Chapter Twenty One - Contract Marriage Gabriella's POV "What do you mean by George has been looking for my brother? How is that even possible?" I asked. My brows furrowed at James in utter confusion. My heart began to race extremely fast and i felt fear wash over me. There was no way George was searching for my brother, for what reasons?James adjusted his posture on the chair. I watched his eyes roam the entire area as if trying to make sure no one was watching us nor eavesdropping on our conversation. James cleared his throat to reply. "Apparently, some of the documents you sent to me show that George desperately needs the signature of your brother to attain one of the properties owned by your family."I breathed out a heavy sigh of disappointment. I guess I had held too much hope, thinking that maybe George had finally decided that he wanted to change his bad ways and become a good person. I assumed that George's first step to changing was helping me find my brother, I assumed he
Chapter Twenty Two - Game On Gabriella's POV I covered my mouth in shock at myself. Had I been too blunt? The look on George's face changed into one of shock. I watched his eyes widen at me and his mouth hang open. His next action took me off guard. He pulled me by the wrist into his office and hastily locked the door behind him.I raised a brow at him. Did he actually need to do all of that? It was as if George could read the look on my face. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and pointed at the door. "If I had not taken you inside my office, then someone might have heard our conversation and passed it around work. Trust me, those kind of rumors are the worst..." He trailed off. I nodded my head slowly, although I was less concerned about what anyone else in the office thought of me."Oh and for the lock, I had to lock the door just in case Tami might try to barge in. I do not want her causing any unnecessary scenes here at work," George explained. I rolled my eyes at the un
Chapter Twenty Three - Culprit Gabriella's POV George kissed me passionately, his hands roamed my waist, and he pressed his body against me. Honestly, I had thought kissing George would rekindle the old feelings I had for him in the past, which was why I had always been afraid of taking this bold step. Although kissing him right now made me realize one thing: I hated George. I resented him. Every bit of his presence disgusted me and just by hearing his name, I would want to squeeze his neck tight. I badly wanted to put him in his plan and I looked forward to the day that I would watch police officers drag George and throw him behind bars while I stood in front of his prison door with an accomplished smirk playing on my lips. I looked forward to watching him fall to his knees and plead for mercy. I wanted him to kiss my feet while I trampled on him. Our kiss was interrupted by a sudden bang on George's door, startling us both. We pulled away immediately, and I adjusted the hem
Chapter Twenty Four - Big Role Gabriella's POVIt suddenly clicked to me that the guy I saw standing beside Tami was the same guy I saw in one of the printed pictures I saw in George's locker that day. Obviously, I could tell that the guy meant no good. The tattoos and several piercings on his face screamed dangerous. Now I could not help but wonder what kind of relationship Tami shared with this dangerous man. I raised my phone up to take a picture of Tami and the dangerous guy. I successfully took a picture of them, but unfortunately for me, the man caught me live and direct. I watched him tap Tami on the shoulder and point at me. I wanted to run but, unfortunately for me, Tami had already set her eyes on me.I muttered a cuss under my breath as Tami walked towards my direction with a huge scowl plastered on her face. I wanted to run, but I knew that if I acted out of impulse, it would only make Tami very suspicious of me. Instead, I stood my ground and tucked my to the right to g
Chapter Twenty Five - Real Love Gabriella's POV I returned home tired, as I pushed the front door open. I dumped the shopping bags on the floor and threw myself carelessly on the couch. I released a loud yawn and Alessandro Miguel suddenly popped up in my head. I recalled the tattoo of a scorpion imprinted on his wrist. Without hesitation, I fetched my phone out of my pocket and browsed on the internet what it meant if someone had a tattoo of a scorpion on his wrist.Some images were displayed on my phone screen and even before I could read out the content behind the scorpion tattoo, someone already beat me to it. "It symbolizes the membership of a well-known dangerous gang known as the Gun fire men." A familiar deep voice rung out loud from behind.I turned around to gaze at Lucian peaking into my phone. He had reading glasses on and a book clutched tight to his hands. I gazed back at the screen of my phone to confirm how true Lucian's words were. To my uttermost surprise, he was r
Chapter Twenty Six - LiesGabriella's POV After Lucian's confession, I could not help but feel awkward about all of it. He said he truly loved and cared for me but all of that felt surreal. It was possible for me to believe the part where he said he cared, but the part about love was too weird. Love is a strong word.I sighed heavily as I stared at myself in the standing mirror. It was finally the night of the party. I was elegantly dressed in a black sleeveless knee-length dress. My hair was packed into a neat bun and i applied simple yet classy makeup on my face. The plan was to impress. I took a spin in front of the mirror and smiled at myself, satisfied by my look. I grabbed a pair of black stilettoes and a silver purse to compliment the silver jewelry adorned on my neck. Without wasting anymore of Lucian's time, I made my way out of the room. I met him in the sitting room, dressed in a white fitted inner shirt and a pair of gray suit pants clad to his long legs. His black suit
