Most people say their wedding day is the happiest day of their lives but not Nicholas. Not when it was the day he lost his freedom to an emotionally abusive woman. Not when he knew Lyra didn’t love him and most likely never will. The fact that she only had a look of contempt when she laid eyes on him on their wedding night was proof enough. So was the fact that she kept her last name and especially the multiple affairs she was having. He knew about them, and she knew that he did but also that he wouldn’t dare say anything. After all, she was behind the funding for the orphanage he grew up in. One mistake from him, and she’d stop. Which is why he entertained her every whim without complaint.Although their marriage was purely for business, and they wouldn’t be able to love each other or at least learn to, it still hurt him to know that his own wife was doing more with other men than with him. He was greatly aware of the difference in treatment. To them, she was like a nymph, but to him
“I’m done getting the guestroom ready,” Alexis said.“Thanks, but you didn’t have to. Your couch would’ve been fine.”“Nonsense. There’s an extra room with a bed that’s more comfortable than a couch. I’ll go get dinner ready.”“I can do it. You’ve done more than enough.”“No, you’re my guest, and I insist. You need to get some rest.”“Why is she like that?”“She’s always been the type who does as she pleases, but I honestly don’t know why.”“I bet she would’ve gotten some sort of satisfaction from me being dead.”“Don’t say that. I’m sure she has some goodness in her, even if it’s the tiniest of specks.”“I find that hard to believe. She only needs me to keep her position as CEO.”“I thought it was odd that she found someone out of the blue and was in a rush to get married. I just assumed that she found her soulmate, but the way she treats you makes more sense now.”“You have too much faith in her.”“Although she doesn’t like me very much, she’s still my big sister, and I love her.”H
He had noticed that Alexis hadn’t been herself the last few days. Normally, she said whatever came to mind, but she’d been as quiet as a mouse and always had a far-off look in her eyes. He always answered with an “I’m fine” whenever he asked if she was ok. Later that night, he accidentally stumbled across her crying in her room.“Lex, what’s wrong?”“He dumped me,” She hiccupped.He quickly went to grab a box of tissues before sitting next to her and letting her cry on his shoulder. He thought it’d be best if he waited until she had calmed down enough to talk. He patiently waited for an hour, and even after she had stopped, he waited in case she still had more in her.“Why did he dump you?”“I told him that I’m letting you stay here for a while, but he didn’t like the idea. I then told him I’m just helping you out, but he accused me of always putting you first.”“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed…”“You don’t have to apologise. It’s not your fault.”“You should tell that to yourself
The next morning, Nic was trying to make sense of what had happened the previous night. He wasn’t even sure whether it was real or not because she was being her usual distant self, and she didn’t say anything about it either. He began wondering if he was the one going insane. She had kept the robe on the entire time, and he had never seen her naked, so he assumed that maybe it was a dream.He was distracted from the thought when he received an incoming call from Alexis. He didn’t know if he should answer it. On the other hand, he couldn’t avoid her forever, and there was no harm in answering.“Hi.” He answered.“I was worried that you wouldn’t pick up. Nic, listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you. I wasn’t in a good space, and you said all those nice things, and I just went for it. Can we just put this behind us? That’s if you want to, but I’ll understand if you don’t.”“Lex, it’s ok. I get it. I was just shocked, and that doesn’t mean I want to stop being your friend.”“That’s a
Nicholas stared at the card for a while before picking up his phone.“That was fast,” Myrine said. “I see that you live in Athens too. I’ll send you my location. Drop by when you have time so we can go over the details. I’m sure you’ve noticed I have a taste for extravagant things, so you’ll definitely know my place when you see it.”“Ok.”After work, he went straight to the location she had sent him. He found her already seated and waiting.“Sorry I took so long.”“No, it’s fine. Have a seat.”“Ok,” He sat down.“There’s not much to say. Besides your services, I need you to not mention our deal when we’re “together”. You’ll also have to memorise these notes,” She handed them to him. “It’s just the standard things like how we met, how long we’ve been dating and so on. Nothing too hectic. Our first appearance is at a dinner party tomorrow.”“Already?” He asked while paging through them.“Yes. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I just need your measurements before you leave and for
