C H A P T E R 4 8 : S U R P R I S E D R O P I N
E L L A S T A N F O R D
Another week passed by like the previous week. There was little to no communication from Javier. What was more frustrating was during a team dinner on Thursday, he had completely ignored her although she had been sitting right next to him. He had talked with everyone, even Maria, but so little to her. If she remembered correctly, he had only asked her whether she would like another drink and that was it.
On the other hand, Ella had taken it like a champ and did not shed a single tear. In return, she acted as if he did not exist. Every now and then during the event, she could feel his eyes on her but she brushed it off and pretended that she was not affected by it. Instead, she conversed with Thomas, one of the marketing team leaders. Apparently, Thomas really liked hiking and he even invited her to
C H A P T E R 4 9 : W H E N H E S L O W L Y R E A L I Z E D J A V I E R S U M M E R S “Tell me, brother, did you fall for her?” Javier rolled his eyes then took a sip of his whiskey. “I did not fall for anyone.” “Oh, really now?” Clarabelle sliced the chocolate cake with the spoon and put it in her mouth. “Damn, this cake is so good. Are you sure you don’t want to try?” “No. Also, I thought you want to get some advice from me?” He placed his glass on the table and leaned back, the back of his shirt rubbed against the leather of his chair. “Nah, I would go to Maxon or Reed or Dex for that,” answered her, clearly proving him to be right. Clarabelle would not go for his third older brother if she needed an advice. That fact oddly did not bother him. There were eight of them and one did not just come to everyone for
C H A P T E R 5 0 : W H E N H E B E G I N S T O R E A L I Z E J A V I E R S U M M E R S It was rather odd waking up and finding yourself alone on the bed. It had not been weird previously, but now it was. And the only difference was Ella. It was her that made him feel so odd waking up alone. Previously he would not mind it. He was always alone since he had reached adulthood anyway. With his casual flings, he usually had gone before neither him nor the woman he had been with fell asleep. Perhaps it was commitment issue or trust issue, whichever that had been, it was never an issue with Ella. If he was being honest to himself, it did make him wonder sometimes. He knew that he liked her. He was certain he had made it very clear to her as well. He had given her three orgasms last night. He was being selfless and cared more about her pleasure rather than his own
C H A P T E R 5 1 : F R I E N D O R F I E N D E L L A S T A N F O R D When Ella walked into her building that Tuesday, the last day she needed to go to the office before she would be taking a few days off to visit her mother, a note was waiting for her at her desk. It was not signed but said, “Meet me in the office supplies room at 1 P.M. sharp.” It was a rather odd request. She knew Javier was as cautious as she was about being seen together, and she wondered what would prompt him to want to meet her. At twelve thirty, while everyone else was outside getting lunch, she went to the office supplies room and figured it had to be something really important. But when she walked into the office that night, it was not Javier standing there in the aisles between tall cupboards filled with statio
C H A P T E R 5 2 : C O U L D A W O M A N A N D A M A N B E C O M E F R I E N D S ? E L L A S T A N F O R D “Piers?” Her eyes widened as he approached her and stopped only a few feet from her. “What are you doing here?” “Ouch.” Piers winced, pretending as if she had just thrown a stick at him. “That hurts. There is no how are you, Joseph or it is good to see you, Joseph?” “I am sorry.” Ella shook her head, sighing. “Of course I am happy to see you. How are you? When did you get back here?” “Last night, actually. I thought I will come here and surprise Jav and maybe take him to lunch.” “Well, you missed him. He went to a meeting since ten A.M. and he has not returned. Perhaps next time you should give me a call so I can check his schedule for you.” Piers
C H A P T E R 5 3 : W H E N H I S H E A R T B R E A K S J A V I E R S U M M E R S “Great, I think we can conclude the meeting this afternoon,” said Thornton’s finance executive, Mr. Phil Lambert, with a smile. “If everyone’s happy with the arrangements that we discussed today, we could proceed with the contract and legalize everything so we can start with the project as soon as possible.” Once the meeting ended, Thornton approached Javier. He was about to ask his little brother to have lunch with him and Ava at their house when he noticed that his brother had his eyes fixated on his phone screen. With one glance, he could tell that he was staring at someone’s photo. It was a photo of his secretary sitting on her desk reading what looked like a contract, there was a serious look on her face. Thornton stifled a sigh. If he was being honest, at fi
C H A P T E R 5 4 : T H E F E E L I N G O F B E I N G A P A R T J A V I E R S U M M E R S Javier walked towards the car. He knew that if he faced her, she might feel embarrassed having been caught lying. Yet at the same time, he could not stay here and watch her break down alone. No matter what had just happened between her and his brother, he trusted her. Perhaps even more than he trusted his brother. Thus nothing else mattered as long as she was not hurt, as long as she was not crying. However before he could reach her, she had driven the car away, ready to exit the building. He pulled his phone out was about to call her when he realized that she was currently driving right after she cried her heart out in the parking lot so calling her might not be a good idea. Feeling a bit frustrated, he shoved his phone ba
C H A P T E R 5 5 : W H E N T H E R E A R E T W O L I N E S E L L A S T A N F O R D The next morning, the second Ella opened her eyes, her stomach lurched. That had been happening a little, lately, and she was worried that she was coming down with something due to all the stress. When she made it to the bathroom, the feeling was gone so she washed up her face and went downstairs to get some breakfast. Her mother had gone to the market, leaving a note on the fridge. After eating the pancakes left by her mother on the table, she took a sip of the tea that she had made, hoping that it would settle her stomach a little. In the afternoon, however, it was out of her hands. Her stomach was roiling, and she made a mad dash to the bathroom, and she only just reached the toilet before she started throwing up. When she was done, she sat back and flushed the toil
C H A P T E R 5 6 : W H E N L O Y A L T Y W I N S E L L A S T A N F O R D Ella barely remembered getting blood drawn. The nurse had been chatting away as she had done her job, smiling and laughing at her own jokes. However, for her, it felt like she existed inside a bubble at this moment. The outside world was not penetrating the fog over her mind, and the numbness only increased as she stopped at the drugstore and purchased a pregnancy test. Was she pregnant? The question swirled around and around inside her head. She wondered if it was even possible. Unfortunately for her, it was possible. She and Javier had unprotected sex that morning, and now they might be facing the consequences of it. Ella took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. What would she do if it turned out that she was truly pregnant? Javier would have to know. The baby would de