“Just how shameless can he be?” Reyona thought in anger as she saw Maxwell striding towards her.The oblivious, surprised look on his face only infuriated her more, as she was sure that it was definitely part of his artifice.He looked at her in confusion for a second before that hateful smile of his filled his face. He put his phone in his pocket, tucking his hand in as he rocked back on his heels as if lounging.“Well, my dear CEO Lanoth. I had no idea that you have such an ample sense of imagination,” he said as he barely glanced at the secretary.Reyona knew she should just bypass him, especially since the secretary was standing some distance away, waiting for her to catch up with her.She was not about to allow an asshole to get away with messing up her day or trying to sneak up on her at a potential client’s company. “I can assure you that if you dare to pull this stunt again, I will simply get you arrested.”She hissed in a low tone and made sure to pass him by. The secretary’s
“You bastard!” She railed at him. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the interior of the visiting room. It was as if she was looking for something—anything to hurt him with.She turned back to him and the look in her eyes gave him a pause as her tone became so low that he had to strain his ears to hear her “I knew it. I knew you did not love me! You…you were just using me as your brooding mare!” She swiped her wrist against the snot that came out of her nose, unconcerned that she looked a mess as her tangled hair slipped out of its hold."You... you don’t love me anymore! You just wanted to be with her now that I am here. You...you want to take my children and live happily ever after with that bitch! Well, you have another thing coming! I am not going to allow that!” She gave him a chilling smile that had Thomas contemplating the idea of running out of the visiting room.“I will come after you. I will get my babies! I will…oh, my babies,” she broke down in tears in the middle of t
Thomas was in a black mood by the time he drove up the driveway of the house he had shared with Reyona for about eight years. A home where he had continued the pretence he started two years before when Susan and he had made a bet.Susan had come to meet him at his shitass job back then as a trainer, and they had pretended not to know each other so that the gym manager wouldn’t find a reason to complain. He was pretending to put her through her workout while she giggled and pretended to be totally clueless about it all.That was when she had walked in—the auburn-haired beauty alongside a younger-looking lady—both of them so mouthwateringly gorgeous that they caught the eye immediately.The men's heads turned to look at them, and the elderly one was oblivious to the stare she was garnering as she seemed reluctant to be there, while the younger one was cajoling her that it was the right thing to do. His gaze must have ingered a bit longer on the curvaceous beauty because the next moment S
Reyona had been antsy since she got back to the office. The CEO of Multilinks had been just as the tabloids had described him. Retro, urbane, and... very unusual.The man had been in shorts, a biker shirt, and sneakers. He had a stud in his ear for God’s sake. And a headset around his neck, to boot.Throughout their meeting, he sat astride his chair instead of in it, as any self-respecting CEO would do. If Reyona had not listened to him, she was sure that she might have dismissed him for a loafer who was merely holding the position because it had been in their family for ages.All it took her was to listen to the man for about two minutes, and she was certain that Andrew Jordan could be blamed for a lot of things, but a lack of intelligence could never be part of those things.He was astute and direct. He was clear about what he wanted, and she was sure that he wouldn’t do anything because he was pressured by the board or cajoled by anyone.He was a man with a clear sense of judgment,
“Of course, he had to choose a place like this!” Reyona thought in anger as she got out of her car and trudged through the fake sea sand to the retro Seashore Restaurant, acclaimed for catering to only seafood and their lovers.Well, Reyona was no lover of foods that wiggled like they were going to pop out of her throat and dance the samba. She was even less of a fan of the bastard that had made her come to such a place at that time of the night.Would it have been too much to ask that the idiot let them fix their meeting for the next day, during the day, away from everything seafood? Of course not!Reyona was certain that he had deliberately done this to pay her back and maybe also to see just how well she was willing to fight for the contract."Bastard,” she muttered under her breath as more sand entered her wedges. “What am I even doing?” she thought to herself in annoyance. “It was not as if the bastard was the CEO of the company. Even if he was a major shareholder, so what?”She k
Maxwell looked up at her with a grin on his face. He knew she was itching to lay it out on him, and she probably would have done that if not for the company they have at the moment. He couldn’t pinpoint the main reason why he always wanted to rile her up. He had no intention of overthinking when it came to this woman, who was about as off-limits as a leper with painful boils all over.“It must have something to do with the way her eyes fired up in the most glorious shade of amber that I had ever set my eyes on,” he thought fleetingly even as he rubbed his finger above his upper lip, his grin becoming fuller when she looked over at the patrons of the Seashore, who were at the moment not hiding the fact that they did not appreciate her raised voice.He almost laughed out loud at her ingrained good breeding when she realised that she was making a scene, and she sent a vague smile in the direction of those people before sitting hastily.“Woah, woah,” Maxwell said in exaggerated surrender a
