Chapter Eleven:The woman he addressed as 'Janette' sighed resignedly. "Too bad. I really thought we could relive the past and have some fun before I do what brought me but it seems like you're not in the mood. So let's just get straight to the point. I'm here to get my daughter."Maxwell just gave her a disdainful look. He wasn't in the mood for any of her shenanigans. He knew she was up to no good as usual. "Never address my daughter in that manner again. Ever." "Your daughter? Sorry to burst your bubble, Wonderboy, but Isabella is not your daughter!"An eerie silence ensued before; "Get.out.of.my.house. Now!" "Oh, I knew you wouldn't believe me so I came well prepared. Here's the DNA test result that proves you're not Isabella's father. And this one here proves the identity of her biological father. I've even brought pictures of him so you can see how striking their resemblance is. And one more thing, I got your DNA sample and that of Isabella through y
That same night, Jeremy Logan was watching the news in his living room when he received an unexpected visitor. Without beating about the bush, Angelina dropped the cheque she came with on the coffee table in front of him. "What's this?" "It's my entire paycheck, including all the generous bonuses Mr. Gallagher gave me. It's more than enough to cover all the expenses incurred in getting both Alicia and I to London, the rent you paid for our apartment, clothes you bought for me, gas, everything! I'll try and get more petty jobs I can do during the daytime so I can pay for our trip back home before our Visa expires. So, you don't have to worry about our welfare anymore."Jeremy frowned. "What are you trying to say, Angelina?" "I'm terribly sorry, Jeremy, but I can't do this anymore. I just can't!" "What the heck are you saying, Angelina? Don't you dare! Don't you dare do this to me, Angelina McQueen! We had a deal and so you're not going anywhe
Ever the meticulous and punctual person, Maxwell arrived at exactly eight pm at the address his little man gave him, which turned out to be a nightclub in the suburban part of London.Although clubbing had never been his thing, he didn't hesitate to stride into the raucous place, in his characteristic majestic way with two of his bodyguards trailing behind. He didn't bother to go to the VIP section or even take a seat as he stood at a secluded corner, scanning his eyes all over the crowded club in search of his little man.However, the little man was nowhere to be seen and just as he checked the time and realised that it was ten minutes after eight, the lights went dim. Then all of a sudden, a very melodious, euphonious and captivating voice of a woman rent the air before the spotlights were illuminated on the stage, where a young lady dressed in all black---black halter maxi dress, black pumps, black hat and a black net covering her gorgeous face, stood with the mic in her gloved han
Maxwell leaned against the railing in the balcony, smoking roll after roll of cigarettes. On a normal day, he really hated smoking but this isn't a normal day, or rather, night. Throughout the day, his mind had been boggled with many frustrating thoughts. On one hand, he just discovered that his little man is not just an imposter but an espionage agent sent to dupe him and on another, the DNA test he redid came out negative. Isabella was truly not his daughter and so, if Janette carried out her threat, he'd end up losing the apple of his eyes; his dearest Izzy as well, just as he lost his little man. Desperate to clear his head of the frustrating and agitating thoughts, he resorted to smoking since drinking alcohol was out of the question so as not to get too drunk to handle Izzy. Maybe he might succeed in puffing out his frustrations into the air along with the cigarette smoke. But alas, that didn't seem to work as the same questions kept boggling his mind. What could he do to mak
Angelina couldn't believe her ears. "What?! Now?! What's the rush for, sir? I mean, how can a wedding be…" "This is a contract marriage, Devilina. All you have to do is sign some few documents and that's it; you're bound to me for the next couple of years. This is no fairy tale and so there will be no useless wedding ceremony whatsoever."But Angelina wasn't ready to give in. "I know this is just a contract marriage but it's a legal marriage after all! For that, we need to obtain licenses and get some witnesses. This will take some time so…" "Everything has already been taken care of. As we speak, the two witnesses are already waiting for us at the city hall."At that, Angelina pursed her lips. So he had already arranged everything even without speaking with her. He had been absolutely confident about her acceptance. Afterall, to him she's the gold digger and money grubber who can never resist such a staggering offer. Well, he was right in one aspect. His offer was too
"Get inside."Angelina looked at Maxwell with a quizzical expression on her face. They had just arrived at the mansion and after parking in front of the porch, instead of getting out of the car and leading the way, he ordered her to go in, alone. "What?" "I said go inside the house. It's not as if this is your first time coming." Then, turning to face the chauffeur, he ordered, "Gregory, offload the stuff in the boot and ask Jerry to take them inside."As Gregory vacated the car in order to carry out the order, Angelina took her birdcage and just as she stepped the first foot out of the luxurious car, she heard the deep, baritone voice address her once again. "Oh, and by the way, take this."He extended his fisted hand towards her and as he unclenched it, she saw a small blue ring box in the middle of his palm. A frown of confusion materialized on her face but before she could utter a word, he elucidated. "It's your wedding ring. Put it on your ring fin
