Chapter 13
I hear Jayla’s gasp of shock first before I even properly register Caesar’s words,
“What exactly do you mean by that?” She spits, “You signed a contract, Caesar. We have nowhere else to go
Meanwhile. I’m shocked to silence. Then slowly, my anger starts to build.
Caesar opens his mouth to speak but I beat him to it.
“That’s okay, Jayla. We’ll leave his house. You don’t have to hegn”
Jayla’s gasp of shock pierces my heart like an arrow. She hurries my side and grabs my arm.
“Amaya, what are you saying? If Caesar kicks us out, where are we gonna go with two babies? How will we take care of them?”
I can feel the weight of Caesar’s gaze on me as I look at my best friend.
“I survived without his help before. I’m pretty sure I can survive without him now. Besides, I know I’m innocent. Someone did something to me tonight but I cannot seem to remember what happened. I will never beg.”
Jayla nods and gives me a small hug. “I’m sorry, bebita. For a moment I panicked. Of course I’m always by your side. We’ll go to my grandma’s house then figure things out from there.”
I give her a weak smile and finally turn my gaze to Caesar.
“If you want me out of your house, that’s absolChapter 12
-Sir, I’m afraid but this situation is getting out of hand. I just received a report that yet another news agency has gotten wind of what happened at the dinner.
Someone who was present at the dinner even sold pictures and videos to Chan Entertainment.”
I press my fingers against my eyes to stop myself from slamming my fists through a dry wall.
Within the first thirty minutes of arriving at the hospital, I received news from one of my sources at New York News that the story of what had conspired at my private family dinner had somehow reached their editor’s desk.
Now, two hours later, my brain has been all over the place, trying to stop the pictures and videos from spreading and also worrying about Amaya who’d passed out the moment we arrived
So far, we’ve managed to pay off most of the agencies to keep the story under wraps.
“What did our second source say?”
“Sir, I’m sorry but there’s no good news from his end. His people have refused to accept the money. Chan Entertainment would rather publish the pictures”
My anger burns hotter. I’m not surprised. Chan entertainment is owned by Ai Chan, the most powerful woman in the entertainment industry and my sworn enemy.
Hate her guts as much as she hates mine, She’s the only entertainment agency who refused my offer.
Chan Entertainment is the god of entertainment in New York City. If she publishes those pictures, all my efforts would be in
vain.
“Get Ai Chan on the phone.”
“Yes, sir.” Henry replies.
Five seconds later, he hands the phone to me;
“Ai Chan.” I growl.
“Manchester. About time you called me.” I can hear the smugness in her tone and it only serves to ramp up my annoyance.
“Let’s skip the chit chat, shall we? You’re in possession of documents that could damage mine and my future wife’s reputation. Why haven’t you accepted my offer?”
She giggles, just like the manic psycho that she really is.
“And why do you think I’d accept your offer? I owe you absolutely nothing but you owe me everything.”
“You’re still keeping a grudge over what happened fifteen years ago? You’re pushing forty, Ai. It’s high time you let go.”
Her tone morphs from bubbly to furious in a heartbeat.
“You killed my child, Caesar, remember? You took my first fruit away from me. I vowed that I’ll make your life a living hell until the day I breathe my last. Be rest assured that I haven’t even started with you yet.”
My heart twists with a mixture of pain and guilt.
“You don’t have to guilt trip me every single opportunity you get Ai. I blame myself enough.”
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Chapter 12
“But you’ll never feel the pain I felt.” She snaps, her voice sounding suspiciously teary
“Until I’m sure that you feel my pain, I will never stop tormenting you.”
I lean against the windows and look out at the dull night sky.
“I have a daughter in the hospital who’s on the brink of death. n’t you think the goddess has punished me enough?”
Ai sniffs on the other end of the line and I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat.
No matter how much I hate her, the death of her child has contributed to sixty percent of my horrible nightmares. I will never forget. And I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself either.
I take a deep breath and step away from the wall. I straighten my shoulders and let the darkness properly sink into the depths of my soul.
That’s the only way I can deal with the guilt.
“You know what, Chan? I will not ask again. You can publish the pictures if you want.”
Then I end the call and stretch the phone in Henry’s direction.
He must’ve notice my dark aura because he asks;
“Sir, are you okay? What did she say?
“This situation is out of our hands, Henry. Call the publicity secretary and tell her to get ready to make a statement tomorrow. Ai might release those pictures tonight.”
