ELENA'S POV " Get out of the car, Elena!" He ordered, and I gulped down saliva. " No!" I replied, folding my hands akimbo and refusing to budge." I had told you to drop me a few distance away, but you refused, now you Want me to come out of your car and make me the topic of the week!" I continued, frowning my face angrily.He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, " What am I to do with you, Elena!" He mumbled, and I hissed." You could sell me to the next man willing to take my hand in a contract marriage since that is what your dad is good at!" I mocked, and I could see him gritting his teeth angrily. ' Good!' I thought to myself with a smirk." Drive the car to the underground car park," he ordered through gritted teeth, and I giggled, sitting back properly. I didn't bother turning to look at him and kept my entire focus staring through the window. The car soon pulled up at the underground car park, and I smiled happily. Pulling out my nose mask from my bag, I was quick
LUCAS POVI couldn't shake the image of Elena in Adrian's arms out of my mind. Why was she with him? What had happened? I tried calling her, but my calls went straight to voicemail. Frustration and worry gnawed at me as I paced my office floor.Why wasn't she picking up my calls? Was she ignoring me on purpose? Or worse, had something happened to her?My heart raced as I dialled her number again and again, hoping to hear her voice on the other end. But each time, I was met with the same automated message.Anger boiled up inside me, and before I knew it, I had hurled my phone against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces, the sound echoing through my empty office." Fuck!" I slumped back into my chair, my head in my hands. What had I done? Now I had no way of reaching Elena, no way of knowing if she was okay.I felt helpless, and the thought of Elena with Adrian only made it worse. I knew I had to do something, but what? I couldn't just sit here and wait for her to call me
ELENA'S POV My head was bent downwards with my full focus on the work in front of me." Eloise, could you please help me get the documents ready for the next meeting?" I asked, still focusing on my work." Elena!" The voice called, and I froze in shock."Lucas!" I muttered, raising my head to stare at the owner of the voice. I sucked in a sharp breath on seeing his handsome face once again. ' There he was in all his glory with his kissable lips,' I thought, biting my lips." Elena," he called again, jolting me out of my reverie. " Stop it! He has a fiancée!" I cautioned myself, clearing my throat noisily to distract myself. " What do you want, Lucas?" I asked, not wanting to look weak in front of him."We need to talk." "Lucas, what are you doing here?" she asked, putting down her pen.I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "I need to know what happened with Adrian. I saw you with him yesterday, and I'm worried."My face grew serious, my expression becoming guarded. "Lucas,
ELENA'S POV Taking in a deep breath, I kicked him below, and he groaned in pain, crunching to the ground. " What the fuck Elena!" He barked, still kneeling in pain and I smirked, feeling satisfied with what I did.I looked up to see Eloise still standing at the entrance, and I cleared my throat noisily, feeling embarrassed. " Um, I think I should leave now. I wouldn't want to interrupt you guys, " she mumbled, walking backwards slowly. " You don't have to leave Eloise, he will be leaving soon so come and have a sit, let's discuss the details for the next meeting " I replied, straightening my clothes and walking back to my seat.She laughed awkwardly and looked between us." Get out!" Adrian yelled, standing up, and she squealed, running out of the office. " Adrian, What the fuck was that?" I questioned furiously and he sneered." What do you mean? You are my wife! Is anything wrong with kissing my wife?" He replied and I laughed sarcastically. " Your wife?" I asked in mocker
LUCAS POV My heart was heavy with disappointment, I trudged back to my car, defeated. I couldn't understand why Elena was pushing me away, refusing to talk about what had happened with Adrian.She had allowed Adrian to kiss her! And the mention of a fiancée had caught me off guard. Was she under the impression that I was engaged to someone else?I slid into the back seat and instructed my driver to take me home. As the car pulled away from Elena's office, I couldn't help but replay the encounter in my mind, trying to make sense of it all.The drive seemed to take forever, and by the time I arrived home, I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. I made my way to my bedroom, collapsing onto the bed without even bothering to change out of my clothes.As I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, I couldn't help but wonder if I had lost Elena for good. The thought of her with Adrian made my stomach churn, and I knew I couldn't let it go.I had to find a way to get through to her,
