Lana is on a book date with Rooney Lane.I'm sitting in her house, scrolling through my phone as I watch her Instagram stories. The photo she just posted is so cute. She's holding a big book, her big smile lighting up the entire book shop.The two are so inlove and always trying to spend time together. And the most interesting part is that their relationship is not based on sèx. They genuinely enjoy each other's company without getting physical. This has made their relationship grow stronger.Why can't Damien and Vanessa stop being so stubborn and be like these two? Damien dreams about Vanessa. Vanessa makes a sentimental photo album for Damien. Damien literally married me to make her jealous. And Vanessa showed up to his wedding wearing a bride's gown because she wished she could be his wife. But strangely, they still deny their love for one another.It doesn't make any sense why Vanessa wouldn't want to marry Damien. She's inlove with him. He's inlove with her. And he's the most won
Lana fetches a bottle of wine from the kitchen.She pours herself a whole glass and falls on the couch across from me. It sucks that I can't drink wine because I'm pregnant. But I've never been much of a drinker so that's fine. I'll just enjoy this cold glass of milk."Let me get this right." Lana clears her throat. "You want to play matchmaker between your husband and his ex?""Yep." I nod, sipping my milk."Your husband is literally mad at you after you went on a coffee date with his ex. What makes you think he wants to get back together with her?""Because he dreams about her." I reveal. "He was literally begging her not to marry another man in his sleep. This whole angry facade is just him denying his true feelings.""If they are so inlove, why aren't they together?""That's the same question I keep asking myself." I sigh. "They are intentionally making it so hard to be together when it's so simple. There's a lot of love there and they are clearly not over each other. I don't thin
I grab a piece of the pizza on the table and fall on the couch.Nate sits next to me, laptop on his lap. On the screen is a picture of an old short man wearing a designer suit, smoking a cigar."This is Luca Giovanni." Nate says. "He's an Italian tycoon with a successful merchandise company. However, that company is not as successful as his side hustle.""What's his side hustle?" I ask curiously. "And how is he connected to Vanessa Green?""Patience." He grins. "Luca Giovanni is a popular drug dealer. He's been dealing drugs for the past two decades. The guy is fùcking smart. He's friends with popular politicians and I suspect some of them are even his customers. Thanks to this, the guy will never see a day in prison.""How is this connected to Vanessa?" I ask, a little irked.""Like I said, most people who don't have active social media accounts or don't show their faces on their active accounts are definitely hiding something. Vanessa is not an exception.""Get to the point.""Vanes
I take another piece of pizza, trying to take in everything that Nate has just shared with me.There's hundreds of questions swirling in my head. How did Vanessa get involved with drug dealers? How long has she been doing this? Did Damien know about any of it? Does anyone in her life know about this other secret life? Is she really inlove with Leo Giovanni? But most importantly, is her life in danger? Did Leo and Luca threaten Vanessa?"Your turn." Nate says, dragging me from my thoughts."My turn?" I raise an eyebrow."The deal, remember?" He says. "I spill about Vanessa. You spill about your strange marriage to Damien Hunt.""I can't tell you much." I sigh. "But I'll tell you one thing. I'm not inlove with that man. And he's not inlove with me. It has to be the strangest marriage on earth. That's all that I can tell you."Nate beams as be takes another slice of pizza. There's this strange look of relief after I tell him about my marriage. After that, we eat some more pizza as we tal
Damien rolls up to the huge house.The expansive mansion is a stunning sight to behold, with its towering columns, sweeping staircase and numerous balconies overlooking the spectacular view of rolling hills.I turn to look at Damien and take his hand. His hand is so big and warm in mine. My hand is shaking a little bit and a lit wet from sweating. "I'm nervous.""Don't be." He says. "She will like you.""She didn't come to our wedding. Doesn't sound like she's a fan.""She's not a fan of social settings." He pauses. "Since the accident.""Oh, I'm sorry." I sigh. "Vanessa said that she doesn't like her either. What if she just hates the partners you pick? What if she will just automatically hate me because she thinks I'm taking away her son from her?""Vanessa is actually the one who didn't like my mom." He says. "It's a long story that I can't narrate right now. We should go inside before they start thinking we're having a quickie in the car."I chuckle as we step out of the car. Dam
Camille Hunt scoops her icecream, looking me up and down like I'm made of filth. It's so evident she doesn't like me."Got someone to do some background research on you." She continues. "Doctor parents who abandoned you. Boyfriend who cheated on you. Never went to college. You've spent your whole life doing embarrassing jobs to make money. So, how did someone like you end up convincing my son to marry you? That still a mystery."She leans closer with a smirk on her face."I may never know why my son decided to marry someone like you but I know one thing for sure." She pauses. "You are a gorgeous golddigger. You are just using him for his money. Money that you will never get. I've poured so much sweat and effort into my empire to let a lowlife like you take it away from us."Camille Hunt founded the Camille Cosmetics Company. She was a supermodel who quit modelling to venture into entrepreneurship, something she's always been passionate about. After getting into an accident that put he
