Neal.The moment that I hung up with James, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do. One thing was for sure though, I needed to speak with Beck and find out exactly who this person was and what they looked like. The only problem was that Becca had no interest in really speaking to me about anything unless I came forward and told her what I had been up to.Taking a deep breath, I mustered up the courage to get up from where I had currently been sitting and make my way out into the main part of the living room. The moment that I walked down the hallway, I felt my pulse racing, my heart beating rapidly out of my chest as I turned the corner and saw Becca in the kitchen, currently unpacking whatever it was that she had purchased during the day.There was a determination and frustration in the way that she moved as she slammed things down onto the counter and let out a heavy sigh. I instantly regretted my decision to try to come and speak to her, but before I could turn and go
Becca.With Neal finally telling me what exactly was wrong with him, I found myself at a loss for words when I realized that the danger I had once been in was no longer over. In fact, it had only died down for a short time. And now, with the rising slowly coming, I knew that the inevitable would eventually happen.Standing in the kitchen, staring out the window over the lush blue ocean with white capping waves that came upon the shore as soon as it had hit the sandbar, I tried to let my mind work over everything that he had told me. How was it that after so much hard work and trying to start over, my life once again was slowly starting to spin out of control?Was it so hard for a girl like me to simply ask for peace? To be able to raise her children as she saw fit, without having people constantly trying to interfere? Not to mention, I had just gotten my father here and his wife, and with them coming here, it was supposed to be an amazing time, not full of chaotic hell that se
James.By the time Neal got back to me on what needed to be done, it was already 24 hours later. I had been nothing, but a panicked mess through all of it, and when he informed me that he didn't find anything on the car, but they had had a conversation with Becca about some of the stuff that was going on, I knew without a doubt that she was more than likely losing her mind.Or at least that was what I was assuming.She wasn't built for the life that we lived. She wasn't built to go through this chaos, and time and time again, she was brought into it because of me, because of the choices that I made when I was younger.Neal had gone into town and looked around at different shops to pull footage, and while he was able to see the man, neither he nor I recognized him. He looked like a local, but yet, some of the local people who had been there for years had never seen the man before.I was worried. Worried this could potentially be someone that could cause damage to her to me
James.I wasn't really sure what to expect when my uncle told me that he wanted me to come to this family gathering where they were going to have food and drinks and reminisce on certain things before he made his big announcement. But I can tell you right now, the last thing I expected was for there to be a turnout the size that there was.At least 100 people were present. Even several people my uncle did business with were here.This wasn't something that typically happened in our world, and in fact, I had never been or heard of an attendance like this. Perhaps it was only a few people that he did business with, yet, my uncle meandered around the room in his designer three-piece suit, looking absolutely spiffy as hell. I couldn't help but wonder what he was up to.The man was a mystery I was still trying to figure out."It's going to be a grand announcement. Are you ready, cousin?" Ronaldo said as he stepped up next to me. I wasn't quite sure what he was referring to, b
Becca.Two days. Neal had had two days to figure out exactly what was going on, and now that it had been two days, I was sick and tired of being cooped up in the house. I wanted to be able to go out and take care of a few things that were absolutely necessary, like going to a cafe, going to the store, silly things like that. But even though two days had passed, Neal was still persistent that I stay at the property and not leave unless absolutely necessary.And by absolutely necessary, he meant with him, with me.I was tired of living like this, and honestly, all I wanted to do was to be able to have the freedom that I had when I first moved to New Zealand. As more and more time went by, I became pretty adamant that I was overthinking things, and Neal was being too overly cautious about something that wasn't even anything to begin with.He always thought that someone was following me, that something was going on. He had no single clue what was going on. The guy that had met m
Becca.In absolute disbelief, my reaction time slowed considerably. The moment that I saw the gun. I froze in fear, and as he moved towards me, I panicked. I should have listened to Allegra and Neal. I should never have gone out on my own, but part of me didn't want to believe that there was actually somebody out there trying to come after me."What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" I breathed out as my back came in contact with the side of my car."Look, you seem like a nice lady, but I need something, and you're the collateral that's going to get it for me."Collateral. How was I supposed to be collateral? "I can't help you. I'm nobody. Please just let me go." My begging was useless. Staring at the sinister grin upon his face, I knew there was no way in hell he was going to allow me to go. Whatever he needed me for, he was willing to have somebody else in this parking lot see him point a gun at me just to ensure that he could get it.This situation between us
