Jess found her way to her mother’s hospital room after saying goodbye to Greg. The familiar scent of antiseptic and beeping from machines filled the air as she stepped in. Though her mother was still unconscious, the doctors assured her that she would alright. Jess ran her fingers lightly across the bed’s edge, watching the faint rise and fall of her mother’s chest.As she went over to the counter to settle the bills, the nurse gave her a soft smile. “Your husband already paid ma’am.” Jess stood, too stunned to speak. Gavin’s hurt expression flashed through her mind and a lump formed in her chest, bringing tears welled up her eyes.“Is everything alright, dear?” Uncle Sam’s voice broke her thoughts.“Yes uncle,” she answered quickly, wiping the tears that had bean to fall.Uncle Sam nodded even though he didn’t believe her. Offering her a bottle of water, he said, “You look pale, Jess. I will take care of her, you go back home and rest.”Jessie turned to Uncle Sam, on some other
Gavin had not expected anyone in his house. Let alone Jessie. From what he remembered, she was living with Greg. She was in his arms last night. She came to the hospital with him. But when he saw her sleeping on his couch, his first instinct was to clean up since he looked like a mess. While in the bathroom, he couldn’t stop wondering why she came. “Did she come to get her things?”“Is she moving out already?”He hurried out of the bathroom, his heart filled with thoughts and questions.It was until he saw the shocked expression on Jessie’s face that he realized he had been asking the wrong questions. The right one was… “what if she had come to talk things out?”“Shit.” He cussed, as he entered the living room. The brown envelope in Jessie’s hand contained the document that would their marriage and even though he wanted to take it from her and rip it into pieces, he held his cool.He had been pathetic for the last four days, he refused to continue in that way.“Thanks for clean
On that fateful day, the very day she left Gavin’s home, Ryan kept calling her, pestering her, texting her to meet up.She had ignored them all. She didn’t want to meet with him. If anything, she wanted him to vanish from her life. But Ryan persisted, calling like she was owing him. Finally, she answered and gave him a place to meet.“He did what?!” Gavin exploded, his voice thundering the quiet house.“He… uh… proposed in a grand style,” Jessie repeated, as if the words themselves could express the embarrassment she felt that day.“When I walked into that fancy restaurant, it was decorated with a proposal theme, and I thought it was for someone else, instead he knelt down and proposed in front of every one.”Gavin could not believe his ears. He had not expected that Ryan would make good his threat, yet he couldn’t also ignore the gnawing omen in his mind that there was a reason for his behavior. “I was so embarrassed." Jess continued, "People started taking pictures of us and cheer
Gavin reclined on his car seat, seeing nothing, hearing nothing, mind blank. The question repeatedly playing on his mind was one. How could he protect Jess from the impending disaster?She probably had no idea what was happening.The internet didn’t care about the truth— they only believed whatever they wanted to believe.And now, Ryan had given them what to believe— she was his beloved girlfriend, who was snatched from him by his wealthy uncle. He could almost see the headlines boldly written on his windscreen, and he honestly didn’t care about them but… Jessie. She was just 24, she still had her life ahead of her. Would she survive the hate?Candace’s offer stood, staring at him in the face. He had flatly rejected the offer, but looking at the situation, he needed any help he could get, and Candace Remington was good at manipulating people.Gavin tightened his seat belt, stepped on the gas, and drove out of the cardboard building Ryan called his office.As if Candace had known, sh
Chapter 42Greg Benedict had openly admitted his interest in Jess. In addition to that, he declared himself Gavin’s rival when he stepped into his house to threaten him.“You won’t see me coming,” Greg smirked, his eyes filled with mischief as he turned to leave.Gavin stood there, his mind reeling at the audacity. As the door slammed shut, Gavin let out a soft, breath. “That brazen lunatic.” He muttered, loosening his tie. He slumped into the couch, the exhaustion and the remnants of his hangover rushed in sinking him deeper into the plush couch. In no time, sleep took over. Meanwhile, Jess had been pacing their bedroom. She was restless and uneasy.She and Gavin had just made up, and now Greg showed up and complicated everything. What was he thinking, coming here?Instinctively, she searched for her phone, only to remember that it was still with Gavin.“Is Greg gone?” She wondered, carefully pulling the door open. She peered into the hallway and when she didn’t hear any voice
“Ryan?” Jess repeated under her breath. What was there to talk about? She had been expecting to talk about Greg. Actually, she was going to apologize to him.As they each took their seats at the table, Jess reached for a glass of water— hoping to cleanse her mind from the lingering flashes of her steamy dream— and to calm her nerves.Across from her, Gavin sat quietly, his eyes fixed on her, deep in thoughts.He had done all these to protect her from knowing the truth but seeing Greg today made him realize that they couldn’t have any secrets between them, it would sink their ship.While Gavin was searching for the best way to tell her what was going on, Jess shifted uncomfortably, squirming under the intensity of his gaze. “Jess,” Gavin finally broke the silence between them, his voice both serious and tender.“Huh?” Jess looked up.“There’s been some talk going around about our relationship…” “If this is about Greg, I swear, I didn’t do anything with him. I didn’t tell him anythi
