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
Brent POVI looked at Beth and saw the pink that tinged her cheeks. “I am serious, Beth. I wouldn’t have achieved all this without you as my inspiration. You and Krizzie were the driving force behind my success, so whatever I built with my hands, all I have accomplished, you were a big part of it.” I told her honestly. Beth looked like she was ready to cry. All afternoon, I had been making her cry, and I felt like punching myself. I lifted my hand to wipe her tears. “Please, don’t cry. I never meant to hurt you.” “I am not hurt, silly man.” Beth countered and punctuated her words with a smile. “I am just overwhelmed by everything. First, the proposal and the wedding, and now you are telling me this. I don’t know what I have done to deserve this.” She told me. “You gave me your love, Beth. It was what enabled me to be better every day. Without that love, Beth, I wouldn’t amount to anything.” Her face contorted, but her eyes sparkled in delight. A sheen of tears covered her ey
Beth POV“Ouch!” Brent grumbled when I nudged him hard on the ribs.He turned while rubbing his side to meet my glare. “Who told you to make bets on me?” I sounded stern.Brent looked nervous, and I smiled inwardly at the worry that registered on his face. “He was drunk, frustrated, and full of remorse that night, Beth. It was the time he learned about you dating that doctor. Brent felt threatened and felt cowardly. We need to do that to spur him on.” I did not realize Noah had been listening to our conversation. I did not hear his approach until he butted in to explain Brent’s side. Doubts covered my features as I stared at Brent to confirm. “Who won?” “I did!” Brent replied arrogantly. I pursed my lips. “How much did you win?” I asked, curious.“Apart from the beachfront property, close to ten million.” My eyes widened in shock. “Ten million for a bet? Wow!” My eyes rounded.“It started as a dare, Beth. But Brent did not start it. We did. We had hoped that it would bec
Brent POV“Welcome to paradise,” I murmured in Beth's ears when the chopper drew close to the beachfront property that Rowan gifted us and prepared for landing.I held Beth close and motioned for her to look out the window so she could see what I meant. Her involuntary gasp was the response I was expecting and much more. "This is so beautiful Brent." She told me, eyes shining bright in awe. I nodded. "Indeed. The most beautiful." I agreed. Though I was not referring to our honeymoon getaway but to the woman before me. Beth, without a doubt, is the most beautiful woman my eyes have ever laid on, I decided. At the same time, I took my fill of her beauty, most especially her expressive eyes. “Your friends are wonderful.” She said evasively. She pulled her gaze away from me to avoid meeting my hot gaze, but I knew exactly what she was feeling. Her body became rigid next to me, and I smiled. Beth was self-conscious about the attention I was giving her. I took pity on her and gav
Beth POVI looked down from the chopper that was going to bring us back to Redwood toward the beach resort that served as our honeymoon getaway for three days and two nights and felt all the good things filling my heart. Without hesitation, I gave the property a little wave as we embarked on the journey back home. “Are you tired?” Brent asked when I leaned back on my seat and closed my eyes. I smiled naughtily. “Who wouldn’t? You did not give me a rest, Mr. Anderson.”The reprimand had no sting which was what I intended.It was the truth anyway. Brent grinned. “Did I wear you out, Mrs. Anderson?” He asked softly, but I could see the warmth in his eyes.I lifted my hand to flick his nose playfully. “I love you, Brent. Thank you for not giving up on me.” I told him.It was the truth. If Brent gave up on me, I think that would be a point of no return for the two of us. If he did not fight for us, I don't know if I would have the strength to stay and be with him. Brent did all t
Brent POVKrizzie got back into our room right after, halting our talks. She knocked repeatedly on the door, prodding me to rise to my feet and open the door for her. Behind Krizzie, I saw Noah. “Thank you, Uncle Noah.” She said, turning her back on me to wave at Noah, who patted Krizzie’s head before meeting my fist for a bump. “Will you be alright here?” He checked on me, and I nodded. “Okay then. I will go ahead.” He told me.“Thanks, man! We will be checking out tomorrow morning.” I informed him while looking at the bed, where I saw Krizzie climbing in and snuggling with Beth. “Okay. I will inform the concierge in case we are not here. We are going home tonight.” Noah informed me before sauntering away. I went back to my family to join them in bed. Krizzie was asking Beth where we had been, and Beth was showing her pictures of us in the resort. “You went to the beach?” Krizzie exclaimed.I could see the dismay on her face. Beth hugged her. “We went on our honeymoon.
Brent POVJust like what Noah said the night before, they were not at the hotel to see us off, but he gave instructions to his people to assist us. We got ready very early because Krizzie had classes. “Are you free today?” I asked Beth after we sent Krizzie to school. “You were the one who talked to my supervisor about taking a leave. How long did you apply for my leave?”“A week. You still have two more days of rest. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. I want to spend more time catching up. What do you think?” I wiggled my brows at her, grinning mischievously. Beth slapped my chest.“I don’t like that look, Brent. I want to rest.” She warned me. She looked so d*rn cute that I stepped forward, arms spread to encircle her in my arms, and hugged her tight. Beth struggled in my arms. “Brent, people are staring.” She warned me, but I don’t care. I am too happy to care about what other people would think.“Let them.” I urged her and held her in my arms for a while longer. When I got
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