LOGINOrana’s Point of View
I knew Callahan hated people who didn’t keep time, and he said I had to meet him exactly at ten, which means I have less than two hours to eat, shower, and head to the other side of town with this traffic. By the time I was getting to his office, it was just fifteen minutes before ten o’clock. “Did you hear? Marissa Pearce is the new CMO,” someone said as they went into the elevator. “Well, it’s easy to get such a position if you’re fucking the boss,” Another one commented, and my insides churned. “I know, right. I just feel for the wife in all of this.” The blonde with the short hair commented while I stood there, in the very back. “I don’t. I hear she is the one who went to his father to plead with him to force Callahan to marry her. She deserves it,” the one with the long blonde hair retorted, no sympathy in her voice. I almost laughed at what she was saying. Because that’s not true, but I don’t bother correcting her. I have other things to worry about. “Still doesn’t mean she deserves to be treated like this.” The one with the short blonde hair said, once the doors opened, they left without even glancing back. “Is he in?” I asked Ella, Callahan’s assistant, and she gave me a sympathetic smile, looking towards the doors. “He’s in a meeting. Please wait,” she said, her voice low, and I nodded my head, going to sit in the waiting area. Forty minutes later, Marissa came out of the office beaming with a smile, her lipstick smudged, and tried to fix her makeup. I froze. My insides churned. He was fucking her. While I waited here? I almost scoffed, but I knew better. “Orana. I didn’t know you were coming,” She beamed, pulling down her skirt. My eyes travelled down her body, then her face. How long have they been doing this behind my back? She walked closer, her arm brushing against mine. “You might have been married to him, but he was always mine,” she whispered, then looked at my face with a big grin on her face. “Go and let go of my baby. He needs to come home,” She beamed with a smile before walking away, and my breath caught, eyes following her before turning to the door, and Callahan stood there. “Let’s get this over with,” he turned. My feet stayed glued to the ground, and I felt drowsy briefly. I inhaled sharply, my hand to my stomach, before walking into the office, closing the door behind me. My eyes drifted over his office, wondering which place he was fucking her from. I felt bile coming up my throat, but I swallowed it. “You can sit. It was the desk,” he said, picking up the documents, then walked over to me. Did he just fucking tell me where he was fucking her from? I scoffed, tears pricking my eyes. “You’ll get alimony just like we had—” I chimed in. “Wait. Before we talk about the divorce, there’s something I need to tell you.” I stopped him, and he sat back, watching me. I had refused to sit anywhere, so I was standing. “I’m eight weeks pregnant,” I blurted out the words, and for a minute, everything just froze, the sound of his breathing and mine, no words spoken. “How?” “I don’t know. I—” “Why?” He lifted his gaze to me, and I narrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the fuck he was talking about. “Callahan” “Why now? Now Marissa is back. Do you think this will keep me married to you? I thought you had a miscarriage?” he asked, getting up to his feet, and I chuckled, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Callahan, I’m not trying to trap you. I just wanted to—” “Is it mine?” “What? Of course, you know it’s yours! Why on earth—” I paused, before realizing what he just asked me. Was he insinuating that I have been cheating on him? “I need to know. I refuse to raise a bastard,” He groaned. The words felt like a knife piercing through my heart. “It’s yours. We can do a paternity test if it makes you happy,” I said to him, through tears, and he shook his head. “No need. I don’t want it.” He said, and the words hurt more than anything, “Marissa and I will start another family. So, you can get rid of it,” he groaned, and I froze, my lips quivering. I pressed my lips together and nodded my head, walking towards the table, I slowly picked up the documents and looked him in the eyes. “I will have this sent to you once I have signed them,” I grabbed the documents and headed towards the door. “Orana?” He shouted behind me, and I stopped in my tracks. “Do it faster. I don’t want it hanging over my head,” he said, his words sharp and cold. I don’t know if he meant the abortion or the divorce, but one thing was certain. I will never forgive Callahan for how he just treated me, even if he crawled out of fire.Orana’s point of viewI’m going to be Vaughn Carson’s wife. Is that even happening?After I could control myself, Vaughn and I sat down and had dinner, but I couldn’t stop admiring my ring. It was a gold ring with a curved band and a pear-shaped diamond.It was everything I could ever dream of.Even as he talked, I couldn’t help but admire my ring, my heart hammering against my chest. I couldn’t wait to show Sienna. Did she know about this? Was that why she didn’t seem worried?I was still thinking about Sienna.“Mama!”The high-pitched shout shocked me, and I pulled back from my thoughts as my eyes widened, and I saw Sienna walking down the manicured lawn, holding a beaming Liorah by the hand.Liorah immediately broke free of Sienna’s grip and ran toward us as fast as her little legs could carry her. Sienna stopped a distance away, crossing her arms with a knowing smile playing on her lips.She knew.Vaughn scooped Liorah up into our embrace. “Bambi,” he said, planting a kiss on her
