The first day ended pleasantly, and the kids were too tired by late evening.It was Nathaniel’s first experience of playing all day long until he got tired. Before his surgery, his body was weak, and they were always careful.After the surgery, there was an adjustment period where the doctors monitored him closely. And even after that, his strenuous activities and playtime increased gradually.To be allowed to let loose without care was an entirely enriching experience.“Look how happy Li is!” Liliana said emotionally.“Yeah! He is turning into a normal kid now. Well, as normal as our kids can be!” Jonathan added proudly.Liliana chuckled and pecked him on his nose.“Because I am happy, I will forgive you for being too handsome and catching flies even on our vacation,” Liliana teased.“Honey, usually wives become happy and proud that their husbands are good-looking,” Jonathan complained.“Too bad you have an unusual wife, husband. I would rather no one covet what’s mine,” Liliana said
Throughout the dinner, Jonathan kept grumbling about his ruined surprise.Liliana coaxed him for a while to no avail. She kissed him and bit his lips to break his trance.“Don’t let her ruin your mood, husband. Or I will be jealous,” Liliana whispered.That made Jonathan chuckle. His little wife had an unusual way of cheering him up.After dinner, Jonathan, through Liliana, confirmed with his shadow that everything was fine.That got Liliana all excited, but he held his tongue.They put the kids to bed, but Joyanna requested a story. The kids had long outgrown their habit of listening to stories before going to bed. But this had been a memorable day.Jonathan was elated since he had thought he would never get to read for the kids.He volunteered and read them the story of Hansel and Gretel as they fell asleep.“Happy?” Liliana asked as they exited the kid’s bedroom.“Yes, very!” Jonathan admitted placing a kiss on her forehead.He led her to their bedroom and had her close her eyes.W
Liliana woke up in her husband’s arms - naked and satisfied.With Jonathan’s care, she overcame her phobia. He helped her get over her hurdle without the help of a psychiatrist. She could not be happier.Jonathan felt her heated gaze in his sleep and woke up to see her staring at him with teary eyes.“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? I am so sorry.” Jonathan reacted instinctively.Liliana hugged him tight and cried on his chest.“I am so lucky to have you as my husband. These are happy tears,” She sniffled.He heaved a sigh. He rubbed his wife’s back soothingly and spoke, “Don’t cry, honey. I don’t like seeing your tears. I am lucky to be your husband, to be your partner. I love you!”“Are the kids awake?” She asked.“Yeah! I had breakfast with them before getting some shut-eye,” Jonathan told her as he kissed her head while his hands involuntarily began roaming across her curves.“You should get some rest then. I will wake you up for lunch,” Liliana pushed his hand away, feeling goosebump
One weekend, Mariana called James and asked him to meet in a tea house.She was finally free. She had mustered the courage to clear the air with James.However, half an hour later, James did not arrive, but she received a photo of Alice and James kissing.Mariana laughed at her stupidity and decided to leave.But as luck would have it, she ran into Jacob, her college friend. Jacob was Mariana’s best friend after Liliana.“Mer bear!” Jacob shouted.“You finally could not stay away from me, huh?” Mariana teased as they hugged each other tightly.They talked about old times, and Jacob showed her the plans for his new house that he was building in the suburbs of P city.That turned into banter, and they kept throwing punches at each other.Unable to take her jab anymore, Jacob pinned her to the wall and said, “Lady, don’t make dirty jokes as if you know what it means.”Mariana only laughed before pushing him away.That was what James saw when he showed up late.James was on his way to Mar
Jacob changed his demeanor after Mariana ran away.James wanted to follow her but was held back by Jacob.“Mer’s boyfriend, James, right?” Jacob asked.“Let go!” James roared.“What’s the rush? Let’s chat,” Jacob said and let go of him, gesturing to a chair.James sat down begrudgingly.“My name is Jacob Tanner. Mer and I were friends in college. I am her closest friend after Liliana.”Jacob introduced himself to his relationship with Mariana. That made James relax.“James Miller. Mariana’s boyfriend.” James said haughtily. He still did not like this Tanner in whose arms Mer was laughing. Whenever he held her, she would always try to get away.“Mr. Miller, if you are Mer’s boyfriend, may I ask why you were kissing your ex-girlfriend and even missing your appointment with Mer?” Jacob directly asked, which made James’s eyes widen.James muttered, unsure why he was explaining to this guy.“I have nothing to do with Alice. I ran into her, and we got into an argument, which made me late. A
Rose woke up in enormous pain.She could not understand why she would experience so much pain when she was very early into the pregnancy, and the abortion was supposed to be painless.An unfamiliar nurse came to check up on her and asked her a few questions regarding her health.Those were routine questions, and she came in later to inject painkillers into her IV bag.Rose lost consciousness again, and the last thought in her mind was that she had to go home in time. Otherwise, Lester would suspect her.That repeated a few times until Rose lost track of time.When she finally became cognizant, it was already three days later.The realization shook her. Lester would not let her be at this rate.She hurriedly picked up her phone, but it was out of battery. She saw several missed calls and texts from home after she charged the phone and turned it on.Rose was a little disappointed that Lydia had not called or texted her even once.The nurses came and checked her up. When she asked for th
