Two days later, Sebastian received a call from Detective Jonas, who told him that Damien Giddorti has been bailed from police custody."What do you mean that he has been bailed from your custody, detective? I did not drop the charges against him.""I know you didn't, Mr. Bernadotte, but there was no sustainable evidence to prove that he'd harassed Ms. Hadid, and he claimed that she came to him.""What the fuck are you saying?!" Sebastian flared lividly,"He tried to rape my woman, and you don't believe me! Are you saying that I'm lying?""Mr. Bernadotte, I have interrogated Mr. Giddorti and he still claims that Ms. Hadid had come to him, after he helped her break down the door." The detective explained,"Now, the CCTV retrieved from the crime scene did not prove much to back your accusation, as it had captured Mr. Giddorti breaking the door to help out Ms. Hadid, then captured him standing out there for a while, before entering the restroom." He continued,"I cannot present such mat
Sebastian didn't drive to Shakira's home to confront her, like Zachary expected he would do. Instead, he asked Jarvis to drive him to the manor.When they arrived there, he alight the car then went into the mansion, ignoring Finlay's greetings.He went into his office, closing the door behind him and went immediately to the drawer where he usually packed important files.After about thirty minutes of fervent search, he finally found what he was looking for.He returned to his desk, placing the fileholder on the desk, before he sat down.Then, he took out his phone and made a call to his stock analyst, Mr. Rivera.Mr. Rivera, was speaking in a calm, measured tone, but Sebastian's expression was growing increasingly serious."Sebastian, I understand your concerns about the Valande's group," Mr. Rivera said, "but I have to advise you that liquidating your investment now may not be the best decision. The market is fluctuating, and we could see a rebound in the near future."Sebastian'
That night when Sebastian arrived home, Isabel was in the kitchen. The boys were having dinner and Brittany was nowhere to be found.When Alexander wanted to greet him, he signaled them to keep quiet, so he can surprise Isabel.He went into the kitchen and there she was, wearing his white tee and an overflowing pants standing barefooted in the middle of the kitchen.It was a beautiful and intimate sight, one he didn't mind, coming back to every now and then.Her hair was packed in a messy ponytail, with several prodigal strands hanging around. She was standing in front of the oven, and the aroma of baked muffins filled the kitchen.While she was standing, he tiptoed to behind her, in an attempt to hug her from behind, but she turned unexpectedly, bumping into his chest."Ouch!" Isabel was startled and hurt at the impact, she let out a pained moan, and immediately, he began to apologize to her,"I'm so sorry, Baby Girl." He pecked her forehead, which she'd hit against his ,chin, c
"When did you see this?" Sebastian asked the man, after he'd returned the phone."Mr. Pierre sent me the video about an hour ago. He said he couldn't reach you, so he sent it to me instead.""Someone who knew we were after the man, got to him before we did.""Exactly, sir. Someone got to him before we did. But, we don't know who."Sebastian didn't know what to say as he stared speechlessly at Zachary.He didn't expect that things would take such drastic turn.Fuck!"What do we do now, sir?" Zachary asked the man,"We cannot let whoever it is responsible for this, to go scot free."Sebastian took a deep breath, staring at his phone."I know, Zach, but I feel like whoever it is, is our every move.""My exact thoughts too, sir." Zachary seconded the man's opinion,watching"And he knew what was at stake for him if we'd found the man before he did.""For now, we do nothing." Sebastian told Zachary."He is going to be watching our every move now, waiting for us to do something or react
Isabel did not tell Sebastian about the call, when she arrived at the Aurélien's Place several minutes later. Even when they were having dinner and he asked her if everything was fine."You are oddly quiet tonight." He pointed to her, "Did anything happen?"Isabel was lost in her thoughts, that she was barely listening to him.It wasn't until he touched her hand, was she startled from her reverie."What are you thinking about, Little Rabbit?"He inquired from her,"What is in your mind that has taken your attention from your dinner, that you've barely touched it? Don't you like the meal?"Isabel flashed him a wry smile,"I like the food." She lied, wearing a pretentious smile as she took a bite from her dinner.But Sebastian wasn't convinced.He knew that she was lying, and something was perturbing her."Don't you dare lie to me, Isabel. Tell me what it is that is bothering you...""It is nothing." She stood firm on her lie,"I was thinking about something Ginny told me earlier
Later that night, as they headed home, Isabel couldn't stop admiring her ring. She was so eager to share the news with someone, but there was no one she could share the news with.Sharing the news with Austin would've been a great idea, except that she didn't want him lecturing her about her decision and castigating Sebastian.She didn't have any family member, or close friends to share the news with, which somehow made her sad."I should've done this from the very first day I met you." Sebastian mouthed to her, when he saw her staring at the ring with admiration in her eyes,"I shouldn't have waited this long.""How sure are you that I would've said yes to you if you'd proposed to me when we first met?""I know you wouldn't say yes to me, because you were stubborn and willful. However, I would've done something to make you change your mind." He said with so much confidence, while staring at her,"What if I don't?" Isabel challenged him with a playful smile,"What if I remained res
