Samantha’s POV"Oh Mom, I'm so upset that I can't go with you to grandma's birthday," I said to my mother while we were having lunch at the mall."I know, honey. But she'll love your gift, and you need to work. Responsibilities always come first, Samantha," my mother replied.My mother was a very strong woman. She raised me by herself. My father never wanted to take responsibility. He would show up occasionally saying he wanted to see me, but it was more to antagonize my mother. So after I turned eighteen, I pushed him away. I didn't need a father who only appeared when it was convenient for him to cause trouble with my mother. It was very clear to me that he had no interest in his daughter."How long will you stay there?" I asked."A week. I took some days off and I'm going to make the most of it. I also enjoy being mothered," she smiled, and I smiled back."Will you be okay?""Yes, Mom, I will.""Now tell me what's new? How are things at the store?" My mother and I talked about every
Henry’s POVWe had lunch with my mother and Julia on Tuesday, after the confusion with the mixed-up gifts, and they drove me crazy about it."Mom, I have one more thing for you." I took out the card that beautiful stranger had left at the mall store from my jacket pocket and handed it to my mother."What's this?" My mother asked.I told the story, and the three women in front of me laughed like children and made fun of me. My mother read the card and passed it to Melissa and Julia. Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye from laughing so hard, she said,"Henry Martin, I'm a good mother and I raised you right! Your behavior at the store is unacceptable. I recommend you go back there and apologize to the saleswoman, and if you ever meet that young lady again, you apologize to her too.""Mom, I'm not going back to the store to apologize," I replied."Oh yes, you are! You're better than this, Henry. And you're going back to apologize because I didn't raise an arrogant and presumptuous man
Henry’s POVIt was past seven on Friday evening when Melissa finally decided to set me free."What? You're letting me off early again today?" I asked her with a smile."I could leave you with some work to do, but I'm heading out. It's been an exhausting week - you're quite a handful.""No, no tasks, please. I'm tired too. But I'd like to thank you.""Oh really?" Melissa leaned back in her chair with a cat-that-caught-the-mouse smirk."Yeah. I might regret saying this, but I'll be honest - you pulled me back to reality. I was being careless with my company, and you put me back on the right track. Thank you.""I told you you needed me!" Melissa's smile widened. "Just for that, I'll give you the weekend off. But don't you dare show up hungover on Monday, got it?""I promise I won't!" I raised my hand in pledge.Melissa gathered her things and left. I grabbed my phone and called Patrick. I left the office to meet my friend at the Social Club."Patrick, Alexander is head over heels for Cath
Samantha’s POV"Thank God it's Sunday and the mall closes early," Manu said when we met at the entrance of the store where I worked."Tell me about it, Manu, my feet are killing me!" I replied with a pained expression."And today we don't have a ride since Pablo's off," Manu informed me."Good for him. He's been really nice to us.""Yeah, he's super cool. Want to split a cab? I'm too exhausted to take the bus," Manu suggested, and I was grateful."I'll pay for the taxi, Manu. I'm dead tired too." We left laughing.As we walked through the door, Romulus cornered us. He had a cynical smile on his face. I hadn't noticed he was there. He stopped in front of me and grabbed my arm."Come on, Samantha, I'll take you home and we can talk," Romulus spoke as if giving me an order."Romulus, let go of me. I have nothing to talk about with you," I responded."Of course you do, my dear. Come on, the sooner you stop this drama, the faster our lives can get back to normal," Romulus said and tried to
Henry’s POVI spent the entire Sunday thinking about my goddess. I thought about going to the store to see her, but maybe approaching her at work wasn't a good idea, so I had another plan. Today I had lunch at my sister's house, and she was telling me about how my brother-in-law won her over. They met in high school, and my brother-in-law would have a friend deliver little notes with cheesy pickup lines to her, even before they were properly introduced, and she found it so funny that she gave him a chance.Why not? I would do it the old-fashioned way and use this idea. I grabbed my phone and called my nephew, who answered with a sleepy voice."Hi, uncle. Did something happen?""Sorry, Enzo, I forgot you go to bed early." I said, looking at the clock and seeing it was past eleven."I have school tomorrow!""Yeah, I know, but I want to know if you can help me with something this week.""You know I'll help. What is it?""I'll send the driver to pick you up from school. I'll let your mom k
Henry’s POV"Henry, let's call it a day." Melissa rushed back after answering her phone."Is my assistant already showing signs of fatigue? I thought you were tougher than that." I couldn't resist teasing her."Don't try to be funny with me today, Henry. I don't have time." I noticed Melissa seemed worried."What's wrong, Melissa? Any problems?" I asked, genuinely concerned."Seems like it, I just need to get home." Melissa sighed as she finished gathering her things from my desk."Alright. If you need anything, let me know. I'm here for you.""Thanks, Henry! See you tomorrow."Melissa rushed out, and I was curious. I tried calling Patrick, but he didn't answer, only sending a message saying he'd call me back soon. I went home to rest, the week was just beginning, but it would be as hectic as the previous one.Patrick never called, which I found strange. The next day, when Melissa arrived, I was waiting for her by the elevators, very pleased with myself for getting to the office before
