“Excuse me, what?”, Celine asked. Her heart was hammering, actually hammering so hard that she felt a twinge in her calf and then a burst of warmth. Did she tear a stitch? But she couldn’t be bothered to look because she needed to make sure she had heard correctly because surely, she had not.Looking at Sebastian did nothing to help her stay calm. He looked so woeful. She had seen that look before. When she was in the hospital after the fire, he had come to visit her. That was the day she realized that no matter what she said or how she was willing to fight, he was going to marry Grace anyway. The day she asked if he had slept with Grace. He never did answer her, but she guessed from his dark face and how he wouldn’t look at her that he probably had. She didn’t want to relive that horrible day.“She said she was pregnant.”, Sebastian breathed out.The room went still, and she heard a ringing in her ears. The warm spot on her calf grew. She absent-mindedly touched her calf to see if it
It took Celine a great deal of self-control not to pace the length of the hotel lobby. Of all days to be late, she thought as she squirmed in an uncomfortable but aesthetically appealing, overpriced, modern accent chair and reread the same page in her digital book.Today, Sebastian was taking Grace to an OB-GYN of his choosing to get some answers. The first thing he wanted to know was if she was pregnant. If yes, he would ask Grace for the second time to take a Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity test to prove he wasn’t the father. So far, when he asked her to provide a blood sample for the test, Grace had refused, stating Sebastian’s accusations were baseless and she would not be humiliated.They fully expected Grace to refuse a second time, and if she did, they were prepared.Celine’s phone vibrated.SebastianHereCeline hurried outside, and Sebastian’s driver, Greg, waited to open the car door for her. “Good morning, Greg.” Celine said, trying to smile through her nerves. How is the n
It is not often that family court law protects the rights of a father, or in Sebastian’s case, the alleged father, except when it comes to paternity. No mother has the right to obstruct a paternity test. It becomes fuzzy if the paternity test is requested during pregnancy. Then the mother can say no—her body, her choice. At least, that was what Grace and Sophia believed. It turned out that Sebastian could request a court order to compel Grace to have a Non-Invasive Paternity Test if he was disputing paternity and Grace was publicly claiming he was the father, thus ruining Sebastian’s reputation and pressuring him into fatherhood.Apparently, Grace and Sophia’s ploy was so unoriginal that laws were already in place to prevent them.After Grace dropped her fake pregnancy bomb at the ice skating rink, Sebastian’s lawyers went to Family Court the next day and got a court date to ask a judge for a court order to force Grace to take a paternity test. Grace was notified of the court date i
After Sebastian’s lawyers finished, Celine thought all there was left to do was watch the death throes of Grace’s case. They had a recording of Grace threatening blackmail, for god’s sake. They should be watching the closing credits on this fiasco of fake paternity, but that was not how the law worked. There were always special circumstances or loopholes to get around or to delay a decision, and all Grace needed was a delay.When Grace’s attorneys began their case to quash the court order for the paternity test, they didn’t even bother to rebut the horrible things she said on the recording. Instead, they argued that Grace had a religious or moral objection to the paternity test.Grace’s attorney painted a picture of her as a devout Orthodox Christian from a family with a long, illustrious history with the Greek Orthodox Church on her mother’s side. In Orthodox culture, there is a lot of emphasis on family reputation and privacy, especially for families with ties to the church and thei
They say, “Money can’t buy you love.” but it does buy same-day results of a paternity test, especially if you have a phlebotomist waiting in the hall outside the courtroom to draw blood and a medical courier at the ready to transport your samples directly to a reputable private lab. A lab that was being paid to expedite the paternity test as soon as the biological samples were received.And that was precisely what happened minutes after Grace said, “I’ll take the deal.”Sophia yelled, “What deal.” The Judge beamed at Grace. The bailiff gallantly helped Grace down from the stand, and Jameson looked like a genie had just told him, ‘Of course, you can wish four more wishes.’It was complete chaos as they followed Grace and Sebastian out of the courtroom, and Celine couldn’t believe their plan had worked. But she saw it with her own eyes, and there was no doubt about it. Grace was submitting to a blood draw right there in the hall, behind a portable privacy screen.The next thing Celine kn
As soon as Celine saw the two gorgeous men stepping out of the elevator, she realized what Kim was up to and had to fight the urge to turn and run. She wanted no part of Kim’s revenge hookup because that was what this was. Kim was implementing the classic strategy of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.However, Celine would be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted to see Sebastian and Matteo’s faces when they saw the two drop-dead hotties that had just walked into Sebastian’s penthouse. Maybe there was some merit to Kim’s plan…No, nope, just no. A nice bath and a text message update on the paternity test were what she needed, not a demonstration of large predator mating competitions.Unfortunately, it was too late to run because they were here, and Kim was exchanging cheek kisses. “Hello. Coucou, comment tu vas ?” One of Kim’s hidden talents was that she spoke fluent French, and always had her pick of French hotties. Kim was going nuclear, poor Matteo.One of the men had h