The internet went wild. Wilder than Gavin expected. The story was a cliche, yet why were many people so intrigued by it? Why were they so interested in it? Ryan cackled to himself, while the internet was on fire, he was benefitting. He had gained more recognition as the ‘poor boy’ while Gavin and Jess suffered. Where ever they went, hushed voices and whispered gossips followed them. Even in Gavin’s company. He had only come to work to close a deal. His workers treated him with respect as usual, but as soon as he turned his back, they were gossiping and whispering. Conversations stopped whenever he walked into the room. Glances were exchanged. The gossips wasn’t just on the internet, it had spread across his office too.Gavin clenched his jaw all day, wondering if Jess was having a better day. Meanwhile, Jess was mortified. At the grocery store where she was buying some food for the house, people weren’t taking it lightly with her. They were calling her names to her face.“Ho
Gavin jolted out of his multi-billion company, his ass on fire, eager to make Ryan pay for the emotional damage he’d caused his wife. But more importantly, he was eager to spend time with Jess. The idea of going on a trip, taking pictures— just behaving like absolutely normal couples for once had him really excited. It wasn’t a thing he had planned before, but now thinking about it, he had always wanted to do things like that with Jess. “Damn you, Ryan.” He cussed under his breath, “but thank you.” He slammed his car door shut, stepping on the gas like he was on paw patrol. Gavin could think of nothing else but the look on Jessie’s face when he would tell her about the idea to end this ugly drama. Unexpectedly, his phone rang. He glanced at the displayed screen and seeing Jessie’s number made his heart leap. He answered it and Jessie’s voice sounded through the speakers “Hello,” she began. Gavin’s excitement shifted. Her voice was shaky and heavy like someone who had be
While Jessie gripped the bedsheets, biting into her pillow to keep her sobs from reaching her mom, Gavin was laying watch on his phone. As usual, Viktor was an excellent executor, the news had blown up as he expected.He had set the internet ablaze for the third time this year, not that he enjoyed being on the news but some things cannot be avoided especially if the public made it a point to be interested in your life.On the Sunday morning when the news had blown up, Gavin stood a few feet from his laptop on the table with a cup of black coffee in hand, his gaze unwavering on the screen.With each passing second, he watched the article explode, stirring the internet awake.On the left hand side, his phone was buzzing with calls and messages too many to reply, not that he was interested in any of them. Franklyn barged into the room, the disapproval in his expression met with Gavin's darkened eyes, and for a moment none of them spoke to the other. Tensed silence settled over the roo
Chapter 75Gavin leaned against the kitchen counter, staring blankly at the black coffee in front of him. It was his only food for the last few days. Black coffee to keep awake, hot whiskey to keep his mind from Jessie. The closer he came to finding Remi Martin’s associate, the more tricky the case became. The events of the late fee days replayed in his mind, a relentless loop of anger and frustration. After waiting for five days (which seemed like forever to him) Gavin came up with an idea. If someone was really out to get his wife, then he had to fish him out, and what better was there to bait a fish than to use the very thing the fish wanted.What he wasn’t aware of was how deeply hurt he had made the bait. What he didn’t know was how devastated he had left the bait.The door creaked open and Franklyn walked in, his face almost scrunched up in tears. Gavin paused, observing his demeanor. “What happened?”“That was unnecessary!” Franklyn yelled, “Why do we have to do it this w
Gavin arrived his safe house at mid day. The house was filled with cobwebs mirroring how long it had been since he last stepped foot there. For a brief moment, he had thought his life had become stable, how wrong he was.He dropped his last luggage in the one room apartment and slumped into the dusty couch. For some reason, his head was about to explode from thinking about Jessie. He knew that leaving her behind was a risky, reckless decision, but it was for the best. Or so he wanted to believe. He thought that clinging onto Jessie was going to expose her to more danger, but if he quickly discarded her, he figured, no, hoped— he hoped that if he discarded her, they would ask him for something else. Never in his life had he ever attacked a problem without waiting it out for a few days. So his first plan here was to wait… but other than that, he came here to quietly investigate which of Remi Martin’s associates wanted his wife.And so, work began.The week passed by in such a blur
