Victor Gunner, my husband, is a man of his prime - wealthy, attractive and the brilliant CEO of Gunner Holdings, Inc. with stakes in the aviation and maritime industries. People often question why he married me because it was certainly not a love match nor was it a union of convenience. I believe it was because Victor felt ready and I was available. When I accepted his proposal, I naively thought my love was big enough for the two of us until he proved me wrong. Three years and our marriage began to crumble. For one, I can’t give him an heir. Then came Victor’s past love with a child in tow. A child who looks strangely like my husband. For the first time in years, I saw excitement filling Victor’s eyes. He dotes on them, recreating the dream of a perfect family, while I was gradually being cast aside, relegated to watching them enviously on the sidelines. I tried fighting for my place, but how can one fight a battle lost before it has begun? I had no place in his perfect family so when he proposed divorce, I accepted and never looked back. When we met again, I was an emerging heiress divorcee of our time, given countless accolades due to my work with women who underwent trauma in their relationships. It gave me immense satisfaction that for the first time, Victor saw my worth and wanted me back. Unfortunately, he has to fall in line. Threhree other men want me, too. All are wealthy, attractive and doting not only to me, but to my triplets as well. I watched in amusement how our roles quickly reversed. Now, Victor scrambled to beat all those men. But can he win this fight? Can love bloom beyond goodbye?
View MorePepper Ferguson POV
JFK International Airport.
Our plane just landed, and my husband Victor, who is the CEO of Gunner Holdings, Inc., shot up from his seat.
Excitement was all over him while he waited for the door to open so he could disembark.
It wouldn't be a problem since his family owned the airline.
The Gunner Holdings, Inc. also had stakes in the country's maritime industry. Aside from an airline, the Gunner family owned several shipping lines, which makes my husband a very wealthy man.
"Ma'am?" The flight attendant gestured toward the open door, and I followed him out, careful in keeping my distance because Victor always gets annoyed with me these days.
After immigration, I saw Victor walk out of the arrival area.
He quickened his steps when he heard a boy call out his name and rushed out to meet him.
"Daddy Victor!" The child squealed when he was carried into Victor's arms.
Then, his mother neared them. The sound of her stiletto heels clacking on the floor grated on my nerves.
As usual, the two of them began to monopolize my husband's attention that he failed to notice the hanging jaws of their spectators.
The sight of the three of them became fodder for gossip.
"Mr. Gunner had a child?"
"Isn't he married to his former assistant?"
Then their eyes would scan the area to zero in on me.
At first, there was confusion on their faces until a look of pity accompanied it.
As with the previous incidents, shame washed over me.
Victor is my husband. We had been married for three years.
Up until a month ago, we were fine.
But since Maggie Green, his former girlfriend, came back to town with her five-year-old son who looked uncannily like Victor, my husband began to change.
The news that the child was his quickly circulated in our circle. Everybody assumed Colter, Maggie's five-year-old son, was his.
I, too, began to suspect the rumors were true, but every time I opened the topic, we would end up fighting, and Victor would walk out on me.
Maybe, I don’t need any verbal confirmation from Victor. His actions already confirm the speculations, I thought bitterly to myself.
“I bought you a lot of toys from my trip. I hope you like them all.” Victor said and began walking. Maggie fell into step beside him while I looked at their departing figures like an outsider.
I wondered if Victor still remembered all about me.
I shook my head bitterly at the knowledge.
It seemed as if Maggie and her son already occupied all of Victor’s thoughts. I felt a twinge squeezing painfully at my chest, making it impossible to breathe as I watched my husband walk away from me, lost in his perfect family.
Carlos, Victor’s head of security, spoke beside me.
“Ms. Pepper, we need to go.” He said, nudging me from my daze.
Despite the tremors quaking my body, I braced myself, lifted my chin, and began walking out of the airport’s arrival area.
It was a struggle to walk through your shame, but I have to grin and bear it. There is no way I would let people know how my husband’s callous treatment affected me.
I feel the heavy weight of the people’s stare around me.
I knew they were judging me, as I seemed to lose my place beside my wealthy husband.
My status often invites gossip because I come from an ordinary lineage. I was Victor’s assistant when we began dating. The public believed I was unworthy of Victor’s name.
The judgment in their stares right now made me want to sink through the floor and never appear again, but I deadened myself from the pain.
We are in a public place. Even when Victor seemed oblivious that his actions caused me embarrassment, or maybe he did, and did not just care, I could feel the pity in their eyes.
I even heard one scoff and say, “That’s what she deserves for dreaming too high.”
I bit my lip, feeling a prick of tears in the corners of my eyes.
Like a fish out of the water, I began floundering until Victor’s bodyguards closed in on me and escorted me out of the airport.
I took a deep breath to shove the tears away.
Walking in the safety of my human barricades, I looked down at the floor to blot everything out.
When we reached our car, I was surprised to see that the back passenger seat had already been occupied by Victor, Maggie, and her son, Colter.
It was glaringly obvious that there was no room for me.
Maggie looked up. Her face appeared contrite as she addressed me in her fake sugary tone.
“I am sorry, Pepper. Here.”
Maggie scooted closer to Victor, and as usual, he did not seem to mind.
The comparison was glaring. If it were me, Victor would already blow his top.
“Mommy, you are squishing me.”
He pouted, which caused Victor to throw his head back and laugh.I was lost staring at the expression of pure joy in Victor’s eyes.
When his laughter died down, our eyes connected. He caught me staring at him, and I couldn’t seem to pull my eyes away.