I turn to go find the doctor but just then, a pretty, red–headed nurse heads in my direction.
I take a good, long look at her as she approaches… and feel nothing.
When Michaela told me that she wanted a red–headed mommy, I honestly thought that any red–head would do. But just like this woman, they made me feel empty inside.
However, the moment I laid my eyes on Amaya, even in that foggy, rainy weather… I’m still unable to explain what she did
to me.
My body, heart and soul came alive with liquid fire. My wolf nearly crawled out of my flesh. She sparked feelings in me that I refuse to address up until now. And she keeps doing that. Even today
“Sir, your wife is awake…”
I forget everything else as I thank the nurse and hurry towards Amaya’s room. I come to a stop when I see a doctor stepping past the doorway.
“Mr. Caesar. Her lab results are out and they’re not looking good
My heart is on the verge of tearing past my chest at this point.
What’s the diagnosis, doctor?”
“First of all, there’s a very high dose of alcohol in her system.”
“How high, Doctor?”
“High to the point of being dangerous.” He deadpans
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Chapter 12
My heart nearly drops to the bottom of my shoes.
“How the fuck is that even possible? How was she able to consume that much alcohol?”
“That’s why I want to know if she has any past traumas or conditions. Is she a recovering alcoholic or drug addict
I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”
I ran an extensive background check on Amaya before I married her. It never revealed that she was a recovering alcoholic.
“You can go in and see her now. We’ll keep conducting more texts
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Then with my brain spinning with a combination of annoyance and confusion, I pull the door open and walk inside.
AMAYA
I lean against the headboards for a moment, unsure of my surroundings. Blinding white lights pierce my eyeballs, making it difficult to see properly.
And to crown it all, my
my head aches like I just ran a three hundred mile marathon.
Suddenly, someone jumps on me and wraps her arms around me tightly. I want to scream but before the sound can slip pas my throat, I’m suddenly hit with a very familiar peach scent. Jaya.
“Oh my God, Amaya, I was so worried about you. I’m glad you’re okay. She sounds like she’s on the verge of tears as she leans back and rubs her fingers through my hair.
1 frown.
“What happened to me? What’s going on?”
She gives me an incredulous look,
“You don’t remember anything! How do you feel?”
“Um…my head hurts like hell. Besides that, I remember nothing
I watch in confusion as she gets to her feet and retrieves her phone from the bedside table. Her face is drawn in a tight, unhappy expression, and I’m worried because it’s extremely rare to see Jayla unhappy.
“Jayla, you’re scaring me. What’s going
g on the screen.
She lifts her phone to my face and I struggle to read the tiny lettering
510
“This is what’s going on. Amaya. What happened to you tonight?
I can feel my entire system run cold as I read those words;
Billionaire’s fiancée exhibits strange behaviour at family dinner Suspected case of alcohol and drug abuse. NewYork City’s most eligible bachelor, Caesar Manchester, attends family dinner with psychotic fiancée, enduring humiliation as she pukes all over his mother’s expensive dress…
I can barely breathe properly at this point. My headache is gradually becoming worse and my heart is thundering wildly.
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Chapter 12
“Wh–what is this? What is this, Jayla!”
“What the fuck do you think it is!” A deep male voice replies from the doorway
My head snaps upwards and my blood runs cold as my eyes clad with Caesar’s icy black ones.
The atmosphere in the room seems to drop down to ten degree Jayla can probably sense the tension in the air because the gets to her feet and steps in front of me protectively.
Caesar looks at her like she’s a cockroach he could crush without effort. We’re doomed. I just know it.
He looks over her shoulder and hits me with the full force of that cold glare,
“Every single thing you read on that phone is true. In fact..” he lifts a finger and Henry steps forward with a laptop.
He tries to walk past Jayala but she’s having none of it.
“I won’t let you touch her.”
Caesar’s expression is chiefly to the bone at this point.
“You and your friend are nothing compared to my strength, Jayls. If I wanted to kill you both, I’d have done that within
seconds.
Kindly get out of the way. Henry will only show her a video on his laptop. I won’t hurt her.”
Hake a deep breath, “Jayla”
She steps aside hesitantly but follows Henry every step of the way as he pauses in front of me and navigates to one of the videos on a news site.
My eyes widen in horror as I watch myself gallivant around the hotel’s entrance and subsequently empty my stomach all over Mrs. Manchester’s dress just like the news said
By the time the video rolls to the end, I’m trembling with shock and embarrassment, and Jayla has gone dead silent.
