C H A P T E R 2 1 :
J A V I E R S U M M E R S
Javier stared blankly ahead. Even though his body was in his office, his mind traveled elsewhere, preferably in a small flat downtown where Ella was located at the moment. Even though he did not fully agree with what Damon and Tanner had suggested — mainly because he did not think he could leave her be especially when she seemed to be in need of his help, he felt that he should give it a try. Even if it pained him, even if it broke his heart to be apart from her.
The look on her face showed how little she remembered him and he was afraid if he was giving her some space, she would forget him altogether. How would someone remember when there was no reminder at all? How would she remember him if he was not even around? Going to the office this afternoon had been difficult enough. He wished he could stay with her, at least until this evening when he
C H A P T E R 2 2 : T R U T H I S R A R E L Y S I M P L EJ A V I E R S U M M E R SJavier waited as his sister was gaping at him with a shocked look on her face. She continued to stare for the next two full minutes before a small frown started to appear on her forehead and she was finally able to form a sentence. "What do you mean you helped him?" Once she managed to say that one question, more questions kept coming out from her mouth, giving Javier no chance to answer. "So you have been lying to us the whole time. How could you do this? You knew how desperate we were all trying to find Draven. We even thought he was lost for good. If you have known where he was the whole goddamn time, why did you not tell us?!" Then she blinked, her eyes were narrowing infinitesimally. "O
Since getting out of the shower, Ella had sniffed the cologne at the cabinet in the bathroom, hoping that would pique her memory. She knew the scent because it seemed popular with many men, but that was it. Nothing else crossed her mind. Then she rummaged through her chest of drawers for a pair of cotton gym shorts and a t-shirt when her hand froze as she touched a pair of man’s boxer shorts. It was a regular dark blue boxer with a black colored elastic band. And that got her thinking about the other side of being in a relationship with someone, especially at the engagement stage. Sex. The same panicky sensations from two days ago — when she had screamed at Javier upon knowing his status in her life— threatened to bubble out of her, but she clamped down on her jaw and forced it away. She could not lose it again. It was not her. She had to soothe her mind, breathe deeply, think rationally, and take it all one step at a time. Having a mental breakdown would not help her in any way.
Ella stared at the door for several seconds after he had left then laid her body down on top of the mattress, staring at the ceiling. She was not sure what had just happened. It was unreasonable of her to ask him to kiss her. She did not know him. Whatever he had claimed to be, she had no recollection of it. Until now, a few minutes later, she was not even sure what had caused her to even said those two simple words, what had driven her to ask him the most embarrassing request she had ever said in her life. Gosh, just thinking about it made her face redden. She wanted to bury her face in the pillow but then she remembered that the pillow smelled like him. Her body wanted him and she was having a hard time trying to control her urges. Her logical mind cautioned her, telling her multiple times that she did not know this man and she should not be acting or feeling like this. Yet whenever he was near her, there was this pulsating, undeniable, hard-to-resist force that pulled her towards
C H A P T E R 2 5 : P R E S E R V E R E N C E I S A L W A Y S T H E K E Y J A V I E R S U M M E R S Surprisingly enough, Javier roared with laughter. “Trust me, Miss Stanford. My money was definitely not a plus where you were concerned.” “I am glad you find this amusing.” Ella chewed on her lower lip for a moment as she thought of his words carefully. “To be honest with you, I have been trying to think of reasons why I dated you and even agreed in marrying you despite you being my boss, and I could not find any logical explanation. Then I searched you online and found out about your wealth and success. I knew my childhood has not been easy so the only reason I could come up with was that I was tired of living in modesty and wanted to live comfortably.” She quickly grabbed the glass of wine and nearly emptying its content as she waited anxiously on how he would react.
C H A P T E R 2 6 : T E M P T A T I O N A N D P R O M I S EJ A V I E R S U M M E R SJavier watched her looking up then tilting her head to one side. There was confusion on her face before it was replaced with horror. She gasped, dropping her fork on the plate in a loud noise. The poor utensils bounced from the plate to the dining table. “I am sorry,” she muttered, shaking her head and biting her lips. “Did I just call you with the wrong name?”“No. No.” He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her arm up and down in a soothing motion. “You just called me by the nickname that you gave me. No one else calls me that.” He paused for a moment then spoke again, “Did you perhaps—” Dropping his hand to his lap, he closed his eyes and shook his head. When he finally reopene
C H A P T E R 2 7 : H E R M E M O R Y A N D T H E T H U N D E R S T O R M E L L A S T A N F O R D “What?” Ella asked, doing her best to shake off the sensual haze that still held her in its grip. She tried to concentrate on breathing normally again which was not an easy task considering her body was feeling all tight and tingly and her mind seemed to have turned to jelly. A frown slashed across his face. “You had a smear on your face and now it is gone,” he repeated, his voice still sounded hoarse. Ella’s fingers went to her mouth, still warm and wet from his kiss, and she could feel the blush crawl up her cheeks. She felt really embarrassed that a part of her wanted to duck beneath the table and hide while another part of her wanted to climb on his lap and have him kiss her again. In the end she did neither and decided that both reactions were absurd. Javier was her fia
C H A P T E R 2 8 : T H E B A D T I M E T O H I D E T H E T R U T HE L L A S T A N F O R D“I never think that you are,” he replied cautiously.Yet she did not seem to hear him as she continued, “Nor do I care to be sheltered or covered in bubble wraps like some fragile things.” Now her head tilted upwards and she looked at him. Her eyes had turned hard.“I am not sure I am following you,” he said, frowning with confusion.“I am talking about the fact that you just lied to me and how you casually answering all of my questions with generic answers!” she nearly yelled, her face flushing to a tomato red. “Is this what our relationship has been based on? L
C H A P T E R 2 9 : T H E T H I N G A B O U T F R U S T R A T I O N A N D D E S I R E E L L A S T A N F O R D She whipped her gaze toward a scowling Javier and watched in frustration as he came to her side in a matter of seconds. “I was looking for my crutches, but I could not find it.” An angry frown slashed his brow. “I told you to wait for me.” “I am not helpless, Javier, and I do not want to be treated like I am a baby. I think I can manage to walk to the bed, if you will lend me your arm for support.” “No way. I am carrying you.” “But—” “No buts,” he said firmly. Releasing a breath, he closed his eyes a second, and when he opened them again, his expression had softened. “Listen, I know you can do