“Are you saying that you don’t believe in your company’s ability and you have to ask me for favours?” Maxwell asked partly out of curiosity.The expression in her eyes said it all before she said, with a snap in her voice, “No, I am not saying that, Mr. Rohan. I am saying that I wouldn’t appreciate being sabotaged because of whatever vendetta you have against me.”It surprised Maxwell that the fact that she thought that of him hurt a little. He was known to be a man without emotions; some of the women he had ever tangled with would even go as far as to say that he was a cold man.What did he care if a married, snippy woman thought him to be a scoundrel? The irony was that he cared. And that not only annoyed him but also made him want to put her in her place. She, who couldn’t figure out what her husband was doing under her nose for years, thought she had the right to judge him. Well, she would have to think again.“Are you saying that you believed me so despicable that I would take awa
The seatbelt bit hard between Reyona’s breasts as she slammed hard on the brake when she belatedly saw Maxwell standing in the path of her reversing car. She was thrown back and then forward as the car screeched to a stop, and her heartbeat stopped for a moment before it accelerated again.“Wha…” she sputtered as she took an inventory of her body to be sure that she was fine before looking outside for certainty that she had not hit any of the cars that were closely parked to hers.“What was that bastard thinking?” she said in anger as she yanked on her seatbelt to remove it. The way the belt was getting tangled infuriated her more, and she swore fluidly as she yanked on it again.She had been annoyed when she got out that the truck and Camaro were parked so close to hers, and now that idiot was about to make her commit homicide too.She finally got rid of the belt and growled when she had to restrain the outward opening of her door to prevent it from scraping the truck’s paint.“Stupid
Dear Reader, Thank you so much for following this journey from the beginning to this point. I appreciate your comments, votes, review and continuous reading. You are my real MVP. Reyona's story has come to an end here as she went on to live happily ever after while navigating the beauty and trials of life with the love of her life. But then Toria's story is just about to begin. What do you say to navigating Toria's new journey as she confronts her rollercoaster feelings for Andreas while dealing with the powerful Kanellis family and forces determined to keep them apart? Would you like to see if a headstrong, free-spirited lady like Toria can fit into the imperious and honourable family while she fights her demons? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you for being here. Do check out my other books. I am Kabirat Aleem.
“.... I promise to love and cherish you for as long as we live and beyond. I will respect you and always remember that you are my partner before anyone else. I will put you and our family first in my decisions. You are mine in totality just as I am yours. Together we shall grow in loyalty, in abundance, in comradeship, in support and eternal love. I will forever be by your side in everything that comes our way on this journey of life….”“I, Maxwell Rohan, take you, Reyona Beatrice Dexter, as my lawfully wedded wife today in the presence of God and man, with the promise to cherish our vow until I breathe my last.”“I, Reyona Beatrice Dexter, take you, Maxwell Rohan, as my lawfully wedded husband today in the presence of God and man, with the promise to cherish our vow until the day I die.”As her sister and her husband completed the vows they had worked on themselves and slid the rings on each other's fingers, Toria tried hard to keep her tears at bay as the minister said, “You may kiss
The past month had been the most heart-filling one for Reyona.She watched as Allysyn lolled Sophie's bassinet while showing her something in the picture book she had in her hand.Meanwhile, Junior jiggled the rattle above Lucas to the delight of the baby and the hopping dog.An inexplicable bliss filled her at the thought that these belonged to her.These beautiful blessings that had been bestowed upon her when she least expected them were a solid part of her story.Reyona leaned back in her chair with a big smile on her face as she reached for her drink.“Rey, you are glowing. I mean, you are literally glowing. You should see your face right now. Hold on.”Toria quickly took a few snaps with her phone before turning the phone around to face Reyona.Reyona smiled as she looked at the pictures while sipping her mimosa.Although she couldn't see herself literally glowing as Toria had said, she loved what she saw.The woman in the picture looked…fulfilled.Long gone was the anxious, sad