CHAPTER ONEKeisha's PovLIFE OF KEISHA “You’ve put on so much weight,” George, my fiancé said to me, an irritated look on his face and I immediately turned to the mirror beside me, staring at it with a sad smile.“I know,” I sighed painfully. “I’m trying everything I can to lose weight but it’s not working,”Things were not always like this. Just about a year ago, I was the perfect girlfriend for George. Happy, vibrant, and fulfilled. Not until I was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance called PCOS. It was an ovarian syndrome that causes fertility issues and one of the side effects was weight gain and difficulty in losing it. It made me have extreme cravings and gain weight uncontrollably.I knew it was my hormonal imbalance working but I felt guilty for eating food. Sometimes, I would go to the bathroom and stuff my hand into my mouth so I could vomit everything I’d eaten. I tried diets and workouts but none of it was working.George’s treatment towards me changed immediately I add
CHAPTER TWOTHE BETRAYALI was seated in the manager’s office, my cheeks swollen and red from the effect of the hot coffee.The boy and his mother were also seated as we listened to the Manager speak.“I’m so sorry, Madam. Keisha can be quite rude but I can assure you she’ll be disciplined,”My mouth flew open in shock. Did the manager not hear all the explanations I just gave?“You must absolutely discipline her but before then, she must apologize to me and my son,” the woman scoffed, folding her arms.I couldn’t believe what was happening. This boy was rude to me and made me fall, his mother poured hot coffee on me, yet I had to apologize. I was hoping the manager would at least be sensible and dismiss her but her next sentence shocked me.“What are you waiting for Keisha? Apologize!”“No way! I was wronged and harassed, they should apologize to me,” “Customer is king! We taught you that in your training, right? Now apologize!” The manager yelled, her face curved in anger as her v
Chapter Twenty Six - LiesGabriella's POV After Lucian's confession, I could not help but feel awkward about all of it. He said he truly loved and cared for me but all of that felt surreal. It was possible for me to believe the part where he said he cared, but the part about love was too weird. Love is a strong word.I sighed heavily as I stared at myself in the standing mirror. It was finally the night of the party. I was elegantly dressed in a black sleeveless knee-length dress. My hair was packed into a neat bun and i applied simple yet classy makeup on my face. The plan was to impress. I took a spin in front of the mirror and smiled at myself, satisfied by my look. I grabbed a pair of black stilettoes and a silver purse to compliment the silver jewelry adorned on my neck. Without wasting anymore of Lucian's time, I made my way out of the room. I met him in the sitting room, dressed in a white fitted inner shirt and a pair of gray suit pants clad to his long legs. His black suit
Chapter Twenty Five - Real Love Gabriella's POV I returned home tired, as I pushed the front door open. I dumped the shopping bags on the floor and threw myself carelessly on the couch. I released a loud yawn and Alessandro Miguel suddenly popped up in my head. I recalled the tattoo of a scorpion imprinted on his wrist. Without hesitation, I fetched my phone out of my pocket and browsed on the internet what it meant if someone had a tattoo of a scorpion on his wrist.Some images were displayed on my phone screen and even before I could read out the content behind the scorpion tattoo, someone already beat me to it. "It symbolizes the membership of a well-known dangerous gang known as the Gun fire men." A familiar deep voice rung out loud from behind.I turned around to gaze at Lucian peaking into my phone. He had reading glasses on and a book clutched tight to his hands. I gazed back at the screen of my phone to confirm how true Lucian's words were. To my uttermost surprise, he was r
Chapter Twenty Four - Big Role Gabriella's POVIt suddenly clicked to me that the guy I saw standing beside Tami was the same guy I saw in one of the printed pictures I saw in George's locker that day. Obviously, I could tell that the guy meant no good. The tattoos and several piercings on his face screamed dangerous. Now I could not help but wonder what kind of relationship Tami shared with this dangerous man. I raised my phone up to take a picture of Tami and the dangerous guy. I successfully took a picture of them, but unfortunately for me, the man caught me live and direct. I watched him tap Tami on the shoulder and point at me. I wanted to run but, unfortunately for me, Tami had already set her eyes on me.I muttered a cuss under my breath as Tami walked towards my direction with a huge scowl plastered on her face. I wanted to run, but I knew that if I acted out of impulse, it would only make Tami very suspicious of me. Instead, I stood my ground and tucked my to the right to g
