CHAPTER 54ROBERT’S POVMy mother was all over the place. She dismissed the servants, acting more like the waitress as she filled our plates, poured us drinks and fetched anything we needed without us needing to stand up or lift a finger. She also forced words into my mouth, doing her best to initiate conversations I wasn’t interested in and comfortable in having.“You don’t need to reveal much about yourself if you don’t want to, okay?” Rosaline said, relishing in the moment. “I already know everything about you. Your mother told me everything! This might be our first time meeting but I already feel a connection like I have known you for ages.”I was momentarily rebuffed by her words, my mouth rounding in shock as I stared at her in utter disbelief. “Everything?”“Yep,” she nodded with a smile.When I glanced at my mother from behind Rosaline where she was monitoring our every move, she half shrugged and nodded proudly, urging me to carry on with the conversation.“Like how you hate
CHAPTER 55ROBERT’S POVI hadn’t seen my mother talk about anyone the way she talked about Rosaline in a long time. She talked about her with so much intrigue in a way that showed how badly she wanted this marriage between us. Too bad the feeling wasn’t mutual. I was still uninterested in everything she had to say about her.I wasn’t the type to enter commitments just because of the perks or financial gain involved. The last thing I wanted was to be forced into something as serious and binding as marriage with someone I harboured no feelings for all because of the financial benefits it provided. She could be the daughter of the president of the United States. I still didn’t give a fuck. I didn’t how my mother managed to find out my company was struggling lately, but I just hoped my father wasn’t aware of it. He’d be extremely disappointed in me. Nothing bothered me more than falling short of expectations, especially from my father and late grandfather. I know how hard I worked to pr
CHAPTER 56LILY’S POVAfter that passionate night Noah and I shared, I slipped out of his house early the following morning, careful not to wake him. I knew things between us might get awkward and I didn’t want to face it. By all accounts, last night wasn’t meant to happen. That was my hormones acting up and taking charge. I was sexually deprived and angry at the thought of Robert spending every night for the past nine years with Scarlett. Noah just happened to be there, at the right place and time, with the right charm, the right body, and those irresistible eyes and moves.Fuck…I must say I was impressed with his love-making skills. I never expected it. He was one sweet irresistible man. He handled me with so much care like I was made of delicate glass and didn’t mind letting me dominate. From the way he made love to me, it was obvious he too was sexually deprived and kind of still hurting from his ex-wife abandoning him. I felt for him. I hope the moment will come when he’ll reali
CHAPTER 57LILY’S POVAfraid we were been followed, I tightened my grip on my kids’ hands and quickened my steps, urging them to keep up. But when I glanced back and saw it was the bodyguards, I stopped.I deflated with a sigh of relief, scolding myself inwardly for letting my paranoia and fear get the better of me. I thought we were been followed by the same bad people who paid that driver to kill me. Nonetheless, there was no need to be afraid. The estate with its top-notch security services was one of the safest in the city. It was one of the few reasons I chose to come live here. Though expensive, it was worth every penny“You’re relieved of your duties,” I said to them in an unfriendly commanding tone, still brooding over how they didn’t believe me and let me in after I told them I was the owner of my house and the mother of my kids. “As you can see I’m their mother and I’m back so there is no need to play the tough guy around them anymore.”I thought they stayed back to continu
CHAPTER 58LILY’S POVThe school hallway buzzed with loud giggles, animated chatters and hurried footsteps of children rushing to their various classrooms as I made my way in with my kids. But all that seemed to evaporate as I entered their classroom. The other kids stared at me like I was breaking a sacred rule, probably wondering why I was bringing Liam and Lila directly into the classroom instead of leaving them at the usual drop-off spot outside the school building like other parents. I also noticed some of them casting me curious, almost judgmental glances, saying some things in low voices amongst themselves I couldn’t quite make meaning of. But I couldn’t care less. I was here today on a mission and I’m not living until I accomplish it.Once Liam and Lila were settled in their seats, I leaned down and asked Liam where their class teacher was.“There, Mummy,” he said, pointing confidently toward a door with a sign above it that read Form Teacher’s Staff Room, just before the ex
CHAPTER 59LILY’S POV“Hey, you! Stay away from him!” Scarface’s voice sounded sharp and commanding as he and Hawk eyes matched forward, making the boy back away from Liam in fear the moment he saw them approaching.How did they manage to make it to this school? I thought I made it very clear to them that I didn’t want them around. Did they secretly follow us here? Anyway, I’ll deal with them later. For now, I needed to teach this bully how not to mess with my son.As the boy was about to turn and flee, he accidentally bumped into me. His steps faltered and he clumsily fell butt hard on the floor, staring at me like I was a ghost that suddenly appeared from nowhere.“Listen up, you worthless excuse for a bully,” I spat, my voice cutting through the air like a whip. “Let this be the first and last time you’ll ever bother my son again. Next time you try it, I don’t care if you are a kid or not, I’ll make sure you regret it. Do you see these two men behind you? They’re highly trained pr