Two Months Later“Does this mean we will have to call you Mum and Dad now?” Allysyn asked in a solemn tone.Reyona looked at Maxwell with a smile before responding to Allysyn.“It means we are forever your family now. It means we have got you forever. In as much as you do not forget that, what you call us doesn't matter.”Although she knew how beautiful it would be to hear them use those words.“I am Thomas Junior Rohan?” Junior asked with his head tilted after he pronounced what he had been using his hand to trail in spelling.“Do you like being Junior Rohan?” Reyona asked with a smile.He looked thoughtful for about ten seconds before saying, “I love it.” To Maxwell, he said, “Does this mean I get to drive your car now?”Reyona and Maxwell laughed as Allysyn rolled her eyes.Reyona sucked in her breath as the laughter waned.“Well, maybe in the future, if you've been very good, of course. But not yet.”“Aww,” Junior said with a pout. Then he brightened in the next second. “I will be
The call was from his head of security.Reyona listened to his terse response to the person on the call.Then, just as he took the turn towards his estate, she felt her phone buzz.She frowned as she saw that it was a message from Maxwell.“We have a guest,” it says.She looked at the back of his head as she wondered why he couldn't just say that directly instead of sending it as a message.She was about to ask him who it was when she looked beyond the windscreen and saw the police cruiser.Her heart kicked against her rib and she looked downwards to check if the even-breathing Allysyn had slept off or something.“Look, Max! The police!” Junior shouted excitedly as he pointed at the spot where the police officer was just turning away from the man he was speaking to, the head of security.Allysyn's lax body went taut as she jerked upward, looked in the direction that Junior was pointing at, and then back at Reyona.She had a mixture of fear, question and uncertainty in her face.Reyona
Reyona and Maxwell went together to take the kids from school that day.Despite their fears that some unrelenting reporters might have decided to call them about what happened or ambush them for an interview about what they felt about Thomas's death, nothing of such happened.The school was also free of any lurking reporters or paparazzi.It was either they had decided that Thomas's death was not as worthy of news as his scandal had been, or they were still jeering up to blast the family with all they got later.Whatever it was, they were glad as they waited in silence in front of the school for closing time.Soon enough, school was over for the day.Maxwell came out as the students came out en masse.Soon enough, they saw Allysyn and Junior.Junior was skipping alongside Allysyn while dragging his backpack along and shouting some words at a friend who was going towards another car parked close by.He was being his jovial self as he waved hard at the friend and asked him not to forget
Reyona's head jerked upward as she heard Maxwell's voice.Then she looked sideways when she heard a growling sound.Jerking his head from Reyona to Maxwell, Skippy's pupils had dilated so much that they almost covered his entire eyes.His growl continued as he looked confused about where he should escape.Reyona realised what was going on as she saw Maxwell standing at the entrance, blocking his escape route.He felt cornered!She realised as the dog backed away while his growl increased in pitch.“Maxwell, move,” she said urgently, and he automatically stepped aside.The dog hopped past him in a flash.The dog kept going without stopping at all.Maxwell shook his head and went to Reyona. “What was that about?” He asked in an incredulous voice.“We were building a friendship,” Reyona said with a pout.“That was friendship?” Maxwell asked in disbelief.“Well, we were about to. Then you…do you think they do therapy for dogs?” She asked in contemplation.Maxwell started chuckling, “Ah, a
The soothing sound of the water reminded Reyona of the brook that ran through their homes in Bellevue Hill.She felt completely blissful in the oasis that Maxwell had surprised her with.It was exactly a replica of the one in her home in Sydney.After their dinner that night, Reyona was still pretending to be miffed at him because he wouldn't tell her if he really was the one who donated to the orphanage she had opened in her grandmother's name.Then, as if he didn't notice, he told her to check out something.“I am still mad at you,” She had said as she folded her arms above her belly and gave him a mutinous look.“It is a good thing that you are a versatile woman then. You could be mad at me and still come check this out. You will be glad you did. I promise.” He said innocently.Then, just as Reyona pretended she had not made up her mind yet, he swept her off her feet.How can he still carry her so effortlessly? She wondered as she squealed “Maxwell!”That was the first time the pap
Reyona had no intention of having the wedding while she was still pregnant.“It is called ‘walk down the aisle’, not waddle down the aisle'. Thank you.”That had been her argument and everyone had agreed with her.Not after Toria had added that their dad could carry her.“Then it will be ‘float down the aisle'” she had said in jest.They all came to an agreement that the wedding preparations would start after she had given birth in about two months.They spent the night in the hotel, and they all visited The King’s Creek to pay obeisance to Grams before their parents’ and Toria's departure.Maxwell, Reyona and the kids will stay back in Boowag until the jet got back.Stefan and his co-pilot were to carry Gladys and Carlisle to their destinations before coming back for them.It would take Gladys home first, then make a stopover at Milan to drop Carlisle before coming back.Toria had a standby jet that had brought her to Boowag and Kayooma for the preparation of the surprise and all.Of