LOGINAlina's POVHe said it.He said my name.He stood frozen in place and stared into my eyes in surprise as if he was just figuring this out.I did not know what to do. Whether to move, or to just stand there and let him believe what he had just discovered."Bu— Bu— But how?" His voice shook and I swear his eyes were slowly filling with tears."You, it, it can't," A bit of doubt flashed through his eyes. Still, his gaze would not leave mine.He looked away briefly, trying to digest the information. All I needed was a little bit of doubt from his side, then I will deny this completely."Alina, you survived? But I watched you burn to ashes." His face twisted in pain as he uttered that word. Still, I remained silent."How are you her?" He inched closer, and closer, trapping me between him and the wall again. He tucked the strands of hair in my face behind my ears. Then with hands that trembled slowly, he cupped my face. His hands were cold, but that was not the cause of the shiver running d
Edrick's POVI dialed Adrian's number for the 100th time as I drove towards the office. He was not picking.I shoved the phone to the passenger seat, and picked up the picture again. The more I stared at it, the more confused I got. I had not noticed it earlier. Though seeing the faces looked familiar, I could not point out where I recognized the face from.Not until I got to this particular picture. It was the brightest out of all. I could not tell if it was Aria or Alina, but the wide contagious smile looked exactly like that little girl when she said, "Goodbye Jaime's Dad."The face looking back at me was Clover's face. Exactly.How? How?Her resemblance with Jaime was obvious. But it was not weird. But now, I just realized she looked exactly like Aria and Alina. What fucking coincidence is this.I pulled over at the office and went straight to my secretary. "Where is Adrian?""Sir, he's in the meeting with the..."“Tell him I need to see him now.”I sat down in my chair, but it fe
Aria's Pov. I left Alina's place, grateful I was there. She really made me feel what having a sister felt like. But the moment I stepped out of their fashion house, the strong winds of reality hit me. I sat behind the wheels and side eyed the files that were kept neatly on the passengers seat. The divorce papers. Edrick really wanted a divorce. I was still in denial. I could not believe it. I thought he was finally getting over Alina and was ready to fix us? He had promised to give us another chance. What changed? Was he just overwhelmed? Or was it another woman. I picked up the papers and went through it again. My lawyer had confirmed the terms favoured me. I will get a house, cars, and also money. But nothing beats being married to Edrick. The power that came with the name and the money I spend from his card in a week was way more than what I will be receiving in a month. Worse of it all, the mockery I will have to endure from the social gatherings. Those fancy asses have alw
Alina'S POV"Afternoon," Hannah smiled at me. I smiled back. She was busy on her newest bag design. Pearls over leather. The design is to die for."We are running out of those exclusive dresses. People are asking.." She added, her eye still in the bag she was now placing pretty white pearls on. "Oh," I halted. "We will get to production by tomorrow I guess." She gave me a nod. Deep down, I felt she was tired of me, I have been so absent and unproductive these past days, especially since I lost my father. Hannah is a sweet soul and will never complain, but I could feel the frustration. Fuck, I need to get my shit together ASAP!I went upstairs and straight to my favourite designing spot. The balcony. But instead of making new sketches, I worked on other things, ordered materials from our source, chose colours for the exclusive line and more. When I was done, I leaned back and started going through my messages. bUt my mind kept drifting to the meeting today. To their teacher spotti
Edrick's POVLiana stifled a laugh at how fast I pushed her chair back before the door flew open."Mommy!""Daddy."The little girl ran to Liana while Jaime ran to me for a hug."Sorry for keeping you waiting," the headteacher walked in.Oh, I wish he stayed longer.Behind him, their class teacher also stepped in."We are really sorry for all the inconvenience this has caused you." She apologized mainly to Liana.Then she turned to face the kids."Okay, both of you, come here."They ran to her and she made them hold each other's hands."From today, Jaime, you will be nice to Clover, and always have her back."Jaime gave her a nod."Good, and Clover, you will also be kind to Jaime."Clover also gave a nod in agreement."Great. Now both of you, a friendship hug."They hugged, and just like that, the enmity between them dissolved. Both kids were smiling from chin to chin. I caught Liana's smile from the corner of my eyes. She looked glad; she really just wanted to fight for her daughter.
Alina's POVI got home quite late.As expected, Clover was asleep and so was Grace.I slouched on the couch and popped a drink, drowning myself, hoping I would forget tonight.“Did he moan Alina mid-kiss?”It was loud and clear, but I can't help but try to convince myself I heard wrong. 'Cause why would he call Alina's name? Why?..After that hot night, my plan was to avoid Edrick for as long as I could. That was what we agreed on that night, right?But my little plan failed only two days later.I went to Clover's school for the meeting with Jaime's parents.Honestly, after finding out that Jaime was Aria's son, I wanted to cancel the meeting. But I had to remind myself that I won't keep being a spineless bitch, especially when it comes to Clover.I came early, dropped Clover in class, and went to the office to wait. I was expecting to see Aria walk through that door; we haven't met since after Dad's funeral. But instead, it was Edrick, striding in with his hands tucked in his pocke
Alina’s POVThe good part about this night is that the Vale security did a great job chasing all the gossip journalists away before I stepped out. I walked out of the hall like a ghost, quiet, trembling, empty.My legs didn’t feel like mine anymore. My body felt tight, drained, as if all the bones
Alina's POV.The night kept moving.Slowly. Uncomfortably. Like walking on thin ice.I didn’t say anything to anyone, not to Edrick, not to Anna, not to Hannah who waved at me from across the room. My smile stayed glued on, fake and stiff. But my eyes… They kept drifting.Again and again.To the ta
Alina’s POV, My vision blurred.Tears gathered so fast my eyes stung. My throat tightened until I could barely swallow. What was happening? What was she doing up there?“A–Aria?” Edrick’s voice came from beside me, low, confused, concerned. “What is your sister doing?”“I… I don’t know.” My voice
Alina’s POVI was sitting on the bed, brushing the last lines on a rough sketch, when a sudden knock made me jump a little. I looked up, confused, then stood and opened the door.Hannah was standing there, practically bouncing.“Aria! Come on. We have to go now.”I blinked. “Go where?”She frowned







