ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POV
The surroundings were more peaceful than before. Greyson has left me alone in the room upstairs, making it possible for me to clearly hear the disco music that was playing downstairs. It was quite a dilemma, and I still can’t believe how things turned out this way. I never knew that the day would come when I would still be able to meet him again. Moreover, I’m asking him for a favor. Years ago, it was the other way around; I was always the one who assisted him with his academics. And now that he has obviously improved, maybe he’s just trying to pay the favor. The beating of my heart seemed to be normal, despite the unusual scenario between us. Seeing the naked body of a man, or be it someone else seeing me without any clothes on, is a typical occurrence in my life that my parents made me grow up into. I never got traumatized since I believed that it was for the best and that if I made someone pleased with my performance, I’d be praised. “Angelique.” My thoughts were disrupted by the way that he called for me. “You’re fast.” I faked a smile as I approached him on the other side of the room. Greyson gave me a playful smirk. “It would be nicer if you could say that while I’m inside you.” I felt a sudden burst of heating sensation that was sent from my belly up to my head. “Damn you!” I cursed him at the same time that I hit his shoulders. I bet that my face is completely red as of the moment, and that fact alone is embarrassing enough. “Stop it with your jokes. Did you bring the contract with you?” I asked, in an attempt to change the topic and also the awkward aura that’s about to envelope the whole room. He cleared his throat as he motioned for me to get inside. “Have a seat.” Greyson closed the door with his right hand while his left arm was stretched in front of me, which was holding onto a folder. I examined the contents of the folder while he was instructing me on what to do with it. I rubbed both of my eyes when I got to the last page. “Am I dreaming?” I asked myself, refusing to believe what I had just read. “I’d receive a million dollars in my bank account as an allowance every week?” I stressed out the last word. Greyson nodded his head once, giving me a reassuring smile to show that what I see is what I’ll get. “You know just how much I hate imperfections. There’s no way that I’d have a typographical error with what’s written in your contract with me. Everything else would be under my control; you wouldn’t be struggling with your financial needs as long as you agreed to the terms,” he said. I heaved out an excessive sigh as I gulped before proceeding to the last part, and it read as follows: ‘In accordance with the specified terms and conditions above, do you, Miss Angelique Sloan (aged 23), agree to be Mr. Greyson Giovanni’s (aged 24) personal seductress at Giovan’s Night Club?’ “A seductress is someone who sticks by a client’s side for luscious acts, right?” I inquired. “Yes. There are also some instances wherein I would just be addressing you as my secretary or so, in case you wouldn’t prefer to be called a slut by the people who see us,” Greyson truthfully answered before he took a glance at his left wrist, where his watch was located. “I still have a scheduled meeting to attend in less than an hour, Angelique. I don’t intend to rush you with the signing of the contract, but if you could make up your decision right away, then I’d gladly appreciate it.” I almost choked with the words that I heard coming out of his own mouth. It was just pretty unusual for Greyson to say something like that. Since the beginning, he wasn’t fond of meeting up with people that he’s not compatible with or those who don't interest him the littlest bit. “Seems like people really do change over the years,” I whispered, along with the observation that I have noticed with his attitude. It’s not like I have any other reason to refuse this agreement that I have. Everything that was listed appeared to be in my favor, meaning that it would only be beneficial for me and not for him at all. I still don’t understand why he would be willing to give up this huge amount of money every week for me in exchange for some enticing memories. “Do you have a pen with you?” Greyson didn’t answer; he just simply lent me a pen that was inside his shirt’s mini pocket. I immediately wrote my name and signed on top of it. I had a grin planted on my lips, but for some unknown reasons, I’m kind of wary about something that’s yet to come. All of a sudden, I had second thoughts about whether I had chosen the right path to walk on. Or was I reckless enough to sign the contract without having sufficient time to think about it? “The contract has been successfully signed.” Right after closing the folder, I gave it back to Greyson with his pen. He stood up from his swivel chair, stretching out one of his hands. “It would be such a privilege for me to have you as my personal seductress, Miss Angelique Sloan.” He was seriously teasing the heck out of me, and I just know it. “I really am in a hurry; I’ll be leaving you here now. I still have a lot of processing to do for your bank accounts and also the application for the creation of your mansion.” With those words, he left the room in a haste. Just like earlier, I was left alone. “M-mansion?!” I don’t recall anything, such as a mansion, that was written on the contract benefits.ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVAlong with the fact that I had no accessories, money, or even a phone to contact Greyson or anyone else that I knew, I also didn’t have a home to return to. It would definitely be risky for me to go back to where I used to live with my parents. The police might have already arrived at the forest where I left the both of them, and they are most probably hunting me since I was their only child.The streets that were filled with distant light posts were the ones that served as illumination in this dim place. It was already past midnight, and I still hadn’t eaten. Despite the current time, there was still a huge crowd inside and outside of Greyson’s bar since this is a nightclub.“Uhm, excuse me? Don’t you want to get in?” asked by a woman’s voice from behind. I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was since she stood right beside me, holding onto a piece of cigarette that she was lighting up.I shook my head. “I’ve been inside for hours. Thanks for the concer
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe low temperature of my body seemed to make me freeze from where I was standing after Greyson and I turned around to face Joy. He held one of my hands, and that was the only one that was warm, and even though I wasn’t comfortable with it, I still let him grip my hand tighter.“I’m a year older than Angelique, and there’s something that I would like to confirm first before allowing a stranger to conduct an investigation on her,” Greyson said, stepping forward to place me behind him. His broad back was covering the view of that woman, who was making me nervous.I can’t believe how he’s trying to protect me.I heard the loud sigh of Joy, as if she had already given up before putting up a battle. “Considering how I am still a mere trainee, I’d let this disrespect of yours slide.” The rustling sounds of the leaves that were on the ground kept vibrating in my ears as she successfully walked right beside me. “I believe that the both of you are no longer minors, am I
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVRubbing my eyes upon the disturbance of the sunlight that shone through the glass window beside the cabinet of the room, I realized that I had spent the night together with Greyson in a room that was neither mine nor his. “W-where are we?” I loudly asked, pulling the bedsheet near my chest even though I wasn’t even naked.“Can you tone down a bit?” Greyson sounded pissed, making it seem like he didn’t care who it was that asked him. “I didn’t touch your damn body, Angelique. Calm down. I just didn’t know what to do with you after you passed out hours ago,” he continued.I remained seated in the same position as I stared at him, slowly blinking his eyes to remove the feeling of being sleepy. “What do you mean?”Greyson sat on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t want to leave you alone in my bar, so I figured out that bringing you to a hotel would be the best solution. Mostly for now, I still haven’t processed anything regarding your mansion,” he answered, which cleare
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe magnificent sensation of bearing jewelry filled with diamonds on my ring finger still seems surreal. Truth be told, this is the first time that someone has ever surprised me this way. During the days when I was still a student, I used to be courted but was always mistreated.No man bothered to give me flowers or even the bare minimum of giving me the assurance that they’re in love with me as a person, and not just because of my body.“Are you still not over how I gave you the ring?” Greyson asked as we were heading over to the building of his friend’s company.I shrugged both of my shoulders. “I can’t believe how you didn’t even think of proposing in a proper way,” I jokingly said. When I turned to look at his expression, there was something missing. It doesn’t seem like he was in the mood for jokes, and his mind was kind of occupied. “Now that we’re disguised as couples who weren’t even married officially, should we still set boundaries?” I asked to ensur
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe rapid state of my heartbeat just can’t seem to calm down. There’s no way that I would be able to handle this kind of work. I’ve gone through the worst experience there because of my parents, who used to regularly touch my body as they pleased. I wouldn’t be able to ignore and live my life at peace if I witnessed Greyson f*cking women as he desires.“Don’t you have a sense of guilt with all of the things you’ve done so far, Greyson?” I made sure to roll my eyes as I uttered my question. “Didn’t you used to care so much for us women? Wasn’t it the same reason why you chose to own me back then, since you didn’t want to see me getting clingy with anyone else other than you?” I added, remembering how much passion he had stored for the sake of gaining my trust.Greyson avoided making eye contact with me as he glanced at his wristwatch, as if he were waiting for someone impatiently. “Ah, hey, over here!” Greyson raised one of his hands to grab someone’s attention.
