Flint POV“Have you been daydreaming, bro? I hope it’s not p*rn.” Marcus said when I pried my eyes open to see him hovering over my desk. The sight of Marcus’ smirk had a dousing effect. My mind became instantly alert. I sat hurriedly in my executive chair and rubbed my palms to my face.“You have a drool on the side of your mouth,” Marcus informed me, grinning from ear to ear. I wiped the sides of my mouth with the back of my index finger, noting the absence of wetness. “Just joking,” Marcus said. He posed like the runway model he used to be and folded his three fingers, leaving the index and the middle finger in a gesture of a peace sign. “B*st*rd! What do you want?” I barked, not amused. “It’s Hanna and Rowan’s wedding today, but you are still here in the office. Didn’t you get home last night?” Marcus asked.“And what were you dreaming about? Was it the same girl?” Marcus eyes me suspiciously. Years ago, I drunkenly admitted to Marcus that I spent a weekend affair with
Flint POVI could feel excitement ricocheting in my body.I am not mistaken.She was my Anna.The flush on her face and the recognition I saw in her eyes are telling.Now, I realized why Brent can’t find her. She used an alias when she introduced herself to me.Anna was not her real name.She goes by another name.An unexplainable thrill coursed through my body at this realization.
Flint POV“Put your seatbelt on,” I ordered when I noticed she was not wearing one. In my haste to get her earlier, I had forgotten about it. Anna did as I told her, but I could feel her seething in anger. I know because her hands were clenched to the sides like she was trying hard to control the impulse to hit me. She was not the only one. I was angry, too.I gripped the steering wheel hard. I had two years' worth of anger ready to burst any moment if I didn’t hold it in check. Someone has to be level-headed at this point. It won’t do us good if we both give in to our impulses. I don’t need to ostracize her. She was here now. That is the most important thing. “Hello, Anna, or should I call you Linda?” Linda or Anna winced when I emphasized the name she had given me two years ago. "I am known around here as Linda Berns." She told me. I smirked. "So, you have given me a fake name. Cool." “What do you want?” The hostility in her voice was unmistakable. I shrugged. “
Flint POVMy hands clenched into fists.Could my eyes be deceiving me, or was Anna hurting at the sight of Hanna and Rowan kissing?”Was she in love with my brother?The sudden realization made me angry.Rowan warned me of her.Was it because he also felt something for my girl?Jealousy reeled me in.I don’t want to think about it, but what other explanation could there be?
Anna/Linda POV“Keep the change,” I told the cab driver when I handed him my fare before I hurriedly got out of the car. I tilted my head to survey the apartment building that had become my home in the last six months. It was different from what I was used to, but it was better than choosing a more lucrative place and tipping off my father as to my location. Nobody would suspect that I was staying here. Yes, I ran away from home. Again. I don’t remember how many times I had left home to impress upon my father, the reigning King of Arkadia, that royal life was not for me. Royal life was stifling. I never cared about protocols or following rules. I hated it. I want to be free. I wanted to be someone other than the role thrust into my hands since I was born. Two years ago, my father’s men caught up with me and forcibly took me back to Arkadia. He wanted me to settle in the kingdom and assume the role I kept shunning away from all my life. “When are you going to be responsibl
Anna/Linda POV“What a clever girl!”My eyes lit up when I heard her talk, not in the usual garbled English like most kids her age.To my delight, I nuzzled her cheek and kissed her neck.Penelope giggled.“Clever!” She said, mimicking my words before puckered her lips for a kiss.I eagerly dropped a quick kiss on her lips and hugged her to my chest.“Ah! Tight!’ Penelope protested and pushed at my chest.
Anna/Linda POV“F-flint!” I stammered when his name rolled out my lips.I did not expect that he would follow me home.“How?”I clutched a hand to my chest when it started to beat erratically in nervousness.“I have your car. It’s easy to find the registered address after that. But imagine my surprise with what I found out. My happily married brother owns the deed to your car and this apartment.”Flint’s voice hardened, and his eyes were like ice when he pierced me with a glare.
Anna/Linda POVFlint looked sucker punched.The color drained from his face. He stared at Penelope, eyes wide in shock. Then, he shifted his gaze to stare at me before returning to Penelope.I could sympathize with him. It was not every day a woman would tell you you fathered her child. “What did you just say?” He stammered. There was a tremor in his voice that was not there a few moments ago. I am unsure if that is because he was excited about the news or worried about this situation cramping his lifestyle.I heard his brothers at the reception ribbed him.He was a player. I am not sure if he would take the news of having a daughter kindly.At the thought, I felt a sense of gloom, not for me but for my baby. Despite the circumstances of her conception, I didn't want Flint to reject my daughter. That would be heartbreaking. “I don't make it a habit of repeating myself if you didn't hear what I said. Then sorry, better luck next time.” I knew I sounded rude, but dismissing F
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