MICHAEL'S POVThe whole week he had chosen to stay away from the house had been one of the worst weeks in his whole 3o plus years of life. He had been stuck at work and had found it hard to sleep whenever he went back to his hotel where he had lodged in long term. He had thought about the contract over and over and filing for a divorce was definitely a very drastic step to take. He groaned as his mother's phone number flashed across his screen .It was his mother that had been calling him for the past few days asking for his whereabouts. No one except his house staff knew of the current situation in his house and he wanted to keep that underwarps for a few days until he finally decided on what he had to do.He let out a sigh.The whole week ha been spent thinking about her, missing her. The expectant smile on her face always seemed to do a number on him whenever he was tired and that was the first thing he saw once he came back after a long day of work. She had tramsformed his house in
ALINA'S POVShe was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Micheal had not been home for the past 2 weeks and every second that ticked by created a constant fear that he could be walking in through those doors at any minute and slam the divorce papers in her face, urging her to sign it. Coupled with all that stress she had not been able to contact her mother, neither has her mother called. The worry was eating away at her day by day. All she held unto was the fact that her mum would return to her in two months time, assuming he didn't cut off her treatment. And rightly so, she had not had any sort of breakthrough in getting pregnant. They didn't have sex and definetly the fault was on her part.She was the one causing him all the pain he must have been experiencing. She had thought about going over to his office to talk to him to ask for his forgiveness but had always managed to talk herself out of it.She let out a resigned sigh as she pulled the cookies out of the oven o
MICHAEL'S POVIt's been three weeks since he had left the house and a week had passed since his episode that had landed him at the hospital.The only thing he had heard from her was the distress call she had put out to him a week ago when he was just coming out of the hospital. At first he had been worried and had tried to call back but he realized that her calling once must have meant that she might have pressed it by mistake.It was a cool summer afternoon.They were just coming out of the cold winter months when his phone buzzed on the table.It must have been his mother. He thought. Ignoring the first ring.Then subsequently, a ping followed. He opened his eyes to see a text message pop in. It was a video. It showed his wife laying naked in bed while his security guard smiled placing his lips on her lips.He felt his hand grip the phone hard as he zoomed in on the video, replaying the short second clip video looking for a clue that it wasn't what he thought was happening. He was re
ALINA'S POVThree months later...She was back to square one. Back to her roots and she was no better than she had been except for the huge sum currently sitting in her bank account as compensation for staying with him for the past one month and a few weeks. Athough the recent few weeks had seen them living separating but they were married and now they were not. She was divorced now.She had no idea what to do with herself now because she hadn't thought that far ahead in the probability of the contract being terminated so soon. She had not had the chance to explain herself because his mother had chosen to butt in everytime she wanted to.The past three months had been one of healing where she had not only nursed her wounds but had tried her best to get over the trauma of her being taken advantaged of by their security guard.Her mind drifted back to that day...She had dragged her battered and beaten body to the bathroom after he had left her. She had tried to wash away the stench of
MICHEAL'S POV"Hello?" He called into the receiver."Hey big brother" His sister, Agatha's voice sounded through the receiver."It must be because you need something, that's why you called me right?" He joked, leaning back into his chair, his ear still perched on the receiver."No" She stated firmly.He frowned in confusion.She sounded different, she wasn't sounding like her usual quirky self. He thought."Then why did you call?"He asked, a grin forming on his face unfazed by his sister's foul mood."I heard what happened between you and Alina." She stated. His grin faded to a deep frown. He hadn't heard that name for well over three months now.He had tried so hard not to remember her and his family members had done so well to not trigger any memories of her by saying her name. He still felt the sting of her betrayal from months ago and it gutted him anytime he thought about it.He had managed to keep their divorce under wraps away from the preying eyes of the media and paparazzi f
ALINA'S POVThe morning sickness was terrible. On most mornings, she had to drag her lethargic body just to go to work for the day. She had formed a routine for the past months almost like it was a broken record player.She would wake up, search mindlessly for her cellphone and pull open her email. Her shoulders slumped as the webpage fully loaded. She let out a tired sigh,covering her head in her hands. Today was disappointing, she had no new mail in her inbox.Taking a deep breath, she switched off the laptop and chose to shove the discouraging thoughts from her head.She had been trying to call her mother for the past few weeks and she had not been responding to any of the messages or voicemails she had sent. She was beginning to worry and over the length of the discussion she had not yet found out her mother's whereabouts.'What is happening?" she thought aloud as she took the few steps to her kitchen to heat up the leftover lasagna she had made the night before.She haven't been h
