“Whatever you think this is, it’s not. Let me explain,” Joaquin stood up, masking his surprise at Astrid’s presence. He had not expected her to take a threat at Darius’ and Dahlia’s life so lightly. What he had miscalculated was the odds of Astrid calling Darius to ask if everything was okay.“You’re the father of Selene’s child. Y-you were in on it this whole time, Joaquin. Darius is your friend, for Christ’s sake!” Astrid was trying as hard as physically possible to stop herself from raising her voice, but it wasn’t working enough as heads turned in their direction and recognition started to brighten some people’s faces at the presence of Darius the infamous’ ex-fiancée.Astrid, noticing the not-so-subtle flashes of cameras in their direction, looked back at Joaquin. “Outside, now. We need to talk about this before I lose my mind and get Darius to come down here.”Astrid walked out of the restaurant, waiting for Joaquin. She didn’t have much to discuss with Selene. Not now, at le
Weeks passed by too quickly for Astrid to grasp. She maintained a steady communication with her parents back in London. As the days passed, she was slowly starting to accept that she could run away from her feelings all she wanted, but she would always circle back to Darius Titan. Even at that, she could not brush Selene aside. It was almost impossible to cut her out of the picture, especially now that she was getting more noticeable in the picture with how fast her stomach was starting to show bumps. Astrid knew for a fact that even if she made an attempt at shoving Selene out of the window and dusting her hands at the act, she would only be able to do it in the back of her mind. The bigger Selene’s stomach grew, the more time she weaned out of Darius to spend time with her. Darius, not willing to miss the chance to be the partner of a pregnant woman – like he had done with Astrid – would not pass up on the offer. Watching the slightest bit of affection Darius showed to the bump S
Astrid had gone into a frozen state as Selene cried out in pain mingled with terror, the blood trailing down her legs in bursts of extremely dark red clots.“Help me, Astrid! Please! My baby!” Selene’s voice, perhaps because this time it was directed at Astrid, brought Astrid out of her shocked state as she rushed down to get help from the security guards stationed outside.“We need help in getting to the hospital, now!” she screamed as she got out of the house, the men clad in black clothing rushing in to follow her into Selene’s room, where she was sluggishly attempting to get up through the mess that was her blood.With a little bit of hesitation and fear, the security officials managed to carry Selene down and into one of the cars. Astrid instructed Laila, the babysitter, to help look after Dahlia until she returned.Joining Selene in the car as they rushed over to the hospital, Astrid made attempts to relieve Selene as she dialled Darius’ number. Tears were streaming down her
“Darius…” Astrid’s voice was shaky, coming out in broken bits.“Astrid, I’m not accusing you,” he pointed out.“But you asked me. There’s a part of you that believes I did this.”“Not at all, Astrid. I want you to clear any room for doubts before I even think of having them. Please, answer the question,” he pleaded.“I have nothing to do with it! You should know I would never think of doing such a thing, Darius. How could there be space for doubt? It’s terrible that we should be talking about this, Darius!” Astrid shook her head, covering her face with her hand.Darius did not say anything for a long while after that. His mind was spiralling. Yes, he had not liked the fact that Selene had taken advantage of him and had gotten pregnant in the process. Yes, he would change the outcome if he was given the chance, but he couldn’t.Because he could not change what had happened, he had decided that he would love and support his child no matter what. He would be there in ways he had re
“Mum, I got the job!” Astrid yelled, going over the email notification on her laptop with a swirl disbelief and happiness.“What job? Did you apply for a job?” Rose, her mother, questioned absent-mindedly as she stirred the vegetable salad she was preparing for dinner.Astrid sighed in exasperation. “I’ve been telling you about this for weeks. Have you not paid any attention? Anyway, I’ll be leaving for work in two days.” Astrid announced, waiting for the happy look on her mother’s face.“Really?!” Rose's face brightened up in response. “My dear daughter, I’m very proud of you! Just wait until I tell your father the good news.”“You're not going to ask me who I’m working for and where?” Astrid raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised that her mother was not as curious as usual, that evening.“Oh, right. Who exactly is your boss? Do I know him or her?” Rose inquired, placing a large turkey in the middle of their dining table, making sure it was strictly placed exactly at the middle of the tab
Astrid still couldn’t move from where she stood. “Good evening, sir!” The bodyguards greeted, standing upright. The man dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They left without the slightest bit of hesitation.Astrid finally snapped out of her daze, but not fully enough to take her eyes off him. Her breath caught in her throat as she was about to talk, making her cough dryly. “Is anything the matter?” Darius asked, frowning. He never liked delay or awkwardness, and that was just what the lady in front of him was serving to him. “N-no. Good evening.” Astrid stuttered, not knowing what to say. Her knees almost gave, but she managed to maintain her balance. Darius scanned her with a raised eyebrow and frowned even deeper, making Astrid’s heart beat faster. He did not approve of her demeanour, she could tell.She started to suspect that her appearance had something to do with it too. He had never seen her in person, anyway. She had only sent about two pictures of herself, and those were
Astrid stared at the dangerously ethereal man sitting in front of her in horror. He had made her more speechless in just mere minutes than anyone else in her entire life. “What is it?” Darius asked, his patience starting to wane. He didn’t like it when people stared at him like he had done something abominable. He hadn’t done something to her to warrant the look, in his opinion.“Y-you want to use me?” Her voice came out as a squeak as she bent over to pick up the spoon that had fallen out of her hand. "Yes." Darius answered simply, without an attempt at rephrasing his words. “You see, lots of people have their opinions about me. I wouldn’t say they’re all good, especially regarding my encounter with my female workers—” “Excuse me.” Astrid had had enough. She didn’t like where the discussion was headed. In fact, she had been there to show her mother that Darius was not as bad as people said he was. She was wrong. Even on her first day in his house, he was bringing up something like
The next morning, Astrid woke up feeling refreshed. She took a good look at the room. The ceiling, instead of being completely white—like most ceilings—was made of glass. It had an illusion made to look like the sea, with large and small different, colourful fishes. The floor was similar to the ceiling. Anywhere her feet touched would shimmer under her, making her feel like an otherworldly creature. The walls were made to look marbled with black and white colours. There was a sixty-inch television mounted above a small fireplace, right opposite the queen-size bed. On the left side of the bed was a balcony that could fit thirty people and gave a good view of the countryside. Why have such a large balcony? She wondered. There was a knock on the door, followed by Thelma’s soft voice. “Miss Astrid, are you awake?” “Yes, come in!” Astrid answered. The door opened, revealing Thelma, Mary and Darius. Astrid fumbled with her wor