Pregnancy is so weird.You'll just wake up one morning and your boobs are a little too big and your jeans are a little too tight and your feet are a little too swollen. These are tiny changes that you can miss. But unfortunately, I can't. Especially not when I pick up my jeans and realise I can't be able to zip them. I'm forced to pick a pink sundress matched with pink doll shoes. That's the other thing about pregnancy. You always pick something comfortable because you're always tired. Even if you've just spent the day, basking in the sun - you will still be tired!Damien is in the kitchen making breakfast when I walk in. He's wearing an apron with a cookbook in his hand. It's the same cookbook that Liam got him as his wedding gift. He's already started using the recipes like the good husband he is. "Made you some pancakes." I fall on the island and take a bite of the pancakes. They are delicious. I can't help but stuff more in my mouth. The pancakes are perfect. Damien pours me s
Vanessa is lying.Not just to me. But to herself.I know she's inlove with my husband. She created a whole photo album to make sure Damien never forgets her. She bought him a brand new camera. She kissed him at our wedding. She's inlove with Damien not her husband to be.We are standing outside the icecream shop when Damien picks me up in the afternoon.There's tension between them the minute Damien moves closer to us. Vanessa opens her arms wide open for him. Damien stretches his hand to greet her, with no intention of hugging her."Did you get my wedding gifts?""Yes." He forces a smile. "They are very thoughtful.""I can't wait to see you use that camera." She smiles."That's never happening." He mutters and takes my hand."Damien, can I have a word?"Damien is reluctant at first. We exchange gazes and I nod at him. He sighs and walks back to her as I slide into his car. A few minutes later, Damien storms into the car. He's clearly pissed. I wonder what Vanessa told him. When I as
DAMIENtwenty years laterIt's our twentieth anniversary.For every anniversary, we celebrate it in Bali. In the same hotel we went for our first, second and third honeymoon. There's been a lot of changes and renovations in the hotel over the years but it still gives me a feeling of nostalgia every time I come here.I step out of the shower and start drying myself with the towel.Dani is busy typing on her laptop. I apply some lotion and slide into a pair of white shorts. My wife doesn't bother to look up."George filed for divorce." I huff. "Gina cheated on him again. This time, with a younger man.""Not surprised." I sigh. "Why can't he just leave her?""He's addicted to the toxicity."Dani doesn't respond. She's still busy on her laptop. Plus, she's so over George and Gina. And honestly, so am I. For years, I wanted to save George from that abusive marriage but he clearly doesn't want to be saved. He made the bed. I'll just let him lie in it. Even if it's a bed of thorns that makes
DANII stare at Nate in shock.But he's not staring at me. He's staring at Damien."When Dani's dad shot me, I was paralysed." Nate says. "I could see everything. I could hear everything. But I couldn't move. I couldn't even feel blood oozing from my body."Okay, where's this going?"Dani was in shock after her father shot himself infront of her." He continues. "She just sat there, staring at his lifeless body. She was in shock and despair. She had lost all hope for life. That's until you came out of nowhere and wrapped your arms around her, crying. She was relieved. She was hopeful again. I was relieved too. And I was hopeful. That's when I allowed myself to pass out. All that time, I'd been forcing myself to hold on a little longer for Dani. I didn't want to leave her all alone and scared. But when you showed up, I knew she was in safe hands. So l let myself pass out."Nate finally turns to look at me, a small smile forming on his face."Remember that double date with Richard and yo
DAMIENI ring the doorbell.Dani swings the door open, dressed in her pajamas. She stares at me in complete shock and confusion."What are you doing here?" She asks in concern. "Are you okay?"I don't reply to that. I just pull her in my arms and cling to her body. I know she's pregnant and I'm probably hurting her baby but the baby will have to forgive me. I need his mother now. He can wait.Dani escorts me to the livingroom. She sneaks to the kitchen and brings me coffee. Yes, I definitely need coffee this time. I'm shaking due to the cold. Or maybe I'm shaking due to the shock. It's been a night of horror and I can't wait for it to end."What's going on, Damien?" Dani asks softly. "Where's Vanessa?"Just hearing her name sends chills all over my body. I look up at the ticking clock.The images of the last three hours play vividly in my head.Vanessa screaming in terror. Vanessa's head being chopped off. Vanessa's head being tossed in a black plastic bag like garbage. The "bad guys
