The following day, even though Maxwell woke up feeling much better, he didn't repeat the mistake of giving in to the kids' demands once again. Infact when Paolo looked at him while they were all having breakfast at the dining table and excitedly chirped, "Uncle Max, yesterday's pony ride was so boring! It was a bit fun at the beginning but then I eventually got bored. I just kept on going just because of you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings since you seemed so eager to do it. Anyway, I know what we can do today that is really fun! How about we do the pony rides outside on the gravels? It will be just like real horse-riding in the open fields! I love ponies and since I don't have one, that will be the best replacement."Maxwell nearly spilled out the food in his mouth due to both shock and horror. Pony rides on the gravel? He wants him to go on all fours, with both hands and two knees galloping around on the bare fields with gravel, stones, grass and goodness knows what else

About two weeks after their return from Spain, Angelina was in the garden with Honey perched on the concrete chair beside her when Elliot, one of the burly security guards came to her, bearing a large bouquet of flowers and a dessert box in his hands. Like she usually does to all their workers, she didn't wait for him to greet her as she cheerily greeted him first. "Good morning Eli! For you to have left your post, this morning must be a very special one indeed!" Elliot removed his dark glasses and bowed his head respectfully. He's the no-nonsense chief security guard and a man of very few words. All that matters to him is his duty. "Good morning Angelina ma'am. This is a special delivery for Sir."The smile on Angelina's face instantly vanished. Special delivery for Sir? Flowers and desserts? For Maxwell? Her husband?Just as that thought came to her mind, another tiny voice in her mind reminded her, 'Contract husband. Remember, he's just your contract husband Angie!'

Trigger Warning: The chapter you're about to read contains talks that might be considered a trigger to some people. There will be no explicit description at all, just few vague narrations of the abuse the male lead went through. So please be warned. Thank you. "He married her when I was four and a half and from the first day that she came into our lives, she started…touching me."Angelina gasped out loud while her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in horror. Touching him? A four year old?! Never, never in her most wildest imaginations had she thought that was what he meant when he described Janette as a devil. She had heard of pedophiles but she had always thought that they existed only in make-believe stories and not in reality. Never in reality! "At first, it was just with her hands, then with time, she used her mouth as well. She always threatened me with a knife, pledging to slit my throat and that of my Nanna's if I dared to tell anyone. And I never did because I

Maxwell sharply turned to look at her. Although he wasn't really sure about his mother's case, what Angelina said made sense. A lot of sense infact. He had hastily passed judgement on Angelina and up till now, he's still regretting that. The woman he had written off as a two-timing, deceptive, phony and scheming she-devil had actually turned out to be the sweetest, kindest, funniest and most pure-hearted angel he had ever come across. So yes, what she just said made a great deal of sense indeed! Hasty judgements mostly lead to regrets.Angelina's melodic voice stole into his thoughts. "I'm still confused about one thing though. You mentioned earlier that you banned both of your parents from interfering with your life. But in your story, it was your father who…erm, sent you away."Maxwell scoffed. "Yeah, when the love of his life came back into his life, the duke thought that he could have it all. I guess he thought that her return into his life automatically meant that ev

Since the reservation that Isabella made was for eight pm at night, by seven fifteen pm, Angelina was all decked up and ready to go. However, she kept twirling around in front of the mirror, feeling quite uncomfortable and self-conscious in the dress Isabella had bought specifically for this night.Wasn't a white dress supposed to signify purity, virtuousness and chastity? But her own white dress signified the direct opposite! With the way the low cut v-neck exposed almost half of her cleavage and the way the bodycon dress hugged her curvaceous body in all the right places, she looked like a siren set out to seduce all the men she comes across!That was Angelina's thought as she kept turning from this way to the other in front of the mirror, assessing her looks. She had always been aware that she had an attractive feminine figure ever since she was a teenager which was why she had mostly disguised as a boy at that time due to the lecherous slum guys who find it hard to keep their hand