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Chapter 3 Cole
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Oh, sweet Jesus.
The ache in my head rouses me from my very peaceful slumber: that and the distinct smell of coconut and passionfruit. I shift to roll onto my side and frown when I feel a heaviness on my chest. I force my eyes open and wince from the sheer brightness of the sun beaming on my face. I glance down at the head of silky brown hair and get another waft of the coconut, passionfruit concoction. It’s her. I shift my head to the side and study the face of the girl currently sprawled across my chest. Not bad. I’ve woken up with worse. Her lips soft and pink, long dark lashes, perfectly shaped eyebrows.
What the hell happened last night? I can’t remember a damn thing. Who is this girl? I peel her arm away from my chest gently, detangle our legs, and she moans as I roll her off me, and she snuggles into the pillow with a sigh. I let my eyes wander over her naked body, half wrapped in the sheets while she’s sprawled out on her front, her long dark hair splayed out on the pillow. I take a closer look at her face and frown. Nope, don’t remember a fucking thing. Complete blackout. I look around the room. Our clothes littered haphazardly on the marble floor. Where the fuck are we? I pull my boxers on and walk over to the window. Why does the view look so familiar? Wait. Am I in fucking Vegas? I rub my hands over my face and look at the scenery ahead once again. Oh yeah, I'm in Vegas all right. I pick up my jeans off the floor and stuff my hands in the pockets hoping I’ll find some clue of what the hell went down. I pull out a piece of paper from my back pocket along with my passport and unfold it. It’s damp— come to think of it, so are my jeans.
‘Marriage Certificate.’
I stare at the words blankly for a long moment. No fucking way. I did not go and get married to a random girl. I read the rest of the document and curse. Oh fuck. ‘Marriage of Tristan Cole Hoult and Shayla Hart.’
If the certificate wasn’t enough proof, I had a gold wedding band on my finger. I lean closer and look at the girl in the bed, and she’s also wearing a diamond ring on her finger. We got married. We flew to Vegas and got married.
“Fuck.” I find my phone on the table by the bed and walk out of the room. I have to call my lawyer. I’m hoping— no praying this marriage isn't legal.
“Mr Hoult?” Franc—my lawyer's sleepy voice came from the other end. Of course, the time difference, it’s probably early hours there. "Everything okay?"
“Franc, apologies for waking you. Is marriage in Vegas legally binding?”
“Do you have a marriage certificate?” He responds. I snap a photo of the certificate and send it to him.
“I have something that looks like a marriage certificate. I’ve just sent you a photo. Take a look.”
I hear him fumble with his phone on the other end. “Well, yes, that's a formal document, so it’s legal, Mr Hoult.” He tells me and my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. I stare at the certificate in my hand and sigh.
“Jesus Christ. I can't remember a damn thing after we left the club. It's completely blank. Surely there's a legal loophole to get me out of this? Please find it.”
“I’ll look into it. We’ll get the marriage annulled on the grounds of you both being intoxicated.” He says, and I nod pacing back and forth.
“Great. Keep me updated.” I say and end the call. What the fuck were you thinking marrying a girl you don’t even know, you absolute idiot. This is so unlike me. I don’t drink this much. Ever. Hell, I don’t even go out. My life is all about work, and when I do have time to blow off some steam, I have a couple of scotch’s then leave with whatever girl catches my attention that night. No, this is reckless and irresponsible, two things I most definitely am not. I’ve never gotten so drunk that I blackout and have no memory.
I turn around when I hear footsteps in the other room. I see Shayla wandering around the dining area of the penthouse, with a sheet wrapped around her body. A look of horror on her face as she tries to work out her surroundings. The first thing I notice about her was her eyes—a darker shade than my own. Almost olive green, lined with long dark lashes, not the fake kind girls wear, hers were natural. Her hair shiny and long cascading down her back in loose beach waves, albeit tousled from a night of wild sex.
I come up behind her and lean against the doorframe as she looks out the floor to ceiling window. “Good Morning.” I greet, and she jumps startled, lets out a little squeak, and turns to face me. Her eyes wide and confused, they rake over my topless torso and back up to my face again. “You’re finally awake.”
