“Kayden’s wife?” The old man asked again as he came forward, his grey eyes probing her and a satisfied smile was plastered on his face. “From the way you’re looking, I’m very sure, Kayden never spoke about me.” He stepped inside and the lady followed behind him, the maid gathered their bags and brought them inside. “I am Connell Smith, Kayden’s father, and your father-in-law.” He said with a heavy grin plastered on his face; he seemed to be very excited about meeting her. Kayden had never discussed anything private with her and with the way Mr. Smith was reacting, it seemed like he didn’t know their marriage was that of convenience. “Mr. Smith, I have heard so much about you from…” she trailed off her eyes meeting Petra who was in the back and was giving her signs. “From Petra, I’m glad I finally get to meet you today.” “She is such a sweet child,” Lorenza said and her eyes flitted to meet the beautiful old lady; Kayden looked nothing like his mother, her night-black hair and blu
Crystal stared back with him, her brain unable to form words and then suddenly he pulled her by the arms and drag her upstairs with him, she didn’t protest, she knew better than to cause a scene.“I want to have a small discussion with my wife.” He told his parents as he pulled her along with him; he opened the door to his room and he pushed her in and slammed her into the nearest wall.She gasped from the suddenness, her back colliding with the hard wall. “What the hell are you doing to my father?” The surprise was making her unable to talk, she just stared back at him trying her to stop herself from panicking, unable to move or do anything. “Can’t you speak?”“I didn’t do anything to him, can you please let me go now?” she asked and he didn’t make any attempt to unhand her, instead his grip tightened on her arms. “You’re hurting me.” “What did you tell him?” he pressed her harder into the door and she winced slightly. “I didn’t tell him anything,” she answered in a quiet vo
Crystal turned in her uncomfortable slumber, she shuddered from the cold. It was so cold, it was as though her throat was frozen and they hurt. The floor was hard and they made her back hurt, she turned again as she slowly woke up. She huffed as she stared at the ceiling and glanced at her phone; it was about five in the morning. She sat up and stared down at her pillow that was wet probably from the perspiration. She stretched herself, and she heard the bones in her back cracking, she winced from the suddenness. She picked up her pillow from the ground; and walked towards the door as silently as possible so she wouldn’t wake Kayden up. The small closing thud of the door woke Kayden up, he sat up and peered into the darkness. She was gone. “Madam Smith,” Petra called as soon as she climbed down the stairs, her pillow still in her hands. “Good morning Petra.” She answered with a small smile. “I see that you’re all awake.” “We have to get up as early as possible to g
“Mrs. Smith!” Laurie called as soon as she noticed Crystal walked into their working unit. She ran towards her and held her hands, her eyes were full of admiration. “Laurie, I told you, you should call me Crystal.” She mouthed with a small smile. “It’s quite uncomfortable, if you keep calling me Mrs. Smith, especially when I am at work.” “You never just pick up the damned phone, do you?” Paige asked with a small frown on her face, she stepped forward and reach out her hands to get a feel of her forehead. “You seem better today.” “How did you know I was sick?” She asked with an unsure look on her face. “You didn’t come here yesterday and I got so worried I thought that bastard—” Crystal punched Paige lightly in the stomach and she felt air knocked out of her lungs. “What are you talking about Paige?” Crystal asked with an uneasy laugh, she pulled Paige up and gave her a strange look; signaling to her that Laurie was there. Laurie just stood there unable to comprehend what was goin
“You wanted to see me, boss,” Crystal said as she stepped into the office, Kayden was back to sitting behind his desk and he was working on the computer; he glanced at her from atop his eyes and sighed.“You don’t expect me to speak to you from the door.” He muttered as he started scribbling on his notepad; her legs wobbled further into the office and she stood unmoving when she got to his desk, he sighed again, he seemed frustrated, but Crystal didn’t know what she had even done. “Sit down.” Wordlessly, she pulled out a chair and sat down on it, she drummed her fingers on her lap and stared straight at him in the silence, after some minutes of scribbling down, he dropped his pen aggressively and then glared at her.“Are you an idiot or something?” her eyes twitched she didn’t understand what he was saying. “Why would you let someone physically abuse you while working?” It was a normal thing for her, the customers take their anger at her, and Harris does that too sometimes, it is
“Please lend me some money.” She muttered inaudibly and the request made him smirk, she swallowed whatever was left of her pride, what was the worst he could do? “Mr. Whites spoke to me regarding the company dress code and I figured out that there are a lot of things I need to buy and I don’t have enough money. Be rest assured I will pay you back as soon as I get paid.” She heard him chuckle and she looked away from him; right, what was she expecting? Maybe because Andrews sounded so confident, she thought it would be easier to convince him. But knowing Kayden, it’s only right for him to make fun of her first before he could give her some money. “Why do you want to lend money?” he asked curiously, the mockery very evident in his voice. “Do you think by asking to lend it I will think better of you? Will it change anything if you pay them back?” “I know you won’t think better of me nor will it change anything but...” She confessed with a slight pause, “I don’t want to feel indebt
