C H A P T E R  5 9  :  S L O W L Y  E V E R Y T H I N G  C O M E S  D O W N  T O  T H I S E L L A  S T A N F O R D Damon had come over and helped her do her hair and makeup. It appeared that he somehow managed to do better than she ever would. “Good luck, Ella Mia Bella,” he said as his arms enveloped her into an embrace. “And if you see that monstrous bitch at the party, would you accidentally not so accidentally dump your drink on top of her head pretty please?” He clasped both hands in the front of his chest and gave her a puppy look. Ella laughed, shaking her head seeing her best friend. “It would not be an accident if I dump it on her head, you know.” “Well, she is shorter than you but you can always aim for her back seeing that she stabbed you on the back.” Damon folded his arms and fro

  B O N U S  C H A P T E R  1  :  A F T E R  T H E  H A P P I L Y  E V E R  A F T E R  E L L A  S T A N F O R D Ella dropped her bag on the desk then dragged the chair towards her before slumping down on it and heavily sighed. All morning, she had been troubled by the paparazzi. They camped in front of the building where she lived, and some even went up the fire escape stairs that were mounted to the outside of the building. She could no longer sit on her balcony without getting photographed and bombarded with questions. Honestly, people did not respect others’ privacy sometimes. She had called the building manager and some of the security could shoo those people away from the fire escape stairs but they were still crowding the front door. This had been happening since last week when Javier had proposed to her in front of all of her colleagues, his family, and

B O N U S  C H A P T E R  3 :  W I N D  B E F O R E  T H E  S T O R M J A V I E R  S U M M E R S Javier walked towards one of the convenience stores at the side of the road and entered as the glass doors of Seven Eleven slid open. He went straight to the line of display refrigerators at the back of the store and opened the glass door to pick up a carton of milk then headed to the cashier. He was checking his phone while waiting in the line when someone called him from behind. Upon turning, he realized that it was none other than Maria Gonzales, the secretary he had once fired for threatening Ella and causing ruckus surrounding his relationship with Ella. “Well, hello, Javier. How has life been treating you?” Maria tossed her hair to one side and combed it using her free hand while her other hand was carrying her purse. Her nails were long and paint

B O N U S  C H A P T E R  5  :  T H E  M O S T  A N T I C I P A T E D  F A M I L Y  R E U N I O N J A V I E R  S U M M E R S “I can confirm that it is indeed you. When Javier called me an hour ago informing me about his encounter with Maria and that you might be the person behind Phoenix Orientem Plc, I did not believe him so I came here just to see it for myself.” Thornton gestured to everyone in the room. “If you all excuse us. Please leave the meeting room as we would delay this meeting for an hour for some family chit chat.” He turned his gaze back to Draven and narrowed his eyes. “Do get acquainted with each other while you wait. After all, we all are going to work together.” When nobody moved a muscle as they were all too engrossed in seeing the interaction between three brothers, Thornton barked his order again. “Out. Now.”

B O N U S  C H A P T E R  7  :  C R A C K  I N  T H E  F A M I L Y  J A V I E R  S U M M E R S Ella had just put down the receiver back on its place when Javier entered her office and said, “I am sorry.”  With confusion written on her face, she asked him in return, “What for?” “For the family drama you have to bear witness,” answered Javier. He looked embarrassed that she had to see the interaction between him and his brothers. He knew he should not feel this way but he could not help himself sometimes.  Ella gave him a reassuring smile. “I am pretty sure if my family is not just me and my mom, you will have to bear my family’s drama too. Actually, if you wish to, I can call my vexing aunt and we could have the drama. She hates me and my mom. Just let me know if you want to and I can have it