Hanna POV
My face contorted.
“Why do you keep asking me about him?” I replied snarkily, vexed that I had to explain everything.
“Let’s go,” Rowan said and pulled at my hand to drag me outside,
I pulled my hand back, and he looked back inquiringly.
“I still have a meeting at the restaurant. You may go ahead.” I told him, sounding bored because my mind was already in the meeting I was about to attend.
Rowan ignored my suggestion for him to go home.
Instead, he foll
Hanna POVRowan looked so innocently at me that I almost thought he was the adult version of Riley, Briana’s eldest son. “What did I do?” Rowan asked, nonplussed. “You humiliated me in front of Mr. Branch. He is a client.” I bellowed at him. Rowan snorted. “Did I?” Those two words made me clench my hands into fists, especially when he shrugged in response."I am not playing games with you b*stard!" I lashed out. Rowan's irises dilated. "And I am?" He shot back. When I did not respond, Rowan went to explain. “I am only staking my claim. If you are embarrassed, that is not my problem anymore.” “Well, thank you very much!” I snapped and marched out of the restaurant with Rowan tailing after me. I looked like a bull, ready to charge anyone who was going to block my way.People steered clear of me, but I could sense they were whispering behind my back, and it had everything to do with Rowan. This fact aggravated my anger. I stomped to the car, snubbing the porter when he wa
Hanna POv“Are you leaving?” Rowan eyed me from the bed.I blushed when I saw his naked body on display.He did not even try to cover himself and smirked when he noticed that my roving eyes ran over his length.He was like a Greek god.My mouth watered at the delicious sight of him, and I clamped my legs as lust assaulted my senses.“I’ll see you later,” I told him, trying hard not to stammer for fear of revealing myself to Rowan.“Okay.” He agreed and laid
Hanna POVRowan was busy explaining his vision for the hotel in front of his enraptured crowd.He laid out his plans for the hotel and what he expects from us.I noticed that he dressed differently today.He had discarded his relaxed air and style to take on a more formal look. Coupled with his signature gold-framed glasses, this added to his magnetic appeal.A buzz started in the back until one employee had the gall to ask about his personal status.“Are you taken, Mr. CEO?”Her question mad
Hanna POVWhen I thought he could be redeemable in my eyes, Rowan would do and say things that would shatter that illusion, and we were back to square one.Ugh! I hate that guy, one part of my brain shouted. Yeah, but you like him, another part of my brain insisted. I feel like this push-and-pull thing with Rowan is making me crazy. Sometimes, he was sweet, which led me to believe he cared about me. And there are also times when his arrogance made me want to strangle him. When we got home, I ran to my room with Rowan on my heels. “Easy.” He said when he cornered me at the foot of the stairs. I had nowhere to go when he pressed me against the wall. “Rowan.” I squeaked, nerves suddenly frazzled when I saw desire lurking in his eyes. Excitement washed over me when he sealed my lips with a kiss. I wanted to put up a fight, but as usual, my body betrayed me. It knows its master, and it was not me. Involuntarily, I moaned and snaked my arms around his neck. Rowan seemed to like
Hanna POVI woke up feeling a certain sense of loss when I rolled on the bed to realize that I was alone. Disoriented, I sat up and padded barefoot in the ensuite bathroom. Contrary to Rowan’s declaration that I will share his room, I refuse to use it in his absence. Sleeping in his quarters would only grip me in abject desolation, knowing he was not there. I did my morning ritual before taking a bath.Emerging from the bathroom, I dressed quickly and went out. At the foot of the stairs, I found Billie waiting for me. “Ms. Hanna, the table is ready.” The idea of eating alone was unpalatable. I shook my head to decline the invitation. “I have an early meeting at the office.” Billie looked concerned upon hearing my response that I had to retract and make a compromise instead of snubbing her preparation. I knew how hard she toiled every day to cook for us. “Can you make me a sandwich to-go that I can bring along? I really am in a hurry.” I told her before sitting down on a ch
Hanna POVShame filled me, especially when I noticed that there were people within earshot, and Hailey was not exactly discreet in venting out her dissatisfaction with the company. She was talking aloud as if she meant for everyone to hear what she had to say. I wanted the ground to gobble me whole. I wished to disappear and never come back to this earth forever.I really had a bad feeling about using Rowan’s car to work. And I was right, owing to this confrontation. People are bound to talk when they recognize that car. They would put two and two together, and like Hailey, they would come up with five. People are quick to judge without taking into consideration other people’s feelings. They see an image but not the whole picture. And they judge the picture without taking into consideration what goes with it. I wanted to blame Rowan, but should I take it against him when he only wanted to secure my convenience?Besides, can I stop people from talking, especially Hailey when
Rowan POVI wonder what she is doing right now.“Bro, you are spacing out,” Charles commented when he noticed my broodiness the whole time we were seated around the circular table in my basement study in Redwood.We are safe to discuss anything here because this place is heavily guarded.“Does it have anything to do with a girl you followed to Vegas?” Flint teased.I glared at Flint’s grinning face and straightened my back.We were in a secret meeting.Briana had no idea about this place or what took place here, and we intend to keep it that way.“Have you heard from Storm?” Marcus asked. He came in late because he was busy running Rosewood now that Noah guarded Briana like a hawk and forbade her from leaving the house.“Not yet. But Storm said they tracked down Britney. She is working for Bennett.”&l
Rowan POVI never got the chance to get back to Vegas because that same afternoon, Britney was arrested.It was unexpected.“Britney was under police custody after she almost hit Briana with her car,” Charles reported when I took his call.Briana’s safety drove me to a sense of urgency. Worry filled me.Instead of going to the airport as planned, I made a U-turn and changed lanes to go to Briana's house, wanting to ensure her safety.“How is Briana? Is our sister okay?" I don't want to think the worst.
