FAZER LOGINNow Fatima found Raphael’s silence strange. Why would he care at all that she’d had her tubes tied? She decided to probe, not directly, but smartly.“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he said before she could even ask. “See, I just wish you could give Ian a child… then take it away. That would hurt him even more.” He let out a cruel laugh.That admission, dark as it was, somehow relieved Fatima.“Okay, I’m pulling up,” she said. She’d reached the store. As she parked, she spotted Raphael at the entrance, waving excitedly. She shook her head, stepped out, and walked over.“I had no idea you two had a fight. But nice pajamas.”“What?” Fatima looked down at herself and realized she was still in her PJs. “I forgot about that.”“No worries. Come on.” He led her inside. Fortunately, it was a high-end VIP grocery store that didn’t bat an eye at people in sleepwear, or Fatima would’ve had to wait in the car.“I thought you said you cook,” she remarked, noticing most of the food on the shelves w
Fatima was utterly confused. Was Nicholas really insinuating she was pregnant? Earlier, she’d gone along with it because it was the only way to defuse the gun pointed at her, but this? This was ridiculous. And the look on Ian’s face, pure joy, meant she had to shut it down fast.“I’m not pregnant. What are you two talking about?”“You don’t have to hide it, Fatima. Leslie told me.”“What?”“I mean, she basically announced it in her interview, but I heard it. Wow. Our third child, and it feels like the first.” Nicholas’s voice cracked with emotion.“Hold on,” Ian said, finally noticing how excited Nicholas sounded. “I’m the father, not you. Right?” He raised a brow at Fatima, who rolled her eyes at both of them.“You two have completely lost your minds.” She grabbed her water bottle and turned to leave, but stopped halfway to make it crystal clear. “I promise, if I were pregnant, I would know.” She was genuinely irritated, after nearly dying, this was what she had to deal with?Fatima
She silently tried to calm herself, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She couldn’t die, not with children who needed her. Once you have kids, you start taking extra care of yourself; otherwise, with everything that had happened lately, Fatima might have put the bullet in her own forehead long ago.“46, 45, 44, 43…” Isabella began counting backward. “Remember, once you choose one, if I catch you with another, I’ll shoot you, no questions asked.”“Isabella, this is—”“42, 41…” She kept going.Fatima found the whole thing absurd, but more than that, she genuinely didn’t know what she’d choose even if forced.Nicholas was the father of her children, she couldn’t just cut him off. Ian… not only had circumstances forced her into his orbit, but he dared her to be her truest, rawest self, and she liked that version of her.Raphael? There was no choice there; she wanted him as far away as possible. And Ryan? Again, someone she wanted in her life, no choice about it, they were like cousins.A
The funny thing was, if the children actually lost him, it would be her fault. She would be the reason they grew up without a father. Without a second thought, she helped him up.“The kids can’t see you like this. You’re better than this,” she said, leading him toward the guest room. She really didn’t want them to witness him falling apart over another woman.“No, I’m not. I’m not better than this.” Nicholas slurred as Fatima guided him straight to the bathroom. “I am this. This is exactly why you left me. I’m so stupid.”“Okay, that won’t help.”“I know, I think… I don’t know.” He raised his hands helplessly as Fatima helped him remove his shirt. She insisted a shower would sober him up. “I had it all, you know. I had it all.”“Yeah, um… hold on. What exactly got you like this?”“You said you’d come home, but you didn’t. I was expecting you.”“You know I was coming back from my honeymoon. Why would you expect me?” she asked, genuinely confused.“Yeah, right. That. Um… I didn’t realiz
The way Fatima and Ian were ravishing each other, one could tell they were seconds away from doing it right there. Ian was already more than ready, but fortunately, Fatima’s better senses returned. She stopped him just as he reached to pull her panties aside.“It’s inappropriate,” she said, standing up and smoothing her dress down.Ian was so consumed by lust that he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself before he finally pulled his trousers up. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. The way he wanted Fatima, it was as if he’d never had her before. “Shall we?” He offered his hand. She took it, and he led her inside.As they walked, Fatima couldn’t help remembering how she had watched Nicholas and Leslie do the very thing she had almost just done with Ian. For the first time, she truly understood how crazy love could be. Yep, it was official: she loved Ian. Not madly, she could still think clearly and do the right thing, but yes, she had fallen for him.“Mr. and Mrs. Kingston,” a wom
Nicholas had thought of everything and was like the man you'd call ‘ready to get lucky.’The kids were with Mrs. Wilson in Vermont, along with Ryan, who was searching for Madelyn. Nicholas had let them go because he just wanted to make tonight special. Plus, they were bored at home, so it was a win-win.Ryan was losing his mind, combing through America, little did he know that Madelyn wasn't even in the country.Meanwhile, Nicholas kept glancing at his wristwatch and then at the clock. It was almost 6 p.m., and if his mind was still serving him right, Fatima was supposed to have arrived already.But Ian had his own plans with his wife, plans that anyone with a heart would have wished Nicholas knew about, so it could have spared him this embarrassment.“Can I open my eyes now?” Fatima asked for what felt like the hundredth time, but Ian refused. He had asked her to keep her eyes closed ever since they got off the plane.“Almost there,” Ian said as he parked the car. “Okay, stay still.
Nicholas walked back to his seat, running a hand through his hair. He was just about to sit when a call came in. It was his source.“I swear, if it’s bad news, I’m deducting your pay,” he warned as he picked up. This whole situation was humiliating to him, his ex-wife, whom he had barely divorced,
After the strange call with Nicholas earlier, Fatima began to suspect Ian. He was right in front of her, so she confronted him, but Ian denied working with Nicholas and, once again, insisted he had nothing to do with him.“So you’re trying to drive me crazy now?” Fatima questioned, because none of
They had been in one of Ian’s clubs, one that had just opened at the time. It was a boys’ night out, Ian, Nicholas, and Ryan seated at a VIP table, drinks in hand, talking business. Somewhere between contracts and numbers, Nicholas brought up his problem.His mother had made it clear: he needed to
***“Hold on, you’re really going to pretend I’m not here?” Leslie asked for the fifth time, but Nicholas didn’t respond, his eyes still glued to the screen. “I can’t believe you,” she scoffed. “I thought us coming here would mean we’d spend more time together.”“I didn’t invite you on this trip, L







