Emily gulped because Harold was right, but she didn’t want to take advantage of his kindness. If he truly loved her, it would be bad for him to marry her while she couldn’t love him back.
“I can’t ….” She shook her head again. “Let’s not discuss it for now.” She was quiet for a while. “You are a kind man, Harold. I want you to be happy. I can’t marry you because I can’t love you back.”
He sighed because he truly expected her to accept his proposal, but she tried to be fair to him. So, he reached out his hand to hold hers and kissed the back of her hand.
“Baby, it’s okay if you haven’t loved me. I can live with that.”
“No, it’s unfair.” She insist
It was Friday night when Jacob got a call from his office janitor. He was at a gala dinner and already met with some prospective clients. They wanted to buy or rent various kinds of buildings.“Sir, we’re on fire!” The janitor was panicking. “Suddenly, there was a fire, and I already called the fire department. They’re on the way here.”“Okay,” Jacob said calmly. “Let me know if all is good. Good job of contacting the fire department!” Then he ended the call.Having a fire accident in summer was normal, so he thought a little about it. He would surely give the janitor a raise because he worked well.However, a half hour later, the janitor called again. “Sir, the firefighters are here, but the f
“Who?” Jacob creased his forehead.“Gwen Johnson, your ex-fiancee,” Harold said lightly. “She is no longer in the mental rehabilitation center.”“Ah, good for her if she has recovered.” Jacob was about to pass through Harold because he didn’t find any connection with him. However, he stopped because of Harold’s words.“Her first hello was the fire.” Harold chuckled because Gwen’s idea was splendid. “I guess you must admit she has a creative mind.” Then he walked away.Jacob turned his body to talk to Harold, but the man talked with someone else. He couldn’t make a fuss because they were at a gala dinner. Many people were near them too. Besides, he didn’t have any p
Jacob took the picture in his pocket to see Emily once again. She sat in a garden with a hand protectively on her stomach. She looked radiant and peaceful.He missed her more than he wanted to admit, but it was shocking to see her pregnant. Was Gwen right? Was Emily pregnant with another man’s baby? What if it’s his?His thumb caressed her face in the picture. Then he tried to analyze the surroundings. It could be everywhere because nothing was unusual he could recognize to help identify the place. However, his mind wandered to what Harold said.It was obvious Gwen and Harold knew each other. It was possible Gwen worked for Harold. Also, Emily used Montgomery’s Express on the day she ran away. Was Emily with Harold? Could it be that the baby was Harold’s?
The next day, Jacob asked his staff to go to the insurance company as they always paid the insurance. He also waited for Al to call him because he wanted to meet with Emily soon.When Al called, Jacob immediately picked it up. “Yes, Bro?”“After I checked again, the garden is a garden in Argentina, but the problem is it was an edited picture.”“What?!”“Both Emily’s picture and the garden picture are real, but they were mixed together.”Jacob blew his breath. “So, it’s enough to conclude Emily isn’t in Argentina.”“Yes, I don’t think she’s there. If she were there, they wouldn’t n
Harold held Emily’s hand, wiped her sweats, and let her squeeze his hand hard while she tried to labor.“You can do it!” he encouraged her.“Breathe, madam,” the doctor said.She followed what the doctor said. After an hour, finally, she could deliver Jason. A nurse helped to wrap the baby boy with a clean towel, then cleaned the blood and liquid from his body.After a half hour later, Emily could deliver Mia too. The baby girl didn’t breathe, and Emily thought she would lose her baby. The doctor pushed the baby’s chest a few times, and soon, Mia’s bawl filled the delivery room.Emily sobbed to see her baby girl could make it. Another nurse took care of Mia and
Harold froze to hear what Emily said. He didn’t expect her to say yes. In fact, he prepared himself to convince her with many things in the hope she would finally accept his proposal.Since he said nothing, she put her hand on his cheek. “Harold, what’s wrong? Did you hear what I said?”“I did.”“Say something.”He grinned, then bent his head forward and captured her lips in a tender kiss. “You make me the happiest man, baby.”“But I only agreed to what you said.” She bit her lower lip and whispered, “A fake marriage?” Her voice trembled as she was uncertain if it was what Harold truly asked.