The street outside Sebastian’s penthouse was packed with the hustle and bustle of New Yorkers getting off work. Usually, she liked to spend rush hour seated by a window with a nice cup of coffee, watching the flow of people go by. Far better than joining in the crush of humanity that made her pulse pound and her chest constrict. But today, avoiding what chased her outweighed her fear of crowds, and she looked forward to the obscurity of losing herself in a sea of people. Stepping off the landing, she merged into the current of bodies and let them carry her in the direction of her hotel and hoped one would notice her shame or the hot tears she reluctantly shed.At least, that was the plan. She hadn’t counted on Sebastian’s determination not to let her escape. She screamed when hands grasped her from behind and turned her around. She caught a brief look at his face and saw anger in his eyes. Then he crushed her against his body, encircled her with his arms, and held her while she sobbe
As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Sebastian was called away to attend impromptu meetings, which left Celine to go to the suite without him. She wandered around, picking things up and putting things down. It was a pretty space with a nice view of the city. It had a small kitchen, and she cracked open a cold bottle of water that she found in the fridge.She wondered what she would do between now and the event and was looking at a menu of services that the spa offered when the bellhop arrived with their luggage. “Where should I put this, ma’am.” Celine snorted. Ma’am, she thought, this guy was probably the same age as she was.“Put these,” she pointed to Sebastian’s luggage, “in the master suite, and these,” she pointed to her luggage, “in the other bedroom.”Celine reached for the spa menu when the bellhop said, “There is only one bedroom in this suite.”Her fingers froze. One bedroom? She needed clarification. “Excuse me?” she asked.“Do you want me to put both sets in the bedroom?
When she heard her voice, Celine burst into tears. She had been rescued. Somehow, against all odds, she had been found. Like a newly born fawn, she stood on wobbly legs and burst into tears. “Kim,” she said, barely able to get her best friend’s name out.When Kim did not open her arms and come to her, she tried to run into her arms, but Kim put her hand out, “Stop.”Confused, she obeyed and did not stop to think much about it. She was filthy, so… She was just so thankful. Waves of emotions overwhelmed her exhausted body, too many for her to contain. So, she stood in place, shaking violently in relief, ready to do whatever Kim told her to.But Kim did nothing to rescue her. She did not smile, offer her the long coat she was wearing to cover her nudity, or even offer her comforting words. Kim’s eyes were hard, her arms were crossed, and she looked at Celine like a cockroach she discovered in her silverware drawer.Dread silenced her tears. Had they captured Kim too? “Kim, are you okay?
It’s strange to have a traumatic event she couldn’t recall. It’s even stranger to have a crippling phobia and not know why. For as long as she could remember, she has been terrified of the dark. It was so bad that her parents took her to a psychologist, where she was diagnosed with PTSD and trauma-related Nyctophobia with panic-induced cognitive impairment. AKA She freaked the fuck out like a cat who got their tail caught in a mouse trap when she was in the dark.According to her parents, this was why. When she was four, they visited a friend’s farm, and she was sent to play outside with Collette. After a while, Collette returned alone, crying hysterically. Alarmed, her parents went looking for her, and when they couldn’t find her, they called the sheriff, and people came from all over to help find her. They searched night and day until a search and rescue dog found her trapped in a crawl space under an old, abandoned shed.When Celine had what her parents called “a fit,” she sometime
When she opened the door to her truck, the interior was covered in a thin layer of dust. The culprit was the passenger window. It was left open a crack over the last year, and while the truck was in storage, it slowly allowed fine dirt to accumulate. She grabbed an old rag and began wiping down the driver’s seat, but the only thing she accomplished was creating a dust storm that erupted in the truck cab, causing a coughing fit. Frustrated with the delay, Celine opened both doors, did a quick clean, and then drove with the windows open until the dust stopped swirling around the cab.After Sebastian fought with his mother, Celine called her dad. He was at the house in the Hamptons with Collette and had taken over supervision of the equestrian center rebuild. Her dad had poopooed her worries about Sophia but allowed John and Jacob to stay in the house with them to placate Celine. Every day, she called and checked in with him, and after a week and a half of hearing that everything was fin
