ALEXA“Noelle, this is supposed to be a business meeting and not a date,” I complained to Noelle as she beautified me.Noelle knew that I wasn’t interested in meeting anyone romantically as I vehemently turned down her intentions. She eventually gave up and talked about meeting him and pitching my business to him, which was why I was right here, allowing myself to get dressed for the meeting.However, Noelle was doing too much.She had insisted that I wore an alluring dress and went through the hassle of looking dazzling.“I am not going to sell myself to him to date me,” I added as Noelle lined my eyes with mascara for the third time in seconds.“This is one of the richest men in town, Alexa. Now that he is back in town, he would be needing a good stylist, and you know what I always say about appearance when pitching your business,” Noelle said.“Somehow, I have a feeling that you are not talking about business alone,” I said and Noelle laughed.“I just want you to have a good time a
ALEXAThe meeting with Donald Shell had gone well enough, and I was happy. Asking to be his friend wasn’t a big deal. Also, he was cordial and reserved all through.Donald Shell had this air of authority around him. It was almost as though I was speaking with a man who was flawless.“I only went away to start another branch somewhere else. Now that I have established it, I decided to come back and continue right from where I stopped,” Donald had answered after I asked him why he had left.The discomfort I saw in his eyes was forgotten. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it, and so I simply believed his response. The rest of the meeting had gone well, and as I got to the front door of the apartment that Noelle and I now shared, I had a smile on my face.And I had Noelle to thank for it, even though she had been expecting me to go out and return with news of me and Donald getting into a relationship. I shook my head at Noelle even though she wasn’t present. She was always full of roman
IVY“How the heck did this happen?” Clara asked worriedly.“I think we should get her to a hospital,” Mr. Silver suggested.“No, not yet,” Clara declined. “Why not, Clara? She is badly injured and bleeding from her forehead, and I am certain that she has lost a lot of blood,” Mr. Silver insisted.“Not yet, honey,” Clara said. “Why don’t you call your doctor to come in and take a look at her first?” Clara suggested.“He is not going to get here in nothing less than thirty minutes, Clara, and that is if he is not tied down at the hospital. Are you saying that we should let her continue bleeding and putting her life at risk simply because you want home service when we could easily take her down there right now?” Mr. Silver asked.“I bet if it was Alexa you wouldn’t be talking about time and your doctor’s schedule,” Clara fired, consciously ignoring the other things he said.Mr. Silver’s mood took a nosedive instantly.“Ivy treats you as though you are her biological father, and instead
ALEXAThe phone screen burned into my eyes, the moans filling the quiet room like a sick joke. “Oh yes, harder, Mark, please fuck me harder!” My stomach twisted as I watched my husband thrust into another woman, her voice shamelessly calling out his name. The same name I had whispered in the dark when he was unconscious in that hospital bed, clinging to life. The name I had prayed over when I fought to bring him back. And this was my reward? This betrayal—on the night of our fifth anniversary? On my birthday? My fingers trembled as I gripped the phone tighter. A notification popped up, a fresh slap to my face. "Do you like the birthday gift I sent you, dear sis?" I didn’t need to check the sender. I could already see Ivy’s smug face in my mind, could hear the gloating in her voice. "See? Just a flick of my finger and he comes running back. Don’t think your pathetic care ever mattered. To Mark, you’re just a poor nanny." A poor nanny. A mocking smile curled my lips. Tha
ALEXAMark halted mid-step, his broad shoulders tense as he turned to face me. His blue eyes, so sharp and cold, narrowed dangerously as they fixed on my smaller frame. “Excuse me?” His voice was low, quiet, but there was an unmistakable warning in it. I refused to back down. My heart was pounding, but I kept my chin high, my voice steady. “Let’s get a divorce,” I repeated, staring straight at him. For a moment, he just looked at me. Then, a slow scoff left his lips, his expression twisting into something between amusement and disbelief. “Is this your attempt to get back at me?” he asked, tilting his head slightly. His gaze shifted toward the dining table, where the untouched meal sat—an entire evening’s worth of effort wasted. Then, just as quickly, he looked back at me. “Because what?” His voice dripped with condescension. “I didn’t spend your birthday with you? Or is it the anniversary?” There was no remorse, not even a sliver of guilt in his tone, and that hurt mor
MARKThe next morning, as I stepped out of my room, ready for work, I noticed something—something was off. The house felt… empty. Too empty. “Good morning, Mr. Ronaldo,” Jennifer, the housekeeper, greeted as she approached with a cup of coffee. Alexa had sent her away last night for our "special occasion," yet here she was, back in her usual routine. “Your morning coffee, sir.” I took the cup and sipped. The taste was familiar, just the way Alexa always made it when I had a long, exhausting day. Was this her way of asking for an apology? If it was, it wasn’t enough. No one had ever dared to raise their hand against me before. If she wanted forgiveness, she should have the decency to say it to my face. I handed the cup back to Jennifer and glanced around. “Where’s Alexa?” Jennifer flinched at my question. My eyes narrowed. “I asked you a question.” She hesitated before blurting out in a rush, “I apologize, sir, but earlier this morning, the madam packed her bags and l
