ELLEN When I woke up, the bed beside me was empty. Oliver was not there and I was lying alone naked on the bed. He left again. Why does he always leave when we have sex? I sat up, clutching the bedsheet to my body. I did not know how to feel, but I felt this whole thing was a mistake. I should not have let him touch me, I should have kept my distance. I would amount nothing to this man except a one-night stand. I was someone he would always use to quench his sexual frustrations. Then and now, yet I have not learned my lessons. I stared at his side which was now empty. Everything was the same as five years ago, except that this time, there was no bundle of money beside me. I sighed. I would not stay here and suck all day, I have a child to take care of. I got off the bed, picked up my nightwear that was still tossed across the floor, and wore it back. Oliver satisfied every bit of my sexual hunger, no doubt, but it was excruciatingly hurtful to feel the way I feel
ELLEN I kissed him back. I know I said I do not want to do this with him again, but he was irresistible. I wreathed my arms around his neck as his mouth devoured mine. Today, his kiss was desperate, there was nothing hesitant about it. He was hungry for me as much as I was for him. He cupped my ass, and he pressed me into him. His hardness pressed into me, and I let out a moan. His mouth left my mouth and went down to my neck, to my collarbone, and my breast. I still wore my nightwear, but he sucked my hardened nipple from the fabric. I moaned as pleasure surged through me. He pulled away and grabbed my breasts with his enormous hands and fondled them. His mouth claimed mine again as he fondled my breast. “You smell so nice, Ellen, and you are so sweet,” he murmured against my lip. He was not drunk today. If we get down, we will never stop until we have satisfied ourselves. There won’t be any excuse for this. I think we both needed this, but I h
OLIVER “The impact of your presence is what we ask for...” The words of the man trailed off as my mind wandered towards Ellen. She was a mystery that was getting more complicated. I had agreed to get information out of her by making her trust me enough to spill, but sex with her was not part of my plan and what marveled me most was that it happened twice. The first time was a drunken mistake and because I did not know how to face her the next day, I ran away to my hotel and stayed there, thinking of ways to put it behind me. I saw her calls and I could not man up enough to answer it and so I ignored it. After three days, I knew I could not stop running from my wife. It was a mistake and I hope she understood. She had been kind and understanding and before her, I never spoke to anyone about my predicaments, but when she was around me, I say more in five minutes than I have said in weeks. She affects me like that and I always regret it. I have opened up to he
ELLEN Things were a bit awkward for Oliver and me for the next two days. He did not allow me to stay in his room again and avoided me. I did not want to be near him too until the dinner party he was going to with me came up. Tony asked that I follow him to the dinner party and lead him exactly where he wanted. I did not know what to do. I was no murderer and could not let the man I had sex with a few days ago die like that. But I had Sophie to think about and I would do anything to save her. Oliver sent me a maxi, black, lacy gown that had a slit running up to my thigh. It was sleeveless and made me uncomfortable, but I had to dress for the occasion. I was here for a mission and I had to accomplish it. I did not wear much makeup. Since Tony told me that Pablo Moreno knew my makeup face, I had never taken chances. I do not wear makeup. I left Sophie at Lily's place with two of his men watching over her apartment. Lily did not entirely welcome the idea, but she did it for protection's
OLIVER Ellen remained the center of attraction in the hall. We had nothing to talk about and the topic she tried to bring up was one I would not like to discuss because it would lead to an opening up on what I actually do. I knew she would get inquisitive when she sees all these powerful men. We were supposed to have a conference dinner. Although it was mostly for business, but I feared these men would mention mafia sentiments and bicker about it. A text came to Dante, asking for my attention to discuss something privately. I hated it, but I knew I had to leave Ellen for a while. I was not particularly comfortable with the way that bastard Anthony Romano was looking at her. He stared like he wanted to devour her, and he was not hiding it. I will rip his tongue out from his mouth if he comes anywhere near her. I had to find an excuse to leave Ellen alone. Meanwhile, I did not let her stand there alone; I led her to the bar to sit while I was gone. I was not completel