MICHEAL'S POVHe had stilled his breathing until he heard her melodious soft voice ring out from the receiver."Mr Wheeler?" She called formly.He frowned. He had never liked her calling him that,and even more now."Micheal is fine" He answered maintaining the cool in his voice. There a brief pause at the other end of the line before she finally spoke."Mr wheeler Is okay for me as well." She responded."Okay. Go ahead. What can I do for you?" He replied switching into business mode."Its about my mother." She started.He frowned in confusion."Yes, what about her?" He asked, as he tried to rein in his annoyance."She's not back yet. Two months ago, she had told me that her treatment would take two months and it's been a little over two months now, and she isn't back yet." She explained. A muscle ticked in his jaw."And what made you think I would know her whereabouts?" he asked sarcastically."Please Mr Wheeler, I just wanted to know where she is .Her phone isn't going through anym
ALINA'S POVThe news of their divorce was everywhere now.She sniffed as she shivered. She had been fired from her job at the bakery when the owner had found out that she was infamous because of her billionaire husband and even her friend had looked widely surprised by the revelation.The paparazzi had hounded her and she knew Micheal must have been suffering from the news as well.Headlines had gone into overdrive trying to get him to talk about their divorce and the cause of it.Her phone had been blaring with calls and she had not been bothered to check it.She ran towards her cubicle bathroom as a wave of morning sickness hit her.She had cleaned up then came out the door to find the towering figure standing tall in her tiny apartment.She yelled in fear.The figure turned around revealing his angry gaze.she froze in horror."Micheal?" She called out in disbelief,stepping closer to confirm that this wasn't a hallicination.He grimaced at her appearance."How could you live in this dump
ALINA'S POVWaking up that morning had been relatively quiet and peaceful,apart from the fact that Micehal had to rush out that morning without even a passing greeting even while she had called for him from the kitchen. Her belly was growing bigger and her waist line had grown thicker as she felt the weight of her baby while parading around the house in comfy sweatpants before settling on the couch.Her mother was supposed to come help her out today. And her gynecologist had said she was doing extremely well taking care of herself and the baby.She let out a frustrated sigh as a repeat episode of her favourite series came on.The house was relatively lonely and quiet on most days just like they were now.The only solace she had was either reading to her baby or watching a tv show and whenever her mother was less busy she would come over to keep her company.She smiled at the sound of the doorbell and without hesitation padded briskly towards the door without looking at the intercom, un
MICHAEL'S POV.His bag slipped and fell from his hand as he froze in shock.She had on a sly smile."What?" he asked in disbelief."You heard me." She replied, giving him a sly smile."Yes we made a baby that night you came over at my place." She explained.Micheal padded towards the living to see Alina seated in the couch flickering across the TV channels smiling distractedly.He breathed out a sigh of relief. She was out of earshot and thankfully was so engrossed in the TV program that she couldn't have heard anything that had been said a few minutes ago.His hand reached out to clutch her arm and dragged her upwards towards his study. Giving Alina a forced smile when she sent a worried glance their way.Paulina protested all the way till they were safely in his office. "Why are you acting suspiciously?" She said wryly. "It's not like she had any say to what happens in this house, you're the head of the house." She stated matter of fact."What was the meaning of the rubbish stunt
ALINA'S POVShe had been shaken up after his mother's visit. But the past three months have been quiet and distant.Micheal had seemed more distant than normal. He had chosen to spend his days at work and he was rarely at home. Even when he was home he was distant, he only spent silent hours eating and once dinner was over he was leaving without so much as a word. She wished he would at least open up and let her know what was bothering him but he was sworn to silence. Everything had relatively stayed normal except her mother visited more often.She had chosen to come to terms with the fact that Alina was pregnant and there was nothing that could be done now.She still didn't like Micheal but she was careful not to be present whenever he got back from work.She was nestled on the couch watching a rerun of the show "housewives of Johannersburg" When the knock sounded on the door.She paused the show and headed to the intercom to see who was knocking.It was a unfamiliar face.She frowne
