“What are you looking at?” Ella brought Laim’s attention back to her as they danced on the dance floor together with the other couples and of course the newly engaged couple. She frowned when she saw that his attention was divided and he was looking elsewhere. His grip tightened on her waist. She was sure that he left a mark there. What made him angry?She held his head and straightened it so that he was looking at her only. She was right in front of him, why would he be looking elsewhere, right?“Hey, you asked for a dance. You never said that I have to look at you all through.”“But you’re dancing with me. You should be staring at me.”“This is why I didn’t want to do this. You’re too demanding.”Her face fell. “What the fuck you’re even looking at?” She whipped her head around to where he was staring before she broke his gaze away. Her eyebrows drew together. Eve? “Don’t tell me you’re jealous because your friend is getting married soon and you might not be seeing her often.”“Wh
“Congratulations on your engagement, Miss Gray.” “Congratulations.” Eve rolled her eyes hearing the voices of the people behind her. She turned away from Ella to look at some of the guests who were behind her.“Thank you so much for coming.” She acknowledged. Not like she meant it though. She would have preferred they all stay in their home and not come bother her. That would have been a better choice and her day would not have been ruined this way. “Your ring is so beautiful, Miss Gray. Mr Hank must love you a lot to buy such an expensive ring and you're so pretty too.” “Miss Gray’s beauty is on another level.”“This dress fits you so well.” The girls gathered around her to look at the engagement ring on her finger. These buttlickers, she thought. Some months ago, these girls were all over Melissa proclaiming their loyalty to her and how they would stick with her. Now, they are trying to find favor with her just because she would be getting married to Noah. They love to get acqu
Eve rolled her eyes seeing the girl hit him lightly in his arms and they laughed. She was pretty with long hair, a nice body shape any guy would want and she was tall too. A good height for a woman. Eve felt jealousy creeping into her heart. “You're jealous?” She gasped in shock when Ella whispered into her ears. “Of course not. I'm not jealous. I'm just angry that he is talking and laughing with someone else, another woman on our engagement day.” Really, this was the first time seeing Noah laugh this freely with anyone, not even her. They have good chemistry, she noticed. But overall, who the hell is she, and where exactly did she come from?“Didn't you say it was a marriage of convenience and you both are free to do whatever you want?”“We have to make this real in the eyes of the public. What's he doing speaking to another woman like that? People would think that they were or are lovers. Tsk.”That was it, she thought. If he wants the public to believe them in this game, he would
“Going to work a day after your engagement party is crazy,” Ella said as they both settled in the back seat of the car. Seeing that they were comfortable, the driver started the car. “Well, I did not see any reason I should sit at home. I have nothing to do at home by the way.”“You're sure? Doesn't matter. You should have at least had a day off from work. After all, you have been working all throughout the week.”“Oh, Ella. Just say you're too lazy to go to work today.”“I'm not. In fact, I am. I have been working all week on the preparations.”“Then you should take days off. I don't mind, really.”“I won't. I'm not taking a break if you don't. We have to take a break together.”“Oh… Fine, I’ll take a break tomorrow. All for you.”“That’s better. I don’t want you exhausted before your wedding.”Eve sighed at the mention of the wedding. Who would believe her when she says that she sometimes forgets that she is getting married very soon, really. She sometimes wakes up and be like ‘phe
“Why, what are you doing? Let go of my hand.” Eve struggled to get her wrist out of Noah’s hold as he dragged her outside he office to the elevator. “Shh. Stay still. You don't want your employees to see this, do you.”“I don't give a fuck what they think let go of me, Noah,” he said through her teeth. “Now that I think about it, my name do sound very nice coming form you. You should say it offen.”She stared at him as if a nut on his head had fallen in his way here. She already told him that she wasn't Interested in going with him to lunch or date whatever. What doesn't he get straight?After she switched off her phone, it wasn't even lunch time before she see him marching into her office looking all sexy and handsome. He wasn't in his usual two piece suit. He was dressed casually In a jean and shirt. His black hair combed to fall on his face. He looked like he just came out of a magazine but that only stunned her for some minutes. “Will you ever stop this?”“Never, baby.”Her chee
As Eve saw where he took her to, her mouth fell open in shock. Since when did Noah become like this? As they climbed down from the car, her mouth fell open in awe. “What are we doing here?”“To have fun of course.”“Fun? Since when do you have fun in places like this? Last time I checked, you prefer having fun in women's bed.”“What, me?”“Of course.”“Sorry, honey but you checked wrongly.”“I didn’t. We’ve never been to a place like this together before.”“Right.”They were in a playground, an amusement park, for real. Two years ago, if one told her that she would be here in this place with Noah one day, she wouldn’t have believed. She would have reprimanded the person who told her such a lie. For one, he never looked at her or asked her what she wanted and two, he never even took her on dates. Never ever. All of these were new to her. “There are lots of kids here. We’re adults,” she complained. “Who says adults can’t have fun in an amusement park? If you don’t want to play these
