OLIVIAWhen the sun rises the next day I wake up wearing Jake’s clothes with no memory of putting them on.It smells so much like him that I never want to take off. It’s a mixture of night life and an ocean scent.I snug deeper into his bed, it was sad that he wasn’t here when I woke up. Having him put his arms around me was the best I’ve felt in my life. Or at least close to it.I’m getting out of bed when a certain pair of hazel eyes flash in my head. I’m not sure yet what to make of what she told me at the party.Asking Jake might be improper and he might get defensive, it’ll even turn out worse if she lying.I mean his supposed father was leaving his entire company in his hands, that meant he had a lot of trust in Jake.Maybe it was nothing. Just sibling rivalry and I was now choosing to stay out of it. Whatever was going on with his family was not my concern. Besides I wasn’t even his real wife.When I follow his voice I find him in the kitchen making coffee. He slides me a mug f
JAKE I’ve never seen Olivia look this excited about going somewhere so it makes me uneasy. Like she’s going to pull a stunt, especially after our little exchange.Except our exchange wasn’t that little to me. I still remember the way her body responded to mine.Olivia says she’s not attracted to men, not into me but it’s undeniable how much her body wants me.The way her cheeks flush and a blush rises from her neck to the parting of her lips. Inviting to taste their cherry sweetness.But, there’s always this little but at the back of my head whenever it came to Olivia.It’s obvious Kyle is not so happy with the club idea but I think he prefers it to staying in my apartment while Olivia and I argued.When she steps out in her cargo pants and tiny straps of clothing that cover her boobs just fair enough, I know that it’ll be a long eventful night.The club is crowded when we finally make it in through. Loud music instantly attacks my ear as coloured lights danced across my face.Olivia
OLIVIAMy entire body is aware of every point where my bare skin meets Jake’s to where his warmth send ripples of pleasure along my being.I’m not sure how we ended in this position. All I remember is meeting a fine blonde with baby blue eyes and taking her home with me, her name was Ashley, Natalie? I’m not sure.I can feel his arousal press deep into my stomach while he’s asleep.I want to touch him, after part of him. Most importantly I want to know why I feel this way for way for him.Yes, he’s handsome but he’s not the only handsome boy I’ve ever come across. He’s funny but he’s not the only funny guy I’ve known.Maybe it’s the way he touches me, but other men have touched me in the past and it didn’t make me feel this way.Many tried to force these reactions out of me but I felt nothing until the first day I kissed Jess.We’d met at a club. I was new in town and lost and she was trying to rebel against her rich parents.I envied her but she envied me, to be able to go as pleased
OLIVIAWhen there is a loud knock on the door, I can already tell it is Sharlene and she is an entire ten minutes early.I only just made it out of the shower and into black cargo pants to match with a black tank top.I mean it was only Sharlene, there was no need to dress up in the corporate attires that Jake had his stylist make for me.I was trying to impress his parents and not her.Lacing my boots, I step out of my room at the same time Jake steps out of his. He heads straight for the door with a scowl on his face and I don’t blame him.“Relax tiger, I’m not here to see you” Sharlene says and I can tell she’s smiling even though I’m yet to see her face.There is always this excitement in her voice whenever she was dealing with Jake, like she had fun from pissing him off.It was Jake’s turn to piss her off as he pulled me into him the moment I made it to the door and made a show of kissing me passionately.I enjoyed it, my eyes closing as I hold onto his shirt to keep myself from
JAKEThe water running in the kitchen reminds me that I’m not alone in my worries. Kyle is here and he would know what to do.I look out to the drive way but it’s still empty. Why were the taking so long.Sharlene said it was a friendly date to get to know Olivia better but I knew it was far from the truth.It didn’t also help that she looked at Olivia like she was a toy that she needed to have.It wasn’t hard to tell Sharlene was interested in her to some level but Olivia was mine alone to have and I was going to keep it that way.“Do you think she said something to Olivia and she decided to run away?” I ask Kyle as I walk into the kitchen. My face a mirror of the desperation I felt.“Relax man, she’s not going to just run off into the sunset because of something Sharlene said to her, at least not without confronting you first” Kyle says.He’s not as worried as I am because he has nothing to lose.“If she tells her our entire plan then I’m totally screwed” I run my palm over face.“F
OLIVIAMy sleep is almost peaceful until there’s a sound blaring around the room.I groan, my clothes from yesterday digging into my skin. I guess I slept off in the middle of my pity party.What Sharlene had revealed had quite shaken me up and I needed time to process.The Jake she was talking about couldn’t possibly be the same one that caused butterflies to stir in my stomach.He was a loving soul that cared about me, I mean he likes feeding me so he’s high up in my radar.Taking over his father’s company just to tear it down in a quest for revenge didn’t seem like something he would even think of.It was possible Sharlene was only speaking from her feelings because it was obvious they didn’t have the best relationship.It had to be.Now I feel bad for not opening the door when he knocked, he must have wanted to know why I was in a mood.I’ll apologize to him once he wakes up but first I have to answer my phone that keeps ringing. My hand finally finds it somewhere among the pile t