MICHEAL'S POVA FEW DAYS BEFORE..."Paulina what are you doing here? In my bed?" He asked panicked as he looked under the covers to find that she was wearing nothing underneath.He quickly closed it,wrapping the bedsheets around him sarong style as he jumped out of the bed trying to get some distance away from her. She had on a satisfied smile and he could clearly recognize that smile from all the times they had made love in the past. He chastised himself inwardly for being unable to erase that part of his past and memory."You're the one in my bed " She clarified.His eyes darted around the room and his eyes widened in recognition."How did I get here?" He asked in disbelief."I brought you here. You needed a place to sleep because you were drunk and I couldn't let you drive home like that. So I offered to bring you to my room, and it's a small apartment, I don't have a guest room at the moment. "She stated sitting up and letting the duvet slid down her breasts without the least bit
ALINA'S POV"No! No! Please, somebody help me! Please! "She cried as she fought and scratched whenever she had the opportunity to. But she wasn't strong enough. She felt powerless and helpless. "Felix stop! Please am begging you" she pleaded, her eyes streaming down with a pool of tears. She felt her body loose all its energy as he inserted himself into her. She was numb to the pain now as he begun to move. She was at the brink of giving up when she heard a voice. His voice guiding her back."Alina, am here. No one is going to hurt you,I promise. Am here now" She heard him speak softly as he shook her slightly until the scene before her had begun to change. The disgusting smile of Felix atop her slowly disappeared and she found herself lying on the bare ground staring into nothingness.She finally opened her eyes to find Micheal's face towering over hers. His forehead were creased in worry as he stared intensely into her eyes. He gave her a warm smile and lifted her up in his arms
MICHAEL'S POVHe heard her sharp intake of breath as her shoulders slumped at his reponse. He couldn't let her see the pain in his eyes as he felt it in his heart.So masking his facial expression,he walked away leaving her sitting there still in shock over his reveleation. Once he was secluded in the confines of his room,he paced the room restlessly.He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.How could he tell her that every morning,she was the first person that he wanted to see.She was the one that kept him awake thinking about all the times they could made love and whenever he woke up he craved for her.But he couldn't let her know.His diagnosis had come back even worse.He had just returned from visiting the hospital. FLASHBACK"Am sorry man,but it looks like your health is detoriating faster.And all attempts to treat this the non-surgical way is not working."Jefferey said ,his tone turning solemn as he showed him his brain scans on the monitor."So what do I do?"He asked,unsure o
ALINA'S POV "Please turn this car around"she interjected firmly."No."He answered sternly. "What?"She grimaced in pain."Until I know for sure that that baby in your belly isn't mine,I cannot let you subject an innocent child to those terrible conditions"She gasped in surprise."Excuse me.I decide how I live and where I live.This is kidnapping!"She retorted in a pathetic attempt to reason with him.He scoffed and swerved the wheel towards the other side of the road pulling up on the gravel road leading up to the estate."Micheal,I don't want to live with you!"She cried."Well,unfortunately for you,you have no choice."he addressed,pulling up in front of his gate.Frantic and alarmed,she struggled to open the car door but it was locked."Don't be dramatic Alina.I know you're just pretending to act tough but you truly want to live in my mansion.Besides I took care of you better than any lover that you had "He commented,pressing the button that automatically pulled the gates open.She
MICHEAL'S POV"So what do you do for a living?"Michelle probed.Dinner started out quietly.After Alina had cut herself with the knife unconsciously,Her mother had taken over the kitchen and had finished up the meal instead. The meal was definitely delicious which reinforced the idea about where Alina had gotten her talent for cooking."Micheal?" he looked up to find curious glances directed at him.His smile faded quickly."Yes, ma'am"he responded."I asked you a question,what do you do?"She repeated.His spine straightened as he gave her a proud smile."I run a company ma'am"he answered. She arched a brow up at him."Is that all?she asked,Alina's hand reached out to cover hers."Mum,I think that's enough of the questions.Let's just eat and enjoy this wonderful meal that you made" She stated,staring back at her mother with pleading eyes."I haven't satisfied my curiousity yet,baby.I still have a lot of questions that you need to answer young mister"she said,pointing at him."Okay.Am
ALINA'S POV "Alina,you didn't tell me you were pregnant"She watched the horror that was evident on her mother's face."Mum..."she called trying to reach out to her but she moved away from her."Where is your wedding ring for goodness sake?!"she cried."In all this time that I've been here,I haven't seen even a single photo of the both of you.Did you lie to me Alina?"She directed,her eyes were tear-glazed.She opened her mouth to speak but no words came through.She didn't know what she would say.She didn't know how she was going to explain her dynamic with Micheal or tell her how she had been raped while under her husband's roof.Her mother had just come back from the hospital,so she knew that now wasn't the right time to explain everything to her."Alina,why didn't you tell me?"she questioned She plastered on a fake smile she had rehearsed over the years ."Mum,everything is fine"she assured."Micheal loves me and I love him.We're happy together and he takes good care of me.Yes, I a