Rowan POVIt was over. The Bennetts had been accounted for.The authorities intervened and froze all their assets.Luke and his father were taken into police custody. They were awaiting trial at the Redwood Penitentiary.We were at the district office when Storm approached me.We shook hands.“Our men ripped the warehouse apart. They turned everything over. Unfortunately, they did not find any trace of your girl.” Storm informed me sadly.I nodded.
Hanna POV“Hanna, the customer on table 14 wants to talk to you.” Eden, one of my coworkers, informed me.I ditched going to the bathroom to attend to my customer first.I pressed my palms to my aching hips while I waddled the narrow hallway, meeting another coworker on the way.“You look like your stomach is ready to pop, Hanna.”I smiled, seeing the genuine concern on her face.“I am okay. Don’t worry about me.”I walked to the table indicated by my
Linda POVDisbelief registered on her face. It was as if she could not believe that Rowan and I were just friends. I wanted to chastise Rowan in my head. "Awww!" Hanna cried as another contraction hit her.I almost panicked in alarm when she doubled over in pain.I was torn. My emotions conflicted as I watched her struggle in ache. I don’t know what to do to ease her pain. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She was panting, too.My heart went out to her. She was in agony.Looking at her, a part of me wanted to disregard her request and call Rowan immediately. If there was someone she needed to be here, it was him. I don’t understand why she was withholding. Rowan loves her.Or maybe she didn’t know? Her outbursts earlier came to mind, and I realized how much she endured due to a misplaced sense of guilt. Another pain hit her. As if by reflex, she clutched at my hand desperately trying to hold on to me, and my heart went out to her. She should not be braving this ordeal a
Rowan POVI debated over myself on whether to answer Linda’s call. After I brought her father to the hospital and they talked, I already closed every channel of communication with her. I don’t think we have anything left to talk about. She also knew about my job and how our organization handled her case. Storm talked to her. They debriefed her about everything, and that was the end of that. I did not hear anything from her again or her father. I was under the belief that Linda went back to her country after the hospital gave her the clear go.Now, I don’t know what to do when, out of the blue, she called me seven months later. I was reluctant to establish contact with her. My last conversation with her father was still fresh in my mind. What if they will try to force me to marry her? I shook my head. I am my own person, and no one can force me to do something against my will. In the end, I decided to answer her call. It was a good thing, too. I have half a mind to reject
Hanna POVI had the most wonderful dream.In my dreams, Rowan was here.He assisted me in childbirth and was happy to see me.When the baby came out, the doctor placed her atop my chest. It was the perfect feeling. The first moment I was able to touch my child whom I carried in my womb.It was then that Rowan embraced me. He kissed me.“You did great, sweetie. I love you.”My eyes flew open, shattering the dream. Rowan said he loves me.
Hanna POV“Bye, baby Joy.” Riley, Brixx, and Mason waved their hands, bidding our baby goodbye. At first, they did not want to go. Riley insisted he wanted to stay with the baby. Briana reminded them that their baby brother was also waiting at the hotel with their father. “Let’s go, bro. Let’s not keep Elijah waiting for us.” Riley told his brothers. Briana hugged her brother and kissed me goodbye before she shut the door after them. “Peace at last,” Rowan commented and stretched on the bed. He stared softly at his daughter as if he could not get enough of her.“How did you find me?” I finally asked what was foremost on my mind. At first, I was shy, but later, I realized Rowan and I needed this talk to clarify the gray areas in our relationship.“Linda called me.” I nodded. So that’s why I haven’t seen Linda after Rowan’s appearance. “About Linda…” My voice trailed off. Rowan sat up in bed to face me. “Nothing is going on between us. I only dated Linda because Riley lik
Hanna POVRowan’s announcement came unexpectedly.You can't just put one and one together and come up with three.“Having a child is not reason enough to get married,” I told him, rejecting the idea outright.Getting married is joining two people together to become one heart, mind, soul, and body.It was such a big step. It is a commitment.I don’t want Rowan to marry me now and regret it later.I can’t take another heartbreak.
Hanna POV“Congratulations!” Rowan and I broke apart when I heard a collective greeting from the door. It was open wide with his family trailing in one by one. But, of course, the triplets tried to get in edgewise and arrived at the foot of the bed. They were jumping and giggling. “Aunt Hanna, we are back!” They said in a singsong voice. They stand together with their hands on their backs, their bodies swaying from side to side. They looked adorable. I wanted to pinch them.I smiled, seeing the naughty smiles on their faces. “Hello, Riley, Brixx and Mason.” I greeted them. “We wanted to show you our brother so Rohan Joy can have a playmate,” Riley told me. As if on cue, Briana emerged carrying Elijah, her nine-month-old baby boy. She was grinning widely at the confusion on my face. “I thought you had left.”“Not yet,” she replied enigmatically.Noah approached her and the baby. Upon seeing his father, Elijah reached out his hands to his father, silently asking to be carr
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