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Chapter 12 - Rumor Mills
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 13 - Mid-year Banquet 1
Arielle spent the entire week drowned in insults and jabs aimed at her, but she was too busy to care. A few people were in awe of her indifference and ability to endure. While a bunch of people thought she was too shameless to care. The majority, however, kept their opinions to themselves. Unbeknownst to them, Arielle was listening to everyone and keeping note of overly verbose people. A part of her job was cleaning the company, which meant she had to root out the bad apples. This rumor had helped Arielle by creating an environment of conflict. It was a chance to evaluate people’s characters. Arielle disliked people who thrived on gossip and other people’s misery without empathy or remorse. She would include them on her list of toxic people ruining the work culture. It was up to Thomas what he wanted to do with them. Finally, the day of the banquet came. Arielle showed up with a date who happened to be the man whose hotel room she had entered in one of those videos. It thr
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 14 - Mid-year Banquet 2
The hall was still silent as everyone processed what was going on. Arielle, the one slandered the entire week, was friends with Evan, the top jewelry designer of Soul Jewelry, the most unique and best jewelry brand in the world. She had purchased a 10 million dollars worth of necklace for her 5-year-old goddaughter. Emma Payne and Sophia Green, the rich kids born with silver-spoon, were involved with the case of fake jewelry and bribing and threatening. Emma recovered and threw the necklace at the floor, which not unexpectedly broke to reveal a small chip with a glowing red dot. Sophia was shivering and looked ghastly. As if on cue, a police officer, accompanied by the manager, came looking for Miss Sophia Green. Arielle interjected as Sophia started to make a scene. “Officer, why don’t you have dinner and wait for a while? I also have to sue Miss Green. It might save time for you as well. Please!” Arielle said respectfully. The officer nodded, and the manager himself brought
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 15 - Mid-year Banquet 3
Arielle no longer said anything. She played a video of that managing director who she had slapped. The manager made lewd remarks to Arielle and asked her to sleep with him for better benefits. Arielle slapped him in the face without a word. After that, an image showed his computer stats, followed by other images revealing his unusual relationship with some female employees. He had spent 85% of his time in PGI watching porn and sleeping around. Another short video showed a few former employees who had quit. All of them said the same thing. They quit because they did not want to sleep with that manager. When asked why they had not complained, they all answered the same - the manager was supported by Mr. Green. Mr. Green was a board member, a shareholder of PGI, founder and CEO of Green Group, and Sophia’s father. Another hushed silence followed the hall. Arielle became serious and announced. “PGIans, you can rest assured that no project of PGI has been leaked, at least not thr
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 16 - She was gone
Thomas arrived at his family Villa at 4 am. He was slightly drunk and had the beginning of a headache. He did not want to go inside despite reaching the gate. He knew what awaited him inside. Thomas had half a mind to take a U-turn and bring his grandmother along, but he did not want to disturb his elderly grandmother. As soon as Thomas opened the door, a vase flew at him. He dodged but barely. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He glared at his elder sister, Emma, who was clearly out of prison. “You tell me, what’s wrong with you? How could you let some random bitch harass your sister like that?” Thomas was not surprised to see his mother speak up for Emma. It was one of the reasons why Emma was that spoiled. “Mom, first of all, mind your language. She is not a bitch. Emma was the one who went and provoked her repeatedly without any rhyme or reason.” “I spent a few months and 300 million dollars to get her to audit our company which is a shell from the inside and would have
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 17 - 3 years later
**3 years later** Arielle sat on a couch watching financial news as she had been doing since she was 10. In the last three years, John was often on the news. Thomas was as low-key as ever. But she was content. PGI was doing well as she had expected it would under his management and with the scope and plans they had discussed. Admittedly, the share prices of PGI had doubled in the last three years, which was an unprecedented growth for a listed company that was already doing quite well. That day, however, it was Thomas who made an appearance. Arielle’s breath hitched seeing him after three years, even if it was just on TV. She heard his entire speech attentively as he talked about the company and its future. However, his parting words kept ringing in her ears repeatedly. “Three and half years ago, I had contacted the best financial analyst in the industry, Miss Arielle, and sought her help. It was owing to the personnel and project clean-up by Miss Arielle that helped PGI becom
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 18 - Finally home
Thomas arrived in the small town by the beach and took a hotel. He had arrived in that town. But he had no clue where to start his search or what to tell Arielle when he found her. He lay on the bed, exhausted, having flown economy for the first time in his life. But happy and content at being free and not having to maintain an image all the time. However, despite his exhaustion, he could not sleep. Various scenarios of his meeting with Arielle kept appearing in his mind making him restless. But worst of all was the thought that she might not even be there in that town, and he would not be able to find her. With every passing hour, as the night deepened, that thought kept getting stronger, depriving him of much-needed rest. He locked his hotel room and decided to roam around on the beach to relax. It was close to midnight, and the beach was almost empty. That was probably the most significant difference between towns and big cities. A city never slept, while people in small
