"Red is wasted and can't drive his car. I'm going to pick him up," Emerald yanked her hand from Clayton's grip. "You stay, I'll take care of it," Clayton said and strode towards the door. "No, I will pick him." "No," Clayton said, suppressing his rising anger."I will!" Emerald insisted. Clayton lost his head and roared. "When I said, No. It's No! Understood?" Startled, Emerald took two steps backward and stumbled. Clayton was fast enough to stop the fall by snaking his arm around her waist.He pulled her in his arms and hugged her tenderly. Emerald was in a daze that the things she wished in the past was now happening. She wondered what she would feel when a sober Clayton hugs her. Clayton hugged her before but he was drunk. She remained in his arms without a sign of resistance. "I'm sorry," Clayton whispered on the crown of her head, muffling his voice. Clayton lost control of his emotions at the thought that Red would force himself on her. Just as he did to her a month be
Clayton nodded without correcting Tyson, his driver. His response irritated Emerald and she glared at Clayton but he just shrugged his shoulders. Emerald was about to open her mouth to correct him but Tyson walked around the car to the driver's side. Totally piqued, Emerald did not look at Clayton all through the trip. It's not her style to mislead others and let them think that she and Clayton were together again. After her broken marriage, Emerald learned to differentiate between fantasy and reality. Back then, when she married Clayton, she lived in the world of fantasy. Firmly believing that if she puts effort into their marriage and be a good wife, Clayton will love her back. Now that she had broken free from that delusion, she dared not think that Clayton realized that he fell for her and wanted her back in his life. She isn't an assuming woman. Just because Clayton was treating her well doesn't mean that he loves her. She knew where she stood in Clayton's life and she had
"Do you have proof that Emerald did what you said just now?" A cold voice boomed out of nowhere and took both Jonas and Shannon's attention. Simultaneously, they looked behind them and saw the man they least expected to see. The cousins were unaware that Clayton was behind them listening to what they had to say about Emerald. His blue eyes darkened and anger arose to his chest, hearing the disparaging remarks against his woman. Who gave this shameless woman the right to say things against his Emerald. "Clayton you're here!" Shannon lifted her legs to come close to Clayton. "I miss you." But Clayton's bodyguard was fast to come in between her and Clayton thus successfully, blocking Shannon from coming near Clayton. Jonas was embarrassed at his cousin's behavior and pulled Shannon away. "Let me go!" Shannon yelled at Jonas, pulling her arm from Jonas' tight grip but
Tyson's eyes opened wide in shock. He didn't know that Clayton and Emerald were divorced. What he knew was that there had been misunderstanding between Clayton and Emerald which prompted Emerald to run away. Sweat broke out on Tyson's back. The tension in the car was nearly suffocating Tyson.Remaining morosely silent, Clayton tugged irritably at his tie, untied and unwound it, and pulled it. Emerald trained her eyes outside, refusing to look at Clayton. 'This is the last time she's going to let Clayton pick her up.' Alarmed as he sensed that Emerald was erecting an invisible wall between them, Clayton thought of ways to stop her. If he fails to stop her from building a barrier that would prevent him from getting close to her, the schism between the two of them will widen. He couldn't bear to lose her forever. "How old are you when you start having an interest in car racing?" Clayton asked,
Emerald bit her lips. As memories of the past came flooding in."I only learned cooking when I was at your father's house," she said but left out the reason why she persevered in learning how to cook. She learned that Clayton loved home cooked food. Being a believer of the saying, "The nearest way to a man's heart is through his stomach." She had high hopes that cooking what he liked would eventually lead to capturing his heart. Perhaps, to some other men food was effective to get to their hearts but not Clayton. "Did you do that for rne?"The pain of being unscrupulously rejected by him was still too acute for her. It was territory he couldn’t yet traverse but Clayton couldn't hold back and asked anyway. "No, I did that for your father. I was grateful to him," Emerald tried to sound calm and composed but within the depths of her heart she was far from it.
