AERAH’S POVIt was so unusual that my brother did not go to work today. I had been trying to look for a chance to talk to him and apologize for what I did, and now that I finally got the courage to do so, his secretary would tell me that he would not work today. He even canceled all his meetings that were supposed to happen later.What the hell is wrong with him? Is he avoiding me? Did he really take my slap personally? I only did that because I was pissed off! I felt like he was disrespecting me!“Do you know when will he come back? Can you ask him why isn’t he going to work today? I need to tell him something urgent.”I had to apologize right now or I would not get a good sleep tonight again. I could not afford to be sleepless and had puffy eye bags just because of guilt. Damn it!“Mr. Moore said that he has something important to do today, too, Ms. Moore. He advised me to not call him for things that relate to work—”“But I wouldn’t talk to him just for work! Duh? We are the owner
AERAH’S POV“Dang it,” I cussed at myself as I retouched the powder I had on my face. I finally got to change and look pretty again, but there was something that was still bothering me now. “Goodness, Mom,” I groaned as I clicked the red button to turn off the call for the nth time now. She had been calling me since I received that nonsense text. Gosh, isn’t she used to me yet? I thought she would not be shocked anymore if she heard another gossip about me from her friends again. She seemed to forget that men would not stop salivating over her only daughter.Am I at fault for that?I knew I fooled around again days ago, but I made sure that there would not be any clips or pictures that those bastards would take of us while doing the deed. Well, that happened successfully, but it seemed like I would not be able to control their nosy mouths and they would start telling people about how good I was in bed.Stupid bastards.“Finally done,” I sang like I was singing in a theater. I did not
AERAH’S POVInstead of going back to work, I just decided to drive and go home. It was not the end of my shift yet, so I was already expecting another scolding from my mom.I should not have gone here after receiving that message from her, but I thought it would be better to have myself calm down in my room instead of fooling around with men to release my stress. I had a date with Landon tomorrow, and I could not show up looking like I did not have a good rest today just because my best friend decided to ruin my day. I took the chance to go straight to my room when I did not see my mother in the common room where she always spent most of her time. I could not afford to hear another sermon from anyone. Not now that I was having a bad day. I might talk back and say things that I would regret after.Tch. I thought the only good thing that happened today was when Landon spilled his coffee on me which made him ask me out. My dress was ruined, but I gained a chance to be with him.I left
SERENA’S POV “You seem like you are in a bad mood. What happened, huh?” I sat beside Kelly, who had her forehead knotted while scrolling the screen of her phone. Kaihly told me about what happened last night, and I immediately knew she was being like this because of Landon. I could not understand her most of the time. She had rejected Landon when the man confessed to her the first time, and now that Landon was pretending to like Aerah Celine and would go on a date today, she started sulking and never went into her normal mood. She should be celebrating because the plan was working and making progress. Aerah wasn’t smart, so I knew she would give in to Landon the moment that man got her trust. “Nothing happened, Jane. You and Kaihly had been bothering me for a while now. What the hell is your problem?” she asked irritatingly, rolling her eyes at me. I giggled, already imagining what would be her reaction once I told Landon to not show up to his date with Aerah. Landon and I might
AERAH’S POVI just wanted to flee as I listened to my mom shout at the top of her lungs while on the call with me. I should have answered her in the bathroom. I was too confident that she would not say anything annoying. I was lucky that I did not put it on a loudspeaker like I usually did. “Excuse me for a while, Landon. I just have to talk to my mom…” I excused myself, forcing myself to smile. Landon only smiled at me, taking another sip from the frappe he ordered. I left the table in haste, walking as far away as I could from our table. I entered the women’s bathroom, locking it to ensure that no one would enter while I argued with my mother. “What now, Mom? I told you not to call me, right? Goodness! I am so humiliated!” “Humiliated? Oh, I am surprised that you still can feel that way! I thought you forgot about it since you never listened to me and your brother! I am with my friends right now and I couldn’t even look at them when they showed me another article that had your fa
SERENA’S POV Damn, yay. Is she drunk? This was not the secretary that I had known for years. Or maybe this was the real her outside her job… I just failed to notice it because I never went out with her unless it was work-related. Chill, Jane. Everybody was enjoying so I did not have the place to sulk. I would be a killjoy if I decided to tell Miranda how foolish I felt right now. I should goddamn stop being childish. Why am I a grown-up woman if I still act that way?“You’re so quiet. Are you thinking of something? What are you feeling?” Landon asked a few moments later. He only whispered in my ear, so we did not get much attention from the team. That was how I liked it. “I was fine before I saw everybody’s outfit. How come y’all are dressed like that after working? I thought we would all be in our working attires so I did not bother changing. I should have worn something nice before going here if I only knew,” I answered the truth, rolling my eyes in exaggeration. Landon chuckled