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 19 - Happily ever after
Arielle woke up happy. Since it was a beautiful beginning of the day, she decided not to worry about the future and enjoy what she had while she had it. She did not mind that they were tangled naked. She did not dare to disturb the perfect harmony. She did not move. She slowly untangled her hands and caressed his face that she had longed to see every day for the last three years. Thomas had the best sleep in three years. He felt soft caresses on his face, and with the gentle touch, he could feel her love for him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Arielle looking at him with love and happiness in her eyes. He smiled unconsciously, happiness blooming on both their faces. They kept looking at each other and caressing each other’s faces, trying to etch every fine line in their memory. Their perfect moment was interrupted when Arielle’s phone chimed in. Thomas turned around to see the brightened screen of her phone. His fantasy broke immediately. Arielle felt him stiffen and look
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 20 - Reunion
Adrian was on cloud nine. He had finally seen his father. While he did not understand the whole thing, he knew his father was busy with work, like how his mother, uncle Joe, and uncle Rick got busy sometimes. “Daddy, I want to build a treehouse,” Adrian said, trying hard to speak in complete sentences. “Alright! Let’s go find a tree,” Thomas chuckled. “Ad, honey, daddy is tired. Let him rest for tonight. Tomorrow morning you can build your treehouse,” Arielle interjected as she looked at them from the kitchen. “Don’t worry, El. I got this!” Thomas smiled at her. “No. It’s getting dark, and I don’t want you guys falling from the tree,” Arielle was stern about her decision. “Mommy wants to steal Daddy,” Adrian complained as he hugged Thomas and looked at his mother with a crinkled nose. “Mommy already got daddy; otherwise, how could you have been born?” Arielle teased, making Thomas choke on his saliva. “Mommy is being meanie again,” Adrian grumbled, not understanding his mothe
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One night stand gone wrong Chapter 30 - The last one
**6 months later** John dropped Brenda off at the police station and returned to Thomas and Arielle’s. Everyone was waiting for him except Brenda, Rick, and the kids. “Ideas, guys, ideas! How should I propose to her?” John paced back and forth. “I have no clue, buddy. I told Rick that my parents said getting married on Friday brings good luck. We registered two days later, on Friday.” Joe shrugged. “Most lame-ass proposal ever!” John looked at him in disdain. “Mat did not even ask me. He asked Belle to pick the wedding theme for us and plan for the winter wedding. We were at the dinner table, she squealed, and that was that. Damn! I got tricked.” Arabella said. John was at a loss, “Yes, you got cheated. And you are not helpful!” He looked at Thomas; the latter just shrugged. Arielle had a thoughtful look on her face. She caressed her pregnant belly and said, “Baby, your father has never proposed to me.” And she started crying. Thomas caressed and coaxed her while shooting a gl
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 29 - The hungry hormones 2
Thomas decided not to overthink things and enjoy his wife’s enthusiasm. He told others they were taking an impromptu vacation for a week. Their friends did not even have to think to know that they were going on a honeymoon. Everyone knew that they had started to plan for their last baby, and what better way to make another human than to do it like bunnies. When Adrian came from school, Thomas told him that he and his mother would be going away for a week to make him another sibling. Adrian was ecstatic and ran off to Joe and Rick’s place without looking for his mother. Moreover, he shouted it at the top of his lungs for everyone else to hear. Thomas fed Arielle some food in her sleep, and she obediently ate after he alternated every bite with a kiss. He drove her to a port from where they would take a boat to an island where he had booked a small villa with a private beach. Arielle woke up when they were boarding. It had a private cabin and a person who was ferrying them to th
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 28 - The hungry hormones 1
**One year later** Arielle pushed Thomas away when they were making out and dashed to the bathroom. It was a peculiar sight in the bathroom. Arielle was crouching down naked on the toilet and throwing her guts out. Thomas, also naked, was still sporting a boner as he rubbed her back and held her hair back. “Oh, God! I feel like I am dying,” Arielle cried after a while. Thomas pulled her to his chest, his boner gone by then. He lifted her and made his way to the shower as he rubbed her head and back soothingly under the warm shower. They brushed their teeth and went back to bed. Thomas spooned her and kept caressing her until her breathing evened out. Arielle had started throwing up in the morning. It was probably due to the cold pizza that she could not resist. The entire day she had felt funny in the stomach due to acidity and had been in a bad mood. Thomas had forced her to have some bland porridge to settle her stomach at dinner. Thomas wondered if she was pregnant. He
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 27 - Don’t want to shortchange you
