Ch. 476..480: The President's Pregnant, Ex-Wife Chapter 476-480

Chapter 476: Chapter 476 – You know you can trust me.

"Giselle, there is a delivery man at the door. What did you order?" Aria yelled from the door. Giselle frowned a little and then it clicked. She yelled from upstairs,

"I didn’t order anything. It’s Mark. He promised to send me a dress for the party."

Aria signed for the parcel on behalf of her daughter and took it to her. Reaching Giselle’s room, she opened the parcel, her brows raised,

"It’s a beautiful dress. So, tell me. Why did he buy you a dress?" She asked suspiciously. Giselle never hides anything from her mother so she was honest.

"He said he likes me."

"And?" Aria was having a bad feeling about this, knowing all about her daughter’s hidden feelings for Mark.

"Mom, I told him that I have eyes on somebody else."

Aria was not pleased. She loved that Mark knew what he wanted. He was a good man and she would have preferred him for Giselle to start something with him.

"Giselle, you should move on. Mark is a nice guy."

Giselle agreed. She was already applying her makeup to keep from being late before her mother brought the parcel. There were stilettos matching the dress. "He is and I wish I could indeed start something with him but it’s hard to get over Robert."

Aria was frustrated. "Then don’t you think we should tell him the truth? Aunt Sabrina called earlier. She said that Robert was demanding to know the truth or he wouldn’t settle down."

Giselle stiffened slightly. She almost gave in but after a second thought about the discussion she had with Robert in the office, she picked the dress in the box and wore it.

"I don’t think he meant it. He invited a client to the party. I have to go mom. I love you and please tell dad to not stay up late waiting for me."

Aria stared at her daughter, feeling proud of the beautiful creature. Giselle was stunning and the black glitter mini dress hugged her curves perfectly.

"You should tell him yourself and you look very beautiful."

"Thanks. I would have told him myself but he’s in the shower. I will see you tonight?" Giselle kissed her mother on the cheek and left.

Giselle drove to the hotel and when she reached the auditorium where the party was being held, she was faced with the buzzing music and dazzling lights.

It wasn’t always like this at the villa where the party was usually held. This was the first time Giselle was having a party in a hotel.

As soon as she reached the entrance, two male voices called her at once. "Giselle, I’ve been looking for you," Robert said.

"Giselle, you look stunning," Mark said.

Giselle smiled, her gaze pinned on Robert and her heart fluttered that he was looking for her. She was about to respond when a shrill voice tore behind her.

"Mr. Jewel, I’m here, thanks for inviting me."

Miss Taylor rushed past Giselle and went to stand in front of Robert. She almost hugged him if he hadn’t taken a step back.

"You came," he said with raised brows but his expression was neutral. Miss Taylor couldn’t hide her excitement, already considering it as a date.

"I told you I wouldn’t miss it for anything."

Giselle’s face fell, seeing them chatting heartily. Robert never looked at her again since Miss Taylor arrived and her heart sunk.

Mark was observing her all through and had mixed feelings. "You look beautiful in the dress," he said again since Giselle didn’t respond the first time. Giselle regained herself and said appreciatively,

"Thank you. I love it." Mark smiled and his heart warmed that she loved it. If Giselle had given him a chance, he knew he would have been the next to get married, even before Larry and Lambert.

"Hey Giselle, that’s a lovely dress," a female voice said behind her, she turned and hugged the person. Jasmine never liked the last-minute change of the venue but due to her eagerness to meet with her brother, sister, cousins, and family friends, she didn’t refuse.

"Jasmine! You look stunning," Giselle stared at her and spoke with a smile. Jasmine was very hot and smart, Giselle always felt that her ex was a douchebag to have broken her heart.

She knew the man would regret it one day. Jasmine smiled and asked, "How are you?"

"I’m good."

Jasmine grabbed her arm and they walked towards the bar. "Let’s go and get something to drink. "Is Gershon here?" She asked, curiously looking around. She already spotted some other cousins and waved at them but there were just too many strange faces.

"I think so but I think inviting so many people wasn’t a good idea. I can’t make out most of my family friends," Giselle said, glancing in the direction of Robert. He was offering a drink to Miss Taylor.

If this whole event had not been opened to the public, she felt she would have had Robert’s attention.

