Trinity's POVA necklace made of a precious stone? And earrings that matched? A limited edition designer bag, and a luxury perfume? A whole box of professional makeup equipment?Those were not the type of gifts that someone like Vanessa could really appreciate, because her world does not make room for expensive things like that. She came from a family riddled with debt, and shitty parents.Right from high school, she was always that kid that showed up to class in the same clothes from last year, because she didn’t have the luxury to change wardrobes every summer like most of us.Now, I had turned her pathetic life into a one filled with billionaires and billion dollar mansions. I knew all of these wouldn’t last, because her secret would eventually be opened and all of these kindness the chairman was showering her would vanish.I smiled darkly to myself.So why did I still feel jealous? I was far above feeling jealous of a pauper like Vanessa Sterling. I was better than that.Slowly I
Rodri's POVI didn’t wait for Trinity to move. She was standing frozen in front of me, like a statue that could shatter into a million pieces if it gets knocked over.A single tear rolled down her amber eye, making her mascara bleed down her cheeks. But I was done with her fucking schemes and theatrics. Even her fucking tears could be all an act.I brushed past her and moved into the house, confident that she wouldn’t be out there by the time I stepped back out. If she still was, the security guards would be more than happy to remove her from the premises.I crossed the lobby and stepped into the sitting room where Dad sat, laughing and saying something to Vanessa that I really didn’t catch. Because all of my fucking attention was arrested the moment I looked over at her.She was smiling, a genuine smile, as she flipped through the stack of books on her thighs. It looked like she had just unwrapped them from a gift wrapper.I blinked.What the hell was going on in here?“Thank you so
Rodri's POVAs I approached Vanessa’s bedroom, I saw that the door was halfway open. I stepped closer and immediately spotted Vanessa inside her bedroom. I didn’t mean to say quiet and stare… I knew I should probably announce my presence because it would be weird if she looked in my direction only to see me staring at her from behind the door like a fucking creep… but I still found myself staring anyway.She was standing by her dressing table, smiling down at the stack of books the chairman had gifted to her. It was probably romance books, because the last time I saw her reading something, it was romance.Out of all the gifts dad got her, the books seemed to be her favorite. Her smile was radiant as she admired the front covers. I felt the ice around my cold, black heart crack a little as I stared at her.A wavy strand of brown hair fell across her face, and she absently brushed it back, exposing the delicate skin of her neck.The small pink dress was made of some kind of material th
Vanessa's POV Rodri Darnell was a dangerous man for any woman to be around.Everything about him was designed as a weapon to ensnare, mesmerized and lure women into a never-ending pool of displaced sexual emotions, emotional turbulence and constant risk.I felt all of that as I stood in his arms, pressed into his chest and subconsciously clutching his shirt to find my own anchor. And he held me, his presence and essence all around me like barricade where all I could feel, see and breathe was him.All him.It scared me. It scared me so, so much because I had never felt like this with any other man in my fucking life.This wasn’t unbearable, just sexual tension manifesting itself. There was also something crackling between, it was like a flame in a dry forest. It was only a matter of time before it would spread, and burn everything to the ground.I slowly released his shirt and tried to step back away from him, but his arms were unmovable.I couldn’t looked up at him as I spoke in a voi
Vanessa's POVI woke up sick.Very, very sick. Actually, I kind of expected it, because I was in such a sad mood for no reason, last night before I went to bed, and I woke up at dawn, running at break-neck speed to the bathroom to throw up into the toilet.I gagged loudly, clutching my chest like it was going to burst open at any moment while I emptied the contents of my stomach down the drain. I coughed, wheezed and made all kinds of ugly noises while I tried to get all of that unpleasant substance from my stomach.The assisting nurse, who thankfully stayed the night, had heard me from the bedroom next to mine, so she had hurried over, calmly taking control of the situation.She said soothing words to me as I let out the last of the vomiting spell and trembled to the shiny marble floor tiredly. She was holding my hair back for me, then gently nudged me up to wash my face, mouth and brush my teeth.It felt like all the energy had drained from my bones.I pulled myself up and ran the f
Vanessa's POVThere was immense satisfaction in his eyes as I obeyed his order, and then he pulled the glass of water away, handing it back to the nurse. I wiped at my moist lips with the back of my hand, slightly embarrassed by what the nurse might be thinking in her head right now.But it didn’t really matter.Any other presence besides Rodri’s were usually overshadowed by his, so all I had to worry about was having all his attention on me “I’ll go back to bed now.” I told Rodri. “Trinity can come check up on me in the morning.”Something hard crossed his face. “She won’t be coming. She is no longer your main nurse. Dolphin hospital will be sending a replacement in the morning. She’ll take better care of you.”My eyes with widened at the news.I felt so much shock. Then panic. And dread.I tried not to let my panic show, but my voice was definitely unstable when I asked, “Why? She’s a great nurse…”“Some one else will do the job better.” Rodri replied in a cryptic tone, telling me
Vanessa's POVI was tired of sitting and watching the chef do all the work, so I placed my cup of apple juice on the kitchen counter and asked,“Can I help you out with something? There’s something in here that I can do, right?” I asked softly.She looked at me with alarm, “Um, are you sure? I’ve got it handled, actually. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to get flour all over yourself like me. Baking is a pretty messy business.”I got up from my seat and shrugged. “I don’t mind, maybe I can start to learn how to bake from you.”A warm smile spread on her face from my words, but it was cut short when a worker, who I recognized as one of the invisible cleaners that stopped by once in a while. “Miss Sterling, the chairman is in the living room right now. He is here to see you.”My lips fell open at the same time as the chef’s.What?Again?I looked at the worker with confusion etched in my face, “Really? Did he just get here?”“Yes.” He replied, then added after a beat. “I suggest you should
Vanessa'sRodri’s mother was in coma.That was something that I had not even expected, or even thought about for one moment. We were standing inside the home clinic that was created just for her in a smaller house behind the main mansion, and she was lying peacefully in a comfy white bed, with her eyes closed in unconsciousness.I had never actually thought of Rodri’s mother, but I probably expected some stereotypical wealthy people situations like an expensive divorce that made her leave the country to go spend the rest of her life on a luxury island with her latest love interest.She was never mentioned in any news, magazine or tabloid about the Darnell family.She was so not talked about that people don’t even notice anymore that someone must have given birth to the city’s most eligible billionaire bachelor.Or ironically, if I let my thoughts run crazy, I could have thought that Rodri was born through surrogacy, just like he was planning to have his child now.My point is, a coma