I hesitated for a second looking at the handkerchief he stretched to me, then chuckled at his bold action. "Thanks," I said, taking the cloth from him. As I was drying my hands, he spoke up again. " Is that your fiancé? She looked beautiful in her wedding dress. Was it a love marriage? Because that's what's common this days." As I heard that, my hands stopped moving and my grip on the handkerchief tightened, my knuckles turning white. I knew what he was trying to say but the reason why he would Intentionally came her and try to provoke me with his presence here, was something I had no idea of. But seeing him like this, with the expression on his face, I did know one thing; the guy before me had no idea that I knew about his shitty past with the woman I was getting married to and just trying to get some shit out of me. But two can play at this game. I forced a smile onto my face. “Oh yeah, we've been in love since childhood and been stuck together for a while. Soulmates, yo
The car stopped at the edge of the old forest path near our penthouse, which wasn’t far from where we were. As Maya and I got out of the car, I told the driver and Almond to stay behind while Maya and I walked to the spot where we buried the time capsule. Back then, we wrote a message to our future self and I didn't really think I remembered what I wrote again as it's been years already. We reached the giant oak tree in Whispering Meadows, the one we used to call our "Secret Fortress”; we named everything here and Maya’s face lit up with a mix of excitement and nostalgia as she searched for the exact spot where we buried it while I just stood still, watching her. "I can’t believe our old hideout is still here after all these years because I remember your dad saying he wanted to turn it into a resort." “That’s true, but that's back then because now…I own it,” I replied, feeling proud as I recalled what I went through to acquire this place, filled with so many good memories. “R
~~MAYA'S POV~~ The color drained from my face as Kingsley mentioned Lance's name. I had no idea that Kingsley knew about my marriage to Lance all those years ago, and never once had he called me or even met me. When I went to Italy and pretended to have lost contact with him, I found it hard to believe that he would just accept that so easily without even doubting my words. "But... how...?" I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. "I have my ways, but that's not important right now. What's important is that you should be honest with yourself... and with me, for once. So, do you still have feelings for him or not?" Now that I thought about it, it seemed quite weird for the Bane family not to have found out if I was actually in Italy or not in all those years I was married to Lance. And with the way Kingsley knew about him, it seemed like he was the one who had been helping me and hiding it from his parents. "I understand your silence more than you think. Your heart...
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, trying to calm my happiness down. A smile spread across my face as my mind drifted off to my conversation with Kingsley at the penthouse the other day. Finally, everything was now falling into place. We are having our engagement party in two days and getting married a week after. Soon, Bella would call me "mommy" for the first time in my life; something I had been dreaming of since the day she was taken from me. This was the best thing that had ever happened to me as I never even thought this day would come so fast. But thinking about her now, my fingers trembled as I fastened the clasp of my necklace and I imagined Bella's expression when I confessed everything to her. I knew Bella might hate me for a while once she learned the truth as I had already planned to tell her once we were ready to adopt her. But I just hoped that she would forgive me and understand that I only wanted to protect her as I couldn’t bear the thought of her bein
Arriving at the venue, the red carpet stretched out before me like a shiny ribbon as my car door opened. Immediately I was spotted, reporters attention was now directed onto me and they all swarmed around me. The flash of their cameras was blinding, and their shouts as they rushed at me were deafening. But through it all, I plastered on my best smile as i mentally told myself, "It's okay, I can do this." "Miss Roderigo! Miss Roderigo! Over here!" "Miss Roderigo, a moment of your time!" "Miss Roderigo, how does it feel to enter the celebrity world with your images all around the countries?" Many questions were thrown at me at once and I took a deep breath, trying to remember each one. Turning to the reporter who asked how it felt to enter the celebrity world, I responded. "It's surreal," I said in a steady voice. "I feel like a bird that's been let out of the cage it had been living in. Seeing my name and images everywhere is surreal and amazing and I'm particularly gratef
