로그인BELLE “Mommy, can we go home now? Jamie is fine and I missed playing with my games,” Jordan crossed his arms as he stared at me. He has been grumpy since Jamie refused to share her ice cream with him and I could tell he was just trying to pick a fight.“You're just whining because no one is interested in your boring stories,” Jamie tutted at her brother. “Grow up!”A smile spread across my lips as I watched the two argue. “Jamie, what did mommy tell you about sharing?” “You said sharing is good,” Jamie pouted. “I need these things for quick recovery,” she pointed to the basket by her bedside filled with cookies and chocolates.I bit back my smile, seeing how Jordan was already boiling with anger. “Hm. Jordan, why don't we buy a bigger one for you later? You'll need your strength to play games too.”“Yay!”He jumped excitedly and we all burst out laughing. “You're such a child,” Jamie rolled her eyes as she passed him her favorite cookie.“I'm the man of the house!” Jordan snatche
AUTHOR'S POV “You fucking idiot!” Faye flung her bag at Rowan who was drinking by himself at the minibar, hitting him right on his face.Half of his drink spilled from the impact, staining his shirt. “What the fuck?” He snapped.“I have always known you to be a foolish man but what the hell were you thinking?” She screamed, chest heaving like she had just run a race.Rowan stared at her blankly, confused about what she was talking about before pouring himself another round as if she didn't just explode in front of him.“Are you even listening to me?!” she gritted her teeth.“Listen, I don't know what you're talking about and I am not interested. Please get out.”“Oh please, don't play dumb with me,” she snapped. Do you even realize what you did at the hospital? You're not just ruining yourself… you're dragging me down with you!”Rowan finally looked up, a lazy smirk tugging his lips. “Oh, so this is about you. Shocker.” He tipped the glass back and swallowed.“God! You're pathetic.”
BELLE The moment Zalden stepped out of the room, I wanted to run after him. Fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness. I knew I went too far. Heck, I was out of my mind.Everything was happening so fast that the only thing I could think of was protecting my kids. I was all they ever got. What if Zalden decided to take them away from me? He had every right to be angry and I knew it.But what if I just ruined whatever little chance I had left?Tears streamed down my cheeks as I held onto Jamie as if my life depended on it. My mind was running with at least a thousand thoughts and it felt like I was going crazy.He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to be spoken to that way. If anything, he was the one who saved Jamie. I could have lost her. She'd have died without his help. Without his blood… his money. And what hurts the most is how useless I felt.The only thing I ever did was give birth to them. How can I call myself a mother when I couldn't even save my own kids from the brink o
ZALDENI slammed the door shut behind me as I stormed out of the ward. My pulse was pounding so fast, I could feel my heart hammering against my rib.“Mr. Marlowe!” A voice called from behind but I didn't slow down until the rush of cold breeze hit my face outside. My hands gripped the cold hospital wall until my knuckles turned white. How dare she? My stomach churned as her words replayed in my head all over again. Service. Stranger. No kids here. The fuck was that supposed to mean? How could she try to erase me from my children's lives?I saved the girl before I even knew she was mine and now she thinks she can strip me off my right as their father?The sound of footsteps echoed behind me, when the director appeared in front of me, short of breath. “Mr. Marlowe, I have been calling after you for a while.”I wasn't sure I was ready to hear anything he had to say, but I forced the word out “What is it?”“Jamie. Do you think…” His voice became faint in my head and the only thing
BELLE Zalden shot me a look and for the very first time since I set my eyes on him, I got to see a semblance of emotion in his eyes. The usual cold and composed demeanor he always tries to keep has faded, and I can no longer recognize the man in front of me.His tie was loose around his neck, sleeve rolled up, chest heaving, jaw clenched… he looked more broken from the news than I was.I don't know what he thinks of the situation and in all honesty, I'm not sure I care. The only reason I kept it a secret was because I didn’t want anyone to think of my kids as a mistake. As a ploy in their games. Had I told him sooner, he'd think I was trying to buy my way into his life. I hated that he had to find out like this, but now that everything has been revealed, it felt like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders.“Belle…”“Don't make this harder than it already is. You were living just fine without us. I'm sure it's easier to pretend none of this ever happened. I appreciate everything y
ZALDEN “Congratulations, you're the father,” The director’s words echoed in my head, and for the first time in my life, words became too hard for me to process. I stared into space, allowing the words to sink in my head at least a thousand times before my head snapped to Belle, who was now squirming on the floor.She looked everywhere else in the room except my face. My gaze shifted from her to the innocent child lying on the bed, and the only question that popped into my head was, “Why?”How dare she hide this from me? She carried this alone. Why didn't she come to me? Was she ashamed to call me the father of her children? She didn't seem to mind earlier when Rowan claimed them. If I hadn't found out, she could have lost the child. My baby.My chest tightened at the thought as my head snapped back to her. A surge of rage coursed through my body, and all I wanted was an explanation.“Care to explain?” My voice came out sharper than I intended. She flinched at my words, eyes glimme
BELLE This wasn't the first time Zalden would speak to me in such a nasty manner, yet it felt like I was punched in the gut all over again. I have seen and heard the other employees gossip about my fashion sense. I ignored everyone because while they were busy buying the latest designer, I was str
ZALDEN “We're having a meeting with the Anderson corporation today. We have pushed the meeting a little too much, so when they reached out this time, I couldn't resist,” Andrew said, flipping through the pages of the file in his hand before dropping it on my desk.After meeting with their new CEO,
BELLE No one should be awake by 4:30 a.m. But here I was, dragging my body out of bed like I was training for war. Except I am. Going back to that company has to be the dumbest decision ever. Zalden would make sure to make things difficult for me, and that includes his crazy employees, too.I gla
AUTHOR'S POV Zalden was supposed to pick up a file at his office, but since he left early, Andrew had to pick it up for him. He arrived at Zalden's mansion shortly after and went straight to his study room.“Here is the file,” he said, as he dropped the file on his desk.Zalden looked up from the