“Who are you?” She asks, backing up against the window. I sip my coffee and lick my lips. My head was still thumping unpleasantly and judging by the way she was rubbing her head. I’m going to assume she wasn’t feeling much better.
“I’m Cole.” I introduce myself, and she blinks up at me when I walk over to her. She averts her gaze from mine and wraps her arms around herself as if to shield herself away from my prying eyes, her fingers gripping the sheet tight.
“Um, where are we?” She questions glancing around the penthouse.
“Vegas, I believe.”
Shayla’s eyes go wide as she stares at me, unblinking for a good minute. She shakes her head and frowns deeply.
“Vegas?” She intones incredulously and I nod my head in response. “What the hell are we doing in Vegas?”
I shrug, “Beats me. I don’t remember a damn thing about last night. The only thing I recall was leaving the club with a girl. After that, it’s a blank. Do you remember anything?”
She shakes her head, “No, I-I don’t, I don't remember a thing. I was ludicrously drunk. I don’t even recall meeting you.” She explains chewing on her lip nervously. She drops her gaze from mine and brushes her slender fingers through her soft hair. “Um, why am I wearing a ring?”
I rub the back of my neck, and I hold up my hand and show her the wedding band on my finger. Her face falls. She looks down at the ring on her finger and then up at me again. “No, tell me we didn’t. Did we get married?" I nod and she blanches. "How the hell did this happen? How did we go from a club in London to getting married in Las Vegas?!”
I groan when an ache shoots through my skull at the volume of her tone. “Fuck, dial down the volume sweetheart; my brain is about to fall through my arse.” I sigh, rubbing my temples. “Honestly, I don’t know how this happened or how we would up here, okay? I didn’t exactly plan to get in a drunken stupor and marry some stranger I met in a club.”
Shayla scowls at me, “Oh, well, it's a good thing you didn't. Imagine what would have happened if you did! Also, you’re not exactly my type.” It was my turn to glare at her. Is this girl for real? She doesn’t have any idea who I am. I’ve not met a girl whose type I’ve not been.
“Oh, is that right? I sure as hell seemed like your type last night.” I point out and her eyes narrow to slits, and she takes a step toward me.
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“Wait. You said you didn’t remember anything.” She says, pointing a finger in my face. I look at her finger and back at her again and roll my eyes. “I don’t. But the state of the room, when I woke up this morning, was a very clear indication of a good night,” I take a step closer to her, and she cranes her neck to look up at me. “There was a trail of clothes from the door to the bed, which means we were too engrossed in our passion to give a damn about who was whom's type,” I state matter-of-factly and wink at her. “Not to mention you’re sporting my signature ‘fucked out’ look.” Shayla’s green eyes grow wide, she huffs and takes a big step back putting some space between us. Raking her fingers through her hair, clearly frustrated. “Wow. I’m not even going to dignify that remark with a response.” She stops pacing and looks at me again. “What are we going to do? Is this marriage even legal?” “I’m afraid so.” Her shoulders slump, and she shakes her head. “How? How did they even marry
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I jump awake when I hear my alarm chirping away on the bedside table next to me. I reach over and feel around for my phone; eyes still closed, I managed to find it and snooze the alarm. Ahh silence. Just as I’m about to doze off again, I remember it's my first day at my new job, and I jump out of bed excited. It was seven-forty-five, and I had to be there at nine o’clock. Satisfied I had enough time I drag myself to the bathroom to shower and get ready.I stare at my reflection in the mirror as I brush my teeth. Eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and a weekend of heavy drinking had me looking like something out of the night of the living dead. After a steaming hot shower and two mugs of strong coffee, I was feeling a little better. I was trying to convince myself the fluttering around in my stomach wasn’t nerves. Why would I be nervous? I can do this job in my sleep. Ugh, butterflies explode in my stomach again at the thought of work.I was applying my
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“You?” I shake my head and look over at Heather and back at the six-foot-something man standing in front of me. “No. No, my boss was an older guy, you’re-”Cole nods slowly. “You must have met my Father. Tony Hoult. He was interviewing for me whilst I was out of town on business.”I stare at Cole and curse the fate that keeps screwing with me. “So, you’re my boss?”Cole nods and fiddles with his cufflinks, his brows fused tightly. “It sure looks that way.”“You’ve already met each other-”“Heather, leave us.” He commands, his eyes never leaving mine and Heather scampers out of the office leaving us alone.“This is a joke, right? Because this can’t be happening,” I mutter, pacing back and forth. “It can’t be.”Cole rubs the back of his neck, watching me pace frantically, mumbling incoherently to myse
