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
GRAY’S POVI left my penthouse later than I usually did. The celebration last night ended past midnight. I stayed not because I enjoyed the company of my employees, but because Kole and Marco went to the same bar that Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Rowans chose. They arrived fifteen minutes after Serena left. They got invited to our table and unsurprisingly got along with Serena’s team. I only stayed there for the drink, to be honest. I wasn’t even speaking to anyone—including Lina, the plus one that I told Serena last night. She was one of Aerah’s friends who had been following me around for years now. She was a good woman, and when I said good, she was far from doing the things that my sister usually did. She was with me last night because I foolishly followed Kole’s advice—which was to look to other women instead of liking Serena. I had no plans on pursuing Kelsey Robins like what he suggested. I ended up noticing Lina, which was a foolish decision, too, as the woman only got her heart
SERENA’S POV I did not expect Caden to be here, but I was definitely not mad. He wasn’t disturbing me, anyway. And this was a great opportunity to show him what was it like inside the Moore Estates. He would have an idea of what kind of environment he was about to face once he successfully bought one of the major shares. “How did you know where my office was? Did Kaihly tell you?” I asked Caden as I signaled him to sit on the visitor’s chair as an offer. We decided to go back to my office instead of staying in the hallway for so many reasons. Caden had the visuals to attract anyone who would see him, so he could be a distraction if we passed by some of the employees’ workplaces. And of course, I would not have them stay in public where people could hear what we were gonna talk about. I was sure Caden didn’t come here just to see me. He was here to discuss something about what we had talked about earlier. “I happened to be in the same elevator as Gray Moore, so I took the chance to
SERENA’S POV A jealous Gray Would surely entertain me. I had not seen him jealous in the years that I had known him. Not even once. Making him jealous meant proving that I was becoming an effective flirt and I would get to enjoy how messed up he could be at the same time.That was like hitting two birds in one stone. I discovered that I tend to have fun whenever I see him perplexed and affected by what I always did.“I am up for everything you wish to happen, Ms. Serena Ambers. As long as you have a valid reason and we’re doing it the right way.”I cracked a laugh.“The only valid reason that I can tell you is my husband and his family ruined my life. What we’re doing right now doesn’t even equal to what they did to me before. I at least want to be even—or punish them more.”The corner of Caden’s lip turned up. My mother mentioned that she had paid Caden a great fortune to participate with us, but to be honest, I didn’t think Caden agreed to team up with my family just because of the
SERENA’S POVI tapped my fingers on my table, my face resting on my palm. It had been thirty minutes since I left Gray’s office, and what he answered me still lingered in my mind.What does he mean he had no idea when did it start? Is he playing with me?How can a person not know when did they start liking a person? Is that even possible?I had to leave his office because an executive passed by and had to talk to him. I didn’t want to be a disturbance so I went back here. Caden left just a few moments ago, so I was alone here since I asked Miranda to take care of the lunch that I promised the team. I had paperwork waiting for me, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus so I just let myself fool around, figuring out what the Gray’s answer meant. I tilted my head on the side, my forehead knotting. No matter how much I thought of it, I could not understand it still. If I were to recall when was the time that started I liking him then, I could still narrate every thing about it. It wasn’
SERENA’S POVThe sound of my heels colliding with the floor surrounded the empty hallway of this floor. Weeks later and I finally had the time to visit this wench face-to-face.Hazel Brown was sent to jail immediately the day I got rescued, as she didn’t have any major injuries like Geraldine Moore. I did not know how had she been since she was arrested, but I hoped she was suffering here. I hoped she would rot here.I went inside a room when a policeman opened the door for me. This room was just for private visitations, so this was far from Hazel’s cell. This one was decent and might be comfortable for her. I did not want her to feel this good while she was in jail.“Why did you visit me here? Is sending me to jail not enough for you?” she asked the moment I sat down in front of her. Her hands were handcuffed and there were two policemen behind her, while my bodyguards were on my side. “Any form of punishment and torture would never be enough for me, Hazel Brown. You’re lucky I stil
AERAH’S POV My heart was throbbing in anxiety as the maid of the mansion escorted me inside. This wasn’t my first time coming here, but this was the only time that I dared to enter the huge structure and face the people whom I had been having anxiety about talking with. I heard my brother was here again. I needed to talk to him… at least just this once. “I did not expect to see you here, Ms. Moore. You’re looking for your brother?” I was startled when I heard a voice that was similar to the voice of the person that I was most scared to face. Looking to the side, I saw Kaihly Ambers sitting on one of the couches, a plate filled with fruits resting on her lap. She was alone there, and I was so thankful for that. She looked exactly like Kelsey, the only difference was that she had soft features and lacked the boldness on her face. “Y-Yes. Have you seen him? I heard he’s here… according to his secretary. I just need to talk to him,” I answered, my confidence leaving me as the minutes
GRAY’S POV Ever since Jane got rescued and woke up from her deep slumber, I started having a new routine. It felt like I was already living in their house because I refused to leave her side even though I had a ton of paperwork to do. One part of her room looked like my office. It had a table and a swivel chair where I did what I was supposed to do in my office. Her family offered me a room, but as I said, I refused to leave her side. I would only do so if it were nighttime. But everything must come to an end. When Jane finally healed, I took the initiative to leave her alone and only met with her whenever she went to work. I would visit her from time to time, though—but only if she allowed it. “What the hell is this, Gray? What’s the meaning of this?” Jane inquired curiously as she put familiar papers on my table. “Have you read it?” I asked her back. The last time I saw those papers was already years ago, when I thought she had died, and all I could ever think was to give her e
GRAY’S POVI was not expecting Jane’s family to let me enter their home after all the things that happened. I wouldn’t question it if they banned me here, but that was not the thing they did. They simply let me wander around their house as if I did not do anything wrong, as we all waited for my wife to wake up.Jane was peacefully sleeping in her room, a bedside monitor standing beside her. It had been two days since she got rescued, and she still hadn’t woken up since then. Fortunately, they didn’t hurt her when we hadn’t arrived where they hid her, so there was nothing serious that happened to her body aside from the wound that she got before they took her. She already got the treatment that she needed, but her doctor said she was still under trauma, which was why she wasn’t waking up.My phone had been vibrating for a while now. It wasn’t a call from anyone but text messages from my sister. She had been asking me if I was going to visit our mother in the hospital, and if I was eve
SERENA’S POV“Oh, stop overreacting, Aerah Celine. It’s just a shot on your leg. Why bother to cry?”I could not believe this old hag. It felt so strange listening to her confident voice when I had been watching her fake her illness a thousand years ago. How could she do all of that stuff? How could she shoot her daughter?“Mommy, stop this now, please—”“Oh, shut the hell up, Aerah Celine! The moment you chose to side with the woman, I no longer considered you as my daughter! How could you betray your mother, huh?! You are just like your brother—”“And how can you call yourself our mother while doing all of these, huh? I can’t believe you, Mom. After all these years… after all of the things that I have done for our family…”I still could feel the metallic material that was pointed at my temple, but after hours of waiting and I finally got to hear Gray’s voice, waves of relief washed over my chest. We were still here yet I already felt like my problems were now resolved. There was no
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