“I’m not his ex,” I say faking a smile because this whole conversation is now turning out to be a little too awkward. Too much for Abel saying it would be best if people didn’t know we knew each other around here. Maybe he should have thought of that before telling Dylan something like that. I don’t
“This will help with the pain.” He says.“Thank you.” I fake a smile because I know I would be damned if I took the medication. The ointment sure, but not the pain meds. I hate taking any sort of medicine, so I will just stash them somewhere in my medicine cabinet for when I will have some real pain
"What?”“I’m not going to fire you just because you spilled coffee on her.” He says and I’m trying to understand why he would choose me when it is clear he would have listened to her. I don’t know anything about her but I was obliged to believe so.“Why?” I ask him and he sighs and walks back to his
“Good.” An awkward silence follows after that, and I feel a little uncomfortable, especially with the way he keeps looking at me.“Can I leave now?”“Yes.” He says waving his hand and I let out a long sigh the moment I have stepped out of his office. Our conversation was awkward and tense. But one t
“We’ve already met,” Dylan says stretching his arm out for a handshake and I take it.“Of course, you have,” Tracy says as a matter of fact.“Hi.”“Hey.” He has a beautiful smile.“You’re looking gorgeous.”“Thank you.”“I hope my sister wasn’t mean to you.” He says and I shake my head. I guess that
He walks down the hallway to the entryway and outside the building in quite a hurry and I’m trying to keep up. I don’t know what the emergency was and neither do I know why he needed me to come with him. I know I am his assistant now and this is probably what the job entails but I don’t think I’m to
“Abel, you know I am at school, I have another exam in the next thirty minutes, and you know even if I decide to come right now it’s going to take me more than an hour to get to the school, she would have already freaked out.” She says and Abel groans in frustration.“Harmony, who do you expect me t
How did he manage to raise them on his own? It is my understanding that their mother was never a part of their lives. Now that I am thinking of the fact that he is a single dad to two twin toddlers, I think I get why he gets so grumpy most of the time. It just looks like it drains him. He did fumble
“Abel, you are proposing…” The words tumble out of my mouth in disbelief, more of a statement than a question. He nods, and then, to my utter shock, he gets down on one knee. I feel the world around us blur and slow down, my pulse pounding in my ears.“Mildred Turina, will you marry me?” His voice w
She scoffs playfully, giving me that familiar look that says she’s still got it all under control. “I know how to take care of children, honey. We will be fine. You two go have fun.”Relief washes over me. Even though we’re leaving them in the best possible hands, the part of me that has grown attac
We’re heading to Abel’s lake house for a weekend getaway—just the two of us. He said he got the place a few years ago but rarely gets to use it. He has only taken the twins there a few times because the only time he gets enough time to spend with them without many distractions from work is during th
Epilogue"Come here,” I call her over, and she reluctantly pulls her fingers off her brother’s chubby cheeks, then walks back to where I am. I crouch down to be at her level, trying to mask the amusement I feel at her little pout.“If you keep harassing your brother, I will have him stay with me at
“Did I?”“You bitch!” I burst out laughing. He has definitely been holding that back.“I was busy dealing with a concussion to see anything, oh, and my mom has way more money than you, you know, and her money combined with the money my dad left me, which I just found out was a lot by the way, then A
“Mom, I…”“I should have taken you with me when he died, but I thought you were already a grown woman and you wouldn’t need me anymore, and I will never forgive myself for that because if I did, then you wouldn’t have ended up with an abusive man. I could have protected you from repeating the cycle.
"Abel, he is good for you," she repeats, this time more firmly. There’s a strange sadness in her eyes, as if she’s remembering all the times she wished someone had said those words to her. I nod, acknowledging her observation, but I don’t want to delve into a discussion about Abel with her. "I feel
"Are you ready to go home?" Abel asks, and I nod eagerly. The sterile scent of antiseptic clings to the air, making me desperate to leave this hospital room and everything it represents. My heart pounds with a need to escape—to feel the cool air outside, untainted by the trauma that haunts these wal
“Oh…”“I love you, and I would want you in my life and the twins too, but you need to accept that fact about me. I don’t even know if I can be a mother to your children or a stepmother. I just don’t know if I have it in me, even though I love them, and I love you,” I say, and I’m nervously waiting f