"Your dad wants you at the house. He has something to discuss." A lot of things came to Henry’s head when Daniel said those words. His father was an unpredictable man so Henry did not know what exactly to expect. Five years went by so quickly that it still felt like yesterday when he was trying to find Zoe. Reports from the men he sent to figure out where Zoe was came back that she was in Italy but no one was able to pinpoint where exactly. Why was it so darn hard?The child they had would have been five by now. He wondered what her name was. He wondered what Zoe would tell his child if the girl asked of him. He could only picture Zoe bad mouthing him. Henry could not blame her. He had been too childish back then and screwed everything up. Not that he was any wiser now at thirty but there would be things he would do differently. If only she could give him another chance to right his wrongs. "What time does he want me there?" Henry asked, looking at the time. "Six pm. He wants to
Zoe spent sleepless night trying to get her work done, but all to no avail. The systems at that small company were unbelievably hard to penetrate. She had been able to deal with bigger companies than this, but this one in particular proved itself to be too difficult. Backing out from the job might cause bigger problems with Mario. She had never let him down. Not once. Zoe had been sitting in front of her computer for hours that her legs started to get cramped. Leo had gone out to pick Maria up from school. He was more supportive than Zoe thought he would be. Maybe he left his aloofness in his teenage years. She felt a headache build up in her head as a result of staring at her computer screen for too long. She got some pain relievers from their first aid box and chugged it down her throat, waiting for the medicines to take effect. Zoe thought about just going to the company to make her findings herself, but would that not be riskier? She would just have to be extremely careful. I
Emily followed Daniel and Henry to the airport to say her farewells. She waited until their flight was announced, hugging Daniel goodbye. "Take care of yourself," Emily told him. "I will." She watched him go, only just realizing that the people she was closest to were no longer in America with her. First was Zoe, and now Daniel. She made a mental note to pay them a surprise visit someday. Then it clicked in her head. Daniel was following Henry to Italy, and Zoe was in that same Italy. She was too busy with Daniel that it had slipped her mind completely.She needed to warn Zoe that Henry was going to Italy. Emily reached for her phone and tried to call Zoe. The phone rang several times, but she did not pick up. "C’mon, Zoe," she said to herself. "Pick up the damn phone." She called a few more times and gave up. Zoe would totally freak out if she ever met Henry in Italy by any chance. The one person she ran away from was going to meet her there. Emily hoped Zoe would see her mis
Henry knew the universe was in his favor when he bumped into Zoe on the first day he got to Italy. The woman he had been looking for appeared right in front of him after so many years. If that was not luck, then Henry did not know what was. Zoe ran away out of shock, but he did not mind. As long as they were in the same city, he would find his way to her again. One way or the other. He walked into the company's building and saw the receptionist first. "Welcome. You must be Mr. Henry Arthur," she said with a smile. "We have all been expecting you." "I bet you have." "Please come with me. I will show you to your office." She led the way and he followed her, taking in the surroundings. The building was far more smaller than Magatech with lesser staff. Even his office was just a small room with a normal desk and a chair. Nothing spectacular or grand like his office back in America. He did not know how long he was going to be staying in Italy, but he planned to renovate the place i
Zoe did not know what she was doing lying about her perfectly alive child being dead. Henry had caught her off guard, so she just told him whatever came to mind at that point. At least he would leave her alone now if it was Maria he was after. All she had to do was stay away from Henry and the company. Zoe was not sure yet how she would deal with Mario, but she would cross that bridge when she got to it. It was almost midnight and she had to tuck Maria in early for school the next day. Maria was already in her pajamas, holding her teddy bear with both hands. "Can you read me a bedtime story, mommy?" Maria asked with a small voice and yawned loudly. "Of course. Come here." Zoe lifted her from the floor easily and laid her down on the bed, tucking her under the sheets. "Which one do you want to hear?" "Beauty and the Beast!" Maria chirped. "You have heard that one a hundred times." "I want to hear it again." Zoe was smiling. "Why do you like it so much?" "I like how the wicked
He did not believe Zoe when she told him that the baby had died, so he had to check for himself and be sure. His gut feeling was right. The child was alive and very healthy. Henry saw Maria run outside to hug Zoe. She was already dressed for school, carrying a backpack. "Leo!" Zoe called out for her brother. "Why is Maria not in school yet?" So that was her name. Maria. Leo came out of the house and locked the door behind him. "We were just about leaving when..." he trailed off when he saw Henry standing in front of the house quietly, then exchanged awkward looks with Zoe. "The child is dead indeed," Henry said in mockery, raising a brow at Zoe. "Would you like to explain yourself?" "Leo, take her to school." Maria tugged at Zoe’s dress. "Mommy, who is this man?" "I will tell you when you get back from school," Zoe replied. "You are late already." "Okay. Bye!" Leo went ahead to pick her up, carrying her away from the ongoing tension between Henry and Zoe. When they were gone
