ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV I wake up to the persistent ringing of my phone. Groggy and unwilling to get up, I fumble around the table, but my hand brushes against nothing. Groaning, I push myself up from the couch to find Wensley looming over me, my phone in his hand.“Why is our boss texting you saying she’s sorry about what happened yesterday and wants to meet and explain?” he questions, brows furrowed. “She’s been calling you all night.”I sit up straight and snatch the phone from him. “Why the hell are you going through my personal texts?” I shoot back, glancing at Ms. Raven's messages flooding my screen.“What happened yesterday? Were you at that fundraiser with her?” Wensley asks just as my phone rings again, Ms. Raven's number flashing on the screen.“Why don’t you answer?” he presses. “Because it’s complicated, and you shouldn’t have picked up my phone in the first place,” I snap.He laughs sarcastically. “You almost had me fooled.”“What?”“You almost had me fooled that you’re cl
ABEL'S BLACKWOOD'S POV I have lost count of how many times I have attempted to talk myself out of calling Vanessa for help. I keep reminding myself Cyrus problem won't solve itself. The man wouldn't leave until I promised I'll will indeed quit my job. I only agreed to that to get him out of my apartment, but I can’t let him drag my name through the mud by going to the media about my marriage with Vanessa.With a deep breath, I dial Vanessa’s private number. Since she married Cyrus he is her problem as much as he is mine. She picks up almost immediately. This will be so fucking awkward.“Hey, Vanessa... it’s Abel.”"I know. Surprised to hear from you." Her tone is so warm and welcoming.“Yeah, it's definitely surprising. Cyrus was here. He was making demands.” I inform.“What? Why did you not call me right then?”"Maybe because he was holding a gun to my head. He wants me to quit my job or he’ll go public about our marriage," I answer.There’s a pause on other end. “And you think tha
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV I turn on the flat-screen television so there's noise to provide some semblance of distraction from my heated thoughts. I still feel hurt by Wensley's earlier accusations but I do feel guilty for not coming clean sooner. But how can I explain the truth when he is so quick to judge?I know I will have to deal with him sooner or later so I might as well take a drive by his place now and explain everything. The truth might hurt him more though.Twenty minutes later I am arriving at his place. There is limited parking space so I pack one block down by the side of the street and walk over to his apartment, glad to see the lights on.I go up the steps like I am going to jokingly bang inside the house, but something inside stops me. We freely walk into each others places and even as I am about to grab the door knob and let myself in, I think this time it would be prudent to knock, since I'm not sure we are still in good terms. Looking through the door window as I am abo
ABEL'S POV Sasha is beautiful, not nearly as Vanessa, but she is pretty in a warm, inviting way that makes you feel at ease. Vanessa used to make my nerves go wild. A part of me liked that. I still do admire her wits, determination and sheer beauty. But she broke my heart in the worst way possible.“Want some more?” Sasha asks playfully after I finish my first mug. I shake my head as I have started to feel buzzed already. In the past few years I have discovered, my alcohol tolerance is virtually nonexistent. One drink is just about my limit.Just then, a group of her young female customers walk in, giggling and chatting excitedly. I take it as my cue to leave.“I should get going,” I say, and Sasha looks up, her brow furrowing slightly. “Not really in the mood to socialize more today.”She brightens a bit. “Would you mind stepping outside for a walk with me? I'm sure it’ll help with your moods.”I hesitate, glancing back at the giggling girls heading to the other side of the bar.“Do
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV "Making obvious mistakes is so unlike you Miss sterling, I mean you're a business genius and world's richest woman. It's a shock to hear you dumped a diamond only to replace it with fake gold." Miss lane tells."That's true. None of us is devoid of mistakes apparently. But I believe in second chances, or at least in claiming them. I can assure you that my diamond will come back to me soon or later." Vanessa answers confidently.For some reason she sounds very certain that I will reconcile with her. But she is mistaken if she thinks I want to be treated like a doormat again."That's amazing to hear, because I literally cannot think of another man worthy of your precious attention. It's sad that you lost Abel Blackwood once, do you think getting him back now may be a little difficult since he has found a bit of success of his own?" Miss lane asks."If he knows what's good for him , I am certain he will come running." Vanessa states matter-of-factly. The audience la
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV "You need to go to the media and tell them what kind of a terrible wife she was to you. You should expose how she couldn't even be faithful to you, despite your devotion" Ms Raven urges as soon as we settle into our table at the vintage hotel. I booked a table for our meeting here since I figured that my usual restaurant will be a cheap place for Ms Raven to be and an unsuitable place for me when my face is plastered all over the internet. It only took a few hours for Vanessa's confession to be featured on countless gossip articles and with massive speculation."But that's not true," I tell. "Vanessa was good to me, faithful, even, until the last few months before our divorce."Ms. Raven scoffs. "What does it matter? She publicly humiliated you, making it sound like you were worthless and dependent on her. You should tell everyone she’s been harassing and stalking you.”I know she’s just angry about Vanessa revealing her secrets to her parents. What she doesn't
