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 POVIt was night time when I arrived at the park that was supposed to be filled with a huge crowd, considering that it’s currently a weekend. I gulped as I could even hear my own rapid heartbeat because of how peaceful the surrounding was. I had to grip onto my bag to not lose my strength when the time calls for it.“Greyson? I’m here,” I yelled out his name as I tried to let my eyes wander. “Let’s go home, okay? It’s already been a week since you left the house. You still have a lot of cleaning to do, right? Stop hiding and just get your ass out of here,” I added, trying to sound brave despite knowing that I could pass out in fear any second now.The wind has gone colder and stronger as I felt it brushing upon my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I didn’t receive any response from Greyson, and minutes have already gone by.“Just give me any sign that you’re here, Greyson. I’ll leave if you don’t send me any signal,” I demanded, hoping that I wouldn’t see any sign
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POV“You’re still kidding around, aren’t you?” I asked with a short laughter, trying to make Greyson admit that he wasn’t serious with his reply. I tried to move away from above him, and compared to when he prevented me earlier, he simply let me go now. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” I clicked my tongue, annoyed by his silence.Greyson stood up from his bed and walked ahead of me, heading towards the exit of his room. However, I didn’t let him as I grabbed onto his wrist after I followed his tracks.“Don’t follow me around, Angelique. I’ve got some important business to do that I just remembered,” Greyson coldly demanded, forcing me to release my grip on him. “And to honestly answer your question just now, I don’t understand myself either. Most of the time, I’m yearning for your presence. But at the same time, I still long for someone else’s touch,” he murmured in between his tiny breaths.I stared blankly
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVSeveral minutes have already passed by. Greyson and I have been staring at each other without uttering any words. I doubt that he could think of anything that can get him out of this situation. He only has one choice—and that is to tell me the truth. If Greyson chooses to tell me a lie, then that would destroy all the trust he had built up after betraying me because of his other woman.“Angelique, let me explain…” Greyson sat beside me on the edge of his bed.I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration as I avoided having eye contact with him. “If you’re going to explain something, then get on straight to the point,” I coldly said. “I won’t believe you if you try to tell me that you merely got that poster from somewhere online or through some illegal shops,” I added.“I’m not that dumb to say that.” Greyson gave me the poster, showing it to me like it was not the first time that I’ve seen it. “Do you really not
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVGreyson tried to pull me back from the three as we were outnumbered, but I kept my feet frozen to the ground, which caused him to tighten his grip on my wrist to force me to make eye contact with him. “Don’t tell me that you’re going to choose them and make a complete fool out of me, Greyson.” I gave him a ferocious gaze, so that he would be intimidated.I heard Greyson heaving out a loud sigh. “Are you seriously still doubting me after all these times?” he replied with a shake of his head. “If Gwynneth says that she has strong evidence against you, what do you think you could still do against this situation? You mustn’t forget that you’re also just a human… and worse, you’re a woman,” he added.I bit my lower lip in irritation, seeing that there really was no choice other than to leave. I tugged the edge of Greyson’s shirt, pulling him away from the spot of the three. I doubt that Lian would be able to take my mother’
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVThe moonlight shone directly in the direction where Lian and my mother were standing. They were at the corner of a building in some sort of an alleyway where there was no one around other than themselves. As I was attempting to walk ahead and confront the two of them, I felt two hands holding both of my wrists—one was from Greyson, and the other was from Gwynneth. Both of them were preventing me from reaching their spot, as if it wasn’t what we came here for.“Why are you holding me back? My mother is literally standing a few meters away from us!” I uttered and despite wanting to scream my lungs out, I held myself back as it would definitely alert Lian. “Don’t tell me that you’ve already known that my mother was together with Lian? Is this how you’re going to betray me all over again, Greyson? Are you still not done with your games?” I consecutively questioned him out of frustration.Greyson released my wrist as he pulled me away from Gwynneth’s hold. “You’re ove
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVNo matter how many times I tried to convince Greyson to go straight home and just let me visit Gwynneth’s home by myself, he wouldn’t let me be. I couldn’t help myself but to wonder if he found an excuse to see her, or if he simply didn’t want me to come there by myself.“Your face is like an open book, Angelique. I know that you’re overthinking about the possibility that I merely wanted to see Gwynneth and that I’m using your mother as an excuse,” Greyson suddenly said, taking me aback as I stopped my tracks.My feet somehow felt cold, frozen to the ground as I stared at Greyson’s back, unable to believe that he might’ve read my mind. “H-how did you do that?” I scoffingly asked, filled with curiosity. “Anyhow, are we still far from her house?” I changed my query, trying not to get teased by him.Greyson shook his head once as he pointed his index finger in front of us. “Gwynneth’s house is the only one that stands out in this area,” he murmured as I glanced upon
ANGELIQUE SLOAN’S POVI immediately felt how quickly Greyson’s arms loosened its grip around my waist as soon as I reacted negatively to his intention. Whether he was genuine of wanting to protect my mother from Lian, it didn’t matter to me. After all, I knew deep inside that Gwynneth was the only one he’s eager to protect other than myself.“Stop dragging Gwynneth into this conversation, Angelique. Our main goal is to avoid letting Lian reach your mother,” Greyson coldly uttered as he gently pushed me away.As I shook my head in disbelief of what he said, I attempted to walk past him and return to his car, but I hurriedly stopped my tracks when I didn’t sense his footsteps following me.“What do you really want to do, Greyson?” I asked, turning around to face him once more. “Can’t we just let go of the past and live freely as we want? If it’s you, there’s a huge possibility for us to start over in a different place far away from our parents,” I added.Greyson sighed, pulling me back
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