Diane's POV
Life, they said, was full of ups and downs. No one lived on a bed of roses for too long nor did thorns last for long.Four years went by after the accident and I graduated from college despite all odds. I got a job with Redskins Group of Companies as a storekeeper. It wasn't the position I had hoped for but it was a good start.I was determined to make enough money to sue my half-sister and ex-boyfriend, Liam Montero. They toyed with my life and made me lose my baby. It was born too early and everything the doctors did seemed futile. I lost him.My parents were not even concerned. They defended Monique and nothing I did or said changed their mind. Only my grandparents stood by me throughout the trying times.They told me to let Karma deal with them but I couldn't. I would work really hard until"Diane, we don't pay you to stand all day and look pretty!" My manager's voice snapped through me and I blinked back to reality.The bubbling sound of the music coming from the lounge overhead returned to my senses and the dancing lights came back to life as well."I am sorry Bucks. What do you want me to do?" I asked with an apologetic smile."I would love to send you out front but that pretty face of yours is going to cause a ruckus with the boys," he said with a grin on his face.I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall. Not like I enjoyed being out there but sometimes, the noise helped dull the pain of my past —until the drunk men started throwing glances at me."They brought new goods from the factory last night, I want you to go take an inventory, so we can prepare a report of what we have now and what we need," he said.I picked up my notepad from the drawer and turned to the exit. "Okay, boss, I got it."The warehouse was behind the lounge and no one but me ever went there. I didn't have to bother about horny men coming to disturb me.I connected my phone to my air pods and started playing some music as I worked.The goods were brought in just like Bucks had said and they were stacked as usual, taking the inventory wasn't going to be difficult.I finished up in less than an hour. I returned to my desk to put the records into the system. The music from the lounge was loud enough for me to hear from my desk, so I took out my phone and placed it in the drawer, and continued working.Halfway through the job, I realized I forgot to take note of the products that we needed but weren't brought in."Oh shoot," I groaned as I got back up, grabbed the notepad, and returned to the warehouse.The last thing I needed was for Bucks to reprimand me for putting together the wrong report. As I checked through the boxes, I heard a scratching sound come from the inner room.I paused and stared in the direction of the sound.Do we have rats in there? I wondered as I started moving towards it.I pulled the door open and moved deeper toward the old boxes that were stacked in the room. It was a bit dark, I tapped my pockets to pull out my phone and it was then I realized I had forgotten it on my desk.Shoot!I wouldn't be able to find anything without light. I turned around and moved out of the inner room to go get my phone. I pushed the main door open but it didn't budge."Huh..." I mumbled to myself as I tried again but still it refused to open."Oh!" I groaned, leaning against it. Someone must have come from the lounge and locked it thinking no one was in there.There was no point screaming for help because the room was soundproof and airtight. All I could do was sit still and wait till the next bartender came to get a restock which should take about twenty to thirty minutes if I calculated right.I turned around and found a strong case to sit on and wait out the time.My thoughts went back to how my life would have been if Monique hadn't paid people to rape me... Maybe I would have had a better chance in life. Maybe I wouldn't be stuck in a warehouse at the back of a lounge in the city...The scratching sound returned and a frown appeared on my face. Now that I thought about it, it was louder than a rat.As I listened closely, I discovered that it sounded like a person. There was someone else in the warehouse with me!"Who is there!?" I asked with my heart jumping to my throat.I got up and resumed searching.The sound wasn't coming from the inner room as I had thought, it was just behind me... In a box.With furrowed brows and a racing heart, I opened the box and I was shocked at what I found.A cute little child."What are you doing here?" I asked but he just stared back at me with those beautiful green eyes.The boy had curly hair that rested just above his head. He seemed to be about two or three years old. What was a child this little doing here?"What's your name?" I tried again but he still said nothing.He must have been scared, I thought and my heart went out to him. Who would be so careless with their son?"Come," I whispered, stretching my hands toward him.To my surprise, he reached out to me at once and I carried him in my arms. He rested his head on my shoulders and clutched me tight as if he knew me.Poor child, he must have been so scared."Don't worry, my colleagues will come to get me and we'll go find you, mom," I whispered as I ran my hands gently along his back.As usual, he didn't reply. He just held me.My heart swelled and I felt tears prick in my eyes as I hugged him back just as much as he was. I didn't want to think about it, but his warm little body reminded me of what it would have felt like to hold my own child.Just then, the door to the warehouse barged open and Bucks stepped in."Oh, Diane, have you seen—""Owen!?" Someone called from behind him and my heart skipped a beat.Lucius's POVAs I stepped into the warehouse, I was shocked to find Owen holding the strange woman so tightly. I walked up to them and tried to take him away from her but he resisted."Owen, it's daddy!" I growled at him but he just refused to let her go.His head was resting on her shoulder and I didn't want to pull him forcefully for the fear of triggering his wolf.The strange woman looked at me and gave me an apologetic smile. "Let me help," she whispered in a soft voice.She turned to whisper to him and gently pried his small arms off her neck. "Hey, big guy..."He left her neck and stared into her face. "Go to daddy, I am right here. I am not going anywhere. I promise..." she whispered and Owen nodded.Reluctantly, he turned to me and I took him from her."Why did you leave the doctor and come here? Don't you know it isn't safe?" I reprimanded him but he pinched his face into a frown and refused to respond."Are you listening to me?" I hissed, getting frustrated by his attitude.