"To my study, now!"As usual, Maxwell didn't shout or bark the order at her even though he seemed to be seething with rage. Rather, he spoke in his characteristic frosty, chilly tone which made Angelina shudder involuntarily. And as he turned and stormed away, she couldn't help but ask herself. What did she do to rile him up this much?She slowly trailed behind him but instead of directly following him to the study, she made a quick visit to the kitchen and got something first.Upon reaching the study on the second floor, she knocked once before opening the door and barging in, just as is typical of her. As soon as she stepped in and closed the door behind her, memories of the first time she came into this same room flooded her mind.How she saw the slumped figure of her drunk boss on that same couch…How he laid down all those strong frigid walls of his; giving her a glimpse of the real person buried deep beneath, showing her his raw, deep emotions…How he told he needed her in
The shrill sound of Angelina's outdated Samsung mobile phone woke her up from a deep slumber.Subconsciously, she reached for it and with half-open eyes, she swiped the phone and answered without checking the caller ID. "Meet me at the West wing. Now."Her groggy, sleepy eyes instantly became wide open. That was unmistakably her newly-wedded husband's voice. Checking the time on her phone, she frowned when she discovered that it was just four thirty am in the morning! Why is he summoning her to his part of the mansion at this ungodly hour?Slipping on her flip-flops, she stealthily opened the door and noiselessly walked out of the east wing, so as not to disturb anyone else's sleep.Upon knocking once and turning the door knob, she found out that the door was actually open so she walked into the living room, only to find a slightly groggy-looking Maxwell pacing up and down. He still had his white shirt-dress on, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons undo
Six months later… In the just concluded bakery section of the state of the art buildings of Isabella Gallagher Memorial Foundation, a heavily pregnant Angelina waddled around, inspecting the ultramodern baking equipments. Even though Lucy had volunteered to be the caretaker of the London-based foundation center, from time to time, Angelina goes there to inspect things, especially when a new project has been completed or when some newly- bought equipments have arrived. That's not because she didn't trust Lucy's capability of handling things superbly. No, far from it. She knows she's quite capable and just goes there to make sure things are running smoothly. After all, the foundation is her pet project and her lifelong dream and she loves it just like her own baby! So far, apart from the basic infrastructures that had already been established in both the American and London-based foundation centers, a culinary school, sewing and knitting center, sports arena, arts school for painting
Over the moon with joy, Maxwell hastily slipped the ring unto her finger and as he got up to seal it with a kiss, Angelina's hand suddenly appeared in front of his lips and pushed them away from hers. "Not so fast, lover boy! We have a score to settle first."Maxwell's eyes instantly widened in trepidation. What score do they have to settle? He thought they have already crossed that bridge earlier. He thought she had already forgiven him! But before he could voice out his fears, Angelina's melodic voice reached his ears. "You came here, wowed me with your mind-blowing confession, went ahead to steal my breath away by telling me I'm the one for you, your peace of mind, your bane of existence, your home, your soulmate and so many other mind-blowing things before going down on one knee and proposing to me. You did all that, without even giving me any chance to state my own feelings. Oh I forgot, I don't suppose to have any feelings. After all, 'you know I don't share your feel
Maxwell couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing. And he knows for sure that he isn't dreaming so could this mean…He looked towards Ethan who was standing behind Angelina for confirmation and just as he nodded his head to confirm that indeed she has regained her memories, Angelina's voice rent the air once again. "Pfft! Can you believe this, bro? I thought that your friend would be a little more excited about seeing me but it seems…"Angelina never got to finish saying what she intended to as she suddenly felt her body engulfed in a very tight hug against a warm, tall, hard and familiar body. In a flash, her own hands automatically wrapped themselves around the tall, imposing figure. At the same time, her eyes fluttered close on their own accord. Their joined bodies reverberated as in unison, both she and Maxwell released very huge, deeply felt sighs of relief. Home, at last! At long, long last they are finally where they rightfully belonged; in the most blissful home ev
