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Last Updated:
2025-01-04 00:21:29
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One Last Chase 35
From the outside, Bryce looked at his new shop one more time, registering the fact that he owned it, and no one could take it away from him. His chest expanded with pride. He’d been inwardly and heartily thanking the person who inspired him to take a huge risk, and gladly, everything went according to plan— it did great, even better than he imagined. And finally, he got his permit. That jackass mayor—Dax congratulated him, but he wanted it would come from someone, although he knew it might never happen. She left him for good. Whose fault was that, dickhead? Grandpa Matthew’s words were still fresh in his head.Yes, his hard work had finally paid off. Only, it wasn’t what Bryce expected it to be.For the last two months, he’d expected she would call back, but every time he checked his phone, he ended up depressed and disappointed, leaving a huge hollow in his chest.“Ready for your big day tomorrow?”“Yeah. Been waiting for this to happen, for years. It’s Clarity’s dream, after all.”
Last Updated : 2025-01-04One Last Chase 36
Apparently, the email she received from Tripp was her e-ticket. Charleigh took the flight home that day.Once she settled back at her apartment, she spent the night berating herself for what she had done. She became impulsive and rushed her decisions without thinking through them.She was supposed to be moving on—that was the sole purpose of her sabbatical, not making herself believe in her own fantasy by letting her hopes up because of some invitation. It was not a ticket to heaven, for God’s sake, but she couldn’t help herself, though.In less than twenty-four hours after her welcome party organized by Tripp and Kayden, Charleigh was already parking at the opposite side of the road of Cleighry’s Coffee & Cakeshop written in bold script.Surrounded by so many old rose and garnet balloons and ribbons, early-bird attendees already occupied the trendy iron-wrought chairs of four Bristo tables under the huge umbrellas. Special offers were on the chalkboard beside the door. Through the gi
Last Updated : 2025-01-05One Last Chase 37
“Of course.” Charleigh watched as they cut the ribbon, and then the crowd applauded. “He looks happy.”“Because he made your design come true. That’s his constant reminder of what he let go of. You are his motivating force, Charleigh. Trust me, if it wasn’t for Clary, he’d gone already crazy.”Her eyes widened. “What do you mean? What happened?”“He couldn’t contact you and find you even though he went to your firm. Mr. Braxton said you resigned, and your brother shoved it to his face what kind of person Bryce was. I must say my grandson deserved it.”“What?” she asked breathlessly, staring at the old man. ”When was this? How come I was not aware of it?” Why Tripp did not mention this to her?“Ask your brother. My grandson waited there at Kayden Braxton’s office. He thought Kayden might be lying to him when he said you resigned, but your brother confirmed it and said, he couldn’t give your information to him.”“Because I told him not to give it to anyone. After I got my promotion, I f
Last Updated : 2025-01-05One Last Chase 38
She always rendered him speechless, but seeing her again had Bryce completely dumbstruck and forgot how to talk. It seemed that his tongue was stuck in his mouth for good. If Ella hadn’t walked in, he was probably still staring at Charleigh as if he’d seen a celestial being for the first time.His heart, his pulse, and his body revved to life. For the last few months after his failure to reach her, he lost hope and lost half of his life. If it wasn’t for Clary and the constant nagging of his grandpa, he must have been crazy right now. He broke his heart once, he knew how it felt, but it never hurt like the way he let Charleigh go. Probably because he had regrets—huge damn regrets.Bryce never thought he would see her again when her brother told him she didn’t want to be contacted. Every night, he went to sleep wondering what was she doing, whether was she happy, had she found the man who would love and respect her. He even sobbed to sleep like a crazy brokenhearted teenager. Now th
Last Updated : 2025-01-06One Last Chase 39
“God, no.” He didn’t recognize his own voice. A lot of things flipped in his mind, and most of them made his stomach rock hard. His eyes started to sting. His throat burned. His chest ached.He squeezed his eyes shut and drew a deep long breath. When he got the strength to pick them up into his hands, he blinked rapidly as he tried to reread the labels on each bottle through blurry visions. “Pre-natal vitamins.”“What are you doing?” Bryce was startled by Charleigh’s angry voice. She was already glaring at him when he lifted his gaze.She was trying to snatch what was in his hand. Bryce was taller than her when he got on his feet. He stood straight and raised his arm so that she couldn’t snatch the bottle while still glaring at Charleigh in disbelief. He swallowed uncomfortably. If he had only one wish left, he wished he was right.“Give that to me,” she ordered. Her eyes narrowed back and blazed with anger.“How far are you?”“It’s none of your business.” She walked past him to grab
Last Updated : 2025-01-06One Last Chase 40
Bryce managed to convince Charleigh to sit on the stool for a while as he tried to process what he just learned today. The funny thing was, instead of feeling disturbed, he was relieved.On the other thought, it was still surreal for Charleigh that he would accept her situation easily. Sure, she would consider gambling her chance to be with him if not because of another issue that had been bugging her.“What do you crave for?” He placed down a tray of lemon with raspberry filling cupcakes and buttercream frosting. He seemed calm as if she didn’t just drop the bomb on his face. He was even smiling from ear to ear as he made her a lemonade.She was pregnant, for God’s sake. She had an unwanted pregnancy. Why was everything okay with him? Even Charleigh, who was never ready for this new situation she had on, cried the whole night and blamed herself for being so reckless and irresponsible that she thought fate was mocking her when her world just fell apart.“Not doing this with you.” Now
