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