Andrea’s POV How long could I avoid going into his bedroom when I knew he had kept my luggage there? I opened the door, this time ignoring the bed and storming inside straight to the closet. Just as I had expected. Zion had placed all my luggage in his walk-in closet. I dashed inside furiously to take them away to some other room when my glance fell upon the gigantic mirror inside. There was a sticky note with a message stuck there. I leaned over and took off the note. Did Zion leave it for me? You’re moving into my bedroom. No arguments. Delia will join us for dinner tonight. - Zion.I frowned at the note. Why couldn’t he decline her? I couldn’t face his evil stepmother again! Now I didn’t know what to do. Maybe I would move out when Delia left. Anyway, with Zion at his office, I could rest in peace for a couple of hours. He wouldn’t come over right now to force himself on me! Would he? However, the moment I lay down, all the memories came gushing back. Despite being exhausted
Andrea’s POV “Mom, Addy has stomach pain. He’s dying!” Zayden announced, running into the kitchen, and stopping our verbal combat. Zion got worked up, his face grim, as if he was on the verge of a panic attack. “Oh! I’ll just call the doctor!” He took out his phone, but I grabbed his hand to stop him. Knowing the kids well, I knew of their exaggerated statements.“No, need to call the doctor. He won’t die from stomach pain! I’ll give him medicine right away!” I released his hand as if scalded and walked away to the kids’ room. Picking up the unopened medicine box I had packed up for the trip, I went inside. The other two trooped in after me to watch what was going on. I found Adrian on the bed, clutching at his stomach, and doubled up in pain. “Mom, is there a bug in my tummy? Will I die?” “There might be, but you’ll survive. What’s this medicine for? It’ll help you fight it. Did you pass loose stools today?” He nodded with a groan. “Very loose, watery!” “You’ll have bland food
Andrea’s POV I arranged the hors d’oeuvres on the dining table like a buffet with adequate drinks on the sides. Zion was the only one who helped me, while the others eyed us with jealousy. I flashed a smile at all of them, although I seethed inwardly at their judgemental looks. “Please help yourselves,” I urged them with a sweet smile pasted on my lips. “Please join us, Andrea!” said one of them. “I am Georgia. Aunt Delia is my mom’s best friend.” She leaned in to introduce herself. I smiled at the friendly woman, who looked heavily pregnant. “I’ll have it later with my boys.” Zion smiled and walked away to the kids’ room to check up on them. “Andrea, shouldn’t you attend to all your guests?” Delia’s scornful voice resonated around, making my blood boil. She came towards me and I somehow had the feeling this was the opportunity she was seeking.“I will, Delia. Why don’t you relax a little?” I flashed her a bright smile and handed her a plate to serve herself. “Please feel at home
Andrea’s POV Throughout dinner, I could feel Zion’s appreciative gaze on me. It made the butterflies dance in my stomach with excitement. I could see how satisfied Zion was with the way things went tonight. His gaze held not only admiration but a deep longing as well! I was sure I wasn’t imagining the heavy sexual tension between us now that we were all alone here. With the guests gone and the twins fast asleep, I wondered if I could avoid him for long. I needed something to divert my mind right now. I couldn’t end up having a steamy night with him!“I have to check out a few office spaces around for Ratio Architects. With most of my dedicated employees wanting to relocate with the company, I have a lot on my plate now. I can’t leave the twins here in the penthouse all alone and go office hunting!” I didn’t want to take it up with him right now, but how long would I wait? Surely, he didn’t expect me to babysit all day! “You don’t have to look for an office space. You will use a vaca
Zion’s POV The feel of Andrea’s soft body in my arms satisfied my heart. This was what I always wanted, to feel her close to my heart forever! I knew my life was fucked up and I couldn’t offer Andrea what she wanted. Yet my heart wanted to hold on to her and the twins forever. Delia’s parting shot echoed in my mind all the time. I’m going now, but if you don’t throw those brats and their bitch of a mother out soon, I will ensure they don’t live to see the next month! Delia never gave out useless threats. I couldn’t involve the police without evidence! If I had known she would threaten to kill my family, I would have recorded her threats! I wasn’t prepared at all this time. I knew she was upset when her plans to insult Andrea and send her packing failed. But I never expected her to hold such a tremendous grudge that she would threaten to take Andrea and the twins’ lives!I had planned to propose to Andrea over dinner, but somehow Delia’s threats made me falter. How could I offer he
Zion’s POV Delia laughed instead of answering me, but her shrewd, evil laughter lacked mirth. It was as if she wanted to confuse me further. She wanted to keep me hanging! “Why don’t you figure it out, stepson? Or are you that dumb?” She disconnected the call abruptly while I gaped at my phone. I was still clueless about her motive. Obviously, I hadn’t expected her to blurt it out, but at least she could have given me a hint!“Dad!” Adrian’s voice brought me out of my daze and I glanced at their table to see him calling me. The food had arrived, and they were waiting for me. I smiled at him and walked over to my little family. “Sorry to keep you waiting. You could have started!” “Mom wanted to wait for you!” said Zayden with a grin. My jaws dropped, and I glanced at Andrea just to see her cheeks color. “Oh, shall we start?” I served them and fed Andrea the first bite of my pizza slice before munching on the rest. I hadn’t expected the twins to notice, but they did and chuckled, no
Zion’s POV I immediately accepted the call, wanting to end this mystery once and for all. I still couldn’t remember where I had heard his name. So the only way was to deal with him directly. “Hello, son!” croaked a feeble voice at the other end. I immediately recognized the voice. He was my grandpa’s old lawyer who used to come home when my grandpa was alive. I had last seen Mr. Alesci three years before my grandpa’s death. “Hello, Mr. Alesci! It’s been over a decade since I heard from you.” There was a tremendous bout of coughing at the other end, making me frown. Was he unwell? “Yes, son. Can you meet me urgently? Meet me at Zappio Plaza Hotel, near Zappio Station right away! Please ensure no one knows about this visit.” The call disconnected, and I quickly wrapped up my work. Packing up everything, I locked the office securely before leaving for the day. I released Midas, preferring to drive down to the hotel myself. I didn’t want even Midas to know in case he blurted out ever
Andrea’s POV “Mom, can we go to Dad’s office again tomorrow?” asked Zayden, as they munched on some fries. “If your dad agrees, Zay. You can ask him when he comes home.” The main door clicked open, and the kids were excited, knowing Zion was back. “Dad’s here. Let’s ask him,” said Adrian, dashing out of the living room. He returned with Zion, pleading with him to take them out again the next day. “No, Addy.” I noticed the grim look on Zion’s face as he strode towards the bedroom.“Why Dad? Can we go the day after, please?” He ran after Zion, and so did Zayden. “Addy, Zay, stop bothering your dad. He’ll take you out when he’s free.” The twins sulked in their room while I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. I could hear Zion talking on the phone in hushed tones. I could sense something was wrong with him. When we left him, he was in a better frame of mind.After twenty minutes, when I was almost done, he came into the kitchen to get a bottle of water.“Yes, Officer. I have all t