CHAPTER 60LILY’S POVAfter giving the two men a thorough look, I realized I certainly didn’t need help from people like them. They looked like rascals, dangerous ones at that. One had a thick cigarette caught between his stained teeth, polluting the air with the smoke and the other had bloodshot eyes like he hadn’t slept in days or was high on something. They even had grotesque tattoos scribbled carelessly on their faces and also had this dirty smirk as they looked at me that made my skin crawl in disgust.“No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I just called my husband. He’s on his way,” I said as politely as possible, masking the nervous tension rising in my chest and pretending to wait for someone.“Ooooh,” the one with a cigarette in his mouth said, feigning a playful shock as he glanced at the other one. “The hot chick is married.”“Certainly didn’t see that coming,” the one with bloodshot eyes replied, equally looking surprised. He licked his lips menacingly like a predato
CHAPTER 61LILY’S POV ~This was exactly what landed Allison, my cellmate in prison – she killed a drunkard who tried to force himself on her by ruining his balls and marring him beyond recognition with a screwdriver. Being faced with a similar situation now, I couldn’t blame her. In fact, she did a great job giving that monster the death punishment he deserved. And I was prepared to do the same to these two filthy bastards. ~The only problem now was that I had no weapon on me to kill them; no gun, no knife or even pepper spray and I wasn’t on heels. Heels were deadly weapons especially when used on the neck or head. I could have easily improvised with it but I was on a pair of white sneakers I had managed to find while scrambling for things to wear at Noah’s place.In this type of situation, close hand-to-hand combat wasn’t advisable. They had the number advantage and were tall and like thrice my size. Even if it were possible, I wasn’t so skilled at it. I could only throw a few pu
CHAPTER 105LILY’S POV~ “I’m sorry, Noah,” I said genuinely. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. Anything you want.”He didn’t say anything. He just sighed dejectedly and shook his head. Turning the door, he grabbed the handle and jerked it open only to nearly collide with the company security guard who was standing by the doorway. I didn’t get what he was doing standing there. Was he eavesdropping on our conversation? ~For a split second, I thought he was but he wasn’t. In his hands was an extravagant bouquet of deep red roses, along with a sleek, elegant envelope. The sight of it made the air between us three tense and awkward.“Miss Jones, this just came in for you,” The security guard said, bringing it forward to hand it over to me.“Thank you…” My brows furrowed as I hesitantly accepted it. He bowed slightly before leaving. I closed my door and walked to my table, keeping the bouquet on it. Noah didn’t leave my office again like he wanted to. Instead, he followed closely behi
CHAPTER 104LILY’S POVThe next day I went to work earlier than usual. I couldn’t sleep properly last night because of what Nana Mae had told me yesterday. It kept ringing in my head over and over again. I spent the entire night restlessly rolling around on the bed and going to the kids’ room to check up on them.Was I feeling this miserable and angry because I was still in love with Robert? He was my high school crush, the only man I had truly opened my heart to, the man who took my virginity, the father of my children. Were all that truly the reasons I was finding it hard to forget him? Because of this unbreakable connection we share.No…no…no… I was restless as I pushed my chair back away from my table where I was working on my laptop. I couldn’t focus on work. Since yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to focus on anything. I can’t stop thinking of Robert and that stupid look on his face. He said he wanted to tell me something but I didn’t give him the chance. What did he want to t
CHAPTER 103LILY’S POV~ I lifted my head and looked at her. “What about Liam?”“He’s playing a video game in his room.”I smiled, glad he was doing well. But didn’t he hear the sound of the glasses shattering? It was loud enough and could even be heard from outside the house. Since Nana Mae was coming from upstairs on hearing it, that meant he too must have heard it. Why didn’t he come rushing downstairs? Was she sure he was really upstairs in his room or was there something she wasn’t telling me? ~“I know what you’re thinking,” Nana Mae said as if she could read my mind. “You don’t have to worry. He has earphones on. He didn’t hear anything. And I think he’ll probably take a nap when he’s done playing to rest his eyes.”I sighed in quiet relief on hearing that. The eye doctor had mentioned that the antibiotics she prescribed would make him feel drowsy and inactive for a while, so it was important to let him rest and take time off school as needed. I fell silent, staring into sp
