I said those words without stuttering, like I had always wanted them to come out of my mouth, and when given the chance, I took them seriously and effectively. However, I cannot forget the reaction from his eyes before I went up to my room. The sadness, remorse, and begging were there. And I cannot do anything but let him feel those feelings.Rolling over and over again on my bed for the nth time now, I frowned and decided to sit down. It's been an hour now since I left him there in the kitchen, and I had always been thinking about him, wondering if he was able to find a room in the guestrooms or not. Or if he was comfortable sleeping in those?I let out a deep sigh and closed my eyes tightly. Okay, Pennelope! He's already of age, okay? He can do it all on his own!I nodded and tried to think that over and over again until I fell over asleep after two hours of thinking about a man who wants to enter my heart again but is not allowed to do so.The next morning, I woke up smelling someth
He looked grumpy and serious in the morning, like always. Whenever his brows furrowed and his eyes serious, I couldn't help but remember Ethan to him. They have the same eyes, and most of his features were copied from Ethan, so it is easy to identify that they were father and son. "Good morning, my baby!" I happily said, burying the conversation I had with Ethan. Ethan, though, remained standing behind my back while I kneeled down on the floor to level Jared's serious face. For a moment, a memory flashed in my mind—a picture of me kneeling down a cold grass while begging Ethan to stay in my life. But he didn't. He chose Elyse over me, over his wife.I shook my head as I tried to shrug off the thoughts running through my mind.Jared didn't answer; instead, he enveloped his little arms around my neck and hugged me for a minute. When he pulled out for a hug, he smiled at me. I chuckled and caressed his ruly hair. This is our routine every day; he will hug me after he wakes up, and as if
He smirked at me, deadly. He stood up from my swivel chair, putting both hands on the table, leaning a bit, and observing me like I was a comedy show he was having fun watching with."I am glad you still remember my name. It's been five years; I thought you had forgotten me already," he uttered.I remained standing straight in front of him. Not showing him any emotion at all. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but it automatically closed, like even my mouth was afraid of the man in front of me. Who wouldn't, though? The leader of the most powerful and dangerous Mafia in the country is right in front of me, asking me to pay for the times he helped me back then.I have always thought that the company I have built was because of my hard work. And maybe, yes, it was because of my hard work. However, I didn't make it all on my own; Killian helped me in the most dangerous and scariest way to get here.He raised an eyebrow at me. "What? Are you just going to stand there? Won't you give me a w
While I was eating my breakfast, Ethan joined Jared on the sofa. Ethan tried to help Jared sketch something on his sketch pad, but Jared didn't let his father help him nor look at what he was sketching."No! It's a private property of mine. I don't usually share it with any other people, especially strangers. I only like sharing my works with mommy. Not with anyone else," he said continuously.My jaw dropped at the words Jared used. From the look of it, I can see that he didn't realize the words that came out of his mouth. When I took a look at Ethan, I noticed that he was frozen, and the pain in his eyes was visible. He was hurt that his own son... thinks he is a stranger.His eyes remained fixed on watching Jared, but I knew it had stabbed his heart. I really don't understand. A minute ago, they were okay. They both even gave me breakfast! I can't understand why Jared is acting this way. I want to talk to him about this, but I know that this is not the right time. If I am going to t
The scenery was all I was watching. The cold wind blew my hair out of its bun, and a smile escaped from my lips as I tucked my hair behind my ear. I chuckled when Jared ran to the sea while laughing, and Ethan was behind him, running after him. Both of them were wearing their big smiles."Mommy! Let's go here! The water is cold!" Jared shouted, and I couldn't help but laugh at his eagerness. Ethan's eyes went to me, and he smirked at me because he knew I could not say no to Jared. Jared was just wearing his shorts, while Ethan was still wearing all his clothes."Come on, Pen! Come here! Let's swim together!" Ethan called me. I shook my head at the two and turned my back on them. And even though I am not wearing a proper two-piece for this, I still remove my clothes so that I can attend to Ethan and Jared at the sea.I first removed my white long sleeves, revealing my black brassiere. The next one was my skirt, only to reveal my black underwear. My cheeks burned as I turned around. Jar
I was silent throughout the waiting; my hands were on my face, covering it as I sighed deeply multiple times. I smiled sadly at myself. This is supposed to be a vacation; they prepared it for me, and we were supposed to enjoy and be happy, and yet here I am, messing up with their lives.Am I really the one who is messing up his life? Or is it the other way around?I huffed and stood up when I heard Ethan's footsteps on the stairs. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, his lips were in a thin line, and his brows were furrowed."Are you cold?" he asked, his eyes going down to my terno satin spaghetti strap and pajamas. He stopped when he was in front of me, observing me calmly even though his eyes were screaming of remorse, pain, and tiredness.If he is already tired, why doesn't he stop?I don't know why, but something pinched my heart when I thought of Ethan stopping from chasing us. I hate him, yes. I don't want to take him back anymore, yes. But... There is a part of me that doesn't wa