"Yeah, let’s stick to family next time." Jasmine agreed, sipping a glass of martini garnished with lemon.

She picked another drink for Giselle when Mark said, "Jasmine, you should mingle. I have something to show Giselle."

Jasmine had her suspicions about Mark’s desire for Giselle so she shrugged and went to meet her cousins. Mark got some more drinks for Giselle and they sat together.

He sat so close to her; she could feel his breath. However, her attention was so far away.

"I hope you came to have fun?" Mark asked but when he didn’t get a response, he gazed at the direction she was looking at and his heart sunk.

He watched the way Giselle kept gazing at Robert and Miss Taylor with both jealousy and desire. Then there was pain in her eyes and she gulped down the Martini Jasmine gave her, picking up another one from the tray Mark brought.

Her throat burned from drinking so much at a time, Mark’s expression darkened and he asked,

"The man you have eyes on, is it Robert?"

Giselle froze as Mark said, "You can tell me Giselle, you know you can trust me."

Chapter 477: Chapter 477 – I think you should tell him how you feel

Giselle was in a daze, surprised that Mark had caught on to her feelings. She began to wonder if it was so obvious that Robert would equally begin to suspect it.

"How can you tell?"

"Looks don’t lie." Mark was pained but handled it pretty well. It was obvious that sometimes, life doesn’t give us what we want.

If Giselle was in love with Robert, then Mark knew he was wasting his time. She would never see him the way he wanted and would never feel for him what he felt for her.

Then again, what about Robert? How did he feel about Giselle? Mark recalled how he was trying to stop him from speaking with Giselle all those while. Could he also be feeling something for her?

Then why would he be with that woman? As Mark thought about everything, nothing seemed to make sense to him.

Giselle had gulped down three glasses of martini to ease the pain she felt in her chest and suddenly grew tipsy. Mark was lost in thought, hadn’t noticed, and therefore hadn’t stopped her.

"What’s the point, he will never look at me that way. He said he wanted to give the relationship a chance and was considering her."

Giselle glanced in the direction of Robert again and though his expression wasn’t clear due to the disco lights, her fragile heart could not take it.

"You know her?" Mark asked. Giselle gulped down another glass of Martini and responded bitterly,

"Aliya Taylor? She’s our client."

Mark sighed. He felt at a loss for everything and his heart ached, but at least he found out early. Nevertheless, he still wanted Giselle to be happy even if her heart was with Robert.

"I think you should tell him how you feel."

Giselle quickly shook her head, feeling tipsier. "He has a woman beside him."

Mark shook his head, he had equally seen Robert stealing glances at Giselle, wondering exactly what was going on with him.

"But he’s still looking at you and I can tell he doesn’t want me by your side, which means he’s jealous."

Giselle’s heart did a flip but then again, she couldn’t let her hopes up. "It can’t be true."

Mark and Robert locked gazes for a moment and he shook his head as he gazed at the woman sitting in front of Robert.

Gulping down a glass of dry martini, he mused, "He doesn’t care about Aliya or whatever you call her. I feel sad for her, just as I feel for you."

Giselle might be drunk but her senses were active. He saw the way Mark looked at Aliya and wondered why she was able to capture both Robert and Mark.

"You also like her."

"How can you tell?" Mark looked at Giselle and asked. He accepted that there couldn’t be anything more between them except for the friendship they shared.

With so much alcohol in his system, he was looking for his next one-night stand. He, for instance, was happy for all the new faces at the party.

"Why will you feel pity for her?" Giselle asked, stating her reasons for suspecting that Mark had an interest in Aliya.

Mark never cared about so many women except those he grew up with. It was the reason why he could have a one-night stand and forget about the woman the next day.

Mark could not refuse her observation but neither could he accept it. In the end, he thought of something worthwhile.

"Let’s dance," Mark stretched his hand towards Giselle. She gulped down another glass of martini and was now hazy, her movement was clumsy so Mark held her to his chest, patting her back lovingly.

"I’m sorry for not stopping you. You haven’t even enjoyed the party. Let me get you a room."

He lifted her in his arms before she could refuse. By the time he returned, Aliya was sitting alone with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, it’s a party. Why do you look like your world is falling?" Mark sat beside her and ordered a drink. Aliya was devastated as Robert’s invitation wasn’t what she expected it to be.