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV Once Ms Raven leaves, Vanessa turns to face me, cracking her knuckles. “You’re lucky I didn’t knock her ass out for bringing you here. You know that, don’t you?”"Seriously! Why are you being such a bitch Vanessa? You have no fucking right to decide who I can and cannot be with." "I'm trying to keep you safe Abel. There are people around you who want to hurt you, and you don’t even see it. So yeah, I have the fucking right to decide who you can and cannot be with. Every fucking right." "I don’t need your protection, I’m not your responsibility. And how can you claim you want to protect me after disgracing me in front of the whole world," I angrily respond. "You feel disgraced?" she raises her eyebrows. "I only acknowledged that we were once married and asked for your forgiveness.""Forgiveness? Is that what you call what you told the media?” I scoff. "Being known as your ex-husband is an awful disgrace," I say and her eyes flash with a mix of anger and hurt."O
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV The skin of my hands feels raw after hours of scrabbling off the wine stains that my rich wife intentionally made on our white mat last night. She was mad at me for no reason and just poured the wine for me to clean. I had to wake up earlier so I would have time to make her breakfast, iron her clothes and to get rid of the mess before the stain becomes permanent.She is the billionaire owner of starlight, a fashion brand known to every rich and middle class person. I have been her stay-at-home husband since we got married. Not that I couldn't find a job, but there is so much work at home all the time and my wife has always hated the idea of having a maid. People think that she married me for my looks and I married her for her money. The allegations didn't seem to bother any of us until recently.My wife has been critical towards my joblessness despite the work I do here at home. So I have finally decided to find a job, as a runway model so I can help market fre
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV Once Ms Raven leaves, Vanessa turns to face me, cracking her knuckles. “You’re lucky I didn’t knock her ass out for bringing you here. You know that, don’t you?”"Seriously! Why are you being such a bitch Vanessa? You have no fucking right to decide who I can and cannot be with." "I'm trying to keep you safe Abel. There are people around you who want to hurt you, and you don’t even see it. So yeah, I have the fucking right to decide who you can and cannot be with. Every fucking right." "I don’t need your protection, I’m not your responsibility. And how can you claim you want to protect me after disgracing me in front of the whole world," I angrily respond. "You feel disgraced?" she raises her eyebrows. "I only acknowledged that we were once married and asked for your forgiveness.""Forgiveness? Is that what you call what you told the media?” I scoff. "Being known as your ex-husband is an awful disgrace," I say and her eyes flash with a mix of anger and hurt."O
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV "You need to go to the media and tell them what kind of a terrible wife she was to you. You should expose how she couldn't even be faithful to you, despite your devotion" Ms Raven urges as soon as we settle into our table at the vintage hotel. I booked a table for our meeting here since I figured that my usual restaurant will be a cheap place for Ms Raven to be and an unsuitable place for me when my face is plastered all over the internet. It only took a few hours for Vanessa's confession to be featured on countless gossip articles and with massive speculation."But that's not true," I tell. "Vanessa was good to me, faithful, even, until the last few months before our divorce."Ms. Raven scoffs. "What does it matter? She publicly humiliated you, making it sound like you were worthless and dependent on her. You should tell everyone she’s been harassing and stalking you.”I know she’s just angry about Vanessa revealing her secrets to her parents. What she doesn't
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV "Making obvious mistakes is so unlike you Miss sterling, I mean you're a business genius and world's richest woman. It's a shock to hear you dumped a diamond only to replace it with fake gold." Miss lane tells."That's true. None of us is devoid of mistakes apparently. But I believe in second chances, or at least in claiming them. I can assure you that my diamond will come back to me soon or later." Vanessa answers confidently.For some reason she sounds very certain that I will reconcile with her. But she is mistaken if she thinks I want to be treated like a doormat again."That's amazing to hear, because I literally cannot think of another man worthy of your precious attention. It's sad that you lost Abel Blackwood once, do you think getting him back now may be a little difficult since he has found a bit of success of his own?" Miss lane asks."If he knows what's good for him , I am certain he will come running." Vanessa states matter-of-factly. The audience la