Neal.The moment that I came home and saw that Becca wasn't there, I freaked out. A million and one things ran through my mind, and the one thing that stuck out the most was the fact that she was out there having left the house, even though Allegra and I both told her not to, and now she was in danger.I should have known that she wouldn't have sat home willingly. Two days was all that she allowed, and I had stupidly agreed to it as if that was going to be enough time to do what needed to be done.Looking at her right now in front of me alive was a relief I hadn't expected to feel. However, knowing that she came close to death because of people I had pissed off killed me. I had never thought my past would come back to find me, but I should have. The moment that my sister, and I came out of hiding and killed Sergei I should have known.Yet, I was foolish. "Look, it's complicated...." My comment wasn't one that she wanted, and as I tried to find the words to explain to her
James.The moment that Neal called me and informed me of what happened to Becca, I had about lost my mind. While I was sitting there shaking hands with people trying to get them to help me figure out who was after Becca, she had been attacked by people that Neal and Allegra had issues with.I knew who they were. Xavier was the youngest of three brothers, a pain in the ass that I had run across more than once in the business world. He was ruthless when he wanted something and a bit of a playboy who loved to show off his money.Patrick, the middle child, died when he was younger, and I didn't know back then that Neil was the one who had killed him. But after he explained it to me that situation kind of made sense, why they'd also be pisssed off at not only what he did, but what his father did too.The oldest brother, though, he was the one you had to worry about. Andre was a man who didn't find remorse in anything that he did. He didn't care if he hurt you, he didn't car
Becca.I didn't need to push much longer until the baby was born. I let out a sigh of relief as a lot of pressure was released as the doctor announced the head was out. I was almost done pushing. Out came the shoulders, and then the doctor was able to pull the baby out. She lifted the baby up and smiled, studying the baby for a moment. "It's a boy!" she said, causing the room to erupt into cheers. I gave a very quiet cheer of my own, my body completely exhausted. I closed my eyes, tears still spilling down my cheeks. I was still worried about how healthy he was, though, since he had come so early. "The baby is healthy, even if a bit underweight. He'll get meat on his bones in no time," the doctor assured me, reaching over to hand the baby to me. Putting a few clips into place, the doctor handed James a pair of scissors, and he cut the umbilical cord. Then, she began the process of helping me pass the afterbirth while the nurses prepared to clean our son up while
Becca.Several months had passed since our honeymoon, and things had been going wonderfully. The baby was developing very healthily, and they were going to be on the way soon. I was tired as I sat on the couch, reading up on some news. The progress with Guatemala went very well. I had made contact with locals who were going to make sure everything ran smoothly and children would be getting what they needed. The thought made me smile. Children deserved wonderful lives. The kids were just put to bed about an hour ago. 8:00 PM was too early for me to go to bed quite yet, but I was feeling tired. Still, I needed a snack, as my cravings were intensifying lately by quite a bit. I walked up to the fridge and rummaged through it, pulling out a jar of pickles and giving a satisfied sigh. I grabbed a plate, taking out several to munch on while I watched television. Maybe this would help me wake up a little bit. I wanted to wait until James got home. He was busy worki
Allegra."I have made a list of reputable centers that we can look into," I said to Layla, leaning on her as we stared at a laptop on the table. At the moment, we were looking into adopting, though not right this instant. We wanted to do a lot of research first. Not to mention, Layla wanted to get another cat so Onyx had a playmate, and they'd need to adapt to our apartment first. The idea of adoption was a prospect both of us adored. Giving a child a loving home would be a wonderful thing. Layla pointed to the screen, saying softly, "I've heard about that one. Good things, thankfully. I think we should be open-minded about teens." She frowned sadly, closing her eyes. "They are often overlooked.""I agree," I said. "They may be a large responsibility, as teenagers can be rowdy, but I'm confident we can handle it. Can't be worse than being captured by the Russian mob," I said with a chuckle. Layla winced but gave a half-smile. "You still think about that, huh
