Chapter 37 "What do you plan to do now, Knox?" Mason asked, and he sighed deeply as he rubbed his thumb on his forehead. He had just finished narrating his encounter with Aliyah to him. After the meeting today, he has been so excited and couldn't wait for her to give feedback since she said she was going to think about it. "I don't know yet, Mason. I'm waiting for her feedback, and once she gives it, I will swing into action," He shrugged, and Mason sighed briefly. "What if she said she won't do it? Just what if she said she won't ever work with you?" Mason asked, and his heart stopped for seconds. That was his biggest fear at the moment. This was the only time he had to make things right with her, the only time he had to make up for his mistakes, and if this chance got screwed, then he would be done forever. "I'm hoping she doesn't end up saying that," He said reassuringly. "Knox... Are you doing this because of your grandfather? Are you doing this because..
Chapter 38 "Are you ok?" Tate asked her as he drove back home later in the day. After the meeting at the MegaHitz company, Aliyah had been moody. The thought of working with Knoxville wasn't something that sat well with her. She wanted to hide the baby from him, but working with him for five months? That was as good as telling him about the baby, because there was no way he won't ever find out about it. There was no way he won't bother her later. "Yes, I'm fine," She replied to him casually even though it was written all over that she was not fine. "Do you want us to go to the restaurant and..." "No, just let's go home. I don't feel like it," She cuts him off, and he slowly nodded his head. The rest of the drive to her house was filled with silence, and they finally arrived after a long drive. "You should get as much rest as you can. Let's go to the hospital tomorrow morning to get you checked," He said to her before she took the staircase up to her room. She
Chapter 39 Two weeks later The sound of the blaring alarm jolted Aliyah from her deep sleep, and she tossed on the bed tiredly before she forced her eyes open, welcomed by the white ceiling. It was finally the day she was supposed to start her training at Knoxville's company. She took a deep breath before she sat up on the bed, and ran her fingers through her hair before she left for the bathroom. Taking her bath and getting dressed took her about an hour and a half before she finally left her room to downstairs where Tate was waiting for her. "Whoa! Look at our latest secretary in town," Tate teased her as she descended the staircase, but she just rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Oh my goodness! You are already a perfect secretary. Fuck! You are so damn gorgeous in that," He further uttered as he swirl around, running his fingers through his hair. "When you are done being overdramatic, let's go," She rolled her eyes at him as she advanced toward the exit
Chapter 40 Knox couldn't help but admire how beautiful his ex-wife has become. Having her around felt like heaven, as he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way. "Your office is over there. You should let me know if you need anything," He said to her, trying as much as he could to sound formal like her boss. "Thank you. Uhm... I would like to be put through things and how they are done here since it's my first time. Do I need a coach for that, or are you going to do it yourself, Sir?" She asked him, avoiding his gaze. Although she was nervous and maybe scared of looking him in the eyes, it was also one of the things she should do as an employee in the company. "Uhm... Sure... I will put you through them myself," He replied to her, and she nodded her head. "Come with me," He further said before he led her out of the office, and headed to her office. "The computer has been programmed to help you deal with some things, and here is a manual to fol
Chapter 41 "You don't look too good. Is everything fine?" Mason asked Knoxville as he slumped on the couch tiredly. His day in the office was long and exhausting, especially with what happened earlier. The thought of it was driving him nuts, but what could he do about it? After he left the office, he went straight to Mason's house for a visit. "Just get me a glass of water, Mason. I feel like I'm going to die," He mumbled as he threw his head on the couch while closing his eyes. "What happened? You don't look good," Mason asked as he stood up from the couch. "I told you to get me a glass of water, man. Is it until I faint you will do that?" He rolled his eyes angrily as he sat up on the couch. "Fine, I'll go get it for you," Mason muttered before he walked away, and came back barely two minutes later with a glass of water. "Be careful with that. You are going to choke yourself," Mason muttered as he watched his friend gulp down the content of the glass unt
Chapter 42 Waking up this morning with a slight headache, Aliyah felt her body ache so bad that she could barely get up from the bed, but knowing she just resumed work and it would be bad of her to skip it now, she decided to push everything off and get ready for work. Having her bathe and getting dressed for work took almost two hours since she was sluggish about everything, and once she was done, she finally left for downstairs where she met Tate and Carole, setting the dining table. "Here comes the queen of the house. Did you sleep well?" Tate teased her as she pulled out the chair and slumped on it. "Oh my! You don't look good. Is everything alright?" He gasped sharply as he placed his palm on her forehead. "You are burning. Should I take you to the hospital? Are you ok?" He asked her worriedly, and she slowly nodded her head even though it was written all over her that she was not fine. "I'm fine," She replied to him, and he sighed. "You don't lo