Speechless! This word best describes what I was feeling right now. Do you know that you were amazing readers? Yes, you who stayed with me until this page. When I first started writing this story, I had so many trepidations. I did not think I would be able to pull this through. First, it has a little similarity to my previous novel, Billionaire Ex Wants Me Back, but my editor believed so much in my draft that she encouraged me to consider doing this. (My heartfelt thanks to Lyra Pinter, who had been a constant source of support.)My feeling of uncertainty magnified when I received so many attacks when the story was first published. Too many detractors lashed out at my characters that I had a hard time concentrating.I know what I wanted to do, but the first people who were vocal about the story did not give me enough encouragement. They did not give my characters a chance to redeem themselves as the story progresses. Fear grips me everytime I face the blank screen of my computer
Briana’s POVThe soul always knows how to heal itself. I had often heard that phrase before but it was never more gratingly obvious til now. After I volunteered to be Charles and Jenna’s surrogate, I had not counted on the pain the act would invariably inflict on me. At the start, it was all too easy. For 40 weeks, I would be carrying their baby in my womb, and that was it. Jenna and Charles will have that baby they desperately wanted. Of course, Noah and I submitted to counseling before I did this, but I never expected that when the time came that I had to turn over baby Amira to her parents, it would hit me so hard. I had not counted on how my self-sacrifice would backfire on me. It hurts so much. I was so heartbroken when I realized that Amira would no longer be a part of my life. Noah took me to several sessions of counseling, and with his support, I was able to get past the hurt and accept that Amira was not mine.The rest of the family helped. My brothers hovered over me
Hello my loves, Jenna and Charles’ story was one of the most painful stories I had written so far. It was because I had to dig up long-forgotten events in my life.But I had to do it for you to be able to understand the motives behind Jenna and Charles’ actions and the pain they invariably inflicted on each other. Jenna and Charles were both non confrontational. They keep things in stride and hope for the best, but sometimes even with the best intentions, our pain could not lay hidden for too long. It needed to be addressed and voiced out, not because you wanted to lash out at your partner or give them the same pain they were giving you.Sometimes, our silence is our cry for help. Or it was a way to protect ourselves. We retreated into the inner recesses of our soul to find solace and comfort because the people we expected to comfort and provide solace for us could not hear our cry for help.But all’s well that ends well. Am glad for those people who had requested me to do a story
Charles POVOne year later…I was standing behind the french windows of the room I was occupying at the Rosewood Hotel, eyes looking outside toward my wife.This past year was a crazy one.Just as Briana predicted, Jenna and I barely had time for ourselves. The kids were growing, and they were beautiful to watch.Jenna’s laugh made its way to where I was.As I watched Jenna play with our children, I could not help comparing her to a rose in bloom.I could not help feeling proud of the changes in her.&nb
Charles POVWe placed our babies in a customized baby carrier that could fit the four of them, and Jenna and I walked out of the suite that had been our temporary home for the past month.At the lobby, we looked like we were on a parade with our nannies in tow and bodyguards, but that’s a small price to pay for the security and safety of my family.“Jenna! Charles!” Beth called out to us.We stopped when we neared her.“Where are your kids?” I asked after she and Jenna hugged each other.I learned this past month that Beth chose to be a stay-at-home m
Charles POVThe next day, our other two babies were born one after the other.Jenna and I were also there to witness everything and become part of our children’s birth.Jenna’s eyes were puffy when she held our two other newborns in her arms. She had been crying nonstop since yesterday because it still had not sunk in that she was a mom of four babies.When we visited Briana, she and Jenna had a long talk.Briana was smiling, but I could see that she was at a loss when it was time to take the baby away from her.I realized that this ordeal put a lot of strain on
Charles POVThe phone in the delivery room rang, and a nurse went to answer it.“Dr. Martin, it’s delivery room 2.” She said from across the room, allowing us to hear.Dr. Martin went to answer it. Her face was serious when she placed the phone back in its cradle.Then, she turned her head back to her medical team.“Are you still up for another delivery?” She asked her team.Their high spirits rubbed off on Jenna and me. We were smiling when they shouted, of course.
Charles POVIt was a crazy day.We were having a meeting when I heard that Briana had been rushed to the hospital.“Brie is having our baby,” I told my brothers and friend after I dropped the call.It was Jenna. She, Noah, and Biana were already in the hospital because Briana's water broke.My face contorted as emotions I could not name assailed.A mix of fear, excitement, nervousness, worry, and happiness barraged me.Briana, my baby sister, was going to deliver my and Jenna's baby right now. 
Jenna POVThe days quickly passed by.Though we did not talk about it, it seemed as if Charles and I were in tacit agreement to take things slow concerning our careers and concentrate more on each other.We go out of town and do things we had never done before as a couple.It was marvelous.“It’s good that you spend more time with each other because I tell you, once the four babies arrive, you won’t get even a wink of sleep,” Briana told me when I came to her house that afternoon to catch up and to check on her.It’s the baby’s