Anna/Linda POVIt was not a grand wedding.The only attendees to our wedding were Flint, Penelope, and me.A man I did not know rose from the back pew to approach us."Goldstone!" Flint said in greeting when the man neared us.They shook hands while my eyes surveyed the church.A red carpet was laid in the center aisle decked with flowers. The church was prepped for a simple and solemn wedding."This is Anna, my soon-to-be wife. My Queen, I want you to meet Goldstone, our family's magician. He solv
Flint POVI saw a myriad of emotions playing on Anna’s face and it made me want to crush her to my chest to offer assurance. I am a Ford.I have everything, but when it comes to Anna, I felt lacking as a man. Of course, it was different with our daughter.Would it be selfish of me if I wanted to be the only man for her, not just the father of her daughter? I wanted to be the best man for them both. “One day, I will make you fall in love with me,” I told her and saw her taken aback. I wanted to add that I will erase every feeling she has for my brother.I will be the only man she would need. The wedding ended. “Congratulations.” The priest held out his hand to send us his best wishes. He even patted Penelope’s head, making her giggle. “You have a lovely daughter.” He told us.Anna and I exchanged a look. She smiled, feeling proud of our daughter. I was, too. We did not linger. Our group left the church and ended up in the parking lot, where we went in separate directions.
Flint POVAfter dinner, I was excited to put Penelope to sleep, but to my chagrin, she wouldn’t sleep however hard I coaxed her.She was too busy playing with the rose petals. She kept stepping on them while she walked around our rented villa.“Maybe she loved the downy feel of the rose petals on her soles.” Anna offered a likely explanation for our daughter’s seeming propensity for the flowers.She even pulled her shoes off before she jumped, skipped, and kicked on the petals covering the floor.I dropped my head playfully in response, but inside, I was dying for Penelope to lay her head on the bed so t
Anna/Linda POVWe spent three days secluded in the exclusive villa Flint rented for us. It was nothing short of idyllic. Penelope had a wonderful time. “Dad-dy!” She squealed and jumped on her little feet to evade the coming waves. “Bubbles!” She would cry in gibberish, pointing at the sea foam that crowded her feet and ankles. Then she would run to Flint, and Flint would swoop down to capture her and put her to dry sand. Then, she would stroll toward the waves again, repeating the same actions until Flint rescues her.“You are silent,” Flint said when he deposited Penelope beside me. I was sitting on the sand with my legs stretched out in front of me. He quickly worked on the sand, digging with his hands and throwing them to cover my legs. It attracted Penelope, and she mimicked her father. She took clumps of sand in her hands and threw them to my legs. “You need a spade, my little Queen,” Flint said.He looked around our surroundings before his eyes focused on something no
Anna/Linda POV“Hey, sis! ” Flint walked toward his sister with a wriggling Penelope in his arms.When he reached her, he stooped to kiss her cheeks.Penelope saw what he did and did the same. She kissed Briana’s cheek.Briana was left stunned, especially when Penelope showed her natural cuteness.She bounced in Flint’s arms, raising her hands to clap."Yay! Kwin ver gud!" Penelope said in a stilted manner.On the other hand, Flint looked like he was ready to burst into pride. He puffed
Flint POV“I am not talking to you, Flint. You embarrassed me in front of Linda, and that was unforgivable.”I winced, feeling guilty.In my eagerness to defend my family, I had forgotten that Briana was never an enemy.She was my sister.“I am sorry.”“I am just looking out for you. Haven’t you forgotten how hard women tried to trap you into marriage, not because they loved you but because they loved what you represented?” She lashed out at me.I chuckled. &ldqu
Flint POVRowan’s question, asking me about fathering Anna’s baby, hangs in the air.It wrapped around us like an elephant in the room.I took in my brothers’ look, feeling like the odd man out.Can’t I be man enough to take on my responsibility? Can I not be trusted to care for my own family?The dam inside me burst, and I lashed out at my brother, Rowan.“Yes, so don’t cross my line and stop meddling in my wife’s life. They don’t need you.”Rowan stared m
Flint POVI could not believe it.Brinaa had us arrested! The f*ck!After the police handcuffed the three of us, Briana took our phones.“Why are you confiscating our phones? I need that!” Marcus cried.Between the three of us, he was the most uncooperative and talkative.Briana ignored him. “You will get your phones later. For now, I am going to keep it.” She promised before the police officers led us out of her study.Downstairs, I saw the household staff gathered in
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