Ella walked out of her condo all dressed for her date with a certain bastard her Godmother decided to hook her up with. She was dressed in a knee-length black dress. Her curly hair was combed and stretched so that it fell on her shoulders and her heels were a thorn in her flesh as she struggled to walk with them. Throwing her handbag at the passenger’s side of the car, she started it. Once, twice but it refused to start. What the hell was wrong with it now? She grumbled. Spending almost thirty minutes trying to start the damn car that refused to come up and corporate with her, she looked at her watch. She was late for her date. Oh goodness. “Now I have to look for a cab,” she grumbled. Picking up her bag, she headed out of the condo while trying to order a cab. Her legs were already sore from putting on the super-high heels. On a normal day, she would go with something lower and probably wear pants and a shirt instead of a dress. Only heaven knows how uncomfortable she was in the dr
Liam stared at Ella in confusion as she walked away from him. Damn, he was such a dumb fuck. Why the fuck did he say all of those things to her, huh? At that point, he thought that she would be at her best if she kept shut for a while and stopped being so friendly to everyone. He thought that she would be so appealing if she dressed like other girls and acted like them but now that he was seeing her in this unusual unfamiliar self, he couldn't help but wish that she became her usual self again. This doesn't suit her at all. Plus he can't hear her silence. Never In a million years. He was used to hearing her rant about everything, even the tiniest winny things. He was used to hearing her talk a lot and annoy him. He can't afford to lose that Ella. This Ella was even more dangerous. He has to admit that he prefers the former Ella and somehow enjoyed their banter.“Ella,” he called but she didn't stop. She kept making her way to the cab that was parked a few meters from her. “Damn it.”
Eve’s anger burned over. The room suddenly became twice as cold as usual from the glare that the two parties passed each other. She slammed her hand on the table and rose, her eyes glaring daggers at the girl. “No, you didn’t get deceived. You deceived us and we’re here to have you pay for it.”“Wait.” Genevieve chuckled but there was no hint of amusement on her face. She had a panicked expression as she shook her head from side to side. “You mean that everything was a lie? That you’re not on the same page as me? Yesterday you told me.”“Yeah yeah, I deceived you. But that was little compared to the lie that you told. Unfortunately for you, you’ve been busted. Right there is the proof that you fixed your face to look like my father’s and of course, you have someone behind you, directing you and ordering you around like a fucking puppet.”“I’m not a puppet,” the girl screamed. “I told you I’m not a puppet and you’re lying. I’d never fix my face…”Ella cut her off. “I think it’s high ti
A day later, Ella and Eve parked their car in the same spot that they did the previous day. They both had a veil and thick sunglasses on their eyes and their gazes were fixated on the entrance of the company. “How did you get in yesterday?” Ella couldn’t help but ask about the tight security of the company. “By using the pass father gave me.”“They’re not going to question our attire?”“They won’t. They wouldn’t dare question people sent by their boss. Come on, let’s leave. Is everything ready?”“Never been more ready. Although, yesterday, I almost lost the envelope.”Eve’s eyes widened and her head whipped to Ella. “What? Where is it now?”“Relax,” Ella laughed. “I found it at the bottom of Liam’s passenger’s seat after finding it for minutes. It’s a miracle.” If Liam hadn’t sighted the envelope under her chair and picked it up for her, she wondered what she’d have done considering that the success of the operation lies in it. Eve would’ve nagged her to death. Eve let out a breath
A few minutes later, the girls strode hand in hand into the top floor of Noah’s company. As they drew closer, Adam’s eyes rose from his desk and they widened when they fell on them. “Mrs Hank,” he greeted.“Adam. There is no need to give him a call. He knows.”“Sure, please go in.”As they stepped into the office, their eyes fell on Noah who had his back to them. His right hand was dipped into his pocket and the other held his phone to his ears as he stared down at the city from the floor-to-ceiling window. At the click of the door shutting close, he looked behind him and his lips stretched into a smile at the sight of Eve.“I’ll give you a call when the file is ready,” he spoke into the phone before retracting it from his ear and throwing it to the desk. He sidestepped the table and walked to stand before her. “How was it?” His words were followed with a kiss on her neck that rode up to her cheek and he acknowledged Ella with a nod. “Superb. I told you I’m going to be fine. We suc