“That’s not all,” Caesar says calmly, as if he’s talking about the weather.
There are pictures of you making a total mockery of yourself outside the hotel, jumping around and causing trouble for the guards. There are videos circulating already and people are constantly asking why Caesar Manchester would choose to marry a deranged woman.”
I lower my head as the reality of my actions crash down on me.
This might not affect me because not many people know me. My marriage to Alistair was a secret affair after all.
But I cannot begin to imagine how much damage this has caused to Caesar and his image. Oh, goddess
“I’m sorry for ruining your reputation…” I whisper once I manage to find my voice.
“Do you think I give a bloody fuck about that?!” He snaps suddenly, startling me.
His eyes are no longer dark and icy. They’re alive… and furious.
“No one can damage my reputation, Amaya. I am Caesar fucking Manchester.”
He turns away and continues his pacing
“What I want to know is why. Why did you do this? Are you a recovering alcoholic, is that it
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Chapter 12
“Amaya doesn’t drink aholiq!“Jayla cuts in defiantly
Caesar stops in his tracks and gives her a deadly stare.
“I would advise you not to speak until you’re being spoken to, Miss Jayla I’m sure your friend can hear me just fine”
“I don’t drink alcohol. She’s right.”
I can feel the burning weight of his eyes on me.
“Don’t you dare lie to me. The doctor confirmed that a very high dosage of alcohol was found in your blood. Don’t lie to
- me.
The threatening note in his voice is enough to have me shivering, but I refuse to cower. Deep down, I know I’m innocent.
I look up and hold his furious stare, despite my fear;
“I have never, ever tasted alcohol in my life, Caesar. Something is off and very, very wrong about this entire situation. I don’t know if you feel it, but I do.
The person
in that video is not the real me. I know I’m innocent
Caesar says nothing for a long, long while.
Finally, when it feels like I might choke from the weight of his silence, he says;:
Since you have refused to say the truth, I’m giving you two days to pack your belongings out of my house. I am no longer interested in getting married to a liar…”
SEND GIFT
utely fine. I’ll be leaving with my babies tonight. But don’t you dare come back to apologise once you find out that I was actually innocent.
CAESAR
“Sir, aren’t you going to do anything about this? Miss Amaya is really serious about leaving.”
I’ve barely come home these past few days but today, I’ve been locked up in my home office for the past two hours and constantly sending Henry to act as my spy.
I may have asked Amaya to leave out of anger, but I never really expected her to actually leave. I expected her to at least try to convince me to let her stay. But I guess I underestimated her stubbornness.
She’s so infuriatingly stubborn.
I get to my feet and pace the large office, my face set in a permanent frown.
“It’s almost midnight, Henry. Where did she say she’s going again
“They’ll all be going to Jayla’s grandmother’s place, sir.”
“And how far is that from here?”
“It’s located at the Blue Rivers Pack extension. Over two hours away.”
I curse under my breath. Damn stubborn woman. She
“Did you do what I asked?”
e only has to ask me to let her stay once. Just once.
“Yes, sir. I tried to convince her that it’s not a good idea. I even warned her about the dangers of travelling by road at this
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time, but she still refused to listen to me
I run my fingers through my hair, trying hard to ignore the odd feeling that currently unfurls in my chest.
“And sir…”
My head snaps upwards when Henry trails off.
“What happened? Why did you stop?”
He suddenly looks hesitant.
“Nothing, sir.”
I heave a sigh and cover the distance between us, effectively taking up his personal space
“Speak, Henry. You know I hate it when you do that.”
He nods. “Sorry, sir. It’s just that. Miss Amaya does not look okay. The doctor said she’ll need a while to recover from the overdose of alcohol in her system and just a few minutes ago, she seemed particularly exhausted.
Also, her babies have been crying a lot lately which I believe is contributing to her exhaustion. She doesn’t seem okay, sir. and if she returns to Jayla’s grandmother’s place, she might not be able to afford a nanny to help her with the kids…”
His voice trails off once again.
You asked me to give a report about the things I’ve observed, sir, and all I can say is that there’s something off about Miss Amaya. She doesn’t seem okay.” He repeats.
I pace away from him and shut my eyes for a brief second.
I’m supposed to be angry at Amaya for the drama she put up at the dinner tonight but right now, I cannot seem to find that
anger.
All I feel is this gnawing, negative sense of worry deep in my chest.
