***Grace sighed as she gazed at Noah’s broad shoulders. He was indeed a man in every sense of the word.For a fleeting moment, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away as he answered his phone. But just as her thoughts began to wander, she shook her head, to avoid the creepy thoughts that were starting to sink in.“Wow, what a remarkable man you’ve captured,” Mrs. Hail exclaimed admiringly, seemingly materializing out of thin air. “Just like your mother, you have a knack for finding extraordinary things,” she added.Grace chuckled softly. Mrs. Hail wasn’t merely her father’s secretary; she was an old family friend, so, of course, she would know things about the Bush family that Grace herself wasn’t aware of. “Yes, but it’s not what you think,” Grace replied."What do you mean?" Hail asked, her expression filled with confusion.Grace hesitated for a moment, regarding Hail. She was the closest thing she had to a mother, and the thought of deceiving her felt wrong. Besides, perhap
****Grace gazed at the mountain of work awaiting her on the desk and sighed heavily. It had been two long months since Noah embarked on his soon-to-be-back trip, one from which he hadn’t returned yet.Mrs. Hail on the other hand, had left for Chicago a month ago, promising to keep in touch always.With her departure, the house went back to its empty demeanor. James was nowhere to be seen in his usual spot at the office, which was to be expected since he was with Noah.But she couldn’t help but wonder what his mother had said to him that made him disappear so suddenly.Over the next few months, things continued as they were, with her working tirelessly without a break. However, Grace did notice a few changes in her position and salary.She didn't know if it was because the CEO and his secretary were nowhere to be found, but the entire office started looking up to her for every decision that needed to be made.This was strange to her. She still prepared the meeting briefings as usual,
***Lora sighed in frustration. As much as she would love to snub the annoying excuse of an executive questioning her right now, she couldn’t—not if she wanted to keep her position.Damn Noah, he just had to make his sex mate an executive, a position higher than hers. Grace Bush, the nobody, was now automatically an executive, a few steps away from being the President of O.S. Publishing Firm. And if she wanted to be the new boss, it would be a piece of cake; Yeah! Like Mrs. Vera Creed would ever let that happen.But the most annoying of all was her stupid cousin, Susan, who just couldn’t do her damn job. Lora clenched her jaw, her disdain for Grace burning deep within her.Grace, with her undeserved rise to power, symbolized everything Lora despised about office politics and nepotism. Lora sighed hard again, “Well, Susan, you heard her. It’s time to return to your desk,” she said, her voice full of frustration and resentment, as she shot a venomous glare at Grace.“What? You are going
***Grace was gasping for air, her chest tight as she struggled to breathe. With a frantic shake of her head, she tried to shake off the haunting image that had gripped her mind. She hit the buttons for the seventh floor instead of the tenth, her movements driven by sheer fear.Rushing out of the elevator, she found herself hyperventilating, her heart pounding in her ears. Then, without warning, she stumbled, crashing to the hard floor below with a loud thud. The sound echoed down the corridor, drawing the attention of those nearby. Security and staff from the seventh floor quickly came running to help her, their faces filled with concern.“Ma! Are you okay?” they rushed her with questions but she was too out of breath to answer“Oh my God, she's hyperventilating," a woman exclaimed beside her. "Quick, someone get me a bag, and please, call 919," she heard the woman urgently request.A bag was promptly placed over her mouth, and although the voices sounded muffled, she could feel the
***As Grace's eyes locked with Mrs. Vera's, she felt the heat of anger emanating from the older woman like a blazing fire.Mrs. Vera wasted no time as she stormed towards Grace with a chilling intensity, her words dripping with malice. "You slut; I explicitly warned you to stay away from my son. It seems your mother didn't raise you with an ounce of sense," Vera hissed, her hand reaching out aggressively, aiming for Grace's throat, only to be abruptly halted by Noah'."Don't even think about it, Mother," Noah's voice sliced through the air, cold and cutting as he stepped in to protect Grace."Seriously! Are you talking to me right now, Noah? Do you even know what you are doing right now? How could you even stoop so low and... Vera attempted to regain control of him, but Noah brushed her off with a causal indifference that cuts deep, showing the underlying rift between them. Family bonds be damned."James?" Noah's called out, his voice devoid of warmth or emotion."Yes, boss," James r
***Grace looked at Noah, bewildered. What did she miss? When did he propose, and what was he talking about? As she began to ponder, the car suddenly came to a stop, jolting her forward with a little force. "Why are we stopping?" she questioned, feeling a knot of anxiety form in her stomach.Noah let out a sigh and turned to face Grace, taking her hands gently in his own. "Look, Grace, I know you don’t trust me much. Not just because I'm a man, but because of my social standing. And I know you probably won’t have much trust in what I'm about to say to you. But I want you to know that it's not something I just came up with as an excuse. It's something that took me months, to come to terms with. Before I met you, Grace, I was living a life that wasn't my own. I had no control over my decisions. But since you...the crazy, stubborn Grace Bush...came into my life, I've had to learn how to stand up for myself, how to make decisions that give my life meaning and p
***"Ah.” Noah sighed as he held Grace's trembling body in his arms. Yes, he sensed something had gone wrong, but he wasn't sure what. Grace, panting, remained still, trying to collect herself. She didn't push him away, just stayed there.Noticing her reaction, or her non reaction he signed again. The moment she saw the ring he brought out, the light faded from her eyes, and it was replaced by a terrified expression as she stared at him, as if she'd seen a ghost. Mrs. Hail was right—Grace was far from okay. What he still couldn't figure out was why the sight of the ring scared her.“You know," Noah began in a calm voice, "for a second there, when I saw the terrified look on your face, I almost believed that I was holding a murder weapon and not a ring," Noah said, and in that moment, he heard her chuckle.Grace sighed. She knew what she had just seen was nothing but an illusion, something her guilty mind had conjured up when she came in contact with anything resembling an object from
****Noah took a deep breath as he parked outside his family home. Once full of joy and light, it now felt as dark as a house haunted by angry ghosts.He stood outside the door, contemplating whether to knock or just walk in. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to enter. As he opened the door and stepped inside, the servants' terrified expressions confirmed his suspicion: his mother was in a foul mood, probably drunk. Great. How would he talk to her? Noah knew she had no choice but to listen to him. She needed to hear what he had to say, whether she liked it or not.Without wasting much time, Noah marched to the inner room, his mother's favorite spot, the mini bar. He walked over to where she was sitting, pretending not to see him."Mother, you..." he began, but before he could finish his sentence, a heavy bottle of vodka went flying past his head. Thank God for his good reflexes—he would have had a split skull, if not worse."Wow, Mother, if I didn't know better, I'd think you w