CHAPTER FIFTY THREE**"Are we ready to begin?" The Judge asked, she was a woman who appeared to be in her early fifties or thereabouts. Faith released the deep breath she had been holding, she met Mr. Sullivan's stare who whispered solemnly."Do you remember all that I've told you? Seeking sympathy will boost your chance to win this case. You don't have to be scared." Faith swallowed nervously, trying to smile but it wobbled off. Mr. Sullivan had reminded her this morning that she might as well do anything that would help her win the case.Tears were her last weapon, he had told her to think about her daughter if she couldn't cry aloud. She didn't think she would be able to survive if she never saw Maya again. Her eyes chose to glance at that particular area of the courtroom. Sterling had arrived more than a few minutes ago after she did. She hated that she looked nervous while he appeared as though this was another business deal for him. Dressed in a charcoal grey suit, hi
CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR**Her brain refused to process the words.Faith's eyes remained stuck to the cold smile of her ex-husband. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that the Judge had already left, and most of the people were starting to disappear one after the other until the courtroom was already almost empty. That was when it sank deep into her brain. The court was dismissed. She'd lost. Jerked her fingers that had been grasping Sterling's shirt as though just being near his presence burned her skin. She couldn't lose everything just like this! She spotted Mr. Sullivan already walking towards the exit. Faith forced her legs to move to chase after him. He turned towards her, wearing a weary expression. "You assured me we were going to win! I_ I did exactly what you asked me to do, why did it turn out like this!" She voiced harshly. "I should ask you why you behaved like that earlier! It didn't matter how unfair you feel, you should have composed yourself! There was no need
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE **Sterling ended the phone call and met Faith's glare from the rearview mirror, if looks could kill, her dagger-like gaze would have sent him six feet under. The tension in the car was intense, it was a realistic reminder of what he'd just done.He had his woman and their child with him, but at what cost? Was it pitiful that he had to use their newborn child to force his wife to return to him?He'd never always play fair, but he'd never felt so much like a bastard as he did right now, even knowing for certain that he would probably make the same decision again if the situation was repeated. The driver made a turn and Sterling watched Faith suddenly jump, she was staring outside the window before returning her glare to him. "Where are you taking me? This isn't the way to your house.""That's because we are not going to my house, at least for now, Maya is at my mother's place."Sterling recognized that look in her eyes, relief, and something else. Now that she
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX**Her scent.Her taste.Her full breast pressed against his released the feral creature within him that had been starving to break free. She was curvier in more than one place than he remembered. Pregnancy had done this to her. And he hadn't been there to witness it. He sucked her lips hard, burying his fingers into her curls, as his tongue avenged all those nights he'd spent without her. Then, she bit him. She sank her teeth as hard as she could, hoping to hurt him enough to stop.He groaned, deepening the kiss. And she could feel the metallic taste on her tongue. Sick bastard! Faith tried to twist her head away from the force of the kiss, but it seemed impossible when he grabbed a fistful of her curls before he gave her another hungry kiss that completely knocked her breath awayHe knew the moment the fight slowly left her, a soft moan of surrender tore from her mouth, the grip her fingers had on his shirt loosening. Hot pleasure pumped through his vein
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN* *Nothing changed over the next few weeks. Faith tried as much as possible to avoid being alone with Sterling. It hadn't been that difficult when they had stayed with his mother. The more time she spent with him, the harder she had to fight to remain indifferent and cold. Her heart managed to clench each time she caught him playing with Maya. It made her crave for things she shouldn't. She would be a fool to give in to the illusion that they could ever be a normal family. The resentment she held towards him was the only thing she had. She would grasp onto it, she couldn't allow herself to forget the monster he could be. He might be a good father, but that didn't necessarily make him a decent human being. He was only nice when he wanted to be. He hadn't held any objections when she had informed him that she wanted to visit her mother but hated the fact that he had insisted on coming along with her. She didn't even have the freedom to visit her mother
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT**Her breath quickened when her eyes locked onto Sterling's. His presence made everything else but him disappear from her head.Why was he here? His gaze held something as it shifted from her and then to Michael. She had left dinner early, did he follow her? How else did he know exactly where she was? Her uneasiness at his presence couldn't be compared to the dissatisfaction that spiked through Sterling at the sight of her carrying a toddler that he didn't recognize. He realized that he didn't want to see her with any other kid but his. ' My biggest regret is the fact that you are Maya's father, I could have done better for her! ' These words still rang in his mind, every day, it was almost like an alarm. She was so gentle with the toddler she was carrying, as though it was natural, As Sterling stared at Michael, he couldn't help but think if Faith thought Michael was a better father than he could ever hope to be. The thought fuelled his resentment towar
