“Mommy?”
Ashley, who was arranging her son’s little cabinet, looked back and smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” She stood up, scooped him up from his favorite blanket, and rained kisses on him, eliciting a fit of laughter from Scottie that sounded like an angel’s lullaby for Ashley.
“Good morning, Mommy!”
Seeing him energetic again, as if what happened yesterday was nothing but a cruel illusion, Ashley could not help but cherish this moment event more.
A child’s memory was not as strong as an adult. With him being slight feverish yesterday, Scottie almost forgot his heartbreaking meltdown until he saw his familiar suitcase, clothes, gadgets, and toys around the room. Suddenly, the subconsciously hidden memories flooded his mind.
Ashley felt him stiffen in her arms. Seeing his gaze fixated on the shelf she just finished arrang
Vulcan Elijah looked deeply into Ashley’s eyes. Indeed. She was dead serious. She was one of those people who would die for their children—like his late wife. He was a businessman all his life but he only had one fear—desperate mothers.He once had an argument with his wife. It was because his son was admonished pretty badly by him to the point that the pressure the next few weeks caused him to be hospitalized. His son—Jaxon’s father—was raised by his late wife. Hence, he grew up a romantic who pursued happiness over trivial things and simplicity over power. For him, his son was not the perfect helmsman of his legacy. So, he made sure to sculpt Jaxon as someone who would be perfect to lead Elijah Consortium—he was so perfect that it eliminated all of Vulcan’s imperfections.Through Jaxon, his grandson, he created a better version of himself—the best businessman with only profits and contr
Unmasked crew set off to D City for their first stop in their tour for road show promotions. They booked a flight individually in which they would only meet up at the lobby of Orion Hotel three hours before the road show would start.Inside the apartment of Ashley, she just put down her phone after booking the flight ticket of her team. This was the first time that Ashley would travel with more than one person for work. With Ashley Studio quietly registered, Momo finally signed to the studio as Ashley’s makeup artist.Simultaneously, Dylan found Ashley a cook, a lawyer, and a bodyguard.The cook, who could not become a head chef in any restaurant because he did not have any certificates, was found by Dylan through online job hunting. Ashley already stated that she only wanted three things from her cook: cooks delicious foods preferably with a lot of knowledge of different cuisines, hardworking, and honest.&
Ashley kissed Scottie’s head before she left and made sure that Dylan would not bring her son out of the apartment. Though the press people knew about Scottie, she still did not like it when her son gets photographed.Clad in a cardigan and a skinny jeans, she wore a mask and cap—as always—when she went out. Noting the private restaurant’s location, she arrived after thirty minutes.The place offered was known in the capital as the hub where famous and influential people usually went for private dealings and meals due to its very tight security. As soon as she parked her car, she went straight into the place which screamed elegance at first sight. She usually did not dine here since Jaxon hated places like this and she was busy running around chasing a man that she could never move.A smiling waitress welcomed her with a slight bow and clasped hands. “Welcome to Quezona! Do you have a reserv
Ashley dismissed Nexus and started talking business with Wolf.On the other hand, Wolf was also understanding the woman before him. Hearing that she would entrust her son to a killer’s hands than a retired soldier, he was dumbfounded. What he did not know was that Elijah Family had a deep tie of interest in the country’s military side and business side—making them the uncrowned royal family of the country.After setting the time to meet for the contract signing which would be left to Dylan, Wolf left the private room.Looking at her watch, she took her back and head straight to the door. “I am leaving. Scottie will worry if I am late. We plan to buy stuff for the apartment’s Christmas decoration so I have to leave first.” She glanced at the untouched food. “These foods will be able to help those kids in the orphanage.”Ashley was about to open the door
Ashley left with her team one day before the other members of the Unmasked crew would. With her son tagging alone, she did not have any qualms on booking the first class to ensure safety and privacy.After settling Scottie, who asked her earlier why they did not take his father’s private jet or the jet gifted by his grandfather to him, Ashley finally breathed a sigh in relief. She neededDylan, on the other hand, poked her arms. He was pouting like a wronged child all the time.“What?” Ashley rolled her eyes at him. He was seated to her right with the aisle in between them.“You did not tell me that my good godson has a private plane! I want to ride it too!” Dylan half-yelled and half-whispered which did not matter because they were the only ones in the area.“It doesn’t matter anyway; I already booked all the seats in first class.”