“A truce. We’re done being enemies. Why don’t we be friends and work together?”In Genevieve’s moment of shock, Eve sidestepped her and walked to the table, leaning against it with her hands squeezing together under her breast. She picked up the new nameplate on the table and ran her hand through it. “Pink is quite pretty for you, you know.”Her words made the girl snap out of her daze. She stormed toward Eve and snatched the nameplate from her. “I’m quite particular about my belongings. I suggest that you don’t touch anything here.”“Don’t worry. I won’t steal anything. Like I said, I’m here for peace. I want us to reconcile.”“Reconcile? Don’t be daft. You offended me by stealing my identity. I can never be friends with you.”Eve clicked her tongue severally and pushed away from the table, her eyes on Genevieve. “You know, it’s the opposite. Look around you.” She stretched her hands around the office, Genevieve’s eyes following every move. “Just look around. Everything here is mine
Two hours later, their car stopped before the building of the Gray Corporation. Eve wore a face mask on her lower face with a scarf around her hair and turned to Ella who sat behind the wheel. “I’m ready,” she announced. “Great. I’ll be waiting here. You got what we practiced, right?”“One hundred percent.”Simultaneously, their lips curled into a smile and after clapping their hands together in a high-five motion, Eve stepped out of the car. “I’ll be back real quick.”“Good luck, babe.”Eve nodded and continued her journey into the company. As she was about to step into the main building, the security man at the door stood before her. He was way tall and huge and he was a new face in the company. “You are?” He eyed her suspiciously. “Me? Here.” She dipped her hand into her purse and handed him a card. It was a free pass that her father had gotten her to get into the company freely. “I’m Mr Gray’s messenger. I need to deliver something to the CEO.”At the sight of the card, the secu
The dim morning sun seeping from the windows assaulted Ella’s eyes and pulled her from sleep. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, a small yawn escaping her lips. She tried to raise her head from the slightly uncomfortable position that she was in only to find a strong force holding her down. She gasped when she fully woke from the daze of sleep, realizing that she was not laying her head on her pillow as she’d imagined but in fact, her head was on a hard surface. Liam’s shoulder. The smell of lavender and mint aftershave assaulted her nose and she felt her heart immediately skip a beat as always. She glanced back at his hand that was around her upper back, keeping her close to him with a blue blanket around them. Slowly and gently, she held his hand and pulled it away from herself before retracting her head off his shoulder. Ella grunted at the pounding headache that hit her when her eyes fell on the dozens of beer cans on the table and floor before them, the memories of the previou
After slamming those words to Matthew’s face, Ella got into her car and drove out of the impoverished compound and then the town. By the time she arrived back in the city, it was already night’s time and she made her way to Liam’s apartment. Speaking about Liam. Ella’s eyes fell on her phone on the phone stand beside her in the car. She’d purposely switched it off after she arrived at the town days ago and she knew there would be bunches of calls that she missed. Did he call? She wondered, considering that he never called her except when he needed to ask about Eve. Her week had taken a toll on her and she knew she wasn’t in the right state of mind to think of Liam with other issues that she had. Her mother needed surgery and at least for Jaden’s sake, she needed to provide for her surgery. She wouldn’t want the child to go through something like the death of a parent at such an early age. Finally, she arrived at the garage and parked, a deep sigh escaping her lips. Was she in the
“Why can’t I come with you, big sister? I promise I’ll be good.”Ella looked down at the boy beneath her. He fisted her tailored pants with his small fist and looked up at her in pleading glossy eyes. He was way skinnier than the last time she saw him a few months ago. Her younger brother was barely nine years old yet he had to see how fucked up things were with their family. As she stared at his dark wet eyes, she suddenly had the urge to pull him into her embrace and take him away from the toxic household. Fuck, she wanted to do that more than anything. She wanted to take him away and make sure that he lived a better life than she did. But she was in no good position to have him. She didn’t have a good place or a stable job and her mental health was something else. But one day though. One day. She could still remember when the little boy was born nine years ago. Might she add, out of accident? They neglected him. Their parents. And they didn’t care to give him a name or celebrat
“Noah, where the hell are you taking me,” Eve demanded as he led her away from the garden into the mansion. “Adventure, darling. You’re not tired of socializing yet?”“I’m not. Let go of me. We’re not in a talking situation.”“You’re my wife. You can’t avoid me.”“Where are we even going? It’s someone else’s house.”“Don’t know.”She realized he didn’t know the way around the house when he looked twice before turning in a hallway, his grip on her wrist tightening. She sighed and let him pull her. Well, she was due for an adventure after all, and right, it’s sucked to socialize with old friends and guests that looked at her with cold judgy eyes. She could tell that they had the scandal in mind and they regarded her as a shameless imposter. She’d rather be away from them.“You better don’t get caught and accused of being a spy or a thief.”“Thief?” He chuckled. “I could buy everything in this house for you.”“Yeah yeah, you don’t have to boast about your wealth.”“Shh.” Suddenly, he pu