“Was there a part when I said Clarissa wasn’t relevant to your life that you didn’t get in our last conversation?” Axel asked standing by the door and staring at Aiden who was downing the last drop from the wine bottle.“Selena is really my wife, right?” Aiden asked tilting his head to meet Axel’s eyes.“Do you think I would choose to waste my time lying to you about a certain woman when there are thousands of women out there that you could be with?”“Clarissa knows something, something that I knew but now I can’t seem to remember the darn thing but I am certain she does,” Aiden muttered dropping the empty bottle of wine back on the table, sinking into the couch.“She is just full of shit, she has always been manipulative with her words,” Axel responded but Aiden wasn’t convinced, he could feel that she knew something, something important to him, something he must have shared with her when they were together or something she found out herself. “Alright, let’s assume she knows somethin
“You heard me loud and clear,” Aiden yelled.Selena's eyes suddenly filled with tears, she couldn’t believe that her mother was actually dead, she knew she had busied occupied her mind with being by Aiden’s side but it was because Axel had reassured her that her mother was fine and they would talk about it later but it seemed Axel had lied to her.She turned to stare at Axel as tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably, “tell me it isn’t true,” she asked her voice cracking. Maybe it was all a lie and Aiden had only said that because he was upset and not thinking straight.“Selena, I was going to tell you but I….”“When were you going to tell me, Axel? You knew how I made stupid decisions just to protect my mum and how important her existence was to me and you choose to not tell me the truth.”“I didn’t know how you were going to take it and I wanted you to be with Aiden, I didn’t want the both of you distant from yourself because of it.”“Fuck you, Axel,” Selena cursed as more tears
Selena held on to her beating chest as she got into her room, she couldn’t believe her ears that her mother was dead, tears rolled down her eyes without control as she sobbed loudly rushing to her bed to bury her face into her pillow. How could this happen to her? How could her mother just die? Was the surgery not successful?“Selena,” Axel called out standing by the door, he had left Aiden to go talk to Clarissa but he feared Aiden wasn’t going to get her out of the house.“Just leave me alone, haven’t you done enough,” Selena cried out.“Please just let me in and I promise I will explain everything, please,” Axel begged, he couldn’t believe Aiden was putting him in this position, didn’t Aiden even have a bit of sympathy in his heart to come and talk to Selena himself? He wasn’t used to women being emotional around him and he could only hope Selena would at least open the door for him so he could explain.“Selena, please,” he begged when he didn’t get any reply from her. He couldn’t
"Astrid," Natalia called out standing outside the gate of the Frazier mansion, she had been coming to see Mrs. Frazier to discuss about Aiden. She had found out from an insider that Clarissa was now staying at Aiden's place and she couldn't believe her ears.She had thought Mrs. Frazier was on her side but it was obvious the woman was only using her because she needed to control her son, she had been coming to their house for the past two days but the security won't let her in.Luckily for her today, Astrid was just driving out, Astrid rolled down her car window removing the sunglass she had on as she stared at Natalia waiting for her to speak. "Can we talk?" Natalia asked with a frown on her face, if Mrs. Frazier wasn't going to speak to her at least Astrid could talk to her mum on her behalf. "Is this about Aiden? Because I don't want to be a part of whatever plans you and my mum have together," Astrid blunted out. "I don't know what is going on between you and your mum but pleas
“Is that a joke?” Axel asked staring at Astrid. He and Aiden knew from the onset that she wasn’t Mr. Frazier’s child but they wanted her to profit from the luxurious lifestyle so they had kept it to themselves, They didn’t even bother finding out who her biological father was and maybe their mother was right about the man being a foolish man, if he truly knew he had a daughter out there why had he not tried all this years to look for her.It was obvious he didn’t want anything to do with Astrid or worse he didn’t even know she existed, “What do you intend to do once you know who he is? For all we know he probably has a family of his somewhere.”“He is my father, I deserve to know regardless of whether he is married or not Mum is refusing to tell me who he is and I know no matter how hard I try to ask her or convince her, she isn’t going to tell me,” Astrid explained. “Please I need your help.”“That is the last thing on my mind right now, right now I am trying to sort out some compan
“I don’t understand,” Selena replied puzzled. Her eyes darting from Axel to Astrid wondering what the duo were up to this time around.“There is an upcoming meeting at the company and Aiden presence is required but you know how his memory is right now, if you attend the ball with him, you can act like a support system,” Astrid explained.“A support system?” Selena questioned her puzzled look not leaving her face.“You know to make him not look crazy.”“What is going on Axel?” Selena asked turning to stare at Axel, She hadn’t been informed that there was a ball and it was the last thing on her mind right now because she was certain Aiden wouldn’t want her to attend, he had made his priorities clear over the past few days by letting Clarissa still stay in this house, she was even able to gather from Sofia that he had spent the night in the guest room where Clarissa was, even though Sofia had struggled with telling her when she demanded to know where Aiden was.“Actually, I discussed wit