“I did not con you, and I was not the one who put it up for auction,” Rose swallowed her anger and pride and explained.“I figured as much. I saw you sniffing around the auction house.” Romeo admitted.“I guess someone played us both. Our marriage and affair were exposed, Lydia’s parentage came out, and Lester discovered everything and even tricked you into this. Someone designed all of this.”Romeo had spent the last few days when Rose was unconscious thinking things through.He realized that someone had played them both from the dark.All these months, he had thought Rose had played him, but Lydia’s kidnapping had cleared his doubts.And judging by how things were going, Lester was clueless as well.So, it could only be that bitch Anne’s daughter who must have lured him back to P city.It was too coincidental. Lester had found out about them as well.Rose lost her kidney, and Romeo got kicked out of the hotel where he was staying despite spending a lot of money lavishly.They needed
A week later, Rose got discharged.She went home and found that Lester was still on his business trip.After inquiring, Rose discovered Lester was undoubtedly away on a business trip. He had just left one day later after he had had his revenge.Knowing they had tricked her, Rose knew she could not trust anyone at home.She had tried to talk to Lydia many times, but everything she was trying to say had fallen on deaf ears.Lydia was being Lydia.One day, Rose took Lydia to a resort on the outskirts and introduced Romeo.Lydia only frowned at Romeo. She did not want a no-named father.She wanted to be the princess of the Aprice family.Both Rose and Romeo felt helpless seeing their daughter like that.After spending an entire afternoon, they finally convinced her that Lester was not her biological father and was going against her. He had even kidnapped her.Lydia refused to believe them and unwittingly revealed that he had even given her more properties when she had visited his office a
Liam finished his narrative and went close to Kyle.He knelt beside his half-brother and said, “Kyle, you are my brother by blood. But in my heart, you have always been my son.”“I will do anything and everything for you. Not because I feel obligated or you were a responsibility thrust onto me, or because my mother ruined your mother’s life. But because I love you from the bottom of my heart. If anything happens to you, I will lose my mind.”“What happened to previous generations is their karma and their lives. What we do defines our life and our karma.”“You are my son and will remain so until you return to P City Military as the Colonel. Until then, you mustn’t tell anyone about it.”“I never told you about your mother because I have immense respect and compassion for her. I did not want to lie to you or gloss over her story. I wanted to tell you when you are older, so you can appreciate her sacrifices.”“Nevertheless, you will always be my son and my highest priority. I love you so
Liam took a while before he braced himself for the next part.“My mother thought my father was cheating on her with Aunty Keira.”“My father kept everything about Aunty Keira a secret because he hadn’t identified all the people on the inside who worked for him. So for her safety, he dealt with everything directly. He had created a fake ID and passport for her for an emergency. If she ran into any trouble, or if he died, then she could flee and settle down abroad.”“My mother thought he was planning to elope with her. She went after him when he had sneaked out, and she took photos. The next day, she posted all those photos in the newspaper calling Aunty Keira a bad person for flirting with a married army man and ruining a military marriage.”“Naturally, everyone found out, and the bad people captured and bullied Aunt Keira.”“The plan was almost complete. As per military protocols, my father had to prioritize the mission. My father had the last bits of information in place. So he hasti
Liliana began when Liam stalled for time.“Kyle, your mother comes from a long line of military spies. You know what a spy is, right?”Kyle nodded.“Traditionally, only men are sent as spies because women are physically more vulnerable and comparatively more emotional. However, during your mother’s time, there was a very powerful mafia in Z city. He was extending his terror in P city. He had bribed and coerced many people at higher positions - so he would not get caught. Someone inside the Military betrayed us, and he found our spies.”Liam added, “He killed 25 of our most trained and skilled spies within a week. It left the P City Military in a very vulnerable position. My father was the Army Commander at that time. My Grandfather was in a higher position, and the mafia approached my grandfather for something. When he refused, he killed him.”“Among the 25 spies, three were from your mother’s family. Apart from them, almost 100 people from the force - Police and Military - lost their