"I finally found a man I like and he doesn’t see me that way."

Seemed to Mark that he had heard those words from Giselle as well. He felt pity for Aliya and just as he was about to comfort her, a cold voice asked from behind him.

"Mark, where is Giselle? She’s not answering her phone," Robert asked, looking drunk.

Mark was shocked. He never saw Robert drink so much in any of their parties and was even worried for him.

"Robert, how much have you drunk?"

"Didn’t you hear me? Where is Giselle, you were talking to her a while ago and you carried her in your arms. Tell me. Did you sleep with her?" Anger, bitterness, and jealousy laced Robert’s tone, Mark was shocked and so was Aliyah.

Grabbing Robert by the arm, he yanked her to a corner and spoke a little above the loud music,

"If you love her, you should tell her you know?"

Robert staggered a little, as he was tipsy. "I will only hurt her. A woman saved my life and my parents are hiding it from me. What if she shows up one day? I will be willing to do anything for her and might end up hurting the woman I married."

As Mark understood that Robert and Giselle’s feelings were mutual, he didn’t feel so bad for losing anymore.

Robert only needed to find that woman who saved his life and everything will be fine. "I think you need a room. I will help you."

"I have a master key," Robert waved a card in Mark’s face, he forced a smile and said,

"Some of the rooms are occupied so you should be careful. Let me escort you." He grabbed Robert’s arm again but the latter felt like a kid and shoved him away.

"No. I can take care of myself."

Mark looked at the equally tipsy woman who had suddenly caught up to them and clung to his arm. Then he looked at the man standing before him and let out,

"Alright, suit yourself."

Robert was able to find a room but it was already occupied and when he woke up naked beside a woman, his heart fell out of his chest.

Chapter 478: Chapter 478 – Every Man You Wake Up in Bed With

Earlier.

"Mr. Jewel, I’m here, thanks for inviting me," Miss Taylor rushed past Giselle and went to stand in front of Robert. She almost hugged him if he hadn’t taken a step back.

"You came," Mark said, wondering what bad timing it was. Giselle was the woman he wanted to be with for reasons he didn’t know of.

"I told you I wouldn’t miss it for anything," Aliya said excitedly.

"I will get you a drink," Robert said, but he glanced in Giselle’s direction and saw she was speaking with Jasmine, so he focused his attention on Aliya after getting her a drink.

"So, Miss Taylor, what do you do in your free time?" Robert asked. It was his first time trying to start a conversation with a female who was not a family member or close friend.

Aliya waved dismissively, "Miss Taylor is too formal. You should call me Aliya."

Robert pursed his lips, not liking the free ticket. "Thanks a lot, but I prefer to be formal."

Aliya was in deep thought. Maybe Robert was not understanding her intentions. "You should have some fun too." Her hand moved down his thighs and he caught it, his expression darkening.

"Respect yourself, Miss Taylor," he looked around and saw Giselle in Mark’s arms, a blend of anger, jealousy, and pain seared through his heart and before he knew it, he gulped down four glasses of Martini and was still drinking.

Aliya was dismayed but didn’t give up, speaking flirtatiously, "You don’t like to have fun so what do you do? You don’t even have a woman."

"I have eyes on someone," he gulped down another glass and said but couldn’t see Giselle, it made him uncomfortable.

So many negative thoughts were running through his mind concerning what Giselle was doing with Mark, he just couldn’t stomach it.

Hearing that he had eyes on someone, Aliya lost her resolve to pursue him any further and tears stung her eyes.

"I see. I should excuse you then," Aliya said with a saddened expression. Robert did not stop her and went around looking for Giselle and Mark.

Surprisingly, Mark was sitting beside Aliya after Robert had gone around searching for him and Giselle and asked coldly, "Where is Giselle?"

After all the banter, Robert was upset, gulping down more drinks. When he took Mark’s advice to go and rest, he went to the presidential suite, instantly sleeping on the bed without turning on the light.

Suddenly, soft, slender arms wrapped around him. He was shocked but he also couldn’t push her away. She aroused a lot of sensations inside of him with which he never knew existed with just that hug.

With their bodies colliding, one thing led to another and Mark had lost his first time to a strange woman.

Waking up the next morning, his head ached and he looked around the strange room for a pain reliever but seeing blood stains and the naked brunette woman whose hair covered her back, his heart fell out of his chest.

