For What It’s Worth

Bab terbaru

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Invitation To Dinner

  AUTHORS POVThe wind swept gently through the balcony curtains of Tessa’s penthouse apartment as she stared blankly at nothing in particular, she just took it all in, the cool breeze, the view, everything. Lights twinkled across the city like fireflies, distant and unreachable—just like her peace of mind tonight.Her laptop sat open but untouched on the coffee table. A document blinked, awaiting her signature—yet she couldn’t bring herself to concentrate. Her mind was somewhere else, stuck on a five-year-old boy with Pedro’s eyes and her curious, stubborn soul.It was Dean.It was just a few days till his sixth birthday, and she hadn’t the faintest idea how to celebrate it. Should she call him? Send a gift? Or show up and live a heart ache in the little boy’s heart?Her phone buzzed on the armrest beside her. Pedro was calling.She stared at the name for a moment. She could already guess what the message would be about. Over the last few weeks, he’d become surprisingly consistent—text

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Therapy session 7

  AUTHORSThe air inside Dr. Lucía Fernández’s therapy room always seemed too still—too quiet—for Pedro’s comfort. It was the kind of silence that pressed against his chest, urging him to speak, to confess, to feel. And that, more than anything, unnerved him.He sat stiffly on the corner of a wide cushion, trying to mimic the relaxed posture Dr. Fernández had suggested during their first session. Beside him, Dean sat with his knees tucked to his chest, his eyes focused on the same Lego blocks he always reached for. Week after week.It had been three sessions so far. Three long, heavy sessions.And each time, Pedro found himself hoping for a breakthrough—some spark of connection, a smile that lasted longer, a shared joke maybe. Instead, what he got was silence… or worse, those half-formed sentences that Dean would direct only to the therapist.Today wasn’t any different.“Dean,” Dr. Fernández began in her soft, even tone. “Can you tell us how you felt this morning when Papa asked you to

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Therapy begins

  AUTHORS POVIt was a crisp Thursday morning when Pedro found himself sitting uncomfortably in the waiting room of the Fernandez Child Development Emotional Center, a child psychology centre tucked in a quiet Monterrey neighbourhood. The walls were painted in soothing shades of pastel blue and green, with framed pictures of smiling cartoon animals and motivational quotes that felt oddly condescending.Dean sat beside him, legs swinging restlessly as he hummed a tune under his breath—probably one of the ones Tessa used to sing to him. Pedro noticed how his son kept glancing toward the large aquarium in the corner. A bright orange fish swam up to the glass, and Dean’s eyes lit up.Pedro, meanwhile, felt like he was about to walk into an ambush.He glanced at the flyer Tessa had sent him, titled:“Emotional Attachment Repair in Early Childhood Trauma”Just reading the phrase made him feel judged. He had protested at first.“Therapy? For what? He’s just a boy. He’ll grow out of this.”But

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Baby Steps

  AUTHORS POVTessa calling Pedro a terrible dad set fire to his bossom. He felt like dying, because for the first time in years he felt like a failure.The clock on the wall read 12:07 a.m. The corridors of the private hospital wing were hushed, the kind of quiet that only came with exhaustion, uncertainty, and faint antiseptic smells. The room where Dean lay was dim, lit only by a soft bedside lamp casting a gold hue over his small sleeping frame.Tessa sat on a recliner beside the bed, one arm wrapped protectively around her midsection, her other hand gently stroking Dean’s forehead. He had finally drifted into a peaceful sleep after hours of fever and cough. A mild infection, the doctor had said, but enough to leave a parent wrecked.Pedro stood near the window, a silhouette against the night skyline of Monterrey. His jacket was crumpled on a nearby chair, and his tie hung half-loosened around his neck. He had been pacing intermittently for the last thirty minutes.Neither of them s

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Emergency Unit

  AUTHORS POV“I’m here, sweetheart,” Tessa whispered, kissing his hair. “Mummy’s here.”“My teeth hurts and I feel hot” he mumbled.“I am sorry my baby boy, how much does it hurt?” She asked.“It hurts a lot mummy. It really hurts. Make it stop” Dean whimpered.Tessa turned the nanny and told her to get her a cup of warm water and salt for Dean to gaggle into a bowl.Pedro watched as Tessa demonstrated the gaggling of water and pouring it into the bowel, Dean did same. While all these were happening, Pedro stepped back, there was a subtle feeling of shame climbing up his throat.***Soon after they arrived at the hospital—Pediatric Emergency Unit—the sterile air weighed heavily between them.Tessa paced the corridor just outside the examination room, arms folded tightly across her chest, her heels clicking softly on the linoleum floor. Her face was pale with worry, but her eyes were sharp with restrained fury. She hadn’t said a word to Pedro since they arrived. Not one.Pedro leaned ag

• RELUCTANT BRIDE FOR THE RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE   Our Son Is Sick

  AUTHORS POV The silence in the Lorenzo mansion was strange that morning. No footsteps echoed through the halls. No toys were strewn across the floors. No giggles bounced off the marble walls. Just an eerie stillness that made Pedro uneasy. It was the new nanny who found Dean still in bed, his tiny body curled under his blanket like a shivering puppy. The removed tooth had given him fever. “Dean?” she called softly, brushing her fingers across his forehead. Her face twisted immediately with worry. He was burning up. She didn’t waste time. She called Pedro. “Sir, something’s wrong. Dean has a fever. He’s sweating and cold at the same time.” Pedro was already in his car about to leave for work before she ended the call. In no less than a few minutes had gone by, Pedro burst in, tie loose, jacket discarded halfway across the corridor. Dean lay motionless on the bed, cheeks flushed, his breath shallow and fast. “Dean?” Pedro said, kneeling beside the bed. The boy didn’t