4 years later "Are you really sure, Adriel?" Daphne asked as she hauled Adriel's last bag onto the rented car. Adriel chuckled as she closed the trunk. "How many times are you going to ask me that?" she asked, humor evident in her voice. "I've already paid the deposit for my new place." "But still," she pouted. "Why can't you just stay here with us?" "You know I can't do that, Daph," she said, gesturing to her bulging stomach. It has been four years since Adriel gave birth to her baby, and they've been staying at Daphne and Ian's place ever since. However, now that Daphne announced that she is pregnant with her first child, she decided to rent her own home. She was hesitant at first, but her resolve strengthened when she thought of Zenon's future. She knew that she couldn't continue living with her friends now that Zenon was growing up. "But, I'm going to miss my baby Zenon," Daphne pouted. "We'll make sure to visit often, Daph. And besides, you're going to have your own li
“I told you, I don't need a personal assistant," Zeth said to his secretary as he drowned himself in paperwork. Jo, his secretary, sighed as she opened the blinds of her boss' office. "You're seriously saying that when you didn't even have breakfast this morning?" “I didn't have time to grab some. We'll be having the big showcase next month. I don't have any time to spare." "Exactly," Jo deadpanned. "You don't even have fifteen minutes to go to a drive-through. You need a personal assistant," she insisted. Jo is a middle-aged woman in her forties. She was assigned by Mr. Earl Gray to look after Zeth because he knew that his grandson had some workaholic tendencies. Zeth smiled up at Jo. "That's why I have you, right? You'll help me fix up my schedule anyway." Jo let out a long sigh. "I know, Cupid. But there's only so much that I can do. I can assure you that I can help you with work-related occurrences, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to fix up your personal and unexpect
The two of them sat face to face, none of them daring to utter the first word. Adriel tried to compose herself as much as possible, but she felt like she was dying deep inside. Underneath the table, she picked on her nails—a habit she developed whenever she felt anxious. Adriel couldn't help but internally grimace when she remembered the occurrence that happened just moments ago. She called Mr. Gray, her new boss, by his first name. But other than the embarrassment that she was currently feeling, another feeling triumphed over—confusion or maybe even shock. She had a lot of questions in her mind. What is he doing here? How did he become the CEO of this company when he was a former farmer? Not that she was looking down on farmers, but it was near impossible for someone to rise up from being a farmer to being an owner of a company. Zeth scowled as he observed the woman sitting right in front of him. When she first came into the room, he wondered if he had lost his mind. Has drowni
Adriel pressed the elevator button, breathless and soaked in sweat. When Zeth sent her to buy his favorite coffee, she thought that she'd buy it at a nearby cafe. However, the "Dream cafe" that Zeth was pertaining to was a fifteen-minute walk from the office. She didn't have any money for a cab since Jo only gave her enough money for the coffee. As the elevator door opened, Adriel rushed to the office with Zeth's coffee at hand. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Zeth impatiently tapping his pen on the table while looking at the door. "Where have you been?" Zeth asked, raising one eyebrow. Adriel smiled sheepishly while placing the coffee on top of his table. "To buy your coffee, sir." Zeth looked at his watch and clicked his tongue. "You took over thirty minutes to buy just one cup of coffee?" Adriel hung her head down low. Shit. She hadn't even been here for one whole day, but she had already messed up. "The cafe was much farther than I anticipated, sir." Zeth observed
“See you later, baby," Adriel placed a kiss on Zenon's chubby cheeks. "Will aunt Daphne come pick me up later?" he asked with wide eyes. Adriel apologetically nodded her head. "Yeah. Mommy needs to work until the afternoon, so stay with aunt Daphne for a while, okay? Mommy's sorry." Zenon shook his head. "Mommy doesn't have to be sorry. I like playing with aunt Daphne!" Adriel smiled in relief. "That's great, then. Don't give your aunt such a hard time, okay?" "Mmmh! I always help in cleaning the house, mommy." Adriel ruffled his hair and once again kissed his cheeks. "That's my boy. If I finish earlier, I'll fetch you so we can play in the park, okay?" Zenon's eyes brightened when he heard of the park. He doesn't have many opportunities to play outdoors because Adriel is quite busy working during the day. So, a rare occurrence like this is such a happy moment for him. "Your class is about to start, so let's go now, hmm?" Zenon enthusiastically nodded his head and entered
Adriel sighed in relief when she saw that the notification covered Zenon's features. She quickly took the phone from the table and placed it on her lap. Zeth frowned when Adriel did this. She took the phone too fast that he didn't even see who texted and who she was with on her wallpaper. Adriel glanced down at her phone and bit her lips when she saw that Daph was calling. She looked at Zeth and saw him quietly observing her. She couldn't take the phone call then, so she had no choice but to decline it. 'Zenon must be waiting for me right now,' she thought. 'I told him we'd be going to the park today. I can already imagine him pouting because I didn't fulfill my promise.' Zeth cleared his throat and dropped down his utensils. "Are you done?" he asked. Adriel looked at her half-eaten plate and nodded her head. She suddenly lost her appetite because all she could think about was Zenon's disappointment. "You're not expecting me to clean up for you, right?" Zeth coldly asked. Adriel
Adriel was breathless by the time she got to Daphne’s house. She hastily knocked on the door and waited for it to open. It was already 8:00 in the evening, meaning she was already two hours late from the time that she was supposed to pick-up Zenon.The door opened, and the first person who greeted her was Daphne.“Where’s—““Shh,” Daphne placed her index finger in front of her lips.“Why?” Adriel asked in a much quieter voice.Daphne gestured for her to come inside, and there she saw the reason for Daphne’s actions. Zenon was lying down on the couch, sleeping comfortably while hugging his fox plushie.Adriel kneeled down to his level and softly caressed his hair. She smiled while looking at how peaceful her son was.“He fell asleep while waiting for you,” Daphne quietly said from behind her.The smile fell from her face and was replaced with an apologetic gaze. “I’m sorry, baby,” she whispered before placing a chaste kiss on top of his head.“Let him rest for a while,” Daphne said. “L
“What the fuck?!” Daphne said loudly, her voice resonating in the open, wide children’s park. Adriel quickly covered her mouth before she could say any more curses. They got a few glares from the other parents sitting on the benches next to theirs. Adriel shyly bowed her head and muttered apologies under her breath.“Quiet down, will you?” she whisper-yelled.“Mmhh,” Daphne pointed to Adriel’s hand, which was covering her mouth, signaling her to remove it so she could talk.“If I remove this, will you promise not to curse anymore?”Daphne nodded her head.Adriel slowly removed her hand from Daphne’s mouth and grimaced when she felt a wet sensation on her palm.“What the fuck?” Daphne repeated, but this time quieter.Adriel glared at her and slapped her lap. “I told you not to curse anymore! We’re in a children’s park!”Daphne ignored her comment and proceeded to bombard her with questions. “Zeth? As in the handsome boy you met on the farm Zeth? Infuriated and annoyed you to the maximu