"Giselle?" He spoke in a whisper, the woman didn’t hear him. Robert was conflicted. He didn’t know how Giselle would feel about this when she wakes up.

Guilt welled up in his heart and he needed time to think. He was afraid that this might even affect their relationship in the office.

After thinking critically for a while, he picked a paper and left her a note stating a WeChat account he quickly created on his phone.

’I’m sorry for what happened between us but I’m willing to take responsibility. You can contact me with this ID on WeChat, ’passion fruit.’

He had no idea what made him use such words for his WeChat ID. As he stepped out of the room, he called Jasmine on the phone. "I need a favor."

"Spell it," Jasmine said hastily. Robert thought for a while cautioned her,

"You mustn’t tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed," she responded instantly. It wasn’t the first time she did a job for Robert and it wasn’t going to be the last. Robert trusted his cousin, just like the others.

"Something happened between Giselle and me and I want you to delete all the CCTV footages."

Jasmine could already guess what it was but didn’t want to jump to conclusions. She saw the drunk Robert going into the same room Giselle went but had no idea if it was intentional or a coincidence.

"Are you kidding? What happened?"

"Promise me you won’t tell anybody about the man who went into the presidential suite on the last floor. Wipe all the footages," Robert said seriously, Jasmine had mixed feelings.

"I know that Giselle slept in that room last night. I already saw you going there but you were drunk so that is pardonable."

Robert stiffened instantly, wondering who else might have seen him. He hoped that Mark hadn’t. "Please get to it before it’s too late. Let me know when it’s done."

Jasmine was relaxed as that job was nothing for her. "You can stay on the line as I get it done with."

Robert smiled for the first time that morning. "I love your vibe."

"I Know," Jasmine responded. After a minute and some seconds, she added, "It’s done."

Robert was so relieved and grateful. "Thank you I will send your payment."

"No need. This is a personal matter so you don’t have to pay me but I hope you won’t hurt Giselle cos if you do, I will expose you myself," Jasmine said seriously as Robert replied confidently,

"That will never happen but please do me a favor and make sure she gets home safely," Robert pleaded. That wasn’t a problem for Jasmine so she responded,

"No problem."

Robert did not go to his penthouse but went to his parents’ villa for the first time in a long time.

In another presidential suite, another couple woke up together with shock. "What are you doing in my room?" Mark asked Aliya, she was shocked and questioned back,

"I should be the one asking this question. I booked this room."

Max was perplexed, his mind blank. Maybe he drank too much. "So how did we end up together?"

"I don’t know but you know what? We are both adults so let’s just forget about it," Aliya said as she began to put on her clothes. Mark felt bitter and asked her a question he instantly regretted.

"Is that what you tell every man you wake up in bed with?"

Chapter 479: Chapter 479 – The familiar handwriting

Is that what you tell every man you wake up in bed with?" Mark wanted to take back his words, but the expression on Aliya’s face shut him up.

"Excuse me?"

Aliya was greatly pained by the insult thrown at her. She remembered that they had talked a lot last night, thinking that Mark was a nice guy, but the insult gave her a different perception of him.

Mark thought that she hadn’t heard his statement. "Never mind, it wasn’t necessary."

"I heard what you said." Aliya stood from the bed and began to put on her clothes in haste. Mark did the same, at the same time trying to correct his wrongs.

"Don’t take it seriously."

"You just called me a whore and you don’t want me to take it seriously?" Aliya was mad and about to leave when Mark grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

"I’m sorry about that. It just slipped." His expression was genuine, but Aliya was too hurt. She couldn’t accept it.

"No, it didn’t." She yanked her arm from his grip.

Mark massaged his temple. "You can’t blame me for saying it when you just dismissed my apology," he explained, but it was nowhere near calming the raging woman.

"So, what will you have me do? Beg you to marry me because something happened between us?" Anger bubbled in Aliya’s voice and the tempo increased as well.

Mark wasn’t as irresponsible as she thought. He was only trying to take responsibility because they were acquainted for a while before the whole thing happened.

"Well, I was considering a relationship. It would have been different if I didn’t know you before it happened, but we had a few drinks together and talked for a while."

Aliya was not buying it. "I don’t want anything. What happened was a mistake so just forget it."