Several minutes later, while Isabel was still in the car, she saw Sebastian ushering the triplets out of the elevator, while Brittany followed behind them.Seeing the confused expression on the boys' faces, made her heart ache.She pushed the door open, and jumped out of the car before Fowler could stop her and she ran to the boys."Mommy!" Reynolds shrieked the second he saw her running towards them, and he let go of Sebastian's hand immediately, running to catch up with her.Seeing that her sons were okay, filled Isabel with unexplainable relief.She hugged the boy, and even when Alexander and Oliver joined them, she gathered all three of them in her embrace, painting their faces with several kisses."Mommy, what happened?" Reynolds asked her, concern lacing his small voice after she has freed them from her embrace."What happened to our car?" Oliver pointed out, perplexed as he stared at the ruin on the car.Zachary immediately blocked the boy's view, while Sebastian replied to
Meanwhile, Isabel was at the manor, impatiently waiting for Sebastian to return.About an hour ago, she called him and he'd told her that he was on his way to the manor.Her mind was plagued with quite an unhealthy amount of morbid thoughts.She thought about driving to the penthouse to drag him home, but she knew that Fowler wouldn't allow her go anywhere, without Sebastian ordering it.She tried calling him again, but this time, her call was sent to voicemail."Fuck! Sebastian, why are you doing this to me?" She mused, her eyes nearly blurring with tears as she paced to and fro their bedroom, praying for him to return homeThe boys have gone to school and she was alone, except for the employees scattered around the manor, Jarvis and Fowler included.After plenty minutes of random morbid thoughts, she decided to go call him and know what was delaying him.Hopefully, he would pick up and tell her that he was alright, and was on his way home.Who was she kidding?Her call was sent
While they were having lunch, Sebastian made his intentions of coming to their home clear to their home."Isabel and I are getting married soon." He told them, and we have come to seek for your blessings, Mrs. Hadid."Patricia looked at her daughter, Jasmine, then her attention returned to Sebastian who has barely touched the meal served to him."Okay, Mr. Bernadotte, you've my blessings to marry Isabel, my daughter." The woman said without any hesitation, which Isabel found odd.Of course, she knew they were intimidated by Sebastian's presence.Who wasn't?Everyone she knew, was intimidated by the man's presence and they all accord him with utmost respect.But, Patricia and Jasmine seemed terrified of him, in a way that seemed quite suspicious to her."Isabel," Patricia called her name and she turned to the woman,"Child, you made the right choice. Mr. Bernadotte is a good man and he will keep you happy." The woman advised her,"I am so proud of you, Isabel and I know your father
After ending the call with Detective Jonas, Sebastian called Pierre and gave him the assignment of sniffing Damien Giddorti's ass"Pardon my asking, Mr. Bernadotte, but this is unlike every other assignment you've been giving me?""Yes, I know, but I need every information you can get on that son of a bitch.""What kind of information do you need?" Pierre asked the man, still confused about his request."Have you been told anything about him?""I just received a tip of an alliance that Giddorti Enterprise is pumping Wall Street with drug money, so I need you to help me find out if it is true or not." Pierre wasn't comfortable with the assignment, and he aired it to Sebastian immediately."Mr. Bernadotte, you need to understand that this isn't as easy as you think. Whether or not Giddorti is involved in any illegal activities, busting him would do you no good.""There's always a hierarchy, and trust me, someone like Damien Giddorti can never be at the top of the food chain. It i
Sebastian was eager to facilitate the wedding process, and make it happen at soonest.Left to him, they would've gotten married that weekend, but there was a lot of preparations to be made, and Isabel has insisted that he postponed it, because she needed to tell her family about it."The same family who set you up, and nearly had you kidnapped, if not for Fowler's timely intervention?"He wasn't thrilled with the idea of her going to meet them, and that was mostly because they were still in his custody, unbeknownst to her."Despite what they've done to me, they are still my family, and I do not intend to get married without getting their blessings." She was honest with him."I've no friends, nor do I have anyone elsewhere except them. And although they might've wronged me countless times in the past, I don't think it is fair to cut them out of my life just like that, because they saved me too.""And you've done well to repay them every kindness they've shown you. Yet, they continu
