Waking up to Percival wasn't anything new, but waking up to him with my bareness still pressed against his was. My hand cautiously reached for his face, caressing it and smiling at myself. Even though I was careful not to wake him up, I saw how the corner of his lips curled slightly. The arms that cradled me enclosed me tighter into his body. I rested my head on his hard chest when he didn't open his eyes. He must've been tired after staying true to his words about how he'd keep me up all night. I didn't even plan on falling asleep. I just did."I love you," his baritone voice mumbled, eyes still shut. I didn't know what was more difficult for him. . . to keep those three words bottled up, concealed, locked away for several years, or to finally say it only for me to refuse him. But everything that happened led us to this slow and warm morning together. "I love you," I whispered and swore I would always say it back. My hand hovered on his face to shield it from the ray of sunlight

I was prepared to order a media blackout. How wide? I wasn't sure yet. But I do know how quick people were to judge. How destructive their curiosities could be. They would assume, mock, and gossip about my son. I could already guess what they would say. Out of Wedlock. Abandoned. Maybe they'd even think he was adopted. Marcus would have the whole world talk about him the way they did to me when they found out about the annulment and the claim about my fertility. If only I had chosen a better man or made better choices, he wouldn't be in this situation. I knew I couldn't shield him forever, but this time, I wanted to do everything I could to make the world and future kinder to him. Even if I had to step away from the limelight and everything I love. I focused all my energy on getting to Marcus first and left the situation at Crescent to Koen. I also asked Grace to head to our house and send me the CCTV footage of the incident. I didn't want to see it, but my mind wouldn't give it a re

Percival and I had a lot of work to do, but we didn't leave the hospital until Marcus woke up. The doctors assured us that our son was doing well and that we did not need to be concerned. But I decided to stay at the hospital and work from there. On the other hand, Percy had to keep leaving for work or the investigation.It was Marcus' seventh day at the hospital. I had to leave him to my father because Cadmus was growing impatient, so we couldn't postpone meeting him any longer. According to Percival, his people learned that Cadmus met Linda a few days before the incident. So, we had to prepare for what he might know.We also discovered that Linda's sister and grandmother went missing days before my wedding with Percy. Based on their neighbor's statements, we could assume they were taken. Linda was still hiding, but we already had a lead."Don't touch me."I turned my head to the door when I heard Cadmus' voice. I looked at Grace, who stood behind me, and gestured for her to let Cadm

"I just felt a little nauseous. I'm all better now," I said, shrugging off how sick I felt earlier. We had so much to do and worry about. I couldn't let Percy put all that on his shoulder just because my body suddenly decided to be unwell.Grace immediately slipped out of my office. I couldn't blame her because Percival seemed displeased. "Do you feel anything else?" he asked. "Why would you want to keep it from me? I thought we wouldn't hide anything from each other.""Because you'll ask me to rest while you deprive yourself of it. You've already made a sacrifice--one you didn't have to do. Please, you are not the sole pillar of this family. Stop trying to lighten my load."I knew what he had to do for that DNA test. I knew he had to talk to Gilbert if we took this path. That was why I was against it. But he did it anyway. "I had to do it. We already have our hands full, Tali. If the situation with Salazar escalates, Marcus will be involved in that mess. We can't have that.""You d

I didn't want to hide anything from Percival, and I knew he didn't believe my earlier lies. But he received a call from his men stating that they had Linda. She had not fled the country but was hiding in a province. While we waited for them to bring her back to the city where they could interrogate her, we took that time to put Marcus to sleep and get a bit of rest. But I knew we were both itching to finally get the answers to our questions. Percival and I had to push back moving to the house until tomorrow morning. He insisted I stay with Marcus and rest, but I wanted to accompany him. I wanted to know how she could do that to Marcus and why she had decided to surrender and cooperate now. But above all, I was eager to learn who was behind this. If we could finally identify that individual and put this behind us, I could finally allow myself to worry about my pregnancy. "Rest your head," Percival said as he tapped his shoulder. We were in the backseat of our car. Koen arrived at the