It was 10 o'clock at night.
Nelissa had just tucked the twins into bed when the phone suddenly rang. Nelissa wondered who might be calling that late at night.
"I've been trying to call you on your phone. Where were you?"
It was Jolene.
"I'm sorry. My phone must have run flat," Nelissa replied. She was lying. She intentionally turned her phone off to avoid Edward.
Jolene then added, "Marcel suddenly called for an emergency meeting with all of the supervisors. The meeting just ended and I'm coming home now. I'm starving!"
Nelissa laughed, "Alright, I'll whip you up something to eat. Maybe some noodles?"
"That sounds amazing! I want an egg and some spam too! Oh, no onions please!" Jolene was thrilled.
Nelissa hung up the phone and began cooking in the kitchen. She took out some stuff from the fridge, did some prep work when all of a sudden, the doorbell rang.
She turned off the gas and went to the door. Jolene was home quick.
She opened the door and got the shock of her life. A young man in a tailored suit stood before her.
In his hands were a bouquet of french roses. Freshly imported from the looks of it. Its petals were still bright red and plump.
Nelissa was at a loss for words.
"Hello Miss Quest, I am Master Hales' personal assistant, Andrew Larson. This rose is a gift for you from Master Hales. Please accept it."
Nelissa didn't immediately accept the rose. She stared at it blankly.
There were various species of french roses but Edward must have chosen the rarest one of them all. It must have cost a fortune. Now, Edward was just showing off!
Normally, any girl would be touched and moved by this gesture.
Edward knew the tricks of the trade.
Andrew added, "Master Hales is downstairs right now and he wishes to see you."
Nelissa slowly took the rose and replied, "I still need to tuck my kids into bed. I don't think it is a good time now."
Andrew didn't expect that.
"Alright, I'll let him know. Good night, Miss Quest." Andrew nodded and left.
Andrew was taken by surprise. All sorts of rich and famous girls would always flock around Edward and jump at the first chance of getting closer to him.
But, for some unknown reason, Edward seemed to fancy this ordinary girl that already had two kids.
Logically speaking, Nelissa should be thanking the heavens for this chance. The chance was supposed to go to someone elegant like Sophie, or maybe Susan Quest, the most beautiful woman in Haleston City.
But she was surprisingly calm. She didn't even try to gain his favor.
Nelissa shut the door. She leaned back against the door and held the rose in her hands.
She loved french roses. Her mother used to push the boat out to have a bed of roses in their garden when Nelissa was still a little girl.
It was something very personal and meaningful to her that no one else except her mother and Zayden probably knew.
Maybe it was just a coincidence. After all, it was a cliche to give women roses and a french rose wasn't a surprise given Edward's opulent taste in everything.
Nelissa put the rose down on the couch and went to the balcony.
Sure enough, there was a black sedan parked right by the entrance. A man rolled down the window, threw out a cigar butt before the car left soon after.
Nelissa gave a sigh of relief. She was worried that her rejection earlier had offended Edward.
She was troubled. That rose indicated that she would be seeing Edward far sooner than she thought. She couldn't hide anymore.
Nelissa went back to the kitchen and continued making the noodles. She was lost in thought. She ended up screwing up the noodles and burning the eggs.
The doorbell rang her back into her senses.
It was Jolene. Jolene immediately sat down and ate the noodles. However, she only took two bites and was done.
She saw the rose on the couch and asked Nelissa, "Is that from Edward?"
Jolene knew that the rose wasn't a common gift. Only Edward could afford such a luxurious gift. It would make sense since they shared a night together too.
"Yes." Nelissa poured away the unfinished noodles.
Jolene then began to say, "Do you know why Marcel called for the emergency meeting today? There have been changes to the Hales Groups project."
Nelissa turned to look at Jolene in puzzlement.
Jolene added, "Edward is personally overseeing the project and he refuses to speak with anyone from the Victory Group. Marcel was concerned that he was going to give the contract to some other company."
"How…" Nelissa couldn't believe it. Edward had stated that he wouldn't interfere with the project.
But look what happened now?!
"Nelissa, I think he is trying to get back at you." Jolene scowled. "Do you know what's going to happen? We might lose that project and worse, he might make life a living hell for you!"
Nelissa knew what Edward was trying to do; he was trying to exert his dominance!
He wanted Nelissa to submit to him!
"Of all the men you could have slept with, why did it have to be Edward Hales? He is not someone we can mess with," Jolene said with a heavy sigh.
Jolene wasn't trying to stop Nelissa from finding love but she didn't approve of one-night-stands. After all, she had two kids! She needed a decent, mature man who could accept those two little critters as well.
