ONIKA'S POVThroughout the drive home, I couldn't stop stealing glances at the bike that Damien was riding alongside my car.Apparently he was not to be riding in the car with me but following me about like a stalker.Nice one Nathan.When I took a look at Damien, I knew he was just in his early 30s judging by the still youthful face despite the way he seemed to frown most of the times.When I pulled up in front of the house, he also stopped his bike right beside my car, quickly unmounting his motorcycle before opening my car door for me.“Thank you” I muttered, not sure what else I was supposed to say.He nodded and straightened up. “You may go back inside for the night. Good night” he said not bothering to look at me.Typical.I bade him a small goodbye before walking into the house. If I was gonna be stuck here for a while with him, I had to least get along with him even if he looked like he would rather not be here at all.I was beginning to wonder why he was, there was nothing el
ONIKA'S POV“Onika” Dion smiled as soon as he saw me. We were at a games and relaxation center and the place was just with a few people.My eyes strayed to the brunette hanging off his arm and I smiled at her, noticing the way she hung on to his every words too. Typical of every girl I had seen with Dion over the years, he had his way with women.“It's nice to meet you after so long, Dion” I smiled at him finally before smiling at the lady. “I'm Onika”“Brittany” she stretched a hand out and I stared at her perfectly manicured nails for a second before I took her hand, lightly shaking it.After a while, I pulled back and looked at Dion. “Shouldn't you go check out what Nathan is doing? He's taking a whole lot of time”Dion nodded and muttered something to Brittany, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered to her, she nodded and he walked off to where Nathan had gone to get the things for bowling.Which meant I was alone with Brittany, I didn't know shit about her and I wasn't
ONIKA'S POVThe next morning, I was sitting in front of my mirror, staring at myself in it.Fuck. What was I doing?I rubbed at my face and sighed, grabbing my phone off the table to text Laura. “Hey”It was still really early in the morning so I could guess that she wasn't up yet so I decided to text Kent too. “Hey. Good morning”I dropped my phone to the table after that. I had a lot of work to do in the office today so I had to go earlier than intended.Grabbing my scrunchie off the table, I pulled my hair into a messy bun so I could start getting ready for my day.All through when I was getting ready, I couldn't help but picture the look on Nathan's face at the bowling game last night. It still unnerved me, the way he kept his gaze on me and refused to look away all through unless he wanted to do something. What was he looking for? Did he see through me? Did he know why I was here in his house? No, if he did, he would have confronted me and who would have even told him that anyway
ONIKA'S POVAmara was already in the office as I walked in and she quickly caught up to me before i could reach the elevator.“Good morning” she greeted cheerfully as she stood beside me as the elevator door closed slowly.“Morning Amara, push the button for me please” I nodded to it and she nodded, pushing the button for the top floor.“You look better today” I smiled at her cheerful demeanor.“Ah yes, I just got good news” She told me.My phone beeped and I brought it out while still talking to her. “What happened?”“Oh nothing much” she laughed and I decided not to press any further. She wasn't really an open person and she didn't like divulging out her personal information just for nothing.“Well, whatever happened, I'm happy for you” I said with a smile as I opened the message I had received from Laura.It was a photo of her at the spa that morning along with a caption. “Having a night shift so I decided to get my beauty treatment” followed by a smiling emoji.A smile crept up my
REGINA'S POV A few minutes ago, when I had arrived at the bitch’s place of work, I had run into a huge handsome man at the door, his face set into a deep scowl when he saw me. “Can I help you?” He had asked, his eyebrow raised while he looked me over like I was something dirty. “Yes,” I said haughtily. “Who are you?” I eyed him. “The person who's gonna be throwing you out if you don't state who you are and why you're here,” he said coldly. I wanted to retort with something witty but the look on his face made me know that he meant business and he would throw me out if I tried any jokes on him. What an insult. “My name is Regina, and I'm here to see your boss.” I managed to get my words out as calmly as possible, my heels tapping against the floor as I waited impatiently for him to say something. “I'm gonna need something to confirm your identity,” he suddenly said, and I almost lost it on the spot. “Don’t you know the name Regina?” I asked in disbelief at the sheer audacity of
