💍CHAPTER 18💍It was a cool Sunday afternoon. Everyone was busy having a great time with their family or friends. Amusement parks were filled and booming with children playing with their parents. It was a rest day for everyone. Well, except for Dominic Hartless.Dominic was at the Hartless Empire, in the conference room with the Empire's Board of Directors. The Hartless Empire in general was a huge firm governed by different businessmen. It was founded by Dominic's grandfather, Hartless, and his group of friends making it a joint Empire. Dominic's father, Alexander Hartless, was the present overall CEO and president. Dominic on the other hand, was the acting CEO.They have all gathered to discuss a trivial matter. The matter was about Dominic himself."Seeing how far the Empire has gone and how much it has grown this few years after Mr. Hartless took over, I must admit this is the highest growth recorded since the Empire was founded. And it's all thanks to you, Mr. Hartless." Mr. Fe
💍 CHAPTER 19 💍The moment the closing bell rang, Shantel beamed greatly and sprang out of her desk. She ran to Leon who was busy packing his books in his backpack and grabbed his hand. "Come on, Leon. Let's go!" Leon wasn't given an opportunity to oppose. Shantel pulled him out of the classroom and they both were now running down the hallway."Calm down, Shantel. Where are we going in such a hurry?" The little boy could only ask."Daddy is coming to pick us up today. We need to hurry so he can see us.""Wait, how sure are you that he is coming? He didn't reply to the message we sent him, remember?""Maybe he was busy that's why he didn't reply""Or he is too busy he hasn't even seen the mail talk more of reading it." Leon scoffed. Shantel pulled a break on her legs when they finally arrived at the pick-up area. The little girl let go of Leon's hand and turned to face him fully before stating confidently "I'm sure Daddy will come. He will never let me down."Leon let out a sigh of
💍 CHAPTER 20 💍 Dominic stared down at the little boy standing before him whose arms were folded and who was glaring at him, in uttermost dismay. He couldn't believe his eyes. Saying that this little boy has a striking resemblance with him was an understatement. He was a copycat of Dominic! His hair, gray eyes, nose structure, and facial structure as a whole were like that of Dominic. Dominic could swear, this boy was just a younger version of himself! Now he understands why Ethan couldn't stop gaping at him and why the young man asked if he had kids he knew nothing about. And no wonder Shantel believes that he is their father. If not for one thing, Dominic himself would have believed instantly that he was this boy's father! But how is this even possible? What sort of a crazy coincidence is this?... Even Leon was surprised. He couldn't stop looking at the tall intimidating man standing before him. Now he is convinced that this man is their long-lost father. Nothing was going to ma
💍CHAPTER 21 💍It was then Dominic's doubts were cleared. He and Melina had met before. Mr. Throndsen Romero, the governor of Westwood, was a well-known and respected politician. At one time, Alexander had dragged Dominic to one of the events Romero hosted. There, Romero introduced his wife and daughter, Melina. That was the first time Dominic met her. He could still remember that day clearly.But why can't he remember if they had met any other time apart from then? "Oh shoot. Daddy, we need to head back to school. Mommy must be waiting for us. I totally forgot!" Shantel snapped him out of his thoughts. Leon almost choked on the ice cream he was licking. "I can't believe we forgot that Mommy always picks us up from school every day. She must be worriedly looking for us!" The little boy remarked before turning to Dominic with a glare."This is all your fault, Mr. Hartless. You were trying to bribe us with some delicious dessert so we can forget Mom and come with you instead" He
💍CHAPTER 22 💍"Grandma, meet our long-lost Daddy!"The instant Barbera's eyes landed on Dominic, they widened greatly and the old woman froze on the spot. For a moment it felt like her brain was paused and she tried to register the man standing behind Shantel and Leon. She immediately exclaimed in her mind "There's no two ways about this, Melina. This man is their father!""Good afternoon, Ma'am" Dominic snapped the old woman out of her thoughts. She flashed him a welcoming smile and replied "Good afternoon, my dear. You must be Mr. Hartless, Melina's Boss.""Yes""Please come in" Barbera ushered but Dominic quickly declined "That won't be necessary, Ma'am. I just came to drop these two off. I will take my leave now.""Daddy, why are leaving?" Shantel held Dominic's hand making him glance down at her. "We just arrived and you want to leave already? You haven't even met Mommy yet. I'm sure she's inside and I'm sure Grandma prepared something for us. Don't go yet, Daddy. Join us, ple
💍CHAPTER 23 💍"There is a way..." Dominic covered the distance between them and proposed "Marry me, Melina"Melina's eyes widened greatly and she almost choked on nothing. "What?" It came out faintly. "What are you saying, Mr. Hartless? I don't understand...""I'm asking you to marry me. What is there that you don't understand?" Dominic frowned.Melina was livid. Is this man kidding her? She should marry him... just like that? Is marriage some kind of joke to him? Melina could feel her anger flare up and she glared at the ridiculous man standing before her. Suddenly, all she could see was her ex-husband."With all due respect, Mr. Hartless, I'm not interested" She muttered amidst gritting teeth, her fist clenched tightly."Why? You didn't even let me finish""I am not interested in anything that has to do with marriage and sorry but no sorry, Sir, I don't want to marry you."Dominic scoffed angrily. He couldn't believe she rejected him. Any other woman in her shoes will be d
"Win the woman I love over!" Ethan exclaimed with much enthusiasm before glancing at Dominic who gaped at him with a blank expression."I never told you my friend is in love with the woman in question. He just needs a wife... for business purposes" "Regardless of whether he loves her or not, he still has to win her over. That's the price he has to pay for acting like a punk."Dominic frowned in dissatisfaction. Normally, he never liked the idea of chasing a woman. To him, it was a waste of time. But he didn't know why he suddenly wants to win Melina over. Is it because he is in desperate need of a wife?As though Ethan could read what was going on in his mind, "I know that friend of yours doesn't like the idea of chasing a woman but that's the price he has to pay for love. When a man truly likes a woman, chasing after her is like an automatic response." He stated.But the problem for Dominic wasn't the chase. The problem was; how does one win a woman over? He knew nothing about any o
💍 CHAPTER 25 💍Melina was in her office sketching the designs of the contracts they'd gotten. She was almost done when a knock came. She ushered the person in and it turned out to be Shirley."Ma'am, there's a parcel for you""Parcel?" Melina grimaced. She didn't order anything, did she? Or did she ask someone to... It was then something hit her. "The parcel is from who?" She demanded."I don't know, Ma'am. I was instructed to specially make sure the parcel gets to you.""Ok. Keep on the table"Shirley did as she was told. She bowed and left. Melina stared at the parcel, contemplating whether to open it or not. She knew who sent the parcel but what is inside this time around? She ignored the parcel and continued what she was doing. Moments later, she was done and her stomach grumbled."Oh shoot! I forgot I haven't eaten anything since this morning" On her way out, she decided to finally check what was inside. Opening it her eyes widened greatly at what was before her. There were