Mark pursed his lips thoughtfully. He liked Aliya, though what he felt for her was not as strong as what he felt for Giselle, but he was willing to give it a try, hoping that something good would come out of it.

"I was considering a close relationship."

"I’m not interested," Aliya refused to Mark’s disappointment. But for the parts he was able to remember from last night, it was easy to discern her reason for rejecting his proposal.

"You still want Robert."

"Yes," Aliya agreed instantly. Mark tasted bitterness in his mouth. He was ready to give a relationship a chance and yet, the women he liked said no.

Robert was waiting for that mysterious woman who saved his life, with all the women Mark liked waiting for him.

It wasn’t fair, but Mark handled it like the man he was. "He said he has eyes on someone."

"And I gave up too easily," Aliyah recalled. She felt that she should have fought for the man she wanted and not just give up.

She wasn’t threatened by the way Robert kept asking about Giselle, feeling that perhaps he just cared for her because she was his secretary. After all, Giselle was there when Robert invited her to the party.

"I wish you all the best," Mark picked up his phone and walked out. Aliya suddenly panicked. Did she overreact? Did she miss an opportunity? Mark was indeed a nice guy.

In another hotel room, Giselle woke up to the continuous knocking on the door. She stood up, realizing that she felt sore with aching muscles in addition to an annoying headache.

Making it to the door with a towel robe on, she was both surprised and happy to see Jasmine.

"Jasmine."

"Giselle, I’ve been worried about you. Your mom called that you still hadn’t gotten home and your phone was switched off."

When Jasmine was trying to find a way to get Giselle home without making it suspicious that Robert sent her, Aria called, making it easy for her.

"The battery must have died. I just woke up and I feel terrible," Giselle complained. Jasmine felt sorry for her, but due to her promise to Robert, she pretended to be clueless about everything.

"Are you alright?"

Giselle shook her head bitterly, feeling that she had to give up on her hope of having Robert after what just happened.

However, she didn’t know if she was being paranoid, but Robert’s scent was so strong in the room.

"I don’t think so. There is a familiar cologne scent in the room. It couldn’t be Robert, right?"

The helplessness in her tone made Jasmine want to tell her everything, but she knew that Robert would handle it better and continued with the pretense.

"Robert?"

Giselle instantly regretted it, feeling that her obsession for Robert was getting into her head.

"Sorry. I..."

"There is a bloodstain on the bed," Jasmine pointed out. Giselle froze instantly, feeling both ashamed and stupid to give what she had been reserving for Robert to a stranger.

She felt strongly that she had done something naughty but didn’t think that she had gone all the way.

"Oh no. I hope it’s not mine," she said in a teary voice, hoping that per chance, a miracle would just happen to show that the bloodstains weren’t hers.

It was such a stupid thought, but at the moment, she was ready to hold on to anything that would give her hope.

Jasmine forced a smile, recalling how it felt when she lost her first time to her ex. "How do you feel?"

"Sore, aching muscles and a bad headache," Giselle said.

"I have some painkillers." Jasmine shoved her hand into her handbag and brought out the pain relief medication, giving it to Giselle.

As the latter swallowed it with a glass of water, Jasmine’s eyes darted to the bed once again. "There is a note too."

Gisele’s hands trembled as she read the note. Her first thought was to shred it, but then again, something made her keep it as there was something familiar about the handwriting.

"Can you check the surveillance cameras for any man who came here?" Giselle asked desperately. Jasmine froze.

Chapter 480: Chapter 480 - I Can’t Keep Up with the Lies

Jasmine thought of a quick excuse to get herself out of the uncomfortable situation. "I did before I came, but I saw nothing. I can show you." Jasmine showed her a footage of the edited video.

"I was worried about which room you were in, so I checked and saw this," she pointed at where Gisele was carried by Mark to the room, but Mark was out in a few seconds, meaning that he couldn’t be the one.

"It’s either the person paid someone to wipe it or you slept with a ghost," Jasmine half-jokingly said. Giselle ran her fingers through her messy brunette hair sadly.

"Why did we have to open the party to the public? All this would not have happened if we hadn’t."

Jasmine agreed. Robert wouldn’t have been able to keep this from Giselle if it were just family and friends. It would have been very easy for them to be on the lookout for each other.

