Falling Just as Hard

Falling Just as Hard

last updateLast Updated : 2023-02-09
By:  Joy JoshuaCompleted
Language: English
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Jake has to get married in order to access his inheritance and his father’s company. There’s one problem, he’s a playboy and the thought of settling down with someone unnerves him. With the help of his best friend, Kyle, they set up a marriage contract which entails that he’ll be married to whichever girl of his choosing for just a year then the marriage would be dissolved and they would go their separate ways. The girl chosen would be compensated generously with lots of money, which was what Olivia needed more than anything. Olivia sees the ad but is not sure if that was what she wanted for herself. After a little persuasion, she signed the contract with Jake knowing there was no chance of her falling in love with the billionaire because she liked girls. Just a year and she would be free to live her life again, with lots of money this time. Jake marries Olivia and couldn’t be any happier because he could still see a lot of girls and not have to worry about her nurturing any kind of feelings for him. A couple months in and Jake finds himself falling in love with Olivia as he sees a side to her that she hides away from the world.

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Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

OLIVIA

The hot water running out of the shower head reminds me how late I am on my rent again, especially with my heater cut off in this cold season.

I enjoy every bit of it knowing that this gym shower was the only place I could warm up before going back to my beat down apartment to die of cold.

When I’m done I wrap a loose towel around my chest and leave the bathroom stall. If I stayed there any longer then someone was going to get suspicious that I was the one always finishing the hot water.

I dry up, putting my wet hair up in a two braids. I pull on my basket ball shorts and tank top, my sneakers going on next.

I’m about to leave when my phone rings, I look at the caller ID to see its my landlady. I decline it.

My fingers swipe across my phone to check if Jess had replied my text but it was still empty making me sigh. She was my bestfriend and my only hope of paying my rent before I’m thrown out.

Yes, this was the thousandth time I was asking her to lend me some money and promising to pay back but I hoped this was the last. Her family was rich but I wasn’t going to keep taking advantage of that and living off her. I was going to find a job and everything would be okay.

I sigh.

The gym was the only thing keeping me sane at this point. It was a good thing Jess had a free membership that I was able to use because she couldn’t hit the gym to save her life.

My rings again and I know this time I cannot decline the call.

“Hello Ms. Wang, I was not expecting your call” I say with a grimace, that was a lie. I push the gym doors open and step into the busy street, making sure not to bump into anyone.

“You have been declining my call!” She yells making me shriek and put the phone away from my ear. When I put it back on she’s yelling a bunch of Chinese that I can’t even understand so I say the only thing that comes to mind.

“I’ll have your money by weekend, I promise. You know I always pay up” I say with a sweet voice that sickens me.

“You always say this, have it before midnight today or I’m throwing you out!” She yells something else again before hanging up on me.

Tonight?

She had to be joking.

It was literally impossible to have the money before then. I glance at my watch, I barely had fifteen hours before it would hit midnight, does she expect me to rob a bank or something? Jess was still not answering my text, I just hope she’s alright.

Lost in thoughts I bump into a wall, or a wall bumps into me… I’m not quite sure which. I rub my forehead to ease the pain from the contact, only to look up to see a pair of blue eyes staring at me.

Well, it’s not a wall but a guy. How crazy would he working out to have strong muscles like that, that they almost knocked me out.

The suit he was putting on hid some of it but not quite all, I can still make out the hard planes of his shoulders and his strong arms from it.

“If you’re blind the least you can do is apologize for bumping into other people” he says, his strong jaw ticking with the little patience I had.

“Excuse you!” I exclaim “You bumped into me so you should be the one apologizing. And I’m not blind!”

“Do you also not have manners that you’re yelling in the street and disturbing a whole lot of people?” he smirks at me and I want to punch the living daylight out of him. I was already having a bad day and do not want to deal with this.

“I’m not dealing with this” I say and take deep breaths to calm myself. I step to the side to g around him when he grabs my arm.

“You need to pick these up” he gestured to the bunch of flier scattered on the floor “After all you made me drop them”

I scoff unable to believe what he was saying “You mean I should bend and pick this for you?” I ask, putting emphasis on each word.

“Yes,” he answers simply, a small grin on his face like he was enjoying our entire ordeal. Well, I wasn’t.

“Let go of me this instant” I say but he doesn’t make any move, if anything he grip on me tightens and borders on becoming painful.

“Just do as I ask and you’ll be on your way” he removes his hand but doesn’t move away.

Why is he being so stubborn about this?

