Maurene'S POV

My brows furrowed first before my lips parted to speak but nothing came out. He beat me to it as he sat on the couch, pulling his trousers up by the knees.

"I know you are thinking that it is not wise. I know too but apparently, this is the only way. We can't keep letting the traffic go to that site. My clients are going to be badly affected and they might even start second-guessing if they want to invest with me. What do you think?"

I blinked once. Then twice. This really caught me unaware.

"Well," I swallowed hard. "Can't we just release any letter to the press and ask that Nathaniel does the same?" I asked him. I didn't really want us to go that far. The kids didn't even know what was going on between us yet and the fact that we had to dress up like the couple that we were not, not just that, we will have to upload the pictures too.

What would my kids think of me?

"Letter about what?" He asked, raising his brows.

"Like the fact that nothing is going on anywhere and that I do not know him. My reputation and my name are at stake here. I knew deleting those blogs wouldn't do anything. I suggested it to Grayson and he asked that I tell you. He didn't know we were not on speaking terms then." I told him.

His eyes held skepticism as he nodded. "I will discuss it with him and see what we can do about that but still, we might have to resort to what I suggested if this site keeps trying to spoil your name."

I nodded, not fully agreeing but I offered him a tight smile. I wanted to tell him that we were taking this thing too far but this moment was not the time. We just resolved our fight. It would be bad if I brought this up again. Gosh, when will I be free from all of these?

I headed for the kids' room and noticed Diana had already settled them in. I sent her an appreciative smile and she returned it with hers as Kylie kept blabbing about the view outside their room. I left them to go to my room. It was at that moment I realized what was going on.

The door creaked open and I swiveled to look at Liam who paused, oblivious to what was happening.

"Oh," He muttered as he dragged his gaze to the queen-sized bed at the center of the room. "I wanted to tell you about it. There are just two rooms and one guest room in the penthouse."

Which meant that Liam and I would be sharing the same room. My grip around the edge of my suitcase tightened.

"But..." I trailed off, not even knowing what to say.

"Maurene, relax." he walked up to me and placed his palm on my bare shoulders. "Not like I can harm you. Maybe I should reach out to Mr. Lee to check if there are any penthouse vacant with a few rooms. What do you think?" "Diana is going to stay in the guest room. It is a small room. I would have suggested that you stayed there with her or maybe you and her can stay here while I stay at the guest room." He turned to leave but I caught his hand, shaking my head.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable. I brought you here because I wanted you to feel at ease. I can just ask Mr. Lee to look for a nice and big place." His eyes held deep concern.

I shook my head, waving my hand in the air. If he does that, it would only mean another cost which will make me feel guilty. He has done enough for us. I should do this for us too. I will just manage. That's it.

I walked deeper into the corner to start arranging my dress in the wardrobe. I glanced behind me and noticed he was busy on his phone. Sometimes, I wondered what he was always doing. He never used his laptop. Just his phone.

I exhaled deeply. I was already tired and I was starting to feel sleepy too. I went ahead to take my bath and returned to take a nap.

AAAA

I woke up to a note placed on the table just close to the bed.

Be ready at six.

My brows twitched. What was Liam planning?

I scrambled down the bed and caught sight of a blue gown placed just beside the window. A smile instinctively crossed my lips. What was he thinking?

I went to the place and felt the material against my palm. I caught my reflection in the mirror. Was it Loretta who designed the dress?

I shook my head and headed downstairs to where Diana and the kids were discussing things I did not know about.

"Mommy! I am enjoying my time here!" Kylie told me, waving her doll in the air.

I smiled, nodding in response. I sat with them and played with them, talking about random things. After a while, I realized that Kaiwas not in the living room with us. The smile on my face fell as I excused myself from their midst and made my way to their room. There he was, playing alone by himself with his Lego.

He looked up and adjusted for me to take a seat.

"Why are you not with the rest in the living room?" I asked, glancing around so that he would not see how sad his detachment from people hurt me.

He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Nothing, Mom."

I pursed my lips, the air above us was dry and I tried to think of what to say to lift the mood but my son here was enjoying his company. His dry company. Why couldn't he be as bubbly as his siblings?

"Fahrenheit, let us go to the-"

"You promised me, mommy." He cut me off, his eyes clear in confrontation. "You promised me that you would take me to Uncle Grayson." He reminded me.noveldrama

Wait, what? I what?

"I promised you?" I placed my hand on my chest, my eyes widened in shock. "I did not promise you, Kaiand besides, Uncle Grayson is always busy. I don't think he will be able to meet you now." I wanted to tell him not to talk about him so openly. What if his siblings hear of the name? What would I say to them?

"He told me to tell you that you should call him and he will come." He stated.

I bit my lip, thinking of what excuse I could give him.

"I... I don't have his phone contact."

"He gave it to me. He wrote it for me." He said, his eyes glinting as he reached for it in his pocket. It was a ruffled paper and he opened it, the numbers written on it obvious as he extended it out to me.

"Take mommy, this is his phone contact."

My hand froze into place as reluctance caged me on the spot. How... How... Oh, no!

Just as I reached to collect it, my phone beeped with a message alert. Ready yet? I'm coming soon.

My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when I realized that I was supposed to be ready for whatever Liam was planning in the next thirty minutes. I bolted right for the door, collecting the paper from Fahrenheit. "Mom, I-"

"I will call him, okay? I have to.... I have to-"

I rushed to my room to get dressed. I checked the time, my chest heaving with rapid breaths and looked down at the ruffled paper in my hand. I placed it in the drawer.

I needed to meet Grayson and warn him. He was doing way too much and I was not okay with it.