ALEXAAfter a few hours at the boutique and salon, I barely recognized myself. My hair, once dull and lifeless, was now a vibrant shade of red with golden streaks running through the ends. My nails were perfectly polished, my skin glowed, and the red, figure-hugging dress I wore left little room for self-doubt. It clung to my curves, accentuating everything Mark had once ignored. I looked good—better than I had in years. But as I stared at my reflection, a strange feeling crept over me. Regret. Not for leaving him. But for wasting so much time waiting for love that was never meant for me. For hoping, praying, and breaking myself just to earn scraps of affection from a man who never truly saw me. That ended today. "Well?" Noelle’s voice broke through my thoughts. She stood behind me, arms crossed, watching my reaction closely. "What do you think?" I turned to her, a slow smile spreading across my lips. "I feel…" I paused, then let out a breath. "Like me." Noelle grinn
ALEXA“Let go of her, right now!”That was Noelle’s voice, and it was what brought me back to reality. Everyone present at the club was now looking at us, and Mark’s hand still held onto my wrist possessively…and painfully.“Let her go, Mark,” Noelle ordered again when it seemed as though Mark was deaf to her orders.“Stay out of this,” Mark eventually said, glaring at Noelle. His voice was throaty and husky, and I wondered if it was as a result of what happened between the two of us; if he felt it too, or if it was as a result of his anger.“Why should I?” Noelle asked, facing Mark fearlessly and boldly.She had never liked him, and knowing Noelle the way I did, I knew that she would definitely use this opportunity to get at Mark for what he made me go through. She hardly ever saw him, because she could not stand his presence.“Last time I checked, she was your ex-wife, Mark,” Noelle added.Mark smirked. “You are mistaken, Noelle,” he simply said, leaving Noelle’s eyes to budge out i
IVY“How the heck did this happen?” Clara asked worriedly.“I think we should get her to a hospital,” Mr. Silver suggested.“No, not yet,” Clara declined. “Why not, Clara? She is badly injured and bleeding from her forehead, and I am certain that she has lost a lot of blood,” Mr. Silver insisted.“Not yet, honey,” Clara said. “Why don’t you call your doctor to come in and take a look at her first?” Clara suggested.“He is not going to get here in nothing less than thirty minutes, Clara, and that is if he is not tied down at the hospital. Are you saying that we should let her continue bleeding and putting her life at risk simply because you want home service when we could easily take her down there right now?” Mr. Silver asked.“I bet if it was Alexa you wouldn’t be talking about time and your doctor’s schedule,” Clara fired, consciously ignoring the other things he said.Mr. Silver’s mood took a nosedive instantly.“Ivy treats you as though you are her biological father, and instead
ALEXAThe meeting with Donald Shell had gone well enough, and I was happy. Asking to be his friend wasn’t a big deal. Also, he was cordial and reserved all through.Donald Shell had this air of authority around him. It was almost as though I was speaking with a man who was flawless.“I only went away to start another branch somewhere else. Now that I have established it, I decided to come back and continue right from where I stopped,” Donald had answered after I asked him why he had left.The discomfort I saw in his eyes was forgotten. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it, and so I simply believed his response. The rest of the meeting had gone well, and as I got to the front door of the apartment that Noelle and I now shared, I had a smile on my face.And I had Noelle to thank for it, even though she had been expecting me to go out and return with news of me and Donald getting into a relationship. I shook my head at Noelle even though she wasn’t present. She was always full of roman
ALEXA“Noelle, this is supposed to be a business meeting and not a date,” I complained to Noelle as she beautified me.Noelle knew that I wasn’t interested in meeting anyone romantically as I vehemently turned down her intentions. She eventually gave up and talked about meeting him and pitching my business to him, which was why I was right here, allowing myself to get dressed for the meeting.However, Noelle was doing too much.She had insisted that I wore an alluring dress and went through the hassle of looking dazzling.“I am not going to sell myself to him to date me,” I added as Noelle lined my eyes with mascara for the third time in seconds.“This is one of the richest men in town, Alexa. Now that he is back in town, he would be needing a good stylist, and you know what I always say about appearance when pitching your business,” Noelle said.“Somehow, I have a feeling that you are not talking about business alone,” I said and Noelle laughed.“I just want you to have a good time a
