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
C H A P T E R 3 0 : H E R W O R S T F E A R A N D B R U I S E D A N K L E J A V I E R S U M M E R S “Jiev.” That nickname seemed to be his undone. Her smoky voice rippled over him, obliterating any remote possibility that he could think clearly. His brains simply refused to function for the time being. Not when the only thought running through his brain was that she had murmured his name in that same way while lying naked in his arms, her body joined intimately with his. And as though Ella had been caught under the same sensual spell as he had, she suddenly scrambled beneath the covers. The difference was that she cried out in pain. “What is it?” Javier demanded, rushing to her side. “M-my ankle,” she finally answered. Her voice was shaky and her eyes were in pain. “I must have tw
C H A P T E R 3 1 : B R E A K F A S T A N D E N G A G E M E N T R I N G J A V I E R S U M M E R S Javier woke up with a painful backache. The couch was too small for his large body but still, he persevered throughout the night, knowing that Ella was safe and sound in her bedroom only a few meters away from him. After stretching his tired body, he rose to his feet and went into the bathroom. In less than half an hour, he was already showered and was wearing one big towel around his waist when he realized that he needed his new change of clothes and most of his clothes were already inside the suitcase in his car in the basement. He had left about five pairs of clothing in the cupboard but the tricky part was that the cupboard was located inside the bedroom. Thus, in the end, he had no other choice but to wait until Ella woke up before he
C H A P T E R 3 2 - A F L A S H O F M E M O R Y E L L A S T A N F O R D At first, Javier seemed to be surprised at her odd request however his shock turned to curiosity shortly after. Yet his self restraint held him from asking her the reason behind her adjuration. “I think it was in your luggage from the hospital. They had to remove all of your pieces of jewelry while you were under intensive care and put them in a sealed plastic bag.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “Let me get it for you.” Ella nodded and offered him a smile. “Thank you.” It did not take him longer than five minutes to get the luggage and grabbed the engagement ring in his palm. But most of the time, at least one full minute was spent staring at the ring. The ring had once belonged to his mother however she had promised him, a long time ago, that
C H A P T E R 3 3 : T H A T D A Y A N D T H A T G O R G E O U S R E D D R E S S E L L A S T A N F O R D While Javier was putting his coat on, Ella helped Damon carry the dishes and placed them on the sink. Her best friend of ten years gave her a pointed look and said, "You." He nudged his arm with her elbow as he continued, "I do not need your help here, Darling, go and put on something pretty." He glanced at Javier who was tidying himself up by the coat hanger and added, "Maybe we can even hit the club. You could meet some handsome people the city could offer." Javier gave no reaction at all. Clearly, he was not as childish as Damon wanted him to be. "Okay. I will be read in a minute," answered Ella as she walked towards h