ONIKA'S POV It was nearly afternoon and I relaxed in my office, biting down on the end of my ballpoint pen.Mr Sam has yet to reach out to me again, but I guessed that it would be a while before he did that; he probably got a whole lot of emails every day, so he wouldn't have the time to go through them immediately.It could even take weeks before he replied but I was honestly fine with it like that.At least he would reply. I desperately needed the funding for that project, I needed to get it finished by summer.There was a knock on my door and Damien poked his head in again, the same expression still on his face. “You have a visitor”My eyes felt heavy, and I felt tired, so I was almost tempted to tell him to tell the person to leave, but then I decided to at least know who I was sending away.“Who's the person?” I inquired.“Someone called Laura” he huffed.He had checked her ID already so it had to be her. What was she doing here?“Let her in” I sat up in my chair.He closed the
ONIKA'S POVI was dizzy with excitement and nervousness. I didn't know what to expect from this but I knew I couldn't blow it up or I'd end up losing the one person who could impact my project immensely.I had immediately informed the staff in my office that we would be having a very important guest and I had pleaded with Laura to wait for me if she could.She had just told me to focus on my work first and she didn't mind the waiting.With that settled, I walked back into my office, my palms sweaty as I sat back on my table, my gaze fixed on the laptop screen in front of me yet my mind couldn't stop going back to the fact that I had managed to bag a meeting with Mr Sam Damon.Damien was still standing at my door but I had informed him that I would run late at the office because the meeting would probably take some time. I had calculated everything, he would ask some questions and If I flopped, he wouldn't want to invest in my company's project so that explained why I was a total mess
ONIKA'S POVMy heart was pounding as I still gripped Mr Sam Damon's hand tightly in mine.After a short while, he retracted his hand, a soft look still on his face. “My son is a huge fan of your work. Perhaps he could drop by sometime?” He asked uncertainly. “It's fine if you don't want to, I told him I'd ask because he's been bothering me for what feels to be eternity” he quickly said, ending it with a light chuckle.Would I be willing to see his son and show him around my works personally? Hell yeah.“Of course, let my secretary know when he'll want to drop by and I'll make time for him. Thank you for this opportunity to work with you, Mr Sam Damon”He chuckled and nodded. “The pleasure is all mine, miss Orion” he said.I nodded to Amara who understood what I meant I was trying to say to her by that gesture. “The documents will be sent to you in an hour” she quickly said, coming to stand beside me.“Oh, of course, I'll go over everything as soon as it's sent. Now..” he clapped and l
NATHAN'S POVShe was cradled in my arm and I put her in the backseat of my car, letting her lie down gently, her body curled up.The sight alone was enough to make rage rush through me as I struggled to keep myself in checkㅡthis was my fault.When I shut the door, I beckoned to Damien who quickly rushed to me, his face blank. I had told Laura to go home as I would take Onika to the hospital myself and even though it had taken me a while to convince her, she finally agreed and she left the venue also.“Go to the police station and make sure that Regina doesn't get out. Call my lawyer, I want her charged for all damages and she must not get out on bail, is that clear?” I asked him.He nodded, got on his bike and drove off. My mum sauntered out of the venue but before she could make her way to me, I had already gotten into the driver's seat where I switched on the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot where I was.I had no intentions to begin a squabble with her right now. Not when
ONIKA'S POV"Stop this madness..." I croaked out, my voice barely audible over the noise in the hall as everyone saw me. My legs trembled beneath me, every step feeling heavier than the last. I took one shaky step forward before my knees gave out finally after buckling.Damn it.Strong hands caught me just in time—Damien. His grip was firm, pulling me back to my feet effortlessly.“You’re almost there, Onika. Just a little more,” he whispered, his voice steady, grounding me.I had met him outside the venue and he looked more than relieved to see me, he took one look at me, didn't question me but brought me straight here, telling me on the way that I had a few minutes before the vows would be said and they would officially be married.My eyes locked on Nathan. He was frozen, standing at the altar with Regina, but his gaze wasn’t on her—it was on me. His face twisted with disbelief, then something else—panic. His eyes widened, and without a second thought, he bolted toward me.“Onika!”
