"She's gone.""Where's my phone?""What do you––""She won't be––""Sam, your phone please?"Sam handed over his phone without complaint. Upon Jasmine's complaint, Brandon sat, but still rose the phone to his ear."Hello?" Frederico answered gruffly."Frederico, it's me. Find out where Elizabeth is," he barked in Portuguese."Brandon?! Welcome back, buddy. I already have her location.""Good. Where?""Jfk airport. I'll be there in twenty minutes."Brandon nodded once and ended the call. Everyone stared at him expectantly. With sudden strength, Brandon pushed up to his feet and marched to Brian, ignoring Jasmine's growl, and said,"I need a change of clothes and––""I got it all ready. Bathroom.""Thanks," Brandon breathed with relief and rushed into the bathroom."Byron, we can't let him go now," Jasmine appealed to Byron, seeing as everyone else was either too shocked to move or had smiles on their faces.Byron wrapped his arms around his troubled wife and said,"I understand your wo
Arriving at the airport at exactly thirty five minutes past nine, Brandon rushed out of the car and into the airport. Never in his days had he taken advantage of his name and status like he did then, not above bribing his way in when a few airport officials posed a challenge. After robbing him of a solid eight minutes, Brandon rushed into the waiting area with Frederico hot on his heels, attracting more than a few stares and gasps. Looking over the people with wild eyes and a thundering heart in his chest, he almost fell to his knees when he spotted Beth curled on a chair, watching something on an ipad. Before his eager legs could make a move, Frederico grabbed his arm and asked,"Fancy privacy?"Brandon glanced at Beth, then the crowd, and nodded."Wait in the bathroom." Frederico pointed.Nodding once, he turned and marched in the direction of the restroom, distractedly glancing at the watching people as he did.Frederico went to a corner and began waving and signing at the woman by
All thoughts left his head.Brandon felt his brain rattle in his head. His ears tingled. He blinked once... Twice... Then blinked again. Goosebumps rode his skin with an ardent vigor, turning his flesh inside out. His nipples puckered. It was night time, yet he felt the heat of the sun. He simmered and bubbled till he felt as joyous as the sun in the summer, but he didn't know what to do with himself. His head felt full and empty at the same time.Beth waited for something. Anything. Her fists clenched with anticipation. 'Please say something.'Her mouth dried out and her skin crawled with an emotion she refused to identify.'Please say something.'Her eyes held his, waiting. Begging.'Say something. Please!'When he looked away, her shoulders fell. The dark mist of absolute gloom clouded her heart, and she smiled. And she'd thought she had nothing else to lose... She chuckled lowly even as a tear fell. It felt like her heart had been ripped out and the space, emptied. Slowly and
"I don't." Everything within her lurched to support her words."Then stay.""I can't.""Why not?"A helpless breath left her mouth. Her eyes flew around like she was looking for someone to save her."Talk to me, my love," he urged gently, tilting his head to catch her eyes.As she licked her lips and observed him with unsure eyes, Brandon watched the frightened little girl within, the one he hadn't seen in a long time, make an appearance and shy away."I'm tired," she let out. "Of bad things happening even with the good. Of all this. Even when things are good, I have to suffer. I have to be in pain. I have to endure and smile because they aren't as bad as the bad times. Why do bad things always have to happen to me? I can't stay here. The memories... Brandon, I can't.""I'm sorry."Her eyes took on the look of confusion. She frowned. "For what?""Betting on you. I'm really sorry--""That has been forgiven, Brandon.""But it contributed to this feeling right now. I am sorry I added to
Brandon remained on his knee, waiting. Hoping. Begging. He didn't know what it would be like without Beth and honestly, he didn't want to. The fear in his heart was something he never wanted to feel again. If not Elizabeth, no matter how much he preached strength, he didn't think he would be able to open up to anyone else, ever again. Being so vulnerable came with a feeling so pungent, it stripped you of all your shame, pride and excellence, and left you a bare, helpless man. How she did it, how she forgave him after finding out about the bet, he would never know, but he was too selfish to let her go. How could he? Outside his circle of money, friends and family, she was all he had, and he was man enough to admit it. The hopeful looks of Jasmine and Sherlie reached Beth. Nina couldn't stand still, fidgeting from one foot to the other. The men watched on with tense looks on their faces. Stella and Marcella were holding hands with their fingers crossed. The only person with a blatant q
Brandon spent the next three months recovering, working out and eating. Or trying to. Due to two weeks of being unresponsive, his appetite had taken a huge blow. Thankfully, he had a loving family and fiancé to shove food down his throat. Literally. And they all did it with healthy smiles on their faces.A week before the wedding, Jasmine and Byron surprised Elizabeth with a forty-thousand-dollar dress. The mere sight of it alone had Beth gasping and sputtering. It was absolutely stunning. With short and lacy, off shoulder sleeves, an equally exquisitely designed lacy sweetheart neckline, a fitted bodice and a rather modest skirt—that is until the back was seen, which displayed a fifteen-foot-long train, the dress didn’t belong on earth! Coupled with the stones that were intricately placed around the bottom of the bodice, the top of the skirt and scattered all around the train, it was an absolute no. Beth began shaking her head.Jasmine frowned worriedly and Byron ros
