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
"You should do it."Damien's eyes almost pop out of his sockets. I stretch my hand across the table and squeeze it."You should do it." I repeat softly."Are you crazy?" He scoffs. "My ex is literally asking me to walk her down the aisle and watch another man take her. I'm still not over her. She knows that I'm still not over her. And she's just trying to play games with me.""Then play it." I say to his surprise. "Show her that you don't care. That you have moved on. That you have a wife now and you're happily married. That will kill her.""I'm trying to move on.""Maybe the first step of moving on is showing her that you don't care." I say. "She told me that you are her best friend. She obviously wants you there on her special day. Maybe this is not her being the ex with mind games. Maybe this is her being a friend in need."Damien seems to be in thought for a moment. He looks up at me with a small smile."You are right.""I'm always right." I wink at him.I hope that this brings th
Damien shows me around the company.The offices are pristine, each of them equipped with a touchscreen computer and wireless charging pads. The cafeteria is cute, decorated with pink tables and chairs. The washrooms are spacious and spotlessly clean with huge mirrors in every stall. Damien makes a joke about washrooms being the perfect place to meet your partner and I just roll my eyes. It's not like he's my real partner. Lastly, Damien shows me to my little cute office where I'll be working for the next two years. There's a cute wooden desk in the middle and a little bookshelf with books and files. What I love about my little office is the scenic view of the city. I can't wait to stand over the window as I sip my coffee. Damien directs me on the paperwork I'll be working on today. It's not a lot of work. As we leave my office, I get a glimpse of Brandon and Wendy in his office. She's leaning over his desk, giggling and playing with his tie. They immediately stop when they see us pa