GRAY’S POVFrom being the calm and composed woman that she was, Serena halted talking to me, only regarding her secretary with a sense of panic.It was only a mention of her mother arriving, but she started disregarding me like we just didn’t have a conversation seconds ago. As if she just didn’t claim that I was into her.Their voices could not be heard, so I had no understanding of what were they talking about. They did not want me to hear anything, I guessed. Serena turned to me after a few moments of their talking. “I have to go. Enjoy the night and the celebration. Tell the team that their lunch would be my treat tomorrow.”She tapped my shoulder she used to caress with her delicate fingers and turned her back on me, Miranda following her as she almost ran toward the exit.Even Landon Mitchell ran after them. Who is this woman that Ms. Rowans was talking about? I still had Serena’s documents. Her mom’s name wasn’t stated there, but it said that Serena came from an influential f
SERENA’S POV“Oh, Kaihly. I know you would have a great time with Caden. The man is a gentleman and you share the same interest with him. He also came from a family of wealth. He is a perfect fit for you, dear.”Kelly and I looked at each other as we listened to our mom tell Kaihly the things she didn’t have any interest in. “Damn. I don’t think my twin is liking what she said. Mommy should stop telling her about dating or she wouldn’t want to work with Caden,” Kelly whispered at me, both of us watching Kaihly, who had a poker face on as she typed something on her laptop.“That man didn’t come here for love, Mom. And I am definitely not interested in dating someone right now. I don’t even know if I like men, what more on dating them,” Kaihly rebutted, making Kelly and I burst out laughing.We had been watching them argue about Caden Garcia, the man my mother introduced to us. He arrived at exactly 4 in the morning and was currently resting in the guest room right now. It was already
SERENA’S POVI felt lightheaded as Charles continued carrying me. The only hope that I had with me right now was the fact that Gray would be with us anytime soon. How dumb it was to feel like this when I was the one who ran away from him before I got kidnapped.I was the one who put us all into this.“Jane, I have to stop carrying you for now. Aerah Celine will guide you while I protect the three of us from any person who might come to us. This will be quick. Gray and the backups will be here anytime soon…” Charles whispered to me, making me open my eyes amidst the gunshot that I was hearing around the building.I was comfortable being carried by him, as my injured leg could not take it anymore. But hearing that this would be over soon, it was as if the motivation to get through all of these that I thought had left my body made me agree to what he said.My silent nod was his cue to put me down carefully. The moment that my feet felt the solid ground immediately had me gasp in pain. Ae
SERENA’S POV My lips seemed to be experiencing draught due to dryness, my bruised leg was numb, and I was damn well sure that I had lost a lot of blood during my whole stay in this building. It had been so many hours since Hazel told me those things. She said that she would finish me and I would not be able to leave this place alive. During my hours of stay here, I had a lot of time to think of what she told me. I even came across thinking of the things that I wanted to tell not just to my family but also to Gray before Hazel decided to kill me. It was so heavy in my chest to even think that I would not have the chance to talk to Gray after learning all of those things, but somehow, while I stayed all alone here for I did not know how many hours, there was a time that I accepted that this would be my end. That I would die without achieving the justice and happiness that I deserved. I did not know what Hazel was waiting for. Is this her way of killing me? To let me have an infection
GRAY’S POVIt had been a day since Jane went missing. Because of this happening, we paused everything that we were about to do during the whole team building. To be fair to the other employees who had been so excited about this out-of-town activity, I gave them all a budget to stay on a nearby island where they could enjoy things without interruptions.There were only a few of us left here, and when I said few, only Jane’s relatives and mine were present. Including the police officers that we contacted, of course.“Look for my daughter in all the corners of this island and the nearby ones. It is so impossible for her to be missing in this small place. I need you to find her.”The woman whom they called Victoria, the mother of the love of my life sat at the end of the table with a wine glass in front of her. Just like what they described her, she had a strong facade because of her sharp features which no one dared to talk about while she was speaking.I did not know if I was the only o
