Sorry, readers. I didn't intend to disappear like that. But it's that time of the month when I lost my father last month, the first week!!! and unfortunately it took a toll on my mental health. I don't want to get into details of what I went through since Oct 1st came until now, but I'm really trying to get out of it. I wanted to write but no words would come out. I feel better now though. Please bear with me. I'm really trying, and I've read all your comments regarding the story and what you want, trust me what I've planned is going to amaze you. I just need your support to turn it into words. Be with me while I take one little step at a time towards moving on. Don't forget to comment and vote~
162Zara's POVFor the next two days, our attention was on Jack Stones, the detective. It was not startling that he was able to find most of my information— with evidence. One must think that it would have left me with sweat and tears. But no, all it did was thrill me. It was disappointing that Hunter was not in my control any longer. He was being controlled by Claire and it had led him to hire a personal investigator. Considering how stealthily Jack Stones worked, he might have received special orders to keep it private. It couldn't hide from my eyes though. The eyes I have come to look for me in exchange of physical pleasure. "He's here at the sex club." Enzo said over the phone. Today was the third day and I was hoping to see Jack here. He had been to all the places and people I was connected to. This was the last place he was coming to visit and I was here to give him a surprise. Or rather, a deal of life and death. "Let him come. I'm waiting for him." I replied while taking a
163"This can't be true." Hunter muttered it for the tenth time in the last five minutes.Jack was watching Hunter closely. Sweat beads rolled down the length of his spine as he tried not to give away his anxiety in front of the wealthiest man who hired him to find him the truth. Except that he was giving his client lies. Lies that he fabricated for getting sèx from Zara. Lies for saving Zara from going to jail. Lies for helping her step-up her game... And lies to destroy Claire's character in Hunter's eyes."Unfortunately, it is. I cross checked everything myself, Mr. MacIntyre. It's not what you expected to hear, but it's the truth. Your ex-wife was the one wearing an innocent face all this time, not Miss Levine. " Jack kept his hand on Hunter's shoulder as he shook his face.He was in awe at how Hunter kept his features professionally impassive. But white. Ghostly white. His lips were sealed in a line as he attempted to stay indifferent and those dark eyes were on the verge of lo
164Hunter didn't move even after Detective Jack left twenty minutes ago. His body was locked in place while his eyes continuously streamed. There was just one thing his heart chanted, "Claire is innocent. I know she's innocent."Alas, the evidence in his hold made his breaths hitch. Hunter languidly lowered his head. His colorless face puckered a little as he clenched his jaw to the point of breaking. "This can't..." He faded out as anxiety assailed him. While gawking at the stack of papers he had in a tight grip, he wished that he had never hired Jack Stones. He wished that he could just get away with Claire from this world and its shit load of issues behind to somewhere only they both existed. He wished that the detective didn't come today. Today... Of all days! Hunter flickered his lashes and looked around. He was taken aback when everything around him looked black and white. He felt as though color was leached out of the world, leaving him with only black and white. There were
165The dinner date was awesome. Hunter blushed more than Claire. Although he chased after her to convince her for a date, Claire surprised him with his favorite food and flowers. The scented candle added beauty to their table while the surroundings were made of dark wooden walls, giving the vibe of being inside the trunk of a tree. And guess what, the walls were soundproof. It was a good opportunity to make it up to Claire for the tasty food and everything, but Hunter's heart was restless. As much as he wanted to spend more time with her, he had to grab her hands and hold her from stepping out of her gown. "I will tear it off your mouth watering figure, Dove. I just have something to take care of tonight." He had said. Claire looked disappointed but she let it pass with a radiating smile. "Okay, just be safe. Do apply the herbal paste I packed for you. It'll help heal your infected wounds faster. " "I won't forget that." Hunter had replied whilst suppressing his tears. Then when
166Cole was out of breath and all red when he stopped on the top of the lighthouse. Hunter was facing the water, his back rigid and a gloomy air emanating from him. "Dude, I almost killed myself coming here." Coming to stand next to his best friend, Cole held the railing and leaned forward as he dragged deep breaths. Hunter hasn't moved yet and his profile appeared worrisome. His silence sent an eerie chill along Cole's spine. He straightened and shook Hunter. "Bro! Where are you lost?" Hunter jerked out of his trance with a loud heave. He blinked his eyes and shook his head to restore his composure before giving Cole a defeated look. "You're here, Cole." Hunter muttered in what sounded like the voice of a man who's lost everything. "What's up with you, man? You look pathetic." Hunter looked down in response. "I am not a paranormal creature or something. I won't know unless you speak, buddy. Tell me." Cole poked him with an elbow. "I don't know where to begin!" There was a so
