I didn't want to risk it. I didn't want to jeopardize our careers, our reputations, even our futures. But I didn't want to hurt her or let her ache without offering some warmth and safety when she needs it most. My father's words ring in my ears. Life is too short to waste on regrets. I should follow my heart and be happy. I should find love and hold on tight.He is right; life is too short. And what I feel for Ellen is deeper than anything I’ve felt for a woman before. Deeper than what I felt for my ex, even, who’d I’d forgotten about until this moment. Ellen had touched a place deep within me that I thought would be sealed off from people for good after the betrayal I’d suffered.And I make a decision. I stand here, patting her shoulder awkwardly, trying to act casual. Then I wrap my arms around her. I hug her tight, feeling her warmth and her heartbeat while whispering in her ear that I’m sorry for what happened and that I'm glad she's okay. I tell her that she's strong and that St
No matter how I look at the situation, every outcome seems like some kind of disaster.Katie clearly doesn't see things the same way. “So what? You're both adults. You're both single. Other people need to mind their own business.”That's not the way any of this works. “It's not that simple, Katie. It's never that simple. There are consequences to everything, and I don't want to risk losing him or my job or my self-respect.”“I know,” she says, a false smile on her lips as she watches people go about their strolls in the sunshine. “It’s not fair, is it?”Nope.“You shouldn’t let fear hold you back. When you get one chance at life, don't do things that you'll regret.” I know she's right, but the thing she doesn't seem to see is that I'm not sure which decision will lead to the least regret. I’m going to have regrets no matter what I do.“Are you settling in well to your new office?” I ask, needing to change the subject away from myself in Apollo.Her animated expression tells me everyth
Ellen de Luna POVI can barely draw a breath.How could he just end things and worse, end them through an impersonal text?It's been several days since he dumped me, and I'm still trying to pick up the pieces of my emotions and broken heart.He hasn't come back to work yet, but I assume that he has been talking to other people about his plans. But I'm not the one that's in the loop anymore, and that kills me. I wonder if he's okay. I wonder why he chose now, of all times, to break up with me.Did Steven get to him? Or did he tell his dad about us, only for his dad to tell him he’s making a huge mistake? The last option is the most probable.I should have prepared better for this. Instead, I feel absolutely blindsided. The timing just doesn't make sense - his dad must be the reason. But I can’t imagine why Raul Soriano wouldn’t want us together. Would the man really make work a priority over his son’s happiness? And if Raul knows, why wasn’t I fired?There are so many questions that ke
What do I have to lose by telling him the truth? Then again, I kind of just want to have fun and forget about everything. I lean in close to the guy. “Actually, I'm totally on the run from the cops right now.” I press my finger to my lips and he laughs.“Cute and funny, you’re dangerous. I’m Jack Xander.” He offers his hand and I shake.“Ellen.”“Cute name. What do you do for a living, Ellen?”“Why, you looking for a sugar momma?” I ask.He laughs again. “No, it just seems like a good icebreaker.”“I am... a librarian.” If the guy doesn't get the reference, he's not the guy for me.“I love that,” he says. “Have you come here before?”I shake my head no.“Do you want to dance?”A glance at him and hesitate. I don't want to dance. But I don't really want to talk either. “I think I've had a couple too many for that,” I say instead.“And you’re honest. Triple threat lady.” He gestures at me with his cup as if saying cheers and I try not to be bored. There’s nothing about this guy that mak
I press the call button and let them know he’s awake and feeling some pain. They assure us they’ll be right in and I thank them.Dad, however, has already gone back to trying to figure things out. “An outside lawyer, huh? What are you up to?” he muses under his breath, correctly assuming I’m not about to tell him my secrets.There’s no way he’ll guess what I have planned. It’s so elegant, simple, and perfect. I know how I’m going to win Ellen back - if she’ll have me. I know there’s a possibility that I screwed things up beyond repair, but I’m going to hope for the best. And heck, this plan might just win her back even if she hates me now.I decide to toss my dad a bone. “I’m going to fire her.”He lifts his head, looking at me like I've lost my mind. And maybe I have. “I don't think making her hate you is the way to win her heart.”I can only hope that my gamble pays off exactly how I hope it will, and I lift a shoulder at my father. “I guess we'll see what happens, huh?”XXXEllen d
Apollo stands up and pulls me into a hug, speaking softly into my ear. “Ellen, I love you. I know that if I don’t try to make amends and ask you to spend your life with me, I’ll forever regret that. So I’m asking you - and if the answer is no, I deserve that for how much I’ve hurt you. But will you marry me?”I pull back to look him in the eyes, worried he’s joking or messing with me or that this is some kind of prank. But he looks serious and genuine and maybe a little bit afraid.Standing in my apartment surrounded by flowers, I realize that the man that I love just asked me to marry him.I glance down at the ring.He continues speaking. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to be with you until my last heartbeat, my last breath. You make me happy.”Emotions crash over me, disbelief, excitement, joy, fear, and overwhelmingly, love. I love this man, and I want to spend forever with him. Not because of the firm, or because of the flowers. B