Orana’s Point of ViewFor the next couple of months, we fell into a beautiful routine. During weekdays, Vaughn and I would go out for late-night drives or dinners just for the two of us. Saturdays belonged to the three of us. If it were us having Liorah, he would spend the whole day playing with Liorah, treating her like the center of his universe.It was strange how he loved her. Every time I found them talking or playing, I was amazed at how he treated her like a princess. Whatever she wanted, she got, no matter how hard it was; the same thing with Callahan.The two of them still can’t stand each other, but I was glad for Liorah that they were trying to tolerate each other.Meanwhile, Sienna was suddenly busy with work and with a mystery guy she was seeing. I never asked her who it was, content with how happy and radiant she looked every time she came home. She was practically glowing.But today, I woke up with a terrible, heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was ab
Orana’s point of viewHe kissed me like a man who was starving, his mouth crashing against mine with a fierce, demanding intensity that burned away any doubt in my mind. The gentle restraint from the weekend was gone, replaced by consuming hunger. When he finally pulled away, his hands stayed locked on either side of my face, his thumbs pressing against my jawline as he forced me to look into his eyes. His gaze was dark, heavy, and completely unguarded.“Tell me you want this, a stór,” he rasped, his breath hot against my lips. “Tell me you want me as much as I want you.”“I want you,” I said, the words spilling out of me without a second thought. I gripped his shirt, pulling him back toward me. “I need you to touch me.”Without holding back, he swept me up into his arms, lifting me off my feet. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me down the dark hallway and into his bedroom.When we hit the mattress, he didn’t rush. He took his time, laying me down beneath him like I
Orana’s point of viewWhen Darian said charity event, I pictured something different from this. I thought, A small gathering, soft lighting, with few people. I was wrong.The place was packed, cameras positioned at every angle, people dressed as if they had somewhere more important to be afterward. Sienna and I made it through the entrance without too much trouble, which was its own minor miracle given the crowd pressing toward the doors.We looked good, and we both knew it. It was the kind of good that comes from taking your time getting ready. I took her hand as we walked in, steering us through the crowd.“We need to find Darian,” I told her. “Make our presence known; then we can leave.”We were barely two steps from the champagne table when she cursed under her breath beside me.I turned to look at her and followed her line of sight just as Darian appeared, walking towards us with a smile on his face.“Hello, freckles.” He said, his voice laced with some sort of amusement. “We mee
Orana’s point of view“What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice really low.She pushed past me into the living room without waiting for an invitation, her eyes sweeping over the space as if she were trying to find everything wrong with it.“Was this your plan all along?” She snapped, turning to face me. “Ruin everything, disappear, and then come waltzing back to playhouse? After tricking people into selling their shares?”“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shook my head. “I planned none of this.”She laughed, her voice humorless. “I’m sure you think you’ve got it all figured out now. Living happily, working alongside Sean, taking everything you wanted from this family.” Her eyes narrowed. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Sean is only keeping you around because of your shares. The second they stop being useful to him, so will you.”“You need to leave my house,” I said, my voice flat and entertaining whatever this was.My mother had a way of making you feel useless, and I d
Orana’s point of view“Where are we going?” I asked Vaughn after he picked me up from work.“Somewhere nice,” he said, with a smile as I raised my eyebrows at him.“What, you don’t trust me?” he asked, and my breath hitched.Of course, I trusted him, but we were still working on whatever this was between us.Instead of a restaurant, we pulled up outside a mansion that sat back from the road behind a line of trees.“Whose house is this?” I asked, my eyes roaming around the place. Because it couldn’t be.“Mine,” he smiled at me, getting out of the car, and my jaw fell to the ground. When did he buy another house?“I didn’t know you bought another house,” I said, looking up at it as I got out of the car after he got the door for me.He laughed, his voice carrying over the quiet. “It’s always been here. I just don’t bring people to it.”Something about the way he said it settled warmly in my chest. He led me inside, through a foyer, then straight to the kitchen.“I will give you a tour la
Orana’s point of view“What?” he asked, his eyebrow raised.I repeat, as if he didn’t hear me the first time, “Is there something you’re keeping from me?”The thing is, I didn’t want to ask that. Not really. Because once I asked, I couldn’t pretend anymore. And I couldn’t risk my daughter. Not if t
Orana’s point of viewWhat was Callahan saying? Vaughn was on the Feds’ watch list.“Yes. Orana. Is that the kind of man you want to be with?” He asked me, and I swallowed hard.“Unless it’s about business or the project, please don’t come anywhere near me,” I warned, and then I walked away from hi
Orana’s point of viewHe said it meant nothing.The words replayed in my head long after I stepped out of the car, long after the meeting ended, long after I forced myself to breathe.He said it was a mistake. Heat of the moment.I should have felt relieved. Instead, I felt unsettled.Because if it
Vaughn’s point of viewI shouldn’t have kissed her.The thought hit me the second I pulled away. My hand was still at the back of her neck, her breath still heavy against my lips, and for a second, I almost leaned back in.I wanted to pin her to the bed and make her forget about that asshole. Hear