167Although Penny had come to Claire the instant Cole left to meet Hunter, she had been alone in her friend's bedroom since she arrived. Claire was summoned by her father in his study for work-related reasons, leaving Penny with nothing to do. Also, it's been a while since Cole left and her curiosity was growing with each minute. She hadn't thought she would get this update from Cole when she messaged him. Now she was glad that she did. Else nobody would have ever found out that Hunter had bought the services of a detective to search Zara's background. A tremor of indignation ran through her body as she reread Cole's recent text. 'The search indicated Claire's involvement in Zara's attack and that she paid goons to rape Zara. Evidence revealed a whole new face of Claire which Hunter and I can't come to agree with. He's in a doubt something's off.'Some of her anger reduced reading the text again. At least, the last part was relieving enough to bring a smile to her lips. "Good for
168"What does it have to do with your coming here?" Hunter snapped in a tone laced with wrath.For reasons unknown, he was pouring his anger on poor Monty, unaware of the man's stature.But when Monty shared who he was and why he was here, Hunter's heart bottomed out as his face became further colorless. "Oh, I apologize for not introducing myself properly. I'm Monty Rycloft, a detective by profession and Claire hired me to work for her six months ago when you wanted to leave her for Zara. She's asked me to search Zara's background." "And here..." He lifted his file of evidence towards Hunter. "... are the real evidence. The ones you have, I don't know what the detective did to gather them, they are fake and fabricated."With a heart that became double its size, hurting so much in his chest that he felt he might just die of heart problems, Hunter took the file. A drop of sweat rolled below his forehead to his jaw. It shone in the light illuminating overhead as he flipped the file o
169There was ominous tranquility in the atmosphere. The sky overhead was dangerously dark. It was haunted by flashes of lightning and it cast unsettling silhouettes across the roads. The alleys and streets were periodically illuminated, throwing light on stray animals and people strolling down the streets.The calm suggested that something was about to go terribly wrong. However, Zara couldn't care less. She was on cloud nine and dedicatedly blowing detective Jack's flaccid díck, turning it hard with every lick and slurp. She was giving it her all. After all, the detective helped her a great deal. Zara had done enough but it wasn't enough to change Hunter's perspective towards Claire. He was blind in her love. He was unwilling to see she could have any negativity. But Detective Jack made it happen. He did what she couldn't do in six months. Not only did he bring Claire on the wrong side, but he also cleared Zara's image. Now no worldly power could stop her from becoming Mrs. MacInty
273Hunter's POV She stopped just a hand's distance away and blinked her doey eyes at me, "I know we've been through so much, and our past is complicated. But I don't want to rush into anything this time. I want to love the good part we missed before. I want us to take our time, to enjoy each other's company, to fall in love all over again. I want you to make me feel special.""I want our second chance to be different. I want it to be about us, about our love, about our connection. I want it to be real, and true, and raw. I want us to be vulnerable, to be open, to be honest with each other. I want this time to be our time. Our time to love, to laugh, to live. Our time to be us." Her lips trembled. She was having a war with herself whether to tell it to me or not. She chose to do it anyway and risk it all... Because, by sharing her feelings with me, she was exposing how desperately she wanted me. "I want us to create new memories, to make new mistakes, to learn from each other all o
272Hunter's POV "Claire, what's wrong? I thought we cleared our misunderstanding in the elevator." I said as I tried to move closer to her. It compelled her to take three, long steps away and put distance between us that overwhelmed me. A feeling of dread made my stomach heavy. What happened to her? Did I do something wrong? Was it because of Penelope? Yeah, it could be her. They have been friends for years, and while Claire didn't stop me from chasing her away, it doesn't mean she appreciated it. "If it's about Penelope then I can call her and apologize. I'm sorry, I didn't think it would hurt you to see me sending her away. But I did—" "It's not about Penny, alright." The heaviness in her voice made me stare at her. We've been so good. I was starting to believe it wasn't a dream. But we're going back to square one. I ran my fingers through my hair. My body was burning from heat and sweat. The suit was suddenly too tight for me and I had to undo the first few buttons and fan
271Hunter's POV"Why are you following me? Go! Don't you have a meeting to attend?" She feigned a glare, but the playfulness in her gaze and the excitement in her voice told me she loved me trailing after her."The biggest challenge at hand is just accomplished. Why would I bother about work? My PA will take care of it. It's time to celebrate!" I said smugly, walking behind her like her shadow. Claire tried not to blush but the way she lowered her gaze, I swear it took everything in me to not grasp her and kiss her on the lips. I can't believe she's doing it again. Can't believe that I could be forgiven so quickly again.She had been so mad at me. She had expressed her disgust loudly and made sure I felt every bit of her loath. But look at me, I'm following after her like I did earlier and she was happy. Her smile told me she was pleased. She liked it. She enjoyed it. Could I really be this lucky? Or is Claire stupid? She can't give me a second chance despite the pain she suffered