Melissa Villar POV“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this,” my mother said on the phone.“I told you,” I replied, barely suppressing my sigh as I drove across the Philippine Islands going to Palawan. “I need the money.” “If you need money that badly, you should go back and beg for your old job. They would probably take you back.”“It’s not that simple, Mom.”“Why not? Have you even tried?”I felt a pain in my jaw as I clenched my teeth. My mom didn’t understand the situation. I still barely believed it myself. After nearly a year of helping to get New Philippine Digital Marketing off the ground, the two founding partners—Roland Meyer and Rodrigo Fuentes, whom I referred to as the Ross—fired me. They did it despite me doing the lion’s share of the work while they sat back and had expensive luncheons every day that they expensed.And they did it one week before my shares in the company vested.It was my damn fault for not reading the contract more carefully. I should have hired
Andre Rivero POVMelissa Villar hesitated only a moment before climbing up into the helicopter. I politely waited until she was seated before following her inside. The roar of the rotors rose an octave, and then the helicopter lurched into the sky.I tried not to eye Melissa Villar sitting across from me. It was hard not to. We had waited years for the right surrogate. Joemar and I had spent much of the past two weeks researching this woman. I had only met her five minutes before, yet it felt like I knew her as well as I knew anyone.I pulled out my phone and started a group text.Me: We’re airborne. ETA ten minutes.Joemar: I’ll be waiting. How is she?Me: You’ll like her. She’s perfect.Joemar: There’s no such thing as perfect. Everyone has flaws. Sometimes, they aren’t apparent until you look closely.Me: Fine, Mr. Negative. Maybe she’s not perfect, but she’s about as perfect a candidate as we ever could have hoped for.Joemar: Very good.Me: She’s a little skittish. I can tell we
Apollo stands up and pulls me into a hug, speaking softly into my ear. “Ellen, I love you. I know that if I don’t try to make amends and ask you to spend your life with me, I’ll forever regret that. So I’m asking you - and if the answer is no, I deserve that for how much I’ve hurt you. But will you marry me?”I pull back to look him in the eyes, worried he’s joking or messing with me or that this is some kind of prank. But he looks serious and genuine and maybe a little bit afraid.Standing in my apartment surrounded by flowers, I realize that the man that I love just asked me to marry him.I glance down at the ring.He continues speaking. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to be with you until my last heartbeat, my last breath. You make me happy.”Emotions crash over me, disbelief, excitement, joy, fear, and overwhelmingly, love. I love this man, and I want to spend forever with him. Not because of the firm, or because of the flowers. B
I press the call button and let them know he’s awake and feeling some pain. They assure us they’ll be right in and I thank them.Dad, however, has already gone back to trying to figure things out. “An outside lawyer, huh? What are you up to?” he muses under his breath, correctly assuming I’m not about to tell him my secrets.There’s no way he’ll guess what I have planned. It’s so elegant, simple, and perfect. I know how I’m going to win Ellen back - if she’ll have me. I know there’s a possibility that I screwed things up beyond repair, but I’m going to hope for the best. And heck, this plan might just win her back even if she hates me now.I decide to toss my dad a bone. “I’m going to fire her.”He lifts his head, looking at me like I've lost my mind. And maybe I have. “I don't think making her hate you is the way to win her heart.”I can only hope that my gamble pays off exactly how I hope it will, and I lift a shoulder at my father. “I guess we'll see what happens, huh?”XXXEllen d
What do I have to lose by telling him the truth? Then again, I kind of just want to have fun and forget about everything. I lean in close to the guy. “Actually, I'm totally on the run from the cops right now.” I press my finger to my lips and he laughs.“Cute and funny, you’re dangerous. I’m Jack Xander.” He offers his hand and I shake.“Ellen.”“Cute name. What do you do for a living, Ellen?”“Why, you looking for a sugar momma?” I ask.He laughs again. “No, it just seems like a good icebreaker.”“I am... a librarian.” If the guy doesn't get the reference, he's not the guy for me.“I love that,” he says. “Have you come here before?”I shake my head no.“Do you want to dance?”A glance at him and hesitate. I don't want to dance. But I don't really want to talk either. “I think I've had a couple too many for that,” I say instead.“And you’re honest. Triple threat lady.” He gestures at me with his cup as if saying cheers and I try not to be bored. There’s nothing about this guy that mak
