Bella
I paused the process of putting on my dress and turned back suddenly to face him, almost choking on my own saliva.“Ri—Rivera?” I stammered, looking him straight in the eye.The dark smile was still there, but this time, it wasn't romantic anymore. It was frightening.“Are you a distant cousin?” I asked, my voice trembling. Please, no more nauseating surprises today. My heart was already pounding fast.“I'll save you the trouble,” he said, standing up and dropping the money I had just given him on the center table. “I'm a son of the Rivera family. The first son, to be precise.”He started putting on his clothes as he spoke.“What do you mean, son? I thought—”“You thought wrong. Don't worry, I'm nothing like my brother, Hardin. You won't get in trouble,” he shot at me assuredly, interrupting my statement.There were many rumors regarding the first son of the Rivera family. Some say he is dead. Others say he left his family to go start his own company in another city after a fallout with his father, which they believe was a huge success.I had heard the name “Xander Rivera" a couple of times, but I just wanted to believe that it was a coincidence and Hardin never spoke about him. I didn't know what he looked like, so this was a huge shock for me.“I wasn't going to miss my little brother's wedding to such an angel now, would I?” He touched my nose playfully, still carrying a stern look on his face.“He's such a fool,” he continued, picking up his phone. “Thanks for the generous pay,” he said sarcastically, pointing at the money. “I'll see you around, Bella.”“By the way, you never asked why I came in here in the first place. I really just needed some water to drink, but I quenched my thirst with something better.”“Did he just call me a slut?” I was starting to feel disgusted at the thought of it.He walked out of the room, and I continued staring into the abyss. I couldn't get the thought out of my head, no matter how hard I tried, as I fell and sat on the floor.“I just had sex with Xander!” I whispered excitedly, touching my lips.I wanted to get revenge on Hardin, but not with his own brother. What will people say? “He did sleep with my sister though, so win-win.”He was no match for this man who just left the room. He's stunning! Revenge well gotten.“Why don't I feel better, though?”I expected that after getting back at Hardin, the pain would go away. It didn't. It just combined with the pain I felt from the hickeys Xander had plastered all over my body and my sore organs.The thought still hurts me badly. The fact that nobody came looking for me made it even worse.My stomach growled, so I went to the kitchen to fix something to eat. Ever since dad's finances started dwindling, we got little help around the house and had to learn to cook for ourselves.I prepared some quick-fix pasta and had it with a cold glass of milk to ease the headaches that seemed to appear all of a sudden.I couldn't tell what time it was or for how long Xander and I kept going, but it seemed pretty late. The party should be over by now.I sat on the kitchen stool, eating and reminiscing.“What am I going to do now? I couldn't let them get away with this. Never!”I found some of the leftover cake from the wedding and stuffed my face in it. Cake always makes everything better for me. Not this time; it tasted bitter, just like my life.I decided to go to sleep first and decide tomorrow, when everything felt better.As I walked into the living room, which I had to pass through to get to my bedroom, I was welcomed by a group of people partying to their hearts's content and a couple dancing in the middle.They all looked so happy and fulfilled without me around. I had no friends here, and that's what I get for making my sister my only friend.The tears welled up in my eyes once again. Beth looked so stunning in her dress in a way that her flat boobs didn't look so bad, and that traumatized me.“What happened to the promises Hardin made to me?”Everyone stopped to stare at me, and I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole.For the first time, the rooms being soundproof made me so mad. I would have heard everything happen from a mile back and completely avoided this awkward scene.I turned around to leave when a hand grabbed hold of me.“May I have this dance?”It was him again. This man seems to be everywhere now.He dragged me by the hand to the middle of the room, beside Hardin and Beth. He lifted his hand, holding a handkerchief. He gently rubbed my face to clean up the tears that had fallen.When it seemed like everyone was watching us, he held my face in his palm, and he brought his lips to mine. As his lips brushed mine, he slightly parted them for my tongue to slip in.“What the fuck are we doing?” I shouted in my head, trying to get myself out of his grip, but he held me closely.“What do you think you're doing, Xander?!” Hardin shouted. “Get your filthy hands off my wife.” He charged at us, slapping Xander's hands off my waist.Xander chuckled dryly. “What the hell do you mean, your wife? You seem to be a hella drunk baby, brother. She's mine!”Bella Xander's words jerked me back to reality and I saw Hardin's chest rise and fall as he heard them. I blinked at Xander who was wearing a proud and mocking smile from the corner of my eyes. His attitude was pissing Hardin the fuck off and while I should correct his claim on me, I quite enjoyed the shock on Hardin's face upon hearing Xander call me 'his'. “I'll protect you. I'm right here.” That was what his eyes said as he gently squeezed my hands in his. I heaved a sigh of relief at the reassurance he offered but the room still seemed to be spinning. “What's going on here?” My father asked, coming out of his home office, fuming. He couldn't care less about the ceremony so he went in there as soon as Hardin and Beth were pronounced husband and wife and the company merger was completed. The anger and pain grew as I watched him walk towards us. I didn't let go of Xander's hand just to spite him and to let him see that I wasn't alone. The guests all watched on with their mouth