I looked around the room searching for Lance, but he wasn't anywhere next to Ashley. But where exactly was he? I thought he'd be here, mingling with everyone as he always likes things like this. "Wow, Ashley Miller! It's nice to see you!" I exclaimed, pretending to be surprised by her presence. For her, this was our first meeting. But I'd seen her plenty of times in college whenever I was secretly steal glances on Lance; they were always together. And also, I saw her on the same day the Wells family kicked me out and she was welcomed in. I still remembers that day like it was a day before. "The pleasure's all mine," she said sweetly, moving closer but I saw an evil smile on her friends' faces. "I just had to congratulate you on your... What should we call it? Your big debut? And that speech you gave earlier was so touching and it really moved me." She placed her hand on her chest. "Thank you so much. I really do appreciate someone like you noticing a beginner like me. It's such
“ And for the MEgan3 contract, it was offered to me based on the merits of my proposal, not because of anything." Ashley laughed nastily. "Oh, come on, Ariel. Even if what you say about Mr. Wayne is true, we all know why you really got that contract. It's amazing how doors open when you're marrying into the Bane family, isn't it?" “Believe me or not but I earned that contract through my own efforts. Who I'm marrying has nothing to do with it." “Of course, of course," Ashley said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the contract originally slated for me suddenly went to the fiancée of Kingsley Bane. How... fortunate for you." "I'm sorry you feel that way," I said, trying to sound understanding. "But everything was done fairly. Maybe if you focused on improving your own work instead of tearing others down, you'd be more successful." Ashley's eyes narrowed, and I saw real anger beneath her polished look. "How dare you-" "Is there a prob
~~~LANCE'S POV~~~ “Lance, are you crazy?” Henry’s voice blasted through the phone, so loud that it felt like my ears would burst out. “Borrowing money from Billy, that shark? Do you even have any fucking idea what you’ve gotten yourself into?” I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair, trying to stay calm. “Henry, relax. I know what I’m doing. I’ll pay him back, no problem.” “No problem?” Henry scoffed, disbelief dripping from his words. “Lance, this is Billy we’re talking about. He’s not just any guy—he goes crazy with anything called money. What if you miss a payment? He’ll take everything you’ve worked so hard for! How could you make such a decision without even consulting me when I’m your lawyer?” I could feel him burning with fury and seething in anger from wherever he was. I glanced back at the crowd behind me, my stomach twisting into tight knots as I tried not to raise up my voice at where I was. I knew Henry was right, but what other choices did I have at that
Kingsley could not help but chuckle as he lifted his head away from Lysol’s shoulder and took his hand into his, intertwining their fingers. “You see, Dad, I’ve become a bird.”“A what?” His father sounded thoroughly unimpressed.“A bird,” Kingsley repeated. “I’ve spread my wings, taken flight. And now, I’m soaring through the skies, traveling the world around free…”A deep, frustrated sigh came through the speaker. “Kingsley, enough of this nonsense. Come back home. You have responsibilities!”Kingsley hummed in amusement. “Responsibilities? Oh, you mean the empire? Don’t worry about that. I'm sure you have everything under control… just like you always have.”His father sighed heavily, realizing that Kingsley had made up his mind.“Okay, I’ve given you my blessings. You are free to do whatever you want. Even if you want to hold a grand wedding with him, I will organize it right away. So come back.”Kingsley smiled. “Really?”“Yes, I will do it. In fact, I will make sure that your we
~~~~AUTHOR'S POINT OF VIEW~~~~After a long trial.After alot of heartbreaks, losses, and even pains, Lance and Maya finally found their way back to love.And in six months' time, Maya would welcome their second child, a new addition to their small but blossoming family.And today, beneath the watchful eyes of many guests who were invited from all across the globe, they would make another vow to spend forever together.Lance could be seen at the altar, dressed in a white suit with a neat black bow tie, sitting at his collar. A small flower was pinned to his suit. His hair was neatly styled, not a strand out of place but his usual charm was replaced with something deeper—an overwhelming anticipation that made his hands slightly sweaty, and he kept rubbing them together.Behind him was Kingsley, his best man.Oh no, it wasn’t Henry but Kingsley.Lance had asked Kingsley to be his best man. And Henry, of course, could be seen sitting in the front row with his arms folded over his chest.