~ LIBRARY ~"Still working on that paper?" Clarissa asked stepping into the library. She thought to come check on Aiden after Astrid and Axel had left her in the living room, she had thought she would find them in here, she had even waited by the door listening closer but it soon dawned on her that they weren't here. "Still smoking? I thought we talked about that?" Aiden raised his brows perceiving the faint smile of a cigarette on her even though she wasn't smoking one, his eyes meeting hers as she smiled at him. "You know instead of trying to figure out this paper, you should be figuring out me," Clarissa said closing the door behind her and walking over to join Aiden on the couch. She sat down on his lips smiling from ear to ear as she pecked him on the cheek. "We have time for that, Axel has been...""Axel this, Axel that," Clarissa hissed grabbing the paper in his hand and tossing it aside on the table as she brought her hand to his face leaning in and pecking him on the cheek
The moment Selena left the office she headed straight to the kitchen, she made her way down from the living room passing Clarissa and into the kitchen. The maids working on duty were stunned to see their madam in the kitchen for the first time since she had been in the house, they all bowed their heads instantly. "Where is Sofia?" Selena asked in a low voice after smiling briefly at their show of respect. She could tell they were nervous by their presence and she couldn't blame them, it was the first time she was standing before all of them like this."She is resting Ma, her shift is later in the day," one of the maids replied. "Very well," Selena cleared her throat. "Could one of you kindly call in all the workers, I would love to address you all briefly," Selena said as two of them volunteered to do so, running out of the kitchen quickly as Astrid joined Selena standing by her side and not saying a word. The maids also greeted her by bowing their heads but Astrid paid no attenti
~ TWO YEAR LATER ~ As the sun peeked through the stained glass windows of the quaint church, casting a warm glow on the pews and aisle, an air of excitement and anticipation filled the atmosphere. Today was a special day for Axel and Claire, as they were about to embark on a journey of love and commitment in front of family and friends. The delicate scent of flowers wafted through the air, adorning every corner of the church with their vibrant colors. The essence of love was palpable, adding an extra layer of magic to the already enchanting ambiance. Soft music played gently in the background, setting the perfect mood for the upcoming union. As the guests started to fill the pews, their eyes filled with joy and enthusiasm at the sight of loved ones coming together to celebrate the union of Axel and Claire. Aiden, Selena, and their son, Alex, and daughter Brianna alongside Astrid and her boyfriend Tom sat on one side, beaming with pride and excitement. Guests were the extended f
"Her water just broke," Aiden announced. They all got on their feet, Claire and Astrid rushed to her side helping her stand up as they could see the pain etched on her face, while the men ran to get the car ready. It didn't take long when they arrived at the hospital and she was taken to the theater in excruciating pain, Aiden remained outside the reception with Claire, Astrid, Axel, and Tom before the doctor informed him that he could join his wife."Everything is going to be alright," Aiden reassured her when he entered the ward to find her lying on the bed, her hand extended for him to come hold her. "It hurts so bad," Selena cried out. "Sorry," Aiden replied holding her hand in his firmly and planting a kiss on her forehead. He didn't know how else to comfort her, he could see the pain in her eyes and could only hope the delivery would happen sooner.After hours of labor pain, Aiden holding her hand and trying to soothe her pain with reassuring words, delivery began.Aiden had
"You are serious?" Claire asked just to be sure Axel wasn't joking around.He barely nodded his head to sign yes when she pulled him in for a hug, of course, she was going to move in with him and travel to another country if that was what he wanted.Everything seemed to be moving too fast when it came to how they felt for each other but for the first time in many years, she felt loved. She didn't feel like she was forcing herself on Axel like she had forced Luke to love her.Axel loved her and she could see it."I am happy for you guys," Astrid squeaked with joy, it had been a while since she last saw Axel looking at a woman the way he looked at Claire. It was like she and Selena weren't even in the room."By the way, there is something I was going to tell you, Axel, I hope I am not ruining the mood," Selena said. "I already told Claire and Astrid yesterday that -""Selena is pregnant," Astrid took the word right out of her mouth. "Are you sure you are not the one who is pregnant?" C