CHAPTER 102LILY’S POVAfter I got out of the taxi, I quickly rushed into the house. I slammed the door shut and pressed my back against it as though I just encountered something horrifying. That horrifying thing was Robert. I broke down in sobs that I had been holding back all through the ride as I screeched my back against the door and crumpled hopelessly on the floor. I tried to hold back my outburst as Liam was probably upstairs in his room and I didn’t want him to hear me crying. But my sharp intake of breath was making it extremely difficult.Shaking my head in agony, I managed to get a grip and pushed myself up. I dragged myself to the refrigerator in the kitchen. I pulled its door open and rummaged through but didn’t find what I was looking for. A frustrated groan escaped my lips as I slammed it shut and checked the shelves but still couldn’t find it.I was desperately searching for a strong alcoholic drink to drown the storm of emotions raging inside me and hope it would som
CHAPTER 101ROBERT’S POV~ “Who does he think he is?” “We’re all CEOs, he’s no better or richer than us.” “What makes him think he can just walk in and out of this boardroom like he owns the place after that cringe episode with that lady?” “I bet he wooed her to his bed and fucked her and now, she had come to her senses, realizing what an arrogant jerk he is.” “If he feels he’s way above our league and can’t sit down to listen to what the chairman has to say then he should have continued fucking his whore and not bothered coming.” “Why is the side of his cheek red? He must have been slapped by his whore.” ~“Not only is his agency sinking lower than the gutter in the rankings, but he’s also stooped so low as to resort to screwing desperate whores and dragging them into professional meetings like this.”Their sniggering voices and prickly comments had me baring my teeth, hissing at them. I wanted to find whoever made the last comment and gouge his eyes from their sockets
CHAPTER 100 ROBERT’S POV “Don’t you dare call that name again! You lost the right to do that nine years ago. Stay the fuck away from me and keep pretending I don’t exist to you. I’m not the same Lily from nine years back. If you fuck around with me I’ll show you the other side of me. And if you ever think of following me, I’ll call the police on you and make sure you taste what it feels to be locked behind bars.” Lily barked at me and slapped me. A powerful one at that. No one has slapped me this hard before. In all my time of knowing her, I have never seen her this angry. She was always calm and collected even in the worst of situations. But now, it was as if a wild beast of anger and hatred had been festering inside her all these years and saw this as the perfect opportunity to unleash its ferality. I held my cheek where she had slapped me. It was throbbing with pain yet I was oblivious of it. I just held it and continued staring at her, almost on the brink of tears as I
CHAPTER 99 LILY’S POV My heels went click clack as I raced into the building which was the venue for the meeting. I was almost breathless and flustered as I was running dangerously late. The meeting was scheduled to hold at 10:00 am but it was 10:30 already. In important meetings like this, every company representative needed to arrive early. I didn’t want anyone looking down on me as if I were unprofessional, and Noah wouldn’t be happy with me if I missed it. I woke up this morning only for Liam to come complaining to me he was feeling pain around his right eye. I checked it to see a boil growing inside, under the base of his eyelids. Because of that, he couldn’t go to school which resumed for a new session today. I had to take him to the eye doctor. That was what made me arrive late. However, upon entering the boardroom where the meeting was held, I was fortunate and relieved to see they were about to start. Everyone was taking their seats. I didn’t expect to see this man
CHAPTER 98 LILY’S POV ~ I picked up the fork and strengthened myself up. I was about to hand it to him when the sight that greeted me had my jaw falling to the table. Noah was holding out a small opened black box towards me. Inside the box was an expensive-looking diamond ring beautifully sitting on the plush casing. ~ The fork I was holding fell from my grasp as I froze. My eyes which were large from my shock locked unto Noah’s. He had a dreamy smile spread across his face. “Lily Jones, meeting you and spending time with you has been some of the best moments of my life. You are the perfect woman for me, and I want what we share to last forever. So I ask, will you make the happiest man on earth by agreeing to marry me?” The question reverberated in my head over and over again. I felt like I was caught in a daze. Like my reality was twisted or something. What could possibly make him think I was ready for marriage? What made him think I was the perfect woman for him? Was it
CHAPTER 97 LILY’S POV Clad in a black evening gown with a thigh-high slit, I sat on my vanity, doing my makeup after fixing my hair. I was preparing to go on a date with Noah. He’d asked me out the day after our intense hot make-out in my office. I finally agreed to give it a shot because I know I have kept him waiting for too long. He’d been asking me out for over a year now and I keep making excuses on why I can’t accept. Accepting to go on this date with him will be like my own little way of thanking him for everything he has done for me and my kids. He’ll be taking me on a dinner date in one of those fancy restaurants in the city. Deep down, I kind of wished it was something simpler like a movie date or sightseeing just I don’t have to waste this much time dressing up like I was going to contest for a beauty pageant. After finishing my makeup, I used a setting spray to make sure it stayed in place. I cast one last glance at my reflection and I was satisfied with the res