Blood trickled down, staining the tiled floor. His executives exclaimed simultaneously in shock. "Mr Strong!" They were having meals celebrating after signing a billion dollar contract with the largest company in Norkle City. The jovial mood inside the room became bleak and gloomy. A doctor came a few minutes later. And immediately, tended his injury. His face was impassive, but something volatile was contained in the stillness. The executives dared not to make noises. "We're going back to Westfield tonight, get the plane ready," Clayton barked to his assistant after his hand was wrapped in a bandage. "But, we still have to meet the Hastings Inc. representative, tomorrow," Constantine said. "Let Maxwell do it," Clayton stood up, Constantine shook his head. Meanwhile, back at Westfield in Emerald's apartment. "Red, if you do that next time, I will throw you out of my apartment," Emerald was exasperated. What if Clayton misunderstood and thought that she and Red were doing some
Headache hammered Clayton's head as he woke up in the morning. He cradled his head while trying to remember why he ended up in his apartment. Last night he remembered that he came knocking on Emerald's door and hugged her when she opened the door. That was all he remembered as for the other things he did after that he had no memory of it. "I hope I didn't force myself on her," he murmured and realized he was still clad in his suit. This suggested that he didn't do anything to her. He sighed in relief. He had his shower and drove to his office after getting dressed."Helps with the hangover." Constantine placed a glass of water and a tablet on his table. "Thanks," Clayton murmured and took the tablet, put it in his mouth and grabbed the glass of water to drink. Constantine waited for him to finish before asking, "Did you apologize to the madam?" "How did you know I came to her apartment?" His brows lifted and furrowed, creating a crease on his forehead. "Madam, phoned me, usin
Shortly, Lizzy excused herself and went to the powder room. She found Emerald looking at her reflection in the mirror seemed lost and glum. Letting out a maniacal laugh made Emerald know she wasn't alone in the powder room. "Poor Emerald, whatever you do. You can't capture Clayton's attention, let alone his heart. You were given a chance to snatch his heart away from me but you failed. Stop dreaming!" With a faint smile Emerald fired back. "If you really had his heart, why aren't you married yet?" "Oh! I'm practically his wife and I don't care if the wedding comes later. As long as he satisfies me in bed, I wouldn't mind waiting." Wearing a triumphant look, Lizzy turned and went out of the powder room. ''Clayton is sleeping with Lizzy?'' Emerald blanched and her knees weakened, thankfully she managed to hold the sink and that stopped her from falling. ***"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Jim had looked for her in the powder room but she wasn't there and found her in the balcony. "
“Dad!” Maya pouted while Spencer chuckled. He’s used to the father and daughter’s antics. Clayton ignored Maya’s protest and talked to his granddaughter. “And don’t take your grandma and mother’s love for extreme sports.” Clayton looked at Spencer. “Make sure that your daughter won’t get involved in any extreme sports.” “Yes, dad.” Spencer nodded. He too didn’t want his daughter to take a liking to extreme sports. He would surely have a heart attack. “Are you going to make her life dull? No hobby? Just study and take over a company?” Emerald asked in a teasing tone. “Of course not, just no dangerous sports. There are sports that aren’t life threatening. She can choose from those. I can’t teach her to play golf when she grows up.” “That’s a great idea, dad.” Spencer agreed and added. “Maya and I also planned to enroll her for piano, dance and art lessons.” “Really?” Clayton was excited. Clayton wants diversity in their family. He wanted his grandchildren to have different hobbie
Zoey bit her lips. The feeling she had for Maurice was an elephant in the room that she was unwilling to face. Maurice was in a relationship and Zoey didn’t want to be the third party, destroying a relationship. Ignoring her feelings for the man would eventually kill it. That was the reason she didn’t want to admit to herself that she had fallen for the man. “Do you like me, Zoey?” Maurice’s voice was so gentle that it touched Zoey’s heart. Despite knowing that Maurice was currently free and had no girlfriend, she had no courage to confess. “If you say you don’t like me. I will tell mom and ask her to search for another woman that wants to be with me. I don’t want to force you into this relationship, Zoey. I won’t bother you again. ” Zoey's heart thumped painfully in her chest. Just the thought of losing Maurice to another woman was tearing her heart to pieces. “Do you like me, Zoey?” Maurice repeated his question a while ago. “How about you, Maurice?” Zoey asked with teary eyes.