270Claire's POV Hunter is a man with a lust for revenge. He won't abandon his enemies unless he's seen them grasping for breath and bleeding in every way possible. What he's done to Tyler is somewhere unfair too. And though Tyler could fight back, he's been the bigger person between the two. All he's done is defend himself and avoid Hunter's attacks. But it should come to an end. I know both men. While one openly declares war and strikes mercilessly, the other one observes everything silently and creates his strategies. Tyler may look non-violent, but that's only on the surface. He's holding it together because of me these days. But when he'll snap, the explosion will be catastrophic. "And please stop being so abrasive and return his company shares back to him."Hunter sighed as he moved closer to me, "So, your friend wasn't lying about it." "About what?" "Second chance." A soft grateful smile seeped into his lips like honey.On the other hand, my jaw dropped in stupor. I gave h
269Claire's POV I could think of nothing else except for his hard body and how it felt under my belly when I was on his shoulder. My eyes lingered on his throat. There were crimson patterns my nails carved on his skin. In the reflection they looked hot on him. Suddenly an urge to trace them with my tongue throbbed through me. I stared at his throat before raising my eyes to his mouth— his mouth that I loved kissing. I think I'm the first woman in this world who desires a man more than a man would do to a woman. But can you blame me? When the man is Hunter MacIntyre, lust and arousal personified, sense and wisdom stops working. He had a strange kind of animal magnetism that drew me to him. I felt sixteen all over again and my thighs trembled. "I saw you burning Tia Murphy's car." I spoke to ease the tension between us. "It was not needed if you ask me." "Not needed?" My breaths hitched when he spoke. His voice was hoarse and it felt like he was going through the same painful mome
268Claire's POVA new variant of anger pumped through my veins, one that has never plagued me before. I was seeing red everywhere I saw and the desire to feel Hunter's blood on my fingers made me clench my teeth to control whatever crazy fit was taking over my body.I have been jealous before, but this was beyond my imagination. My heart was smoldering outrageously and my breathing was ragged. Hunter's expressions and his words worked like a dose of stimulant, triggering my indignation to another level of madness. How dare he say that? I've been thinking about him, non-stop, since we separated. I never had the chance to shift my focus on another man— he had always been on my mind, and yet he had the guts to say those things to annoy me. I stormed outside the mall from the main gate through which Penny and I had entered. It was dumb because Penny's car was parked in the opposite direction. I stopped to exhale a breath. People around me peered at me curiously. Some stopped to gossip
267The look of possessiveness on Claire's face made Hunter's heart whirl. He'd been praying to see this look in her eyes. Praying to know whether her heart still beat for him. Guess, it never fell out of love from him. The realization whipped smugness into his looks as Hunter amazedly grinned. He was loving seeing his Dove deal with the trouble that was Mona Rocha. "You bítch, what do you want? Weren't you kissing his enemy a few days back to insult him. So why this sudden show of possessiveness? Back off, he's mine now." Mona sneered as she managed to free herself from Claire's grip. She scooted towards Hunter and wound her hands around his arm. He wasn't happy by her sudden closeness. Hunter was about to pull away when Claire let out an animalistic cry before grabbing the front of Mona's top and shoved her aside. "You aggressive whóre! What the fuck is your problem?" Claire snickered, "It's you who have a problem understanding that you're greatly loathed by him.""Loathed by
266As they stole a glance from behind the wall, their faces went pale because a woman was pinning Hunter against the wall, trying to touch him desperately. On the other hand, he had a hateful scowl on his face as he aggressively held her arms to keep her away from him. "What part of 'I don't like you' was clear to you? What is your problem, huh? Stop coming after me, Mona. I've told you many times I'm not interested either in you or your twin sister. Can't you see the ring on my finger? I'm fucking taken." He gritted those words out as his eyes hardened in detestation. The woman, nevertheless, moved closer and pressed a hand on his crotch, causing his eyes to freeze on her face. Claire's heart nearly stopped at the shock as her fingers trembled on the wall where she had placed them. Her teeth clenched as her stomach fluttered in a fit of rage, watching the woman touch Hunter inappropriately.Her gaze lingered on her hand for as long as it was there. She didn't know that she was hol
265Even though the girls had a head mask that completely covered their faces, they chose to take cover behind cars as they closed in on Reggie stealthily. They crouched down to become smaller and avoid their reflections getting caught in the side mirrors of the parked car.Reggie was best in his field. His circumspection earned him the position he worked on. He wouldn't be the country's wealthiest man's chief bodyguard if he was lazy or sloppy. His confident stance said that he knew what he was doing, and the way he kept looking around from time to time, it showed he was multitasking between avoiding spectators and carrying out the order given to him.A point came when Tia suddenly halted in her tracks to rummage something in her purse. A low curse came from her mouth which was quite audible in the empty parking lot. She turned around and that's when Reggie's heightened senses kicked in. He leapt behind a car so smoothly that Claire and Penny's jaw unhinged, eyes stared unblinkingly a