"Yeah, as friends. I think that would be better for both of us at the moment, I feel there are still a lot of things we don't know about each other and-""Are you joking?" Claire's eyes widened as she adjusted herself on the bed again, her face etched with confusion at Axel's words as her eyes darted from him to his hands on hers."Hey!" Axel placed his hand on her chin raising her head so he could see her face, was she crying? "Claire? I was joking," he laughed out. "I didn't find it funny," Claire smacked his hand off her chin. Axel chuckled at her reaction, "I am sorry, didn't know you were a crybaby.""What? I am not," Claire protested looking away from him. How could he tease her like that? It wasn't her fault that she had thought he was being serious about them being 'just friends' when she was attracted to him. "You look cute when you lie," Axel smirked, he placed his hand on her chin tilting her head gently to face him as he kissed her on the lips. "I will have them bring s
“Where the hell is she?” Axel yelled grabbing him by the collar, he didn’t want to believe that Claire was dead, the time period was too short for them to kill her and her clothes had no sign of blood stain when he pulled it out from the boot. “Let me off and I will tell you, lover boy,” Vincent laughed. Aiden reached for his phone immediately in his pocket, dialing one of the bodyguards who was back at Emily’s house, “Check around the house, she has to be hidden somewhere,” Aiden ordered on the first ring. “We found her boss. Was about to call you, she is unconscious,” the bodyguard replied. “Alright,” Aiden said disconnecting the call and staring at Axel who was holding back on punching Vincent in the face. “She is alright, we might just need to get her to the hospital, quickly.” “You should have stayed in jail,” Axel said to Vincent punching him in the face as Aiden held him by the waist pulling him back. “Let me go Aiden, we need to end him right now so he doesn’t come back t
“Claire,” Axel called out staring at Vincent on the laptop, his hand forming into a fist as he caused under his breath. He hadn’t anticipated seeing Vincent, wasn’t he supposed to be in jail awaiting his death sentence? This was the reason he had been against Claire going to see Emily, he reached for the door ready to hop out as Aiden grabbed him by the wrist.“Our men are already circling the building, he can’t get away with it,” Aiden said.“You want me to sit here and allow Vincent to kill her?” Axel asked shoving Aiden’s hand away, he stared at Selena and Astrid who were in disbelief at the sight of Vincent, he opened the van door and hopped out running down the street to Emily’s house.Axel ran down the street as quickly as his legs could take him, he couldn’t believe that Vincent had escaped from jail and worse Emily was working for him, what was she bound to gain from Vincent? That douchebag! He should have shot him dead a long time ago instead of hoping that the system would
THE NEXT MORNING, Aiden briefed everyone on the plan again in the van a street away from Emily's house, "If you feel uncomfortable at any moment, you just think of an excuse and leave," Aiden reminded Claire."Sure," Claire nodded. Axel walked up to her helping her put on the camera properly over her shirt button, the camera design looked like a button from afar, "this is a recording device," Axel said, placing a pen into the pocket of her shirt. "Axel, can we talk about…" Claire spoke in a low tone. She had been trying to speak to him all morning but he seemed to be avoiding the question, she didn't know why he would just listen to her so she could explain everything to him. "After," Axel cut her off. "Do you have your earbuds on?" He asked instead. "Yeah I do," she nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear so he could see it. "I was going to tell you, believe me," Claire whispered in a low voice. "What part of after don't you understand?"She bit the bottom of her lips, sad by hi
"I was just joking," Claire brushed it off at the puzzled look on Axel's face, she didn't know why she had blurted something out like that to him. Never in a million years had she asked any man that question, she smiled trying to make him see that she was bluffing."Yes.""What?" She gasped. "You… you will be my boyfriend?""Isn't that what you want? Yes, I will," Axel nodded, kissing her on the lips as her eyes widened in shock, unable to comprehend that Axel just agreed without any hint of hesitation in his voice.She watched him get out of bed and into the bathroom as she scratched the back of her head, playing back what had just happened in her head. She was about to get out of bed when the door opened with Astrid entering, she dashed out back at the sight of Claire lying naked on the bed."I am so sorry, please I didn't mean to badge in, I am so sorry," Astrid apologized. "Shit," Claire cursed, she could have sworn she used the key when locking the door or was it Axel who locked
"Don't start what you can't finish," Claire whispered. "What?" Axel chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, you just end up stealing kisses when you want to and I think that should stop," Claire said standing up but she soon came crashing into the bed as Axel grabbed her by her wrist. He grabbed her by the waist shoving her on the bed as he hovered over her, "What naughty ideas have you been thinking while I was away?" He asked with a smirk on his face. "Don't flatter yourself, mister.""So, you didn't think about my lips on yours while I was away?" Axel teased. Claire stared at him trying not to give him the benefit of the doubt but her face was suddenly turning red and she could tell from the smile on his face, darn her face.Maybe she had thought about him and she didn't know why exactly, it wasn't like Axel was laying claim on her but he had kissed her like he was, she didn't want to assume his feelings for her, it was best to stop him from kissing her any chance he got but now