OLIVIA There’s a lot going on in my head as I make my way to the apartment. I have so much questions that I can’t seem to get the answers to. Just when I thought I had everything figured out with Jake. I’m so deep in thoughts that I don’t notice he is standing at the already open door until he embraces me. I go still at his touch and I know he feels my body shut down too. My arms that was aching to wrap themselves around him remains mute at my sides. “Are you alright? Where did you go?” he sounds worried and I should feel bad for making him weary but I’m not. It’s hard to tell if he’s actually worried about me or he’s worried that I’d find something about him that I wasn’t supposed to know. “I was worried when I woke up and there was no sign of you” he continues despite the lack of reaction from me. “I thought you…” “Ran away” I complete the sentence for him before stepping away and watching his arms fall to his side. “I’m not that easy to get rid of” I say and walk into the ap
JAKEIt’s no denying the girl in front of my is beautiful. Mum wants me to marry her and not Olivia.I didn’t want to get married at all, but if I’m going to see it through for the company then I wouldn’t want it to be anyone other than Olivia. She was the only one that made the idea bearable.When I don’t find her in the apartment again after my shower I panic again. That’s all I seem to be doing these past days.It’s the only reason I’m still looking at the picture mother sent me. If Olivia changes her mind about marrying me then I’ll just go on with whoever this girl was. She seems nice enough.That’s the plan now. I just pray Olivia wants to marry me on her own and not because she signed a contract with me.When she mentioned the contract earlier I was surprised because I’d totally forgotten it existed.It would be unfair of me to use it to make her stay if she changed her mind and decided to leave.There had to be another way to keep her by my side or I’ll just simply have to let
It’s not the strong hospital smell that wakes me up or the warm hand on my cheek. But the twinge of pain that starts in my lower abdomen and spreads to my entire stomach. The first word I say is, “Jake,” followed by a sharp gasp. I hold the side of the bed tight and try to will the pain away. But the more I try to act like it’s not there, the more it eats me up from the inside out. Something warm touches my head at the same time I hear a faint voice ask, “Where are you hurt?” I’m in so much pain that I don’t jump with glee when Drew’s worried face comes into my line of sight. He’s alive but my brain is trying to process what’s wrong with me first. It’s a blood shattering battle. “The doctor-” I gasp, “Call the doctor. Oh my God Jake,” I clutch my stomach, bending over to try and ease the contraction that I’m feeling in there. My baby better be alright, he has to be. Drew removes the needles in his arm when he processes what is happening and leaves the room to get t
I’ve been paranoid since the meeting with Father, if Drew notices he doesn’t comment on it or ask any questions. . I sigh for the tenth time since we drove out of the house. I know Drew is being patient but with the way he’s tapping his fingers against the wheel I know he’s dying to ask me what happened during the meeting. It’s not like I’m hiding it from him, I’m just waiting till I’m sure what exactly is going on with Sherp till I tell him. There are so many questions that I’m afraid of what the answers will be. The first will be if Sherp has been working for Father the whole time he knew me, which from what Father said I think is the case. Still, he could’ve easily exposed my identity from the very beginning but he didn’t. I need to know what his game is in order to access this situation properly. I mean he gave me the very explosives I used to blow up the boat, why would he do that if he was working for Father? Most importantly, why is he helping Father look fo
Skipping dinner seemed like the best thing to do when we got home. After our make out in the office, I’ve not been able to look Drew in the eye.The smile on his face hasn’t left ever since and I’m worried he thinks we’re much more than a fake couple now.I can’t deny that what happened is the only sunshine I’ve had in my life since learning that I’ll be having Jake.It’s part of the reason I’m scared to think so much about it. I’m not ready to put a name or tag on how we both feel.My only mistake was skipping out on dinner and turning in early so I wouldn’t have to talk to him. Now I’m lying down wide awake because the hunger gnawing at me won’t let me sleep.I watch the rise and fall of Drew’s chest as he sleeps before slipping out of the bed. I’m careful not to wake him on my way out, carefully navigating through the dark room.When I make it to the stairs I almost leap in joy. Food at last. I take the stairs two at a time and run to the kitchen when I’m down.I cry out in relief
I don’t come downstairs until the doorbell rings. I’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding Jenny and now I was going to risk running into her. The entire house is quiet when I come down, she must be taking a nap. For some reason I tiptoe to the door and stifle a startle when I open the door to a rather grumpy looking Dr. Shelby. All since I’ve known him, he was always smiling, patient. There was this airiness that surrounded him, it always made you feel at ease with him. But all that is left now are deep frown lines on his face and I hate to be the reason for it. “How did you think drinking while being pregnant was a good idea?” he asks the moment he steps past the threshold. “Why keep a child you’re not going to take proper care of?” My breath seizes in my lung. With a slight tilt to my head I study his expression. His eyes are accusing as he glares at me. This right here is not Dr. Shelby. Someone has taken him and put in place this angry version that I’m not used to.
