"I didn't know you knew how to brew tea!" I said, genuinely impressed.He chuckled. "I just looked it up online and learned it on the spot."I laughed even harder. "You really are an outstanding person, Mr. Kenway. To think you can learn something so quickly.""Thank you for the compliment, Miss Jones."We exchanged pleasantries, passing the cup of tea between us until it was finally empty.Soren placed the cup back on the table, but his arm remained firmly around my waist. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you, Taylor.""Sure, what is it?" I asked, my gaze softening with affection.I couldn't help but admire his flawless gestures up close. They were so perfect it was almost unbearable. I wanted to bite him so badly..."How about I arrange a bodyguard for you when you go to Berrada?" His voice was gentle, seeking my opinion.I met his eyes. "Is that really necessary?""Yes, it is. Berrada is a chaotic place, with muggings happening all the time, as you already know.
The two of us sat under a romantic, starry sky late at night, sipping tea by the fire.Everything felt so perfect—I didn't want it to end.But at the last moment, Sorne let go of me. "Taylor... snap out of it. Otherwise... it might actually happen tonight."He stepped back slightly, playfully tracing a finger down my nose in warning.I blinked, dazed, staring into the brilliance and warmth of his gaze.For a moment, I seriously considered forgetting everything else and taking him right then and there."You'd better not regret missing out on this opportunity, Soren," I teased, blushing as I nestled into his arms."I won't. We have all the time in the world," he declared in a deep voice as he tightened his embrace and kissed me again, leaving trails of warmth in his wake.I was drowning in his gentle affection.Neither of us wanted to part, so we fell asleep together on the lounge chair in the sunroom, curled up against each other until 3:00 a.m.At some point, Soren stirred, w
"Alright, we'll come to you!" Jean said.After hanging up, the two of them hurried over and sent me the restaurant's location when they arrived.I checked the map and saw it was just a 10-minute walk away, which was perfect for me.When I arrived, they waved from a distance.Soleil said, "I just called my brother to see if he wanted to join us. When he heard there were three women, he immediately said no."I couldn't help but laugh. "Let's not disturb him. He was already running late for work this morning, and he's swamped with tasks."Jean instantly teased me. "Look at that! She's already slipping into the devoted wife role."Soleil added, "Most importantly, my brother's playing along with being the husband controlled by his wife."Embarrassed by their teasing, I took a sip of coffee and muttered, "Come on, you two! Cut it out!"But Jean wasn't about to let me off the hook. She waggled her eyebrows mischievously. "Wait… You said Soren drove you to your office this morning, me
That was the first time I'd heard so clearly how Soren had felt about me all these years. I never imagined his feelings could go back so far and run so deep.To think that an act of kindness from our younger days had remained etched in his heart for so long, so firmly.Jean was equally moved, sighing. "Your brother is truly extraordinary, and your family's wonderful, too.""Thank you…" Soleil pressed her lips together in a small smile before continuing. "I was abroad for performances during that time, so I don't know all the details."Initially, my mother supported my brother's affection for you and even encouraged him to pursue you despite your previous civil partnership."She never dismissed your background. Instead, she pitied you, believing you had endured too much."Another reason was my brother's long-standing workaholism. He focused entirely on his career and never mentioned marriage."My mother arranged several blind dates for him, carefully selecting accomplished wome
Jean turned to Soleil. "So… does your mother also prefer Candy?"Soleil pursed her lips."Not exactly. But if you compare their overall qualities…" she trailed off, cautious of my feelings.Her meaning was clear. Between Candy and me, aside from our height and looks, I had few advantages. I was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of career achievements, family background, and even how close our families were to the Kenways."What about you, Sol?" Jean asked bluntly. "Who do you prefer? Who would you want as your sister-in-law?""Taylor, of course!" Soleil answered without hesitation. "I don't like Candy. She's too fake, and I had a bad feeling about her the moment I met her. That's why I don't bother talking to her when she visits."I felt a surge of gratitude. "Thank you, Sol. I appreciate your support—and for telling me all this."But Soleil frowned, worry clouding her expression. "You absolutely can't let my brother know I told you. If he finds out, I'm dead. He'll skin me ali
I smiled helplessly and raised my hand in a vow. "Not a single word, I promise. If I break my word, I'll willingly suffer ten years of misfortune and bad luck!"Jean patted Soleil's shoulder. "Don't worry. I've known her for years. If she has one redeeming quality, it's that she keeps her promises."I rolled my eyes at her and feigned anger. "That's my only redeeming quality, huh? I dare you to say that again, Jean!""Hahaha…" Jean laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. "Oh! You've got a killer body!"Furious, I chased after her, trying to hit her.-They dropped me off in front of my office building before driving away.As I turned to head upstairs, my smile faded.I had always known that being with Soren came with immense pressure, but hearing it firsthand still made it hard to swallow.I felt a mixture of heartbreak, guilt, and self-blame toward Soren, all tangled with helplessness.After all, there was nothing I could do to change the situation right now.What could I d