“Move”

He doesn’t even seem to be bothered by the anger that is widely displayed on my face, or the deepness of my voice “No” he just says simply.

The corners of my mouth turn up in a tight smile “I just need to pick it up?” I ask sweetly which takes him aback as he takes a step backward.

“Yes?”

I nod before bending down to grab the fliers. I slowly stand up, able to see the smile on his face. He probably thinks he won.

He stretches his hand to take them from me which leaves him unprotected and vulnerable to what I’m about to do next.

Folding all my fingers in. I throw a punch directly on his face, the loud crunch I hear giving me a deadly satisfaction as his expression takes in the one of agony.

I laugh.

Hard.

“Next time don’t mess with every girl you see” I say, patting myself on the back as he cradles his nose in his palm.

Despite the pain he manages a smile “If anything you’re hardly a girl”

I’m about to throw another punch when someone holds my arm from behind. I turn to see another human wall in a suit behind me.

“I’m not sure what is going on but I apologize for his behaviour” the new guy says, his voice calming and making me drop my fist to my side. If only Mr. Asshole here was just as nice.

“Did you just call me Mr. Asshole” he exclaims, grunting from pain.

Did I say that out loud?

I put my hand on my hips “And what if I did?”. I don’t even give him a chance to reply because I text pops up on my phone and it had me screaming in terror.

Oh no! My interview!

I look between the two guys unsure of what to say so I just run as fast as my legs could go. I had just two minutes to my entire I couldn’t afford to be late, if only that wall of a man didn’t bump into me.

When I push open the door to the cafe the place is already empty and I can tell that I’m more than late for the interview. I walk straight to the counter where a girl about my age is sitting with her headphones on.

“Hello, I’m here for the interview” I fiddle with my fingers.

She pops the gum she’s chewing before raising her eyes to me like I was an annoying kid that she wanted to get rid of “They finished like an hour ago, don’t know why you even bothered showing up”

I suck in a deep breath “I can’t even see the manager. Surely there’s something that can be done for me”

She doesn’t even answer.

Just keeps chewing her gum like no one was speaking to her. I look to the little office beside the counter where I’d first met the manager and she offered me a job, if only I was early. I would have gotten that job.

Everything was going well, until wall man showed up.

I’m fuming.

And if I ever see him again he’s dead meat.

I don’t even realize I’m still holding unto the flyer until I’m standing outside the cafe and trying to hail a taxi.

The colorful fonts grab my attention and soon I’m reading it all through. By the time I’m done I’m laughing like a maniac.

Wife for hire? Definitely something someone as arrogant as him could pull off, why is he looking for a wife anyway?

What am I even asking? He goes around bumping into girls and demanding they apologize instead, who would want to be with someone like that? Besides all men were so not worth the trouble.

 I’m about to discard the fliers when something huge catches my eye. That can’t be… $20,000? That’s a lot of money. Even a half of it would solve all my problems this minute and even more.

I go through the instructions on the flyer with rapt attention this time, and it says that a lady is needed to pretend to be his wife for just three months and they would be paid handsomely with $20,000 as just the starting price and conditions are negotiable.

This had to be a dream.

How can he possibly give out this huge amount of money, and what would he even need a wife for? This is getting interesting.

My phone dings and I check it to see its a message from the bank and not Jess. This was turning into a sticky situation real quick. Why was she not answering my calls?

It was just me and my debt, in this entire city. No family, the one friend I have has most likely abandoned me to my fate. Maybe this was the end for me, I’ll move out and live under the bridge and maybe get a rich woman to fall in love with me.

This was totally not going to work.

As I went over my predicament in my head, the flyer I my hand got even more attractive. There was no harm in it, being someone’s wife didn’t seem that big of a job. I wasn’t even attracted to men so it was perfect.

No stress, for an entire twenty grand.

No! I can’t do this. But I have no other choice. Without Jess to help I was down for good this time.

I sigh.

I check the address on the flyer, there’s an interview in…five minutes? I might have missed the cafe interview but I couldn’t miss this one, it was my ticket out of hell.

With the last penny in my purse I hail a cab, it better be worth it because this was all the money that I had.

The cab stops in front of an expensive looking restaurant and I have to double check if its really the address.

It is. I stand outside the glass door and take a couple deep breaths before pushing it open. Here goes all or nothing.