SERENA’S POVIt was like a long dream. A dream that I wish I did not remember at all for the sake of saving my heart from all the pain that I already felt for the past years when I could not remember anything.It was just the same. Remembering everything or not, I would still end up hurting.I remembered all the things that happened now. From my childhood up to the night that I got into an accident—or perhaps, an intentional one that made me forget half of my existence.How could Gray do that? That night, Hazel told me that it was Gray who asked her to kill me. Right after sleeping with her in our house, that was what he did to get rid of me.But there was something wrong. There was something that wasn’t connecting to what she was saying in my memory.If Gray really tried to get rid of me, why didn’t he sign the divorce papers? Why did he act like he was so in love with me? Things like that were not adding up at all. Was Hazel trying to trick me that time? Was that a real thing and sh
SERENA’S POVIt was so stupid of me to even try standing up and turning my back on him. The ache in my chest was pushing all my stupidity to keep going and leave this man. I didn’t know where to go and how would I come back, but I kept on walking away even though I was screaming inside because of pain.I did not want to be with him right now.I had the advantage when I was walking away as Gray seemed to be not in his right thinking right now. He had only called my name, but the words I said seemed to strike him so much that he couldn’t even move to follow me.I started running away even though the sharp wood that was attached to my leg was stabbing me in every step I took. I couldn’t find the way out of this mess, but I was lucky enough that I didn’t hear his footsteps near me.“Damn it,” I whispered as I held on to my knee to support my body. I was gasping for air as I stopped and looked behind me, relieved that I was all alone on my way back.“How stupid can you be to let yourself b
SERENA’S POV How did he get here? I believed he was also busy looking for the treasure that we had to find. Why did he even come here? I meant, it wasn’t like I did not want someone to find me, but I was expecting Landon or the other employees to find me!“Fuck, what happened?” He ran toward me in haste the moment his eyes landed on my bloody legs. It already felt numb, so I did not notice that he was referring to it immediately. I did not speak, instead, I just watched him worry about me while my mind started roaming around what had happened today. I never spotted Gray talking to Hazel, not even just for once ever since this day started, but seeing that woman follow him around like a dog just fucking made my chest abnormally in pain. I was slowly regaining my memories day by day, and I felt like I was close to the part where both of them would betray me. And no matter how much I wanted to learn the truth, every memory that I would remember just made my heart ache even harder. I re
GRAY’S POVI could not take my eyes off my wife when I saw her walking toward the seashore wearing only nothing but a two-piece. The last time I saw her wearing one was years ago, and we weren’t really close at that time.“Stop being a creep, man. You’re staring at her too much.”I blinked twice to pull myself together. Perhaps I might be looking like a creep right now as I continued admiring my wife even if I was meters away from her. How could I not? She was so gorgeous and I was sure I wasn’t the only one appreciating her beauty.They had been walking around the beach together with her secretary and her other friends, taking pictures together like there was no tomorrow. I didn’t follow her, of course. I wanted her to enjoy this vacation with little to no interruption of her activities.“Too bad you won’t be seeing her be a sporty woman today, man. Why did you even ask them to move the schedule for the beach volleyball? It would be lit,” Marco inquired with curiosity, watching my wi
AERAH’S POV “Did you see that, Mom? What the hell is going on between them? I thought Gray was avoiding that woman already? What is happening, and why has your son been clinging to that woman since this morning? He didn’t even stay in our cottage when we ate breakfast…” I eyed the two of them as they walked away from the crowd. Couldn’t my brother think properly? He knew that we hated that woman, yet he was still doing this shit and kept neglecting what we were telling him. The person that I paid to spy on him told me that my brother was rarely with Serena, and seeing how he was acting right now just made me think that the bastard was lying to me. “Are they in a relationship now, Mrs. Moore? Gray is so unbothered with our presence. He hasn’t talked to me since we came here. What do I do, Mrs. Moore? Huh?” Hazel inquired, her voice slightly shaking for an I did not know reason. Is she threatened that Serena Ambers, who shared the same face as Gray’s ex-wife, was probably going out w
SERENA’S POVSince we could not waste time, we only did a few hours of resting before proceeding to the activities that were prepared for today. I guessed this was what Landon was telling me a while ago.All of us changed into the shirts that were provided for each team. Our team wore pink shirts, while Gray and his team wore white. I couldn’t imagine how dirty it would be after all the games that we were about to play.“Catch the duck for the first game? You wouldn’t force me to play that, Miranda. Over my dead body,” I whispered as I listened to the host announce the first activity. I would rather stay in our room the whole day than have myself roll on the sand trying to catch a duck while blindfolded. “It is for men only. We are not allowed to join yet, so it would be Landon, Caden, and the other men in our team as well. We’re just gonna sit here to support them…”I felt relief in my chest as I heard the words. The hosts started reading the mechanics. If I understood it right, eac