ELENA'S POV Suddenly, a knock sounded on my table, jolting me out of my thoughts. I raised my head up to see Eloise and I scratched the back of my neck. " Hello ma'am " she waved, smiling awkwardly. " Am I allowed to come in now? I saw sir Adrian leaving angrily so I thought I could come in now.I could leave if you aren't willing to accommodate anyone again" she mumbled, staring at the ground. " No, it's ok. We can discuss about the stuff now. Go close the door Eloise " I replied and she nodded, going to close the door and rushing back to have a seat. "Ma'am," Eloise began, her voice filled with curiosity, "is Adrian your husband?"I turned to her, surprised by her question. "No, Eloise, he's not. Why do you ask?"Eloise's cheeks flushed slightly. "Well, it's just that I saw him kissing you earlier and he called you his wife. I thought maybe..."Before I could respond, my phone rang, interrupting our conversation. I glanced at the caller ID, my heart skipping a beat when I
LUCAS POVI awoke to a throbbing pain in my head, immediately regretting the previous night's indulgence. My mouth felt like cotton, and my stomach churned uncomfortably. Groaning, I pushed myself into a sitting position, the room spinning around me as I did so.My memories of the night before were hazy, but the image of Elena in Adrian's arms remained clear as day. The thought made my heart ache and my head throb even harder.With great effort, I forced myself out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face in an attempt to alleviate the pounding in my skull. As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I barely recognized the haggard, bloodshot-eyed man staring back at me.I knew I needed to pull myself together, both physically and emotionally. My obsession with Elena was taking a toll on my well-being, and it was time to confront my feelings head-on. But first, I needed to deal with the consequences of my overindulgence and the resulting
ELENA'S POV I hesitated for a moment but continued walking towards the door. Suddenly, he clutched his chest and fell to his knees, "Lucas!" I cried out, rushing back to his side in a panic. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"He gasped for air, grimacing in pain as he struggled to speak. "My heart... it hurts... so much," he rasped, My face paled as I knelt beside him, frantically searching for my phone to call for help. "Hold on, Lucas. I'm calling an ambulance.""No, wait," he managed to say, grasping my hand weakly. "I think... I think it's passing."Slowly, he let his body relax, showing that the pain was subsiding. I watched him carefully, my brow furrowed with worry and concern. I helped him back to the bed, my gentle hands guiding him to a seated position.As i tucked the blankets around him, concern written all over my face."You should probably rest," i said, my voice still laced with concern. "And maybe see a doctor." I suggested, staring around him for any
ELENA'S POV My eyes flurried open, gradually adjusting to the soft beams of sunlight resting on my face. I stretched more comfortably, suddenly pausing as my body finally sensed the unfamiliar surface where I laid. Turning my face to take a look, my lungs gave way to a shrieking sound but thankfully, sighting Dave laying peacefully on the sofa opposite mine made me swallow the panic rising to my throat. How could I have done this? Yanking the covers off my body, I jerked into a sitting position trying to make sense of the situation with a lot of questions buzzing around my head. How had I fallen asleep in a stranger's house? How did I not scream myself awake somewhere in the middle of the night? This was all too much for me, I had to get out of here. With light and careful steps, I finally stepped outside racing all the way to my house and collapsing on my couch, breathing hardly. “Elena?”, Eloise' voice came from behind me, circling me with suspicion in her eyes. “Oh Elly, w-wh
LUCAS' POV Not so surprisingly, the recordings from the cameras in my office had been wiped out, making me order for all the cameras to be removed. There was no use for them anyways since their locations had been found already. The culprit could have been Henry or any other pawn and despite how impatient I felt in digging out the root of the case, I knew it would only do the opposite of the results I really wanted. ‘patience, patience, Lucas’, I chanted repeatedly underneath my breath with my knuckles resting on my desk as I watched them dispose all the cameras, not knowing whether to be angry or sad. Despite my tough and cold exterior that night as I threatened him - meaning every of those words still, the sting from the betrayal still hurt deeply more than anything. I'd thought giving him a promotion and making him the acting CEO during times when I was out the country for a meeting or business dinner would make him realize my sole trust in him and recognition as my brother.
