Selena's POVMy mind was not at peace. It had been a few days since my wedding to Diego. The marriage itself seemed good, the kids were happy, but a hollowness persisted within me. I possessed everything I thought I ever wanted, yet something crucial remained missing.I knew the news on my phone wouldn't be pleasant, but staying totally informed felt necessary. Picking it up, I stumbled upon a report of Jake attending a board meeting. Had he lost his mind? They'd tear him to shreds!Before I realized it, I was pacing my office, I felt so much anxiety eating me up. Having faced rejection myself, I understood the challenge of facing those who despise your success, and I knew Jake did too. So why this reckless behavior?My assistant knocked and entered, her eyes searching mine with concern. "Is everything alright?" she inquired."Yes," I forced a nod, dismissing her worries. Suddenly, a memory flashed to me, it was when Jake addressed my mother as Gracie. It had to be true then. But from
Diego's POV I watched her intently, sensing she was carefully choosing her words, saying what she thought I wanted to hear. There had to be a limit to how much she could tolerate.I knew exactly what to ask to break down the walls she'd built around her emotions. Jake Marino. Couldn't she just forget about the damn guy?"Heard from Jake lately?" I inquired casually.She lowered her spoon, surprise flickering across her face. "What?""He's facing some challenges, I heard," I said, unable to hide the glee in my voice when I saw the news. He was gone, back to where he came from. Hopefully, this would be his downfall, ensuring he wouldn't return."Well, I saw it on the news too," she replied evenly."Why the concern for Italian news, then?" I pressed.She bit her lip and closed her eyes, a tactic I recognized. She'd probably count to ten to control herself, but I wouldn't give her the chance."You still love him, don't you?" I blurted out.Her eyes snapped open, and she glared at me. "Di
Selena's POVThe weight of my decision settled on me. Had I just done the right thing by divorcing Diego? The media would have a field day with this story. What would my family say?Pushing the anxieties aside, I decided to face them head-on. I called everyone for dinner – it was better to rip the bandaid off now. Hillary joined the group as well.Max was on "big brother" duty, keeping the kids entertained with cartoons in the living room. This way, the adults could talk freely."Why the sudden dinner at my place, Selena? And why are the kids with you? Is Diego on a business trip?" Mom launched into a flurry of questions."Diego isn't away. He's at home, actually," I replied.My answer drew a collective gasp from the table. "What's going on?" Gracie, ever the voice of reason, asked."We... we decided to separate," I stammered."Separate? What kind of separate are we talking about?" Mom's frown deepened.Taking a deep breath, I blurted, "We're divorced."The room exploded. "Divorced? Wh
Jake's POVIt turns out that the meeting did not go as planned. I wasn’t even able to say a word in my defense before the whole room erupted. Accusations were flying from different angles; I heard even stranger things about myself.Jeff had to lead me out of the room to a safe place, away from the eyes of the angry mob. I was unable to speak to my mom or sister. I needed to ask about my father’s health. He should be here to take over the company, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen soon.Once again, I was summoned to the company to speak for myself so the board members could decide if I should be thrown out of the company or not.But instead of Jeff and the security men leading me towards the private elevator, they wanted me to take the front door. To show the people, the media, that I would boldly take back my position, not caring what was being said about me.To me, it sounded like a crazy idea, because for some reason I wasn't aware of it, the mob gathered was angry. It
Selena's POVMy heart was breaking with every passing second in the car. I fought back tears, even though he seemed concerned when I mentioned the kids. He was angry I showed up to save him, but what else did he expect?"Thank you," he said, looking out the window, his hands still clenched in his lap.I switched gears on my phone, requesting a change of clothes be prepared at the apartment.Silence fell comfortably between us as the car entered the private property and parked in front of the house."Hope we weren't followed?" I asked the driver."No ma'am, I made sure to lose them," the driver replied."Good."I opened my door and stepped out. Jake followed silently. Inside, I pointed him towards the bathroom."There should be some clothes in the closet over there," I said."When did you arrange all this?" Jake asked."In the car.""How long have you been here?""I arrived this morning. Go ahead and take a bath," I urged, leaving the room before he could bombard me with more questions
Jake's POVI can’t believe she divorced Diego. What was she thinking? Diego will not just let her go like that.“Selena... What will I do with you?”She looked so soft and innocent right now; she must feel the way my heartbeat was racing. Her hands on my chest were burning me in a nice way, making my thoughts wild.This was not the time to be feeling this way, but right now, I was lost in her eyes.“Kiss me,” she whispered.Did I hear her correctly? Kiss her? Of course, that is what I wanted to do the moment I stepped into the room and saw her frowning while staring down at her laptop.To kiss her senseless and till we both lose our minds. I saw a hint of disappointment in her expression, then leaned closer. She wanted this, I wanted it, so why stall?Our lips touched, and all hell broke loose. She must have been so overwhelmed that her legs gave way, but I steadied her with my hands at her back. Her hands went around my neck to help hold herself up.She moaned and opened up to me; ou
Rose's POVWas it true? All those rumors, the news articles about Jake? And the latest one I saw—he must have felt so humiliated. What was actually going on?I've been trying to reach Jake for months now, but I couldn’t; he doesn't care about me because he should have at least tried to talk to me. I need to know for sure if all the stories about him are true.Who can I reach out to? His mother or sister? Kelvin... I brought out my cell phone and dialed his number. He picked up on the second ring."Rose?""Hello, Kelvin." It’s been a long time since we spoke to each other. I had been on a trip for some weeks away from town and hadn’t kept in touch with Kelvin at all.He must think I am terrible for ignoring him the way I did, though he has always been a great help to me."It’s been a while since I heard from you.""Yes, I was out of town.""Can we catch up? I'll meet you at the bar," he suggested.That was perfect. "Alright then, see you there." We ended the call, and I wore my coat an
Selena's POVI caught the last bit of Jake's conversation with his mother and just couldn't pretend I hadn't eavesdropped on his phone call. I almost had sex with Jake Marino again!What was wrong with me? I scolded myself a lot when Jake finally left me alone in the kitchen. It was awkward having him there; who knows what we would have ended up discussing if the housekeeper hadn't knocked when she did.I won't pretend to myself that I didn't enjoy that bit of romance. It’s been a long time since I gave myself up to a guy like that. Not even Diego, who was still waiting for me to be free with him until the day we divorced.Was I starving for intimacy? Was that why I almost lost control? I shook my head in regret and pity for myself. So, back to Jake's conversation—I thought his father was dead!Did his mother remarry? I don’t think so because that wasn't in the news. So it must be his biological father. When he ended his call, I asked him in surprise, "Your dad is alive?"He looked up