Crystal followed him back to the car wordlessly; Akeem stepped out of the car to hold the door for them, and they got inside. Crystal sniffed back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes; she knows she isn’t supposed to cry like this but it was just so painfully. Kayden didn’t even seem interested in her, he looked so calm and peacefully like he wasn’t capable of any evil, she felt her phone beep and she searched her purse for it. She placed the shopping bags on the seat as she unlocked the phone. Kayden glanced at her, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at her.It was a photo from Paige, she was wearing the shoes she bought earlier and it looked good on her. “I had no idea, it would be this pretty.” She texted and Crystal smiled wiping her eyes. “Did you buy yours already?”“Mr. Smith took me shopping, so I will probably buy mine tomorrow,” she replied, she was grateful for Paige’s message and then an idea popped into her head. “Can I ask you for a favor?” “OMG is he tryi
They rushed Mr. Connell to the hospital, Crystal was terrified and she was on the verge of tears; it reminded her of her mother, she also passed out cold like this and ever since they had taken her to the hospital she had never woken up even once. Mrs. Lorenza was crying too, she was sure this isn’t like any mild fainting, it was his heart. Mr. Connell was nice, he was caring, he didn’t deserve this. "This is my fault," Crystal cried into her palms and Lorenza pulled her into a small hug. "If only I hadn’t... he wouldn't be so shocked, he wouldn’t be in this situation." "It’s not your fault." Lorenza said as she tried to calm her down. “If only Kayden is as regretful as you are now, this is all his fault.”“Lorenza, can we just wait for the doctors in silence?” Kayden asked as he strolled towards the waiting seat and sat down. “This is what happens when you go to other people’s house without proper announcement; do you think you have any right to blame me?” Crystal ro
Alright! *drops pen* This is a special shoutout to everyone who turned the pages over, this is my first book (the first one I ever took seriously lol) and I'm glad it's not that bad. *hehe* Thank you so much for reading, commenting, venting your concerns, voting, and supporting "My Contract Marriage." Your opinions were appreciated and valued and it was just enough for me to go on as a writer. Y'all are my special babies and I won't forget this beautiful ride. Will it have a sequel? Probably. I hope to write more books in the future, so please stay tuned. My favorite character in the book is Sebastian, hehe, you should see more of him in the sequel (If I ever take my life seriously *hehe*). Thanks once again for supporting this book and staying with me through its rough times. xoxo
“Would it be a surprise if I told you?” He teased, pulling some stubborn strands of her hair away from her face and feeling up the soft skin of her face with his long thin fingers.“Don’t you think this is too much?” She asked, staring in the distance, her feelings overwhelming her. “It’s too much for me.”“I don’t think it’s enough.” He answered, and Crystal looked around once more. “Not enough?” she asked herself internally, what did he mean by it isn’t enough? She pinched the insides of her palms, hoping she would wake up from the unreal dream.“You deserve to have this and more. This is not enough for someone like you.”“But why?” it was still unbelievable. This building was worth millions, yet she couldn’t understand why Kayden thought she was worthy to have something of the sort. “I don’t know how to pay Mrs. Darling back, nor do I know how did I ever deserve to get such a gift?”“You don’t have to pay her back, however, you can also pay her back by doing exceptionally good in
Kayden glanced at Crystal who was staring outside the window with a rather unhappy look on her face, he was concerned because she had not spoken a word to him since the beginning of the ride, and he couldn’t help but feel that she was either angry or sad.“What’s making the birthday girl so sad?” He quizzed with a teasing smile as he controlled the steering wheel professionally, but Crystal didn’t glance back at him as much, which was even more suspicious.“It’s nothing.” She muttered and even after some seconds passed, she was still staring outside, yeah, she was mad at him, but what did he do? He had no clue what he had done wrong. Is she mad he was celebrating her birthday?That didn’t seem to be the case, she was just fine a few seconds ago, what could be the problem? He glanced back at her worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?” He guessed but she didn’t reply to him. “Crystal?”“No, you didn’t,” her response resembled that of a doll with missing batteries and Kayden’s eyebrows