ABEL'S POV Sasha is beautiful, not nearly as Vanessa, but she is pretty in a warm, inviting way that makes you feel at ease. Vanessa used to make my nerves go wild. A part of me liked that. I still do admire her wits, determination and sheer beauty. But she broke my heart in the worst way possible.“Want some more?” Sasha asks playfully after I finish my first mug. I shake my head as I have started to feel buzzed already. In the past few years I have discovered, my alcohol tolerance is virtually nonexistent. One drink is just about my limit.Just then, a group of her young female customers walk in, giggling and chatting excitedly. I take it as my cue to leave.“I should get going,” I say, and Sasha looks up, her brow furrowing slightly. “Not really in the mood to socialize more today.”She brightens a bit. “Would you mind stepping outside for a walk with me? I'm sure it’ll help with your moods.”I hesitate, glancing back at the giggling girls heading to the other side of the bar.“Do
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV I turn on the flat-screen television so there's noise to provide some semblance of distraction from my heated thoughts. I still feel hurt by Wensley's earlier accusations but I do feel guilty for not coming clean sooner. But how can I explain the truth when he is so quick to judge?I know I will have to deal with him sooner or later so I might as well take a drive by his place now and explain everything. The truth might hurt him more though.Twenty minutes later I am arriving at his place. There is limited parking space so I pack one block down by the side of the street and walk over to his apartment, glad to see the lights on.I go up the steps like I am going to jokingly bang inside the house, but something inside stops me. We freely walk into each others places and even as I am about to grab the door knob and let myself in, I think this time it would be prudent to knock, since I'm not sure we are still in good terms. Looking through the door window as I am abo
ABEL'S BLACKWOOD'S POV I have lost count of how many times I have attempted to talk myself out of calling Vanessa for help. I keep reminding myself Cyrus problem won't solve itself. The man wouldn't leave until I promised I'll will indeed quit my job. I only agreed to that to get him out of my apartment, but I can’t let him drag my name through the mud by going to the media about my marriage with Vanessa.With a deep breath, I dial Vanessa’s private number. Since she married Cyrus he is her problem as much as he is mine. She picks up almost immediately. This will be so fucking awkward.“Hey, Vanessa... it’s Abel.”"I know. Surprised to hear from you." Her tone is so warm and welcoming.“Yeah, it's definitely surprising. Cyrus was here. He was making demands.” I inform.“What? Why did you not call me right then?”"Maybe because he was holding a gun to my head. He wants me to quit my job or he’ll go public about our marriage," I answer.There’s a pause on other end. “And you think tha
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POV I wake up to the persistent ringing of my phone. Groggy and unwilling to get up, I fumble around the table, but my hand brushes against nothing. Groaning, I push myself up from the couch to find Wensley looming over me, my phone in his hand.“Why is our boss texting you saying she’s sorry about what happened yesterday and wants to meet and explain?” he questions, brows furrowed. “She’s been calling you all night.”I sit up straight and snatch the phone from him. “Why the hell are you going through my personal texts?” I shoot back, glancing at Ms. Raven's messages flooding my screen.“What happened yesterday? Were you at that fundraiser with her?” Wensley asks just as my phone rings again, Ms. Raven's number flashing on the screen.“Why don’t you answer?” he presses. “Because it’s complicated, and you shouldn’t have picked up my phone in the first place,” I snap.He laughs sarcastically. “You almost had me fooled.”“What?”“You almost had me fooled that you’re cl
ABEL BLACKWOOD'S POVWensley pulls up sooner than I expected, and I hop into the front seat, muttering a quick, “Thanks.”“How’d you get here so fast?” I ask, glancing out the window just in time to see Vanessa's bodyguards heading back inside.“I was nearby at a club. Surprised to hear from you at this hour. What are you doing at such a high-profile event?""It's just a fundraiser,” I reply, trying to keep it vague. I know he won’t want to hear that I was invited by Miss Raven.“A fundraiser? How did you get invited to a billionaire's fundraiser?” Wensley presses, clearly intrigued.Fuck, here we go. Damn Aubrey for leaving me at that party. And damn me for being an impulsive idiot that agreed to go with her.“Can we talk about it tomorrow?” I suggest, hoping he won't remember about it by tomorrow.“Sure, no problem,” he replies, driving out of the sprawling estate.“Before we head home, I need to pick this chick up at the club,” Wensley adds, shooting me a playful grin.I raise my e
ABEL'S BLACKWOOD'S POV "Where did I ever go wrong raising her?” Mrs. Raven groans burying her face in her trembling hands. Her husband pulls her close, his own expression a mix of anger and despair. “It’s not your fault. You raised her the best you could. She chose this herself.” Vanessa comforts as if she hadn’t been the one to stir the pot in the first place.Mrs. Raven lifts her head slightly, her eyes red and puffy. “But did she have to be with a criminal? Her father's age?” “I’m so sorry for inviting Senator Jonathan,” Vanessa says. “If I hadn’t .....”“No, thank you for inviting that idiot,” Mr. Raven interjects bitterly. “Otherwise, we would have never known our daughter is a. . . ” He pauses, his voice thick with disgust, “a disgrace.”He turns back to his wife, his tone softening as he whispers, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” He stands and gently guides her to her feet.As she rises, Mrs. Raven grips Vanessa’s hand tightly. “You should have been the kind of daughter