“Here we are,” Myrine said after the car stopped. “Yeah.” “Well, what are you waiting for? Get in there,” She gave him a little push out of the car. “Call me if you make it out alive. But don’t keep me waiting for too long,” She said before the driver drove off. When Nicholas entered the place, he had expected Lyra to be waiting for him and ready to unleash her wrath. But she wasn’t, and she was nowhere to be found either. He thought it was worse than her being around because he now had to wait for whatever she had in store for him, and his imagination wasn’t calming his nerves. Although he felt a little exhausted, he thought it’d be better to distract himself. So, he did a few chores and made dinner afterwards. He even took a shower. Even after that much time had passed, Lyra still hadn’t come home. Seconds turned into minutes and those minutes blended into hours. There was still no sign of Lyra, and Nicholas had no idea where she was. After a bit more time had passed, he packed
During Nic’s break, Alexis stopped by. “So, how did last night go?” She asked. “It was fine.” “That’s it?” “I wasn’t much of a participant, but more of a background character so yeah.” “That’s a shame. But maybe next time you’ll be a bit more proactive. Anyway, you went out for fun, so that’s something. As they say: progress is progress no matter how small.” “Lyra was there.” “What!?” “Yeah. She came with someone else.” “Sorry. I...” “It’s fine. It was just surprising to see her there.” “What did she say when she saw you two?” “Nothing. She went on as if nothing was wrong the whole night.” He purposely left out the reason behind Lyra’s behaviour. “Weird,” She commented. “Not as weird as Myrine finding out my banking information.” “She did what?” “We weren’t seeing eye to eye about me getting paid, so she took matters into her own hands.” “So, she got a hold of your banking details?” “Yeah.” “It’s probably for the best anyway because you’re insane for not wanting to
Upon Nic’s return, Lyra let him know her parents decided to come over for dinner. He dreaded it because it meant Alexis wouldn't be there to make it more tolerable.To put it simply, Nic wasn't particularly fond of his in-laws. No one would if they were looked down on more often than not and met with snooty remarks about their job. Nic could, in some way, understand where they were coming from. After all, Lyra was leagues above him, and it was clear she was the favoured child.What made it clearer was when they shut Alexis down whenever she tried to let them know what Lyra was up to. He always sensed that they did that because, as much as he wasn't liked, at least Lyra was married. And Alexis, on the other hand, seemed to be getting nowhere past the dating phase in her relationships. To them, it seemed as though Alexis was jealous and trying to ruin her sister's marriage.He felt a little bad about technically throwing Alexis under the bus whenever she was there, but he also found it
During Nic’s break, Alexis stopped by. “So, how did last night go?” She asked. “It was fine.” “That’s it?” “I wasn’t much of a participant, but more of a background character so yeah.” “That’s a shame. But maybe next time you’ll be a bit more proactive. Anyway, you went out for fun, so that’s something. As they say: progress is progress no matter how small.” “Lyra was there.” “What!?” “Yeah. She came with someone else.” “Sorry. I...” “It’s fine. It was just surprising to see her there.” “What did she say when she saw you two?” “Nothing. She went on as if nothing was wrong the whole night.” He purposely left out the reason behind Lyra’s behaviour. “Weird,” She commented. “Not as weird as Myrine finding out my banking information.” “She did what?” “We weren’t seeing eye to eye about me getting paid, so she took matters into her own hands.” “So, she got a hold of your banking details?” “Yeah.” “It’s probably for the best anyway because you’re insane for not wanting to
“Here we are,” Myrine said after the car stopped. “Yeah.” “Well, what are you waiting for? Get in there,” She gave him a little push out of the car. “Call me if you make it out alive. But don’t keep me waiting for too long,” She said before the driver drove off. When Nicholas entered the place, he had expected Lyra to be waiting for him and ready to unleash her wrath. But she wasn’t, and she was nowhere to be found either. He thought it was worse than her being around because he now had to wait for whatever she had in store for him, and his imagination wasn’t calming his nerves. Although he felt a little exhausted, he thought it’d be better to distract himself. So, he did a few chores and made dinner afterwards. He even took a shower. Even after that much time had passed, Lyra still hadn’t come home. Seconds turned into minutes and those minutes blended into hours. There was still no sign of Lyra, and Nicholas had no idea where she was. After a bit more time had passed, he packed
