Adrian's POV
"Boss," Alexander bowed immediately he entered my living room."Morning, Alex. What's up?" I inquired when I noticed his expression."I've just got an information from one of our men that's on young Miss' trail." I sat up from the couch when I heard him mention Emilia."What news? Is she okay?""She moved into Ryan Anderson's house.""What?"I stood to my feet in annoyance. Why on earth would Emilia do that? Why does she want to risk her life while getting revenge?
"Are you sure about this?" I asked strictly."Yeah, sir." Alex nodded. "It's bound to happen since she became his personal guard.""Yeah, that's true but..." I trailed off.Lia! I ran my fingers through my hair. What exactly are you trying to prove by moving in with him?"Any news about the other one?"
"No, boss." I sighed and nodded in understanding."I guess the person acts too perfect to leave any trace of his involvement." ISamantha's POV“Sam!” I flinched in shock when I heard the familiar voice.“Please, don't let it be him!” My mind chanted pleadingly till I turned to look at the person almost at the same time Adrian did.I should have known that no Adrian, no problem. Every time he popped up, I had something to deal with.“Oh no!” I exclaimed inwardly when I noticed Philip's suspicious gaze as he walked closer to us.Thankfully, Adrian has moved away from me just in time for Philip to stop in front of us.“What are you doing here?”“I…um… I came to get my phone from the car.” I stuttered. “Yeah, my phone!”“Oh, …okay,” Philip answered hesitantly. He shifted his gaze to Adrian.“Mr. Adrian,” he smiled. I could see that it was forced.“All right, Sam
Sam's POV Morning came as fast as it could and the night before, I barely had an issue staying under Ryan's roof because despite the fact that we stay together, we never crossed paths. Dinner would have been the issue but thankfully, Ryan made sure I ordered dinner for us before we got home. This morning, I got his call via the intercom informing me that he was ready to leave for work. I exited my room, ensured I locked the door before heading to the sitting room. It might be Ryan's house but that room is now mine and I can't afford to get caught because someone snitched on me after going through my belongings. I went to the car garage to get the car and before I got to the front of the building, Ryan was already waiting. I stopped the car in front of him and without waiting for me to get the door for him, he got in himself. I drove him to work before the rush hour would take its full effect. While he wo
Ryan's POV"Thanks for the meal, Sam." I appreciated the great cook. The meal was indeed tasty and I was sure Olivia enjoyed it too, judging from the smile on her face as she stared at Sam. "Olly, what do you say to uncle Sam?" I urged. "Thank you, Sam." "It's nothing, sir." Sam replied with a stoic look that never seems to fade from his face. He stood up to pack the plates and cups used."RRA, your friend hasn't smiled since I met him. Is he unhappy?" Olivia whispered to me but still loud enough for Sam to hear."No, baby." I chuckled. "By the way, you are beautiful." Sam paused. "Olivia, the word is 'handsome'." I laughed while she frowned. "I know but he doesn't..." "Olivia, thanks for the compliment. You're pretty as well." Sam smiled. Wow!"Excuse me, sir!" He said and disappeared round the corner and from the dining room, we could see him take care of the plates and cups. He came back few minutes later.
Samantha's POVIn the confined area I've been held hostage at, I paced up and down, throwing my fist into my palm once in a while. Ryan's guards stood around to keep an eye on me and I felt helpless. That feeling got me angry because of all things, I hated the feeling of helplessness. But anyone walking by would think we were just guards waiting on our boss. I had no idea that these guards would be here tonight. Their presence here definitely meant Ryan expected something would happen that needed their attention.I shut out the voices around me while I tried to think about what just happened. I was mystified at the sudden turn of things. Adrian couldn't possibly do that to me. "Even when he knew I despise him, he still loved me enough not to implicate me knowingly." I thought inwardly. My forehead creased when the pitiful look on my uncle's face reflected in my mind. I stopped in my track."Did he possibly know something was gonna happen to me today?"
Adrian's POVI stared at the girl who laid on the bed in front of me. Her lips looked dry and her face was pale. I rubbed her cheek with the back of my palm as I stared intently at her. I couldn't help but get worried about her pitiful state. She was going through a lot yet showed off fierceness."You came?" Her uncle had exclaimed when he saw me."I couldn't help it when I heard about her breakdown." I said to him. "How is she?""The doctor said she'll be fine. The past still hurts, you know.""You told her something?""She wanted to know but turned out she couldn't withstand the rush."I wanted to say something but I withheld myself. Besides, I literally had no idea what the past he talked about held so I nodded knowingly and went into the room she was sleeping in.Now here I was, staring right at the pretty face in front of me, that only looked calm in her
Samantha's POV With Christmas songs playing on a low pitch, I enjoyed the evening's cool breeze. I tucked in my hair that the wind kept blowing to my face of which I blamed myself for not bringing a hairband with me. Even though I had a book in my hand that I intended to read, I could barely concentrate because I had a lot on my mind. However, the atmosphere gave me a good escape from the troubles of the mind. With a low sigh, I dropped the book in my hands on my laps and sat back comfortably with my hands tucked across my chest. I lifted up my legs and rested them on the footstool. I closed my eyes to have few minutes of rest to relieve my troubled mind of the different thoughts that ran wildly through it, one of which was my relationship with Adrian and my plans with Ryan. But right before I could drift off to my short nap, I heard something that made me open my eyes. The sound was distant and I couldn't make it out.