MARKI arrived at work and immediately sent for Mr. Devon. There were things that needed to be sorted out and I wanted to get right to it.“You sent for me,” Mr. Devon said as he walked into my office a few minutes later.“And it’s a good thing that you are here early,” I told him. “Please sit.”Mr. Devon took his seat.“You look really troubled, Mark. Did something wrong happen?” Mr. Devon asked.Usually, I would have kept this to myself, especially knowing that it was not out in the public yet, but then again, the video that Ivy showed me had been on my mind. I barely slept a wink last night, and I was still restless.Seeing the video had left me speechless, because I had no idea how that video came about. Since the accident, I had had trouble getting it up, but then in the video, I was having sex with another woman. It was strange.And confusing.“How discreet can you be?” I asked Mr. Devon.He looked at me with surprise. “I am surprised at your question, Mark. I have always had yo
ALEXAI patiently waited for Noelle to return to the apartment that we now shared together. I just wanted someone that I could talk to, and there was no one else that I wanted except my best friend.Things had spiraled out of control in the blink of an eye.In less than forty-eight hours, a lot of things had been revealed and changed. First of all, the threat that came from Clara and Ivy again, and secondly, Mark trying to get back with me. I wasn’t dumb, I knew that that was why he came to my store.Thinking about it put me in a rollercoaster of emotions.I was angry, because after everything I had sacrificed for Mark, he never thought that I loved him until he had to hear it from Ivy. If Ivy hadn’t made that revelation which I was certain that she regretted, otherwise they wouldn’t have come to my store trying to keep me away from Mark, Mark would never have wanted me.Then I also had the tiny feeling of regret.If all of these had happened without Ivy and her mother in the picture,
IVY“How did it go?” Clara asked.I understood her eagerness and dragging me right into her bedroom to question me as soon as I arrived from Mark’s house, because I had almost the same feeling right before I went.“Tell me, Ivy, how did it go?” She pushed eagerly.“I think Mark fell for it,” I answered.Well, he was pretty speechless after I showed him the video. I knew that he would have loved to deny it, but then again, it was a glaring truth he could not deny, and so he had been silent and quiet, and not wanting to make it stale, I had walked out.“You think?” Clara asked, her eyebrows furrowing. “Ivy, that wasn’t the answer I expected from you,” she added.“We didn’t come to a conclusion,” I told her. “Did he kick you out of the house?” Clara asked worriedly.“Of course he didn’t, because he wouldn’t dare,” I said with a smile.My mother was always right about everything! After using the video to get what we wanted months ago, I had wanted to delete it completely from my phone be
MARKThere was nothing that I could have said that would have changed Alexa’s mind. The resolve in her eyes had been firm.There was nothing else I could have done than to walk away with the last dignity that I had.Leaving didn’t mean that I would stop trying. Everything just happened, so I tried to understand that Alexa was still dealing with the emotions of her secret being revealed. All I needed to do was to give her enough time, and also impress her.“She cannot continue to turn me down when she eventually sees how important I am to her business,” I said to myself.Alexa was a businesswoman now, and surely, she would come to understand the power of influence and power over businesses sooner than later.As I drove back home, I began to think of ways to step in as her savior. I wasn’t a man who chased after women, but right now, the only thing I could think of doing was chasing Alexa Silver and wooing her all over again. Something shifted in me the moment Ivy made that huge reveal,
MARKEverything that had happened in the last couple of hours continued to plague my thoughts. Ivy had lied to me, and I had been stupid enough to let the one woman who stood with me and nurtured me back to health instead.I really wished now that I could turn back the hands of time. I would have stopped that divorce by every means possible. Now it dawned on me why I could only get aroused by Alexa Silver. It was like that with her because she was the only one my body was connected to when it was shut down in coma. Everyone around me had lied. They all knew, yet they had allowed me to live in lies for years! Doctor Jones knew; maybe he should be the one to get arrested first. Vector, the one person I thought was my best friend also knew, but he decided to take Ivy’s side. All along, I had thought that he had a fond likeness for Alexa, which was why all the years that we were married, he never had any ill thing to say about her. Yet, he had also lied to me.Ivy’s deception had been t
ALEXAReturning to my office seemed like a horrible idea, because I could not stop being agitated. Fortunately, my assistant didn’t have any more bad news for me, so I simply asked her to change the door sign to close and close for the day.He knows now; what next is going to happen?Or maybe I might be the one over-thinking things or overreacting. Mark had never cared about me, not even after I nursed him back to good health and stayed by his side for years. No, he never cared. Most men would have already known that I was hopelessly in love with him by then, but Mark Ronaldo, because he was still in love with Ivy, was too blind to see.Why else would I accept to marry him in the blink of an eye? Why would I still stay even after Ivy returned and tried to get him back? Even if I had taken care of him when he was in coma, I should have left the moment he woke up, but I didn’t. It had been for devotion, but every other sacrifice I had made wasn’t.It was for love.I continued to pace ab