Chapter Twenty Three - Culprit Gabriella's POV George kissed me passionately, his hands roamed my waist, and he pressed his body against me. Honestly, I had thought kissing George would rekindle the old feelings I had for him in the past, which was why I had always been afraid of taking this bold step. Although kissing him right now made me realize one thing: I hated George. I resented him. Every bit of his presence disgusted me and just by hearing his name, I would want to squeeze his neck tight. I badly wanted to put him in his plan and I looked forward to the day that I would watch police officers drag George and throw him behind bars while I stood in front of his prison door with an accomplished smirk playing on my lips. I looked forward to watching him fall to his knees and plead for mercy. I wanted him to kiss my feet while I trampled on him. Our kiss was interrupted by a sudden bang on George's door, startling us both. We pulled away immediately, and I adjusted the hem
Chapter Twenty Two - Game On Gabriella's POV I covered my mouth in shock at myself. Had I been too blunt? The look on George's face changed into one of shock. I watched his eyes widen at me and his mouth hang open. His next action took me off guard. He pulled me by the wrist into his office and hastily locked the door behind him.I raised a brow at him. Did he actually need to do all of that? It was as if George could read the look on my face. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and pointed at the door. "If I had not taken you inside my office, then someone might have heard our conversation and passed it around work. Trust me, those kind of rumors are the worst..." He trailed off. I nodded my head slowly, although I was less concerned about what anyone else in the office thought of me."Oh and for the lock, I had to lock the door just in case Tami might try to barge in. I do not want her causing any unnecessary scenes here at work," George explained. I rolled my eyes at the un
Chapter Twenty One - Contract Marriage Gabriella's POV "What do you mean by George has been looking for my brother? How is that even possible?" I asked. My brows furrowed at James in utter confusion. My heart began to race extremely fast and i felt fear wash over me. There was no way George was searching for my brother, for what reasons?James adjusted his posture on the chair. I watched his eyes roam the entire area as if trying to make sure no one was watching us nor eavesdropping on our conversation. James cleared his throat to reply. "Apparently, some of the documents you sent to me show that George desperately needs the signature of your brother to attain one of the properties owned by your family."I breathed out a heavy sigh of disappointment. I guess I had held too much hope, thinking that maybe George had finally decided that he wanted to change his bad ways and become a good person. I assumed that George's first step to changing was helping me find my brother, I assumed he
Chapter Twenty - Secrets Revealed Gabriella's POV "You and your husband. What kind to relationship do you both share?" George's question took me off guard. I pressed the phone tight to my ear and gulped a lump down my throat. My eyes darted toward Lucian's direction and it seemed like he might have heard George's question too. My heart began to race extremely fast, the most suspicious things had been happening lately, I reminded myself that I needed to be more careful."Gabriella? Are you still there?" George's voice jolted me out of my thoughts and back to reality. My ears were listening to George speak but my eyes were fixated on Lucian's face. He gazed at me with a puzzled look. I knew I owed him an instant explanation."Gabi, if---" I interrupted George immediately with a nervous chuckle. "I will call you later George, like I said I am a bit preoccupied right now. Let us talk later." Without waiting for George's reply, I hung up the call and placed my phone on the surface of the
Chapter Nineteen - Relationship Lessons George's POV The loud beeping noise caused me to mutter a cuss under my breath. I groaned in frustration and rolled to the other side of my bed, accidentally bumping into something hard. I snapped my eyes open and saw myself lying close to the wooden bedside table."Thank God you are awake now!" A familiar loud harsh voice startled me. I snapped my head up to gaze at the culprit, Tami stood a few feets away from the bed. My eyesight was blurry and i had a hungover from last night's drinking. I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and winced in pain. Judging by the look on Tami's face, I knew she was about to start a fight, one I was not ready to get myself involved in."Not now, Tami." I said in a bored tone. I reached for my phone and gazed at the time, ignoring the several missed calls I had from an unknown number. The time was 8:00am and I had a meeting with someone important in the next thirty minutes.I jerked off the bed hastily and
Chapter Eighteen - Real Identity Lucian's POVI pressed the phone close to my ears as I listened attentively to what my mother was saying. It was not like I had a choice. Whenever she started ranting like this, I was forced to listen."Like I was saying, marrying that woman was the wrong decision, Lucian. Once you should have never made in the first place. That woman is very suspicious. There is a lot about her that you might not know my son." My mother said in a serious tone, I fought back the urge to burst into laughter at her pathetic attempt at trying to paint Gabriella as the bad person, if only she knew that I was the one who brought up the idea of the contract marriage first."Do you hear me at all, Lucian?" Mother yelled over the phone. Her angry tone jolted me out of my thoughts and back to reality. This was the hundredth time I had zoned out of our conversation. Maybe it was because there was basically nothing to talk about. I had already made up my mind to keep Gabriella b