I suddenly recalled something when Soren said that, and it made me sit up and look at him."What's wrong?" He looked surprised.I grabbed his arm and said gravely, "The Kennedys do have skeletons in their closet. I remember overhearing Edward talking to his father about how they greased a lot of palms while working on the Aesgard project. There was even a safety incident, but they managed to cover it up."I had come across that conversation by chance. Edward had never mentioned it to me directly, but the memory of it had made me uneasy for a long time.Later, I tried to subtly bring it up, but he brushed me off with some half-baked excuse. Since the project had ended with overwhelmingly positive feedback, I figured maybe I'd been overthinking and let it go."Soren, have your people look into that project. I'm sure you'll find something incriminating," I urged.At that moment, I wasn't even thinking about the chain reaction this could cause. All I knew was that Edith shouldn't get
Everyone's teasing had my face burning, and I shot Soren a half-hearted glare.Without a trace of embarrassment, Soren casually slipped an arm around my shoulders and announced, "I'll cover everyone's return tickets. First class for everyone.""Whoa! Thank you, Mr. Kenway!""Thank you, Mr. Kenway! Thank you, Miss Jones!"Amid the cheers, my coworkers elbowed each other, laughing as they dispersed. "Come on, let's head to immigration. We'll just be in the way of the lovebirds here."Too embarrassed to continue acting all lovey-dovey in front of them, I glanced sheepishly at Soren and turned to leave. "Right, I should go now.""Wait!" He immediately grabbed my hand, panic creeping into his voice.I raised an eyebrow playfully. "What now?" "You're just going to leave like that?" he asked.He looked down at me with eyes full of longing, like a lost puppy.I glanced around, realizing Sean had already disappeared too.Since there was no audience, I could afford to be shameless ju
"So what? It's always couples' intimacy hour everywhere," Soren replied with a grin, leaning in for a kiss.I turned away. "You reek of alcohol!"He sniffed himself, clearly thinking he smelled bad, too. I expected him to ignore it and keep going, but instead, he pulled me upright. "Let's go. To the showers!"I guessed he was worried that our first time after two years would be ruined by bad breath and stench.He tried to lift me into his arms, but I was concerned he might be too tipsy. We had a playful struggle before he finally scooped me up in a bridal carry."I told you. I'm not drunk!" he insisted.I realized there was no escaping him today, so I reminded him, "Our son is still at the hospital, Soren. With Aunt Sarah.""Mm-hmm. Once his mommy and daddy love each other very much, he'll see us.""Soren! Be serious!""Loving my wife is the most serious thing there is."-Two months later, my grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep. Soren and I had only just woken u
I got up and shot Soren a glance. "You guys must have been worried about him over these two years. Thank you for taking care of him.""Why, you're welcome," Richard replied with exaggerated pomp. "He didn't torment us, actually. He took it out on his subordinates. He worked like a machine, and everyone under him had to do the same. You should really thank his employees the most!"A pang shot through me as I looked at Soren. I'd heard about this from Jean, but hearing it again from his close friends only deepened that painful regret.I thought I'd been kind, but it was likely the cruelest thing I'd ever done to him. And yet, he held no blame against me and still loved me.It moved me. I filled both our glasses to the brim.Soren looked baffled. "What are you doing? They didn't specifically want to make you drink—""A toast to our relationship, my love," I said, passing him his glass.Soren froze, clearly not expecting this from me.The crowd, though, had already erupted into che
Being with Soren felt like a walk in the sunniest, coolest spring. He told me he loved me, and that made me his equal.Know what? It made me feel confident all of a sudden.We locked eyes for a long time before I pulled away."I… I'm basically unemployed right now," I muttered.I was about to launch a new business, but my grandmother's illness and my son's age forced me to set everything aside again."It wasn't easy raising a child alone, Tay, so don't put so much pressure on yourself. Besides, with your skills, it's only a matter of time before your career takes off again."I beamed. "You really think so? That's a lot of confidence, dude.""Of course I do." He held my hands. "Starting a business takes time and energy, so how about you move in with me? I'll raise our son while you focus on what you want to do."I laughed. "Oh God, was that the whole point of this talk from the start?"Soren laughed as well, his handsome face relaxing. "Well, now that we're getting married, whe