Bella “Wakey, Wakey!” I heard someone yell right into my ears. It was a dream! Every night and day, it haunted me. The events of a month ago. It always ended when my father disowned me and threw me out of his house like I was a bag of garbage. I don't even know how I survived. I had woken up in the hospital and was told that a stranger had paid my bills. He was kind enough to leave a few bucks for me too. Since I was thrown out with absolutely nothing, it did go a long way in keeping me alive even though I had no will to live. I had woken up with my eyes as wide as a frying pans. “You dreamt about it, again?” Bernice asked me. She was my colleague at the office, now my best friend. “You told me you would be ready by now. What the hell are you doing still snoring your life away?” She asked me without trying to conceal the mild anger she was feeling. “A. I don't snore and B. I thought I was going to be ready too,” I managed a smile. The constant nightmares were exhausting and I h
The club was plunged into complete disarray and I regained composure almost immediately. The effect of the alcohol seemed to have disappeared too.Waiters had run into the VIP area and people took out their phones to take pictures and videos. The weirdest thing was, he still didn't turn around.“Why isn't he getting up to yell at me? He should fight me, slap me or something.” My heart could have exploded judging from the way it pounded against my chest.I had just fucking thrown up on the person who had helped me. Like hell, the vomit was right on his head.A lot of people, including Bernice, were rushing towards him to clean him up and I just stood there with my mouth open.My legs seemed to be stuck to the floor beneath me because I couldn't move. I just let the cameras flash in front of me in shame. My cheeks were red hot.I saw him signal at some people to tell me and Bernice to leave. I watched her run towards me to drag me out of the club.I still couldn't say anything and neithe
Bella “Please don't tell me you have absolutely zero ideas on whose head you dumped your already swallowed food.” Bernice took her seat on my desk and I dropped my bag beside her as my arm was already aching from holding it for so long. “Uhm…a man?” She pressed her lips together and stared at me in utter disgust. “I'm hoping you're going to tell me and free me from the suspense.” “Not just any man, girl! A billionaire!” “The fuck!” “Hell yeah.” My eyes widened as I wondered why she was a little too excited about what should be a crying situation. “Then what in the world are you so excited about? We're cooked! I threw up on a billionaire?!” The air was suffocating and my breath was slowing down. “Relax.” Relax?! There was no way she was telling me to relax. I gave her a questioning look and she opened her mouth to continue. “Well, last night, he ordered that the videos be taken off the internet and declared false. Anyone who posts or publishes anything regarding it would do
Bella“I—I’m sorry. I…I didn't see you there. I mean, I didn't expect to see you here.” I stammered. I bent down to do something like I could lick the yogurt right off his feet. He didn't try to stop me. “Is this a habit for you? Spilling disgusting things on people wherever you go?” He asked me with his hands still in his pocket, looking down at me where I bent my head on the floor. “You know about what happened last night?” I asked nervously, playing with my nails. “How the hell won't I know? I was your victim!” He shouted. I placed my hands over my mouth as it flung open, shocked to my bones. “I'm truly sorry.” I rose up to my feet, and looked into his eyes. “Please forgive me, Xander.” “It's Sir to you, Bella!” He said outrightly. His coldness made me shudder and I had never seen him in such a state. Well, I had only met him twice. I opened my mouth as if to say something but closed it again. “I'm sorry…Sir,” I finally said after a few minutes. “I'll get you a new one,” I
Bella I sat in my office and glared at the squeezed piece of paper on the table. A tear fell and dropped on my belly and I quickly rubbed it gently. The turn of events was overwhelming for me. I reminisced on how fast and how slow the week had been. I was having a peaceful life until he returned to my life. Technically, he wasn't the cause of my current misfortune. I made him do it. “It’s good news! You're pregnant,” the doctor had told me the previous evening. I opened my eyes in horror and my pupils dilated as the only doctor in the entire street handed me a piece of paper. “That's impossible!” I thought to myself, my mouth opening slightly. “Is something wrong?” She had asked me when she saw the unsure look on my face. “How the fuck was I pregnant?” If I hadn't known better, I would have said she was bluffing. She has been Bernice's doctor since birth and I've been having pretty funny symptoms lately too. I shook my head, trying to fake a smile. I thanked her and walked aw