ELENA'S POV Dear Miss Elena, we sincerely appreciate your offer to design the hall for the party. Please take a look at the contract details below and let us know if you need any clarifications. We'd be happy to help! I blinked twice at my screen still in awe at Dave's commitment to helping me soothe my frustrations and bring my dreams to life. How come he still went ahead with this plan even when I'd asked him to stay away from me? No. This was just too unfair. He didn't have to do all these because my response was still the same. The past few years of my life had been traumatic and still overwhelming at the slightest thought of it. No one, not even Eloise knew about my constant nightmares and the pills stacked up under my pillow that helped me sleep soundly. That's right! I had ran out of those and needed to restock soon. “Hey Lena”, Eloise said, jumping in on the bed and snuggling up to me. My eyes froze into the empty space in front of me, surprised at her sudden entrance whi
NATHAN'S POVThe Brooks family was among the top five wealthiest in Atlanta - a city known for its beautiful summer sights and most times, a substitute of Vegas. Casinos, drugs and trafficking thrived bountifully underneath the beautiful women and all the fun you could find there. Despite my family always emphasizing my addiction to fun and lots of women flicking around me, somewhere deep down inside my heart accused them for bringing me up here in the first place. My father for instance, was never a better example than any of us as we - my brother and I grew up to see different shades and sizes of women leaving his bedroom every morning. At a very young age, we made countless trips to the casino watching how he handled deals with a few of his ‘businessmen’ and how we feared he might lose his life sometimes. Fortunately, it didn't take long to get used to the tense atmosphere mixed with thick smoke and the smell of pipes and drugs in the air. Not so surprisingly, it soon became m
ELENA'S POV Wine didn't seem to work on me anymore as I tossed uncomfortably throughout the night, unable to get any sleep. Seeing the soft sunlight reflect through my curtains, I decided to get some work done; more like continue from where I'd left off last night. With Eloise nowhere in sight, I quickly assumed she was off to work doing something meaningful with her life anyways. Going at this pace for me, would probably take me long, painful months to get any real clients. “Fuck it”, I cursed, jogging all the way to my kitchen to make some breakfast while listening to Eloise' cover on the said David Thompson's song. David Thompson. Right. I had to do some background check on him so I swiped out my phone, typing his name and meticulously reading every article, every headline written about him. And just as I expected, there were a few terrible news about him especially concerning his divorce and scandals about his record label company. My heart skipped a beat skimming through th
ELENA'S POVIt was exactly three days since I went out for a run again, not because I was scared to see Dave again but…okay, I was scared to run into him again. So here I sat by the window with a hot coffee in hand, and my work laptop on my laps anonymously pitching my offers to potential clients; most of which were the rich people in the city. Unfortunately, the only few replies I got was them stating their need for a housekeeper. “What the fuck is wrong with these people?” I muttered to myself angrily, forcefully closing the laptop shut and heading towards the kitchen for another round of coffee. “Can I have one of that too?”, Eloise asked cheerfully behind me, a hint of amusement in her voice. Humming lowly in response, I filled an extra cup and handed it to her by the time I was done. “What's causing all the mood swings Elena?”, she asked, settling into the chair opposite me. I hissed in irritation, shifting restlessly in my chair as I seethed with frustration. “These rich peo
LUCAS' POV Tonight was just as gloomy as the last one when we met up at this very bar, somehow hoping to meet the girls here - at least for Nathan and I. James on the other hand was unusually quiet and brooding over his third glass tonight, detached away from himself. “What is happening to us?”, Nathan questioned, stretching his arms with multiple lines of frustration running across his face. “Just when I thought I didn't matter to them and I'm happy, he just ties me to that slut?”, he ranted, yelling above the loud music blaring around us. Too occupied in my own emptiness to offer any real response, I simply nodded in understanding, acknowledging his frustrations even more clearer as I was in the same position. How convenient for my late father who never even had a glimpse of me from the time of my birth to seal my future with a devil in human form - Mr. Anderson. “Welcome to a man's world Nathan”, I finally answered, after long minutes of silence. Nathan scoffed in response, fo
ELENA'S POV Since things had gone haywire the last time I stepped into the city, I'd decided to stay away until I was sure of what to do with myself. But for now, I bit into a slice of toast and grabbing a bottle of water to take a long for my morning jog. In the past few days, I was starting to become too relaxed staying indoors and it had somehow made my brain lazy. So I opted to go for exercises, starting with a morning run every morning. I stepped out of the house with a determined glint shining in my eyes, staring ahead through the light fog hovering the neighbourhood. “Good thing it’s not fully dawn yet”, I muttered underneath my breath, a smirk playing at the corner of my lips in satisfaction as I didn't feel ready to be known by anyone here.Apart from Eloise and perhaps Luci, I hardly ever had a good relationship with anyone. From high school until college, everyone always acted like I was a threat around them or just something they couldn't stand. Back in high school, I
ELOISE' POVIt was all fun and games until I saw it before my very own eyes. The very girl I loathed and just like that - the solid bricks of reassurance built somewhere in my heart crumbled slowly. His love for me was never a doubt but accepting it was harder than I wanted it to - still, the end came too quickly even though I'd always known it. Expected, even. I took a quick glance at my phone longing for that familiar name sliding through the screen but none came - for days. Just to make sure, his contacts were all unblocked, and I knew he knew that. I wanted to listen to his own side of the story, yearning to believe them even if my mind fought it. Nathan had never lied to me, and he never would but it didn't make any difference in what I believed, especially now.“Please give this to him when you see him”, I said in a downcast tone, handing his black card to his house keeper who obviously had a lot to say but my shielded aura was enough warning. I missed her too regardless. Wa