I blinked. “You’re quitting? Why?”Then Diana hesitated, her eyes darting toward Lance, who was on the ground, for a brief second before looking down. I could see something like embarrassment on her face.“I… I just think it’s best if I go.”I frowned. “No, that’s not a real answer. I asked why you suddenly want to leave. You told your fans and everyone that you were volunteering for six months, and you’ve hardly even spent two weeks. Now you’re leaving?”She smiled weakly. “Yes, that’s true. It’s just that I need to do some things for myself too. Please don’t take it personally. I actually came here to create a good impression on my fans, but now… I have realized many things…”Then she burst into tears, using her hand to wipe them away as they streamed down. I just watched with my mouth open.She then bowed her head. “I am truly sorry. Really, really sorry. I promise never to do that again. In fact, I will never cross your path again,” she said quickly.“Huh? Sorry about what? Why a
The workshop was at the back of the orphanage's main building. It was a small house built for storing things, but Lance decided to make use of it as a workshop. Lance made small chairs and tables for the kids and he also made swings and so many things around here with the use of wood. They were all amazing. Had no idea he had that in him. But what I like most when he’s doing his job here is when he's shirtless and working. I giggled at the thought of that.I liked watching him cut the woods as he looked so hot during that time—his hair falling over his face as he rise and fall, picking things up. His abs. And sweat streaming down his well-chiseled body as he focused on his work… I loved it all.As I wanted to enter the workshop, I saw the flowers planted outside. So I walked closer and picked some, hanging around my hair and putting some behind my ears.Stepping inside, I saw Lance picking up a bottle of water from the freezer. He opened it and began to drink, turning around at th
We were in the middle of gisting when a horrible wave of nausea hit me. It crawled up my throat like a monster trying to escape.I quickly covered my mouth, trying to hold it in, but it was like my stomach was flipping itself inside out.“Maya, are you alright? Should I get you some water?” Morgan asked in a concerned tone as she quickly stood up from the bed, trying to get some water.“No, it's fine,” I said, stopping her. “It's just something I have been feeling for a while now, but it's temporary.”Taking her seat back, she asked, “Are you sure you are alright now?”I nodded fast. “Yeah, yeah. I’m totally fine. I just—”But before I could finish my words, it happened again, and this time, it was stronger.I covered my mouth with one hand and used the other hand to hit my chest, trying to make it stop, but it wasn't stopping.“I think I need to call someone. You need to go to the hospital as you definitely don't seem okay.”Morgan turned again to call someone, but I wasn't able to h
I listened as she slowly began to tell me how her mother-in-law and sister-in-laws were treating her the same way she and her mother had treated me when I was married to Lance. And she had two sister-in-laws. Twins.No matter what she did, it was never enough for the three of them. They insulted her for every single mistake, criticized her for every bad thing that happened to her husband—even if it was his job that had problems—and always made her feel like she wasn’t good enough. Every bad thing and misfortune that happened to her husband was blamed on her.“At first, I thought I could handle it." She continued. "That as long as I was good to them and made them happy, they would like me more and stop treating me like that,” she let out a bitter laugh. “So whenever they were angry, I would buy them expensive gifts like designer bags and shoes, just to appease them.And for a while, it worked. They smiled and all started acting nice. But then they always wanted more. But after sometim
SIX MONTHS LATER ~~~MAYA’S POV~~~ Looking up into the sky, I used my hand to cover my eyes as the warm morning sun shone on me. Seeing the sky so clear and bright, I think today will be very, very great. Something good is going to happen. I smiled and then continued my work, which was spreading the freshly washed bedspread on the rope. It is a weekend thing for me—or should I say for every woman in this orphanage—and I like doing it as it gives me time to think, to breathe, and at the same time, to watch Bella while working. I wasn’t the only one washing the entire bedspread alone in this orphanage, as we had other women who were employed and those who also came to volunteer for a few days. Some even spent months with us, helping with the kids and other work in the orphanage. The orphanage was always lively and busy, especially in the mornings when all the kids woke up at the same time. It was filled with the sounds of children running down from each of their rooms, having morni
The hall was quiet, filled with the soft murmurs of people talking in hushed voices. The only loud sounds were the occasional sniffle or the rustling of fabric as someone shifted uncomfortably in their seat.A few candles flickered near the large framed photo of Mia, casting shadows on her smiling face. It almost made it look as if she was watching us.But she wasn’t—she was right in front of all of us… in the coffin.I took a deep breath as I looked around from where I was standing. I just wished that this would end soon and that all these passing storms would go with it.There were few people here, as the burial was private. Maya’s parents were seated in the front row on the left side, with Bella sitting between them.Kingsley also came with Lysol.Henry was also here, but the monkey could be seen leaning against the wall at the back of the hall, arguing with his client. He couldn't even spare time to pay respect to the dead.Betsy sat with Maya in the front row, in the middle of th
~~~~LANCE'S POV~~~~I stood in front of the mirror, wearing my tie while also looking at Maya's figure on the bed. I sighed heavily as the black suit I was wearing felt heavier than it should.Maybe because today wasn’t just any other day but the day we were laying Mia to rest. And as much as I wanted to be strong, I couldn’t shake the weight pressing against my chest because Mia's death had caused a lot of damage to my family—both to Maya and to Bella.Maya had completely changed in ways I couldn't understand. It was as if she carried a guilt too heavy for her to bear, and she wouldn’t talk to me or anyone about it. If she wasn't sitting on the balcony and gazing out into empty space, she would be staring at or holding Mia’s picture, pressing it tightly to her chest as if letting go of it would mean letting go of Mia.And no matter what I did to bring her to her senses and make her understand that we were losing Bella, she just wouldn't come to her right mind. I am the one trying to