Ryan's POVIt was Christmas Eve already and I was at a restaurant with a couple of businessmen. I was supposed to be at Mom's place but things came up and here I was, stuck with these chatty men.We were here to discuss some business deals that, in their opinions, couldn't be put on hold. "We heard the design got cancelled at the last minute." One of them suddenly brought up the issue of the fashion launch show after we had our deals finalized.I raised my head to look at the man."Yeah, it was.""Do you mind if we ask why? It had never happened before." Another man said."Yeah," someone interjected. "And to think Leigh's Wears won this year is actually out of it."The six men around the table all nodded in agreement and I couldn't help but sigh."I appreciate your concern but it was an impromptu decision that needed to be made to prevent a lot of things." I answered. "I'd like
Ryan's POV With my hands folded across my chest, I stared at the lady that sat down opposite me. She stared right back at me with a stoic look that I could barely read her expression. When the silence was getting unbearable, I decided to speak first but she beat me to it. "How have you been, Robin?" She asked. The way my name rolled off her tongue annoyed the hell out of me because it reminded me of a lot of things. I mean, c'mon, this was someone I haven't seen for a while now. Five years? Yeah, that should be it. Someone that literally abandoned me. "Why are you here?" She frowned and pouted before she stood to her feet. "I went out of the country just for a while. Why should I not come back home?" I watched her walk round the table before she stopped in front of me. "Besides, my boyfriend is right here." She flashed a seductive smile, pulled out the chair besid
46The moment Ryan left Samantha’s house, she couldn’t keep herself calm. Guilt ate her up as she accepted the fact that Ryan was not wrong about anything. She was in fact the one to make amends and becoming Ryan’s pretend bride wouldn’t be bad in any way. She liked him at least, even though she wasn’t meant to. As Samantha sat in silence in the living room, she could feel Nathaniel’s intense gaze on her. She knew he would give her another earful. Sometimes, she wondered whether or not she was the older one or Nate.“Just say it.” She sighed and sat back, shutting her eyes. “I already had enough today but I certainly do not mind listening to you top it up.”“Why are you bent on ignoring your heart, sis?” Nathaniel asked instead. “It’s obvious, even to the blind, that you like him. You might not notice but the way you try hard to push him away just screams one thing to me.”“What?”“Samantha Emilia Gray is in love with Ryan Robin Anderson.”“Nate…”“I advise you move closer to him rat
Author’s POV continues…Stepping into the hotel room, Ryan let out a sigh as he sprawled out on the couch. His head ached badly and he felt drained. His whole life at the moment seemed to revolve around issues. As much as he tried to think, he couldn’t figure out any other way out of the scandal, other than the option the crisis manager provided. Besides, it wouldn’t be much of a problem since he was no longer with Brianna. Just as he thought about her, Ryan realized he might have had issues with the available solution to the scandal if Brianna had not done what she did.~*Four months ago*Ryan alighted and locked the car doors. With some white gift bags in one hand and a bouquet on the other, he strolled towards the building. Apparently, he had thought of visiting Brianna’s parents after he came back from the vacation at France. He hadn’t informed Brianna that he was back and he knew she’d be at her parents’ place since they were the one that called her back.On his way to their p
Author's POV“Where’s she?”This was the first thing Ryan said the moment Nathaniel opened the door. “How did you get here?” The boy wondered.“Can I see her?” Ryan stressed, ignoring his question.“I’m sorry, no!” Nate answered and tried to shut the door.“Don’t you dare!” “Ryan Anderson,” Samantha called from within the house. “Threatening or snapping at the child won’t get you anywhere near me.”Ryan sighed and rubbed his temple. Ever since he met Samantha, it has been from one issue to the other. He was just there, at Samantha’s place, to get things over with. He was tired of the ups and downs and really wanted to be free from the Gray’s unending schemes.“It’s bad enough that I have to deal with several attacks yearly. Now, I have to deal with being called a molester. What more damage do you intend to wreck, Samantha Gray?” Samantha shut her eyes at his words. She understood the fact that series of news had been circulating about him that are really bad for his reputation, but
Samantha’s POV A groan escaped my mouth as I turned around on the wide surface that provided the comfort I needed. I heard a bell ring and the loud sound made my forehead creased, even though my eyes were still shut. I stretched my arms but paused when I hit something hard beside me. My eyes flung open. “Oh my god!” I screamed, pulling the blanket with me as I shrink back into the bed like that was even possible. In reflex, my head banged and I winced, rubbing my temple with my free hand. The hard thing I supposedly hit hissed from my shriek and propped himself up. He rubbed his eyes and then held on to his temple. One could tell he was still in the mood for more sleep. “What’s with the scream?” He drawled, his eyes half opened. “What… Are… You… Doing… Here?” I cried out. My cry seemed to call his full attention to the situation at hand because his eyes went wide the next second. He stared at me and his mouth went agape. “Sam?” He called, his voice laced with some certain le
