Cherry Blossom X Joe Novels & Stories

She kept thanking me over and over, but I just smiled. At the counter, I swiped the black card Lucas had given me the day before. The cashier’s polite smile faltered when she saw the card — the kind only billionaires owned. I felt a strange sense of power at that moment, one I hadn’t felt in a long time. From there, we went to a spa and makeover studio. I let them handle everything — a full-body massage, facial treatments, even my hair. My dark locks were styled into soft curls with short bangs that framed my face perfectly.

"Be with you in a minute, kiddo." Lucas and I took a seat in the chairs by the door. The leather coated cushion sank with a whiff of air as I parked my bottom on it. I watched Joe finish the butterfly on the woman's back with his tongue curled out as he focused. His tattooed muscles contracted as he finished the fine details. When he was done, he bandaged her, and left her to check herself out. He made his way towards me with his usual serious expression. "What can I do for you, Cherry Bomb?"

I'm Cherry, by the way," she opened her bag, taking out a camera and several lenses, starting to set it up without taking her eyes off both of us. " I'm Rose and I have someone who always reminds me of that." I sighed, looking away. Why can't I stop missing him? After my conversation with Josh the anger I was feeling started to subside a bit, seeing things from his point of view I had to admit that I needed to talk to Christian more than ever. " 'I hope you talk to him for once,' Josh commented as Cherry positioned herself to take the first photo. " Him? " she looked at the first picture " it's official, I'm going to take hundreds of pictures of you.”

“What about you? Did you see it yesterday morning when you came in?” Ned put down his cup of coffee and thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it,” he murmured. “It’s the cherry blossom on St. Joseph Island? The one you started a year ago before…” Sakura nodded. “No, I don’t remember. I thought you were just going to let it sit rotting in the attic.”

Amid the teasing, Vera blushed and began counting on her fingers. "First, he has to love me deeply. Deep enough to tattoo my name over his heart. "Second, he has to be brave. I heard that on Moonwatch Cliff, there is a briar rose bush. He must pick a stalk for me. "Third—" Before she could finish, the doors of the hall were suddenly pushed open. "Mr. Wren sends his regards and presents these gifts in honor of Miss Vera’s birthday. May she be well and happy."

My moonfire wraps around his tether like vines around a branch. He anchors us. Not as a god. Not as a sacrifice. But as our chosen. Ares. My mate. Clara’s mate. Her mate. He whispers through the bond: Come back to me. The spark responds first. A pulse. Then my own answer. Then Clara’s. We breathe as one. That’s when I finally feel it: Her name. Not spoken felt. A divine echo etched in our merging hearts. Claria. The moment the name settles, my sense of identity shifts.

Everyone knew Claude was supposed to spend our anniversary with me tonight, but he chose to leave me alone to be with Mabel. I took out my phone and sent him one last message. "The surprise I have for you is ready." Then, I called a car to the airport. Before boarding, I turned off my phone and placed it inside the gift box that was supposed to be my anniversary surprise. I had someone return it to Claude. It was the red ribbon he had picked out for me himself. Now, I tied it to a farewell gift. That night, fireworks for our anniversary lit up the sky above Wildrose Estate.

He was holding a boy that looked just like a splitting image of himself as a child! The woman shielded the boy behind her and shot an adamant look at Cassiopeia. "Mrs. Cadell, I promise that I will be Liam’s only parent. I will never try to take Cadell Corporation from you or your daughter." An uncharacteristic tinge of panic flashed across Lucas’s face as he went up to embrace Cassiopeia and offer an explanation. "Cassie, this is Freya Moore. I slept with her when I was drugged five years ago."

She was also the one who sent him the bunny officer video on the tablet. Her name was Jessica Cooper, a fresh university graduate—truly undeniably attractive and tempting. When she first joined the company, Benjamin had even joked that she reminded him of me when I was just starting out. I had her WhatsApp account, and I clicked on her status updates. The very first story was a selfie of her bunny officer costume, with a small mosaic carefully placed over her private parts. Her caption read, "Bunny officer has captured Mr. Benny's heart today." Benjamin's like on that story felt like a stab to my heart. He had openly commented, "Of course, Mr. Benny's heart belongs to the bunny officer."

Before she had the chance to speak, the bells chimed and in came a customer. Joy's features immediately eased and Logan watched a smile stretching across her lips, which oddly calmed him. The customer perused through the flowers and finally bought blue hydrangeas while Logan and Joy stood in silence. As the customer paid, Joy accidentally dropped a coin and both her and Logan stooped down to pick it up. "I don't have a place in mind, but we can figure it out. God would never give you anything that you can't handle," Joy whispered and Logan glanced at her almost surreptitiously, they were standing too close.