A week later, Brandon took Beth on a drive round town. Later that evening, they appeared at a large mansion of Spanish revival architecture. At first glance, Beth’s mouth fell open. Brandon pulled her round the huge tree in the center of the compound and into the house. Eight bedrooms, a movie room, art room, sound proofed room, game room, cozy lounge, laundry room, a kitchen that was nothing short of a chef’s dream with a garden right behind it, two ridiculously sized living rooms, a wonderful pool out back, a modest sized changing room—considering the size of the rest of the house—a shaded veranda on the second floor, and a gym. All complete with warm, radiant lights and—no doubt—expensive furnishing. Beth was floored, stunned and every other word that there was to describe shock. What a house! She began to fan herself with her hand. Brandon took her back to the front of the house where she spotted a shed nailed against the far-right wall which served as covering for a delectable
Standing in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection, Beth huffed.Three. Days! It had been three days since their agreement in the kitchen, and Brandon still hadn’t made a move. He had to know she was going crazy with anticipation. Even she was curious about how she would react. Yet, he did nothing. No stray winks, no cryptic smiles, no intense stares when she wasn’t looking, nothing. Even his occasional stolen kisses and caresses had stopped. As shameful as it was, his sudden hands-to-myself behavior frustrated her. Why put the idea in her head and get her thinking, if he wasn’t going to do anything? She hated how it made her wait and feel ashamed when she caught herself. But why should she feel wanton? He was her husband! There was no shame there. None, whatsoever. Then again, his usual touches had seized. Was he angry about something?She heaved out a sigh loud enough to interrupt her train of thought, and stared into her eyes in the mirror. No more. No more thoughts. Whate
EPILOGUE One year later Brandon had travelled exactly six months after the birth of his daughter, needing to complete the project in Australia and then another in Africa. They had made a habit of speaking over video calls every day, and while it was not what Brandon wanted, he still got to watch his daughter grow. He got to hear her say her first words and was even lucky enough to see her take her first steps. Bernice was one of those kids who maintained their hair and eye colors from birth and she was absolutely gorgeous. Every time he looked at his daughter and woman, he couldn’t help but feel so thankful and protective. What would he do when she was grown enough to start going out with boys? It rose his blood pressure just thinking about it. Beth was just happy she had had Brandon for the early stages because heaven knew that it hadn’t been easy. Bernice had turned one just two days ago and was already walking, howbeit unsteadily, pronouncing a few words, had a small set o
Brandon left a week later.Not being able to accompany him because her doctor had advised against it, and being fully aware that it was a five months long trip, Beth had spent numerous nights lying in tears and even more nights lying awake. Even though they spoke as much as they could over the phone and she fell asleep to the sound of his voice a lot of the time, it still wasn’t enough. Nothing beat his physical presence. At her eighth month, Jasmine and Byron had appeared at the house and bundled her and Lola away, much to Micah’s delight. Comforting herself with the fact that she was now an aunt, Beth took to caring for her new nephew, Malachi, Sherlie as much as she could. It was a welcome distraction herself from her loneliness, too. “Beth?” She had just put the sleeping Malachi in his crib. She turned and watched Sherlie enter.“There you are. He’s asleep?”She nodded, smiling.Sherlie had her hand and was pulling her out the next second. Beth rolled her eyes an
Dedicating a whole five minutes one morning to begging her not to do anything she shouldn’t and then going ahead to prepare her a healthy breakfast of steak and vegetables because she just absolutely loved her meat, Brandon finally went and got ready for work, then devoted another five minutes into pleading with her to eat and rest. As a plus, he had somehow gotten the eight months pregnant Sherlie to leave work and come spend time with her. That afternoon, she ended up fussing over Sherlie and lulling her to sleep. Sherlie’s pregnancy wasn’t a walk in the park either and as she neared her due date, extra care had to be taken. Though, how she escaped the horrible nausea and got to go to work and do whatever she wanted, Beth didn’t know. Lucky.Rebalancing on the feet, Beth heaved and planted her hands on her waist. Looking up, she licked her dry lips and sighed. It was further than it looked. Pulling in a deep breath, she pushed up on her tiptoes again and stretched up as far as she c