"Let’s oppose the opening to the public next time."

"Okay, but I have to go home. Mom will be disturbed." Giselle began putting on her clothes from last night. Jasmine saw the merciless hickeys all over her neck and removed her scarf.

"You have to cover those hickeys too. Here, use my scarf. Do you want me to drive you home? You said you had a headache."

Giselle did not refuse the offer, not in the mood to drive. "Yeah, I will be glad."

Reaching home, Aria and her husband were waiting for Giselle at the gate. Aria hugged her as soon as she stepped out of the car with Jasmine.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Aria was pretty much worried because of Giselle’s sunken mood and how she hadn’t answered her calls all this while.

Giselle’s eyes were teary as she hugged her mother and father. Pulling away, she couldn’t hold off the confession until later.

"Mom, I slept with a stranger. I don’t even know him. I was drunk and he...left me a note."

Both Aria and her husband were shocked. Aria was an adult and such things were not strange, but Aria’s concern was about her daughter’s obsession with Robert and how she would be able to move on after this.

Jasmine was uncomfortable when the discussion came up. A forced smile stretched her lips. "Aunt Aria, I will take my leave now."

"You don’t want to come in?" Aria asked, adding, "I made breakfast."

Jasmine was afraid that she might give up and expose Robert, so the earlier she left, the better for her.

"Not today, but I will send a driver to bring her car later."

Aria was so disturbed about Giselle and couldn’t convince Jasmine to stay. "Thanks a lot, Jasmine."

"It’s nothing, Aunt Aria, Giselle is like a sister to me."

Jasmine left soon after that, and Giselle was already headed to her room upstairs when Aria cornered her by the stairs.

"How can you not know the stranger’s identity?" She asked. Aria’s father went upstairs to give the two women time to talk.

Giselle would easily open up to her mother if he wasn’t there.

"All he left me was a note to find him on WeChat, and he would take responsibility, bla, bla, bla," Aria said in annoyance.

The person should have just left a contact number but rather decided on a WeChat account instead. It was as if he didn’t want her to really know him because his ID did not even carry his name.

"What is passion fruit?"

"It’s alright. We shall find a way to check the surveillance," Aria assured her, but Giselle already lost hope in that.

"Jasmine did, but there was nothing. It must have been wiped." Giselle wanted to go upstairs and cry, but her mother wrapped her arms around her, leading her to the sofa.

"Let me speak to Aunt Sabrina. Mr. Robin has a special hacker, Peter. He might be aging now, but I bet he’s still that good," Aria assured her daughter, hope sparked in Giselle’s eyes.

"Alright, mom."

As they sat on the sofa, Aria called Sabrina on the phone. "Please Sabrina, I need your help."

At the Jewel’s villa, Sabrina was shocked and excited to see Robert; she went to hug him. Robert hugged her back and said to her,

"Mom, there is a woman I have interest in, but I can’t take things further because of your secret."

Sabrina’s smile froze. "I don’t understand." She was glad that Robert finally developed an interest in a woman, but why should the past stand in his way?

"I might hurt her if I find the woman who saved my life," Robert declared.

Sabrina chuckled and quickly came up with another lie. "Don’t worry. The woman who saved you is very old; you can’t have anything to do with her. Besides, she only saved your life because somebody saved her son some time back."

Sabrina didn’t understand since when she became an expert liar, but it was needed for the time being. Robert was disappointed with the response.

He was hoping that his mother would be happy he had eyes on a woman and tell him the truth, but no. It was still the same as before.

"I guess I wasted my time," he said bitterly. Sabrina was anxious to know the woman he fell in love with, asking,

"Tell me about this woman."

"She...I..." Sabrina’s phone rang before Robert could finish speaking. Seeing the caller ID, Sabrina answered,

"I’m sorry it’s not a good time. I will call you later." She hung up before Aria could say a word.

At Aria’s residence, she understood that Sabrina was with Robert and waited. A few minutes later, Sabrina called back.

"Aria, it’s Robert again. Please talk to Giselle. I can’t keep up with the lies. He said he found a beautiful and smart woman but refused to tell me her name. He also said he won’t go ahead to marry her because of the secret with are keeping from him," Sabrina narrated.

Aria was equally exhausted with the whole thing but decided to put a break and go ahead with her reason for calling...