Diane's POV"How much did he send?" Sophie, my best friend, asked over the phone."Two thousand dollars for just finding his son!" I replied. I still found it strange that Bucks had transferred such a huge amount of money to my account even though it was on behalf of the tall man I met last night at the warehouse."Waoh! He must be a very wealthy man. I am happy for you baby girl and yes, you owe me a bucket of ice cream and this is a good time for you to pay up!" Sophie said and I could tell the amusement in her voice."I don't know who he is, Sophie, that's why I am going to Bucks right now. I need to be certain I didn't just get some Mafia money or something," I replied.I already planned to set a case against Monique and Liam in the future, I wouldn't want my account to be traced later and it would be found that I had a deal with strange people."Oh, Diane. You think too much! Can you just forget about the past now and enjoy your life?" Sophie said and I could hear her deep breath
Diane's POV My green eyes searched his face. He had to be joking. How could he ask me to marry him just like that?"I am— I am very flattered by your request but I feel... It's too hasty..." I said and swallowed the lump in my throat.He adjusted to the edge of his seat and looked into my eyes. It felt like he could see deep into soul. He brought his hands to the table and relaxed his broad shoulders."Besides, I wouldn't want a scandal with your girlfriend or—""I don't have a girlfriend," he interjected firmly before I could even finish.I was tempted to ask about Owen's mother but the darkness in his eyes told me to seal my lips, I wasn't going to like the reply. Besides, if his mother was alive, he wouldn't ask me to marry him, would he?"What are your concerns?" His deep voice asked lightly as a scowl suddenly sat on his face.He looked so much like Owen in that instance I felt a pain cut through my heart. If situations were reversed, if we met in different situations, maybe the
Lucius's POVAs Diane left my office, the scowl on my face deepened. How was I supposed to convince her to live with me and Owen?The shrilling sound of my phone cracked through my thoughts and I pulled out the phone from my pocket and saw that it was Owen's nanny calling."Yes, Lina?" I replied. I could already hear Owen's tantrums from the background, I could already tell there was a problem."Sir, I have been trying to feed the young master but he has refused to take anything I give to him and it's past time for his medication. I don't know what to do," she complained.I placed two fingers on my temples and slowly massaged the growing ache that sat there."I will ask Lucas to come home. He will put him in order," I said and ended the call.Whenever Owen wanted something and he didn't get it, he always did things like this. I just hoped this had nothing to do with Diane.I scrolled through my phone and dialed my brother's number. He picked on the first ring."Your highness, how is
Diane's POV The sound of the busy street and the soft conversations in the coffee shop helped to numb my mind to the problems I had.One side of me wanted to take care of Owen. I felt terrible not being there for him but the more rational part of me knew I made the right decision."You mean, Lucius Blackwood asked you to marry him and you refused?" Sophie cried out pulling me out of my thoughts. Her eyes were almost falling out of their sockets as she stared back at me.I rolled my eyes at her as I checked if the other people in the restaurant weren't disturbed by her actions."I know marriage is the last thing on your mind and I shouldn't be the one saying this but this is Lucius fucking Blackwood we are talking about! Every woman out there is secretly in love with him!" She whispered, firing those Hazel orbs at me."I am not every woman out there Sophie. This is me. I don't secretly fall in love with people."She kissed her tongue to her teeth and shifted closer to me. "Look, I kno
Diane's POV"You bastard!" Lucius hissed and moved menacingly toward his brother.I knew that if I left them alone, somebody was going to die and that person was most likely going to be Lucas."How dare you?" Lucius roared, locking his brother by the collar."I am sorry... I swear he was with me one minute and the next he wrote the word mother and then disappeared. I swear the boy has magic, Lucius!" Lucas managed to explain despite the death grip his brother had on him.I held Lucius by his shoulder and gently tugged on him. "Let your brother go. You are to blame as much as he is. Please, let him go and stop causing a scene." My voice was firm despite the pain that still sat in my chest due to their carelessness.Lucius let out a deep breath and dropped his brother unceremoniously to the ground. "If anything happens to Owen, I will kill you myself! I promise you that!" He adjusted his shirt and walked out of the corridor, leaving me and the panting Lucas alone.He sat there on the fl
Lucius's POVHer sentence hung in the air causing the hair at the back of my neck to stand erect."You said you weren't ready for marriage or kids or—""I know I said all of that," she passed her tongue over her lips again and my eyes subconsciously moved to them. "But look at what happened today. We almost lost him. He is just a baby Lucius and I almost lost him."Her voice was shaky with so much compassion it drew me more into her. Women, especially humans were known to be emotional creatures but Diane's connection with Owen was more than I could decipher at that moment."I want to do this for Owen. So, will you marry me?"A smile curled on my lips at her question. My wolf purred in my head and I nodded."Of course. I can marry you right now if you want," I shrugged.She opened her mouth to speak but her words didn't see the light of day before the door burst open."Not on my watch!" Lucas hissed. "Are you both crazy?"Diane and I exchanged looks wondering what he was talking about.
Diane's POVLeaving Owen when the doctor finally discharged him was difficult not just for him but for me as well.It felt like a part of my heart was being clawed out. I wanted to stay with him as long as possible but it had been two days and I needed to get a proper bath.Plus, I had a wedding to plan.I took a cab to my house and the first thing I did was get a very long bath. I soaked myself in the warm liquid and let all the stress drip out of me.I started dozing in the tub until the sound of my phone pulled me out of the bathroom. I had two missed calls on the device.It was Diane and a strange number.I called Diane first. She picked on the first ring like she had been sitting with the phone."I know we ended things on a rough note the last time but you had no right to disappear in me like that!" She cried out the moment the call connected.All the time I was in the hospital, I had totally forgotten I had a phone until now."Sophie I am terribly sorry but I promise you there i