Brie POV
I don’t know how to react to that.
To be honest, Hanna’s news did not surprise me.
Britney White has always been Noah Hunter’s one and true love.
I slowly massaged my chest with my hand when I felt a squeezing pain and sighed.
Brie POVAfter breastfeeding and burping them, Jenna sat with me for a while. We watched the babies while they were asleep.“So, have you thought about the names of the triplets?” She asked.“Yeah. My brothers helped. The five of us agreed on the names.” I informed her.When the hospital administrator came in later, I told him I would name the children Riley, Mason, and Brix. They took Ford as their surname after me. I am now Briana Ford.Gone was Briana Johnson. She was a person of the past and someone I would rather forget.We stayed at the hospital for a few more days before Jenna gave me the clear go.My brothers were all over the babies.They took turns caring for them, leaving their three nannies with nothing to do most of the time.I wanted to call the agency to return the nannies. Rowan insisted that I keep them. He argued that when the children get older, I will need the services of the nannies, especially when I start working for the company.I cringed at the idea. Surr
Brie POVFury I had never known before engulfed my being and spread through every part of my body. There are so many things Noah Hunter had to answer me for.The lies he concocted were unforgivable.When I had the triplets, love filled my heart, changing my perspective about getting back at Noah.The triplets were all I ever needed.I do not want to muddle our lives by showing up on Noah’s turf. I was so convinced to keep my distance to keep my peace.But after hearing Goldstone, a different level of anger took hold of my being. Knowing that Noah deliberately kept me in the dark about my inheritance, hate-filled me to the core. What he did was more than cruel.“What do I have to do?” I looked at Goldstone squarely, letting my anger talk for me.We stared at each other. I am sure Goldstone was assessing me and my mettle. Then, he smiled. His lips curled, showing off perfectly white teeth.“Work hard and become the best. Beat Noah Hunter in his own game.”I nodded slowly, letting the
Brie POV“Carlo Bianchi Salon?” I was surprised when I set my flats-clad feet outside the two-story building that would serve as the meeting place for the appointment Charles set for me.At first, I thought I got it wrong.I looked at my phone's gallery, where I took an image of a piece of paper Charles handed me last night to see if I got the address correct, thinking there had to be a mix-up.When double-checking proved I had the correct address, a frown formed slowly on my forehead.Why would my brother send me to a salon?Then, when I was about to turn around and ditch the appointment, the glass doors opened to reveal the face of a thirty-ish man with a flawless face and a buzz cut that enhanced his facial hair.“Ms. Ford, I am Carlo Bianchi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He told me before lifting his hand in my direction. While doing so, I noticed how he ran his eyes over my body as if I was merchandise he was trying to inspect. The perusal was not offending, but it was critic
Hunter POVFour years later.“Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me about the incident?” I hissed at the head of my legal team.With my free hand, I clutched a copy of the morning paper where a news report about a branch of Hunter Hotels was published.It wouldn’t have been crucial if the report was good, but it was the opposite. And it irritated the h*ll out of me.“Sir, we already apologized to the customer. We also upgraded his room and provided freebies. We did not know he would go to the press to make a complaint.”“Have you secured a non-disclosure on this?”There was silence on the other line, telling me he didn’t. “Mr. Langley, you have to understand that we cannot take anyone’s word at face value. We always have to put it in print.”“It was just a mix-up, sir. It happens all the time.”“So, you mean to tell me all these years you did not impose countermeasures to prevent occurrences such as this? Even if it happens every day, we can’t leave anything to chance. We always have
Noah Hunter POV“Noah!” I turned my head around and saw Britney White, my fiancée, waving at me. Two people flanked her. The one on her right is her manager, whom I have known fairly well over the years, and the one on her left is her bodyguard.When our eyes met, she dropped her carryall bag and ran toward me, ignoring the buzz around her. People started smiling at the sight of her weaving her way around the crowd and getting their phones out to catch her on video.As an international model, Britney is quite popular and is considered a celebrity in her own right. When she dashed in my direction, she was shedding all the air of sophistication surrounding her, looking like a girl so much in love. My lips curled reflexively at the corners before I moved my feet toward her. When we met at the center of the large airport, she clung to me, wrapping her arms around my neck to kiss my lips. “I missed you.” She told me, gliding her lips to mine. For a moment, something in my mind flash