Bella “We're traveling back to Miami tomorrow night,” he told me when he gave me a phone call later that night. “To—morrow?!” I said in a loud voice which I quickly tamed because I couldn't afford to lose what he was offering. “Why? And isn't that a little too early?” “Do you want your revenge or not? That's why you agreed to this, right? Xander Rivera never goes back on his promises.” I was quiet for a while, listening to him breathe. Even his slow breaths were fucking sexy! He was right. We had to go back to get revenge on the people who did me wrong but wasn't it a little too sudden and how come he hasn't started doing things to me? No clue on why he wanted a contract marriage so far. “I'll have some people come and bring you to the penthouse where you'll spend the day with me before we leave in the private jet I have prepared.” “Ditch all your clothes, especially that powder blue shirt, it looks so shabby and no wife of mine can be seen in that. I have everything you'll nee
BellaBernice always said I was lucky but I don't see it, at all. I shut my eyes in fear without turning back to look at the speaker’s face.I should have known that he'll have people around watching my every move since he had serial killer tendencies.“How the hell did he get here so fast?”I thought he was out of the house. Was it all just a dream? I pinched myself. Nope! It wasn't. He was there and his green eyes pierced through my soul as I turned around slowly to face him.“I'm not interested in the contract anymore. I'm leaving,” I mustered all the courage I had in me and fought the tears that were burning my eyes.“Oh, but you can't leave, Bella.” The smile on his face creeped me out. “I've had it up to here with the fact that you didn't read the fucking contract. I'll have to explain the terms to you every single time. It was just five pages!” His smile had disappeared.“What has this got to do with the contract? I'm terminating it anyway. It doesn't matter anymore,” I opened
Daniel Scarlet Vine loomed before us as we stepped out of the car, its neon sign pulsing in the night like a heartbeat. A club for the elite, it was said that a night with one of its infamous escorts could cost more than a middle-class man earned in six months. Courtney slipped her arm through mine as we approached the entrance, her touch light but possessive.“Please protect me from the men in there, Tom Cruise,” she teased, her voice laced with irony.I ignored her, keeping my eyes ahead. We navigated through the throngs of dancers on the floor. A tall man in dark glasses materialized without uttering a word. He nodded for us to follow, and we did, threading our way through the maze of bodies until he led us to a secluded game room.The room was empty, save for the remnants of someone else's night—a pool table with a triangle of balls still in place, a table tennis setup with the net discarded, and empty cups scattered across the surface, the aftermath of a game of beer pong. Anoth
Daniel I pulled away the moment the car started moving, scrubbing my lips against my sleeve as if it mattered. The woman beside me, who I'd just kissed, was smiling widely, her eyes dancing with amusement."Don't even think about saying anything," I snapped, but I knew she wouldn't care."You really know how to put on a good show," she chuckled, her voice light, teasing."Oh, shut up.""Is that how you treat a woman you just kissed so passionately?" she mocked, her expression exaggerated, almost playful.I didn't respond. Instead, I turned to the window, watching the city blur by in streaks of neon and darkness. It was a Friday night, after all. People were pouring out of office buildings, heading to bars, clubs, wherever they could lose themselves for a few hours.But I couldn't stop thinking about what happened in the office. About that text from Bella.Bella had texted me earlier, asking me to come by. I wasn't planning to—there were more urgent things on my mind. The text above h
Bella I spun around just as the door flew open, and the sight before me made my heart drop. There she was—Lilian—bound and gagged, struggling to speak but only managing muffled, frantic noises. A huge man with a buzzcut was dragging her inside, his muscles bulging as if they could snap her in half. He was trailed by a much smaller, wiry man, nervously shifting his weight from one bony arm to the other, his tank top a strange choice for someone so frail. “Here she is,” Buzzcut announced, tying Lilian to a chair with a roughness that made me wince. Xander slipped his phone back into his pocket, nodding in approval like this was the most normal thing in the world. “What’s... what’s the meaning of this?” I stammered, confusion and horror swirling inside me. “Why is she... Oh my God, is that her bone sticking out of her leg?” I gasped, the sight turning my stomach. “She’s the one who sabotaged my dad’s company,” Xander said, his tone cold. I shot him a glare. “You mean my compa
