It's been a week since the eventful day their ring exchanging ceremony was held and since then, Angelina had been seeing lesser and lesser of Maxwell. He has taken to spending more time at the office nowadays and when he finally comes home around eight p.m in the night, he just locks himself up in his study, working until the wee hours of the night.Angelina tried her best to change the situation but to no avail. He never gives her any chance to see him, not to talk of urging him to step up his game since he was doing a very lousy job acting as a doting husband. Even the domestic workers and Lucy were already getting suspicious as they kept passing subtle remarks about the way the master of the house seldom stays at home recently.However, typical of her, Angelina didn't let that bother her as she spends the entire day everyday mingling around with everyone living in the mansion, most especially Isabella. Within the short period of a week, she and the young girl had become very good f
"Don't worry Mrs. Gallagher, he's stable now. But I need to know, has he been feeding well lately? Or stressing himself out a lot?" "Actually Dr. Eddie, he has indeed been stressing himself out a lot— too much infact. He's the epitome of a workaholic; he spends all day working at the office and at night, he hardly sleeps at all. And about feeding, that's the worst! He survives on protein bars at the office and at home, he mostly just picks at his food when someone is watching but if he's alone, he doesn't even bother to eat anything at all." "Alright, Mrs. M.J, keep talking about me as if I'm not here!" Angelina turned to look at Maxwell who was sitting down on a two-seater couch in the living room, looking much better now that the doctor had given him an injection. She had panicked when she saw him earlier, screaming loudly until Arnold rushed in. When he saw her trying to call the emergency line, he stopped her and instead, called Dr. Eddie Chan, Maxwell's private doctor who
Angelina was shocked at the reception she received at M.J Tech the following day when she went to deliver Maxwell's lunch. She had been contemplating on whether or not to go to her old apartment and dress up as Marcus Reed before going but when she recalled Maxwell's reaction when she suggested dressing as his little man once again, she instantly gave up on that idea. So she braced up and just took a leap of faith by going dressed in her female attire. If worst comes to worst, she could just call Maxwell on the phone so he could send someone to collect the food for him.However, as soon as she got to the massive gates, the familiar security guards bowed their heads respectfully at her, addressing her as Mrs. M.J and welcoming her to the company. Likewise at the lobby, the receptionists and all the other familiar workers either passing by or at their desks, kept greeting her with the respect due for their boss's wife. At first, Angelina was surprised by their instant recognition of h
"Alright sir! I'm ever ready to be of service!"Maxwell frowned slightly. "That's what you need to rectify first."Confused, Angelina frowned. "What? What do I need to rectify, sir?" "That word. You need to stop addressing me as 'sir'. Immediately. You can't just go and slip up by calling me 'sir' in front of Nanna. And I meant what I said about gearing up. Nanna is very perceptive and one slight mistake could blow the cover. And believe me, you wouldn't like the outcome of that. So, beware. " "Ookey dookey sir… oops! I mean, okay darling!"Maxwell sent her a glare so cold that she subconsciously retreated a step backwards. "Yikes! Chillax, si… 'not-sir'!"This time around when he sent her another icy glare, instead of retreating, she just grinned at him. "Well, I'm not allowed to call you sir and I'm also not allowed to call you by an endearment. So, what else do you expect me to call you, not-sir?"Maxwell pursed his lips. What in the name of all that's
Later that night, Maxwell was forced to retire to his bedroom in the early hours of the night, unlike before as his Nanna's hawk-like eyes were alert and keenly observing all his and Angelina's moves.However, as soon as he stepped into the large, simply but elegantly furnished bedroom, his brows instantly furrowed. It was as if he had stepped foot into a foreign territory and if not for the familiar king-size bed, chaise-lounge and grey curtains, he wouldn't have recognized his own bedroom! Everything had changed completely. Even his signature masculine scent had now been replaced with a very nice, enticing floral and vanilla scent.The dressing-table which hitherto had his designer wrist-watches, different cologne brands and perfumes, now had a neat arrangement of female cosmetics, colognes, hair care products and lots more. And when he opened his extra-large walk-in closet which was so big it could pass for a room, he just pursed his lips in annoyance when he saw the endless rows o
"Good morning, my one and only…"His one and only? Hmm, real smooth Maxwell, real smooth! Angelina had to give it up to him; it's really smart of him to choose that form of endearment among all the others. Nanna would be misled into thinking he meant it in a special, romantic way whereas Angelina knew the real truth that there's an unsaid word— his one and only Devilina!As he uttered those fake endearing words, he gracefully made his way towards her and seeing his gaze drop once to her full, kissable lips before averting his face with a grimace, Angelina realized what he was about to do, or rather, force himself to do. So she braced herself such that when his lips descended down to hers, she instantly turned her face so that the peck landed on her cheek instead of her lips. An instant electric jolt sizzled throughout her body at that slight contact of skin on skin, making her abruptly look up at him, but his face was as expressionless and indecipherable as always. Masking her o
Later that night, Angelina finally got tired of tossing and turning on the large, comfy king-size bed and sat up on it. As her half-lidded eyes opened completely, they fell on the sleeping figure of her husband lying uncomfortably on the finger chair with his head hanging to one side.Sighing, she shook her head resignedly. Ever since that first night that they spent together on the same bed and woke up to an awkward situation, he had never attempted sleeping on the same bed with her again. That eventful first morning, she had woken up very early as usual, after a very blissful and peaceful night's rest only to find her body completely snuggled against her husband's. Their legs were entangled into each other's while his large arm was wrapped around her waist as they lay in a spooning position.Angelina had tried her best to gently slide out of his hold but as soon as she slightly moved, her ample and lush butt hit something rod-like that was poking her from behind, eliciting a groan f
Around noon the following day, Angelina called Alicia and after exchanging pleasantries, went straight to the point as is typical of her. "Hey Ally, what do you think about studying here in the U.K? You've always wanted to be a lawyer. So why don't you try your luck by applying to one of the universities here?"At first, Alicia was dumbfounded. It took her a few seconds to regain control of her vocal cords. Could Angelina be implying what she thinks she's implying? "What are you saying, Angie?" "I know your Visa will soon expire so why don't you apply and if you get in, we could get you a student's Visa and you can remain here with me in the U.K while you study. I…"Alicia's delightful squeal interrupted Angelina, making her smile and shake her head, as if Alicia could see her from the other end. After the excitement ebbed down a bit, Alicia asked, "But how are you going to get the required funds? Don't tell me you're going to ask your billionaire husband! If that's
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