"This is negotiable," Mark Gerald said, but he knows that it is already late."You wanna discuss it now after we signed it? Dude! We protested for a few days and we didn't see you so willing to pay a penny to us. You just want to take everything by force! If there is no other real estate company to step forward you would continue playing as if we owe you that your company is willing to buy our area!." – Resident A"There are only interests in their eyes, what face is there to come and negotiate to us!" – Resident B"Yes······" – Resident C and more residents echoed.Mark Gerald was a sensible person. He knew that there was a big probability that there was a backer behind Rosemary Real Estate, so he did not say anything more.If Rosemary Real Estate did not signed a contract with these people, they could still fight for i
Pushed back suddenly followed by the door slammed right in front of his which almost hit his nose, Nexus merely chuckled.Wolf, who had only arrived from the arrived and seen what happened, was dumbfounded. He did not expect his employer to be so bold in front of Nexus!“Boss, the employer is protective of her son.”He attempted to save the situation. He knew how cold-blooded Nexus could be, to the point that he could even torture spies in all ages and genders without blinking an eye of remorse. After knowing the employer—Ashley—Wolf truly appreciated such a woman who would place her son first above hers in her every decision which reminded him of his late mother.After the small chuckle, the friendly aura around Nexus vanished as if it was never there in the first place. He waved his hand. His head turned to Wolf. With his hands in his coat’s pockets, the earring swayed
The first road show would be opened by a press conference. As one of the main characters of the movie, Ashley was arranged to be seated next to Chowen in which he was being sandwiched by Ashley and Atasha.To Ashley’s left was Director Sloan in which Atasha made a fuss about in the last minute. Before the press people arrived, she was giving Ashley the side eye. After all, being seated next to the director was enough to draw attention to anyone.Ashley never cared for Astasha’s stinky face. On the other hand, Chowen, who was being seated in between the two women, was doing his best to ease the tension.For Ashley, this tension was non-existent. She was minding her business the entire time. Director Sloan, who arrived late, did not sit next to Atasha since Ashley’s seat was closer to him. But who was Atasha? She just loved to compare.As time neared the time for the press con, the pr
The premiere night was in full swing.The movie started with all the lights off except the screen in front of them. The bustling cinema quickly became silent as they focused on the movie that was about to start.The entire time, Scottie was seated between Wolf and Ashley. She held her son’s hand the entire time, observing his every reaction the entire time. Ashley watched him got excited especially when she first appeared on screen. She also saw how his expressions kept on changing as the movie progressed.Scottie’s little mouth pouted when he saw his mother crying silently on screen. He showed fear when the police was about to take his mother away. And he showed unprecedented need to destroy everything around him when he watched them hurt his mother in the prison cell.Scottie knew that it was all a drama. But his young mind was influenced by his mother’s amazing acting skills and
Talia rejected her doctor’s call for the nth time. As someone who had a big chance to have a heart attack any moment now, Talia chose to cut off the communication. After being rejected by Harold, after not getting through Jaxon’s phone, she chose not to stay in the hospital.Her fever did not subside. She even had some small episodes wherein she felt chest tightness which was a big no-no for someone like her who was at risk with heart attacks. Since she fell from the bottom list of the recipient for possible heart transplants that would extend her life for ten more years, Talia heard that the Elijah Consortium was utilizing its influence to find a donor for her. But she also knew why the Old Man was doing this—the Elijah Family wanted to cut ties with her.Talia did not know what magic potion Ashley gave to the Old Man or was it the works of that little bastard, but as long as the Old Man was still there of that little bast
Oblivious from the brewing war in the online world, Ashley still knew of Atasha’s arrival. Since Atasha was a co-star in the movie, of course Ashley had to make a courtesy greeting. So, she looked back, met Atasha’s eyes, and smiled warmly at her.Atasha, who was about to pose for the media, met Ashley’s glaring look. She quickly ignored the smile as she was more focused on the dress color code they shared. Her smile froze.Why was she wearing the same shade of blue?! But most importantly, why was the Ashley more compatible than her who spent the entire afternoon for this event?! Atasha was screaming crazily at the back of her mind. But she immediately recovered her momentary gaffe and smiled sweetly like nothing happened.But who were these people watching them? They were the press people! They smelled gossip and gunpowder like those k-nine dogs to bombs! Nothing could escape their eagle-like eyes!