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“Tristan, we’ve had this conversation before. I’ve had it with your philandering ways. If you want me and your grandfather to take you seriously and pass on our shares to you, you need to prove you’re responsible enough to run a multi-million corporation. You’ll be thirty soon, the time for you to settle down has come. I let you have your fun and sow your wild oats so that you’ll get it out of your system before you settle down.” My father scolds me whilst cutting into his fillet mignon steak. “Hollie comes from a respectable family who has been our dearest friends for generations. She’s a beautiful young lady, and she shares the same passion for architecture as you do. What more could you ask for in a life partner?” He adds, lifting his green eyes to look at me.I clench and unclench my fist under the table. I feel my annoyance grow more by the minute. “Well, I would like to be attracted to my future wife for
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“You’re married, you idiot!” He shouts, throwing his hands up in the air. “You can’t marry Hollie if you’re already married. Take Shayla to your grandfather, introduce her as your wife, problem solved.”Oh. Why didn’t I think of this? I am married.I frown. “You mean, we stay married?” Josh nods, widening his blue eyes. “She wouldn’t agree, why would she want to stay married?”Josh throws a cushion at me. “Because you’re Tristan Cole Hoult, that’s why. You’re the most sought-after bachelor in the country—after me, of course.” He says in jest, and I throw the cushion back at him.I roll my eyes exasperated. “Fuck you, arsehole.” Josh catches the cushion and rests his elbow on it, grinning. “She doesn’t care about any of that. She’s nothing like the rest; my fame and money didn’t deter her one bit.”
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God? What the hell did I do in my past life for you to be punishing me like this?As I stand there looking at Coles father, utterly humiliated—might I add, he’s just staring back at me confused. “Your wife?” He repeats, averting his gaze to his son. “I don’t understand.”I open my mouth to speak but Cole pipes in, “We’re married, what’s not to understand.” I look up at him, and he pulls me closer against him, and I have the sudden urge to punch the kid in his throat.“I should give you both some privacy,” I say and turn to leave the room.“Stay right there, young lady!” He shouts, and I jump startled at his sudden outburst. I nod and hang my head in silence, shrinking back beside Cole. “Tristan, I hired this girl a few days ago to be your assistant. What do you mean you’re married?” He questions, his green eyes, identical to Coles darting between us waiting for an answer. “What? Did it just slip your mind that you’re married to the CEO of the company?” He ask
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“Thank you, Shayla. You have no idea how much this means to me. Honestly.” I nod and pull my hand back. “Well, nobody should be forced to marry someone they don’t love. Even entitled rich boys like yourself ought to have a happily ever after.” I tease, and he scoffs and pokes my side. “I am not an entitled rich boy.” He defends feigning annoyance, but I see the corner of his lips curl. “I work really hard okay.” He says and chuckles when I give him a pointed look. “Ok fine, I work hard.” “Whatever you say champ. Can we please discuss what we are going to tell you, parents, because I’m kind of terrified here?” I question, and he nods. “We just need to get our stories straight. My parents know me very well, especially my mother, so if we are going to convince them that we are in love, we have to act the part.” I shake my head and hold my hand up. “Hold up –define ‘in love’ because, if by that you mean you’re going to be shoving your tongue down
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I wish I had the option just to hit pause and stay in this moment for a little while longer. I let my eyes roam over Shayla’s face, her eyes closed, lips faintly parted, just pleading to be kissed, but I know that’s not what she needs right now. If I tried, she would probably punch me. When a knock sounds on my door Shayla’s eyes flicker open, and she looks up at me, and as the door opens, she pulls herself away from me, putting a couple of feet between us. Her gaze drops to the floor, and I would give my left nut to be able to read her mind. Was she waiting for me to kiss her? Did she feel as disappointed as I did when she pulled away?“Tristan?” I look over at Lucy— my publicist when she pokes her head through the door, and I wave her in. “I just saw the article. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing.” She says, walking toward us.“How do we fix this?” I ask her, and she sets the tablet in her hand on my des
