Leilani squinted her eyes open gently, and when she realized the sleeping position she was in, she gasped and tried to pull away, but was unable to.Her head was placed gently on his chest and her hand was resting on his neck that she worried he might choke. But both of his hands were gently wrapped around her back that she felt so much at peace. She could feel his hot breath settling on her scalp and when he exhaled deeply, his throat reverberated.She bored her eyes into the man who was still sleeping soundly and then finally released the breath she didn’t know she was holding.This man was so unreal. His facial features, his handsomeness, including his body which was like a rock that she was resting on. Everything about him was so unreal that she could not help but wonder how a person could be so perfect.She glanced at his long lashes, and then his full, symmetrical lips.“Uhm…” The man cleared his throat and then stirred gently, still holding her safely in his arms, so she hurri
“I think my wife is dressing up for the whole of Los Angeles,” Lorenzo breathed out, leaned in his chair comfortably, and then shook his head.“It’s a woman’s thing. She will be out soon,”. Martha chucked.“Martha, she has gone up there to dress up since eleven.”“This is barely twelve, Enzo. You are complaining too much.”“Of course, you would take her side,” he rolled his eyes and then picked up his phone again.Finally, he heard the steps from the stairs and he raised his head hurriedly.The woman smiled softly as she descended the stairs and he tilted his head to watch her properly.She was wearing a wine two piece which top was turtleneck and sleeveless and he loved exactly how she looked.She carried a silver bag and then wore a low-heeled shoe to match, she had not gotten to where he was already, but he could perceive her cologne.“Did I keep you waiting?” She breathed out and then hurried over to him.“You should not run on the stairs,” he grunted.“I thought you would be angr
“Are you sure you don’t want me in here with you?” He asked her carefully and she shook her head.They were already at the hospital, in the doctor's office when he asked her.Leilani had pleaded that he excused them while the doctor attended to her alone.“Yes, please,” she answered, her eyes pleading with him.She knew he could suddenly decide to be stubborn by insisting on waiting with her.“I think it would be better to attend to her alone also. It would help to assess her situation carefully, sir.”He stared at the woman for a while and then turned to look at Leilani. “Alright then, I will be with Nicholas while you are here, so if you need me, just place a call through, okay?”“Sure.”He looked at the doctor again, nodded his head at her, and then wheeled out of the office.After standing in front of the door for a while, he turned around and then made his way to the elevator.___“You really came!” Nicholas exclaimed as soon as the man wheeled in.“Why are you surprised?”“Beca
“I bet that woman thinks she is married to the most gentlest, and reserved man the country has ever known.”“You talk as though I am not,” Lorenzo snapped his brows together.“Because you are not! I am your best friend and yet, I still find you mysterious and unpredictable sometimes!”“How so?”“Are you really asking me? I had assumed that you would handle Jonathan and his family first, but you are starting from her bullies from when she was still a teen?”“Listen, my friend,” Lorenzo leaned forward.“Jonathan and his family will be receiving the same dose just as my family, because there is really not much difference between them. And do you wanna know what is more fun?”“What?”“The fact that Jonathan works for me. He works at one of my companies, do you know?”“Yeah, BENZO. I know.”“Exactly. He doesn’t even know that I own the company he would die for… and at the same time, he has started to embezzle some funds.”“What?!” Nicholas widened his eyes.“He is embezzling funds?!”“Yes.
“NO WAY YOU AND MY BROTHER STAY IN SEPARATE ROOMS!”Mia hollered the moment she entered the room fully with Leilani.Leilani rolled her eyes, walked past the woman, and then dropped her phone on the bed.“Don’t be dramatic.”“Why do you have separate rooms?”“We sleep together though,” she answered and that was not a lie, right?“Oh, but you have your room separately too?”“Yes.”“Is that not weird?”“Do you wanna help me pick up my dress or evaluate my marital life?” She rolled her eyes.“Come on, I was just curious.”After Mia had arrived about thirty minutes earlier, together with Martha, they had taken a tour around the house, showing Leilani especially everywhere around the house.Afterward, she suggested that they go out.“Let’s find a better dress, please. You look too much like a married woman in that two-piece,” Mia had rolled her eyes and then forced her to take her to her room.Leilani had glanced at her husband who sat in the living room, like she was asking him for his pe
“What do you say about this place?” Mia asked Leilani who looked around, awkwardly.She had rarely been to fine, luxurious places like the restaurant they were in and she was finding it hard to comport herself.What if she made a mistake?Although she had been out with Lorenzo before, the comfort she felt around him was different from the one she felt with any other person.“This is a new restaurant. They just opened hence the amount of people that are here today,” she added.“But, I have heard from a friend that their dishes are nice, and they don’t have a no-picture policy.”“What is that?”“That means we can take a picture and then upload it on our socials later on.”“Oh…”“What is your handle?”“I am not… on any social media,” she shook her head carefully.Mia raised a brow and then laughed softly. “That is not possible.”“It is.”“There is no one who is not on the Gram especially.”“Well, you haven’t met me yet.”“Then, we have a lot to do today then.”“Like?”“Creating a gram ac
“Hold the fuck on, sister-in-law, let me get something straight. Your ex-husband’s wife?” Mia sat upright and widened her eyes.“Sister in law?” Lorraine rolled her eyes in disgust too.“Yes,” Leilani answered Mia.“But didn’t my mother say you left the marriage to marry my brother?”Leilani shrugged her shoulders off and then leaned backward.“Make me understand, Leilani, come on.”“What is hard to understand there? He brought another woman home on the day he divorced me.”“What?!” Mia exclaimed, not minding the attention she was pulling to them.“I thought it was you who did him dirty first, and not to lie, I cared less, okay? But that was what I thought. I mean, I like mean girls, not just a bitch,” she said, glancing at Lorraine.“You are not talking to me, are you?”“What if I am?”“Because, before you throw a stone, you should check if any of your relatives are not around. She is literally the same as me, so why are you acting like I am the bad person?”“The same person as you?