"Are we not going to work?" Crystal asked as she climbed the stairs and headed towards the dining area. She noticed that Kayden, who was usually dressed by this time, was sitting at the dining table in his pajamas, drinking his morning coffee. Crystal glanced at her wristwatch and realized that it was way past their usual resumption time. She quickly opened her calendar app to confirm that today was not a weekend or a public holiday.They were already late, because even though she tried to get him out of bed, he wanted to cuddle a bit more, and she also couldn’t resist his charms.Instead of their usual breakfast foods, Petra and the other maids arranged the table with sweets, scones, and a baked turkey.“What?” she asked curiously. “Is this for Thanksgiving or something?”Crystal sat down on the chair next to Kayden. “Do you not know what day today is?” Petra asked, taking the words right out of Kayden’s mouth.“No, is something going on today?” She asked him curiously, and Kayden c
The sounds of birds chirping filled Crystal’s ears, she turned to the other side of the bed, her hands instinctively reaching for the pillows to block her ears; she turned away again, and this time it was the sunlight that was in her sight, she picked the other pillow to shield her eyes.Suddenly, she was pulled against a sturdy chest, the skin of which was smooth and enticing. She snuggled closer to him, relishing in the comfort from the heat his body radiated.It felt like she was floating on a cloud, she opened one of her eyes to observe his beautiful face, Kayden’s eyes were closed as he slept peacefully, and for a moment she wished time stopped so she could remain like this forever.It was peaceful.“I can’t sleep properly if you keep fiddling about the bed.” He murmured against her ears, smoldering her cheeks with kisses even though he was still half asleep.“I think it's morning though.” She noticed returning the small kisses to him as well, placing her head against his chest a
“I told you I am fine.” Sebastian scolded Lorenza, his mother because she had been complaining about his health ever since she got to the hospital. She cried about thirty minutes before he was able to convince her that he wasn’t going to die.“What do you think I am going to do if you had died?” The door opened and Crystal ambled inside with a tray of food in her hands, for the three days he had been here, Crystal hadn’t left the hospital. “How do you think I will survive?”“Mom, I told you that I wouldn’t die from such a shallow stab wound… It would be laughable.” Sebastian muttered and Crystal scrunched up her nose in disgust, as she neared the bed.“I told you not to speak like that again.” Crystal scolded glaring down at him, he used the same words Kayden used when she was worried about him. “What part of your death would be comical to us?”“I am pretty sure some people would find it funny, especially Kayden.” Sebastian pouted “That’s no way a man should die.” Lorenza rolle
Crystal’s eyes fluttered open when she heard a pained growl that came from Jake, when her eyes opened, he was on the ground, with Sebastian’s heavy boots placed against Jake’s head.“Crystal!” She turned in the other direction, and she saw Kayden heading toward her in fast strides, he pulled her as he got down on one knee and his silver eyes narrowed when he noticed her busted lips and swollen eyes. He reached for her face and caressed her in his palms, she felt fresh tears well up in her eyes, and his frown deepened when he noticed the narrow cut on her neck, it was terrible, even though shallow.Kayden didn’t want to imagine what would have happened to her if they got there any second later, the bastard had a knife to her delicate throat, as though she was a piece of vegetable, why would someone be so evil?“I-I’m sorry,” she whispered and his frown deepened, for what reason is she apologizing? “Kayden…” She reached for him and pulled him into a hug, he noticed that she was tre
Trigger WarningThis chapter contains some violence, please read it at your discretion.Crystal thought to herself, she had to clarify the misunderstanding, probably this anonymous sender was planning to send those gifts to someone else and there must have been a mix-up in the addresses… She wasn’t close with any middle-aged man, so why did he keep sending her letters and gifts? She was only lucky Kayden had moved her out of his office, he would be so worried by now, that’s why she would meet with this old man and tell him to stop. She was able to get out of the company and proceed to the parking lot without being noticed by anyone; at least not anyone close enough to follow her.She stood out in the open, her eyes met by the very bright lights of the underground parking lots, that almost blinded her. She stood there rigidly in one spot for about a minute or two, unsure of what to do or where to go, and there was no one in sight too.The letter didn’t give much details, it simpl
Sunlight creeps into the bedroom from the slightly opened blinds in the room, warming up Crystal’s face, she stirred being disturbed by the light. She felt something heavy on her waist and she glanced up to be met by a pair of silver eyes staring intently at her.“Hic…” she gasped softly when she realized she had been sleeping against Kayden’s chest, she could hear his heart beating in slow steady rhythms, he pulled her closer with a smug satisfaction on his face, his heavy arms on her back.“Good morning,” He murmured his voice still husky with sleep, Crystal flushed red from his seductive bedroom voice, and unable to form words, she nodded at him. “Did you sleep well?”“Y-yes,” she answered with a slight tremble in her voice, it was unbelievable, who would have thought that one day she and Kayden; would be lying down in her bed, naked and tangled underneath the sheets? “How long have you been awake?”“For a while now,” He confessed and he reached to feel the soft skin of her fac