Zoey bit her lips as her entire body and heart turned cold. “Sir, I’m not making an excuse. My phone and wallet had been stolen.” Zoey’s distressed look moved Emerald’s heart. She can’t just watch at the sideline and do nothing to help her. She couldn’t help but imagine her own daughter. What if her daughter, Maya was the one in this situation? Of course, she wanted someone to step in and intervene to help her daughter out of her predicament. “I’ll foot the bill,” Emerald passed on her black card to the server. Grateful that a good samaritan had stepped in to help her, Zoey stood up and bowed several times and unceasingly said, “Thank you.” She was in a foreign land without her phone and any money. If this kind hearted person didn’t take the initiative to help her, she couldn’t imagine what would have happened to her. She didn’t know if justice prevailed in this nation. “Come with us,” Emerald said in a soft voice. Since she had started helping her, she will follow through a
“Ms Desmond,” the man called out, his voice having an edge of huskiness. Recognizing the man, Zoey nodded and said, “Mr Fuller.” Jonathan Fuller was the president of the company that hosted the event. The event was exceptional and everything went well and beyond what he had expected. Since taking his father’s position, this was the first time that he hosted such a big event. He got curious about who was the event specialist that handled their event so well. His assistant took Zoey to meet Jonathan before the event concluded. Jonathan was smitten by the woman’s beauty and grace. “Get in the car. I’ll drive you home.” Confident that Jonathan wasn’t a pervert, Zoey didn’t refuse and hopped into the car. It was almost one in the morning when they arrived at Zoey’s apartment building. Zoey could not unbuckle her seat belt and Jonathan volunteered to help her. Not far from them, Maurice saw everything. From his vantage point it seemed that the man and woman in the sports car were
Zoey was snapped back from her own world and remembered that she wasn’t alone in the living room. She sat on the couch still hugging, Chubby the giant chubby penguin. Having no idea what to talk to, Zoey said nothing. Exhausted from the long journey, Zoey could not stop her eyes from closing when she was hugging the plushy. Maurice observed the sleeping woman, her eyebrows were drawn to a frown and her mouth slightly parted. But it didn’t lessen her beauty to a tiniest bit. “Here you go,” Trina served the hot chocolate drink. One for Maurice and one for Zoey. Trina smiled sheepishly at Maurice. “Zoey, sweetie.” Trina tried to wake Zoey by pulling the plushy away from her. “Mom, no, don’t take away Chubby from me. I missed him so much, I haven’t hugged him for two weeks,” Zoey murmured while she hugged Chubby tighter. Something flashed across Maurice's eyes while listening to Zoey. He took a sip on the hot chocolate while his eyes never left the woman who was mumbling in
Zoey felt Maurice’s body turned rigid. She bit her lips and wished that Maurice would go along with her. The man beside her looked down on her with an unreadable expression, and Zoey gave him a pleading eyes to act along with her. Zoey’s heart thumped strongly, banging her ribcage as she waited for Maurice. “Let’s go,” Maurice said indifferently and guided Zoey to his car. He opened the passenger seat and protected Zoey’s head from hitting the car frame. It was quite a romantic gesture that crushed Nick’s sliver of hope. Inside the car, Zoey fiddled the strap of her handbag, guiltily. “I’m sorry for using you Mr Strong. Please tell me how do I compensate you?” Zoey said but Maurice remained silent. Zoey felt goosebumps covered her entire body at the eerie silence that enveloped the car. “You can compensate me by making a plan for a marriage proposal.” Maverick spoke after an undetermined time of silence. “You have a girlfriend?” Zoey exclaimed in shock and added, quickly. “
Maurice pressed his lips into a thin line, waiting for Zoey to react and decline Tracy’s proposal. Caught unawares, Zoey's mind went haywire and she couldn’t form a word to refuse the idea. She swallowed several times to moisten her dry throat. Seeing that she wasn’t refusing the idea, Maurice frowned and said. “Her apartment is in the opposite direction to the manor. I have to go to bed early.” At this time, Zoey already recovered from her surprise, nodded in agreement and said, “It’s still early, taking a cab isn’t dangerous and I have learned some self - defense. So you don’t have to worry about me.” “Ten o’ clock is already late. Maurice, do me a favor. Drive Zoey to her apartment.” Theo spoke this time, he knew that Maurice would not refuse him. Maurice's hand that was in his pocket balled into a fist. “Please, don’t worry about me. I’m used to taking cabs.” Zoey was telling the truth. Before she managed to buy a second hand car, Zoey used to take cabs even in the dead
“Congratulations, Mr Strong and Ms Wagner,” Zoey said when she was near them. Maverick and Esther, shook hands with Zoey. On the other hand, Maurice who was near them took his phone and pretended to check on his messages.“You did a great job, Ms Desmond,” Maverick gave her two thumbs up. “Thanks Mr Strong but I only managed to come up with that idea because of the information you gave to me about Ms Wagner.” Zoey didn’t want to take all the credits. With clients' willingness to give her an input she was able to come up with such ideas. “By the way, Ms Desmond, I will introduce you to my siblings and in - laws, who knows, perhaps they will be your clients soon. That man wearing a black suit with gold tie is Theo, my eldest brother and his wife, Tracy. Next to her is my sister, Maya. Well we are triplets, and Maurice is my identical twin. Next to Maya is her husband, Spencer. And also the one seated on Maurice’s left side is Esther's best friend, Betty with her boyfriend, Rex.” Zoe
Although she had made a decision to let her know that she saw Maverick leaving the hotel with a beautiful woman, she found it hard to begin. “What? Cat got your tongue?” Esther teased her to alleviate the tense atmosphere. Betty swallowed before opening her mouth to speak but the phone atop her desk rang, stopping her from disclosing what she saw. She picked up the handset. “Come to my office,” Betty heard the familiar voice and her body went straight like a ramrod. “Okay sir,” Betty answered and she looked at Esther while putting down the handset. “I’ll talk to you later, the boss wants me to report to his office.” “Okay,” Esther sighed. Meanwhile in his office, Maverick was tapping his fingers on his table as he waited for Betty. “Come in,” he said as the first knock. “Betty, I need your help,” Maverick said as soon as he saw Betty enter the office. Betty couldn't help but frown, she couldn’t forget that he and a woman got into the same car, leaving the hotel. B