"Heyyy...you okay?" Moore asked softly. His eyebrows furrowed in concern."I'm fine. I guess the spin on the beach has me a little dizzy. But I loved it."Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm bluish glow in the room. I sat on our bed, resting my back on a pile of pillows Moore had earlier stacked against the headboard. I sighed in contentment and pleasure.Moore lay beside me. His arms surrounded my swollen belly protectively, and his fingers made circular ticklish patterns. They made me giggle. We marveled at the miracle growing within me. Our baby, our little bundle of joy."George is going to be such a lucky child," Moore's s voice held awe and tenderness. We had talked about naming him and agreed to name him George after my father."And you, my love, will be an amazing mother. And you're an amazing psychologist. What do you think about practicing again after George is born?"I let out a soft sigh in agreement, but a hint of uncertainty lingered in my eyes. "
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER"Mom, do you think I'll do well today?" George asked, a touch of nervousness in his voice.I paused in adjusting the collar of his soccer jersey and turned around to look at him and myself in the mirror. I understood where his fears came from. George had a crucial tournament to play in, and he was the star player of his team. That came with a lot of expectations from people, which put a lot of responsibilities on his eighteen-year-old shoulder.I smiled warmly at him, making sure he saw years of love and support in my eyes that weren't going away for any reason. "You've trained hard, George. You'll go out there and give it your all. No matter the outcome, your father and I will always be proud of you."He grinned. "Thanks, Mom," he gave me a hasty kiss on the cheek and sat on the bed to put on his boots.The pride in my heart swelled as I watched him tie his shoelaces. His determination was evident in his focused gaze. "Hey Mom, how long does it take Dad to retri
"You can't do this to me...You just can't!" I snapped and ran my hands through my hair. My eyes stung with tears and my stomach twisted as I glared at that man I had been willing to walk down the aisle with. The entire alliance had been fixed to ensure my family's fortune was secured. After my father passed away two years ago, the only way for me to reclaim his properties from our hungry and desperate relatives was to get married before twenty-five. My twenty-fifth birthday was just a month away and now, I found out that the man I was supposed to marry was a cheat. I wrapped my arms around myself and refused to make eye contact with James. He rested on the wall opposite me and ran his hands through his hair too many times for comfort; I sighed. So many thoughts were running through my mind.The wedding was in two weeks. The engagement had already happened and now I found out that he had a wife and two kids somewhere in Manila — Yet he wanted to marry me as a second wife?
A sob escaped my lips once I entered a cab. I couldn't believe I had done it. For several years I dreaded the moment I would take over from my mother and manage the finances of our family. I wanted a simple life; That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Yet in my family, it had always been different. Mother was obsessed with dictating our futures and playing chess with the outcomes. Everything went downhill after my father died. She changed completely and she became a control freak. Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time and fix whatever broke in her the day he died. The car pulled to a halt and I gasped at the movement. "We're here ma'am" The driver's thick voice pulled me back to reality. I swallowed. The last time I had been here; It ended in a huge argument. Belene would not be pleased to see me. But she would be pleased to know my decision. I paid for the cab and got out of the car. I took in a deep breath and stared at the apartment in front of me for a few moments. Well, h
I rolled my eyes for the millionth time as Belene stuffed more things into her shopping basket. We had just arrived in Los Angeles and the first thing she decided to do was go shopping. Of course— she dragged me along. "These will look perfect on me, right?" Belene asked with wide eyes as she shoved Victoria's Secret lingerie in my face. "Don't throw that around!" I warned sharply, feeling a blush spread across my face. The brown-haired girl simply rolled her eyes and continued shopping. I sighed and felt my shoulders slump, by the looks of things; we would be here a while before we got to the apartment Belene had chosen for us.Instead of waiting for Belene to spend her entire paycheck at the mall, I decided to look around a bit and find something that may suit me. If I was going to look for a job here; my dinner dresses would not pass the interview, especially if I wanted one at Moore Hospital. I took the elevator and walked into the office wear section. They had a variety of t
"No. no. no." I mumbled under my breath and crouched down beside him. I reached out to help but he slapped my hand away and glared at me. I almost recoiled but instead sucked in a deep breath and reached out again. This time, I matched his gaze. Icy blue eyes glared daggers into my soul but I could see the fear hovering like a cloud in them. "I need you to put your head between your legs, can you do that?" I asked with a straight face. "Stay away." He growled. "I-I don't like you either," I blurted out. "But I am a trained psychologist, I am trained for situations like this, so please—" "So, you are a shrink?" The man spat and I blinked in exasperation. "I knew you were bad news." He added and continue struggling to breathe. "When are these doors going to open? How can an entire team be so incompetent?!" His thick arrogant tone almost made me flinch and I backed away a bit. Sharp breaths escaped his lips and he rocked back and forth. His fringe was drenched and beads of sweat
I sighed and plopped back in my chair when they finally exited the room. Irene, my secretary walked in almost immediately and gave me a file. “This came in for you ma’am.” She announced and left. I ran my hands through my hair and licked my lips. It better be good news because so many strange things had already happened in less than twenty-four hours. I grabbed the file that was wrapped up in a package and briskly tore it open. My breath caught in my throat when the first image fell out. It seemed to be one of many. One of the many photos James had taken with Alicia as his bride. My eyes widened and the pictures fell from my grip. I knew I was unwilling to get married. I knew that I was furious and felt betrayed. I was flat devastated. But if there was anyone I had truly loved and saw myself spending the rest of my life with; It was James. How was this even possible? How could someone willing to do the rest of his life forget me in less than two weeks? Here I was, battling an
The Moore mansion was Grande. Every single inch was particular and made to perfect taste. From the chandeliers to the furniture and the Elegant paintings that sat on the gold-plated walls. When I was younger; My father had always spoken about how he wanted to work with Moores one day. He was as fascinated with them as I was. The only difference was that I was in it for my career. He was in it for business. “You look perfect,” Christine commented when we locked eyes.I kept my lips pursed in a straight line. I had practically been whisked out of work for this circus, so I hoped it would be worth it. There were maids everywhere, running around like ants; attending to various things that didn’t even need attention: until now, I thought my mother had OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) because of how she handled everything, but these people took things to a whole different level. “Louisa!” A woman practically cried. I raised an eyebrow in the direction of the voice. She looked a lot