Ethan and Robert had just finished having an early dinner together and were on their way to the airport when the former received a call. Upon checking the caller id on the screen, a frown materialized on his face. But that notwithstanding, he swiped and answered the call. "What's up Dr. I-know-it-all? Have you perhaps forgotten your stethoscope with me? Or is it your brain?"From the other end, Dr. Nick sighed. "Look, Mr. Marlowe, I haven't called you for another round of bickering. We need to talk. Urgently. Where are you now? Since you're answering your calls I can tell that you haven't boarded the plane yet, so where can I meet you?"It was Ethan's turn to frown as he instantly became alert. "What's the matter? What happened? How is Angie? Don't tell me anything happened to her! M.J would kill you if anything happens to even a single hair on her head!"Dr. Nick huffed. "Relax, dude. Jolie is perfectly fine. Well, I guess she'll be if only you keep quiet, listen t
Dr. Nick clamped his eyes shut as out of nowhere, sudden pain, sadness and gloom overcame him. How could he have been so blinded? How could he have let his feelings cloud his rational thinking? He had fallen for a woman who is way beyond his reach! He knew right from the onset that she belonged to someone else, that she was someone else's wife but he still let his guard down such that his hidden and long-suppressed feelings for her gradually resurfaced!And now, she is pregnant. What cruel game is this that fate is playing with them all? Here he is, deeply and passionately in love with his childhood buddy but he can neither express it nor even think of acting on it because she's carrying the baby of another man. Another man whom she has absolutely no memories of at all– the man she believes is nobody but a complete stranger to her! God! What kind of mess is this?!What is he supposed to do now? How is he going to break the news of her pregnancy to her when she doesn't even remember h
Angelina grinned widely at him. "Of course! You're my best friend so of course you can't just like me! And you know the feeling is mutual too, right? You're the bestest best friend in the whole wide world and so I love you too!"Once again, Dr. Nick gave her that strange, intense look and cleared his throat. "Erm…Jolie, I have something that I want to tell…"Just then, the shrill sound of his phone interrupted him and as he looked down at the caller id, his entire demeanor instantly changed. Without answering the call, he abruptly got up from his seat while saying to Angelina, "Shit! I completely forgot that I'm supposed to meet someone by two pm today and it's already a quarter to two now."Perplexed at his reaction to the call, Angelina, who had also seen the caller id before he silenced the phone, frowned up at him in confusion. "Who is this Mr. Blondie whose mere call has gotten you so worked up like this? You don't even behave this way when the hospital medical
Maxwell stood in front of the large painting of Angelina and himself in his exquisitely furnished living room, slowly tracing the outline of his wife's gorgeous face with misty eyes and a forlorn and wistful expression on his face.All of a sudden, he felt a hand on his shoulder and even before her gentle, soothing voice rent the air, he knew it was his mother. "You know that staring at her picture will not magically conjure her up, right? Why are you doing this to yourself, son? When will you stop punishing yourself? It's been almost two months now since we left Croatia. Since you left your wife with a complete stranger! All you do is keep sending money, stuffs and either Ethan or Robert to go check on her while you remain here torturing yourself with depressing thoughts. Just take a look at yourself. You haven't just lost a lot of weight but also look so haggard! Arnold told me that once I'm not here, you don't eat at all and hardly sleep at night. And now you're standing here
When Dr. Nick had given Angelina the two gadgets that Maxwell sent over for her, she had only accepted the laptop and refused to accept the phone, claiming that she had no use for it since she had no one to communicate with.Even though that's what she claimed, the real reason is because she doesn't want any reminder of her past life at the moment, the past life that she has no memories of as at present. She knows that once she has a phone, someone connected to her forgotten past might call her and that will inevitably push back those depressing thoughts which she had shoved away to the forefront and hence, make her sad and gloomy. And that's the last thing she wanted at the moment. All she wants is to pretend as if all is well, to live in the moment, to be happy and keep having great fun with her best friend. Therefore, she surely doesn't want a phone as of now! If her memories return in the future, then she'd surely require a phone. But as of now, she had no need for it!When Dr. Ni
Dr. Nick didn't get a chance to return to his office until much later in the evening when he had rounded up all he had to do for the meantime. And after having one look at his tired face, Angelina abruptly got up, took the lunch basket in her left hand before holding Dr. Nick's hand with the right one. "You're coming home with me right this second, Dr. Lifesaver!"However, instead of letting her to pull him along with her like she intended to, Dr. Nick stayed put in his place while shaking his head and saying, "No Jolie. I can't leave now. I just performed surgeries on two of my patients and I have to be there when they eventually come to. I need to assess them and…" "Oh no, Dr. Lifesaver, you have already done your part. There are other doctors who can do whatever needs to be done. Besides, you look so tired and dead on your feet and as far as I know, you can only save lives when you yourself are alive and well! So like I said earlier, you are coming home with me now