November passed by in a blur and just like that, it was the festive month already. By the middle of the month, an excited Angelina suggested to Isabella that they should go for christmas shopping, making the teenager's eyes widen as large as saucers. She had never been to a mall or supermarket or anywhere else for shopping or whatsoever in her life.Though she does her own shopping, choosing the type of clothes she wants, shoes, cosmetics, snacks and other cravings— just everything she wanted but it was all online. Right from childhood, Maxwell sits down with her in front of the laptop, browsing through Amazon, eBay and other different shopping platforms, allowing her to choose whatever she wanted and he buys them for her. The mansion was like her whole world. It's within its four walls that she had lived her entire life and the only few times she had stepped out of it was when either Angelina or Nanna insisted on an outing, just like the unforgettable trip to the resort they once ha
By the time they reached the top-notch, renowned hospital, true to his words, Maxwell was already waiting with two nurses holding a stretcher at the entrance. Before Gregory could even get to park the car properly, Maxwell had burst the car door open and pulled Isabella out of the car.He wasted no time in laying her down on the stretcher and didn't wait for the nurses as he himself wheeled her straight to the emergency room, where the doctors were already waiting for her, with a tearful Angelina in tow, anxiously pushing the stretcher from her side.As the doctors sent them out and locked the door behind them, the couple helplessly waited in the hallway, right outside the emergency room. While Maxwell just stood with his back against the wall, so still and emotionless like a statue, Angelina kept restlessly pacing up and down, crying profusely. She wasn't really a prayerful person but desperate times call for desperate measures and so after pacing for the umpteenth time, she bent dow
The next day, Isabella was discharged from the hospital as she was now hale and hearty. And following Dr. Ipkins' advice, both Angelina and Maxwell avoided broaching any sensitive topic that could be a potential trigger to her.From that day onwards, nobody ever spoke about the unfortunate encounter with the blonde woman at all. Instead, they pretended as if nothing happened and went on with their normal lives. Knowing Isabella and how sensitive she was, Angelina decided it was best to treat her as they normally did and not cosset and pamper her more or treat her like a weakling just because of her ailment. She believes that doing that would make the teenager become insecure and hence, retreat back into her shell and revert back to the hysterical girl she had once been. Following her lead, Maxwell also treated Isabella in the same way he has been doing ever since Angelina came into their lives. And that really helped a great deal because at first, Isabella was apprehensive, thinking
It was Christmas day and upon Angelina's insistence, they all went to a nearby church for service before returning to the mansion for the lavish feast she and Isabella had prepared for everyone as Alejandro had travelled to his home country. Since Nanna couldn't make it, their only guest for the celebration was Ethan. Angelina had wanted to invite Alicia and Jeremy as well but the couple already had plans to spend Christmas with the Logans.After finishing the scrumptious brunch and clearing the dishes, Ethan and Maxwell excused themselves, leaving the ladies busy taking selfies on their cell phones. They were both clad in the beautiful matching dresses they bought specifically for the Christmas celebration. It was Isabella's idea for them 'to twine together as mother and daughter' and so they bought the same mauve colored dresses and both of them looked divine in it.After a while, Isabella excused herself and when she returned, she signalled Angelina to follow her. Curious, Angelina
As she uttered that revered name, the thoughts of the last time she had seen him crossed her mind, which also happened to be the most embarrassing moment of her entire life. It was at the time that she got her very first period and the incident that had occurred then— she can never forget that. And just like she does everytime she recalls the embarrassing incident— just like on that fateful day that Isabella got her first period, she blushed profusely. However, seeing her blush, Ethan misunderstood the reason behind it. "Ah! I can see that this Nick or was it Cage, must be really special indeed. Just a mere mention of his name and you're as red as a beetroot! But why do you call him Cage? Is that his middle name?"With that same wistful smile on her reddened face, Angelina slowly shook her head before replying in a longing tone. "No. It's just my alias for him. He calls…used to call me 'Jolie' after the famous actress Angelina Jolie and so I called him 'Cage' after the
Maxwell was having another rough day at work. It was the day after Angelina's birthday and though it was Boxing day, he didn't stay behind to unwrap the Christmas gifts as he complained of work overload. However, upon reaching the company, trying as hard as he may, he just couldn't concentrate on his work at all. He just found himself thinking, should he? Should he make that leap of faith?These past few days, he has been seeing different sides of Angelina. Different sides that make her all the more attractive and totally irresistible to him.It was as if she was a woman covered in many layers and as gradually each one of them is uncovered, he gets to see a glimpse of the real woman hidden deep inside. He found himself pondering whether he indeed had been too hasty in passing a judgement over her. Because he found it hard to believe that someone who could do all that she has been doing for not just him and Isabella but everyone else she comes in contact with, can truly be just preten
By the time Angelina returned home from delivering both Alicia and Jeremy's Christmas gifts, it was already late in the afternoon and so she headed straight to the kitchen to prepare a late lunch.Once everything was done, she packed some lunch for Maxwell as usual but as she called Gregory in order to come and take it to him at the office, he told her that the boss wasn't at the company and had given him the day off as well. Finding that strange as he had earlier mentioned that he had a lot of work to do at the office, she tried all his numbers but to no avail as he wasn't responding.With an uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach, she called Isabella who has been sleeping all this while. They then took their lunch together even though the uneasiness didn't allow Angelina to eat sufficiently. After clearing the dishes, she made her way upstairs in order to freshen up.However, upon reaching the second floor, a thought suddenly came to her mind. What if he's actually in his study, d
Angelina stopped dead in her tracks. And with her hand still on the door knob, she turned her head to look at the teary-eyed Isabella who then closed the distance between them by running to her and hugging her tightly from behind. "D--don't go, M--Maa--ma! P-lease!"Overwhelmed with both the negative feelings Maxwell evoked in her and the joy of hearing Isabella calling her 'Maama' as well as speaking a full though short sentence for the very first time, Angelina broke into emotion-laden sobs as she turned around in Isabella's arms and wrapped her arms around her as well. Even though this came at the most inopportune time, she was quite happy and relieved that it had finally happened.After that incident that led to Isabella having a cardiac arrest, according to Lucy, she kept having recurrent nightmares. And sometimes during the daytime, she would just isolate herself, sitting quietly in one corner, lost in her own gloomy world. The wheels in Angelina's head had begun turning