C H A P T E R  4  1  :  T H E  D I N N E R  A N D  P I L L O W T A L K  J A V I E R  S U M M E R S And he would have taken her right then, right there, standing up with both of them half dressed and her pressed against the kitchen countertop had it not been for the angry hisses and spitting coming from the stove. Javier jerked his mouth free. Darting his gaze to the stove, he swore. The pot of pasta was bubbling furiously, sending starchy foaming water sliding down the sides of the pot onto the burner and splattering all over the stove. “Damn!” He swung her to his left and reached over to turn off the fire. Moving around to the front of the island stove, he threw on the oven mitts, grabbed the handles of the hissing pot, and carried it over to the sink where he dumped the pasta into a colander.  “How bad is it?” Ella asked from behind him. He glanced at her. He

C H A P T E R  4 3  :  A T T E M P T S  T O  R E G A I N  O N E ' S  L O S T  M E M O R Y  J A V I E R  S U M M E R S “Hello?” A young female voice finally answered on Javier’s fifth attempt to call that day right after he and Ella were dropped by the hotel’s driver at Declan’s hotels in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Whenever one of the Summers' siblings had to travel and if the destination happened to have Declan’s hotel chains there, they would rather stay there due to its excellent privacy and top notch security. Especially when someone like Javier, who was in the entertainment industry and would have paparazzi following his every move. "Who is it this time?" she said with a heavy sigh.  "Kiddo, I need your opinion," replied Javier curtly while checking on his watch nervously. Ella had been inside th

C H A P T E R  4 5  :  W H E N  T H E  P A I N F U L  M E M O R Y  D E C I D E D  T O  R E T U R N    E L L A  S T A N F O R D  Ella picked up the dress she had discarded earlier, held it in front of her like a shield. “W-what?” She suddenly felt as if the door she had been so worried and scared about was being swung open and she was being forced to get inside. “W-what d-do y-you mean?”  “We were going to have a baby, Ella.” He cupped her face with

Bonus Chapter 1: The Plan and The Surprise Ella stared at her reflection and tilted her head to the right as her eyes took in every detail of her wedding dress. It was perfect. She could not even fault it and that was huge, considering she was a very detail-oriented person. With a dreamy sigh, she gave it a little twirl, then gave a firm nod to the designer standing somewhere behind her. “I think it is much better now that you have loosened the waist area for a bit.” She turned around and looked at Maggie Taylor, the woman who had beautifully designed Ella’s wedding dress. “I should not have indulged myself too much during the cake tasting.” Maggie gave her a small smile. “Are you sure it was caused by eating too much cake?” She stepped forward and was ready to help Ella take off her wedding dress. Ella frowned and stared at the older woman. “What do you mean? Where else would I get extra fat on my waist?” Yet before Maggie could reply, the door burst open and both Damon and Cla

Bonus Chapter 3: The Dinner Party Twenty minutes later, both Ella and Javier were already ready and walked down the twin spiral staircase hand in hand. Javier was wearing a black blazer, a white shirt, and a pair of matching dark pants. Ella was wearing a spaghetti strap gold satin floor-length gown. Since her hair was wet from the shower, she only dried it with a towel and a bit of hairdryer, leaving her dark hair semi-dry and down her back.  First, they made a quick stop at the kitchen, where Maxon Rupert Summers was still in the middle of cooking and commanding his army of chefs.  “Max,” Javier called his younger brother from the kitchen door.  It took a while before his younger brother left his station and approached them. “Hi, Jav. If you are worried about anything, you need not. I have everything covered. Tonight will be epic,” he reassured his brother.  Javier let out a small chuckle. “I am not worri