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE**They returned the next day.The weather outside was dark and cloudy as it had been raining all day. Maya had been crying all evening, Faith didn't know what was wrong with her, not even changing her diapers or breastfeeding her helped, her body temperature was quite normal and Faith couldn't get why her baby was so irritated, it took a lot of effort to finally get her to fall asleep. She was already so exhausted, it was dark and starting to rain outside, she had just taken a warm bath and all she wanted at this moment was to collapse on the inviting looking large bed.A brief flash of lightning was followed shortly by a rough chorus of thunder. "Oh no, not again!" Faith sighed, burying her face into the warm covers, soon enough, she could hear Maya's faint wail coming from her nursery, no doubt the sound must have woken her from her slumber.Sighing heavily, She slipped on her flip-flops and hurried out of the bedroom. The nursery door was partially opened
CHAPTER SIXTY**"We are not done!" He was standing too close, she was flattened between him and the wall. So close that she could feel each rapid rise and fall of his chest, his warmth against her back."Yes, we a_are." Her panicked gaze searched his as he spun her around. This position was even worse for her, his chest tickled her nostrils. His familiar masculine smell.Don't think about it! Fight him, fight this! Her brain yelled at her, but when she looked into just eyes, it was as though all thoughts vanished.She couldn't even remember her own name! How long could she fight this familiar ache that made her most intimate part throb?She shot him a last pleading look when his strong hands grabbed her ass, molding her body to his hard frame."D_don't__" She cried but his lips descended on her lower neck. She wanted to resist but her whole body craved this, his fingers were like a cool drop of ice on her flushed skin. This was not fair at all. "Sterling please_" Even though sh
EPILOGUE**"Ma_ma! Flour!" Maya squealed the moment Faith stepped into the kitchen. Faith was shocked to see that the bowl of flour that was meant for baking was covering her daughter's hair down to her toes. "I leave you alone for just two seconds and what did you do!" She couldn't help but laugh at the sight."I'm a cake now!" Maya giggled. "No, you are not. You need a bath right now__" Faith started and Maya crossed her arms, pouting. "No, I'm cake! Cake don't bathe!" She started to run around the kitchen, spreading flour and making a further mess of the kitchen. "Maya Hunter! What did I tell you about running around? Stop it!""No, Ma_ma chase me." The toddler giggled and ran out of the kitchen, Faith sighed to herself. Maya was already a handful, stubborn as her father, and seemed to only listen to him as well. Was it only yesterday that her baby was still crawling around the house, Faith was still amazed at how rapidly she had grown, it happened right before her eyes "
CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE**“Do you still hate me?” He murmured into her ears, smoothing back her sweaty hair from her face.She met his smug look and muttered.“Yes”Her body was still weak with the after effects of her orgasm.Sterling's laughter was absolutely wicked. “No, you don’t.” She wanted so badly to hate him, he was not good for her and they both knew it, but still, he was unwilling to let her go.He would never change. He was deadly. It didn't matter how much he loved her, he wouldn't hesitate to use any means to ensure that she remained trapped in his world. She was the bunny, and he was the wicked wolf. Could she ever allow herself to completely love a man like that? Not that any of these mattered anymore. She was certain that after what happened tonight, she wouldn't be going anywhere for a very long time, and if he decided to lock her here in his mansion forever___Faith shuddered at the thought. She wouldn't contact the reporter anymore, perhaps it was time she final
CHAPTER SEVENTY**Sterling and Faith, both were still drenched to the skin, they had just returned from the hospital. It turned out that Maya was fine, she had just been asleep and Faith had been too panicked to even realize that. While Faith was relieved, her body still trembled at the thought of what could have easily happened. She glanced at her husband, trying to get a read on his mood.Husband?Where the hell had that thought come from? She wanted to speak, but her mouth was glued shut, she still remembered the horror and panic in his eyes when he first arrived at the accident scene, when he thought she and Maya had been hurt. Now, his guard was up his cold-blooded mask in place. She couldn’t get a read on how furious he was, which made her fearful. "Sterling I__"Sterling walked forward, his eyes staring into Faith's with a strange intensity that had her heart pounding in both fear and excitement.Excitement? Perhaps it was that brief flash of moment when she thought she
