"Babe... you hit me?" Brandon asked in a stunned voice as he clutched his burning cheek. Tears glistened in his eyes, but Thalassa knew it wasn't because of the slap. It was because he'd realized he had probably lost his money bank. "You're a despicable piece of shit!" Luisa was still raging as she slapped him on his uncovered cheek. "You dared to try to make me believe a lie about Thalassa." Brandon was panicking. "But babe, you can't possibly believe her. The recording is fake. That woman is nothing but a bitch who..." Before he could finish, a swift and hard blow connected with his mouth, sending him to the floor. "Another insult against Thalassa and you're going to see the worst I can do to you," Zeke growled. Brandon groaned in pain, clutching his mouth where a bit of blood was dripping. "Brother-in-law, please believe me. I don't know how she got that recording, but it's not real. She—" "Stop fucking calling me that!" Zeke hissed. "I knew there was something off about yo
Karen covered her beating heart with a short laugh. “Mum, what are you saying? You must’ve heard wrong. I didn’t say that. I said, ‘now that Thalassa is out of the way’-“”“That is not any better!” Her mother cut her off sharply. “Why would you even say something like that? And don’t you try to treat me like an idiot because I know what I heard. You said, ‘now that we’ve managed to get Thalassa out of the way.’ Who’s ‘we,’ Karen? Who were you talking to on the phone?”“It was just a friend,” Karen said, clutching her phone tightly in her hand as she feared her mother would snatch it away.“It always struck me as so strange what they were accusing Thalassa of. In all the years she came to our house, she never stole a single thing from us. I still find it hard to believe that she could do what they are accusing her of.”She paused, narrowing her eyes at her daughter. “Was it you, Karen? Did you have a hand in destroying Thalassa’s life?”“Mum!” Karen said it in horror. “I am your daught
Thalassa was taken aback, staring at Zeke. “What are you saying, Zeke? Go with you guys to New York?” The disbelief in her eyes made Zeke wince as he explained, “Hear me out, Thalassa. I see how unfairly you're being treated here in Baltimore. There's so much hate for you here, and it's going to be hard to continue your life here.” “You just said it yourself. It's going to be hard, not impossible. They shot me down, Zeke, but I won't stay down forever. I'm not going to let them win,” she gritted out, and the look in her eyes was so hateful that Zeke was scared for a second. He really hoped she wasn't thinking of going down the path he was imagining. He tried again. “Thalassa, there's also my grandmother. She's going to need you." Thalassa blew out a breath, having known that this would come up again. She should've known that once she accepted to help with Granny, it would be hard to walk away without affecting the old woman. But she couldn't continue living her life accordi
When the time his mother had given him was up, Kris drove to her company, The Miller Fashion House.It wasn't exactly a separate company from the Miller Group; while his company dealt mostly in textiles and the like, the Miller Fashion House dealt in clothes, jewelry, and other beauty accessories.His mother had wanted to set up the fashion business side of the Miller Group for so long, but his father had refused, believing it would be a waste of money. When his father died, and his mother took over the Miller Group fifteen years ago, she set up the Fashion House and managed to turn it into one of the most successful ventures in Baltimore, raking in billions every year. It was part of the reason why their family was so powerful.It was so dear to her that even after Kris took over the Miller Group five years ago, she refused to step down from the Fashion House for someone else.Kris shook his head with a small smile as he reached the parking lot. His mother was already waiting there
Thalassa felt like a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over her head. She stood frozen for a few seconds—Kris and Karen? Karen and Kris? Kissing?She couldn't look anymore. She couldn't keep staring.Immediately, she turned and began to walk away, saying, “I don't feel like trying on the dresses. Let's just pay and go.”Neither Millie nor Luisa protested. When they got to the cash counter, Thalassa didn't protest when Luisa insisted on paying. Her mind was too numb to think.After paying, they were about to leave when Linda Miller stopped in front of them.“I hope you had fun in my boutique, Thalassa. Remember, I don't hold any grudges despite what you did to my family.”Thalassa just stared at her, feeling so much rage bubbling inside that she was afraid of what she could do if she stayed a second longer.Without honoring Linda with a reply, she walked out of the boutique, her friends following behind her. None of them said anything as they walked towards Luisa's car with thei
Three Years Later“Mrs. Miller, our stocks have dropped again.”“What?!” Linda Miller shot to her feet, her cold gaze directed at her CFO, who began quivering on her heels.The CFO was afraid of going on, but she knew the news had to be delivered. “Our stocks dropped by 8% just this morning.”Kris was sitting in the chair across from his mother's desk. Seeing the stricken look on her face, he feared she was going to have a heart attack. He quickly rushed to her side.“Mum, are you okay?”“Okay? How can I be okay, Kris? Didn't you hear what she just said? Our stocks have dropped again. 8% in less than a day!” Linda complained.Kris pursed his lips into a grim line, also knowing how serious this was. Within just one year, the stocks and sales of his mother's fashion company had fallen by a whopping 50%. An additional 8% meant they were close to 60% depreciation.And it was all because of a new rival company called TT Fashion.That company hadn't even existed until three years ago, yet i
Thalassa sat on the couch in her bedroom, flipping through pictures of an old, wrinkled woman, her face adorned with a beautiful laughter and warm, welcoming eyes. Some of the photos were of the two of them together, capturing moments of shared joy and laughter.She was so absorbed in the memories that she didn't notice Luisa's presence until she placed a hand on her shoulder.“You really miss her, don't you?” Luisa asked softly.Looking back at the picture on the screen, Thalassa felt her eyes sting with tears. They'd lost Granny six months ago to dementia, which had worsened significantly in her final year.On her deathbed, the old woman had taken Thalassa's hand in her frail ones and confessed that she had realized, somewhere along the years, that Thalassa wasn't truly her daughter, Agnes. Yet, she was still so grateful for all the love and light Thalassa had brought into her life in her last few years on earth.Right after that, she had passed away, still holding Thalassa's hand.