Leilani entered the premises, grinning from ears to ears, unable to contain her excitement.Mia had dropped her off and had promised to check up on her again.After they left the restaurant, they had gone to a mall to shop for plenty of female accessories which was Mia’s idea and no matter how much she had insisted on footing the bill, the lady had not answered her.“I brought you out, so I am covering our bills. Whenever you wish to do the same, take me out too.”Before they left the mall too, Mia had forcefully created a social media account for her, and had taken a picture of her.“Don’t upload it!” She pleaded to the lady who, after she edited the pictures, logged in to her gram account and then posted it.“Oops, my bad.”Leilani rolled her eyes, collected the phone from the lady, and then returned it to her bag, saying, “That is enough social media for the day!”Returning the greeting of the guards, and workers who greeted her, she stopped walking when Ella ran in her direction.
“No, no, no, this is not possible. This cannot be possible,” she shook her head, taking multiple steps back.“Where is she going?” Mia rushed over to her and took her hands in hers.“What is wrong?”“I can’t… I can’t take this. I can’t… no, no,” she sniffed, yanked her hand gently from Mia’s, and then wiped her tears with the back of her hand.“This is too much. I can’t…” “You know what, guys,” Martha clasped her hands together.“Let’s leave the two of them for a while. We will return to celebrate with them,” she ushered them out and then turned to leave too.After they were out of sight, with the door closed, Lorenzo stood up from where he sat, covered the space between them and then pulled her into a hug without saying anything.“I know this is going to overwhelm you. I know it does,” he said, as he patted her back.“Lorenzo, you can’t do this… again. No, please.”“Why?” He bore his eyes on her as he broke the hug.“I don’t… I don’t deserve this.”“How? In what way? Talk to me.”“
“I can't find Lorenzo in the room. Did he go somewhere?” Leilani asked Martha as she descended the stairs.“Enzo? I think he’s somewhere in the perimeter. Do you wanna go to him?”“Yes. Could you tell me where he is?”It’s been three days since she resumed her class and so far, it was better and together with Anna, they had been staying back at the academy for two more hours just to practice as the competition was fast approaching.If it was up to Anna, she really doesn’t need to be staying back as she could do all the practice that she needed at her space. Unlike her.“Let me take you to him,” Martha stood from where she sat and took her hand in hers.“You do not need to bother yourself, Martha. Just tell me where he is.”“Come with me, really. We could have a little chit-chat while we walk also, don’t you think?”She nodded her head and chuckled gently, “I agree.”Together, they exited the living room and then started to walk slowly around the house.“How has it been? At the Academ
Mia glanced at their grip that was both on the bottle of apple cider, looked up at the man again, and then snatched it from him.“Thank you,” she raised the bottle gently, and then dropped it in the basket in her hand.She turned around and moved away from him to continue with her shopping, but then, she felt his movement behind her.“Mia…”She ignored it and kept trailing her fingers on the goods on the rack.“It has been… a while.”“What?” She turned around swiftly and beaded her brows.“I mean…” he swallowed and smiled.“I haven’t seen you in a while.”She looked at him from head to toe, chuckled dryly, and then shook her head. “Oh, please.”With that, she walked away from where he was and moved fully to another compartment.Jason stood still in his position for almost a full minute before he exhaled and shook his head.He had just been disappointed.He had expected that the woman would flash him her usual wide smile and then call his name the way she used to.But, he was wrong.Sh
“Setting it up? A new workspace?” She raised her brows.“She needs somewhere to practice and paint. I know she is not gonna ask after what happened to the previous one, but it needs to be done.”“Aww, brother,” she sniffed.“You’re gonna keep it a secret from her till it’s ready. Can I trust you on that?”“Of course! I would be so glad to be part of this with you.”“Good. Since you’re in on this too, all you have to do is meet with Martha. I have talked to her too so you both should get started.”“Okay. And… Thank you for this.”“Okay.”“I really appreciate this, Enzo. You have no idea how much…”“Can we leave the cringe part and get back to business, please?”“Ah, you’re a killer joy!” She exclaimed and then he laughed out unconsciously.===Leilani kept walking awkwardly till she arrived at her space, settled on it, and then buried her head on her table.They wouldn’t stop looking at her with pity in their eyes and that was one of the things she hated the most.Anna was not around y
