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2024-10-29 19:42:56Kaugnay na kabanata
Bound By A Contract 52
An hour and some meaningless conversations later, we arrived at the docks leading to the island where two men and two boats were waiting for us. Cole and I quickly entered one while his men got into the other, each captain making small introductions of themselves before they began to drive us to the island. As the second boat came up slowly behind us, I turned to him. "Cole, why do you still need your men here?"He looked at me for a moment and then put a hand over his eyes as he tried to look into the distance as the silhouette of a small land came into view. "I don't, actually. But they need to know this place, so later on, I'll send them back," he explained and put an arm over my shoulder again. By this time, it was a gesture I had already become used to, even though my heart still fluttered whenever he did it.Soon the resort came into view and my mouth dropped open in amazement. Palm trees were lined up from the entrance of the island down to a point I could not see. Just like ev
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"Awnn. I love your gown," Crystal complimented with a smile as she watched Cole and I walk down the stairs. I gave her a smile as I smoothed down the bottom of my breezy light blue gown, and watched her glance between Cole and I. He had decided to make a statement by matching my outfit with the same colour of T-shirt and shorts.All six of us left the house, with Crystal and Zach leading the way. We passed a group of adults who greeted both of them, while their children waved at us with wide smiles on their faces. After a moment, we got to a small open building roofed with what looked like palm fronts. Just under the roof was a large wood signboard with 'Bar' written across it and six empty chairs sat at a table being wiped by a man. Zach called out to him, and he smiled at us as we walked forward."Welcome," He greeted us and motioned for us to sit in the chairs, as he made small talk and introduced himself as one of the best bartenders in the Maldives. Crystal attested to that procl
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That night, we got dressed up for the performance that Zach had organized for the occupants of the resort and naturally, we had to go. The island had transformed into a bubbling night life area, more people than before walking around with sheer clothes and wide grins on their faces. A makeshift stage decorated with strings of bright lights had been built in front of a couple of palm trees while rows of large wooden benches faced it, their legs sinking deep into the full sand.Crystal directed us to the front row seats just a few feet away from the stage while she and her husband went behind to organize the last minute preparations. As we waited for the event to start, more vacationeers started to come out bringing a wide variety of noise patterns and a baby's cry pierced through the air.The first presentation was a guy and his dog who pranced around gracefully as he obeyed the commands. I watched them for a while before I got bored and began to make a short Snapchat video of myself.
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"Now, we'll be rendering something special for five random couples here tonight," the Master of Ceremony, a short white man with an afro, announced with a wide grin after the short drama performance. "So put on your dancing shoes and get ready because we may just pick you."Loud cheers erupted from the audience and we all looked on as a man and woman came forward with microphones in their hands and cosy grins on their faces. The both of them held hands and began to hum softly to the background music till it increased in pitch and they followed suit, turning to each other with face splitting smiles. Behind them, the large projector that had been showing the performances switched into a black screen as the song's words rolled up.I squinted my eyes at the speaker behind them, trying to figure out the song till the chorus started and voices from the crowd began to sing along. Love me like you do by Ellie Goulding.I began to bop my head slowly to the music, singing softly along till whit
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The second round was a game of 'Likes and Dislikes' as the host called it, where we would have to write ten things we liked and ten things we disliked, after which our partner would have to correctly guess our preferences. Immediately he explained the rules of the game, he split us up so we could not communicate with our partners.He put all four men at one end and the women at the other side of the stage, while the other workers gave each of us a small note to write down our preferences under five minutes. Afterwards, they collected our papers and the host told the crowd to watch us and make sure the rest of us would not try to cheat.Just then, I turned to look at Cole and our eyes met briefly before he winked at me and gave me a thumbs up. Just then, the thought that I did not know enough about Cole flew into my brain and I panicked. While the host explained the rules, I tried to wack my brain for the little I knew about him as well as the answers I wrote down and if I had told Col
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"Why did you add my name to your list?" I suddenly asked, the water rushing up to my ankles as I stared into the distance where a small tiny light twinkled dimly. It was most likely the small house Crystal had talked about, which was used for incoming night ships harbouring visitors.According to her, there had been one too many stories about boats crashing there before Zach bought out the island. It was due to the amount of spiky, jagged rocks as well as the lack of suitable light in the area, so the first thing she did was to build a mini light house there."Because I like you, Elizabeth," Cole whispered and turned my head to face him as he walked closer to me and invaded my thoughts. "More than just a secretary. So much more.""What?" I asked, my voice echoing through the quiet of the night as I looked past his heady gaze into the island. The crowd had thinned considerably, leaving only a few people who still sat around the stage talking quietly. Night time was always the best for