NATHAN'S POVI stood in front of Regina, hands in my pockets, trying to keep my cool. She was seated in front of the mirror, fixing her lipstick like this was the happiest day of her life. Maybe it was—for her.“This wedding doesn’t mean anything,” I said, staring at her reflection in the mirror, the sight pissing me off to no ends. “It’s just for the company, the board, the media. That’s it. Understood?”Regina smiled, not even bothering to look at me. “Sure, Nathan. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”“I’m serious.” I moved closer, standing right behind her. “Don’t think this is some kind of fresh start or—whatever you think it is. This is business. We are not getting together”She turned slightly, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror. “You’re wearing the suit. I’m wearing the dress. That’s all that matters, right?” She gave me this soft, fake smile. “The rest will fall into place later on.”I scoffed, stepping back. “How daft can you get?”A knock interrupted, and Dion walked in wit
NATHAN’S POVThe next day was hectic as I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection like it belonged to someone else.The tailored tuxedo fit my frame perfectly, the material something that looked straight out of a movie. I should’ve felt proud—or at least present and more focused—but my mind was far from it because I realized that I had caught myself up in the biggest shit I could ever have done.I adjusted the cufflinks, the small silver pieces glinting in the dim light of my room where I stood. If I thought my wedding day would ever come to shit like this, I would just remain single because I knew for sure that this was not how a wedding was supposed to be. The groom was meant to be happy. No calls unanswered. And definitely no bride missing in action.My phone sat on the dresser, silent, the blank screen seeming to mock me by not even lighting up. I’d checked it at least a hundred times already, hoping for some miracle, an update from Barcelona, a message from her, an
ONIKA'S POVMy head lolled to the side and I could hear voices.Distant yet so close.I couldn't see anything, just a blend of nothing with the sharp feeling of light trying to get into my eyes. I was blindfolded.The idea didn't register for a few seconds before I heard a voice saying “How long do we have to keep her?”Immediately, I snapped up and struggled in the chair only to realize that I was bound and something was in my mouth, I couldn't even bring myself to scream, I felt really tired weak and the blindfold that shut my eyes were only serving to further piss me off.There was the sound of scraping chair like someone was trying to get up followed by a whistle and the sound only made fear grip me. It was one thing to know that you were in trouble but it was another thing to not know what kind of trouble you were in. The latter just made you feel hopeless and that was not even enough to talk about how I felt right now.“Look who's awake” A low confident voice hummed. That was a
NATHAN'S POVI felt like a shell of myself the next day as I sat in my office.Believe me when I said I had tried to get some sleep but that was a luxury that I apparently couldn't afford because I had spent the night tossing and turning, my mind going haywire with thoughts. How was it possible that she hadn't checked into the hotel? I had gotten them to go to the nearby hotels but there was no trace of her. There was no way that she could have slept on the streets.Dread filled my veins and I felt true fear the previous night. I didn't believe that I could be this worried over someone but this was fucking Onika! Of course I would be worried about her! I fucking cared about her and now it felt like a part of me has been violently ripped out, leaving me without a vital piece of my life.I had spent the entire night waiting for a call—any damn call—from the people I had stationed in Barcelona, but my phone had remained frustratingly silent. Not a single update. Not from the men I sent t
NATHAN'S POVI pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing heavily, feeling my head ache as I paced across my study. The room was dim and it was dark outside already. I had a long day tomorrow, I had one more day to my wedding but my wife was still missing. Gods.I hit the dial button again, the phone ringing in my ear."Talk," I ordered the moment the call connected.A gruff voice responded on the other end. "We’re still looking, sir. One of our men is sweeping the northern districts, while the other is covering the downtown area."I halted mid-step, my brain short circuiting. "What?""He insisted that splitting up would be more efficient. Said there were too many areas to cover—""Goddammit," I muttered under my breath, gripping the phone tighter. "I gave a direct fucking order, and they’re already doing whatever they want?"The man hesitated. "I told him it’d be best to stick together, but—""Then why didn’t you stop him?" My voice was dangerously low now, my patience thinning fast."He
ONIKA'S POVI drew my hoodie harder over my head, staring at the phone in my hands.The shop keeper kept telling me the details about the phone but that wasn't what I needed to hear, I just wanted him to tell me the fucking price so I could leave this place and go find a place to stay.Apparently getting houses at such short notice in this place was near impossible and I would have to go to the elite part of town because they would have more reservations. I had the money, I just needed to get this phone so I could head next to the hotel.Maybe I could ask this man for help on which hotel I could pick but the way he kept blabbing, urging me to buy the phone and bringing new suggestion had begun to piss me off not to mention that he was constantly cutting me off before he would pull out a better phone, eager that I buy a more expensive one.I couldn't blame him, I probably gave off the air of someone who could afford all these.With a sigh, I tugged my hoodie lower, gripping the phone i
NATHAN'S POVI nodded at my assistant, giving her a slight wave of the hand before muttering. “Let her in”I had successfully kept my mum out because I knew what she was going to say but I really did hope that Regina wasn't here for something like that or I'd have to kick her out.I barely looked up when Regina walked in, but I caught the way she shot my assistant a sharp glare before plastering on a fake smile as soon as she walked in."That’ll be all, dear," she said sweetly, but I could tell she was pissed off that she had been kept waiting for about 5 minutes. Patience was just not one of her values. Even seeing her now as she had the guts to waltz in, made me sick to my guts when I remembered what she did.Regina turned to me, her smile widening. "Nathan."I leaned back in my chair. "Regina."She strode forward, sitting in the chair opposite me. She crossed her legs, dropping her small purse on my table, my eyes narrowing at the movement but I shut up about it unwilling to say an