Noah POVI slid inside the car to join Britney, and without looking at her, I ordered the driver to pull away, which he did immediately following my orders.I checked my watch and started counting the time. I could not wait to drop Britney off so I could do my thing.I felt Britney shift in her seat while she drew closer. “I am sorry. Are you still upset with me?” She asked.Gone was the flamboyant persona she assumed at the airport, and she was back to the timid Britney I used to know when we were together, one of the things I liked about her.“I am not,” I told her tersely.I was looking forward. My mind is busy conjuring the face of that woman in the airport. Her eyes were the same as Briana's, but the resemblance stopped there.While Briana had pale brown straight hair, the woman at the airport had wavy blonde hair that shone when it caught light.Her body commands attention – from the small of her waist to the gently flaring hips and gorgeous legs. My hands itched to run my
Noah POVWhen the car turned round the block, and we were well out of sight of Britney’s apartment, I did what I had been itching to do earlier. I took my phone out and called Brent, a private investigator, in my employ.He works for me independently but not for the company, and over the years, we developed mutual trust that paved the way to becoming good friends. He was one of my people now, not just an employee. He owns one of the top surveillance and investigative agencies in the country. “Morning, boss. What’s with the early call?” He said flippantly when he picked up.“Stop making me feel like a stuck-up CEO,” I told him succinctly, which earned a low laugh from him.“Okay. Let’s cut to the chase and get it on. What do you want me to do?” He asked, sounding all business-like as usual. His voice lacked the carefree tone from earlier and was now all seriousness.Suddenly, I began to hesitate. I don’t know how to begin.Asking Brent’s help would open up a can of worms I had pai
Noah POVAfter meeting Brent, I went back to the office.“Good morning, Mr. Hunter.” My assistant met me at the door and followed me inside the office.When I sat down behind my desk, he handed me my schedule for the day.I noticed I have a TV guest this afternoon. “Did you check with the studio coordinator who are my co-guests in the interview?” I asked, wanting to plan.As the CEO of one of the oldest chains of hotels in the country, I have often grace shows as part of our PR campaign. Though it was something I did not enjoy doing, I felt the need to engage in activities such as this for exposure. Not only does it help expand our clientele, but provides us an edge over our competitors.“I heard the Fords are coming into Redwood. Their new hotel completed construction last month, and the management is gearing up for a grand launch. Their CEO will be joining you for the television interview this afternoon.” Chris reported.He mentioned another company aspiring to get a chunk of Red
Brent POVI realized Beth and I needed to cry for our lost love to be able to move forward and continue with our story. So we both cried to vent out the pain. Our cries subsided, and we both felt spent. I pulled back to wipe Beth’s tears before wiping mine. I swallowed when I saw her pink cheeks and nose. “The night I left you.” I started. Beth looked intently at me. “After I told you about being pregnant with Krizzie.” She interjected, and I swallowed in remembrance. “I told you I was on a mission and had an accident. I was in a hospital for a while.” I grabbed Beth’s hand to press it over my chest so she could feel the beat of my heart. We talked about what happened to me right after walking out of her that night, but not the full details. I never told her all the hardships I endured to survive that fatal shot. “I thought I was going to die and would never see you again. When I woke up from my surgery, the first thing I did was to make myself better, submitting to coun
Brent POVIt was taking her a long time to respond.Dread fills my heart as I watch the emotions on her face. It was not what I was expecting.She was torn.I could see it on her face.My confidence failed me that moment when I saw tears drop from her eyes to run down her smooth cheeks.It shook me to realize that while she was willing to let us try again, I was making this hard for her.She was not ready to fully commit to me.My chest heaved,