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POV“W-what..?” I was at a loss for words when I heard the news from his own mouth. “Greyson Giovanni, please tell me that you’re kidding around right now. Take back what you said and tell me that it was a mere hoax,” I said, which kind of sounded desperate of me.Greyson didn’t respond; he was standing there with his shoulders moving slowly in an upward and downward motion. His breathing was heavy, and I could feel that he wasn’t joking and that my mom really was alive.When I soon came to realize that it was the truth, my world seemed to have stopped.“There’s still no concrete evidence regarding your mother; I still have some investigation to work on, so don’t panic that much, Angelique. You can assure me that your father is gone from this world, since he was the one who received such a fatal blow from you back at the forest that night,” Greyson softly whispered to me to at least calm me down. He must have seen that I’ve been shaking. “For now, you should stay
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVIt’s been a few days since I’ve last seen Greyson. I seriously did everything that I could to avoid getting in contact with him. We weren’t even having any sort of communication online since I lost my phone. Since the days that we haven’t been together, I haven’t eaten anything.“Damn, I never imagined that living my life alone would be this difficult for me to get by,” I mumbled to myself as I tortured myself by staring at the people inside the restaurant who were cheerfully eating.“Aren’t you that imbecile woman who called herself Greyson’s secretary and even gave me the documents of Greyson?” a familiar lady’s voice asked from the other side.I turned to face her and wasn’t surprised to see the lady from the seventh floor of that building. “Did Greyson tell you to come and search for me? If he did, then kindly tell him that I have no plan to return to where he is,” I said instead of answering her question in a polite way.She raised her brow in confusion. “
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVUp until this point, even though I’ve heard the side of Airi, I still couldn’t believe what I discovered. I can’t properly process how much Greyson has drastically changed his attitude to be this pathetic. He might have his share of reasons as well as why he had to play around with women as he pleased, or whatever it was that led him to the edge of the cliff to only be left with that kind of choice.Airi suggested that I spend a few days and nights in their house while I still haven’t found one to stay in, but I politely refused and told her that I'd be the one to settle things out. I heaved out a loud sigh in realization that I lied just for the sake of not getting her involved with Greyson any longer. In fact, I didn’t even have a single idea of how I would be able to survive the rest of the day.“Have you really made up your mind?” Airi asked, in an attempt to persuade me.I nodded my head once. “Yeah. Besides, it wouldn’t look too good if he found out that
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVMy eyes remained at the center of the front page. Greyson pulled over, giving me time to react to what I discovered. “What is the meaning of this, Lian, Greyson? If this is some kind of prank, I’d rather you stop it now before I get furious,” I said in between my heavy breathings.“Don’t overreact, Angelique. It’s not like this is the first time that you’ve gotten yourself involved with crimes,” Lian mumbled, insulting me right in front of Greyson. “Besides, you’re not the one who’s going to do whatever’s written in those papers. I just showed them to you so you wouldn’t doubt your husband’s words,” she added.Greyson invited the two of us to go out for a while and get some fresh air, noticing that the tension between Lian and me began to worsen. He opened the door for me but not for Lian, which made me slightly grin. Fortunately, there was a stall open nearby with no customers, so we were freely allowed to stay inside. Lian and I watched Greyson from the corner
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVNow that I think about it, Lian was also the person who brought me closer to my mother once more. She was also the reason why I got to encounter Gwynneth and realized Greyson's relationship with her. There’s something about Lian that’s making me convinced that she might have an underlying connection with either Gabriela or Greg... or maybe Greyson himself.“Where did you hear about Lian?” Gabriela asked; her voice seemed a bit shaky, or maybe it was just my imagination. “Don’t tell me that Greyson also got her involved in his nightclub?” she added.I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I saw her in front of the elevator and felt that she was somehow familiar. When I thought deeply, I remembered her name,” I lied, maintaining a straight face so she wouldn’t sense that I was bluffing. “Is she an employee here?”Gabriela avoided having eye contact with me, and it took her a couple of seconds before she gave me a response. “She’s not yet one of our employees. I hea
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe two of us utilized the elevator to head up to Gabriela’s office. The other employees were all staring at Greyson, which somehow made me feel uncomfortable. However, Greyson suddenly placed his hand on my shoulder. “Can you please give space for her in the corner? We’re heading up to the 19th floor,” he said at the same time that they stepped away. “And stop giving me those sticky gazes; it’s disrespectful to my wife,” he added.After a few minutes, the elevator doors opened as the bell rang, signaling that we were already at our destination. My expectations were completely different. I thought that there would be luxurious people waiting in the hallway, but there was no one. The path was empty, and only the two of us were creating sounds of our footsteps.“Why are you still calling me your wife, Greyson? Didn’t we already agree to discontinue the act of being married couples?” I questioned him as we stopped in front of the third door we passed by.Greyson shr