Bella“What are you doing here?” My voice came out in a breathless whisper, shock rendering me immobile.Xander was in my apartment, perched on a chair as if he'd been waiting forever. His disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes told a story of their own. He was still wearing the shirt from earlier, now stained with sweat, as if he’d thrown it on in a rush after our... encounter. But if he was in such a hurry, why hadn't he followed me? Why was he here now, looking like someone I barely recognized?He didn’t answer. Instead, he toyed with a loose thread on his sleeve, eyes cast downward.“Answer me, Xander!” I demanded, my voice rising. I wasn’t in the mood for one of his games, but there was something off about him. Something... different.Finally, he spoke, his voice low. “As you were running after David, I asked you something. You never gave me an answer.”My shoulders relaxed, just a little. “His name is Daniel.”“And I don’t give a fuck what his name is,” Xander snapped, his voice sud
Bella“You pushed me away like you always do, Xander. You make me feel like I’m someone to you, then trash me. I’m a woman and I have needs. I want surprise flowers and a new dress with a note that says, ‘Dinner at nine’. Daniel was there for me. It’s the least I can do.” I said all of that in one breath before dashing out. I made for Daniel’s house, speed walking without taking a single moment to see how Xander reacted. I kept scratching my hair like I had lice. The rain wasn't helping either. I was drenched but it didn’t matter. I didn’t know what I was going to say to him when I found him. I just wanted to look into his eyes and feel them.I didn’t have to walk too far. I stopped at the glass doors to the popular bar. I watched him take a huge gulp of his cheap beer before yelling at the bartender to get him three more. What had I done? I broke him.“Daniel, I didn’t know you drank,” I said in a low voice, standing a little away from where he sat at the bar counter. He didn’t look
Bella“Ma’am?” Rita, Xander’s assistant, called out to me, and it looked like she had been watching me for a while but I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice. “What are you doing here? You have someone here as well?”Thank goodness she gave me the sweetest lie ever. All I had to do was nod slowly in agreement. Nana was someone to me too so it wasn’t really a lie.I gave off a sigh of relief. I should have known Xander was never one to give away flowers to random women. I gave her a quick smile and turned to leave. I couldn’t face Nana after lying on her grave and I didn’t have any flowers to offer too.“You’re leaving?” Rita called out. She clearly wasn’t someone who knew how to mind the business that paid her and that was to drop off the flowers.“Yeah, I remembered that I left something really important at the office. I’ll need it tomorrow. You know how the boss gets.”I didn’t really forget anything at the office but I wanted space and I didn’t want to go home. Lately, the a
Xander“Hi Xander,” the private investigator I had hired two days ago, said over the phone. “We have found the person who sabotaged your wife’s company. What should we do with her?”A woman, huh? I didn’t think it would be a woman. I pulled the phone away from my ears slowly. “Maybe Beth?” I thought, peering out the window. I thought it was Hardin for sure. I guess I judged too quickly.Whoever it was, I decided that I had to teach her a lesson. Just a small one to teach her and everyone else, to stay away from my woman. “You know what to do. Hand her over to my men and they’ll take it from there."I hung up the phone and dialed another number immediately. “They’ve found her. I want her alive but in a state that will please me. If she can still walk, you’re fired.”I was about to leave the office when Hardin pushed the door open and walked in. He appeared furious but I really didn’t care. “What?” I asked him, grabbing my keys off the desk. I had somewhere to be and I could sense that
Bella"You're late!" He roared when I got to the company three minutes after eight. "This is why your company's struggling. Work starts by eight. What are you teaching your employees?"What the..."It's only a few minutes after—""It doesn't matter. I see you grew lazy when you stopped working for Versa Link. I'll have to teach you discipline, again because I won't have you acting however you want in my company." His company? Isn't it our company? I ignored curious glances from everyone as I walked to the board room for the introductory meeting. I took my seat at the designated area and took a deep breath.I was about to open my laptop when the doors opened and he walked in. He was late by a minute. I squinted my eyes at him but I couldn't afford to let my emotions show so I fixed my face."Good morning everyone. You are all aware that Versa Link now has control over Rivera group. I look forward to working closely with you all."I noticed exaggerated giggles and smiles from some of th
Bella His name is Daniel! I shouted in my mind but that was the least of the current problems. “Unless of course there’s a reason why you can’t?” He continued, leaning towards me. What was he trying to get out of me? “He’s one of the best people on our team.” I really hoped that was going to cut it. “He’s hardworking and intelligent and—” “I have a head of operations myself and as you know, I don’t employ lazy or unintelligent people. Mine will serve excellently.” Damn it! “Unless there’s another reason why—” “I can’t, Xander. He has been loyal to the company. He stuck with us through the good and bad. I can’t just kick him out. That will be utterly unfair.” My palms were already sticky from the sweat I produced in the well ventilated room. This man drove me crazy. How do I tell Daniel that he's fired from the company? I hope Xander changes his mind and there’s some humanity in that broad chest. He stood up and buttoned his suit. “I have a meeting soon so make this quick.”