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Prologue
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2022-12-20 16:52:08Most 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, she was more of an uptight boss or master and him, the personal, but unpaid servant. What made it worse was that she took those men to their marriage bed.
He had tried on a few occasions to plead with her to not have affairs, or at the very least, not in their bed. Unfortunately, he was always met with comments such as “You’re that attractive so you can’t blame me”, “You’re not worth much so be grateful that I’m letting you stay in MY house at all” or “How do you expect me to love you when your own parents didn’t even love you enough to keep you”. At first, he tried not to let her words get to him, but he could only take so much. She was slowly killing his self-esteem and confidence. As a result, he moved to the guestroom, but she didn’t seem to care at all, as she never brought it up or even questioned him about it.
Besides a luxurious roof over his head and funding the orphanage, the only things she contributed were groceries, utility bills and other household consumables. Whatever else he needed was his problem. Hence he kept his job as a bartender.
Her parents were oblivious as he never complained to anyone about the situation. Not that he’d like to admit that he was being tormented by someone smaller than him. Her sister, on the other hand, knew as she once caught Lyra belittling Nicholas over a small mistake he’d made. Alexis had tried to tell her that Nicholas was her husband and she had no right to treat him, or anyone, the way she did. However, Lyra didn’t care. After all, she never saw Nicholas as her husband and, rather, as a sorry excuse for a man.
Alexis had tried multiple times to bring this up to their father, but Nicholas would always deny the accusations. He would state that Lyra had been nothing but a good wife to him and dismiss his sister-in-law’s accusations as jealousy. Afterwards, he’d politely tell her to stop interfering as he was indeed happily married and trying to enjoy marital bliss in peace. This resulted in their father ordering her to not interfere with her sister's marriage.
Since she was obviously getting nowhere, Alexis resorted to defending him whenever she could. She would often visit to check on him, and if she wasn’t able to, she’d call instead. He wasn’t used to such attention because of his wife, but he liked that someone cared. Because of that, they slowly formed a friendship.
One day, however, he found Lyra with another man in their bed again. This was his breaking point. He didn’t barge in or anything of the sort. He left them to continue and slowly made his way to the kitchen to grab a chair before heading off to the garage.
Once he got there, he looked for a rope and found one that looked strong enough. He set everything up, but before he could go through with his plan, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and tried but failed miserably to yank him off the chair.
“Nic, what are you doing? Are you an idiot?” Alexis scolded.
“Leave me alone. You can clearly see that I’m busy.”
“You call this being busy? What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. I’m in a loveless marriage with a tyrant who barely sees me as a human being and is hell-bent on making my life hell on earth. Let me not even mention she’s having an affair as we speak. So excuse me for not having anything to live for anymore.”
“Oh Nic, you do have something to live for. Think of those kids at the orphanage. Please, just get off the chair so we can at least talk about this.”
He thought long and hard about it. Was he really going to give up just like that? No. Alexis was right, he couldn’t. What would happen to the orphanage if he did? He didn’t want to let them down because of one person who seemed as though she had issues.
“Alright, fine,” He got off.
“Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack. Never do that again. You’re crashing at my place because there’s no way I’m letting you stay here unsupervised.”
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I'm back🙂🙂
This is my early Christmas present to you guys. I know I was supposed to release book 3 of the WTAH series, but this book has been in the drafts since last year and I need a bit of a break from the series (book 3's ideas are all over the place and I'm still trying to sort through them). Anyway, this book is a standalone and a short story (the chapters might be short too). I know it already sounds off-putting but I promise it's interesting because I'm a lover of drama ;). But if it seems too much, it's ok to turn back :)
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Deceitful Relations Chapter 1
“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
Last Updated : 2022-12-20Deceitful Relations Chapter 2
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
Last Updated : 2022-12-20Deceitful Relations Chapter 3
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
Last Updated : 2022-12-21Deceitful Relations Chapter 4
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
Last Updated : 2022-12-21Deceitful Relations Chapter 5
“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
Last Updated : 2022-12-25Deceitful Relations Chapter 6
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
Last Updated : 2023-01-02Deceitful Relations Chapter 7
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
Last Updated : 2023-01-22
Latest chapter
Deceitful Relations Chapter 7
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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 6
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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 5
“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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 4
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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 3
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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 2
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
Deceitful Relations Chapter 1
“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
Deceitful Relations Prologue
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