Kris froze. That voice... it sounded familiar. Too familiar. It sounded like the voice of the woman he'd tried his hardest to get out of his heart and mind for the past three years without any success.Suddenly, he was anxious to put a face to the voice, to see the face of the masked woman.“Wow, what an entrance!" His sister, Susan, gushed but instantly shut up when his mother gave her a hard glare.“Meet again?"“What does she mean by that?” the guests whispered among themselves.“Oh, my apologies," the masked woman on the stage said. “You must be confused by what I said. All I meant was that you don't know who I am yet, but I already know most of you.”This got the guests even more curious. Who was this woman who was the owner of TT Fashion? What was her name?“Please, enjoy yourselves at this party," the woman on stage said before the lights finally turned back on.Kris noted that she hadn't even mentioned her name.As soon as she stepped down from the stage, the guests surrounded
Gendry stared at her, waiting for her to say something.Unbidden, a single tear slid down Tessa's cheek. “You're only saying these things because you found out about my pregnancy. It's not necessary, Gendry. You don’t have to force yourself to be with me out of obligation.”A growl of frustration rumbled from Gendry’s throat. “Jesus, Tessa. Why would you think I’m forcing myself to be with you?”“Because I know you don’t consider me good enough for a relationship with you!”For several seconds, Gendry just stared at her, utterly dumbfounded. “What? Where did you get that from, Tessa?”“The day we went to help set up the photo booth, you told me in the car that because of everything your dad did to your mom, you never slept with any woman unless you were in a relationship with her. I was the only exception. The only woman you agreed to have a meaningless fling with.”Gendry exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. “And from that, you assumed I don’t think you’re good enough for a relation
“You… you’re pregnant?”The world seemed to tilt on its axis for Gendry. His pulse raced. The word pregnant felt almost foreign because it was the last thing he had expected Tessa to tell him.“Tessa, are you saying you’re expecting a child?”“Please don’t act like you didn’t know,” Tessa gritted out, her voice laced with indignation.Gendry stepped closer. “No. I didn’t. Of course, I didn’t.” The impact of it all suddenly crashed into him, and he let out a stunned chuckle, filled with wonder. “Oh God, you’re pregnant. You’re expecting our child.”The sheer joy in his eyes made Tessa’s vision blur with unshed tears. “How are you so sure it’s yours?”Gendry’s smile didn’t falter. His hand came up to rest on her cheek, his touch warm and familiar. “Because I know I’m the only man who’s ever had that privilege, Tes.”“You can’t be sure of that,” she countered, her voice quieter now. “We haven’t seen each other in two months, Gendry. Maybe Kevin and I—”“Kevin and you, nothing.” Gendry le
“…our revenue dropped by 8.6% last year. But as we can all see, our performance this year has improved to the point that we're projected to make up for 6.6% of that percentage drop.”Tessa addressed the board of executives in the conference room, pausing to let the information sink in. “That's quite an achievement, but I think we can all agree that it’s not enough. Two percent is a big deal, and TT Fashion has to be able to recover that and more. We…”She trailed off as her vision blurred. Gripping the backrest of her chair for balance, she blinked rapidly, and the dizziness passed.“Tessa, are you alright?” the marketing department executive asked, a frown creasing her forehead.“Yes, I’m fine,” Tessa responded.And she was. Mostly anyways. She’d been experiencing dizzy spells for the past two weeks, chalking it up to fatigue. But now that she knew she was pregnant, the spells had become more obvious, especially when she stood for too long.Plastering on a composed smile, she swept h
Their eyes met.Gendry’s jaw tightened. His fingers curled into his towel as tension coiled in his muscles. Across the gym, Kevin’s expression was unreadable, but his posture stiffened ever so slightly. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.Then Kevin broke the silence, striding toward him.“Long time,” he said.Gendry gave a small nod. “Yeah.”He couldn’t help but wonder. Before Jamaica, he and Kevin would occasionally run into each other at the gym, but after the wedding trip, he hadn't seen the other man at the gym.He was probably too busy enjoying his time with his girlfriend.That thought alone made Gendry’s chest tighten. He reached for his water bottle, taking a slow sip as Kevin shifted his weight.“Well,” Kevin cleared his throat, “I’ll head for some runs now.”He turned, but something in his movement was hesitant, like he wanted to say more. After only three steps, he spun back around, his expression no longer neutral.It was now filled with bitterness.Gendry lowered h