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Twenty minutes later, the house smelt sensational with home-cooked goodness. Cole strolls into the kitchen while his wife cooks pancakes. He wraps his arms around her from behind and kisses her pulse. “As good as this food smells, I can’t wait to eat you later,” Cole growls in her ear hungrily, making her grin. “Shh, baby, the kids are going to hear you,” Shayla whispers back, looking up at him, and he matches her grin leaning close. “They’re not even in here.” Cole chuckles, kissing her softly. Shayla wraps her arms around her husband’s neck and parts her lips when his tongue silently requests permission to meet her own. “Oh, barf. Mum and Dad are making out again.” RJ grumbles, walking into the kitchen, followed by Alaia, who grimaces as they take their seats at the dining table. Shayla and Cole laugh as they pull apart. “Now you know how we feel watching you slobber all over your little ‘friends’ you keep bringing over.” Alaia retorts, making air q
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Sixteen years later…On a beautiful Saturday morning in the month of August, Shayla Hoult rolls over in the bed she shares with her gorgeous husband Tristan Cole Hoult and smiles contently. At the tender age of forty-six, he was still every bit as handsome as he always was. She lay on her side and admired him while he slept. He still looked the same—but older with fine lines that came with maturity, which made him even sexier. The stubble of his beard had specks of grey, which she loved.“Why are you staring at me?” Cole mumbles, his eyes still closed, causing his wife to start while she was lost deep in her thoughts. Shayla smiles, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly, and reaches over to brush her fingers over his cheek. Cole smiles, peels his eyes open, and blinks, looking at his beautiful wife smiling at him lovingly.“How long have you been awake?” Shayla giggles when he wraps his strong arm around her waist and drags he
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I exhale slowly, and Cole sits up and turns the night light on, blinking a couple of times till his eyes adjust to the light. “My water broke,” I tell him, and he shifts and pushes the covers off himself and gets out of bed. I watch him walk around the bed to my side, and he takes hold of my hand to help me sit up.“Are you having contractions?” He questions, brushing my hair away from my face, and I nod. “What do you need me to do?”I exhale slowly when another contraction comes. I wait for it to pass before I speak. “Call my midwife, then my mum. Tell her I’m in labour, and we’ll drop Laia to her.” I instruct him, and he kisses my forehead before he grabs my phone. While Cole was on the phone, I take off my wet clothes and change into a pair of grey comfortable tracksuit bottoms and one of Coles oversized hoodies. The pain was getting worse by the minute, and I was worried we wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “Cole, we have to go. Like right now.” I whimper, and he l
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“Shay.” I lift my gaze from staring at my huge baby bump and look at my husband, who rolls over when I turn the night lamp on. “You okay?” Cole questions drowsily, and I glower at him.“Why won’t this baby come out.” I hiss angrily, and Cole groans, leaning up on his elbow and looks at me, his green eyes narrowed.“Maybe he likes it in there and isn’t ready to leave just yet.” He smiles, rubbing my bump, and the baby squirms inside me at his father’s touch. My due date was six days ago, and this stubborn child is showing no indication of arriving anytime soon.“I’ve had enough.” I whimper, agitated. “I’m uncomfortable. I haven’t slept a wink in days, and I’m swollen like a beached whale. Look at me.” I complain, gesturing to myself, and Cole lets his eyes wander over me, and he smiles. “What are you looking at?”He blinks, bemused.“You just said—”“You get this baby out of me right now.” I huff, and Cole scratches his forehead, his brows fu
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Shayla pulls back and looks up at me, tears flowing from her beautiful eyes. “Did you...” She trails silently, asking me if I had something to do with her killing herself off, and I shake my head.“No, I had nothing to do with that. She obviously couldn’t handle being locked up. The warden did say girls like her are like fresh meat to a hungry lion.” I explain, brushing her tears away.“I did.” I turn and look at Sam, and Shayla frowns. “I may have visited the prison. A guard there is a friend of mine, and when he found out you were my sister, he did me a favour.” He explains with a shrug, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans. “It wasn’t enough that she was locked away, I wanted her to suffer, so I had my artist friend paint a photo of you and Cole kissing on the wall opposite her cell, she’d be forced to stare at it, be reminded every second, of every day that she didn’t break you,” Sam tells her. Shayla pulls away from me and runs into her brother's arms.