Chapter 43 Knoxville POV Sitting in his office and watching Aliyah in her office sparked this reaction in him that he couldn't help wondering what it was about. There was something that kept pulling him close to her no matter how much he tried to fight it. "Pull yourself together," He mumbled as he resumed his work, but he could only focus for seconds before he got distracted again, and found himself reclining on the chair and staring at her as if he was going to devour her. Was he just starting to notice how cute she was, or has she been this cute and he was too blind to have seen it all this while? He asked himself, but quickly dismissed the thoughts, assuring himself that he was just being delusional. The sound of the office ringing phone pulled his attention, and he picked up the phone. "Hello, Mr. Daniel. We have been waiting for you here for some time now. Are you not coming over?" His eyes narrowed when he heard the voice from the other end, as the reali
Chapter 44 A few days later... "Why is she giving me a hard time, Mason? What should I do? She hasn't loosened up a bit, so it's been hard to go close to her. What do you think I should do?" Knox whined frustratingly as he reclined on the chair. It was lunchtime, and Aliyah was out to have lunch, while Mason dropped by his office to check up on him. "Stop talking as if you don't know what you've done to her. You just have to give her some time, and she will come around," Mason replied to him, and he scoffed. "She will come around? Are you kidding me? That guy is all over her for fuck's sake. He is making life a living hell for me. What should I do? Fold my arms and watch him do this to me?" He sank his fingers inside his car and grabbed a handful of it as if he was losing his mind. Just the thought of it all was driving him nuts. "Have you realized your feelings for her?" Mason asked him, and he scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? Do you th
Chapter 148 Two weeks later Aliyah tossed on the bed for the umpteenth time, lazy to get off the bed. Her eyes felt heavy and her head wasn't exempted from the feeling. "What's this?" She mumbled as she finally managed to sit up on the bed, rubbing her fingers gently on her forehead while groaning in pain. Knox has traveled on a business trip since three days and she was left here by herself all alone. Her Mom only comes by once in a while, and now that Tate's fiancee is pregnant and also they were planning to get married, he didn't have enough time to come by. Mason has been busy with work and his girlfriend too, while Janice and Lee traveled on a honeymoon trip to Italy, so she was left here all alone by herself. "I should've just gone with Knox," she regretted her hesitance to go with Knox when he asked her to. "It's just five days you are going to spend there, so it's fine," She had said to him when he asked her to come with him, but now it felt like he has been gone for thre
Chapter 147A lot has happened in the last few weeks. James and Janice have sorted things out, and even after all the hatred, James realized his mistake and asked Janice for forgiveness, and to make up for everything that has happened in the past, he said he was going to take the blame for all the things Janice has done in the past. Janice was going to turn herself in, but he refused. To him, it was all his fault and he should take the blame for everything and let Janice live her life like nothing happened. Besides, she still had a whole lot ahead of her and he didn't want to be in jail.James was put on trial after series of investigation which all proved that he was the culprit, and found guilty of murder, taking the blame for his daughter and going to jail in her place so she could have a good life ahead. Lisa was also given life imprisonment for the murder of Rebecca's husband and an attempt to kill her husband and stepdaughter, Aliyah. Everything has gone back to the way it used
Chapter 146Aliyah stared at her reflection in the mirror, and as she thought about what happened in these past few months, then she could only be grateful that everything although would remain in her heart forever, was always going to be memories to her.Knowing that everything was over now, she was finally at peace. No reason to worry when her husband leaves the house, no need to worry that some assassin might break into the house and harm her. There was nothing to worry about, but most importantly, having her parents alive and healthy was what she was most grateful for, but it hurts knowing that her stepdad died protecting her Mom. He never deserved to die.The sound of the shower in the bathroom finally stopped after a while, and the door opened, revealing Knox. His body was dripping wet and his hair was damp. He had a white towel wrapped around his waist and a little bulge down there."Hey..." He smiled brightly as he walked over to the closet and picked out his robe, dropping it