Celine burst into Sebastian’s home office, frustrated and seething. Spinning to face her in his office chair, Sebastian seemed startled by her abrupt entrance and raised an eyebrow.She flung herself dramatically onto his lap, nuzzled into his chest, and said, “I want to elope.”He put his arms around her, and she felt herself calm. She nuzzled, greedily inhaling his scent.“What happened?” he asked.It was his mom. She kept adding people to the guest list, telling Kevin they were essential additions. Every time she did, they had to redo seating arrangements, and now Sophia’s additions were so numerous that they would need to change the venue to accommodate her.When Sophia first expressed an interest in being involved with the planning, Celine decided, against her better judgement, to allow it. To keep the collaboration less hostile, they had Kevin act as a go-between. And at first, that had worked. Kevin had years of experience dealing with the atrocious woman, and she did not bothe
Her mother once told her, “All living things reproduce. What we do afterward separates us. Children do not owe us filial love and fidelity for the gift of life. It is something we earn every day.” But she knew that Sebastian’s parents did not prescribe to that gentle philosophy. They believed the stark opposite because not even love was afforded to Sebastian; still, they demanded his obedience in all things.Celine had never met Sebastian’s father. Not even when they were children; it was as if Brandon Gale was more of a legend or a concept than a man. So, she was surprised to see him at their engagement party. According to Sebastian, “He never attended any of my birthdays or milestones. He didn’t even show up for my college graduation. Brandon only had me to procreate his genetic material.”Until meeting Sebastian’s father, Celine would have said Sebastian was a male version of his mother. Now that she met Brandon, she saw some of his features subtly represented in Sebastian, like hi
Tender feelings filled Celine’s chest as she watched Sebastian dancing with Amara. He gently maneuvered the tender youth around the dance floor carefully and thoughtfully, and Celine wondered where he had learned to be so loving and gentle with children. He certainly hadn’t learned from his parents. Seeing how giant Sebastian seemed compared to Amara made Celine laugh out loud. His massive hands dwarfed hers, and he seemed to swallow up her little body in his enormous arms when he picked her up and swung her around, dangling her several feet off the ground—Amara’s ringing laughter brought smiles to anyone within earshot.A sweaty Amara and Sebastian returned to their seats. Sebastian leaned into Celine and kissed her cheek. Surprised, she looked at him. He was beaming, and his gray eyes reminded Celine of the light in a moonlit landscape. He was happy, and the satisfaction of seeing him so joyful gave her a sense of contentment. Breaking their eye contact, Sebastian scanned the table,
The micro-beaded silk draped down her body like a shimmering column, from the gown’s rose neckline to her perfectly manicured toes. Her sleek black hair was bound in a classic French twist, and her makeup was effortless. She looked elegant in her Oscar de la Renta gown, like she belonged to the world of the ultra-rich.Glancing in the mirror, she saw a woman whose beauty was otherworldly, and for the briefest of seconds, she saw herself as something ethereal and worth looking at. But then she blinked, disbelieving her eyes, and she was simply Celine again, all done up and dressed in a gown that cost beyond her comprehension. An artfully crafted deception, an imposter.She heard Sebastian enter their bedroom. He was impeccably dressed in all wool, velvet, and satiny sin. His grey eyes, like the mists that clung to the peaks of mountains, and his mouth reminded her of sensuous kisses and unbridled pleasure. They gazed at each other, and she knew he was drinking her in. Studying her, me
The elevator dinged, and yet another person squeezed into the packed elevator. “Is anybody getting out?” asked a hopeful-sounding voice. Celine almost laughed out loud. The guy was only echoing what they were all thinking. There were too many people on this elevator, and it was stifling. But nobody got out, and the shiny chrome doors closed, crushing their dreams of personal space.“Something smells good.”, the same voice commented. A few passengers laughed at that. Celine blushed. They were smelling the homemade lunch she had made for Sebastian. Lately, he had been working long hours, coming home late and leaving early, and she missed him. She checked with Kevin, and he told her Sebastian had a few minutes free, so she begged him not to schedule anything. Now, she was on an elevator with some home-cooked love, ready to surprise him.Only a few people got off with her on the executive floor, and she groaned when she saw Yuri was one of them. He was going to talk to her. She just knew
She would have recognized his scent anywhere, so she wasn’t scared when Sebastian grabbed her from behind. Vlad, on the other hand, didn’t know who Sebastian was and exploded into action, ripping Celine out of Sebastian’s arms and twisting Sebastian into a submission hold within seconds.“Vlad, no. VLAD.” People ran and screamed around her. Security appeared and began clearing a circle. Sebastian struggled, his face red. He didn’t look like he could breathe. Celine begged Vlad to let Sebastian go, but he didn’t listen to her. She tried hitting him, but it was like hitting a brick wall.Before she could think about it, she leaped onto Vlad’s back and screamed into his ear. “Let him go. That is my fiancé.” Vlad let Sebastian drop, and Sebastian began to cough. Desperate to get to Sebastian, Celine tried to scrabble off Vlad’s back, but Vlad did some twisty thing with his body, and he had her dangling, like a kitten, in front of him. Green eyes, so like her own, looked quizzically at her