Her cover had been blown. Henry already knew about Maria. Zoe could not begin to imagine the things Henry would do to have his way. It was what he always did. She would never allow it. Zoe needed someone to talk to about it, so she called Emily. The phone rang a couple of times before Emily picked up. "Hey, what's up?" "I am in trouble," Zoe said. Emily sighed over the phone. "I knew this was coming. It is about Henry, right?" "Of course it is about Henry. Who else would it be?" "Calm down now. There is no need to get your panties in a twist." "He says he wants us to get back together." Emily was dumbfounded. "Really?""What am I supposed to do? I am not sure what he would do to achieve this. You know Henry." Zoe knew that panicking was not going to solve anything, still, she could not help it. "There might be a way out of this," Emily reasoned. "Which is?""Hear him out. Daniel claimed once Henry cared about you. It might be true." Zoe rubbed at her forehead, letting her
Henry waited for Zoe’s response. He could tell she was fuming now, as he heard her heavy breathing on the other end of the call. Things did not have to be like this."Bring back my daughter while I am asking nicely," she finally said into the phone. "I will. After we talk like civilized parents," Henry responded. "Where is she? Tell me right now!" "Do not be in such a hurry. Maria is more than fine where she is. In fact, she is very comfortable here with me." Henry glanced over at Maria and Daniel on the dining table, chatting away like two jolly best friends. The girl sure did know how to talk. "Don't you dare touch a hair on her head!" Zoe warned. "C’mon, she is my daughter too. I am no assassin. Plus we have been getting along so well." "Henry..." "Come tomorrow to my house. I would love for us to discuss," he said. "I will text you the address." With that, he ended the call, not waiting for what she had to say after that. She would probably throw insults at him and the li
He was not sure who deepened the kiss first. It might have been Zoe- or at least a part of him wanted it to be her- but since it was all he had been thinking about since he saw her when she walked downstairs, it seemed more likely it was him. It stopped being important who deepened it first when their mouths collided fully in a clash of wet, warm tongues. Zoe’s arms went up and around his neck, clinging to him. Henry slid his hands down her body to her backside, scooping her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her mouth further into his, exploring, tasting. The soft moans she released from her throat made his body tremble slightly. His knees weakened as his erection lengthened. Zoe kissed her way down his face, around his mouth to his neck, his throat, inhaling deeply when she got there. She felt perfect in his arms. He dropped her mouth to her shoulder and bit her there softly which caused her to moan louder. Bringing his mouth back to hers, he move
Zoe went to Mario’s house the next day with rage. She had made herself clear about leaving Henry to her. Why he kept meddling, she could not tell. She went into his room without knocking, and saw a half naked girl on his bed. The sheets was the only thing covering her nude body. "Welcome," the girl looked at Zoe from toe to head. "Mario did not say anything about a third person joining us." "Where is he?" "He stepped out for a bit." Zoe groaned in frustration. He was having fun with girls while also making things hard for her. The door to Mario’s room opened and he walked in wearing a black robe. He took one last puff of his cigar and put out the flame on a steel plate, furrowing his eyebrows at Zoe."What are you doing here? I did not ask you to come over." "I needed to discuss with you," she glanced at his visitor on the bed. "In private." "Excuse us," Mario told the girl as she got up from the bed, shrugged on a dress and walked out. "You can speak now.""I thought we agreed
Zoe stared up to the face of the voice in shock. Henry’s eyes searched her face worriedly. "What is wrong?" he asked. "You look like you have just seen a ghost." "I needed to step outside for a moment," she replied, checking to see if Mario was anywhere in sight. Zoe could no longer find him in the swarm of people. "You should have told me. Let us go somewhere else if you do not feel comfortable here." Zoe shook her head. "You still have guests to meet. I do not want to keep you away from them.""You are more important to me. Let us go." She felt bad making him leave early because of her. Zoe followed him outside, letting Henry open the front door for her. "Since when are you this nice?" "I am a changed man." Zoe snorted at his claims. "That is hard to believe." Henry was trying everything he could to gain her trust but she was being too hard headed. He should have known winning her over would take more effort and work. Coercing her into a contract marriage was obviously not e