I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. I closed my eyes tightly as what happened last night came to my mind. Did it really happen? Oh God! I lifted my hand and touched my lips with my index finger, reminiscing about the kiss I shared with Ethan. So it really happened, huh?I sighed deeply and smiled to myself as I covered my face with the pillow and screamed so loudly. The sheets on my bed smelled nicely, and I don't know if I am just addicted to Ethan but they also smelled like him. I stood up from my bed with a big smile on myself."Calm yourself down, Pennelope. Don't look too happy, alright? Just act normal like you are not affected by the kisses last night," I told myself as I faced the mirror while combing my hair. I had just finished bathing myself, and wearing a white shirt and black short shorts, I walked to Jared's room to check if he's already awake.I opened the door carefully as I sneeked inside. I sighed when I saw him still sleeping peacefully on the bed. I
I heard gasps from my employees as Ethan and I entered our company. All their eyes are directed at us, and shock is evident on their faces. Who wouldn't? Ethan's guiding me by holding me from my waist to my stomach, claiming me possessively."My employees are watching you. They must be wondering why you're holding me this way," I whispered at Ethan as we got to the elevator.I saw him smirk in my peripheral vision. "Of course I will hold you this way. I want you mine, only mine. And I'm so in love with you," he whispered. I take a glance at him, and he uses that as a chance to wink at me.My cheeks burned, and rolling my eyes, I looked away and pretended not to be affected by him.We entered the elevator with only the two of us inside. I met some of my employees' eyes, and I saw how they got scared, going back to work immediately, like they were not watching us both a while ago."We're still not together, Ethan," I reminded him once the elevator closed. He was still holding me tightly
Ethan's POV“I didn't expect you to come home today.” Pennelope whispered, caressing my naked body with her soft hands. I kissed her head and embraced her more. We are in the bathtub of her room and we have just finished making love.I missed her so much.“When I learned you are planning a party for your company's fourth anniversary, I wanted to surprise you. So I made sure I am present in your big event.”She lifted her head from lying on my chest. “How did you even know about the party?” She narrowed her eyes. I sighed and smirked. “Ethan!”I chuckled. “I'm sorry, I just can't stand getting no information about you so I made sure that all your men will report to me before I leave for Italy.”She groaned. “And I did not even know about it?”“You will not let it happen if you find out about it.” I ran my fingers on her arm down to her ring finger, where the ring I just gave her is on. “It really fits on your finger.” I whispered huskily.She laid her head on my chest again as we b
Pennelope's POVI saw and read it in the magazines multiple times. He was seen in a famous hotel in Italy with the same woman multiple times. So it is possible that he is already opening up his heart for someone. It hurts, yes. But I asked him this. So I don't have any choice but to accept whatever consequences it may cause me. The woman is a famous model here in the United States so maybe he really did not go to Italy for a business trip, huh? Maybe he went there for the both of them to date?I gulped and shook my head, trying to erase the thoughts running in my mind.It only took twenty minutes before we arrived at my company. Everyone greeted us with their big and warm smiles as we approached the hallway. Today is my company's fourth anniversary. And I am happy to celebrate it with my employees. The Spades together with David Falcon got jailed already. I don't know how it happened so quickly but they are sentenced for a lifetime imprisonment. I learned that Elyse is pregnant wi
Pennelope's POVOne call from Ethan and I felt all my blood go to my head. I immediately answered the phone with my trembling hands.“Ethan, w-what happened?” I asked nervously. I can hear his deep breathing from the other line, indicating that he's already tired. “He is already saved. I already found him,” he said with a husky voice.“Oh, god! Thank you! Where are you? Where is he? I'm going-”“He's unconscious…” he said, which cut me off.“What? Ethan, where are you? I'm going there! Ethan!”He told me the address of where he is right now together with Jared. It is the address of an Hospital. I don't know what to feel. I wanted to be happy and feel relieved because my son is already found, but I can't completely be happy knowing that he is unconscious now. Ethan did not let me drive my car. He asked one of his men to do the job for me. And although I wanted him to know that I could do it alone, I did not waste any more time. All I want is to see my son. All I want is to embrace