Like Sebastian avowed, he got the lady from the stored fired from her workplace, then got her arrested.Isabel wasn't supportive of his decision, but since he'd threatened to extend the lady's stay behind bar, if she begged him on her behalf, she decided to not say anything to him. However, she showed her displeasure, which he ignored."This should serve as a lesson to anyone who decide to disrespect you." He told her, as the officers took the crying lady away."Now, remind me what it is you wanted to get?"Isabel was quiet for a while, as the crowd dispersed, but a good amount of passerby were looking at them, awed to see Sebastian, his triplet sons and his new girlfriend."Nothing..."He threw her a discerning glare, then took her hand into his,"If I could remember, the Genesis of this misunderstanding was you trying to see if a particular shade of foundation matched you skin tone, right?"Isabel said nothing, prompting Oliver to say yes to the man."I still remember the brand,
After they left the store, Isabel could tell the boys were in a sour mood, and she didn't know what to say to cheer them up."Boys, do you want to go to the arcade now?" She asked them, hopeful they would say yes, but they didn't."We are fine." "Yeah...I think I'd rather go home."Both Oliver and Reynolds spoke respectively."Boys, I don't think you should be feeling sad about what that lady did, or anything she said to me." She told them, watching their sullen faces."You see, sometime the best answer to give to people who are being intentionally disrespectful to you, is silence.""But, mommy, she crossed the line calling you a lowlife and us, the b word." Alexander argued,"She was being disrespectful to you, but you did not defend yourself. Sometimes, people need to be taught that they can't go around being rude to anyone they see, because they feel like they can.""She needs to be taught a lesson." Reynolds concluded,"One she wouldn't forget in a hurry. Nobody disrespect my mo
Several minutes later, Sebastian was spooning Isabel whose head was rested against his chest.They were still exhausted from their earlier intense and passionate lovemaking and their hearts were beating in a rhythm."I'm indeed the luckiest man on the planet." He told her, possessively tightening his arms around her petite form."Had anyone told me ten to fifteen years ago, that someday I will become obsessed over a woman and desperately want to make her mine, I would've called the person a goddamn liar."Isabel let out an exhausted, but satisfied sigh."But here I am, at thirty-five, obsessed over you and wanting nothing but to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm the luckiest man on earth.""Likewise me, Sebastian." She whispered to him,"Who could've known that I would end up getting married to the same man I once despised like my life depended on it. But, here I am.""I'm no believer of fate, or destiny, but I think the only explanation to our relationship is destiny. We were
"What the hell are you talking about, Isabel?" Sebastian questioned her,"Why would you ask me to do that?""Because, I think it's the right thing to do, since we are both about to enter a new chapter of our lives." She explained to him.Now, it was her turn to beg him."I don't care about the both of them, Sebastian, but I do not think that I want us to have a life where we have people like them hovering over us." She continued, taking his other hand into hers."I understand that they must've wronged you in one way or the other, but I need you to let go of everything that happened. I do not want our children to be raised in this rivalry, which would mean passing it to their own children, who would also pass it to theirs, and the circle continues endlessly.""Isabel, what you are asking for is impossible. I owe no grudge against Shakira for what she did, but I don't think I would ever forgive Damien Giddorti for all he has done." He avowed to her,"Do you know what that bastard did
"I want nothing to do with that son of a bitch who ruined my life." Joan spat, the second Sebastian made mention of Damien Giddorti's name."Trust me, Ms. Lively, I do not want anything to do with him too, but I need the bastard to face the consequences of his actions." He explained to her, "And I saw the file on the rape charge you raised against him three years ago. However, for some reason, which I believe he'd influenced, the charges were dropped."Joan scoffed, staring at her palms which she placed on the table."I know you must be wondering why I am interested in your case, or why I suddenly believe you after all these years. The truth is that, Damien Giddorti has always been a bastard, but recently, he thought it would be funny to assault my wife, to spite me." Sebastian continued, leaving both the scar-faced man and Joan bewildered."Yes. He tried to take advantage of her, despite knowing that she's mine and although I got him arrested, but he was bailed out because there was
After over an hour of driving around Manhattan, Sebastian and Moses finally found the address they were looking for."Sir, I think you should stay here, while I go in and find the apartment." Moses offered to the man, who was seated at the backseat, staring at him through the rearview mirror."You know what floor her apartment is on?""No, sir, but I will ask around.""Ask them what? You've no picture of her, nor do you know what her name is or what she look like."Moses did not say anything.Sebastian brought out the piece of paper he'd copied the information about the lady into, then he handed it to Moses."That is her name, phone number and address. Although, I do not suppose that the number is still active, because I can't seem to reach her with it."Moses took the paper from the man, stole a glance at it, before he shoved it into his pocket.While Sebastian waited in the car, he stepped down, then made his way towards the several storey apartment building.Once he entered, he