Samantha’s POVI spent the whole week receiving little notes from the clueless hottie in the early afternoon. And here I thought I would never see that man again in my life.He made several indecent proposals, but hadn't shown his face in the store yet. It was always his nephew Enzo who brought the notes, and right on the first day, I pressured him until he told me his uncle had asked him to do it and showed me a photo. That's how I knew the notes were from the hottie.The hottie was hitting on me. I wanted to see how long it would take him to show up at the store, but I was having fun with those little notes, and Enzo was such a sweetie who ended up asking me for advice to please his girlfriend. In exchange, he wouldn't tell his uncle that I knew who was sending the notes. He would come to the store, hand me all the day's notes, and I would reply to each one. We were playing the player while the hottie thought he was being clever, we were outsmarting him.I had just finished having a
Manu’s POVI had just finished attending to a customer when I glanced at the corner of the store near the window display and saw Samantha's hottie eyeing her from the store across the way. That man was very interested! I'd been entertained all week by the stories Sam told me, the notes he'd sent. I even knew his nephew already, and the kid was really cool.But I was definitely going to take this chance to mess with him. Besides, the guy was a total catch and Sam deserved a handsome, decent guy, but she was scared after that idiot Romulus. I was going to give her a little push.I quickly sent Sam a message letting her know he was there, telling her not to give herself away. Then I walked up to him with my best helpful saleswoman pose."Looking for something special, sir?"He looked at me confused and ready to brush me off. But he seemed to think about the situation and came up with the excuse that he wanted to buy a present for his sister. Ha! I wasn't going to miss out on a good sale a
Enzo’s POVBeing a student was getting harder and harder. The English teacher decided to make us read a book that was almost impossible to find. I had to trek all the way across town because out of all the bookstores in the malls, only this one had it. Everyone was complaining that they couldn't buy the book because they couldn't find it. I spent two days on the phone and finally tracked it down. So I rushed to secure my copy to avoid getting a zero on the test that the teacher had already warned us about.But since I was at the mall, I might as well take a little walk around. I bought the book first - I had reserved it, but you never know if someone might accidentally sell my copy, so I went to the bookstore first. When I left, I was walking through the food court when I spotted Aunt Pearl at a café nearby. I had to say hello."What a coincidence! Aunt Pearl, how are you?" I approached and noticed she was with a younger woman who was pretty but strange-looking."Enzo, darling, what a
Samantha’s POVMy bachelorette party was the most fun event I'd ever been to, despite the snake incident. Erica and Emilia had really outdone themselves. However, it wasn't as enjoyable for Henry, who was tense and worried when he came to pick me up.At home, he told me about his suspicion that Isabella had sent the snake, and I was surprised - I hadn't thought that insufferable woman would be so brazen.We spent Sunday at home, resting and just enjoying each other's company. It was nice to have that peaceful moment with him, knowing the upcoming week would be hectic with wedding preparations, even though everything was already set.This week, I needed to get ahead with all my work since I'd be on my honeymoon with Henry the following week. Starting Thursday, I wouldn't be working as I'd be at the beach house overseeing all the wedding setup. I was so busy that during lunch, I just had a quick snack while working and turned Manu away when she came for afternoon coffee.Then my phone st
Romulus’s POVLittle Samantha must have been crazy if she thought she could ghost me like that. I've called several times and she won't answer, where could she be hiding? I needed to teach her a lesson, but this week I couldn't put my plan into action since Sandro needed me to check the accounts at his drug spot.Sandro wanted me to move to the hill, but to be honest, I preferred little Nicole's apartment, it was better located. But there's no way around it, I made a deal with him and he was the boss. He only gave me one more week to sort things out with little Samantha.I would use this week to resolve my situation with little Samantha and deal with little Nicole too. I was running out of patience with her, but it had to look like an accident, after all, she's Sandro's sister. I was going to do the job and blame the old man, but the idiot got arrested and was even trying to go back on our deal. He wanted little Samantha all to himself - that was pure greed.But little Nicole was still