Ellen de Luna POVI can barely draw a breath.How could he just end things and worse, end them through an impersonal text?It's been several days since he dumped me, and I'm still trying to pick up the pieces of my emotions and broken heart.He hasn't come back to work yet, but I assume that he has been talking to other people about his plans. But I'm not the one that's in the loop anymore, and that kills me. I wonder if he's okay. I wonder why he chose now, of all times, to break up with me.Did Steven get to him? Or did he tell his dad about us, only for his dad to tell him he’s making a huge mistake? The last option is the most probable.I should have prepared better for this. Instead, I feel absolutely blindsided. The timing just doesn't make sense - his dad must be the reason. But I can’t imagine why Raul Soriano wouldn’t want us together. Would the man really make work a priority over his son’s happiness? And if Raul knows, why wasn’t I fired?There are so many questions that ke
No matter how I look at the situation, every outcome seems like some kind of disaster.Katie clearly doesn't see things the same way. “So what? You're both adults. You're both single. Other people need to mind their own business.”That's not the way any of this works. “It's not that simple, Katie. It's never that simple. There are consequences to everything, and I don't want to risk losing him or my job or my self-respect.”“I know,” she says, a false smile on her lips as she watches people go about their strolls in the sunshine. “It’s not fair, is it?”Nope.“You shouldn’t let fear hold you back. When you get one chance at life, don't do things that you'll regret.” I know she's right, but the thing she doesn't seem to see is that I'm not sure which decision will lead to the least regret. I’m going to have regrets no matter what I do.“Are you settling in well to your new office?” I ask, needing to change the subject away from myself in Apollo.Her animated expression tells me everyth
I didn't want to risk it. I didn't want to jeopardize our careers, our reputations, even our futures. But I didn't want to hurt her or let her ache without offering some warmth and safety when she needs it most. My father's words ring in my ears. Life is too short to waste on regrets. I should follow my heart and be happy. I should find love and hold on tight.He is right; life is too short. And what I feel for Ellen is deeper than anything I’ve felt for a woman before. Deeper than what I felt for my ex, even, who’d I’d forgotten about until this moment. Ellen had touched a place deep within me that I thought would be sealed off from people for good after the betrayal I’d suffered.And I make a decision. I stand here, patting her shoulder awkwardly, trying to act casual. Then I wrap my arms around her. I hug her tight, feeling her warmth and her heartbeat while whispering in her ear that I’m sorry for what happened and that I'm glad she's okay. I tell her that she's strong and that St
Ellen de Luna POVI'm sitting at my desk working on a case, when I hear a knock on the door. I assume it’s Apollo, though a second later I wonder why he’d knock.It’s not Apollo. When I look up, I see a delivery man holding a large bouquet of beautiful flowers; white Chrysanthemums with pops of color from pink and purple daisies.The delivery man flashes a handsome grin and asks me if I'm Ellen. I nod, and he walks over to place the flowers on my desk. “These are for you,” he says before leaving the room as quickly as he came.I'm surprised - and curious. Who would have sent me the flowers? I mean, Steven thinks red roses are literally the only kind of flower in existence, so he’s out.As I study the flowers, I'm impressed. They're beautiful, colorful, and smell delightful. I also have to give kudos to the flower company - the flowers are fresh, elegant, and cheerful.Suddenly, I know how to tell who sent these to me. I search for a card and find one. The small, white card simply read
“I meant what I said.” Apollo sounds confident as he doubles down. “No one's going to believe a word that comes out of his mouth after what happened in our office. Besides, how is he going to come tell anyone at our office if he's not welcome in the building? Security is going to see him at the door and escort him off the premises, and if he continues trying, he'll get slapped with trespassing charges.”The thought of Steven running to tattle on us at our jobs and getting charged with trespassing brings a smile to my lips.“Are we being stupid?” I ask, wondering what he’ll say to my concerns.“I don’t think so. Do you? If we let Steven dictate what we can and can’t do, that seems more stupid.” He lets out a soft chuckle and I couldn't agree more.“You’re right,” I say, letting the breath out of my lungs slowly. With it goes some of the stress and tension I’ve been struggling with. He’s so reassuring, and I’m grateful for this conversation.“Look, I like you. A lot. I don’t want Steven
Two hours later, I watch her walk into the park where I’d asked her to meet me. Her gaze meets mine and a smile brightens her face as she walks my direction. She reaches my side. I take her hand and lead her toward the little ice cream cart that I'd spied earlier. I know this particular vendor often hangs out near the park. “Ice cream?” I ask.“I love pistachio,” she says, and I signal for two cones as the vendor serves us up. The weather is warm and the sun peeks from behind intermittent clouds as we take our cones and go for a walk amongst the beautiful trees and plants.“You like pistachio, too?” she asks.“I’ve never had it and wanted to try,” I say honestly. The thought of a nut-flavored ice cream always steered me away but as I try the light green treat, I’m pleasantly surprised.“And what do you think?” she asks, angling her body toward me as we walk.“I think I have a new favorite ice cream flavor,” I respond.She laughs. “Okay, now honestly.”“Honestly,” I say, smiling at he