just grateful to have survived death." Dallas said flatly, picking up his rifle to sling over an uninjured shoulder and visibly limping as he tried to keep his balance.I noticed that his other shoulder was seeping blood from underneath his white polo shirt, as well as the side of the man's face, which looked scratched by gravel and reddened. He was in a much better state compared to the one where he was almost finished off by a wild boar, but not much better since he was injured quite badly.I patted the saddle of my horse while looking at Dallas. "Get on my horse, I'll walk to lead us to the starting point.""Whatever." He replied briefly but ste
Arabella’s PovI saw Dallas's car entering the fence, not long after the man entered the house and looked straight at me. I was a bit surprised by his battered face and cast leg, but I didn't say anything. I was still angry with him, and his injuries must have been his own fault. I didn't want to know.Dallas greeted me first. "Did you have dinner?""Already. Your share is in the fridge." I stared at the television, trying to ignore Dallas's gait, which was still limping despite his crutches.I could see his smile from Dallas's following words. "Are you worried about me? I fell off my horse and was nearly killed by a giant wild boar.""What?" I watched Dallas incredulously, but I understood that the wound was that bad. He'd been hunting a lot before but never came home in such a horrible state. "No wonder you're battered. That's good, worth it for the animals you killed."I grunted in satisfaction, folding my arms under my chest as I watched television. I could stay home and watch all
Arabella’s Pov"Good morning, Andrei." I greeted the housekeeper for the first time since I returned to live here.The man looked surprised but returned my greeting with a smile. "Good morning to you too, Miss Bella. You're up earlier than usual.""I slept well today," I replied, noticing the breakfast looked festive and more complete than usual. "Looks like you changed the breakfast menu."Andrei usually only provides a breakfast menu consisting of lots of protein, such as meat and beans for Dallas, while I cereal with milk or various variants of sandwiches. This time, the almost middle-aged man prepared a lot of healthy food that looked delicious on the dining table.She nodded. "That's right. It was Mr. Dallas who asked her to eat more nutritious food. I hope you can still enjoy this breakfast, Miss.""Thank you, Andrei. I'll enjoy it." I started eating the food on my plate, looking at the outside courtyard that looked even more beautiful than usual.After calling Sean last night,
Arabella's POVDallas returned home three days later. He delivered the things I'd asked for perfectly, so I complimented him while he showed off how hard he'd worked to find all the things I needed."It wasn't too hard to find the snacks you wanted, but the embroidery took some time to do." He explained. "You know that Adele is old, so she taught me by example. I'm really good at copying what she makes quickly."I just nodded with a smile, accepting that Dallas' words weren't entirely true as the embroidery still wasn't very good, but I appreciated his efforts and his leaving, which had given Sean and me a chance to be alone while he was gone."Thanks, Dallas. Where are you going?" I asked as he quickly organized his other belongings instead of staying at our house as usual.He sighed heavily. "I have a job waiting for me.""Oh?" I looked surprised, though I could hardly hide my pleasure that the 'Days without Dallas' could continue for longer. "You're going into town again?"Dallas n
Arabella's POVIt had been seven months since my wedding to Sean, and it was only a few weeks until I went into labour. I stroked my belly, which had grown to almost twice my size, but my baby remained calm, a far cry from the two men in front of me who were feuding.They had been arguing for a while about where I should stay when I gave birth to my long-awaited baby. Sean, of course, wanted me to live with him in our house, but Dallas didn't like that and suggested something very similar to himself."Bella and the baby should stay with me for the first month." My brother said with determination. "If necessary, you can also come over occasionally, but I don't want you living in my house with them."Sean looked annoyed, letting out a breath that was so long it didn't sound like it was going to end. "Dallas, Bella is my wife, and the baby is my chil. There's no way I'm letting them stay at your house when we already have a house together.""So? I want them to stay a month at my house. Y
Arabella's POV"Now, Mr. Sean and Miss Arabella, please give each other a kiss to solemnize this marriage," the priest said to conclude our wedding procession.I felt so happy when I looked at Sean from behind my veil. He grabbed the end of the veil, flashing a smile as big as mine as he draped the veil over the tiara I was wearing, and then took my waist into his arms.I could feel the thrill of knowing what he was about to do and closed my eyes. The touch of his lips was soft, kissing me as we breathed and then opening my mouth with the help of his fingers. We kissed deeply and long until the applause from the guests was heard, as well as the excited cheers that made Sean and I stop our kiss.Our warm breath was faintly visible together, and then I lifted my gaze to look at Sean, who was also looking at me. We exchanged smiles again, knowing each other's feelings that we were both thrilled and happy with the wedding that finally happened that day."I'm so happy, Sean," I whispered t