Harold bent his head forward to whisper in Emily’s ear. “The woman who just left is classy. I’ll tell you the complete story later.”Emily nodded and smiled at her husband. She was curious but their marriage was just an arrangement for giving a public appearance. So she didn’t want to ask further. Yet, these women’s envy toward her was obvious.Before Emily could say something, a woman who sat next to Harold said, “Despite your being a married man, I wonder if we can still spend some time together.” She even dared to squeeze Harold’s thigh.He immediately stood. “Change seats with me, baby?” he whispered in Emily’s ear.Emily raised her eyebrow but did what he asked. The woman’s audacity
When they were already in the car, Emily leaned her head to the seat and closed her eyes because she was exhausted. Talking, smiling, and trying to bring herself as Harold’s wonderful wife was such a hard chore.She didn’t lie to the women when she said she was sure Harold was serious with her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t say yes to him. Yet, paying a role as his actual wife was draining.They sat on a limousine, and Tom, Harold’s driver, already set the car partition down so the newly wed could have privacy.She sighed because Harold’s hand massaged her shoulder. But then, when his hand moved to her bosom, she gulped.While holding his hand, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want this …. It’s
Jacob and Emily talked about the twins, about the past, and also their current situation. Then Emily said, “I’m sorry for not letting you know when I was pregnant with Jason and Mia.”“I forgive you,” he held her hand and squeezed it, “but can you consider divorcing Harold? I want to marry you and be our children’s father and your husband.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “We can’t repeat the past, but if you give me another chance, I promise I’ll protect and care for you and the children.”She let out a long sigh while biting her lower lip. After knowing Harold’s infidelity, it was getting harder and harder to stay in her marriage.But then she shook her head. “The reason I ran away three years ago was because I knew
From the hospital, Emily was about to go home, but she walked to a cafe near the hospital. After ordering and paying for a cup of latte, she took a deep breath and called Jacob. He took the call after the second ring. “Emily? How’s Jason? Is he okay?”It warmed her heart to know Jacob cared so much for their son. “Jason is well. I just visited him. I … I wonder if we can talk.”“Oh? Sure. What do you want to talk about?” “Well, about the offer you gave.” She licked her dry lips. “I’m at a cafe near the hospital. Can you come here so we can talk?”“Okay. I’m on my way.”After thirty minutes, Jacob arrived at the cafe. Since a few visitors were there, he could spot Emily right away. She waved at him, and he walked toward her table. After seeing her empty cup, he said, “Do you mind if we go elsewhere?”Emily shook her head. “No, it’s okay if you want to go somewhere.”So, Jacob escorted her to the parking lot, his hand on the small of her back. Since he drove the car alone, he opened t
Then, it was the time Viona left Harold’s office. He was already awake and promised her to give a jewelry set because he enjoyed the surprise.When Viona met Emily, she smiled and pretended to be shocked to see her. “Oh!” She covered her mouth with a hand. “You’re here.”Emily recognized Viona’s voice as the voice on the phone. However, she didn’t want to create a scene in Harold’s office.Viona sneered and then bent her head to whisper, “Mr. Montgomery is such a generous man. He promised to give me a jewelry set.” Then she licked her lips. “Maybe he loves my surprise.”Clenching her hand, Emily took a deep breath. She smiled at the assistant. “You can have your lunch now.”
After thinking about what happened, Viona knew Harold was someone she could count on. Considering her nephew told her how happy he was working at the Silent Syndicate, she knew if she could have Harold at her side, she wouldn’t need to work again.She hated Jacob because he fired her. She also hated Emily because she got the men he wanted. First, Jacob, and now, Harold. However, with her joining the Silent Syndicate, not only as Harold’s secret agent to spy on Jacob and the Gold Cleaner, being in Lee’s team would help her approach Harold.When she went to the penthouse, she heard a few maids chatting about how Harold treated Emily and the twins well. It made her hate Emily more.The next day, Viona went to Montgomery’s Express. Since Harold would be in the office until eveni
After the meeting, Lee approached Harold. He shook Harold’s hand first and congratulated him. “Can I talk to you?”“Go ahead.”He glanced around to see some leaders remained there. “Well, can we talk privately?”Harold nodded and escorted Lee to the next room. It was a smaller room. He sat on a brown couch and gestured his hand to ask Lee to sit too.Then he asked, “So, what do you want to discuss with me?”“We currently want to recruit a new member. Since we need a diversion, the member is outstanding at providing it.”“Oh? So?” Harold raised his eyebrow because recruiting a team member wasn&rsquo
Gordon Wilson, the Silent Syndicate leader in the drug department, raised his hand.George nodded at him. “Yes, Gordon?”“I think it’s better we raise our hands for people who choose Harold as our leader.”Then all raised their hands, except Harold. When they realized it, the leaders laughed aloud.George grinned at Harold. “See? I told you.” Then he headed to the door and pressed an intercom. It connected to the guard outside. “Bring the champagne!”Some servers entered the meeting room with empty wine glasses on trays. Another bought a cart with two ice buckets and a few bottles of champagne. They opened the bottles, poured the liquid into the wine glasses, then se
At night, Harold attended a meeting of the Silent Syndicate in the headquarters. The agenda was to determine their next leader. It was a regular thing they would discuss every decade. Considering they could choose a new leader after a decade, it would ensure that the syndicate wouldn’t have a bad leader for too long.Five-year leadership changes were suggested because a decade seemed too much. However, most leaders opposed the feedback in the last meeting. It was impractical to change a new leader every five years. Besides, creating a leadership structure required a long time. Changing it every five years would be unproductive.Harold willingly stepped aside for a new leader to take his place. It wasn’t a big deal for him to be the highest leader or not because he was already busy in his business too. Yet, since most of the Silent Syndic
Jacob immediately lifted Jason and ran to the parking lot. Emily, who didn’t notice what happened, was confused because Jacob ran so fast. When Jacob called her, she accepted the call right away.“Emily, we must go to the hospital. It’s an emergency. Please hurry to the parking lot!”Emily was anxious now because she didn’t know what had happened. Yet, she lifted Mia and asked the nurses to rush to the parking lot. When they were there, Jacob was cleaning Jason’s wound.“Oh, no! What happened?” The mother put a hand on her chest because it was the first time she saw her son was badly injured.“Jason tripped and fell to the ground, face first. His forehead hit a rock.” Then Jacob ordered Jimmy,
When they arrived at the theme park, it was crowded. However, Jacob already had some reserved tickets for them, so they didn’t need to queue for a long time. The two nurses also received their tickets.Jacob already created a schedule so the children could ride what they wanted. They enjoyed the carousels, Ferris wheel, seeing some princes and princesses in the castle, then they rode the train too in the theme park.Afterward, they had lunch at a restaurant. Emily ordered salmon salads and also orange juices for the twins. While she ordered seafood spaghetti with mushroom sauce and mineral water for herself.“Go ahead. Order your food,” Emily said to the nurses.However, they shook their heads. “Please order for us, m