LATER IN THE EVENING, Axel and Aiden walked into the living room to discuss. After the chaos in the morning with Aiden and Clarissa, Aiden had asked that they go to the company which didn't make sense to Axel who expected Aiden to be mad by Clarissa's revelation as he was also angry himself but Aiden had not said a word all day. "We need to talk about this morning," Axel said as they climbed the stairs. "We can't just not talk about it.""There is nothing to talk about," Aiden replied. "There is something to talk about because Clarissa mentioned that you were aware of this information but I wasn't," Axel said. Aiden didn't have his memory now but when he did, it seemed he had not only been keeping secrets from everyone but he was also keeping secrets from him as well. He wished Aiden would remember and just tell him the other things that he wasn't aware of, he was shocked by the news but he cared less because he never considered her to be his mother and maybe that was why. She didn
"You remembered something," Selena smiled, placing her hands on his cheek and pulling his face closer to hers as she gave him a kiss. Her action surprised Aiden as his lips parted, staring blankly at her. "That’s good news.""I don’t think I can..."We don’t have to talk about what you remembered," Selena interrupted him. She could see the reluctance in his eyes to speak about what he had remembered, and she could feel he was trying so hard to not accept that they were actually married and in love with each other. "When you are ready to talk, then we can talk about everything. I just want you to be happy, and I just want you to take care of yourself, and that includes taking your medication. She added, dropping her hands and placing them on his as she squeezed gently, reassuring him she was here for him."I am not taking that medication; I always end up feeling weird afterward," Aiden admitted."Alright, I will talk to Axel about it, and we will have the doctor come."No, don’t mentio
“That’s his elder brother, and this is him,” Astrid said, sliding her hand on the phone as a picture of Sebastian's younger brother revealed itself.Selena smiled nervously. She had dated Sebastian for five months, but the relationship ended when Sebastian's family traveled out of the country with them.Sebastian didn’t exactly put an end to their relationship, but she had lost communication with him afterward and moved on with her life, it wasn’t like it was anything serious, they had kissed and gone to the movies a couple of times, her mother wasn’t even aware of the relationship.“Jerry.... Jeremy,” Astrid chuckled. “They are both handsome, more reason why Axel shouldn’t know about them because I don’t want him ruining their pretty faces,” Astrid added collecting her phone from Selena.Selena had wanted to inform Axel despite Astrid's plea but now she wasn’t sure she wanted to, telling Axel would lead to Axel telling Aiden and she wasn’t sure Aiden would be pleased to hear that Ast
"I am sorry about this, Jeremy; I didn’t know she was planning any of this; if I had, I would have informed you not to bother coming," Astrid apologized.Jeremy's angry stare remained unfazed, but his face soon contoured as he busted into laughter. "It’s fine, actually; I only came for the fun of it," Jeremy confessed."Really?" Astrid questioned. She had expected him to be mad at her, but he was actually laughing about it. She had seen him smile a couple of times on his social media pages, but up close, there was just something appealing about it. "Thank you; I was already thinking about a long apology speech to give you, so you don’t go about telling your friend about a crazy experience you had with a girl," Astrid chuckled nervously."I enjoy crazy experiences."Astrid gulped at his words, her face turning red. She knew he didn’t mean anything naughty by his statement, but she couldn’t help but think that he meant that."We should hang out; are you free tonight?""Yeah… Yeah.""Alr
"Have the ribbons placed just above the line," Selena ordered the maids, who were busy setting things in order for the ball."Which cup should I use, madam?" One of the maids asked, rushing to her side with two cups in hand: one was a gold cup, and the other was a glass cup that had a slender shape.Selena collected the two cups, examining them. Even though most people didn't pay close attention to cutlery at the event, the cups were important because everyone was bound to drink something at some point."Can we have a glass cup slender like this but with just the tip gold?" Selena asked. She didn't like the gold cup as it was hard to tell the content, and the last thing she wanted was to drink what she couldn't see.Yes, ma'am, something like this?" The maid asked, reaching into her apron pocket and bringing a cup that matched Selena's description. "I wasn't sure you would like it.""The plates and cutlery should also have this decor," Selena stated."Of course, Ma," the maid nodded,
The unexpected contact sent a jolt of pain through Axel's nose, causing him to stagger back. Bringing his hand to his now bleeding nose, Axel stared at Aiden with a mixture of surprise and rage.It was the first time Aiden would hit him in the nose like this. They had little arguments here and there, but Aiden had never chosen to go physical with him. His eyes darted to Selena, who had immediately kept her distance, terrified by Aiden's action.In a fit of anger, Axel's pent-up frustration boiled over as he launched himself at Aiden. The two of them clashed violently, their bodies colliding in a flurry of fists and shoves."Stop this, both of you!" Selena yelled as she watched Aiden grab Axel by the waist and throw him through the bathroom as he came crashing onto the sink. It would seem he was fine as the sink broke into pieces and Axel fell to the ground, but Axel felt his body give way as he groaned in pain.He got up from the ground, not planning on letting Aiden have his way, as
Selena staggered back her mind trying to comprehend what Axel had just said to her, She couldn’t believe his words or she didn’t want to bring herself to. Did Axel love her? How was this possible? She could have sworn that every time that Axel had thrown her a glare, she thought he hated her but with his confession, it meant that his hatred was hate, it was jealousy.Every time he had to look at her by Aiden’s side, he was reminded of his feelings for her and the fact that he couldn’t tell her. This was what Aiden meant when he said he didn’t want to remember because he was scared he would remember something he wished he didn’t, Aiden must have regained a fragment of that memory.It explained his recent behavior, he wasn’t mad at her but at the fact that he now knew his brother was in love with the woman he loved and he feared that he might have been too late but how had she not noticed Axel’s interest in her, how had she not noticed any sign.“Selena,” Axel groaned trying to get out
It had been two days since Axel’s confession, the mansion had suddenly become quieter than usual, Selena remained in her room unable to come out in fear of meeting Axel, Axel remained in his room while the doctor came to check up on him and Aiden drowned himself in the library working on the guest list of the ball.His memory was slowly coming back but not entirely, there were still some people on the guest list that he wasn’t familiar with and he didn’t want to go about embarrassing himself.Selena had freshened up quickly so one of the maids could get her ready for the ball, she sat down lost in thought as the maid combed her hair. Selena stared at her reflection in the mirror, lost in her thoughts. The realization of Axel's love for her had left her feeling both confused and terrified. It had been two days since he had confessed his feelings, and Selena still found it hard to believe that all this time, he had been secretly in love with her. As her maid gently combed through her l
~ 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