It was too late to regret it now. Edward was already making his move.
Jolene decided to turn in for the night. She went back to her room and washed up.
Nelissa continued to tuck her babies into bed. She looked at Nathan and for a brief moment, she swore she could see Edward's shadow on his face. She almost screamed out and ran out the room.
She decided that she had to give Edward a call right there and then!
She turned on her phone. Instantly, notifications began to swarm in. There were multiple missed calls and there it was: Edward Hales.
Nelissa sat down, disheartened. She looked at the clock; 11 o'clock. Was she really going to call him that late at night?
She recalled the time she spent with Edward in the hotel room alone. He didn't do anything much towards her but she could feel the invasive gaze from him. He was a powerful and wealthy man who could have whatever he wanted.
Would he stand and tolerate being turned down by another woman multiple times?
Nelissa plunged herself into bed. She tried to get some shut-eye but all she could think about was Edward.
The next morning in Victory Group.
The atmosphere in the office was depressing.
Nelissa couldn't stand it anymore. She barged into Jolene's office.
Jolene was just about to call Edward's secretary and schedule an appointment. She put the call on speaker when she saw Nelissa.
"Hello, I am calling from the Victory Group. I would like to schedule an appointment with Mr. Hales."
"I'm sorry. Mr. Hales is very busy. He is only accepting important appointments for now."
Only Important appointments?
It was far worse than Nelissa had thought. Edward wasn't even going to see them. He was out to utterly crush them.
Jolene didn't give up. She tried to pester the secretary further but the secretary politely and brutally shot down all her questions. Jolene could only end the call there.
It was impossible to reach Edward without going through his secretary.
Unless, they called him on his personal phone.
Jolene got a taste of his fury before and she didn't want to do it.
Nelissa laid back in the chair. She was hesitant. Edward had only called her once since the day before. He was clearly waiting for her to make the first move now.
She also didn't know if it was appropriate for her to discuss business over his personal phone.
A knock on the door suddenly jolted her out of her thoughts.
"Come in," Jolene replied.
One of their colleagues came in and looked at Nelissa. "Nelissa, there's a bouquet of flowers on your desk for you."
Nelissa shot Jolene a gaze; was it from Edward?
Nelissa rushed to her desk. It was another huge bouquet of french roses; the only difference was it had much more roses this time. It was also freshly imported, just like last time.
Everyone in the office knew what they were and began to poke their nosy noses around, "Is it from your boyfriend?"
Everyone only knew that Nelissa and Jolene were recently moved here from another division but no one really knew anything about their personal lives.
"Take a guess." Nelissa wasn't in the mood to answer them.
There was a card attached to the bouquet. She flipped the card open and at that moment, she felt a stabbing sensation in her heart. With its every beat, her heart began to crack until it slowly disintegrated into dust.
The flowers weren't from Edward; they were from Zayden!
"Aren't you going to visit your mother in hospital?"
Those were the words written on the card.
She crumpled up the card and tossed it into the trash can. Her entire being was quivering but she didn't know if it was because of disappointment or anger.
If she could, she would have set fire to the flowers on the spot!
The biggest regret of her life was falling in love with that jerk! And now, she was in pain because of him and she blamed herself for it.
Nelissa wasn't able to focus the whole day. The flowers, Edward, everything was troubling her. There was too much on her plate right now and she was beginning to drown in the sea of responsibilities. Even her work began to pile up high.
Jolene had already called it a day and went to fetch the twins from school. Funnily enough, there was much less work now that the Hales Group project was on hold.
Nelissa stayed in the office to complete her work.
Finally, she was done. She stretched her hands and looked at the clock; 7 o'clock.
She collected her things and the bouquet before leaving the office. She couldn't possibly leave the bouquet at the office.
As soon as she stepped out of the office, Edward was standing there next to his black sedan. He was clad in an ebony suit.
Suddenly, Edward noticed Nelissa and smiled at her. That smile was unnerving.
Nelissa wanted to turn around and escape into the office but that would only make things worse. She decided to man up and confront Edward!
"Looks like you get a lot of flowers," Edward looked down at the bouquet and said.
He reached out and plucked one of the roses. He rolled the stalk in his hands indifferently and threw it on the ground.
Nelissa looked at the rose on the ground. He was being so rude yet so charming and domineering. He had the irresistible aura of a flirtatious playboy.
Given his charm, Nelissa could almost forgive him for doing that.
"I got something..." Nelissa stammered.
"In the car, now." Edward opened the door for her. He leaned forward and stared at Nelissa.
Her skin was fair like an angel's. Nelissa's hair flowed in the wind and her fragrance permeated Edward's nostrils and into his chest.