Henry’s POVI arrived at the Social Club with Edward and Enzo. The guys had reserved a room there and they'd gone all out - they'd set up a room with a pool table, poker table, and arcade games, leather sofas scattered around, and a 1950s-style bar stocked with every kind of drink. This was going to be fun and relaxing."So, ready for your last bachelor party bender?" Patrick asked as soon as I arrived."I thought this day would never come." Alexander approached and handed me a glass.Only then did I notice they were all wearing the same t-shirt - a black one with a cartoon of me being dragged by a rope tied to my foot by a cartoon of Sam, with "game over" written below. These guys were acting like kindergarteners.As if the t-shirts weren't enough, they had prepared several activities, and they all involved lots of alcohol. I probably wouldn't remember my own name the next day.I was already slightly drunk when I saw Flavian answer a call and slip out of the room. When he came back, h
Samantha’s POVThe plans for the night were explained, and the girls decided to start the games. Soon we were all seated, and a bowl with folded papers was placed in front of me."Let's start with the lingerie, everyone grabs your box," Erica said, kicking things off."Okay, Sam, you'll draw a paper and read what's written. To win the gift, you have to guess who experienced the situation described in the paper. If you guess wrong, you'll have to share a situation that happened to you. When you open the present, you'll keep your eyes closed and feel around to figure out what it is. Got it?" Emilia explained the rules of the game."Oh my god! Alright, let's begin," I said and drew the first paper. "On my first time, my boyfriend and I watched some movies to learn because it was his first time too. When we tried to do a position we saw in a movie, I accidentally kicked him in the face, and he fell off the bed and broke his nose. I ended the night still a virgin and in a hospital making up
Samantha’s POVThe week had finally ended, and it had been exhausting. Romulus kept calling and threatening me, but Flavian said the wiretap was active and they were gathering lots of evidence, including proof of other crimes Romulus was committing, so he'd be arrested again soon. But it was horrible to keep getting his calls and hearing threats, not knowing what to expect.As if that wasn't enough, ever since he found out that Edward's sisters were organizing my bachelorette party, Henry had been pestering me to know what they had planned, why I'd let them organize the party, and if there would be any kind of wild rituals, as he put it. I assured him I knew nothing about it, but that he shouldn't worry. However, he kept suggesting every five minutes that we should ditch our friends and family and spend time just the two of us. He was driving me crazy with this whole thing, but I wouldn't budge - I was having my bachelorette party, and it would be fun, he'd just have to deal with it.I
Henry’s POVThe week was coming to an end. The days had been challenging, but in a week, I would say yes to the woman of my life, and we would be united in marriage. However, what truly united us was our love. And each day, I loved her more.If someone had told me a while back that I would be eager to get married and have a family, I would have called them crazy. But at those days, that was all I felt - eagerness for the wedding, for the arrival of my child, eagerness to get home every day and see the woman of my life smiling at me. I was a lucky man; I had everything that made me happy and even more."Good morning, Henry!" Melissa greeted me with a very cheerful and festive hello."Good morning, crazy girl! What's got you so happy?" I asked, finding her too effusive."Oh, I don't know, maybe a girls-only party tomorrow, or the wedding of history's biggest ladies' man next week..." Melissa pondered, looking up with a pen in her mouth, making me laugh."Mel, what's going to happen at th
Reynold’s POVI was still wondering how that idiot Henry managed to get to that hotel. When Samantha walked in, I was sure she was expecting to meet him, and just by her being there, I knew she hadn't talked to that fool. But somehow he found out and ruined my plans.And that wasn't all - he showed up with that brute of a detective who immediately started pushing me around. God, that detective's hand was heavy; the punch he gave me in the face still hurt.I just wanted my night of pleasure with Samantha, and I wasn't willing to share my first time with her with that little thug Romulus. I made a deal with him, but I wasn't interested in waiting until he felt like letting me fuck that hot piece. So I handled it my way - borrowed some money from Reuben and put my plan into action. I remembered the lunch at Hebe's house when Samantha was talking about how Henry would make romantic surprises and always give her red roses - such terrible tackiness! But it was useful because she fell for my
Samantha’s POVIt was very difficult to calm Henry down when I called to tell him what happened at the dinner. He wanted me to quit immediately, and it took a long time to convince him that I was safe inside the company.I knew he would rush out of his office to come to my workplace again, which was happening far too frequently lately. Fortunately, it was already the end of the day, so his work wouldn't be left aside once more because of me.Henry arrived in less than half an hour, leaned on my desk, and looked into my eyes - his irritation was palpable."Samantha, I wasn't happy about you working and being exposed to danger before, and now that you're pregnant, I like it even less. We should rethink this," Henry placed both hands on my desk and immediately voiced his concerns."And what do you expect me to do? Stay locked up at home?" I asked calmly. "Because that's not going to happen.""Sam!" Henry threw himself into the chair in front of my desk, completely frustrated. "I don't wan