Henry cleared out his work schedule to spend the day with Zoe. The last time they went out together on a date, he ended up messing everything up. This was his second chance to earn her trust again. Maybe if she trusted him, she would not have to be sneaking around in the house and be open to him. If she was hiding something from him then there must be a reason. She had never been one to be too secretive. Zoe would come to him herself whenever she was ready, but for now, he had to focus on winning her back. Zoe changed out of her clothes into something perfect for a date. She wore a dress with heels and a sling bag. Henry suggested a date together out of nowhere. Was he really changing for the better? Why did he have to be nice to her now of all times? If Mario had asked her a year ago to crash the servers, she would have done so with glee and without hesitation. But not now that he is actually putting in effort to make sure she was happy. Zoe joined Henry outside who waited for he
What Mario asked her to do was impossible. Crash Henry’s company of all things? He had already admitted to his wrongdoings and even apologized, doing what Mario suggests would be beyond heartless of her. "I can't..." Zoe tried to muster up courage. "I can't do that. I settled things with him. There is no need for that." "I am not asking you to do it for yourself," Mario said. "I am asking you to do it for me." Zoe could not understand why he was being this way. It was not like he held a grudge towards Henry or anything. She used to hold a grudge and she was finally letting it go. Mario’s demands were questionable. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Since you can't hack into their system, I want you to crash the system servers. If his branch here becomes useless, then he can go back to America where he came from." Mario did not know yet that if Henry leaves for America, she is going along with him and that meant she would not be able to work for Mario anymore. "Why can't y
It was a bad sign that Henry was getting suspicious about her. If only Maria had not been too forward and ran her mouth like that. The cons of having an overactive five year old. Henry had even went ahead to do a background search on Mario without her knowledge. Him digging a bit deeper might ruin everything. She had to be extra careful now and quit being so distant from Henry. Her actions was what was making him grow suspicious. He surprised her earlier by stating he was trying to make things right between them. It sounded like this was not about Maria anymore. It was about both of them resolving their past issues. He even got flowers for her with Maria. Zoe came out of the shower that night and noticed Henry was not in the room. They had not spoken a word to each other after she walked out on him in the kitchen. Was she being too harsh? Even Emily advised her to give him another chance. Henry and Zoe were going to spend the rest of their lives together, it was only reasonable t
There was nothing else that could quench Henry’s curiosity other than what he was about to do. Zoe kept giving him reasons to suspect her, and his gut never failed him. There was something about her so called boss she was desperately trying to hide. Henry could tell from her reaction yesterday when he mentioned him. It was either they had an affair, or some other activity Henry was yet to fathom. He called Daniel into his office and Daniel showed up immediately. "There is something you have to do for me," Henry said. "I am all ears." "Zoe has a boss. His identity is unusually unknown. I want you to find out who he is and what he does." "Are you sure about that?" Daniel asked. "If Zoe finds out you are digging into her work life, she is going to be pretty pissed." "Let us worry about Zoe later. Do what you are asked to do." Daniel knew contradicting Henry’s opinions would only cause an issue, so he nodded and left the office. Doing long distance was harder than he thought, and
Zoe moved into Henry’s apartment by the end of the week. He was out with Maria when she stopped by the house. Daniel happened not to be home too. She had been instructed to pick up the house key from inside the flower pot just beside the front door. Zoe dragged her luggage inside the empty house, taking a look around. His taste in house decor had not changed over the years. Everything still looked expensive and shiny. She was conflicted on whether she should share a room with Henry or take a separate one. This was just a marriage contract because of Maria, she thought. Zoe did not feel obligated to share a room with him. Making up her mind, she chose a room and settled in it. Maria and Henry were out having father and daughter time, and Zoe could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy no matter how hard she tried to push it away. They were getting closer day by day and she did not want Maria drifting away from her. But then again, they both still had to make up for the five years
"He said what?!" Emily exclaimed on the other end of the phone call. Zoe had just told her of Henry’s proposal, and her reaction was understandable. "It sounds crazy, right?" "Crazier than when he asked you to be his mistress? Yes," Emily said. "This is marriage, Zoe. You are going to spend the rest of your life with him. Are you sure you want to do that?" "Do I really have a choice? I want to do it for Maria." Emily sighed deeply. "I understand. But it is all just so surprising. You have been running away from him, and now you are going to marry him. The universe must really want you two together.""This has nothing to do with the universe. That bastard would not just leave me alone." "Did Maria and Henry get along?"Zoe scoffed. They did more than getting along. "I would say she even loves him more than she loves me at this point." "You know that is not true." "Emily, please. I know what I saw." Zoe was not jealous Maria seemed to like Henry a lot, she just did not think Mar