Arabella's POVBefore I knew it, time had flown by. The preparations for my wedding with Sean were ready, and we were now at the building where our special once-in-a-lifetime event would be held.I had been looking forward to this day since Sean said he would propose to me, and it finally arrived in the blink of an eye. I had seen the decorations that Sean and the wedding organizer hired with a little help from Dallas.Everything looked amazing, even though I could only see briefly. Everything is no less, even more than what Ellie and Nick prepared for their engagement ceremony.I was sitting in front of the mirror, assisted by two people who took care of my makeup during the wedding ceremony that would last into the night and make me into the bride I had always wanted to be.Wanda was with me. She had been watching me get made-up and was looking at me as I was receiving lipstick on my lips. "I didn't expect that you, who has always been kept out of reach of men, would be getting marr
Sean's POVDallas was waiting for our return. He opened the door for me and saw me holding Arabella, who had fallen back into a deep sleep in my arms. The man let me in first and closed the door before asking me for his sister."Let me carry her to her room, Sean." He said, extending both his hands towards me, but I refused to let Arabella out of my arms.She was already comfortable. I didn't want her to be woken up by her brother's unreasonable request. "No need. I just need to go upstairs to lay her down. Thank you for opening the door.""I opened the door because I wanted to scold you."Dallas was already blocking my path to our room upstairs, almost reaching the stairs had the big man not been standing in between.I stared at the man, unafraid of his threats, which I had experienced many times during the time Arabella and I had been secretly dating until now. He always wanted to interfere even though his sister said he never liked it, as well as our agreement from the hunt, which
Arabella's POVSean took my hand. We walked among the beachgoers who were still arriving until late in the evening, and then headed for the less crowded side of the beach that was littered with a few shells stuck in the sand."I found one here, Sean!" I smiled broadly, pointing out the shells with beautiful-looking shells.The man approached, nodding approvingly as he took a long look at the shells I was holding before showing me the inside of the small bucket he was carrying. "Check out mine, Bella.""Wow, why are there so many?" I looked at Sean in disbelief when I saw that the number of shells he had caught had already reached half the contents of the bucket. "One, two, three... ten? You cheated!"Sean laughed. "I didn't cheat, the part of the beach I visited earlier did have a lot of them. I've only taken a few.""I'll go there then."I took Sean's hand, approached the beach that the man had explored earlier and shifted slightly to a place that he hadn't touched. He said that when
Arabella's POVI sat next to Sean, watching him take care of our wedding online by talking to the wedding organizer he had recently contacted while Dallas checked on the process of building our wedding hall in person.After my pregnancy checkup, they both agreed not to let me handle the wedding and told me to rest. Both of them didn't want me to get tired and asked me to pay attention to their busy lives."This is your first pregnancy, Bella. "You don't have to take care of the hassle like us, but take care of you and your baby during these preparations," Dallas said, reminding me again before leaving this morning.I was going to protest, but I also realized that my sister's words didn't hurt. "Can you take care of this alone?"I was a little worried because he acted quickly to take over the wedding affairs held by Sean before, while Sean took over my part. I only remembered that the construction of our wedding hall was already largely underway.Sean hadn't allowed me to see the progr
Sean's POVI swallowed, trying to listen to the words of the doctor who explained what Arabella should do for her pregnancy between the sharp eyes that didn't stop looking at me."Miss can take the supplements downstairs. This nurse next to me will take you." The doctor ended his explanation with a shady smile.We said goodbye to the doctor before following the nurse to pick up Arabella's supplements. I was trying to remember what I should do to help my beloved during her pregnancy, so I forgot about the threatening figure in front of me."You!" Dallas unhesitatingly grabbed the neckline of my T-shirt and pulled me hard. His piercing eyes clearly showed his desire to kill me when we arrived at the hospital's lower parking lot."You animal! You're not even married to Bella, Sean!"I said nothing, knowing that there was no point in adding oil to the fire that was raging before me. My neck felt constricted, but I still had room to breathe, so I didn't try to protest.Arabella tried to st
Arabella's POV"We're going to have our wedding at the same place as Nick's, but I'm going to expand it again," Sean said when we arrived home after our walk.I still felt tired, but I eventually pushed that feeling aside to listen to Sean's explanation better. "When did you plan this?" I asked."A few days ago, it seems or yesterday? I've asked Nick for a favour so we can rent the place right away for the next week." The man seemed relaxed explaining it to me, but it surprised me.I looked at him intently. "You said... one week?""Yeah, is it too soon for you?" He asked, instantly looking worried after hearing my question.I shook my head. On the contrary, I was feeling very excited about the timing of our imminent wedding, not in a month, but even less than a week when a few days had passed.I had initially been dreading this kind of fast-paced wedding, but after talking things over with Sean for some time and meeting Tya to make the dress I would wear when I got married, I felt our