All Chapters of HIS PAST: HIS BRIDE: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Settling in hasn’t really been a bad thing and aside from Mr. Darius, everything here has been smooth. The workspace is comfortable, the system is structured, and I am learning fast, adjusting even faster, and surprisingly, I am loving it.Being a mother while building a career, though, is a different kind of balancing act. Some days I have to work overtime, and on those days, the guilt creeps in quietly. I miss bedtime stories. I miss the small conversations that happen after dinner between me and mum but if there’s one thing I can tell you for free, it’s that Tabitha does not give me any preferential treatment and that was exactly what I asked for.I didn’t want to be seen as “the single mother she took pity on.” I wanted to earn my place.“Go to my office and pick up the Berd and Ben proposal and have it mailed in an hour’s time,” she says over the intercom before ending the call abruptly.That’s how it has been for the past two weeks since I started, direct instructions and no sma

I try not to smile too much as he opens the passenger door for me.“Thank you,” I say again, softer this time as I settled into the seat.He gives a small nod, closing the door before walking around to the driver’s side. Even that closing the door carefully instead of slamming itAs we pull out of the driveway, the quiet between us wasn’t uncomfortable, the city lights shimmered against the dark sky, and the cool evening breeze slipped in through the slightly open window.“You nervous?” he asks after a few minutes, his eyes still on the road.“Should I be?” I counterA faint smirk tugs at his lips. “No.”“Then I’m fine.”He glances at me briefly. “You don’t look fine.”I laugh softly. “It’s just dinner, Cole.”“Yeah,” he says, voice low. “Just dinner.”But somehow it didn’t feel like just dinner.When we arrive, my breath caught.The restaurant stand tall and elegant, its glass exterior reflecting the golden lights that framed the entrance, avalet immediately approached the car, and C

“If it’s fine with you, can we go on a date together next Saturday with the kids?” Cole asks, and the question completely catches me off guard.For a moment, I just stare at him.A date… with the kids?“I—I don’t know how to respond to that right now,” I finally say, trying to steady my voice. “But I’ll think about it and get back to you.”He nods, no sign of disappointment written on his face. “Alright then. I’ll leave you to get back to work.”He steps away, giving me space and as I watch him walk away, hands tucked casually into his pockets, I find myself whispering a silent prayer.I hope my heart has space for another man.Because he is so good to me.Friday comes faster than I expect, between work, deadlines, and trying to learn the ropes properly, the week blurs into one long stretch of exhaustion and responsibility and before I know it, I am shutting down my system, grabbing my bag, and walking out the office doors after closing hours.Tomorrow is the picnic.Our first outing

I don’t know how the week runs out and next week is already here.One minute I am trying to survive Monday, and the next I am staring at Thursday like it snuck up on me, the days blur into one long stretch of emails, files, signatures, and pretending I am not constantly overthunking the possible outcome of running into Derek Addams, my ex husband or even his bitch baby mama or even Victor, my ex boyfriend, I really wanted to leave that life behind and move on but..I check my phone. Lunch break starts in ten minutes.Ten minutes before I can stand up from my confined cubicle space and breathe air that doesn’t smell like printer ink and recycled office tension. I am already excited because lunch break means I get to take a stroll to clear my head and I get to pretend that tomorrow does not exist.Because tomorrow is the trip.And I have prayed to all the gods on earth that it doesn’t happen.Every single one.The God my mother raised me to believe in, the random deities I barely know

The meeting starts at exactly 9 a.m., sharp but by the time I glance at the clock again, it is already 2:30 p.m.Five and a half hours.It runs straight through without mercy, although snacks are available the entire time, mini sandwiches, pastries, coffee, bottled water, people quietly excuse themselves occasionally to relieve themselves or take short calls, but the discussion never truly pauses, the energy in the room remains intense, focused,All through the first session, Mr. CEO is nowhere to be found and I really hope to keep it that way, I know it is childish and I know it is unrealistic, but a part of me silently prays that something else delays him, likesomething urgent, something unavoidable just anything that stops him from coming for the remaining half.Which I know is just delusional thinking but I would rather hope than live in fear of the unknown.The fact that I left my hotel room this morning resolved to face my fears once and for all, only to learn he would not be ar