Chapter 39
+25 BONUS
When Luisa stepped out of Thalassa’s office, she went to stand by Juana, the secretary’s desk.
Suddenly, she felt a stare on her. It was so focused that the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She quickly whipped her head to the side to find the guy who had been walking beside Kris.
He blanched, embarrassed at being caught staring, and Luisa glared at him, feeling uncomfortable.
Seeing that he’d been caught, Alden decided to move forward, flashing Luisa a smile she didn’t return.
“Hey, I’m Alden. Alden Richards,” he said, outstretching his hand.
Luisa merely stared at his hand before looking away. “Okay!”
Alden was caught off guard by the bit of unfriendliness he sensed. He chuckled lightly to cover the embarrassment of his hand being left hanging in the air.
“I’m a friend of Kris’s,” he said.
Luisa’s expression soured even more. “Believe me, you shouldn’t be saying that as a flex.”
“No… What… I’m not saying…” Alden frowned in confusion before everything clicked in his head. “Oh.”
So her unfriendliness was because he was Kris’s friend?
His body warmed as he gazed at her while she was looking away. He’d met a lot of beautiful women, but none of them had struck him so immediately, especially with such simplicity.
“Should I take a picture with you?” Luisa suddenly snapped, looking back at him. “Then you can stare at me every night before you go to bed.”
Alden flushed some more. Damn Kris! If he hadn’t come here yesterday and said all those horrible things to Thalassa, then perhaps Thalassa’s friend wouldn’t be treating him so rudely.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said. “It’s just-
Luisa cut him off. “If you’re going to say that it’s just that m the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen or any of those cliché pick–up lines, then don’t bother. I have a boyfriend.”
Alden felt his chest deflate. It had been a while since he’d met a woman who genuinely piqued his interest, and she was already taken.
As Luisa was talking, her phone began ringing, and seeing the name on the screen, she smiled as she answered and walked away from Alden for some privacy.
“Babe,” she said softly, happy that he’d called her, but his harsh voice demolished all the excitement.
“I just saw you on TV in a press conference with that friend of yours. You’re in Baltimore?” he raged. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Luisa smiled bitterly. “I’ve been gone for five days now, Victor. Isn’t it ironic that I’m your girlfriend and you’re just finding out?”
“Don’t play smart with me, Luisa. Why didn’t you tell me? Victor hissed.
“I tried telling you several times before I left, and I’ve been trying to tell you every time I call you. But guess what? You’re always too busy and will call me back soon, but you never do.”
It was ironic because she’d invested her money into Victor’s company, which had made it the success it was today,
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Chapter 39
only for him to use it as an excuse every time.
“You didn’t even seek my permission before leaving,” Victer fumed. “I want you back in New York in two days, Luisa. Otherwise, forget about our relationship.‘
Luisa felt pained. How desperate had she been to please him before that made him think that he could just continue walking all over her as he pleased? Well, she was done being the doormat.
“Okay,” she said simply, and hung up.
Only a few seconds later, the phone began ringing again. Lulsa answered.
“What did you mean by okay? Does it mean you’re coming or not?”
Without saying anything, Luisa hung up again, disappointed with herself for even thinking that Victor was going to apologize when he’d never done that before.
When her phone began ringing again, she immediately switched it to do not disturb. She felt like crying but she knew she needed to control herself.
Dragging in a deep breath, she walked back toward Juana’s desk where Alden was still standing.
“Is everything alright?” he asked.
“Yes,” Luisa said curtly and looked away from him.
In Thalassa’s office, Kris waited several seconds for the “I told you so” to come, but when it never did, he frowned.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Thalassa stared back at him stoically. “What do you want me to
say?”
“I just told you that I know you were telling the truth about being pregnant. I had it investigated and found that you were truly attacked and admitted to the hospital the night we got divorced.”
“Okay,” Thalassa said simply, attempting to walk past him but he blocked her path.
“Thalassa, the things I said yesterday, I didn’t mean any of them.‘
Thalassa scoffed. “What didn’t you mean, Kris? Calling me a prostitute or calling my dead child a bastard?”
Kris winced at the reminder. “Thalassa, I was angry because of what I thought you did to my mother and because
“No amount of anger gives you the license to say something so hateful about my unborn child,” she said fiercely.
Kris nodded slowly, not disagreeing with her. He pursed his lips. “I know you said the hospital sent a message to my company, but no message arrived.”
“Oh yeah?” Thalassa snorted. “What about the text message I sent to your phone telling you that I’d lost the baby?”
“Text message?
Thalassa huffed incredulously. “Oh, so now you’re going to tell me you didn’t see that one either when you replied in the worst way possible? You told me to deal with it myself because you didn’t care. How about that?!”
Kris’s eyes widened. “Thalassa, I didn’t receive any text. Neither did I reply with anything. If I knew you were truly pregnant and there was a possibility that the child could be mine, I would’ve never ignored you or told you to deal with it yourself.”
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Chapter 39
Thalassa froze. “Could be yours?”
Kris nodded slowly. “That’s the main reason why I came here. I need to know. Was it mine?”
Thalassa didn’t know whether to laugh, slap him, or slap herself. Here she was, thinking he’d come to apologize because he believed the child she lost had been his. But no. He still thought the child could belong to another. Feeling her eyes burning, Thalassa firmly held back the tears as she calmly said, “Get out of my office, Kris.” She attempted to bypass him again, but this time, he grabbed her by the arm and pushed her toward the wall. “Why are you acting all offended, Thalassa?” he questioned, glaring into her eyes. “You cheated on me, and I don’t even know how many times. I have a right to have doubts as to whether the child you were carrying was truly mine.”
“Let go of me,” Thalassa demanded, trying to free herself, but he continued pinning her against the wall. “Please, I need to know. Was that child mine?” he said softly, his eyes pleading with her.
Glaring back into his eyes, Thalassa gritted out, “No. It wasn’t yours.”