By the time Arielle and Thomas returned home, it was already 4 hours later. They did not offer any explanation. But the glow on Arielle’s face and the satisfied smirk on Thomas’s were self-explanatory. “You ruined my date to screw your wife. You have a big house; you could have done that anytime.” John grumbled under his breath. Having been friends with Thomas for over a decade, despite working for him for eight odd years, they shared a good rapport, even though it could not compare to that between Thomas and Mathew, who had been friends since diapers. Brenda heard him and laughed but did not comment on it. “She is sleeping now. I think John and I will get going now. I will come some other day to eat garlic shrimp.” She said to Arielle before she started tidying herself. “I would ask you to stay back, but we have not even started prepping for dinner. We will probably end up with takeouts now. You guys have fun. Call me next time you have time off, and I will cook you a feast.” A
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 26 - Her deepest fear
“You are so absorbed in thought,” Thomas remarked. “I feel like these few years have gone by too fast. Not that I am complaining. These were the best years of my life. I have never been this happy before. It’s just sometimes it’s too overwhelming.” Arielle explained as she hooked her arms around his neck. “Do you want to go somewhere just you, me, and Adrian? To relax and have your me time.” Thomas asked as he picked her up by the waist. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he started to walk to the bed. “That sounds like a good idea. Maybe wait a few months. The twins will be moving with Joe and Rick soon. Let’s let them get used to it first. I have yet to stop breastfeeding. It will take a while.” She said, tracing his face with her fingers. “Are you happy?” He asked as he lay her on the bed and hovered on top. “I am not sure. I don't regret it. It will be hard in the beginning. But at the end of the day, the twins are our kids. They are just a wall away.” She explained, u
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 25 - Clingy children
Brenda broke John out of his thoughts as she patted his shoulders. “You were so lost in thought. What were you thinking about?” Brenda asked as John wrapped his arms around her. “I was just thinking about life. How far all of us have come since Mathew, Thomas, and I graduated! Not to mention having five kids at home. It’s been a long journey and, thankfully, a very fulfilling one.” John explained succinctly. Brenda hugged him, “Well, you have good friends. They are so welcoming. It’s like living in a joint family but of your choice. You get all the good parts and not many bad parts.” John had to agree. “Well, you are more than welcome to join that family officially.” Brenda punched him, which hurt for real, “Ouch!” John cried. “Was that supposed to be a proposal? If that was, it was fucking lame.” Brenda punched him once more but managed to control her strength this time. John gulped and kept quiet. He would get beaten if he confessed that he had yet to think about marriage. T
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 24 - Babies
**One and a half years later** John stood outside a police station in Pearl city, awaiting his girlfriend. A year earlier, he had broken up with Rick’s cousin after giving each other several chances. They were simply not compatible because they wanted very different things in life. Hence, they had broken up mutually. One day, he had ended up making a scene at a bar in a drunken stupor, and they ended up calling the police. The one who responded was a female police officer. The first thing about the female officer that John had noticed was the scar on her left eyebrow that made her look equally sexy and dangerous. John had an instant crush on her. Especially with how smoothly she handled everything. John had always admired people who were good at their jobs, which had also been one point of discontent with his ex-girlfriend. Rick’s cousin was never into one thing for long enough to do it properly. John had called Rick to help bail him out. Then, John found that the female police
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 23 - New journey
Thomas finally voiced, “The idea sounds good. We all know how to run a company, but none of us know what to sell.” John nodded at the realization. “That’s right. You, your wife, Mathew, and I - have a finance and management background. Arabella is from product marketing, Joe is a network engineer, and Rick is a cop. We know how to protect and sell something. But none of us know how to produce anything.” Arabella chimed in, “How about we open a Logistics company?” Mathew asked, “Logistics?” Arabella hummed, “There isn’t any good logistics company where we grew up, especially at the international level. Same with where they currently stay. It’s been a nightmare when I have to send something to this cavewoman.” Arielle rolled her eyes at the reference, “So, I take it you did some research?” Arabella clinked her glasses, “Touché!” She shrugged and added, “Work habits are hard to suppress. There is a good market for it, though the initial few years would be bad. Combined with all o
One night stand gone wrong Chapter 22 - The new couple
The week went by exceptionally well. The friends had not spent time together in a long time, and some of them had never met. They all got along like a house on fire. Mathew got enamored by Arabella’s spunky personality and her honesty. He was pleasantly surprised to see how well-mannered Belle was and how well Arabella had raised her daughter, all on her own to boot. He asked her out after a few days, and she agreed. Arabella thought Mathew was fun and adventurous and seemed to be a good guy. He already knew all about her, thanks to all the nights they had spent drinking and spilling secrets. She felt comfortable being herself with him. More importantly, being Thomas’s best friend, he was probably not trying to score her to just hook up with a single mom. She was not looking for a marriage at the onset, but she was not okay with one-night stands or flings. Surprisingly, they got on much better than either had dared to hope. They had similar interests and were both adventurous.
