(Lily’s POV) I had finally decided to go back to work after we moved into our new house. Alphonso and I had decided on a sophisticated apartment complex that needed an ID badge for you to get into the elevator and a code for you to enter the apartment. It also had security at the door and a panic room inside the apartment.Alphonso made sure that we would be safe and that nothing like what happened before could happen again. But between moving in and work, we barely had time to spend together.I had pushed Alphonso's meetings because I wanted us to be able to have time alone while Frank was in daycare.I walked into our bedroom, wearing only one of his button-down shirts.The smell of fresh coffee made him wake up. His eyes flattered open as he saw me standing there with the tray in hand.“Good morning.” I said it in a sultry tone.He smiled at me, “I could get used to waking up like this.”I carefully placed the tray on a coffee table beside the dresser.“I thought we would just spe
(Lily’s POV) We settled at our table in silence, except for the excited chirping of the children.“Thank you for inviting us for dinner.” Oscar broke the silence.I offered him a friendly smile, “Our children seem to like each other; I'm sure we can tolerate each other every now and then.” I joked, but we all knew, deep down, that I wasn't joking.At this point, I was sure they knew we were onto them but were just playing dumb. I didn't have anything to prove my suspicions, so for the time being, it was just a feeling. And I knew better than to go around spewing things I couldn't prove.I turned my attention to Alphonso, just as he turned to look at me.I smiled as I folded my leg, letting it intentionally rub against him. He gave me a small smile as he placed a hand on my lap.I turned to Oscar and Gemma and asked, “How long have you two been together?”Gemma's hand rested on top of Oscar's as she squeezed it. “I don't think I can say that we are together, together.”I held my brea
(Lily’s POV)“How long will you be gone?” I asked as I zipped up his suitcase.Alphonso smirked as he pulled me closer to him, his hands folding me there.“If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you missed me when I was gone.”I shrugged. “Not back then, but we have been having so much fun lately.”He chuckled, “Can’t disagree with that.” He kissed my forehead as he hugged me tightly and said, “This time I'll make sure to call you. No radio silence.”“You better.” I said as he let go of me and grabbed his suitcase.As he rolled it away, he stopped at the door and said, “Maybe next time I'll take you with me.”I gave him a small smile and said, “Maybe.”He smiled as he turned around and walked out.I was dreading having to spend time alone with Michael. He clearly had some so
(Alphonso’s POV)The meeting went smoothly. It turned out I had nothing to worry about.I got back to my hotel room, and I immediately called Lily. If things went well for me, then she was the one I was worried about.She picked up the phone after three rings.“Hey sweetie.”A smile came to my face when I heard her voice. I couldn't explain it, but I had fallen deeper in love with her.“How is my baby?” I asked as I loosened the tie.“Frank or me?” She joked.I smiled and said, “Both.”I was considering divorcing her before, but now I was madly in love with her, and I would do anything to make sure she was okay.“Well, Frank is in bed, and I am relaxing in the bath.”“I would have loved to join you.”“If you did, we would not be relaxing.”I was about to reply when there was a knock on my
(Lily’s POV)While Alphonso was deep in conversation with the old birthday boy, I offered to get them drinks.“How about a refill?” I asked with a smile.They smiled at me as they handed me their glasses with the name of what they were having.I dropped the glasses at a nearby table and went in the direction where I saw Chris drag Lola.“What are you doing here?” I asked as I entered the empty room, with the exception of Chris and Lola.Lola smirked, “I told you, I want my life back.”“And I told you, you don't get to decide how I live my life.” I replied, “You made this decision for me, and I'm not going to let you take away my chance of making another decision on my own.”“Lily,” Chris muttered breathlessly, as if he were star-struck.I wasn't exactly pleased to see him there either.“You two aren't going to pull
(Alphonso’s POV)I don't know why, but for some reason Gemma's words kept ringing in the back of my head.I was no longer in love with Gemma, but I was wondering whether the basis of my entire relationship leading to marriage with Lily was based on betrayal.My phone rang.I subconsciously answered it without looking at who was calling.“Hey Al,” Gemma’s voice came from the other end.“Hey, what's up?” I didn't bother asking her how she got the number because I knew she was well connected, and would do whatever she wanted.“I wanted to see if maybe I could prove what I said to you about Lily is true.” She stated this confidently.I sighed.I know I should trust my wife, but I found myself saying, “And what would that be?”I could hear the smile on her voice when I agreed to hear her out.“How about we all meet for lunch and you
(Lily's POV)I wasn't mad at Alphonso. He had every right to be suspicious; he was the one getting played, but I needed to know exactly what it was that Gemma had up her sleeve.I got the long-awaited message from Nine, giving me what I needed to know.Gemma was right; the real Lily had sabotaged her undercover mission by revealing her identity to the people she was trying to infiltrate.I was sure Gemma was not going to stop until she got the answer she needed.Alphonso's birthday was in a few days. I had considered throwing him a huge party so we could have a little fun just the two of us later.Hence, I was trying to act mad, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep up the charade.The next morning, Alphonso was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.He saw me and smiled.“I thought I'd make an ‘I’m sorry’ breakfast for you.”I frowned when I saw his bruised hand. “What happened to you?”He looked at his hand and said, “Just an accident.”“It looks like you punched a rock; your
(Lola's POV)I hated my life as a mistress. I expected it to be all fun and games, but it wasn't.Daniel treated me more like a high-end escort. He would come to the apartment he had me living in, expect us to have sex, leave me some money and a gift I didn't ask for, and then just leave.The apartment wasn’t even something he had rented just for me. I kept finding a random earring when I went to look for something under the bed or the couch. He had clearly put some other women in this very apartment.He didn't want me going out, and God forbid he saw me with another man.There was an instance where I needed to get some plumbing fixed. So, I called a plumber, who turned out to be this young, handsome man.“Where is the problem?” He asked when I let him stand by the door a little too long.I never got to meet a lot of men, so the few I did, I would soak them in.It probably made me look weird but I didn’t care.I pointed to the bathroom.“I don