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“That was a great party. I’m a grown arse man, and I had a blast.” Josh chuckles, sitting back on the sofa, taking a sip from his beer. I smile and nod, looking over at my mother and Shay’s mother directing the kitchen's cleaning crew. Sam comes across with baby Trey in his arms and sits on the sofa with a tired sigh.“It really was. Shayla did a great job with organising everything.” I tell him, and Josh nods, looking over at the baby in Sam's arms.“How’s fatherhood treating you, bro?” Josh questions putting his beer bottle down and taking Trey from Sam.“Tiring man, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world,” Sam admits looking over at Trey curled up on Josh’s chest. “To think I was terrified of ever having one of those, now I can’t picture my life without him.”I smile in understanding. “Yeah, they really do change your life, especially if it's with the right woman,” I state, and both men nod in agreement.“I feel so left out. I can’t wait to hol
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“Happy birthday, princess.” I croon, looking down at Alaia, who just rose from her sleep. She smiles up at me as soon as she sees me, displaying her two teeth. She’s always so happy in the morning, and this morning was no different. She’s just lying in her crib, kicking back with her hands behind her head. “Good morning, my sunshine.” I pick her up and kiss her cheek affectionately. “Is my baby girl one-year-old today?” We walk out of the nursery back to our bedroom, where Shayla was still asleep. “Let’s go wake up, Mummy,” I whisper, kissing her temple and smile when I see Shayla lying on her front, peacefully sleeping. I crawl up on the bed and lay Alaia down on her stomach, and she immediately crawls over to her mother. I lay on my side and watch as she makes cooing sounds, pressing her hand to Shay’s face, who stirs from her sleep and smiles.“Mm, good morning, birthday girl.” She sighs, lifting her arm and wrapping it around Laia, who tries to crawl over her. She looks o
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We see Josh and Aimee in the waiting room, along with Jo’s father, “How is she doing? Any news?”Aimee shakes her head. “Not yet. We got here not long ago.” I sit beside her, and Cole walks over to Josh, talking to Jo’s dad, Phil. “Did you look in the mirror before you left the house?” Aimee grins, her blue eyes raking over me.“No, why?” I ask apprehensively and look down at myself.Aimee laughs, “You look fucked out, girl. You could have at least run a brush through your hair.” I stare at her dumbfounded and reach to comb out my hair with my fingers.“We left in a rush,” I whisper, unlocking my phone and loading up the camera. “Do I really look that bad?” I look at my reflection in the camera and gasp a little. My face was all flushed, my hair a tousled mess, my lips were swollen, and I had love bites all over my neck. “Oh shit.” I curse, pulling my hair over my shoulder to cover up the love bites.Aimee nudges me, grinning wickedly. When I look
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Later that evening, Cole and I were sitting on our bed, me on my tablet and him on his, looking through emails. “Do you not think we’re going a little overboard with this birthday party?” I ask, looking away from the tablet to him, staring intently at a document on his device.“No,” Cole utters, typing away on the screen. “What my baby wants, my baby gets.” I frown.“Cole, she’s turning one, she doesn’t have a clue what she wants. She’s not even going to remember this.” Cole looks at me and shrugs.“She’s aware of more than you realise.” He replies, his brows lifting to his hairline. “Don’t you see the way her little face lights up when she sees Moana on the screen?” I smile and nod, “Or the way she sways side to side when she hears the song.”“That is adorable.” Cole nods, smiling, and leans over, puckering his lips for me. I lean in and kiss him softly.“Let’s give our baby girl the birthday she deserves.” Cole mumbles against my lips, and I grin