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I woke up early the next morning and sat up in bed, groaning as my eyes adjusted to the bright light coming from the open window. My head was still pounding and my cheeks felt hot, a trail of goosebumps appeared along my arm and I instantly turned off the AC just as I heard Cole's voice beside me."Are you alright?" He asked and I jumped slightly before I rubbed at my eyes and nodded my head. "Could you please close the window? It is affecting my...eyes," I whispered weakly, giving him a small smile when he got up from the dresser table and yanked down the curtains, blocking out the bright day of sunlight.With great effort, I pulled myself to the headboard and rested my back across it, ignoring Cole's look of curiosity as I tried to take in deep breaths of air. After a moment of awkward silence, not that I had the energy to care much, he came to the bed and sat beside me."About yester–""Have you had breakfast?" I interrupted him and jumped out of bed quickly, wrapping my nightgown
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I woke up drenched in a pool of sweat and quickly kicked away the covers, only to see Cole on the other side of the bed looking at me with a blank expression. He was lying on his side, his head propped up by an arm with his phone in the other hand."How are you feeling?" He asked and I was about to nod my head when I looked into his face and shook my head instead, pouting my lips as I began to shiver. I watched with a bit of guilt as his eyes widened into saucers and he instantly got off the bed, making quick work of getting out the drugs. I could not remember the last time I had been taken care of so well; large hands playing with my hair as I drifted in and out of sleep, hourly temperature checks, routine towelbaths. Fortunately, his actions helped as my joints were better now but surely, it was not a crime to just pretend for a while longer. Right?I focused my attention on him as he dropped the pills as well as a bottle of water on the duvet and then climbed back in. He placed his
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Bound By A Contract 137 EPILOGUE
Eliza's PovMonths had passed since that fateful night, a night filled with terror and despair, but also with courage and resilience. Our lives had been forever changed by the events that unfolded, and yet, somehow, we found a way to heal and move forward.Evelyn was locked away in a high-security facility, paying for her crimes. The legal battle that followed was arduous, but justice prevailed, and we were able to gain custody of the children. Riel and the twins, Mia and Liam, went through a difficult period of adjustment, but with the love and support of our family, they began to heal.As for Cole and me, our bond grew stronger through the trials we faced together. We learned to lean on each other and trust in the power of our love. The scars of that night were a constant reminder of our strength and resilience. We vowed to protect our family at all costs and cherish every moment we had together.In the aftermath, we sought therapy to help us navigate the emotional trauma we had end
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ELIZABETH The phone rang.I turned and tossed as I was the only one awake at the moment, with Cole snoring peacefully close to where I was.He needed it. He had been a good boy doing all the work all night long, I groaned as I got out of bed making my way all naked to where the phone of the cabin."Can you pick that up please." Cole grunted in his sleep.Last night had been a hell of a night, and we've done several things all night till daybreak. It all started with the couples bonfire night —As the last day's event , guess we had too much of the local brewed drink of the South Africans.Could it be termed as?Reconciliation sex? It was far more than that.It was the One month of getting back together with Cole and all we've done during those times was literally fuck all day.We were like new couples who couldn't take our eyes and urge off each other.It was all we did more so it was the reason why we had taken the trip.Olivia had been there first to look at it then had sent the lin
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COLE.THE best decision I had ever made in my life was getting rid of Evelyn and that of course was after the Dna test came out negative.Guess Eliza was shocked when my doctor gave out the evidence, I was not the father of Sarah but in a way I felt concern for her well-being.Just like Adrian who was sitting close to Eliza and been in Riel life.I had been jealous for a while seeing them together but then I had taken my mind off it by looking at the face of the judge.It was all going in my favor, there was maids and guards all there to tell the court of how Evelyn had been toxic all this while.All of a sudden, it became a two-way case with me battling for the custody of two children.An Alpha man in every sense…It was funny that Evelyn was only starting to love her child after she found out that she has a part of my finances willed to her name but that had been a trap at my end.Women like Evelyn deserved to be in rehabilitation or even worse hell."Is that all or there are still