Jessie stood outside the gate of her mother’s house (well, technically her house because she bought it.) She never thought she’d see the day when going home felt so difficult. She in fact bought this house because she was so eager to leave Gavin. Funny how life can deceive us.A sad smile crossed her face as she thought about that day, not too long ago. Falling for Gavin had happened so suddenly, in a way she never expected. Maybe she had always loved him, or maybe it wasn’t love. Maybe it was pity, maybe it was guilt. Whatever it was, she always found herself wondering how he was doing. Whenever his name popped up in the news, she always found herself rooting for him. Maybe it was retribution. Maybe it wasn’t. But now that they had confirmed their feelings for each other, was that what he expected of her? To stand by and watch him suffer from a distance. Gavin had once mentioned that he fancied her from their first night together, but didn’t ever act on it to protect her from
Gavin had faced many oppositions in his life and every time he conquered. One time he was cursed with a hateful accountant, and that year his finances were in shambles, still he didn’t fall. The other time, he had to navigate a hostile takeover attempt by a rival company. Everyone told him he would lose it all— his business, his wealth. Even Aunt Meryl out of empathy, started cleaning his old room in the family house. Yet, despite the odds, Gavin came out successful. Despite knowing all these, despite being the same Gavin who went all in, and came out victorious. This time felt different. Like he wouldn’t survive it this time.In moments like this, normal people had the encouraging words of a friend or loved one ringing in their minds. But what did Gavin have? What played in his mind? The cruel voice of Candace Remington, telling him: “The Devil of Darion Town has something to protect, which also means he has something to lose… something that can be taken.”Painfully, she was
Chapter 71Gavin clenched his fist so tight his fingers dig into his palms. He was one breath away from punching this damn Don Corleone wannabe in the face. How dare he? But something held him back— it wasn’t fear. It was actually discipline. Jessie had once told him that violence never solved anything. Even if he was boiling inside, Gavin released a deep breath, his eyes spoke volumes but he held back. “Who is this your good friend?” He asked, his voice hoarse.“I can’t say,” Remi Martin replied, “But I can assure you, your wife will be safe.”The more Gavin tried to understand this, the harder it was for him. Was this man suggesting that he gave out his wife to service another man for the night? Is that what he was insinuating?“Unfortunately,” he said barely restraining him himself, “I don’t share, Remi.“ Remi Martin smiled a sly smile, nodding his head in agreement. “No man wants to share his wife, Mr. Pierre, I agree. I’ll go talk to my friend one more time. Like I told yo
Chapter 70Gavin’s phone rang about a thousand times that morning. There were calls coming from left and right. Franklyn must have called a hundred times. Yet there was no answer. He was cuddled up in bed on a Monday morning, enjoying the close warmth of his wife.Jessie woke up first, feeling the sun rays warm up her face. She blinked her eyes open, her lips curved into a small smile as she took in her husband’s breath. Gavin woke up at the same time, the sun rays sting his eyes, but it was nothing compared to what he was going to feel later in the day. “Morning baby,” he mumbled, pulling Jessie closer. Meanwhile, pacing the gates of his company were his staffs, including Franklyn. “Oh for fuck sakes, man!” He cried, frustrated by how many times he had to call one person. Finally, after what felt like an eternity. Gavin finally came to the phone, his voice a sharp contrast to the chaos in his company.“You can’t possibly still be in bed with what’s going on man!” Franklyn’
Chapter 69“Oh god, oh god, oh god!” Jessie exclaimed, exasperated. That wasn’t how she wanted this play out. That wasn’t how it played in her mind. When she retorted, “I can’t be pregnant! We’re not really married…”Instead of going to see a doctor. “For what?!” She fumed.She was expecting him to insist on children, on marrying her.Jessie paused, “Was I a bit too much with the drama?” She slumped to the bed, holding her head in her hand. After a long moment of staring at the ceiling, Jessie let out a deep sigh and pushed herself off the bed. She felt silly now, having built up the situation in her head only for it to backfire. It was just like Gavin to throw her off balance but really, he had led her on into thinking he wanted children. She went to the bathroom and freshened up, splashing cold water on her face to clear her thoughts. Then she took some time to wash her body. She felt all kinds of sore down there. Gavin had wrecked her yet she smiled to herself, wanting not
Chapter 68It was impossible, right? That his condition could be contagious. This nasty side of Jessie. He loved it, yet it scared him. But his silence had lasted for too long. His thoughts were written on his face, replacing the satisfaction that should have been there in stead. “You… what’s wrong?” She asked, affected by his face. Gavin snapped off his thoughts, forcing a smile. “I loved it,” he said, sounding as casual as he could mutter. Jessie’s smile returned. “My turn?” She beamed, half-asking, half-expecting. Gavin scoffed, “Your turn?”“Sure,” he said, “If that’s what you want.”Jessie’s eyes sparkled, glinting with both anticipation and excitement for what was to come. Gavin grabbed her by the neck pulling her closer. He kissed her, tasting the after taste of his cum in her mouth. His kiss lingered, her lips were wet and soft, he bit it and she gasped. Sliding in his tongue, he dominated her mouth with his kiss. His hand found her breast, fondling and caressing