"Thank you very much," I said before ending the call.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Trouble in paradise?" Jessica muttered before taking a sip of her coffee.

I rubbed my temple. "Rowan is refusing to sign the divorce papers."

She chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me. Besides, I told you. The Black family are a bunch of handsome and beautiful looking Creeps."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"You do know I, Ruby, and Russ are members of the Black family, right?" I asked.

She froze at first, before awkwardly taking another sip of her coffee.

"Like I said, handsome and beautiful," She muttered, looking away.

I leaned forward, grabbing the coffee cup.

"Do you think I should go myself? Maybe I could talk some sense into—"

"Definitely not!" Jessica cut me off, shaking her head. "We've been through this before Allie. One minute you're all 'it's over! It's over!' and the next you're back in the Black mansion. It's like Rowan's got some hold on you."

I couldn't help but sigh.

She was right. I was a hot mess. Rowan always got into my head.

But this time, it's different. I'm not going to let him treat me like some play toy.

Not anymore.

Just then, the Cafe Barista walked up to us

"Someone asked me to give this to you," He said, handing me a piece of paper.

"Who is that?" I asked.

He was about to point in a direction when he paused. He surveyed the Cafe before finally returning his attention to me.

"I'm sorry, but he isn't here," He said. " He has gone."

I nodded as I opened the note. When I was done reading it, I turned around, frantically looking for who it was.

"What does it say?" Jessica asked.

"It says, "I've missed you so much, A.L." I replied.

"Do you think it's, Rowan?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"Rowan only knows me as Alessia Dale. This person," I said, raising the note. "Knows my past."

***

I laid back in my chair, my eyes shut as I thought of what to say to him.

I didn't want him to think I missed him.

"We're here, Ma'am," The Cab driver said.

I looked out of the window pane, staring at the huge gate.

"Thank you," I muttered, paying the driver and stepping out of the car.

I had to use a Cab because I left the house in Jessica's car.

I know she asked me not to come here, but I needed to get some of my and Ruby's things as soon as possible. That's all.

I walked through the gates.

The security didn't make any attempt to show a sign of respect to the Young Lady of the—I meant former Young Lady of the house.

But who am I to judge them? My husband and son didn't, so why should they?

I walked into the mansion, only to find Russ and Elora in the living room. They were playing video games.

It was a school night, and Russ shouldn't be staring at any screen. But then again, if his new Mom thinks he should, then who am I to say otherwise?

"Alessia, you're here!" Elora said, standing. She was shocked to see me.

I wanted to ignore her and head upstairs when I caught sight of what she was wearing—my nightgown.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

It was a sexy nightgown Rowan I had bought a few years ago to woo Rowan.

But when he saw me in it, he just walked away ordering me not to wear such things in his house.

I guess he preferred it on her. It did look better on her than on me. She had the right curves to fill it up.

"What are you doing here, Ms. Alessia?" Russ asked, catching me off guard.

He called me by name and added "Ms." to it.

"Is that you'll be calling me now?" I asked with a faint smile on my face, curious.

He nodded, staring at me with disdain. "Aunt Elora told me that all unmarried ladies are called Miss, and since you are part of them now, that's what I'll be calling you."

I exhaled, feeling a little bit bored and exhausted by their antics.

"Fine, do what you want," I muttered. "I just hope she told you that what follows a person's name after a title is the last name, not the first name."

"Of course, I told him that!" Elora yelled, but I didn't pay attention to her.

I just headed for the stairs. But when I got to my room, I found the door slightly open.

I stepped in, only to find Rowan standing in the middle of the room.

After we moved into different rooms, he never came to mine. So what was he doing here?

He turned to the door the moment he heard the creaking of the hinges.

His eyes widened in shock, but it only lasted for a second.

"You finally came back," He said with a victorious smile on his face.

I rolled my eyes as I walked towards the closet.

"I'm only here to get a few things for me and Ruby. That's all," I said.

Before I could get into the walk-in closet, he pulled my hand, spinning me as he pushed me into a wall.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

I scoffed.

"You don't seem to catch on Rowan. It's finally over between us, so the moment you sign the papers, the easier it will be for—"

Before I could complete the sentence, Rowan closed the gap between our lips.

I tried to push him away, but instead, his arms found my waist, pulling me closer.

Why the heck was he doing this?

I hated him so much, but I hated myself more for what I did next.

Like an involuntary action, my arms found his neck, wrapping themselves around it.

He carried me towards the bed, dropping me and positioning himself in between my legs.

In no time, our clothes were gone, and he was inside me.

We moaned together as we got to the peak of ecstasy, our fingers locked together.

He moved to my ear, biting my ear lobe.

"I'm never letting you go, Alessia," He whispered.

I didn't know what to say or what to do.

Suddenly, he stood up and started putting on his clothes.

He was about to leave when he stopped and turned to me.

"I want things to return to normal around here," He instructed. "Elora is not allowed to go into the kitchen to cook or do anything, and please...do not let her put on any of your clothes. She looks horrible in them."

With those words out of his lips, he walked out of his room.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I realized what I had done.

I had given in to Rowan again. I was such a fool.

I thought he cared about me, but instead, he saw me as a house help and someone with a bad taste in clothes.

I hated myself for always falling for his touch and caresses.

I hated it a lot.

I stood up from the bed. Picking my back, I pulled out my phone and dialed the first number on the list.

The moment she answered, I said the words, wiping my cheeks.

"I'm ready to come back home, Grandma."