LOGINOlivia Barnett POVI was mad. No. I was furious.How can he do this to me?Was the fifteen years I endured loving him not enough. Did he want more?I already spent almost half of my life loving him and what did I get in return?Heartbreak. Disappointment. Rejection and Cruelty.“What more do you want from me, you bastard?” I hissed.I grabbed the lapels of his shirt and pulled his face toward me, but that was a wrong move because closer, I could smell his natural manly scent and his minty breath that frazzled my nerves uncontrollably.And more impor
Josh Morgan SterlingI tasted her pain, and that made me want to hit myself repeatedly.How could I have hurt her like this?At first, Olivia resisted. Her body thrashed and she pushed at my chest with her palms. But I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close, but not too tight. I do not want to crush her.She struggled. Olivia won’t be subdued.“I love you.” I told her in a strangled voice.Olivia’s face twisted. Like I expected, the expression on her face told me she did not believe a word.“Liar!” She muttered contemptuously.
Josh Morgan Sterling POVThe moment she stepped out of the hospital suite, I knew I messed up.I shook my head, regret washing over me at the realization that I failed her.I wanted to knuckle my head. There was no explanation to how I had acted. Why was it so hard to just admit it? Why can’t I just say it?But I was afraid. I was scared stiff she wouldn’t believe a word.I had hurt her too many times in the past. Would she still believe me when I tell her that I love her? That I had always loved her.Disgust for myself filled me. I stepped back, muscles tensing as self-loathing filled me. “Daddy? Why is Mommy crying?” Zoe asked.I shut my eyes. My heart sank at the realization that the kids saw everything. They saw their mother’s pain, something which I caused.I felt little hands pulling at my sleeves. I looked down at Zoe’s frowning face and realized that I can’t let this go on. I can’t let Olivia misunderstand me all the time.“You are a coward, Daddy!” I felt ashamed when
Olivia Barnett POVThree pairs of little black eyes stared into us. Josh and I faced each other awkwardly at having been caught doing the nasty. Ugh!Josh groaned in frustration. It was what I felt, too, though I was ashamed to admit it because that would be confronting feelings I had long buried in the deepest parts of me. That was how I survived the last five years. I stopped being a woman because three little human beings needed me first. They needed a mother, not someone pining for a love lost.My pain, the betrayal, the loneliness, I had swept them all under the bed so I could focus on my task as a mother. Nothing else mattered but my children. They are my first priority.“Daddy, are you kissing mommy?” Zoe’s question broke into my thoughts. I had not realized that in my preoccupation with the past, the silence dragged around us. I looked at my daughter. She was staring at her father wide-eyed, a smile of approval curving her lips. “Do you love our Mommy?” Leo asked. This
Olivia Barnett POVI was surprised. I didn’t know that he was eavesdropping. What did he hear? Did he hear us talking about Daisy?“Josh!” I cried in surprise.But what was astounding was the way he copied my earlier reaction when I confronted Grandpa Jonathan.“What? Not being cautious today?”He even used the exact same word I used.He really did eavesdrop on us.My cheeks felt like there was an ongoing fire in there. I was stumped, frozen on the spot, unable to speak. Tongue-tied.There are certain moments in the years that I had known him that J
Olivia Barnett POV"Grandpa!" I cried askanced. "What do you plan for me to do?"Granda beckoned with his hand and I pulled my chair to lean closer to his bed."Make my grandson jump on loops." He whispered.I stared at him, trying to gauge his mood. His clear, direct eyes told me he was serious.My eyes grew a little wider in disbelief."You wanted me to make things hard for Josh? He is your grandson. Your flesh and blood."But nothing could dissuade Grandfather when he sets his mind unto a task."The triplets are also my flesh and blood. I want their father to be worthy
Olivia Barnett POV“Mommy! I am hungry!”“Mommy! I don’t want the aisle seat!”“Mommy! I need to pee!”I looked exasperatedly at my three demanding children and sighed.I took a long, deep breath to calm myself.We had just gotten inside the plane that would carry us from London Heathrow to John F.
Olivia Barnett POVWhile inside Zeke’s car, I stroked my ring absent-mindedly. The pad of my thumb glided to the diamond. Until now, I could not believe that he would propose, and I would accept.Since I left New York five years ago, Zeke has become the one on my side.I remember another ring, my
Josh Morgan Sterling POVI raised my champagne glass in the air, faced the crowd of employees, investors, business partners, and clients of Sterling Enterprises over the years, and made a toast.“To all the years of success! To Sterling Enterprises!”The crowd chimed with me. There was a look of ad
Olivia Barnett POV“Cheers!” I held the stem of my wine glass and lifted it in the air.Zeke Alexander, my date for the evening, lifted his, too.“For the past that brought us together and our new beginnings.”We clinked glasses, then I swirled the wine around my goblet, took a sniff to savor its n