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ELIZABETHGoosebumps…It was a day to the trial and that seemed to be what took over all or most of my mind, I didn't know how to deal with all of the pressure.Work that week had been hectic, yet at the same time it had been distracting enough that it kept me afloat all this while, it had been the main reason I had not wallowed In what could be the decision made by the court.The wind found its way past my body feeling it with smoothness but left my soul bare, dark and inexpressive.I was out at the mall, smiling at the door man that held the door while I stood looking past the opened door with two bags in my head.As my gaze shifted to the second car, a convertible, where a tall, handsome man was alighting, dressed in rolled up top and faded jeans. I reeled back in shock as he turned towards where I was with Cole slipping out of my lips silently.Disbelief fought with unmistakable recognition, I was barely ten minutes from my house and of all the malls in the whole of the city, h
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ELIZABETHWe were always in pursuit of perfection and after getting it all, what else?The need for Perfection was by far the greatest flaw of any man and I found myself succumbing to the same fate.I have gotten the revenge I had spent the last five years of my life looking for but still had no satisfaction—It was all like vanity.To make matters worse Riel had incessantly been talking about his father, in a way it seemed like the two had a bond I couldn't quite describe almost as though they were meant to be with each other all this long while.It was the main reason I had moved out of the hotel and gotten a place, I couldn't just live a life where I kept looking over my shoulders if Cole would pop in anytime and demand for his child.Suddenly, it was starting to look like the game had turned against me and I was the one at the end of everything all, I was the one that was mocked by fate.Over the next few weeks, I worked very hard at blocking Cole out of my consciousness, and
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ELIZABETH.It calls for celebration right?The thought of how Cole would feel hearing that I had taken this from him at the last moment brought a smirk to my face.It took me five years, five good years and finally I could say that I had gotten a revenge that was worthwhile.He had rang them in my presence and they had given him the news.A part of me felt a kind of sympathy for the man that had been my husband and who was definitely the father of my child but soon the expression and sick feeling gave room for the grudges I had against him.I was half home and was giving Evelyn the gossip of how everything went when she informed me that she was no longer at the suite but was now at her place.Apparently, she got a call from the office and since she couldn't leave him behind she had gone with him to her place."Why do I have a feeling you just want to see me?" I asked.She scoffed ." Just get your ass here."Change of plans…I thought to myself as I turned the car three-sixty degrees a
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COLE "What!"My car came to an abrupt stop on the road, I thought I was done hearing bad news and this popped up out of nowhere.I couldn't think about the possibility of this happening,I couldn't think about me losing the deal and if it was happening that way it was starting to look like Karma was all out to get me.I swerved my car in a complete U turn and headed straight back for the company driving crazilyStill running the thought in my mind, In a way it was hard to believe everything he was telling me, as I couldn't quite place it around my mind.The more I thought about it, the more I saw reasons not to.I rang the company while driving through the highway like quite an insane person. The only memories that kept going through my mind were two.The first had something to do with getting there as fast as I could and the other was a warning thought about how fast I was driving.This shouldn't even be happening, I had outbidded the least person by a whole lot.They picked after r
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ELIZABETHImagine the shock.I stood there looking at the prospective bidders and there — Right there was Cole's name.A smirk crawled across so fast as the speed of light, you wouldn't have caught a glimpse of it if you didn't look.One thing I have gotten to know about my Ex husband was he went for only deals that were deemed necessary and important. If he was going for this it meant it was quite as important.It could mean only one thing…The thought of the implications passed through my mind.There was a need for me to know, a need for me to know how important this was to me."Do you have any idea of how important this deal would be to him?" I turned to Annabelle—My lawyer."You mean you don't know?" She looked at me puzzled.The look she gave me was as though I didn't know what was going on …What looked to be trending.If it was, it got me wondering Olivia didn't mention it to me-"Know what?" I looked at her expressing the same emotions that was right they're still on her face.
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ELIZABETH There was only one way to explain how blissful a home is and the truth is there was nothing like home?Could there have been anything more?Certainly not as the best part of any entity was getting back home after staying away for so long.No matter how one looked at it… it turned out to be that home is where the heart is .That was the case with my mind all through the trip back home to start. I didn't know what to expect when I got home, whether good or bad.Five years had not been a short while and it was easy to see that a lot had changed during those long while.All through this while I had been far away from home and had probably missed the concept of what a good home could be but the moment my plane landed in the track I could see everything again.The probabilities were high and I could tell everything from the moment we walked through the airport hallway pulling out bags.From a frantic Riel excited to have a feel of the city to myself that didn't know how to take