“Henry, go back there and try to convince her to stay back again. Do you understand me? And don’t stop until she actually agrees to do just that.”
“Yes, sir.”
He’s just about to leave when my office door opens. I turn quickly, expecting Amaya, but my soul deflates a little when I see Jayla’s sharp blue eyes.
“Henry, the hedgehog.” She greets Henry on his way out.
“Jayla, the talkative.”
She makes faces at him behind his back before turning to me, then her smile disappears completely.
“I’m here to return the keys to our bedrooms, Mr. Manchester.”
I swallow hard. It’s obvious that Amaya asked her to do this.
“You did not have to do that in person, you know. You could’ve left it with the housekeeper.”
She smirks. “Alright, you’ve caught me. I may actually have one or two things to say..
The first being that I don’t completely know what happened this evening, but I’m one hundred percent sure that something
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Chapter 1
happened to Amaya.
I smell foul play. Mr. Manchester. You better do your investigations because I know my best friend is innocent.
I grit my teeth to keep myself from asking her to tell Amaya to day.
“Is there anything else?” I ask coldly instead.
She shrugs. “My best friend might still be suffering from the trana of a failed marriage and is therefore as blind as a hat. but I’ve got eyes and I can see that you’re attracted to her.”
1 freeze. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” She replies boldly. “But be warned; you will never, ever be able to win her over that easily after what you’ve done today, so get ready for a lifetime of grovelling-
Oh, and we’re leaving for my Nana’s place right now.
Once I hear those words, I push past her and stride out of the room.
“Where the hell are you going?!” She yells after me. I ignore her
Once I see Amaya cradling one of her babies in the sitting room, my pulse ccelerates. Henry was right- she does look tired. But she’s still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Honest to the goddess.
“I never
knew
you
to be a coward.”
She jerks when she hears my voice and gets to her feet. My heart tightens even further when I see her slightly wet eyes.
“Were you crying?”
She frowns at me like I’ve gone crazy.
“No, of course not. I have a crazy headache. My eyes get teary whenever I have a headache.
“Why didn’t you return the keys yourself?”
She looks past me, completely ignoring my question.
“Where’s Jayla? She’s supposed to order an Uber so we can leave soon.”
“Forget the Uber. I’ll ask one of my drivers to drop you off.”
Amaya adjusts the mewling baby on her arm and shakes her head at me, Damn stubborn woman.
“I’m sorry but I will no longer be accepting any favours from you. Caesar. We’ll be fine in an Uber.”
In response, I whip my phone out and place a call to my most trusted driver. He answers on the first ring.
“Sir. Any problems!”
“No, Simon. Get ready to drive Amaya to the Blue Rivers Pack extension in the next thirty minutes.”
AMAYA
“There was honestly no need for you to do that.”
Chapter 13
“My way is safer and quirker,
I pause and stare at the stubborn quirk of his lips.
“Thope you’re not expecting a thank you”
He scoffs. “Absolutely not
We stand there in awkward silence for a while.
Just when it seems as though he’s about to say something, Jayla and the driver arrive at the same time.
“Come on, Amaya. It’s time to go.”
Without sparing Caesar another glance, I cradle my child in one hand and pick up one of our bags in the other as I make my way towards the entrance.
I can’t quite explain the horrible feeling that sparks in my chest as the driver pulls the door open and I settle into the backseat of the car.
As we drive out of the mansion, I swear I can feel eyes on my skin through the glass. Dark, obsidian eyes,
Heaven, my baby girl, is extremely fussy throughout the two hour ride and I’m completely exhausted.
What’s worse? She seems particularly attached to me tonight. Jayla offered to take her for a while to give me a break but the immediately started screaming her head off.
Now her brother, Neveah, who was quiet until thirty minutes ago has joined in the screaming and crying.
My head feels like a drum is currently being banged around up there. Infeel feverish, I’m shivering and I’m also on the
verge
of tears
Finally, we arrive at Jayla’s Nana’s house and I step out of the car to breathe in some fresh air.
“Amaya Jayla! My sweethearts, I’m so happy to see you!”
My damp spirit lifts as Jayla’s grandmother joyfully hurries towards me.
I take one step in her direction and the world suddenly becomes extremely blurry.
I pause and press my fingers against my forehead, my smile instantly disappearing
“Something’s wrong with me. Nana.” I whisper when she pauses in front of me. “Please, there’s something wrong with me…”