Lightning flashed across the sky as the rain pounded on. It was a stormy night and somewhere in a secluded area was a luxurious villa that looked abandoned from its exterior view. But right in this villa, a young lad could be seen in the living room, seated on a couch with a pillow on his laps which he rested his hands on. With the dim lightning in the living room, he focused on the show that played off on the television.From the lifeless looks of some of the characters in the show, it was evident that he was watching a horror drama. His attention was so keen that he didn’t notice someone walk up to him. All he felt at first was the cold breath at his neck, making the hair on his body stand. But right before he could regain his composure, he felt a pair of cold hands snake up to his shoulders which made him flinched hard, jumping out of the couch as he screamed at the top of his lungs. The lights in the room all came on, brightening the room with their full intensity. The lad turn
A lady moved swiftly as she disappeared around the corner, walking her way into what seemed to be a hideout for criminal acts. The men at the entrance all bowed to her as she walked past them, giving no regards to their greetings. She traipsed further into the building, her mind focused on just one thing as she ignored the men who she came in contact with on her way. “Miss!” A guy hurriedly stood to his feet the moment she barged into a room. The people in the room all stood to acknowledge her presence. The room had a setup similar to a conference room and it looked like she interrupted their discussion. Taking a quick glance at the faces of people in the room that had their head lowered slightly in respect to her, the lady walked across the room.“Why are you here by this time, Miss?” “David,” the lady pulled out a chair and sat on it. “I believe you remember why this group came into existence.”“Yes, Miss.”“Mind if you remind me?” The cold gaze and emotionless tone the lady sp
Samantha’s POVTears trickled down my face while I stared at Nathaniel on the hospital bed. I held his hand in mine and placed a kiss on the back of his hand as different thoughts ran through my mind. “Why would anyone try to kill him? He is not a threat to anyone. I made sure of that because I rarely give him a chance to get involved in anything. All I asked him to do is work at the hotel so why would anyone see him as a threat?”I felt a hand rest on my shoulders and I looked up to see Adrian, staring at me with worry-filled eyes. I didn’t even realize he was back. He took an excuse to do something few minutes ago.“You need to rest, Lia. Nate is out of harm’s way now and I’m here to watch over him.”“No,” I shook my head. “I’ll watch over him till he’s awake.”“But, Emilia…” I cut him off.“I want to be the first person he sees.”Letting out a sigh, he moved away to sit on a couch. I turned back my attention to Nate, who doesn’t look like he’d open his eyes soon. “Would you at le
Adrian’s POV“What?” I raised my head to look at the man who stood in front of me. “What do you mean by that?”He had lowered his head, with guilt written over his face. “I thought I made the deadline clear so why is this still not ready?” The sound of my hands colliding with the table made him flinch. If he thought his excuse would make me go lenient on him then he is wrong. “Boss!” Alexander barged into my office and his action made me raise a brow at him.The man realized that might be his chance to escape my wrath at the moment so he tried his luck.“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll get the documents ready and send them to you before tomorrow morning.”“You had better do that.” I answered, giving his luck a chance to work.“I will, sir.” He nodded frantically and was about to scurry away from my presence. “Who’s in charge of the company’s introduction letter?” He stopped in his tracks and turned.“I…uhm… Mr…” I sighed.“You know what?” I waved him off. “Just leave. Tell whoever it is to
Samantha’s POVThe meeting with Mr Atkinson went hitch free. I had promised myself that would be the last meeting with the man, so I made sure I sealed every deal before leaving his place. The moment I entered my suite, I got ready to go back home. Dragging my travelling bag behind me, I dropped it close to the bed and packed some of my things. I threw every bit of my stuff into the box and when I was certain I left nothing behind; I zipped the bag and pulled it up. My phone’s screen lit up, so I reached out to pick it up. It was a message from David. My brows arched as I read.“I’m sorry I cannot escort you back home. I had to leave immediately, Miss. Something urgent came up, and I’ll tell you about it when you get back. My apologies!”I deleted the message and navigated through my phone to get Aaron’s contact.“Hello.” I breathed out the moment he answered, and I simultaneously sat on the bed. “I’m done packing. You can get the cab now.” “Okay, Miss.” He answered with no hesit