“Oh, come on. It’s been two weeks already,” Leilani shook her head gently and groaned.“You’re not completely healed,” he said.She was sitting on the bed, and he knelt behind her, her bare back facing him.Leilani tightened her grip on the blanket that she used to cover her chest while the man applied the ointment to her wound.This had been their normal routine every morning and night since they had removed the bandage on the wound.At first, Leilani had insisted that Mia would be doing it for her but the man had disagreed, telling her that it would seem weird if she did that for her while she had him around.Still, she had tried to prove stubborn before she eventually agreed that he did it for her.And so far, it was okay.It was as if that simple ritual was making them closer as the two of them always had something to talk about while he applied the ointment and massaged the area of the wound.“I truly believe this is gonna heal so fast and won’t leave a scar,” he smiled softly, s
“Hi, guys! I'm home!”Mia exclaimed as she entered the living room, her handbag hanging loosely on her shoulder.Leilani sprang up from where she sat beside Lorenzo and then gasped.“Sister in law!”“She truly came,” Lorenzo mumbled under his breath and then pulled his laptop closer to himself.The two women hugged so tightly like their life depended on it and after a while, Leilani pulled back and grinned.“You really came!”“Told ya!” They both moved to the side as the men entered with her boxes.“Greetings to you too, brother,” she moved over to Lorenzo.Lorenzo glanced at her, rolled his eyes, and then returned his attention to his laptop.“I know you’re not pleased that I am here, but let me tell you two something.”“What?” Leilani raised her brows.“With me here, you don’t need to visit any marriage counselor or whatever. I am here to give advice and my listening ears whenever you need.”“Since when have we announced to you that we need an adviser?” Lorenzo hissed.“You might n
“W… what is this? What are you doing?”Agnes widened her eyes as she ran down the stairs after her daughter.“What do you mean?”“Where are you going?”She asked.The men who were in the living room preparing to leave the house stopped on their track and then turned to look at the women.“What is going on?” Aaron asked.“I am moving out,” she announced.They all fell silent for a while and then Agnes chuckled dryly.“Is this a joke?”“Oh, come on. Does this look like a joke?”Agnes glanced at the two big bags that the lady had dropped outside.“Mia?”Mia clasped her hands together and then gasped, “I still have more bags up there!”She turned around swiftly and they all watched as she ascended the stairs.“Who knew about this?” Agnes looked around.Shane raised his hands and Arthur shook his head. “No one?” Aaron asked.“Where is she moving to?” Agnes asked again.“I guess we’ll have to ask her,” Arthur nodded his head at the lady who struggled down the stairs with two big bags again.
“Who do you say is moving in with us?”Leilani choked on the smoothie she was drinking and then raised her head.“Take it easy,” he sighed, moved over to her, and dabbed the corner of her mouth with the handkerchief.Frowning gently at him, she pushed his hand away gently and then asked again.“Mia is truly moving in?”“I hadn’t even agreed before she ended the call, thanking me. But I think she is going to move in. We can just tell her…”“Yippee!” Leilani cut him short with an exclamation and stood up.“You are not excited, are you?” he beaded his brows.“Should I not be?”“No, you should not be. I was hoping that you would be opposed to it and then I can just tell her that, ‘no, my wife is not in support of this,” he demonstrated, shaking his head.“Why would you want to use me to lie like that?”“Lie? Come on. Let's just tell her that.”“No! Let her move in. at least, i can finally stop sleeping in your room and stay with her instead.”After she said that, she dropped the straw in
Shane raised his brows as the door to his room pushed open and Arthur barged in.Sitting on the couch, he leaned in, crossed his legs, and then tilted his head.“Ah, you have finally come to see me.”“Why? Have you been expecting me?” Arthur walked fully into the room.“I know you, Arthur. I know when you know something. Or, when you have something to say.”“Oh…” Arthur nodded his head and then folded his arms tightly across his chest.“Spill.”“Why don’t you start?”“Why should I? You came in here because you have something to say to me, is that not it?”“Regardless, I would like you to speak first,” Arthur shook his head.“Welcome to the staring competition, then.”“Tch, you asshole,” Arthur smacked his tongue.“What?”He covered the space between them and without saying another word, he pulled Shane up with his collar and then shoved him to the side.“Why?!”“Do you know what kind of pickle you put in?” He pointed his index finger at him.“Me? Pickle? Speak straight, brother,” he f