VANESSABe calm.Whatever happens in life, be calm. That's one of the greatest tricks to tackle every situation in life. Be calm. Take a deep breath. Don't lose it. You might be losing it inside, but don't show them. Act calm. Act confident.I turn to look at Damien.Ofcourse I'm shocked. And confused. He just jumped out of the kitchen. He was listening to the conversation this entire time. I should have listened to my gut when I entered the house.I got a whiff of his cologne when I entered the living room. Then I got a glance of his shoes at the door. But somehow, I convinced myself that they didn't belong to Damien. A bunch of shoes look the same. And there's no way they belonged to Damien. I mean, I left him home looking hungry and exhausted. There's no way he could drive back to the city for two hours instead of taking a rest. God, I was in for a shock!But I'm still calm. "Babe." I smile. "You know I hate surprises.""Don't babe me!" He snaps. "I heard everything you just said,
DAMIENI dash into the kitchen and pour all the coffee in the sink.I don't want coffee. I want something stronger. Something like scotch. Something that will make me forget about my dad. And Vanessa. And the pregnancy scam. And the whole drug dealing thing. And the way I just talked to Dani. And the way she looked at me. All I do is hurt her with my words and actions. And all she does is be kind and nice to me. After everything I did, she's letting me spend the night at her house. God, I don't deserve her...It's pouring heavily outside.I look outside, the rain beating down on the roof and sliding down the window. For a moment there, I wish that the rain could wash away all the pain. I wish that the rain could slide down my soul and wash away all the sadness and sorrow. The doorbell rings, pulling me away from the sea of sad thoughts."Good evening, Dani." I grit my teeth when I hear that familiar voice. Vanessa. What the fùck is she doing here? How the fùck did she know that I wa
DANIDamien is standing at my door when I get home from the hospital.The second he sees me, he runs to me and our bodies clash in a tight embrace. He starts crying in my arms. And I start crying in his arms. And now we're crying in each other's arms. I don't even know why I'm crying. But I definitely know why he's crying.He lost his father. A father that he deeply loved. And today he lay his father to rest. That's hard on anyone.The sky rumbles. We break apart and silently walk into the house before it starts raining. Damien takes off his shoes and sits on the couch. I take off my black coat and sneak to the kitchen. There, I make coffee and grab some cookies from the pantry. Damien looks like he needs something stronger than coffee but it's the best choice for now. "Thankyou." He smiles when I set the tray of coffee and cookies on the table.I sit across from him, creating some distance between us. I'm just from seeing Nate in the hospital and we even kissed when I left. I wou
DAMIENThe ride home was silent.Two hours on the road with Vanessa sulking and seething and staring at me, her eyes filled with fury.The second I stop the engine, she flies out of the car and storms into the house. I follow her quickly but I can't keep up with her pace. When I walk into the house, she's already flying up the stairs.Maria steps out of the kitchen with a bunch of sandwiches on the tray."Spill the tea." She giggles. "Why is she so mad this time? What happened at the funeral?""Nothing interesting." I shrug.That's my way of brushing Maria off. Although I like her, she can be a little nosy in a way that's annoying and steps on boundaries. Vanessa is still the mother of my child. She's just a surrogate. Sometimes I think that Maria forgets that. Vanessa can be a pain in the àss but she still deserves respect as the biological mother of my child."Want a sandwich?" She offers."Sure." I grab it. "I'm starving!"I run up the stairs, chewing on the sandwich as I head to o
DANICamille's mansion was the perfect pick for the reception after the funeral.The guests are waltzing around the large livingroom, cups of coffee clutched in their hands. A bunch of bowls are sitting at the dining table with cookies and biscuits and even chocolates.I'm sitting on the couch next to Camille, munching on the crunchy cookies. Her face is blank and void of emotion but I know that deep down, she's having an emotional crisis. A few hours ago, she broke down as her husband was put to the ground. I can't imagine what that felt like for her. Spending half of your life with someone and then having to watch their lifeless bodies being lowered to the ground. Tragic."Look at them!" Camille points to Damien and Vanessa. "She's always complaining about something. They should break up already."They seem like they are fighting. Vanessa is nagging about something. And Damien is glaring at her. They are obviously the unhappiest couple in the room. I get a little thrill watching the
DAMIENVanessa slides into her black heels and walks towards me.She stands so close, looking up at me. There's a blank look on her face and it's kinda creepy. She straightens my collar and starts fixing my black tie."I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me."The cold tone in her voice sends shivers down my spine. She's not been speaking to me the entire morning. I thought it was odd but chose not to overthink it. I thought it's because we were both busy getting ready for the funeral. I thought maybe she's giving me some space and silence because this is the day that I lay my dad to the ground. From the tone of her voice, that's clearly not the case. She's mad at me. And from the way she's playing with this tie, I might end up getting strangled if I don't provide the answer that she wants. And that makes my heart start racing."Have you been fùcking Dani?"I can't help but laugh. I thought it was something serious. Something that was going to be