Chapter 23
AMAYA
The moment we arrive at the penthouse, Jayla bursts through the hallway and runs towards me, her face twisting with relief
“Oh, Amaya! Thank God you’re home. I was so worried. What did that monster do to you?”
While I’m trying to assure her that I’m absolutely fine, kinda, Casar walks into the house and deadpans;
“Monster is a bit over the top, don’t you think?”
Jayla’s gaze strays over my shoulder and she pins him with a hard, angry stare.
“If I find out that you did anything to my best friend, you’ll never get away with it.”
Caesar comes to a stop beside me and the raw, dangerous energy that rolls off him sends a slight tremor up my spine.
“Trust me, I’ve not done anything to your friend that she didn’t want. But if she wants me to do anything for her, I’m pretty sure she knows what I want in exchange.”
My mouth falls open and my head snaps in his direction, but he walks off, towards his home office, without as much as glancing in my direction.
“Amaya, what did he mean by that?” Jayla asked, momentarily confused.
I snap my mouth closed, wrap my fingers around her wrists and pull her into one of the empty rooms.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” She keeps asking impatiently
1 pace to the floor–to–ceiling windows of the empty room and look outside, feeling slightly uncertain about the general direction of my life..
“Caesar wants. us to get married”
“Yeah, I know that.”
I spin in Jayla’s direction, eyes wide
“You know? How?”
She heaves a sigh and plops onto the single sofa.
dollars to the witches in
“Isn’t it obvious? That man drove three hours to the Pack’s Extension just because you were sick. He sent thousands of
down there and heal you even though the Blue Rivers Pack and East Coast witches aren’t exactly friends. When we needed human heat because your cold got worse, Caesar held you all night because he didn’t want another man to do it-
I do a double take at that last
“Wait, what?!”
statement
As if realising that she’s just said something she wasn’t supposed to, Jayla slaps her palm against her lips, her eyes widening in shock.
“I didn’t say anything. Forget I said that.”
I abandon my perch at the window and zoom in her direction.
Chapter 23
“Jayla Fidelia Jenkins Speak, now!!” I half–yell with the most autoritative tone I can muster.
Jayla cowers on the sofa and makes a show of trembling with fea
“Jeez. I know I’m in trouble when you call me by my governmer name.”
1 place a hand on my hips and give her a narrow–eyed stare.
“Young lady, start talking. Now.”
She pouts. “Fine.”
She lowers her legs to the floor and sits up. “You got really ill that night and Grandma said the only way you could get better was by human heat. Our bodies were not powerful enough to produce the kinda heat you needed before the witches arrived, so we asked Caesar if he would do it and he… he
I press my fingers against my eyes and pace the room, suddenly feeling restless.
“So you’re telling me that Caesar Manchester literally cuddled me for an entire night and you never thought to tell me?” Jayla shrugs nervously. “In our defence, we never wanted him to do it. It was either him or Henry, and get the feeling that Caesar would reduce poor Henry to ashes if he ever tried to touch you.”
ht in the e
cyes.
I shake my head, walk towards her and place both my hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in “Best friend, I’m going to look you in the eyes when I tell you that I’ve got no bloody idea what you’re talking about. Why Would Caesar harm Henry for touching me? The man hates my guts. He only wants to marry me to fulfill his daughter’s dying wish.”
Jayla doesn’t even blink.
“Do you really think Caesar hates you?”
I do not even hesitate.
“Girl, that man looked me in the eyes today and told me I wasn’t his type. I’m a witch. Trust me, I have the intuition to know when someone likes me and when they don’t.”
“What are you gonna do then? Alistair has refused to take up responsibility for the babies and you’re adamant about canceling the contract with Caesar. You don’t wanna accept help from me and grandma either. How are you gonna feed your kids?
I step away and take a deep, shuddering breath.
“I have a university degree, Jayla. I’ll get a job in no time. In the meantime, we need to get the hell out of here.”
CAESAR
I’m struggling to concentrate on the numbers on my screen when Henry literally falls into my home office in a hurry after knocking on the door just once.
“Sir! Miss Amaya and her friend are asking to leave.”
I get to my feet immediately, nearly toppling my MacBook
“What?”
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Chapter 23
“Yea, sir. I tried to convince them to stay back. Teven offered to transport Miss Amaya’s babies over here myself, but she refused to listen. They’re adamant on leaving”
An odd painful sensation unfurls in my chest. The last time Amaya left me, she ended up almost dying from a
illness
“Where are they going?” My voice comes out in an almost grow Back to the extension?”
“No, sir. Miss Amaya booked a bed and breakfast in the city for ven nights”
a strange
1 pace away from my table, struggling to hold myself back from running out of the office and chaining Amaya to the walls to prevent her from leaving, if need be.
Instead, 1 take a deep breath and go into scheming mode.
“Where’s the bed and breakfast located? Who owns it?”
Henry flips out his iPad without hesitation.
“It’s called The Pack’s Harbour and owned by one Mr. Pierce. I believe he’s a wolf from the NightHunters pack.”
