LOGINGABRIELLE’S POV “Working on it together?” I mumbled Lynette's words to myself again as I paced back and forth in the suite, still finding it hard to believe. I'd been pacing for an hour, maybe even longer than that, I wasn’t sure anymore. My thumbnail was raw from biting it, but somehow, that didn't bother me. I was just seriously trying to wrap my head around it, make it make sense to me. Cause it just didn't. How could he not have fired her? I was sure he would. A man like him never tolerated incompetence, not from anyone, regardless of who it was. I would've bet my life that he'd cut Lynette loose the moment she admitted the designs were gone. But he didn’t. Instead, he offered to help and kept her in his suite all day. Working on it together? Together? I stopped pacing and stared at the wall. My brows pulled together in a frown. ‘What on earth is wrong with him?’ My phone buzzed on the glass table, as though it was the answer to my question. I crossed the room in thr
LYNETTE'S POV As I walked down to Bradford’s suite, I felt like I was doing a death march. My heart was pounding harder with each step I took. I kept rehearsing what I was going to say when I saw him, but my mind kept going blank right after I'd finished. I stopped in front of his door, and my hand hovered over the wood for a few moments. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly to steady myself and maybe brace myself too. “You can do this,” I assured myself very quietly before I finally gathered the courage to knock. He answered the door almost immediately, like he'd been waiting on the other side of it. Bradford stood there, wearing a dark sweater and grey pants. His hair was still slightly damp, like he'd showered not too long. And his face didn't give away any emotions as usual. "Come in," he said softly and stepped aside. I walked inside carefully, taking in his really wide and beautiful suite very subtly, trying not to make it obvious. Mine was just as beautiful,
NICHOLAS’S POV It was late in the afternoon. I stood by the window of my office high above the city with my hands tucked into my pockets loosely, watching the shadows stretch across the skyline, cars moving below like tiny insects, and people hurrying home to lives I knew nothing about. I envied them at that moment. Though I knew some might also be carrying a kind of weight on their chest, just like I was. Everyone was always battling one thing or the other at some point in life. A soft knock came at the door, interrupting my thoughts. "Come in," I said quietly, but I didn’t bother to turn around. The door opened, then closed gently, followed by quiet footsteps across the carpet. Then I heard Maya’s soft and careful voice from behind me. "So, have you… decided?" Something about her had softened since we went for the ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy. But for me…that had only made a strange heaviness settle in my chest. I closed my eyes for a brief second, let
LYNETTE'S POV My eyes fluttered open to the pale and golden morning light streaming softly through the curtains, still making Santorini look like a painting each morning. ‘Oh, I'm going to miss this place.’ I blinked twice, adjusting my eyes to the sunlight. Then last night came rushing back…the dress, the gala, the kiss…Bradford. And my lips curved to a soft smile despite the slight queasiness rising in my stomach, as usual now. My eyes suddenly went wide. ‘Oh, the designs.’ I sat up quickly and reached for my tablet on the nightstand. ‘I need to check them one more time. Make sure everything's perfect before I send them to Bradford. I couldn’t afford mistakes or anything that would make him doubt he hired the right person.’ I tapped on the folder to open it, but it was empty. My brows drew together. ‘That can't be right.’ I blinked rapidly, like maybe I still had some sleep in my eyes. Then I refreshed it. Still fucking empty. "No." The word came out low and small, but
LYNETTE'S POV It was around 11pm when we left the gala, though it ended like an hour ago. I used to be like the first one to leave a party–if I attended, but not this time. I guessed I got carried away by all the attention tonight that I lost track of time. The hallway was so quiet that we could almost hear our footsteps on the carpeted hallway as Bradford and I walked side by side toward my suite, our hands brushing each other slightly every now and then. We stopped right outside my door, both of us stood there in the dim light, staring at each other, neither of us moving nor speaking for a moment. “Thank you…” I whispered, gazing at him softly, “for the dress. And for everything tonight.” He nodded slowly, then responded after a brief pause. "Thank you for coming,” he said very quietly, like he meant it more than the words alone could say. Silence fell between us and stretched longer. It wasn't an uncomfortable one. It was just...full. Like there were a thousand things we b
LYNETTE'S POV "This one," Bradford finally declared. With just two simple words. But the way he said those words, like he was making a decision he'd already made a hundred times in his mind, made my heart flutter. The owner gave a proud smile and said, "I'll box up her other dress." I turned slightly to look at myself in the mirror beside me, and a small satisfied smile spread across my face. The woman staring back didn't look like someone who had a panic attack twenty minutes ago over a ruined dress, nor like a wife hiding a pregnancy from a man she was falling for. She just looked...so damn beautiful. And Bradford King was looking at her like she was the only woman he'd ever laid eyes on. *********************** We arrived at the gala almost half an hour late. The venue was an old winery, converted for the night into something out of a dream. There were string lights crisscrossed overhead, and lanterns lined the stone pathways. I could hear soft music playing from insid
LYNETTE'S POV I kept walking back and forth, biting my thumbnail, glancing up at the clock almost every second. My heart was racing no matter how many times I breathed out to steady myself. I glanced at Gabrielle who was sitting quietly on the couch with her hands clasped in front of her, looki
LYNETTE'S POV A few days later—The Relaunch gala My reflection stared back at me, and the woman I was seeing looked like a completely different person. I couldn’t believe I was dressing up to attend an event with a man who wasn't my husband. I shrugged silently. I had no reason to feel g
LYNETTE'S POV“You practically attacked me with your eyes at dinner,” Gabrielle stated as we walked into the suite, slamming the door shut behind her.I turned around to face her. “I did not,” I lied, trying to avoid an argument. I've had enough drama and tension for tonight.Gabrielle stared at m
NICHOLAS’S POV“I think I might be pregnant.”For a moment there, I genuinely thought I heard her wrong. Or maybe I had hoped she was just teasing, but the look on her face told me she wasn't.The words hung heavily between us, almost unreal against the silence in the room.“What?” My voice came ou