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Comments

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Liz Hart
A very good book until you hit ch. 47, then the rest is very confusing, seems like chapters are from another book, and many repeat. It's very disappointing because I really wanna know what happens to Jake & Olivia, or Olivia and Mac & his family. Only gave it 3 stars cause half the book is confusing
2024-01-20 05:39:27
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81 Chapters
CHAPTER ONE
OLIVIA The hot water running out of the shower head reminds me how late I am on my rent again, especially with my heater cut off in this cold season. I enjoy every bit of it knowing that this gym shower was the only place I could warm up before going back to my beat down apartment to die of cold. When I’m done I wrap a loose towel around my chest and leave the bathroom stall. If I stayed there any longer then someone was going to get suspicious that I was the one always finishing the hot water. I dry up, putting my wet hair up in a two braids. I pull on my basket ball shorts and tank top, my sneakers going on next. I’m about to leave when my phone rings, I look at the caller ID to see its my landlady. I decline it. My fingers swipe across my phone to check if Jess had replied my text but it was still empty making me sigh. She was my bestfriend and my only hope of paying my rent before I’m thrown out. Yes, this was the thousandth time I was asking her to lend me some money and pr
last updateLast Updated : 2022-08-13
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CHAPTER TWO
JAKE I’m still rooted to the spot until Kyle shakes my shoulders snapping me out of my daze. “Did you just…” I’m unable to control my thoughts because my nose especially hurts more than my bruised ego. “Just let it go” he says calmly, looking at me like I was some spoilt child. I push his hand away “Easy for you to say because you’re not the one getting punched by a girl in the middle of the street” He doesn’t even seem fazed “Told you we should take the car, you wanted the entire street experience for yourself” “And now I’m totally regretting it” I mutter under my breath. It had seemed nice walking the streets and casually handing out fliers like I see them do in the movies, but with my half broken nose… it was the worst thing anyone had to go through. “Do you want to keep handing it out or do we go straight to the restaurant?” Kyle asks. I look down but there’s only a couple fliers on the floor, the crazy girl must have taken it with her in a haste. The fuck was I going to do
last updateLast Updated : 2022-08-13
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CHAPTER THREE
OLIVIA I don’t stop running until I’m outside the cafe that Jess is at. I stop briefly to catch my breath before pushing the door open. I’ve never been happier receiving a text from Jess and it was at the perfect moment, just as I was about to seal a deal with the dickhead. I scoff, good luck was certainly on my side this time. I can’t even begin to imagine what becoming his wife would entail even if it was fake and just for a short period of time. With that attitude of his it is no doubt that no one wants to settle down with him. When I step into the cafe there’s no one except Jess that is huddled in a corner. I can’t help the wide smile that makes its way onto my face, of cause I had someone I could always count on. “Jess” I slide into the seat opposite hers. She raises her head but instead of the normal bright smile that is on her face there’s a certain sadness darkness. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good and I’ve been trying to reach you since forever” I say all at once, t
last updateLast Updated : 2022-08-13
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CHAPTER FOUR
OLIVIA A jerk to a stop the moment something hits the car with a thud. I turn to Kyle with wide eyes but his expression is blank as always. There’s a downpour and I can barely see as I step out of the car, my suit immediately drenched before I make it around the car. I hear a groan as a body takes shape lying in front of the car. I peer into their face, my heart hammering in my chest in the fear that I might have hit and killed someone. It’s then that I recognize the black eyes that is looking at me, finding it hard to remain open. She mutters ‘Dickhead’ before her eyes close and she goes limp. It’s Olivia. I’m about to scream for Kyle when I see him bending over her. He checks her pulse and sighs so I think there’s no much problem. “She has a bruise on her forehead, pulse is still breathing strong so I think she just passed out from the shock. He says impassively, standing up and regarding me with a stern almost annoyed look. “What do we do now?” I ask with a shrug “Why does it
last updateLast Updated : 2022-08-13
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CHAPTER FIVE
OLIVIA White and Warm. That’s exactly how I feel when I finally come to. The bright light makes me groan and put my arm over my face. I snuggle into the duvet, a sigh of content falling from my lips at how comfortable I was. Its not until it registers that my room is usually cold not warm that I bolt up on the bed. In place of my peeling pain and frozen in place windows, all I see are white walls and a huge bed that I was just lying in. This is clearly not my room. I try to remember how I got here but my brain can’t seem to recall. It’s not until I look down and realize that I’m naked that the real panic sets in. As I struggle to get out of the bed, I pull the duvet with me and use it to wrap myself up. If I wasn’t in my room then where the hell was I? With quiet footsteps I snoop around the room, checking for anything that would give away where I was or whose house I was in. Someone I make into a walk-in closet that is much bigger than my entire apartment put together two time