Last Updated : 2025-01-07One Last Chase 41
A soft laugh rumbled in his chest as he pulled her into his hard chest. “You are the light of my life, Charleigh. The only woman I wish to be with. No one could fill the space in my heart, only you, it had been reserved for a while now, and I want you to fill it again. You and Clary are my world.”“You’re not answering my question. You should try working on your honesty, Bryce.” “Believe it or not, I haven’t looked at any woman other than your picture in my head. I haven’t had sex either. I have no plan on sleeping or kissing another woman other than you, Charleigh. To answer your question, Ella and Eli are my second cousins. We don’t spend time a lot because they’re from another town. When I started planning out your incredible design, I approached them. And they literally built my shop for free, but I insisted on paying their contractors.”“I see.”“That’s all?” He cocked a brow. “Just I see? You know you can ask me anything. I will answer truthfully.”Charleigh shrugged. That was
Last Updated : 2025-01-07One Last Chase Epilogue I
Six months laterA week after Bryce’s proposal, which was two weeks after they got back together, they tied the knot in a solemn ceremony surrounded by the people close to them. Even her estranged father was present to send her to the aisle in their garden wedding. Tripp, Kayden, and Dax were closer than before. Cleighry was doing great, profits were twice as before. Grandpa Matt and Lotus were Charleigh’s constant companions at home when Bryce was at the shop. She even joined them in fishing many times.Charleigh landed a graphic design job at his father’s firm. She was also taking up a master’s degree online. Her condition to work at home got her father’s approval. She never thought her life would be perfect, and Bryce was nothing but loving, sweet, thoughtful, and sometimes could be an annoying and controlling husband. Still, they ended up spooning together in their bed. She couldn’t complain, though, because she saw at hand how he loved her and wanted to give her the life she tr
Last Updated : 2025-01-08
Latest chapter
One Last Chase 34
Having a hard time processing the gratitude, Ari drank her wine in a gulp.“I don’t deserve the kindness you give to me,” Tripp continued. “What I deserve is resentment from you, Ari. Please, tell me if I am doing this wrong. If you want me to change. I’ll do everything for you, for us.”“You talk too much.” She knelt, cupped his head, and kissed him hard, wet, and wild. Her tongue was forcefully seeking an entrance.When Tripp didn’t give it to her, she tugged his bottom lip until he opened for her with a groan. She knew Tripp wanted to say more, but she wanted him to stop—he’d been trying too hard for them to make this work, and he deserved a reward of some sort.And she had to stop him because if she didn’t, she might end up blurting out the words at the tip of her tongue right now.She was the kind of woman who thought before she put it into action, but with Tripp, her mind was busy thinking how good she would feel underneath him, on top of him, against him, behind him, in all ang
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“Don’t you wanna join me?” Her eyes lingered on the growing dark brown stubble of her husband. After they made love three days ago, she couldn’t help herself not to feel it against her fingertips. When she told him she liked the roughness against her skin, he kept it unshaven.He was an eye candy in his shorts. He might have felt Ari staring at him. His strong jaw locked hard, became more prominent from her angle. His mouth was pressed in a determined line as he chopped the bell pepper expertly like a chef.She knew Tripp used to control even when they made love. He liked to dominate and was always successful with little to no effort. Was there a time that Tripp had ever lost his control? She didn’t have to know for as long as he would lose control of her. She didn’t mind at all.“Are you just gonna stare at me?” His brow arched, reaching his hairline. His smile was meaningful—as if he just read her thoughts. “I thought you wanted to go to the dock.”“I’m going. Are you sure you don’t
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“Thank me later.” Charleigh kissed her on the cheek. “Open your trunk.”Tripp left to take the things he brought with Charleigh. When he came back with the duffel, Ari was already in the car. Once he was done, he went to the passenger’s seat.Ari’s hands were on the steering wheel as if she was about to say something but held the thought. Her emotion was making her weep, and she did not want to cry like an idiot.“You okay?” Tripp asked, still confused when Ari kept silent in her seat. “Look, if this is a bad idea, we can drive home. Forget this thing happened. I’m totally cool with it.”Ari looked at him for a few seconds before she cupped his head and kissed him like she always wanted. She drunk in the surprised gasp slipped from Tripp’s lips. His mouth opened to welcome her, and she devoured him, slipped her tongue, and tasted every corner of his mouth. His taste and coffee exploded in her tongue and she wished it would last.Tripp groaned and moaned as she sucked his bottom lip an
One Last Chase 31
“You scared the heck out of me.” Shell-shocked, she stared at Spencer with wide eyes, her palm on her chest.With the look on Spencer throwing at her, she didn’t have to be surprised—it was like everything was slowly clicking into its places. Spencer looked assertive as if she knew more than what she saw. She heard everything. She figured it out all by herself.Ari’s secret was over. Now she was in deep trouble.“Spence,” she said breathlessly, her heart still pounding.“I can’t say that I’m surprised.” She looked upset as she leaned against the locker. Her eyes filled with judgment.“I can explain.” She held Spencer’s arm.“Don’t tell me crap that this is not what it looks like, Ari because this is exactly what it looks like. Are you even planning on telling me?”“Of course, I was planning to—”“But, he told you not to tell any soul, right? Because for him, everything is just a game, a deal. You’re his pawn, and you know that. Yet you’re falling for his crap.”Her eyes widened again.
