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,
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 count
Beth POVWe both became silent. The tears were all spent, and Brent sat me on his lap while he wrapped his arm around my waist. Fortunately, Krizzie and her friends had not shown up yet to break the exclusivity of our surroundings. “I love you, Beth.” Brent kept saying in my ears while he showered my nape and shoulder blades with butterfly kisses. I gripped his hand that met on my waist and slowly turned myself around. “I love you.” This time, the words sounded so sure, without any reservations. And it felt liberating - to tell him my feelings without fear restricting me.Brent smiled. “Enough to marry me?” His body tensed while he waited for my reply.His body’s reaction gave me the sense of urgency to put him out of his misery. I kissed him, just a smack before I nodded my head. I smiled at his stunned look. I did not know whether it was from the shock of what I had done or from my answer to his question.“I am going to marry you, Brent,” I told him, smiling widely at the
Beth POV “Oh my!” I said dazedly. Brent stopped to scrutinize my face. “You are not going to change your mind, are you?” He asked, looking nervous.“You see, it would be a shame to cancel everything.” He added. It was like he was trying to convince me not to change my mind about marrying him. I laughed and shook my head. “Of course not. I told you I was going to marry you. Whether it’s now or on a later day does not matter.” I assured him and saw the expression on his face. He expelled the breath that he was holding and hugged me tight. “Thank you, sweetie. You know that money is not a problem, but I can’t let a day pass that you are not bound to me. I want to tie our lives forever and never separate.” He admitted. I understand what he meant. I do.Though Brent’s decision took me by surprise, I don’t have any objections to it. I wanted to be married to him right away, too. After all we had been through, I realized we already wasted so much time with our pride. We don’t
Beth POVBrent guided me to the private elevator and pressed a button. When the door opened, I was surprised by the view that greeted us. The whole place sparkled with fairy lights, with the night sky as an overhead backdrop. It was breathtaking. “Oh my! This looks spectacular, Brent.” I said, seeking the warmth of his hand while my eyes took in everything around us. Brent joined our fingers together and placed them on his lips to kiss. “Thanks to my friends. They did all the work. When they learned that I would be proposing today, they immediately worked to make a dreamy venue for us.” I made a mental note to thank each of Brent’s friends for their support. My eyes scanned the whole place. Flowers littered the floor, giving off a romantic vibe to the place. I took a whiff. The place even smelled divine, like I was in a magical place. Everything looks perfect. I looked at myself and felt like royalty. Brent did not help as he kept gazing at me like I was the most beautiful
Brent POVUnlike our first wedding, which was done in less than five minutes at the mayor’s office, I prepared an elaborate impromptu wedding for Beth.When I enlisted my friends’ help, I was not confident they could pull this through, but now, I can safely say that nothing is impossible for the Fords and Hunters. It was tough, but they made it happen. Another thing that raised my concern was Beth’s refusal. I can’t let my friends’ efforts go to waste, but I also prepared myself for the worst. If Beth is not ready, I wouldn't force her. She has to agree to marry me out of her own volition. And I thank God that she did not make any fuss. We only needed to clear the air between us, talk heart-to-heart, and let go of the pain from our past. “Ready?” The coordinator gestured for my best men to start the processional.I chose Flint and Noah because they were my best friends. Then, I walked toward the makeshift altar at the end of the room, where I stopped to wait for Beth. Noah
Beth POVI was still in a daze, receiving congratulations from our guests. Until now, I could not believe that it happened. I am married.Brent and I are married.I looked at the man beside me.He caught me staring at him and smiled his happy smile—the unrestrained one I had come to know these past days. Brent looked relaxed and laid back, a far cry from the man I married nine years ago. That man was uptight and looked like the whole world rested on his shoulders. He looked even younger now. “You are frowning.” He commented, leaning close to whisper in my ear. His action startled me. “Don’t hesitate, Beth. Tell me what was in your mind. I would love to hear your thoughts.” He assured me when he saw me stop and hesitate. I bit my lip. This was quite a new feeling, actually. The idea excites me. I wanted to be able to tell him my thoughts because when we first got married, I bottled everything inside. Yes, we are happy, but that happiness was not full. Maybe because I feel th
Beth POVI saw Brent’s nostrils flared as desire as potent as mine, filling his eyes. “I want you.” He admitted when he gathered me close to burrow his face into the crook of my neck.His words made me tremble in his arms. Tingles traveled my spine, and I had to grab Brent to press my arms around his massive back. “Dude, we still have a whole program for you. Don’t ravish your wife in front of us.” Rowan teased. “Says the man who did not ravish his wife in the hospital bed.” Flint inserted suavely, eliciting another round of laughter from all of us. Brent lifted his gaze toward Briana, who seemed to understand what he was going through. In response, Briana clapped her hand to call everyone’s attention. “Everyone, as much as the newlywed couple wanted to spend more time with us, they all wanted to have their privacy to savor this moment.”“Don’t try to be diplomatic, sis. Just say that Brent wanted to have his honeymoon right now.” Flint butted in, much to my consternation. I 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