(Lily's POV)I had to do a lot of physical therapy when I left the hospital. Alphonso incorporated a few self-defense classes in there as it dawned on him that, as much as he wanted to always protect me, he wouldn't be able to do it all the time as he wouldn't be around me all the time, thus empowering me.I was sweaty when I got back to the hotel; we were still trying to find a house, Alphonso and I, and sometimes Gemma would join us. I would see how Alphonso would glare at her, much to her satisfaction, but he wouldn't do anything about it. We needed to keep up with the appearances.“I like how hot you look when you are sweaty like that.” Alphonso commented when I stepped into the bedroom.I chuckled. “Of course you would.” I replied by winking at him.“Okay, I'm joining you in the shower.” He said as he took off his shirt as he was getting ready for work.He had pulled me in for a kiss when there was a knock on the door.“Let's just ignore it.” He said as he trapped me close to hi

(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) “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

(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

(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