Becca."This place is beautiful," I said, looking around the fancy restaurant in Florence and letting out a happy sigh. Vines practically dripped from the ceiling, making it feel as though we were in a romantic movie. My life was similar enough to one, at this point! Mariano and Neal sat together across the table from James and I, all smiles and warm energy as well. They sipped wine and nodded, agreeing with my observation about the atmosphere. I took a sip of water myself, always mindful of the baby."This is the place where we met!" Mariano exclaimed with excitement. "When I first laid my eyes on Neal, I knew a prince had entered the establishment. A handsome one that made me swoon in my seat," he said. He winked at Neal, and the other man blushed. I giggled, gushing, "You two are so cute! I'm so happy for you. It really does look like you connected, which is wonderful. Just like a storybook!" Mariano nodded, his grin only widening at the idea. This place had a
James. "Look at how wonderful and huge they are, James!" Becca exclaimed, causing me to smile. It was the day after our first engagement on the beach, and I was happy to relax. At the moment, we were looking at some giant tortoises with a deep sense of awe.She was right; they were the size of side tables. A guide handed Becca some lettuce, which she held out to the tortoise. She squealed with delight as the animal took a leaf from her and began munching, causing my smile to widen even further. I was so happy to be able to relax. Security had reported nothing odd happening, and they seemed to be having a ball as well. I was relieved, though I shouldn't have expected anything bad to happen. Not like the Cartwrights tracked our every move. At least, I hoped not. I shook that thought out of my mind as Becca continued to give a ton of attention to the tortoises. One of the security men walked over with a camera in his hand, beaming at us. "Let's get some pictures of
Becca.This was it. The perfect honeymoon, the one where James and I would have the time of our lives. I was thrilled, my heart singing even as I looked out the window of the airplane we were taking. With the money I had, we were able to charter a private jet. Even after all these months, I'd never completely gotten used to always being able to afford the best of everything. The staff was very kind, including the flight attendants who catered to our every need. Our money came with a lot of advantages. I tried not to think about that too much, though. It made me feel guilty.Rather, when my worries became too heavy, I reminded myself of the charity that I was starting off. I realized I couldn't physically go to Guatemala, but with my wealth, I reached out to locals for the best ways to run a charity for kids there. The representative I spoke with had been wonderfully helpful, and it made me beyond happy that I could still help while not being there. I had decided I
James."This is going to be such a wonderful trip, James!" Becca exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me. I smiled, returning the hug and holding her close. When she pulled away, I gave her a tender kiss.At the moment, we were sitting in the living room of the compound with a laptop open on the table showing all the activities we could do in Seychelles. The pictures of beautiful, pristine beaches with shining sand and deep blue water got me excited, too."I think we should see the tortoises and dolphins," Becca said, giving a smile. "The kids are going to love those pictures. Someday, we need to take them with us, to a kid-friendly area." No doubt she would be paying attention to that during our honeymoon. "That is an excellent idea, my love," I said to her, giving her another squeeze. We exchanged another kiss as she continued to scroll through the pictures and destinations. Thankfully, the trip was taken care of flight-wise and hotel-wise. Having money was
Neal.A few weeks had passed since I met Mariano, and the strong sense of attraction I had to both his looks and personality had not faded. In fact, we were hitting it off even harder now, and I couldn't be happier. Thankfully, I was brave enough to call Becca and say I wanted to visit as a friend. I meant it this time. There was no ulterior motive, not that there had been one, to begin with. She may have been stuck in my head a little, but that wasn't an issue anymore. After some hesitation, she agreed to see me. Likely because I wanted to introduce her to Mariano, which put her at ease for me not actually being after her anymore. I accepted that she was with James. Mariano and I were sharing lunch before heading out. I gazed into his eyes, my own full of adoration for the man. "We're really hitting it off, aren't we?" I chuckled, breaking the silence that had formed between us as we ate sandwiches. Mariano winked, saying, "I think we are, yes. I am thrill
James.Still feeling beyond happy about the news of the baby still being healthy, I walked over to the fridge to get myself a quick snack before meeting with Giovani. Becca was dripping with joy, which made me relieved, to say the least. She had no idea what was going on in the background, and I didn't want her to, either. She shouldn't suffer the stress of anything anymore. My wife was looking forward to a wonderful life with our expanding family, and I wouldn't let worry settle in her mind. At least, despite the stress on my end, we were going to have our honeymoon soon. The kids were happy, and that's all I could ask for. Speaking of which, I stopped into the nursery for a visit before heading off to discuss things with my cousin. Alessandro was playing around with a few cars and stuffed animals. Dahlia sat in front of him, doing the same, making happy cooing noises threaded in with a few words. When they saw me, they let out squeals of happiness and hobbled o