CHAPTER SIXTY NINE**Faith's lips still tingled from his forceful kiss, her mind was trapped in a turmoil of emotions. The wedding band now encircling her fingers made her certain that this wasn't some nightmare. They were back in his mansion which had never felt so much like a prison to Faith as it did now.Her devastated eyes followed him like a hawk as he prepared Maya for bed, they hadn't uttered a word to each other since he forced her to return with him.His wife_The dreadful word continued to ring in her head like an alarm, she was yet to recover from the shock and still didn't want to believe that he'd won so easily. She was a loser yet again, but if he thought she was going to be 'An obedient little girl__Their gazes clashed briefly, then he completely ignored her as he walked out of the nursery. In his eyes, She was probably no more than a child throwing a tantrum, She fumed at the thought and watched as he disappeared into his room and presumed he went to take a show
CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT**Her eyes were haunting, she trembled, still shaken in disbelief.The court had sent her own copy of the divorce papers after it had been finalized. If those copies weren't from the court then__Sterling had managed to play his crooked game somehow. They were still legally married! She was still his wife__The thought left her cold, the sharp stab of anger and betrayal made her eyes burn with the salty liquid. This was too much, she should be used to his cruelty when he wanted something, but he always left her dumbstruck each time. Faith suddenly recalled the number of times he'd referred to her as his wife, even Rex had called her that.She had been naive to think it was merely a slip of the tongue. She should have known that there was no mistake with Sterling. Why was it that each time she tried to fight him, he was always a thousand steps ahead of the ways he could hurt her? Faith suddenly thought how Sterling knew about her plan, and also the reaso
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN**Sterling entered the dimly lit building. His eyes glimmered with purpose as he stood tall above the man who was cowering in fear. A deep bruise covered the man's forehead, he tried to stand but his broken bones made him scream in agony. Sterling tapped his chin with his index finger."Now, what am I going to do with you?" He murmured and watched the man's eyes dazzle with fear. "P_please, let me go, I p_promise to stay away from your family, I'll leave, I s_swear!" "I already gave you that chance, didn't I? But what did you do?" Unrestrained anger made Sterling's voice harsher. For the sake of his wife, he'd informed Rex to provide this man enough money to get out of the city and start a new life, but the mother fucker was greedy, he made the mistake to think that Sterling was a pushover and was demanding more money."The biggest mistake in your entire life was that you ever knew my wife, You could've lived the rest of your life peacefully, anyone who come
CHAPTER SIXTY SIX**Faith found it difficult to enter the large building. She hadn't been here in so long, but today, she had to do this. Maya was securely bound to her by the baby carrier. Faith couldn't help but stare around the company she had once worked for, it brought sensations of nostalgia.She greeted some of the familiar employees who seemed shocked to see her. As she headed into Sterling's office, she greeted Rex who greeted her with a broad smile, Stacy by his side. "Long time no see, oh look what we have here." He averted his gaze to Maya who was gawking at the new stranger. "She's beautiful and looks so much like my cousin __and you of course, can I touch her?"Faith didn't realize how hostile her expression was, she still hadn't forgiven him for reporting her pregnancy to Sterling, She might be living peacefully with Maya somewhere, but instead, she was stuck with a crazy man.To her greatest satisfaction, when he lifted his hand to touch Maya, she burst into a fi
CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE**"Where the hell did you go!" Sterling's eyes were a mix of anger and relief the moment she stepped through the door.Faith's eyes wandered across the house, it seemed Stacy had left. She had only been gone for about ten minutes but the whole residence and beyond was crammed with security, all were searching for her. It would be a miracle if Dan managed to escape. Sterling moved quickly, closing the distance between them, his hawk-like eyes scouring her body, looking for signs of her being hurt. "Nowhere!" Faith answered too quickly, his rigid scowl told her he knew she was hiding things from him and that he wasn't liking it one bit. She met his deep frown stubbornly, she didn't want his concern.He had gone too far framing Dan for a crime he never committed, but why did Dan feel that he was entitled to her help?She didn't owe both men anything. Sterling only wanted to control her in the name of love and Dan was just being unreasonable. Any sympathy Faith h
CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR**Faith tried not to wander too far, but she couldn't fight the negative thoughts swimming through her mind about Sterling and Stacy. She should be joyous that he found another woman, he would let go of his obsession with her, wasn't that what she always wanted? Faith sighed quietly wondering if fate was also laughing at her predicament, she was in love with a person who was infatuated with her, but she couldn't be with him because she knew how scheming and dangerous he was, she planned to take over his wealth so she could defend herself and Maya against him but she also didn't want him to be involved with another woman, to forget about her and their daughter which was exactly what she desired in the first place? A loud frustrated groan escaped her mouth, why couldn't life be kinder to her? Buried in her thoughts, Faith didn't hear the movements behind her until it was almost too late.She turned around, but as fast as lightning a hand pressed against her mouth,