Nicholas stared at the card for a while before picking up his phone.“That was fast,” Myrine said. “I see that you live in Athens too. I’ll send you my location. Drop by when you have time so we can go over the details. I’m sure you’ve noticed I have a taste for extravagant things, so you’ll definitely know my place when you see it.”“Ok.”After work, he went straight to the location she had sent him. He found her already seated and waiting.“Sorry I took so long.”“No, it’s fine. Have a seat.”“Ok,” He sat down.“There’s not much to say. Besides your services, I need you to not mention our deal when we’re “together”. You’ll also have to memorise these notes,” She handed them to him. “It’s just the standard things like how we met, how long we’ve been dating and so on. Nothing too hectic. Our first appearance is at a dinner party tomorrow.”“Already?” He asked while paging through them.“Yes. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I just need your measurements before you leave and for
The next morning, Nic was trying to make sense of what had happened the previous night. He wasn’t even sure whether it was real or not because she was being her usual distant self, and she didn’t say anything about it either. He began wondering if he was the one going insane. She had kept the robe on the entire time, and he had never seen her naked, so he assumed that maybe it was a dream.He was distracted from the thought when he received an incoming call from Alexis. He didn’t know if he should answer it. On the other hand, he couldn’t avoid her forever, and there was no harm in answering.“Hi.” He answered.“I was worried that you wouldn’t pick up. Nic, listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you. I wasn’t in a good space, and you said all those nice things, and I just went for it. Can we just put this behind us? That’s if you want to, but I’ll understand if you don’t.”“Lex, it’s ok. I get it. I was just shocked, and that doesn’t mean I want to stop being your friend.”“That’s a
He had noticed that Alexis hadn’t been herself the last few days. Normally, she said whatever came to mind, but she’d been as quiet as a mouse and always had a far-off look in her eyes. He always answered with an “I’m fine” whenever he asked if she was ok. Later that night, he accidentally stumbled across her crying in her room.“Lex, what’s wrong?”“He dumped me,” She hiccupped.He quickly went to grab a box of tissues before sitting next to her and letting her cry on his shoulder. He thought it’d be best if he waited until she had calmed down enough to talk. He patiently waited for an hour, and even after she had stopped, he waited in case she still had more in her.“Why did he dump you?”“I told him that I’m letting you stay here for a while, but he didn’t like the idea. I then told him I’m just helping you out, but he accused me of always putting you first.”“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stayed…”“You don’t have to apologise. It’s not your fault.”“You should tell that to yourself
“I’m done getting the guestroom ready,” Alexis said.“Thanks, but you didn’t have to. Your couch would’ve been fine.”“Nonsense. There’s an extra room with a bed that’s more comfortable than a couch. I’ll go get dinner ready.”“I can do it. You’ve done more than enough.”“No, you’re my guest, and I insist. You need to get some rest.”“Why is she like that?”“She’s always been the type who does as she pleases, but I honestly don’t know why.”“I bet she would’ve gotten some sort of satisfaction from me being dead.”“Don’t say that. I’m sure she has some goodness in her, even if it’s the tiniest of specks.”“I find that hard to believe. She only needs me to keep her position as CEO.”“I thought it was odd that she found someone out of the blue and was in a rush to get married. I just assumed that she found her soulmate, but the way she treats you makes more sense now.”“You have too much faith in her.”“Although she doesn’t like me very much, she’s still my big sister, and I love her.”H
Most people say their wedding day is the happiest day of their lives but not Nicholas. Not when it was the day he lost his freedom to an emotionally abusive woman. Not when he knew Lyra didn’t love him and most likely never will. The fact that she only had a look of contempt when she laid eyes on him on their wedding night was proof enough. So was the fact that she kept her last name and especially the multiple affairs she was having. He knew about them, and she knew that he did but also that he wouldn’t dare say anything. After all, she was behind the funding for the orphanage he grew up in. One mistake from him, and she’d stop. Which is why he entertained her every whim without complaint.Although their marriage was purely for business, and they wouldn’t be able to love each other or at least learn to, it still hurt him to know that his own wife was doing more with other men than with him. He was greatly aware of the difference in treatment. To them, she was like a nymph, but to him