Whilst the men were having their alpha confrontation, Ashley, who had just taken a nap, finally woke up under the urging of Dylan who was also woke up by Momo. The last one to wake up was Scottie but he was the earliest one to be finished.The dress was already ready by Momo and she was also responsible for the makeup and the hairstyle for tonight’s premiere for the movie Unmasked. Since Ashley was yet to take any endorsement from any clothes, much more to the luxurious brands, Momo had the freedom to choose what dress to take.Courtesy of the black card given by Jaxon to Ashley, the amount of dresses to choose from, Momo was like in a cloud nine while Ashley sat on the beauty chair.“Mommy, can I go?” This was the first time for Scottie to take the initiative to ask for something. His eyes were sparkling with anticipation as he looked up to his mother.How could she say no?
Nexus glanced at the woman sleeping next to him. Her head was arranged to lean against his left soldier as her body was secured by the seatbelt. The driver was also made to drive steadily so as not to disturb her rest which she really needed. Even breathing became very careful for Nexus.He had to make sure that there were no paparazzies around and the CCTV monitoring was secured by his people before he carried her from the hotel’s parking lot to her room. Because of his deliberate intervention, the people were directed to a specific area as he carried her to the elevator then to the hallway of the floor she was in until he knocked the door which was opened by Momo.Momo gestured that Scottie was taking his late afternoon nap and Dylan was taking a rest. She was about to tuck her employer when she saw that Nexus wasn’t leaving. She was torn between staying, because she was her employer and she needed to make sure she was fine, an
Ashley thankfully did not forget to bring her cap and face mask which were inside her bag when she cowardly left the room. She was ashamed of herself, thinking that she thought she was done will all of those shit but she was really not.After everything that happened today, Ashley wanted to have a time with herself only. So, she took a taxi driver drive around as I paid double the hourly rate. He was glad to do so and wisely kept silent. He might have a lot of experiences with passengers like her who really looked blank, lost, and lonely.After three turns around the city, Ashley could not count how many times she had passed by the alleys. When they drove past a bridge that overlooked the entire rive that connected the city which seemed to be divided into two, Ashley asked the driver to stop.The driver looked at her through the mirror and she felt warmth after seeing the concern in his eyes. Ashley knew what he was afra
Ashley did not react much to Jaxon Elijah’s dismay. Instead, she stood up and took her bag. Opening it calmly right before Jaxon’s eyes, her every more was very graceful and unhurried as of he did not step on a landmine with what he just said.Even Jaxon was doubtful until…Ashley pulled out a gun from her bag, aimed it to Jaxon, and undid the safety pin. And Ashley did it in one fluid series of movements without any hysterics.She was so damn calm that it was unnerving.Jaxon Elijah once served the military. He knew a killer’s eyes when saw one. And right now, his nominal wife was pointing the gun at him. He did not move. Not because he was afraid but because he did not see her as a threat at all.His service in the military was not for a show after all.The air was so brittle that it could break at any moment. It would only one guns
Not minding the sharp gaze pinned on her for a split second, Ashley merely smiled sweetly at him before she looked away and said ‘next’, waiting for the next question to be thrown at her. According to the number of questions allocated per cast member, this should be the last reporter that would ask her.Although the entire hall was in a buzzed after seeing ‘the’ Jaxon Elijah standing among them, the press conference must go on. Trying hard to look away from the man, who merely stood with his hands inside his coat’s pockets, the press people could not help but marvel at the air of nobility and dominance leaking from him even when he did basically nothing—this was the man in-charged of the biggest company in the country!Such an existence was the husband of the woman who was dubbed as the artist with most scandals! The press people who were done asking Ashley could not help but looked at her with fiery eyes.
The first road show would be opened by a press conference. As one of the main characters of the movie, Ashley was arranged to be seated next to Chowen in which he was being sandwiched by Ashley and Atasha.To Ashley’s left was Director Sloan in which Atasha made a fuss about in the last minute. Before the press people arrived, she was giving Ashley the side eye. After all, being seated next to the director was enough to draw attention to anyone.Ashley never cared for Astasha’s stinky face. On the other hand, Chowen, who was being seated in between the two women, was doing his best to ease the tension.For Ashley, this tension was non-existent. She was minding her business the entire time. Director Sloan, who arrived late, did not sit next to Atasha since Ashley’s seat was closer to him. But who was Atasha? She just loved to compare.As time neared the time for the press con, the pr