I nod once. “Call the BnB in my
my name and cancel her reservation” I say with no hint of emotion in my voice. Amaya thought I was joking when I said she’d have no other choice but to marry me by the end of the week. I will play dirty
if I have to.
“I already did that, sir. The manager, Mr. Pierce, answered the phone himself and refused to cancel the reservation.”
Anger burns in my veins. “He must’ve wanted money. Did you offer him money?”
“Yes, sir, Ten thousand dollars. He still said no.”
“Make it one million. I don’t want Amaya to leave this penthouse
Henry shakes his head at me and my annoyance grows even further.
“I don’t think that man would cancel the reservation for a billion dollars, sir.”
I curl my fingers into fists as frustration crawls up my spine. I’m never frustrated. Ever. Amaya Miller has me in knots and. tangles.
“Fine, then. Buy the property. Did you try that approach? I’ve never owned a BnB business before. Maybe it’s high time I added it to my portfolio.
Contact this Mr. Pierce and ask him how much he’d be willing to sell his small business.”
For a moment, Henry just stares at me, his mouth half open in awe.
“Sir you intend to buy a small bed and breakfast to keep Miss Amaya from leaving?”
I blink at him. “Is there a problem?”
“No. Of course not, sir. I’m just surprised.”
1 frown at him. “Why are you surprised?”
Henry clears his throat, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Well, sir, men only do stuff like this for women they really, really. really like. Or women they’re obsessed with”
Chapter 21
I freeze, my brain currently spiraling with a thousand emotions/
Do I like Amaya? Am I obsessed with her?
I cannot deny the fact that my heart never beats at its normal page whenever she’s in the room. I cannot deny that sometimes, 1 deliberately say things to get her upset just to see those sharp green eyes flash at me. I used to be a very focused businessman but these days, it’s a miracle if I’m able to keep thoughts of a certain feisty redhead out of my goddamn mind while I’m at work.
Do I like Amaya? Maybe not. But am I obsessed with her? I don’t have an answer for that.
I push those thoughts out of my mind and stiffen my shoulders,
“I do not have any feelings whatsoever for Amaya. If Michaela suddenly wasn’t obsessed with having a mommy with red hair, we would never have crossed paths.”
Henry nods and lowers his head. It doesn’t seem like he believed word that just came out of my mouth.
“Sure thing, sir. I’ll call Mr. Pierce concerning the offer right away”
Twenty minutes after pacing my entire office from top to bottom, Henry returns with news that Mr. Pierce is not interested in selling the BnB because it’s been in his family for centuries.
The bastard even refuses to speak to me personally.
There’s nothing I can do or say to keep Amaya in the penthouse after that, so I stay holed up in my office until Henry returns with news that they’re gone.
“Get a security team and make sure that every single parameter of that dingy motel is heavily protected.” I order angrily.
“Yes, sir.
I’m ready to do anything to make sure my future wife remains safe until our wedding day.
AMAYA
It’s been twenty four hours since we moved into The Pack’s Harbour.
After he threw me out in the streets, Alistair froze all my accounts, including our joint accounts, leaving me without a penny from his end. Thankfully, I have a little savings that can tide us over until I can actually get a job.
Grandma Gina had brought the babies all the way to New York last night, but she’ll be going back to the extension soon.
This morning, I woke up with horrible, indescribable pains. Apparently, the stitches that the doctors put in after my emergency pregnancy surgery had ruptured slightly during the night.
Despite the pain, I get out of bed by seven AM and slowly get myself ready to submit my CV at a couple companies in the
city.
Jayla bobs a wailing Heaven as she watches me get dressed.
“I do not support this idea at all, bestie. You just gave birth. You should be resting!”
I shake my head and pull on my low–heeled shoes. Should I go for stilletos instead? Nope. I’m still in a lot of pain.
“Rest will not feed us or the babies, Jayla. I owe you one for taking care of them though. I’ll be back soon, okay?”
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I lean forward and give her a kiss, then I kiss my babies and play with them for a few seconds before leaving.
The wonderful Mr. Pierce, who allowed us to stay at his BnB at unbelievable discount, is nowhere to be seen this morning.
1 start off my journey, mentally counting the companies I have to visit. I’ll submit my CV to five companies today. Hopefully, one of them will call me back.
Unfortunately, I’ve walked for less than thirty minutes when I start to feel exhausted. Cold sweat runs down my back and my stomach roils with nausea.
1 back into a quieter street and lean against the walls of one of the coffee shops in an attempt to catch my breath. Passers–by give me odd looks as they hurry past me, but at this point, I’m too exhausted to care.
Five minutes later, I hear the sound of a smooth engine and hold my breath, praying the car drives past me.
Quite unfortunately, it doesn’t. The car stops right in front of me and my eyes snap open when the sound of that familiar, dark baritone travels to my ears,
“Amaya? What are you during in this neighborhood?”
Shit! It’s Caesar.
SEND GIFT