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVGreyson made me sleep on his bed last night while he covered himself on the floor, refusing to initiate any kind of conversation with me. I bet that he’s been mentally exhausted all day long, and no one else is to blame other than myself. There’s still an hour left before the afternoon, and Gabriela already called us for lunch. She definitely has something to discuss with us, seeing that she didn’t bother to invite Greg.“Were you able to sleep well with someone you don’t love, Angelique?” Gabriela asked with a hint of sarcasm as she was serving our dishes on the dining table. “I prepared some beef Wellington; I heard it’s one of your favorites.”I genuinely smiled at Gabriela. I took a spoonful of the beef and couldn’t help but praise her for how savory it tasted. “If only I knew that my mother-in-law was going to be this great of a cook, I would’ve loved your son with all I’ve got. I wouldn’t care if he ends up tearing my heart into pieces,” I jokingly commente
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVI didn’t know what to do with Greg, so I decided to go with Greyson instead. I was behind him, and the both of us were glaring at his father. I held both of Greyson’s wrists behind his back so that he wouldn’t be able to fight back, as if he were handcuffed.“Don’t do anything rash, Greyson. You wouldn’t be able to face the consequences either way,” I said, trying to convince him not to ignite his father’s furiosity any more than that. “If it wasn’t for your father, you wouldn’t even be here in this world,” I added.Greyson hissed at me as he resisted my grip, pushing me away from him. I was about to fall on my knees, but fortunately, Gabriela was there to catch me. “Don’t try to act like you’re any better, Angelique. I know that you can’t wait to see me lying on the ground, surrounded with my own blood,” he coldly replied with a stern gaze.As I shook my head, I caught a glimpse of how Greg was on his way to slash the shard of glass on Greyson’s head, so I hasti
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVAt that point, I knew that there was no more room for lies. The undeniable frustration that’s shown in Greyson’s face made his veins pop out from his forehead. There’s no right for me to complain about anything. “I can’t believe you, Angelique. Were you actually the one who’s pulling the strings, thinking that I was the one in control?” Greyson asked, accusing me of being a manipulative woman.I laughed, trying to set the atmosphere back to normal. “You were just that easy to play with, Greyson. It’s been years since we’ve been apart, and you really thought that I’d simply let you do as you please with me?”Greyson shook his head with a smirk on his face, removing his hold on my chin. “I knew it. I told you before, didn’t I? That there was something different about you, despite knowing that you’re still Angelique,” he murmured.I can’t understand myself anymore. If only I could be honest and tell him that, maybe he could actually help me think straight.We were s
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVIt hasn’t been long since Greg and Gabriela went out of the house. There’s a high possibility that the two of them would hear what Greyson and I would discuss, so I was quite hesitant to give him a response.“You know what? Forget it. I shouldn’t have expected that you weren’t going to betray me for the rest of your life,” Greyson said, shrugging off his question from a few minutes ago. “You better think twice about what you’re planning, Angelique. You wouldn’t want to mess around with me.”I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t know what’s making you this confident, Greyson. You’re no longer holding a chain on me. Everyone around the world already knows about the crime that I’ve done to my parents, so there’s nothing else left for you to blackmail me with,” I furiously muttered, trying my best to keep my voice down as I don’t want his parents to hear us.Greyson clicked his tongue, supposing that I'd hit the bullseye. “Even so, I’m still your husband!”I
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe four of us sat on the floor of the living room. Greyson was beside me while his parents were in front of us. It was quite a mystery to me how they addressed him as my husband, but I think he already told them about it. But still, I tried to pinch some of Greyson’s skin on his back, causing him to look at me with such a ferocious gaze.“What?” Greyson muttered under his breath, so I merely rolled my eyes as a response, showing that I wasn’t happy about all this. “Just bear with it for a little longer, Angelique. They just need to tell you something important,” he briefly explained.Seeing that I have no other choice, I sighed, then glanced at his parents, who were waiting for me to do so. “U-uh. So, what is it that you were meaning to tell me?” I asked out of pure curiosity.Greyson’s mother stared at her husband, gesturing to him to be the one to speak. “We want to apologize for all the years that we’ve been rude to you, Angelique. We didn’t know that you’re
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVI could sense how serious Austin was with the words he declared to Greyson. His hands were tightly pressing on my wrist, refusing to let me go. However, I have no intention of letting Austin do as he pleases, especially not in front of someone I have known for years.“Can you let go of me now, Austin? I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t like what’s running through your mind,” I coldly said, placing my palm above the back of his hand. “I could’ve let this slide further if you were at least my ex-boyfriend or someone I had feelings for... But seriously, you’re just a stranger to my eyes, Austin,” I added to make him realize his selfishness.“You heard my woman speak.” Greyson stepped in between us, aggressively pushing Austin’s shoulder to make him forcibly let go of me. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re thick-headed as fuck, dude. Go find your own wife or at least a girlfriend and mind your own business. Whatever’s happening between the two of us wi