One Last Chase 30
Despite a lot of patients coming tonight from food poisoning at the birthday party going wrong, Ari was in a good mood to work long hours.The ER staff awwed with wide eyes that confused Ari before she heard a male voice behind her asking her name.“And that’s me. The Miss Arizona.” She laughed at herself before she turned around, giving the same reaction as her friends. “Wow! Where are you?” She managed to joke as she searched for the guy calling her name. She could not see anyone behind the huge bouquet of different flowers in red.The guy pushed the bouquet into her. “This is for you, miss.”Ari managed to hug the flowers, her back hitting the counter as air emptied her lungs because the bouquet weighed like twenty-five kilograms. Now she couldn’t see the face of the man. “Are you sure this is mine? There are probably twenty Arizona Sky in this town, you know.”“That’s for you, ma’am. The only Arizona Sky I am sure I know of is in Grand Canyon,” the delivery guy scoffed. “And this
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“Wow.” Ari stopped in the middle of her small dining room, scanning the surroundings as if she were brought to the five-star restaurant. “Did you ever rest?”Tripp had his way of making his marriage work even though his dinner date offer was turned down more than twice. Charleigh was at his disposal when he asked for help with the groceries.After two hours, he was cooking a simple lobster bisque, a side salad, and of course, Brice’s famous raspberry chocolate cupcakes.“Have a seat, beautiful.” He ushered her to the chair.“How did you make this possible?”“I have some help. Charleigh did me a solid.” He kissed the top of her head once she was seated.“I should change to something nice.” She suddenly felt shy with the candlelit, flower arrangement, and now that Tripp started to play jazz on his phone.“I’d rather have you naked for my dessert.” He smirked. “Your clothes are just fine. I just want to have dinner with you even though we have to spend it at home.”The words naked and de
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FuckHe was quicker on his feet, licking the juices around his mouth. “Does your dad have a key to your house?” Why did he have to ask? He didn’t know. He felt that they didn’t have privacy anywhere they went, even in her own home.“Stay here. Close the water and don’t move. Don’t make a noise,” she warned him. The panic in her voice was obvious. She quickly grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Before she could get out of the shower, Tripp cupped her face and kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth, swirled inside, and invaded to let her taste herself.Ari squirmed as her taste flooded her tastebud. She felt the hot liquid pooling between her thighs and she had to let go of a shuddering breath to ignore the ache.“Relax. You can’t hide this look from your father, Ari.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips one more time before he let her go.“Thanks. You’re helping me a lot. And I bet I just stroked you
One Last Chase 27
“I-I don’t need to go.”Ari stared at him in shock, her heart beating so fast that might break out from her ribcage.“Fuck!”“Yeah, fart! Are you sure you’re okay? Did you just have chest pain?” She wanted to ask if he had a history of a panic attack or if he had a heart defect. She almost died in panic.For an ER nurse, what happened in the car was nothing compared to the cases she handled in the hospital every day. She’d handle and seen worse, but in Tripp’s case, it was different. He was her husband. Now she felt it in hand when wives panicked when their husbands collapsed in front of them.Tripp wiped off the sweat from his forehead while she increased the air condition in her car.“I thought I’d die.” He chuckled out of his stupidity. Jealousy was an ugly quality, but he couldn’t help it. The fact that he had the most beautiful wife, he wanted to make sure that no one would touch her but him.“And you think it was funny?” Her voice was filled with sarcasm and a hint of sadness.H
One Last Chase 26
Around seven, he went to the cake shop to buy some coffee and pastries that Ari loved.“Tripp, come on in.” Bryce pulled the door for him. “How’re your ribs?” There was something in the way he asked—something not so like him.Tripp sensed something mischievous. “Still cracked. Can you give me two cups of coffee?” Then he paused. He knew Ari liked coffee, but he didn’t know exactly what she preferred.“She preferred black.”“Right. Thanks.”“Apple cinnamon, brioche?”“Yeah. How much?”“On the house, Tripp.”Before Tripp could argue, something caught his eye outside the shop—his wife. His heartbeat accelerated just by a simple glance. Ari hadn’t noticed his presence since he was inside, and she wasn’t alone. His teeth almost cracked when he saw who she was with. The peaches fucking dude Tinsley. He knew he was being melodramatic.He felt a grip on his shoulder that he was sure it was Bryce. “Calm down.”“That guy is getting under my skin,” he said through gritted teeth, not looking at B
