“I gave you a chance once already, Everett. You demanded a divorce. That means you gave up on us, long before I did. Why should I bother trying again? The first attempt proved unproductive. Disregard the emotional pain I endured. Why would I want another round? What guarantee do I have? That I’m not wasting my time again?” Rebecca couldn’t help herself. She needed to protect herself from the previous events their breakup created for her. Rebecca gave so much of herself into their marriage, she’d felt the too actual pain. “It won’t be like that. I promise you. Please listen to me and believe me? “Never again.” Everett’s sincere voice reached Rebecca’s ears. His words echoed with a desperate need. Rebecca knew how much she feared his mood’s influence on his decisions. She couldn’t take another upset like she’d had back then. Another thing he’d not done yet was accept the guilt of following his agent’s promises. He’d decided and done what his agent persuaded him

Everett did as she expected he would. Did he wait with the car while she made it to her appointment? No, of course not. Everett insisted on parking and escorting her into the office. Waiting with her and followed her into the appointment. When the nurse tried to stop him, he glared at her and informed her he had something to report on Rebecca’s condition with her doctor. As her partner, it was his responsibility to tell him. The nurse threw up her hands and stormed off, saying she’d inform the doctor of this irregularity. She didn’t receive a large enough paycheck to strong arm a large man like him. Her constant simpering towards him while they waited was irrelevant. No, of course it did. The nurse’s jealousy was clear when she learned Everett was with Rebecca. They sat in the doctor’s outer office, awaiting him. “Everett, you could have been nice and flirted with her. I wouldn’t have said anything. Your presence in the consu

Everett didn’t care any longer what Rebecca’s complaints were. She needed someone in her life, and he was determined to be that someone. But he still needed at least dinner to process he’d almost become a father, and the mother of that child, dealt with the loss of their child alone rather than tell him. She didn’t seem to think he might have wanted to help her mourn by mourning with her. It was worse than that. She believed he’d pulled away from her before that. He needs to consider it further. Everett wasn’t sure he could face his past intentions right now. But he’d felt so insulted about her belief that he’d accuse her of fabricating the loss of their child to lure him back. Or she tried to cling to him in desperation. She’d put a lot of thought into how he might react. He hated how she believed he’d have nothing but hate for her. Then he remembered how he’d felt nothing but dislike and hatred for her. It came from a photo

“Where are we going?” “I told you. I’m taking you home so I can kiss you.” “You’ve kissed me, and this isn’t the way to my house.” “I’m not done kissing you. My place is closer.” “What? I read your fans were always lurking outside your condo’s main entrance. Security often calls the police to clear them.” “We’re using another door. They’ll never see us. We’ll park underground.” They pulled into an underground garage with heavy security. While security staff parked his car. He whisked her up into his lavish condo. She stood inside the entrance as he took her coat. Rebecca saw the city laid out before her through a wall of windows. “The installers claim the windows have a one-way reflective coating that doubles as a UV protectant and for privacy.” “Oh.” Rebecca didn’t know what she expected, but not this. Hardwood floors gleamed around an appoin

Rebecca left Everett’s condo early in the morning when a few people were present. He wouldn’t allow her to take a cab home, but drove her there himself. Everett insisted on calling her Josalyn, and it would take Rebecca time to adjust to that. She’d stopped thinking of herself as Josalyn. Now they were back to the struggle of their private and public identities. Rebecca would struggle not to call him Jake in public, and he’d hate it when she called him Everett in private. The thing about the different names helped them divide their personal lives from their professional lives. Which was true, but it didn’t make it easier to put into practice. But the intimacy of their names between them. It brought all the wonderful memories back, and she could feel herself caving to his wants. Her mind wanting to be happy again and knowing until they’d started acting, they’d found happiness with each other.The studio requested Yuri to escort Rebecca to a trendy restaurant post-work. A re