last updateLast Updated : 2022-08-13
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CHAPTER SIX
JAKE Olivia’s piercing eyes follow me around the bathroom and I can immediately tell that she’s not happy about this. I’m not happy about it too but I couldn’t risk my parents finding her now, they were bound to question her. It would be so easy for my dad to pick her apart with words and no doubt find out about our little arrangement. I couldn’t let that happen. Finally I pull out a towel and wrap it around my waist. At first I had forgotten she was there until she grabbed my junk from under the table and pulled hard. I had to clamp my palm over my mouth to stop the scream from escaping until she finally let go with a huff. I apologized furiously after that which brings us to the present moment. When I leave the bathroom she has her middle finger up in the air which makes me unsure why I’m putting up with her. I dry off and quickly put on my clothes, my door bell ringing at the same time I open my door. With quickened steps I rush to the door and open it too see the flushed fa
last updateLast Updated : 2022-10-02
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CHAPTER SEVEN
OLIVIAI hit my already hurt head as I try to stand up and the dickhead in front of me has the guts to open his big mouth and laugh.Okay, that’s a lie…his mouth is not big but still.I crawl out from my hiding place and growl at him, “There’s nothing funny about this situation”.He coughs before trying to put up a straight face “I’m sorry…it’s just”I dust my shirt, realizing that I’m still wearing nothing under “Are your parents gone? Or which ever people that was snooping around?”“About that…” he starts “Thanking you for not letting him see you. I don’t know how you knew you weren’t supposed to be seen but I’m grateful all the same”“It’s not rocket science, I heard you all arguing from under your sink” I say.His eyes go wide and he touches my temple “You’re bleeding again, come here” he takes my hand and leads me out of the storage room. We go back to his bathroom and I glare at the back of his head “You better not push me under the sink this time”He laughs “Relax, I just nee
last updateLast Updated : 2022-10-03
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CHAPTER EIGHT
JAKEThe moment we finally got back Olivia went straight to the room I prepared for her opposite mine and didn’t come out till this morning.I don’t blame her thought. It was clear she was pretty exhausted after all the shopping and makeover yesterday as Kyle had insisted.I liked it though. She now looked more like the kind of woman father would pick out for me.With her now waxed skin and new hair that had been styled into big shiny waves that cascaded down her back she even looked like someone I would pick up at the club just because our eyes met across the room.I glanced at my watch, any minute and we were going to be late for breakfast with my parents.The clicking of heels on the tiled floor had me turning and my mouth hanging open at the sight of Olivia.She was dressed in the red dress I had picked put for her and it still didn’t do justice to her body. The one I had the privilege of seeing in a lingerie.She tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and stared at her shoes, “D
last updateLast Updated : 2022-10-04
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CHAPTER NINE
JAKEOlivia is crying.For the first time she lets me open the door for her and she sits quietly, leaning towards the door. Anything to be away from me.I wish I knew the things going on in her head. She sniffs back a time and wipes her face which only makes me feel worse.Swerving out of the parking lot I put on the radio at the highest volume possible but still no reaction from her.I half expect her to at least reach over and turn it off. She doesn’t. I put off the radio, letting us drown in silence.It was hard dealing with Olivia, she wasn’t like the other girls that threw themselves at me. Every other person wanted me with them but with her it was hard because she wasn’t trying to impress me. If anything she was only with me now because of money.My hands clutch the steering wheel tighter. And needed to get back on her good side because this is awful.“Look I’m sorry about what I said, I shouldn’t have…it wasn’t in my place” I say but she doesn’t even turn to me.“There is nothi
last updateLast Updated : 2022-10-05
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CHAPTER TEN
OLIVIA I wake up to warmth, a luxury that I couldn’t afford in the past and snuggle deeper into my pillow.For some reason the pillow had muscled arms that fit perfectly around me. It was comforting to say the least.I’d do anything to wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life.I try to roll over but my pillow holds me tighter, making me its captive.A smile breaks out on my face, my people doesn’t want me to leave. It felt nice but I’d have to get up one way or another.“What are you smiling about this early in the morning?” My pillow asks and I marvel at its deep voice that sends a vibration through me.I giggle “It’s about you holding me tighter, you want me to remain in bed”. There’s no reply from my pillow.“This feels really nice you know, you’re so warm and it makes me feel safe” I say to fill the silence between us.“We can sleep like this all the time if you want” It offers and I blush a deep pink.“I would love that” I say immediately before it changed its min
last updateLast Updated : 2022-10-06
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