Chapter 145"I'm scared, Tate. Are you sure about this?" Shirley asked after they alighted from the car."Come on, I told you that there's no cause to be scared. I'm here for you... We are in this together," Tate cupped her cheek in his palms and assured her, looking into her eyes. As planned, Shirley was going to move in to live with Mrs. Andrews. This was the only thing she could do, she was determined to do it earlier, but now that she was here, her fear was already taking over her. What if her plans fail later? What if she ends up getting thrown out of the house? What if she insists that she can't marry her son? What will become of her."I told you there's nothing to worry about. Why do you look so scared like my Mom is a masquerade," He pinched her cheeks playfully, but deep inside he knew that there was really need for her to be worried knowing the kind of tough person his Mom was."Come on, smile for me," He uttered, and she forced a smile."Wait while I go get your things from
Chapter 144A few days later Knox pulled over at the parking lot of the restaurant and stepped out of the car. He then proceeded toward the entrance door, and found Janice waiting for him as soon as he walked inside. She had texted him yesterday and asked them to meet at the restaurant this morning so they could talk about something important, and that had made him curious since last night as many negative thoughts won't stop coming to his mind. Did she change her mind about turning herself in? That was one of the questions he kept asking himself, but he would soon find out about it, anyway."Hi! Did I keep you waiting?" He asked when he got to where she was seated, pulling out the chair across from her and settling in it."Not really. Good morning," She forced a smile at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was cladded in a short black armless gown and a pair of black heels like someone going to a funeral."Why is she dressed in all black? Is she planning to do something evil?"
Chapter 143It was a beautiful morning and a special day for Lee and Janice as it was their first day going out as official couples. Janice stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying everything she could to hold back her tears. It was a great day for her, a day she should push all the negative energies away and focus on her man so they could have fun to the fullest, but knowing that this moment won't last long for them was something she couldn't hold herself back for."It's ok, Janice. You already said you were going to enjoy the remaining days to the fullest. You said that you won't let anything tamper with your joy," She assured herself, fighting back the tears that already brimmed in her eyes."Yeah... There you go," She whispered as she leaned forward and cleaned her tears, adding some makeup to cover up her eyebags."Yes! That is perfect," She forced a smile at her reflection, then took a deep breath."Enjoy your day, baby girl," She said to her reflection and finally left t
Chapter 142A few weeks laterArnaldo has long woken up from coma and has been recovering over the last few weeks, but Rebecca was yet to recover although she has woken up too. Knox has been doing well too.It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the day set for Arnaldo to go see Lisa in the prison along with Aliyah and Knox.Sitting in front of the mirror and staring at her reflection, Aliyah sighed as the thought of everything that has happened in the last few months played in her head. How they were able to survive until now was still like a miracle she couldn't comprehend, and she could only be grateful to her maker for being there for her all along. If anyone ever told her that the one behind the shit that has happened to her was her stepmom, she would've been the last person to believe it. The woman has always been good to her, and although she was never comfortable being around her, she never gave her any reason to doubt her pure heart toward her. She didn't imagine that she c
Chapter 141Aliyah paced restlessly along the hallway, her eyes filled with tears. Her hair was disheveled as a result of constantly scattering it. She looked horrible, but that was the least of the things she cared about at the moment. Her husband and Mom were in the ER fighting for their lives and she was hoping they'd survive it."Just this once, please... Please spare them for me. Please don't take them away from me," She fell to her knees and prayed silently, hoping he'd prayers would be answered. At least just this once.The sound of her ringing phone pulled her attention, and if not that the call was from her dad's maid, then she wouldn't have answered it. "Ma... ma'am Aliyah... There is a problem. Mr. Arnaldo... Blood... He...he was shot," The feminine voice quivered at the other end, and her heart sank into her stomach. Her jaw dropped."Wh... what did you say?" She stuttered, her lips trembling as she stared into space. No! This is not happening, please. Not now."I came ba
Chapter 140 Mr. Arnaldo paced restlessly along the hospital hallway, worried about Rebecca who was in the ER, fighting for her life. Why was this happening? Who was behind everything that has been happening? He asked himself, running his fingers through his hair, but couldn't come up with any answer, so he sighed deeply. Knox was also present in the hospital, and Aliyah too was worried. She was sitting on the bench and burying her face between her palms, crying her eyes out. She has just lost her foster Dad, and it hurts. "Babe, you need to be strong, ok?" Knox tried to comfort her, sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, but more tears came streaming down her cheeks. "What should I do, Knox? Why is everything falling apart?" She cried, and he wished he could provide an answer to her question. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, slowly patting her hair assuring her yet again that everything was going to be fine even though it was obvious that t