Helen was on top of the world when she returned to her floor after lunch and was even more ecstatic over her plan for the rest of the day. She didn't even mind the stares and whispers anymore. Since her scope of duties had now been significantly reduced, she accessed the employee’s portal and found the announcement for the competition.The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing and polishing up her proposal, and by the end of the day, she sent it in, anonymously as the requirements requested. Regardless of what happened from then on, her heart was now settled and grateful for the chance.When she was done, most people had already left for the day, so she picked up her purse and went home to Aaron. At the end of the following week, Aaron sat anxiously in his office, waiting on the result of the vita500 presentation. He already had so much hope in Helen's proposal and he believed she was gonna make it to at least the top 3 finalists. He looked lost in thought."Are you even listeni

Two weeks later, Helen took a sick day off so she could get a long weekend and she was on her way to Florida. Guilt pricked her as she drove home that Thursday evening, especially given her promotion and all the new responsibilities that came with it. But she needed a very long weekend, and Friday night was just too late a start with Aaron. A long weekend to know her fate with Aaron. A long weekend that will determine if her heart will be shattered or if she will live happily ever after. She drove straight to the airport from the office and boarded the 7 p.m. flight headed to Florida. She was so close to turning back but she had come this far. Spent quite a sum on a flight ticket too. She couldn't chicken out now.Besides, Tracy and Lily would have her head if she didn't go again. Her hands trembled as she secured the seatbelt across her waist, in her preparation for takeoff. She couldn’t help but realize this would be the turning point. This weekend, she was going to tell him abou

Aaron couldn't wait till the end of the meeting. He left thirty minutes before the meeting was concluded. He didn't bother to go back to his office to pick up his briefcase or ask his secretary if Helen had picked up the call. He just wanted to go home, pack up a few things, and be on his way to Chicago. When he got home, he found Anna's car parked in front of his gate and he wondered what she was doing there. Upon spotting him, she exited her car. She walked towards his car just as he exited. "Oh, Aaron. You don't know how long I've been here. Your guards kept me here because I don't have an appointment with you." She said as she hugged him tightly. Aaron's face hardened. He gently pushed her from him to break the hug. "What are you doing here Anna?""That's some welcome Aaron". She rolled her eyes and continued. "You really should put my name as one of the accepted guests so I don't have to spend hours outside waiting for you".What the hell was she talking about and what did sh

"Those pictures you saw of him kissing his wife, his ex-wife rather, she was behind those pictures. According to him, she tried to kiss him in a public place and she had planted a photographer who took the pictures." She took a slow breath and continued. "When you saw him with her, he didn't invite her over. She came to tell him that she wanted him back and when he told her he had moved on, she kissed him without his consent. Helen, I don't know what to make of all this. Aaron isn't one to be petty. He won't just lie. Please listen to him. His ex-wife has many reasons to want to come back to him. She's fighting to be with him. I think you should put up a fight too."Helen froze, the announcement jarring her into a stupor. “What are you talking about?” she breathed.She tried to recall what she saw and realized he struggled to break off the kiss. But all her brain could interpret at that moment was the fact that he was with another woman. “Aaron’s on his way right now to the hospital

She gazed at him and from nowhere, her eyes filled with tears. A drop fell before she could turn away. “I’m sorry,” she said with a nervous laugh. “These damn hormones keep pushing me out of balance.”He gave her the time to recover and reached forward to place his hand on hers. That little gesture he could see, greatly encouraged her.“I’m not ready,” she answered. “But I doubt that I’ll ever be. And since… I’ll never consider any other options, I don’t have a choice but to be ready do I?”He was well aware of the alternative options that she was referring to. “Did you consider getting rid of the child?” he asked.“Honestly, I didn’t. Even though at the time I didn’t know if I would ever see you again. We had gotten involved and parted ways in a not-so-peaceful war” Her laugh was bitter. “I didn’t even know if I should reach you or if you may want to have anything to do with me, not to talk of a child. So no, I didn’t consider anything other than having the baby, and then you showed