I was mesmerized.
Victor seemed to know what was going through my head and snorted. Then, he turned his gaze away to shift it back to Colter.
I caught his drift. He wanted me to look for my seat elsewhere.
I smiled bitterly to myself when I caught Maggie’s mocking smile and the happiness in Colter’s voice.
“This is better. I only want to ride with you and Mommy.”
I heard no words of reproof from Victor. It seemed like he was agreeing to what Colter said, causing pain to squeeze at my chest.
Wordlessly, I took the front passenger seat, and the car moved out of the airport entrance.
Pepper POVAfter signing the divorce papers, I left Victor’s office in haste. I did not bother to inquire how Maggie Green had reacted, but I was sure she was thrilled. I had finally given way. I knew that I was the only one keeping her away from her happy-ever-after. I was half-running on my way, ignoring the glances of curious employees. Finally, when I exited the building, it hit me. I am no longer Mrs. Gunner - a title I held for almost four years. A bitter laugh escaped my lips when I realized that I did not know what to do. I looked at the highway fronting the building that Gunner Holdings, Inc. owned and sighed. For once, I felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Despite that, I realized I had been crying.I never thought I would be this brave. To face my pain, and to finally let Victor go. At the same time, I also felt as if my heart had been ripped off my chest. The pain was excruciating. I was twelve when I first realized that I loved him. I wa
Pepper POVIt feels strange to be back at Gunner Holdings, Inc. That was the first thought that came to my head after the cab pulled outside the entrance of the building my husband owns. I was not gone long, but I felt disconnected from the whole office ambience when I walked in. Everyone looked in my direction. Whereas before, a ready smile and a respectable greeting were thrown my way, this time, everyone looked at me cautiously in silence. The attention made me quiver in my toes, feeling tense at the way they looked at me - like I do not belong here.The employees at the lobby looked warily at me.They were watchful. And silent. Even the receptionist had a big frown on her face when I stated my purpose for entering the building. “I am sorry. Your husband?” Millie, the receptionist, asked to confirm. Her fingers made quick work on the computer before her. I nodded and pushed to the back of my head the odd behavior. When Millie gave me the go-signal, I turned around to walk a
Pepper POVA lump suddenly formed in my throat as I stared at Victor’s eyes. It seemed to me that it had been too long since I had seen him this close. “What are you doing here?” He asked, eyes narrowing into thin slits. “I am meeting someone,” I said dismissively. Victor’s jaw tightened. “Are you trying to make me jealous?” He asked crudely before tailing it with a sarcastic laugh. The sound squeezed my gut. Of course, even if I paraded men in front of Victor. He wouldn’t be jealous. Jealousy is sacred to people who love each other and fear the loss of the other. Victor would never feel that emotion with me. Then, his laughter died down, and his expression became dangerous. “I may not be jealous, but I don’t want to be a cuckold husband either. So, consider this as a warning.” Victor said before his eyes turned back to the restaurant. When I followed his line of vision, I saw that our orders had arrived.I wanted to explain, but Victor was already turning his body away. N
Pepper POVFrom that day onwards, the sparse interaction between Victor and me became nonexistent. “Where are you going?” I asked him the first night he came to our room to change, but right after, he traced his way back to the door, out of the room.“I am sleeping in the guest room.” He told me curtly with that frown that had become a constant fixture on his face as of late.My brows arched when he left.Guest room?Who knows if he truly sleeps there, I thought bitterly. As each day went by, everything about the Gunner home became constricting. Emily, my sweet mother-in-law, has changed ever since that night of the party.Every time I approached her, she would shun me and retreat, leaving me feeling helpless. My father-in-law was worse.Benedict showed me, every time he got, how disgusted he was with my presence.He would ignore me and shower Maggie and Colter with his attention.The only one who was truly happy in our set-up was Colter, Maggie’s son. The sounds of his laughter r
Pepper Ferguson POVFourteen days later, the result of my IVF implantation came out. “I am sorry. The embryos failed to implant.” Dr. Grant said after reading the results of my blood test and ultrasound. IVF failed. I am not pregnant.A wave of desolation washed over me at the news. I felt lost. Should I tell Victor?A bitter smile crept to my face when I realized that this might be what he wanted to hear.Tears began to stream down my face, unbidden.“This is my last hope. I thought by being pregnant we could work out the kinks in our relationship, but…” My voice trailed off because I realized I had already spilled too much information on Michelle. She might be a friend, but I don’t want to dump my problems on her. “I am sorry. That was uncalled for.” I sniffed and took out several tissues from the box she offered me.“It’s fine. For now, I am not your doctor, but your friend. Just let your frustrations out. I won’t hold it against you.” When Michelle said that, it was like
Pepper Ferguson POV“Do I have to be there?” Victor asked. The annoyance in his voice was very palpable while we were surrounded by the silence of his car. He kept looking at his watch, looking bored and disinterested. “The embryos will be implanted today. I need moral support.” I snapped, sounding tough, but deep down my nerves are frayed. Victor scoffed at the snarky reply, unaware of the tumult raging inside me. For years, Victor and I had been trying for a child, all to no avail. We explored every option until we were down to the last one. IVF. “Do you need to get pregnant now?” He asked impatiently.I closed my eyes, calling for inner composure, clearly guessing the words he had left unsaid. Do I need to get pregnant now that he already has an heir? A bitter smile crept to my face, but I was able to shut it in time to avoid verbal fights. That’s what I had been doing these past weeks, trying to hold it in because when I try to reason out with Victor, it always ends up in
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