TWO DAYS LATERGendry ran, putting one tired foot in front of the other. He had set the treadmill to the highest speed, hoping it would help him outrun the memories of Tessa that refused to leave his head. But the more he ran, the more they stayed ahead of him.Her mesmerizing brown eyes. Her smooth, clear skin. Her dazzling smile and cute laugh. The way her gorgeous hair stuck to her flushed face. The warmth of her body as he drove into her. Those sweet moans of pleasure as she came.Oh, for Pete’s sake.Trying to stop thinking about her was an exercise in futility. He had been trying for the past two months without success.Not even the fact that he knew she now belonged to someone else could stop his mind.Gendry ran until the burn in his legs became too intense to ignore. He slammed his fingers om the stop button, keeping pace until the treadmill finally slowed to a halt.Jumping off, he limped toward the bench where he had hung his towel and sank down. Around him, people were ste
Tessa was sure that if she had been standing, the impact of the doctor's words would have sent her crashing to the floor.For several seconds, she just stared at him, frozen, her mind scrambling to process what he had just said."You're two months pregnant."The words echoed in her head. She understood them. They made sense. But at the same time, they didn’t.The doctor’s smile faltered when she hadn't said anything after several seconds. “Miss Miller?” he said hesitantly. “Is everything alright?”Tessa blinked, then shook her head, letting out a sharp, disbelieving snort, because that was the only thing she could do to hold back the panic threatening to steal through her.“What are you saying, doctor? I can't be pregnant.”The doctor’s expression shifted from professional composure to slight uncertainty at her reaction.“When you described your symptoms to me, I strongly suspected it, but I didn’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. I performed several tests, including a pregnancy tes
After driving home, Tessa stepped into the house, shutting the door behind her as she let out a deep breath.To her surprise, her mother was still awake, sitting on the couch with a book in her lap. Her reading glasses were perched on her nose, making her look serious in such an endearing way.A small smile tugged at Tessa’s lips. It wasn’t uncommon for her mom to stay up reading, but tonight, it felt like she’d been waiting for her.A lot of her colleagues wondered why she was still living with her parents at this stage when she had enough to get herself a house or apartment like her brother had done. The truth was, to Tessa, she'd rather always be surrounded by family love then to love alone.“You’re back,” her mother noted, looking up from her book. “How was your date?”Tessa hesitated, forcing a smile. “It was… great.”Her mother raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. Without a word, she tapped the empty space beside her on the couch.Sighing, Tessa walked over and sank onto the couch. S
Tessa waited.She waited for the spark, for the heat, for the slow-burning fire that would make her knees weak and her stomach flip. She waited for the explosion, the one that had always come whenever Gendry kissed her.But there was nothing.Kevin’s lips moved against hers, soft, careful, but her body didn’t react. There was no rush of desire, no hitch in her breath, no trembling fingers aching to pull him closer. Just... stillness.When he pulled back, his lips curved into a slow smile. “I knew your lips would taste amazing,” he murmured. “And I wasn’t wrong.”Tessa forced a smile.Kevin let out a quiet chuckle, then he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”Tessa stared at him. “What are you apologizing for?”He gave her a sheepish smile and gestured vaguely toward the lower half of his body. “You must think I’m a total weirdo, but it’s just... when you’re this close to me, I can’t help myself.”Tessa tilted her head, still not understanding. Then, as she followed his gaze downward,
The restaurant Kevin took her to was one of the most exclusive restaurants in Baltimore. People had to book weeks in advance before they could reserve a table. It had stunning vintage decorations that paired beautifully with the warm chandeliers.Tessa barely had time to take it all in before a waitress approached them with an extra big smile.“Mr. Balthazar, please follow me.”Kevin placed a hand on the small of Tessa’s back, gently guiding her as they followed the waitress. They moved past the main dining area where every table was full. Then, they stepped into a more secluded section clearly meant for VIP guests.There was only one table.It was decorated with a single lit candle in the center, surrounded by delicate rose petals. The low lighting made the setup feel intimate and romantic.Tessa took it all in, appreciating the beauty of it. Kevin had clearly put thought into making this night special.She should have been touched. Excited. Instead, there was a strange emptiness in