Beth POV“We did not have anything when we were younger, Beth,” Brent said ruefully.His words reminded me of how we scraped for money after we married young. “I wasn’t able to give you anything.”Brent continued to explain, and I could feel his deep sadness over it. It was like he regretted that we did not have much, and he could not afford to give me anything beyond the basic necessities. But I clearly remembered that those were the happy times of our lives. I never asked for anything Brent could not provide. “When I already amassed wealth, we were divorced and you have too much pride to receive anything from me.”“Because that is the right thing to do. We don’t have anything connecting us except Krizzie. I was no longer your wife to warrant accepting your generosity. But I never denied you the opportunity to give Krizzie whatever your heart desires, even if you did not want her in the first place.” I saw him wince and was eager to take back the words, but I already said them
Beth POVI woke up to the sound of children’s giggles and realized I was already lying in something soft, a bed, maybe? Frowning, I sat upright, my eyes scanning the room I was in.I was in bed alright but it looked too elegant to be my room. I could only hazard a guess that I was in a hotel. “Mommy! You are awake!” I heard Krizzie’s voice and was relieved when I saw her. She was hiding her body at the back of the door. “Who are you with? Where is your father?” I asked. Krizzie pouted. “He had someone on the phone. He was just outside. He said he did not want to wake you up.” I nodded and beckoned for my daughter to come to me. She turned to her back and gestured for someone. When she approached my bed, the Hunter siblings followed her. “Daddy said we have to watch over you,” Krizzie reported and giggled. “But how can I guard you against Daddy?” The innocent question had me frowning. “Why? What did Daddy do?” I asked curiously. He kept kissing your lips, your eyes, and
Brent POV“Brent!”From somewhere, I heard Beth’s shaky voice, and not long after, I felt her arms wrapping around me from the back.The fight went out of me when I felt her trembling arms surrounding me.My hands released their hold on Dr. Roberts to grasp Beth’s hands with mine.“Beth,” I uttered her name, feeling an uncontrollable fear engulf me.Immediately, the fight went out of me, especially when I heard her choking sobs.Beth's tears made me weak. 
Brent POVI was trying so hard to control myself because I knew that if I let myself go, I would mince this man to a pulp.“How dare you accuse my wife of cheating when it was you who was guilty of the crime?”The audacity of the man stumped me. How could Beth agree to date someone like him was beyond me?“Well, she was lying to us both. She was stringing you along while she dated me. What does that make of her?” Dr. Roberts said with enough conviction.It was clear what he was doing.He wanted to sow distrust between Beth and me. He wanted us t
Beth POVI looked at the time and realized I had skipped lunch. My patient had a very demanding visitor. I could not leave my station because she rang the emergency bell all the time. She was gone now, and I heaved a sigh of relief.“Beth, someone’s calling you while you were attending to a patient.” My co-worker informed me when I got back from my rounds. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was Brent who called. I was about to type back a reply when Dr. Roberts called my name. “Beth, may I have a word?” My body stiffened silently, rejecting the request.I do not want to talk to Jeremy because he lied to me. I thought he was a friend, but clearly omitting that he was married while he was dating me was a big no-no for me. It was my non-negotiable. “What do you want?” I did not intend for my words to come out sharp, but what happened last night was still fresh in my mind. I trusted him, and he was one of the reputable doctors in the hospital, so it was hard to imagine him doi
Brent POVAfter ensuring Beth’s bodyguards were in place, I drove home with Krizzie.“Daddy, are you going to leave me with the triplets while you go to work?” she asked.We were seated on the bed. Krizzie was sitting in my lap while I held her long hair in one hand to tie it with a pink ribbon that she loves so much.“Yeah. It’s just for an hour or two. Aunt Briana will look after the five of you.”“Yey! Are we going to stay at the hotel?”She asked, eyes lighting up because she often visited Rosewood Hotel t
Brent POVI turned to my side to look at my daughter and Beth.Seeing them content in sleep made me smile to myself. Krizzie sure knew how to thwart her old man’s happiness. I thought as my eyes lingered on Beth. I so wanted her.It had been years, and I could not wait to meld our bodies together as I had promised earlier, but Krizzie put a damper on my plans. I chuckled to myself.At the same time, I was thankful that Beth had finally seen through the doctor. For a moment, I thought she would be heartbroken when she found out about his duplicity. Beth liked him enough to date him. That night I got back from Arkadia was the first time she had shown interest in a man after so many years. That is why the idea of her dating alarmed me. If I hadn’t acted sooner and allowed Beth to date the man, there would be no turning back for us. Beth would have been taken away from me.But fate had been kind. And a simple investigation put the doctor in a landmine. I gritted my teeth, vowi