“Soo, when are the two of you going to buy the engagement ring?” Keith asked as the three of them sat down to have dinner. Nadia paused the fork midway toward her mouth and Dean who was sitting beside her groaned looking at the sky. “What?” Keith asked his eyes widening, “Did I step into a landmine?” He asked his eyes going from her to Dean. More like pointed out a fatal flaw in their so-called relationship. No ring, who proposes without a ring?! “I know it sounds impossible but I completely forgot about that,” Dean sighed. “Me too…” Nadia added. “Woah. you two are really hopeless workaholics. No wonder you were working even in your chill time. Do you remember the last time either one of you took a vacation just to chill?” Keith asked. “I don’t want to hear that from the one who works three days a week and is a rare sight in his own office,” Dean retorted. “Well, unlike you, I value my time off more than my working hours. And I have enough money to chill and not work too hard

Nadia stared down at the petite woman before her wearing a cutesy dress with frills and a huge ribbon. From what Nadia could see, she was clearly in her mid-twenties or maybe late twenties. An age when a woman could barely get away with dressing this cutely without getting strange looks. But the woman was managing to do so quite marvelously. When Dean mentioned her name, Nadia then realized why he was so uncomfortable. Although she had never met the woman, she had heard about her. This woman had been after him for the last two years doing everything from picking up fights with his current girlfriends to using her family and connections to set up a marriage. So there was no doubt that the woman was considering Nadia as her deadly enemy. But from the angry defensive expression she was making. Nadia wondered if Anna was still willing to fight this fight. Perhaps she was realizing that she was fighting a losing battle from the start. “By the way, I wanted to meet you in person and ap

Nadia watched the familiar street lights pass by her as the lime slowly drove up the busy street. It was at a time of day when Blue Ridge was most busy so the slow advance of the car was understandable. Luke stirred on her side and she smiled as she looked down at his sleeping face. From the excitement over riding the plane for the first time to being tired from traveling put him out like a light as soon as they got into the limo. Nadia looked up to see Donna sipping from another flute of champagne, this one was probably her third, or maybe more. She had always been a heavy drinker, and she didn’t get drunk easily either. But at this rate, Nadia was more worried about her health than anything else. Drinking too much could have some bad repercussions for her age. Dean was busy looking into his phone and when he felt her gaze he looked up and automatically gave her a warm smile. He had always smiled at her warmly, no matter the circumstances. As Nadia smiled back at him, she wondered

“Don’t you wonder what your grandson whom you didn’t care to see for five years looks like?” Nadia asked her father. Looking carefully at his expression, the man didn’t even flinch nor did he look guilty. He had no regrets whatsoever about what he did. And he didn’t care about Luke in the least. He didn’t even ask about his name. Her Luke who asked about his grandfather so innocently, she felt bad giving him such a bad excuse of a grandfather. He was better off where he was out of her and her son’s life. “You came all the way here to make a scene about me not inviting you to a freaking party, while you dare face me like this without even the hint of an apology. Not even bothering to see your grandson’s face or learn his name. And you still dare accuse me of not knowing how to treat my family?” She asked her anger spiking up so high that she was barely managing to keep her voice level. “Do you realize what I have gone through to raise you alone without your mother? But you still wer

As Nadia burst through the door, she was immediately assaulted with the delicious scent of exquisite cooking. Barely registering it, she scanned the kitchen carefully until her eyes fell on the small figure sitting in a corner holding bread and swinging his legs without a care in the world. “Luke!” She shouted running to him and falling to her knees pulling her son into a tight hug. His heart was beating in her ears and she could barely hear anything around her. Relief was taking time to settle into her stressed-out body. As she hugged Luke tightly, she took a few deep breaths before leaning back to see his face. “Oh my god. Luke, are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asked and Luke tilted his head to the side as if he didn’t understand her question. “Yeah! I’m okay!” He said with a smile and Nadia breathed a sigh of relief still checking his body for any injury. “I’m glad you came for him. I was wondering what was taking you so long,” Someone said from beside her and Nadia turned arou