There’s a soft touch on my shoulder and I look up to see Drew’s worried eyes. He raises his brow asking if I’m okay and I nod. Daisy shakes in my arms, the sleeve of my gown stained with her tears. The meeting should go on but I also can’t leave her in this state when I’m the primary reason she has to go through this grief. “Let me take you home,” I whisper to her. The meeting can always wait, but for now I need to calm her down and make sure she’s okay so she doesn’t hurt herself. She nods into my shoulder. I turn to Drew, “Can you take over the meeting, I’ll take her home now,” I tell him. “Why? Everyone has agreed to you being the new chairman, so you have to finish up. And with Daisy we can’t risk them changing their mind” he whispers to me. I shake my head. “Her feelings right now are more important. You can explain the situation to them and have them vote now. They’ll understand why I have to leave right away,” I say. Daisy is already trembling from c
Never did I think I’d be back here, in this soulless city that has had nothing but pain to offer me. But here I am, sitting in Drew’s passenger seat with the window down. There’s a random song playing on the radio that fills the silence dwelling between us. I’m grateful for it because after the tense conversation we had, we both needed to process our thoughts. I have to think of myself as Cassie now, I need to slowly immerse myself into her persona. Above all, I have to become her for this irrational plan of mine to work. “Aren’t you cold, the window has been down for so long,” Drew says, his attention still on the road. “Oh, I didn’t realize,” I reply. My body chooses that exact moment to shiver. I don’t miss the smile on Drew’s lips. “What were you thinking so much about?” he asks. I twist slightly to him. “You said you want nothing to do with the company…” I start. His short laugh is nervous, “Yes?” “But I have no idea how to actually run the company
Everyday that I see the sun rise is torture to my soul. Every morning that I wake up without Don by my side, tears my heart into a million pieces. I don’t know where life ends and where death starts. They’ve both become the same to me. It has made me prisoner in this dark perilous place called my mind. I sit by the window every night and wait for a dawn that never breaks, but that even is too much to ask. This is my own hell. This is my own home. There’s nothing on the news about the explosion. If I hadn’t been there myself I wouldn’t even believe that it happened. No bodies have been found. That is both my hope and my nightmare. Two long months of emptiness and guilt, that is my punishment. What if he’s really gone? What if he didn’t survive? No one could be alive and stay hidden for that long. What if he’s out there looking for me? I deflate. The chances are unlikely, especially after the way we parted. I should have held onto him a little longer, laced his f
Something was wrong, even a blind man could see it from miles away. I listened through the entire meeting but barely heard a word. They talked mostly about shares and opening another branch in some city I didn’t catch the name. My eyes shifted to the jot pad Car had left on the table, his handwriting had to be the ugliest thing in the world as I scanned over what he had written. He was my assistant, but it felt like he was more, like I should care for him. The meeting was barely over when I stood up from the meeting and left. I went straight to the restroom, sure that a clue to whatever was wrong with him would be there. I went straight to the waste bin that was at the far end of the restroom. Lying at the bottom was a rumpled toilet paper that was stained with blood, and lots of it. There was a sudden panic as I closed the lid, there was something going on with him but what if it was something that wasn’t entirely my business. It was clear he was sick, but sick w
His lips. They tormented me more than my father. The things I had felt in those few seconds always rattled my heart and made butterflies flutter in my stomach. But then I always remembered, his panic-stricken face after and the fact that he hated me, just like they all did. “I’m sorry” I said as I detangled myself from him and stood straighter, adjusting my tie in the process. He said nothing. He didn’t even acknowledge the fall or the awkward moment his arms had been wrapped around me. Maybe he did this often, letting his male personal assistants fall into his arms. It hit me then! A scandal, Don involved with his male assistant, a gay relationship. It would ruin a respectable family like his. The doors dinged when we got to the ground floor. I walked after him making sure to put a decent space between us. I’ll rather fall on my butt than into his hands again. A black sleek limousine was already waiting when we got out of the building, the other staff glaring daggers a