Lahat ng Kabanata ng Got A Free Husband, His Son Was A Bonus: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

~ DESMOND ~I was scrolling through my mails while Claudia updated me on a few of the arrangements for the upcoming board presentation.Her voice was steady and professional as always, but something about her felt kind of off. There was a stiffness to her tone, an artificial calm that didn’t match the woman who had worked under me for years. She had always been confident, too confident at that but now it was like she was trying to fold herself into the smallest version of herself possible.She had become less casual and less bent on me, like she used to. Maybe she was finally about to respect my marital state at last. Still, there was something else beneath the surface, something uneasy.As I looked up from the screen of my computer, I caught her turning away from my gaze, her face angled sharply toward the window.Her hands kept fidgeting with her pen, her fingers tapping against the plastic over and over, fast and restless. Her eyes were unfocused, her face pale beneath her makeup.

~MELISSA~I had barely taken a step away from the pool when I saw Sarah moving away from the door, her eyes lowered.Then out of nowhere, Patricia appeared.“Patricia…” I called quietly, forcing a welcoming smile.“I thought I’d stop postponing it and come here once and for all.” Her eyes roamed the surroundings, and when they finally settled on me, she sighed. “How are you feeling?”“Oh, I’m fine.” The plaster had only lasted two days on the wounds and no trace was even left behind. “I even went to work today.”“That’s good to know.”“You ah… didn’t have to come all the way down here.”“Oh yes. I was driving back from somewhere when I thought I would just stop by. Because if I didn’t now, I might never be able to come.” As she spoke, her eyes roamed my body. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the swimsuit I had on. There was just something provoked and displeased about her glances.“Then I guess we should… get inside so I can get you something to drink.”“No. I’m quite okay. Where’s

~MELISSA~When I got home, I felt the pressing need to speak to Desmond. I felt scared, and it was as if he was the only one who could comfort me. But his line wasn’t going through.Richard had frightened me. I could still feel the grip of his hands on my arms. The way he acted - he was a monster.I finally lied down and slept it off. When I woke up, I was grateful Desmond hadn’t answered that call, or I would have been embarrassed for not being able to handle this on my own.As I lied on the bench beside the pool, the day’s breeze shifted through my hair while Richard’s words kept echoing in my head. I tried not to think of the last things he said. About wanting me. They were meaningless to me.But what he said about Caleb -about giving the Steeles an heir.Could that really be true?If it was, then was Desmond hiding it from me?Was Adele right all along?“Ma’am,” Sarah called softly from the doorway, looking regretful. “Someone’s waiting for you downstairs.”“Someone? Who?”“Mr. Ri

~MELISSA~Later on at night, I was propped up on my table, my fingers tightening around the proposal document. The words blurred a little, not because I didn't understand them, but because my mind was elsewhere entirely."How dare you, Raymond?" I cursed, renewed anger washing through my nerves.I exhaled slowly, reached for my phone, and dialed Maverick.“Maverick,” I said as soon as he picked up, “reach out to Mysti Arts Corporation. I want a physical meeting with their board on Tuesday.”“Tuesday?” he repeated, surprise in his voice. “That’s short notice.”“I know,” I replied, my tone firm. That's two days away by the way. If they really wanted this, it wouldn't be such a short notice to them. “Just make it happen.”"You got it!"When I hung up, silence fell over the room again. And with it came the noise in my own head - the echo of everything Richard had said. Everything about Caleb, the inheritance, the position of successor… things I never wanted to think about, but now couldn’

~RAYMOND~The walls shook with the hard slamming force of the door and I stormed into the middle of the room yanking my suit jacket off. My fingers clawed at my necktie next, dragging it loose as heat surged up my throat.I felt like a volcano with lava rising and seconds away from eruption. My chest was swollen, tight, as if my ribs were trying to contain something too big, too violent to stay inside.Melissa! Melissa!! Melissa!!!Her name had been pounding inside my skull since the moment I stepped out of that conference hall. It had sat on my tongue throughout the entire ride back home, poisoning the taste of every breath I took.The door behind me burst open again, this time with a lower force compared to mine. I didn’t need to look to know it was Anita, her heels already stabbing the floor with fury as she approached.“Raymond!” she screamed, but I didn’t turn. I didn’t even blink. “Is it until you break all the doors in this house down?”I spun sharply to face her, my teeth cle