After throwing up that morning and sending Brandon a small, pleading smile, they relaxed together a bit and then went for the party. No sooner than her feet touched the ground of Brian and Sherlie’s home did a wave of dizziness, so strong and overwhelming, hit her. Somehow, she was able to strengthen her grip on the car door and avoid falling to the ground. Brandon was out of the car and beside her in no time.“Beth—”“I’m okay. I promise.” She took his hand and squeezed lightly. “I’m fine,” she reaffirmed, pleading with her eyes.He was going to haul her away and apologize later when Brian and Sherlie showed up.“Beth!”She turned and went to embrace her best friend and Brandon watched her go, glaring at her back. Smiling at the hugging women, Brian approached and extended a hand to Brandon. Brandon clasped it and pulled him in for a brotherly hug.“What’s wrong, man?”Brandon glanced at the women who were now making their way into the house practically glued at the hips and said, “S
Two years later…Brandon watched his sleeping wife with a worried look on his face.She had returned from work earlier looking rather pale and drained. When he had asked her what was wrong, she had given him a weak smile and waved him off. Mere minutes later, he’d found her asleep on the couch with her laptop open in front of her. His worry had begun when he had carried Beth, the usually light sleeper, up to the room and she hadn’t budge. Not once. Less than forty minutes later, Micah had called to ask how she was. Apparently, she had been sick in the office earlier, after which she passed out. After assuring Micah, Brandon sat, lost. Why hadn’t she told him? What was wrong with her?By the time she awoke three hours later, he already had dinner ready and waiting. Pulling her down on his lap at the dining table, he held her there and just watched her eat. Beth turned after a while and finally asked,“What’s up?” His silence was unusual. After observing her for a while, he sigh
Elizabeth pulled in a deep, sharp breath and froze as pain like no other whipped and tore through her. Her body revolted instantly and wanted the intruder out with a desperation that threatened to drive her mad. She wasn’t aware of the tears that had built up and were flowing down her cheeks until she felt a gentle thumb brush against it and cup it. Then, Brandon’s ragged breaths reached her ears.Brandon was beside himself with ardent shock and raw bliss. His strength had never been put to the test like it was then. He had thought the initial opening was tight, but then…“Fuck.”His jaw was clamped shut. His body trembled. She was so tight, it was almost painful. Everything within him roared so harshly, he had trouble breathing. Yet, he remained still, stretching the quickly thinning walls of his self-control. She clung on to him like a second skin, squeezing for all she was worth. He couldn’t tell where he ended and where she begun.So tight.So very tight.“Fucking hell.” Fighting
When Brandon woke up, the sun was on its way to setting and beautiful hues of pink, light brown and the palest purple decorated the sky, giving it an eye capturing glow. The light of the sky danced into the room through the open slide doors, accompanied by the gentle evening breeze, bathing the room in gentle lights even as the breeze lifted the transparent curtains, giving the room an ethereal, peaceful feel. It was a story book sight. One a photographer would love to capture. Absolutely gorgeous, yet, as extraordinary as it was, Brandon found himself sneered and captured by the nymph partially atop him. She moved in her sleep, grazing his sleep hardened manhood with her thigh, and he closed his eyes and let out a groan.“Sorry,” she mumbled.He opened his eyes and looked down at her. At the same time, she rose sleep softened eyes up at him and smiled.“Hey.”He returned her smile. “Hey.”“Did you sleep well?”She dragged her thigh over his bulge as he went to respond and watched hi
Looking at the door, she bit her lip in contemplation and, finally making up her mind, pushed the door open. The sound of water pelting the floor reached her ears and she paused, staring at the closed shower glass. He was taking a bath? Not knowing whether to stay or go, in the next few seconds, Beth just stood there and twiddled her thumbs in thought, deciding to be brave at the last second. Creeping to the closed shower doors, she glanced behind her once to check that the door was still open just in case she needed to bolt, then rose a small fist and knocked the glass. “Brandon?” Water kept pouring. Being able to make out his blurry form through the thick, wet glass, she waited and watched, squinting her eyes to catch a reaction. Resisting the urge to press her face against the glass, she relieved her eyes of the strain and settled for waiting. No response. Pulling and biting on her cheek wall, she glanced around and knocked again. “Brandon?” She counted down the seconds, but
The next day was claimed by work, bright and early. While that was a damper, Beth took it all in good stride. After all, she was a firm believer in doing anything to get what you want.While Brandon sat at his desk in his newly incorporated home office receiving calls, sorting faxed files and taping away at his laptop, Beth was with him every step of the way, being the perfect distraction. When she wasn’t helping him sort through his papers, she was playing with Lola, bending over, taking off items of clothing—because of the terrible heat—whispering in his ear what she could just say out loud, laughing softly, or just plain staring, and whenever he caught her, she would hold his gaze, smile and turn away.2 p.m. rolled around and deciding that he needed to see some people in person and get other things sorted, Brandon announced that he was making a quick trip to the office. Now, what kind of a wife would Beth be if she didn’t tag along? After ensuring that Lola had enough food and wat