Ethan's POVHearing that, my sight darkened and all I wanna do right now is to go with the Spades and get my son back with us. I don't care about their lives anymore. I will kill for my son.I will kill just to save my son's life.I brought all my remaining men with me, having their weapons equipped within themselves. It's already dawn. Anytime soon now, the sun will rise, which means another day will start again. And I swear to all the heavens, all of this chaos will end before this day ends. I swear it. And if I swear, I only don't swear. I make it happen.The Spades mansion is big but not as big as the Falcon's mansion. They are surrounded by my men there. So it was easy for us to get informed about what was happening there. I took my guns and suppressed sniper rifle with me and wore my earpiece.“Are you sure you can do it by yourself? I can join you, Ethan.” Erman said with a worried tone.I clenched my jaw and tightened my grip on the gun. “No, I can do it. But always be ready,
Ethan's POVThe unending challenges are exhausting me. The pain throwing to my heart is killing me. But I have to bear the pain to fight back. Because I knew that everything would be worth it. Whatever I am doing and fighting for, I know it will be worth it. My family, Pennelope and Jared, is worth it. I ran my hands on the prepared and ready to use weapons in the headquarters. I know I promised my wife that I will not hurt any innocent people and I also promised that no one will die. However, I cannot promise we won't be using guns because this is not just about who is much powerful and has better connections, this is about who is smarter, who has the best idea, and who does not have weakness.I used to be called a heartless billionaire. I used to play fire with women everytime I wanted to take some steam off my body. I did not care about their feelings. I did not care about other people's feelings. Not until Pennelope came into my life.She changed my perspective about everything.
Pennelope's POVI am eager to end this. It has ruined beautiful things, turned special events into something horrific. Am I going to wait for further destruction before I end this?No. This has to end already. I do not know if Ethan already knows what Killian has said to me. Do I believe him? Not really, but hearing him out, telling me his explanations, I believe him at some point. Every word he said was full of sincerity.I know that he is good at faking things and this may just be his way to lure me… but I can feel that he is telling the truth. “Please answer the phone…” I whispered to myself as I wandered around the balcony. After the call I had with Killian, I immediately typed Ethan's phone number to call him. Unfortunately, he is not answering it. I have been calling him for the third time now and there was still no response. “Please…” Just as I said it, Ethan's baritone voice came on the other line.“Baby…” I knew it was him. I gulped and for a moment, I forgot the words
Pennelope's POVI do not know what's happening. The events occurred quickly. Ethan's men guided me to our car and they drove me back to our house, without Ethan with me. With my trembling hands, I took my phone out of my purse. Just like rain, continuous messages from different people popped out on my screen. I could not read all their messages one by one. Even Jessie has multiple messages on me but I did not try to read it. I went to a famous website platform, and I saw what Ethan was saying. Dalilah Spade, mother of Elyse Spade, is being interviewed by one of the most reliable and famous media outlets in the country. “We are still investigating everything. The Falcons are users. They used and involved my daughter in their crimes. And now, my daughter's life is being ruined because of Ethan Falcon. We thought they were married. We thought Ethan Falcon married our daughter. But it turned out, everything was just a lie.”I gulped as my heart knocked my chest hard and loud. “For five
Pennelope's POVEthan's explanation did not make me feel better. It did not ease the pain that I had felt back then or the betrayal I am feeling right now. I still feel... betrayed. I still feel... like I was a trash... easy to throw away and easy to forget. "Should I thank you then for s-saving my life?" My voice broke as I asked Ethan that question.No matter how hard I try to stop my tears from falling, I can't. They are flowing down like rainfall. It was easy for him to give up on me. It was easy for him to abide his family's want, just as easy as like that. He married me. He made a promise, and I kept it in my heart. But why did he let me go away? Why did he let me feel the pain I felt back then? Why did he let me go through all the pain I went through? His love was not enough to fight for me. His love was too shallow."B-Baby," he tried to hold my hand, but I shoved it away. I sobbed hard as I looked into his eyes. I glanced at his father, who's crying, and at Elyse, whose ey
Ethan's POVThe sound of water coming from the shower is so relaxing. Its cold breeze is calming my nerves, and it brings chills to my deepest bones inside.I do not usually experience it before, but now that I have seen Pennelope and have fallen in love with her again after five years, I suddenly feel the excitement of being alive. That day, I immediately called the leader of my men to find Pennelope. The excitement to see her again is so strong that I could not concentrate on work and could not take even a single nap. I need to see her again. I need to talk to her. And it may be wrong to say it, but I need to get her back. I need to win her back and bring her back into my life again. The five years of being tortured are already enough. Actually, I already gave up on finding Pennelope and having her back in my life again. Not because I do not love her anymore or because I do not want her in my life anymore. But rather because I knew that what I had done could not be forgiven. And ev