Liliana walked up to them and hugged them.She checked them from head to toe, much to the boy’s embarrassment. When she was satisfied that they were unharmed, she spanked them.Li looked at his mother incredulously, but she glared back at him.“How dare you run away? Didn’t you know the address of your home? If you encounter something you can’t handle, you come to me. Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?”“Look at how filthy you have become! Is this how you plan to set an example for your siblings?”Kyle hugged her and sobbed, “I am sorry, Mommy.”Li did the same, and Liliana hugged the two children close.Liliana exclaimed, “Ah! It reminds me of when we had just returned to P city. Jo - that traitor, left me for her father. I had the two of you to hug.”She led them to the ensuite bathroom and asked them to clean up. She sat them down and asked them to drink water and eat the pies she had made that afternoon.After the kids were well-fed and hydrated, she sat on the couch with
One day after the divorce, Mariana took the twins to see grandma Preston.Kyle was supposed to leave with her but changed the plans last minute when Nathaniel called, saying he had something to discuss with Kyle.On the other hand, James had taken Jacob’s twins out with him.Jacob did not realize that Kyle and Nathaniel were at home.He turned on Netflix and beer and enjoyed the rare me-time.Liam unexpectedly came back, and upon gathering that they were alone at home, they locked the doors and windows and started making out.Their time together was always short. They had to act like they were just friends.It was tiring, and Liam always felt sorry for Jacob. The man had left everything and followed him to P City, but he kept him away like a dirty secret.Their noise had attracted the two kids who were deep in discussion in Kyle’s room. They thought it was a thief and tiptoed to find him.Unexpectedly, they witnessed something not appropriate for their age.They hid behind the curtain
Liliana, Jonathan, and all their friends lived a non-gossipy, uneventful life in the next few years.Jennifer got married to Junior Doctor Cox.Jacob’s company got listed.Leonardo stabilized his business and left to complete his studies.Vincent and Alice McDraw tied the knot.Henry had a whirlwind romance with a difficult patient, and they ended up in a shotgun wedding.Henry collaborated with his cousin Amelia to perform some of the miraculous medical feats which brought the Qazi family to the forefront of the Medical industry as they had been for generations. Terry Draw ended up with his assistant’s sister. Surprisingly, that was the most challenging match as his assistant accused him of betraying him. He took a long time to accept the truth.Terry completed the Green Field orphanage within the stipulated time. His achievements were widely renowned, and he ended up as the spokesperson for Green Living.He would go on to collaborate with several charities and manage most of the no
James remained unperturbed and laughed.He added when he had calmed down.“Jacob said he kissed Mariana and realized that he was gay.”Jonathan was speechless. He hadn’t expected that twist.James ignored his friend’s expressions and slurred, “He said they were best friends and sort of dating. But the vibe between them was closer to cousins than lovers. When they kissed, he realized how much he never wanted to kiss any girl in his life ever again.”Jonathan had to stifle his laugh.‘Good for Jacob!’‘Poor Mariana lost her first kiss like that. Tch! Tch!’James continued his ramble.“Then they became even closer. Which may have been why Mariana never dated anyone.”Jonathan thought about it and added, “Makes sense! She wouldn’t have needed to look for a relationship, and others would have assumed she wasn’t available.”James continued, “Jacob once took her horse riding. She fell and had a fracture. Her hymen tore when she fell. Then I slept with her and shouted at her for making a fuss
The next four months went by uneventfully, except for Liam being missing for that long and the Preston family members trying and failing to get any benefits from Mariana.Finally, a series of good news came one after the other.Liliana was pregnant. The couple had wanted to keep it a secret until the first trimester ended well. Then when the doctor confirmed everything was alright, they made the big announcement to their friends and family members.Liam came back after completing two different massive projects.He had ended Bronsson Mcclory’s illegal business completely and had apprehended him.Jeffery Cruise kept Mcclory in strict custody until the courts sentenced him to life imprisonment. Then he was sent to a high-security prison that held long-term inmates.Mcclory’s entire business, all networks, all partners and associates, clientele - the police had nabbed all of them.Consequently, Liam worked with several different authorities to arrest everyone from the criminal underground
Jonathan and Liliana stopped talking and embraced each other while lying quietly on the bed.Jonathan was about to drift asleep when Liliana spoke.“Do you still want to have another child?”He was stunned and sat up immediately.“What do you mean?”She turned around and asked, “Well, you never brought it up since we talked about it half a year ago.”He couldn’t understand what she was getting at. He asked, “So?”She mumbled, “I just think it is the right time, and maybe we should try. I will turn thirty soon, and it might cause complications.”He asked, “I still don’t know what you are trying to say.”She rolled her eyes and asked, “I want to know if you still want another child. It’s been half a year since we started living together. What do you think? Are you ready? Do you think having Li and Jo is enough?”He lay down and turned her towards him.“This half a year is the best half year of my life. I love you very much and would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Jo and Li