Soren smiled. "No need to doubt. That was one of my ulterior motives."So he wanted me to agree to our marriage because he wanted sex?!I stared at him, unmoving."Come on, I'm sending you both up," he said, his driver's presence making things awkward.Soren took the baby from my arms and strode inside.In the elevator, he stared at me without blinking.I grew self-conscious. "What?""Nothing. I just wanted to look at you, not missing a single detail," Soren replied matter-of-factly. "I hadn't dared do that before we started talking again because I was afraid you might be upset."I felt even more embarrassed.He set Silas in the cot, then turned to me and walked away.It was too late. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest. I saw his face loom over mine and cried out, "Don't do this, Soren! This is Amanda's place!"His reason and restraint were still functioning, turning his kiss into a brief peck."When will you move to my villa?" he breathed."N
I knew what had happened to me. I knew what two years had done to my face. A woman aged much faster when she had a child, after all.Celebrities looked the way they did because they didn't bear the weight of child-rearing. They had the money to pamper their faces and dedicate themselves to rigorous exercise routines.I had raised my son on my own. I had help when I needed it most, but most of the time, it was just me."So, you don't think I've grown older and uglier?" I muttered.Soren laughed."Oh, I do!" he teased. "But you're the mother of my son.""What does that mean?! And you said you weren't pitying me!"He laughed again—this time, affectionately. "I was joking. I don't think you're any less than who you were back then. I actually wish you'd grow older, too. That way, only I remain by your side."I couldn't come up with a response to something so ridiculous."Do you need me to throw a grand, elaborate proposal to finally convince you I'm serious about wanting to spend t
"It's the way he looks at you. His eyes look suspicious!"Suspicious, my ass. Jamie was so far away from him by now that there was no way Soren could see anything in Jamie's "eyes."I sneered. "Don't be daft. He's got a girlfriend now." "Oh, really?""Yes, really. Can we go now?"My old colleagues had been staring at us, and I really didn't want to become the subject of their gossip. I just wanted to leave.Soren finally told the driver to go.Silas had probably exhausted himself from crying. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep in my arms.Soren stretched his arms out. "Let me.""I'm fine. It's okay for him to sleep like this. My arms are fine," I replied.I didn't want to give him an excuse to enter Amanda's residence with me again. I was only here temporarily, and I certainly didn't want things to get... steamy and intimate at her place. Besides, I didn't want to be steamy with him, period.Soren withdrew his arms sheepishly and snickered to himself.Annoyed, and
"Hello?""When are you coming back?" Soren asked in a low voice.I stood and left the lively private room. "I'm having lunch with some old colleagues. What's up?""Wow. So while I was trying to handle our son, you went out to have fun," he whined.Please. He wanted Silas with him—he was just being dramatic.The wine gave me enough courage to respond, "Weren't you the one complaining about missing out on your son's childhood? I'm just being considerate.""Fine. Where are you? I'll bring Silas to you. He wants his mom now—no one here can calm him down," he replied.Just as I had expected.I figured lunch was nearing its end anyway, so I gave him the address. "Call me when you arrive. I'll meet you at the entrance.""Got it."I returned to the room and quietly told Amanda, "I have to leave soon. You guys go ahead."She checked her phone. "Nah, we should all start packing up. We still have to work this afternoon!""Oh, right."I paid for our meal while the others chatted.Whe
The company had seen some new hires, but many were familiar faces.Case in point: Cherry Birkin. Now Amanda's assistant and principal secretary, she was ecstatic to see me."Tay-Tay! You're back!" she cried, rushing over to grab my arms. "It really is you! I'm so glad you came to see us. After disappearing for two years, I honestly thought you'd never come back!"Amanda, who had been the one to welcome me, stood beside me, smiling. "See? Your old colleagues have been complaining about you being heartless.""Aww, I'm sorry for being gone so long! How about this? Lunch is on me! Cherry, gather the old crew and invite them over!""You got it!" she replied eagerly.I stepped into Amanda's office—the same one where I used to work.A lot had changed in the interior, but everything felt warm and welcoming. The company was thriving under her and Jamie's leadership.There was a knock at the door. I turned to see the man himself."So, you really are back, Taylor," he said with a grin. "
I was irritated. If I were being generous, I'd say Soren was being proactive. If I were being honest, though, I'd call it disrespectful—he was undermining my agency!"I haven't even agreed to this yet!" I snapped, straightening my back and glaring at him as the seniors watched. "Who gave you the right to make decisions for me?!"Soren barely reacted. "You overthink everything. You hesitate more than you need to, so I thought... why not just ask your grandmother and aunt?"Turning to Sarah, he added, "What do you think, Aunt Sarah? Do you approve of us being together?"Sarah blinked, stunned, then shot a quick glance at my grandmother. My grandmother raised her hand, as though she had something to say. I leaned in immediately. "I'm listening, Grandma..."She took a deep breath, grasped my hand, and said, her voice raspy, "I can tell… Ren really loves you… You have a child now… It's good for you two to just get married."She paused, then added, "That way, I… can finally let go...