ELLEN Oliver had my heart beating and my head swirling with everything he did tonight. From the way he stared at me to the way he held me with dominance. I could not stop my heart from beating and feeling guilty about what would take place tonight. I still see other men look at me and I wondered just how good I looked in my dress. Oliver and I did not speak for a while after I asked him what he really did. I had to play the role of an inquisitive wife, too. People were enjoying themselves, looking cheerful and free. I saw Tony’s eyes on me. He was staring at us, unblinking, and not caring if he was seen or not. This guy was a psycho. Why does he keep staring at me? I was uncomfortable with his eyes on me. Oliver must have mistaken it for nervousness because he tried to boost my ego. I could not tell if he spoke for the show or if he was real. He sounded so genuine. I tried to focus on the rules we signed in the contract. I will not be the one to fall and break
OLIVER I did not see it coming. I was so focused on her—my enchantress and did not see the bastard no paid attention to it. I only realized what happened when Ellen’s legs wobbled, and I caught her immediately while she hugged me tightly. Tears pooled up in her eyes as she stared at me. I gently removed my hand from her side and my palm was stained with blood. “I am sorry,” she muttered. I was confused. I looked at the receding motorcycle and could not make out who it was or the plate number. I quickly lifted Ellen in my arms and almost ran back to the parking lot. I spoke to Dante and the others through my device. My voice was unsteady, and I could barely make out words. I charged my driver to take me to any nearby hospital. Ellen was losing a lot of blood and she was growing pale every minute. I contacted men to follow that rider up immediately, even though I doubt they will catch up with him. This was the second time Ellen was attacked— no, she took this
ELLEN My body ached with pain. I opened my eyes and saw the hospital light. The memories of what happened flashed in my eyes. Oliver. Sophie. I tried to stand up but my side hurt so badly and I groaned. "Well, it's good that you are awake," a voice said. I looked by my side and saw Pablo Moreno sitting on a chair smiling at me. He held a magazine in his hand. A pit grew in my stomach. What was he doing here? Where is Oliver? Where is Lily? Where is everyone? Why am I waking up to see Pablo by my bedside? "What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but ask. He smiled and dropped the magazine. My heart thumped in my chest. This man could kill me here and no one would know about it. "How do you feel now?" he asked. "I do not feel good seeing you here." "You should not. Why did you take the blow for him?" I stared at him for a while. "It is none of your business. Please, do not interrogate me." "I know who you are, Elena Walte
ELLEN I met Dante and Jerry waiting at the reception when I was allowed to go home, but there was no Oliver. I searched around for him with my eyes, but he wasn’t there. I did not know what to feel about that, but I knew he had a very good explanation for not showing up at the station. “Where is Oliver?” I asked Dante, noticing his mood. Something was off about the way they looked at me. “He wants to see you,” was Dante’s calm reply as he took my arms gently. “You are now free from the police, and we are glad.” He flashed me a smile that I knew was fake.Cold shivers ran down my spine. Dante was a terrible actor, and I knew something was wrong. Maybe Oliver has hurt himself. I was so uncomfortable with the atmosphere around them. “What is going on? I want to speak with Oliver,” I demanded, my voice cracking with emotions. “Calm down, Ellen. There is nothing wrong. Oliver has a surprise for you and would like to meet you somewhere,” Jerry said with a much more
OLIVER “What the fuck just happened? Why the heck is my wife being arrested?” I asked, glaring at Nicholas. “I was involved with Antonio, not my wife.” “Oliver, you have to calm down. Your wife was the last person Antonio texted. They have been talking. I am sorry, but your wife might not be as innocent as you think.”I clenched my hands and glared at Nicholas. I was only stopping myself from punching him right now because I did not want to make things worse. “The good thing is, you can bail her out since she is just a suspect. She was taken for questioning, and I will make sure I do the questioning.” “Do whatever you have to do. I want to watch when you question her.” I grabbed a bottle of drink and poured it into a glass, gulped it down, poured again, and gulped it again. I was torn in two. One part of me was thinking about whether Ellen was as innocent as she appeared. She had been jumpy lately, but there was no way she would have killed Antonio. He died
ELLEN "Okay, I don't know what this is all about, but I am getting curious as hell, Oliver," I said, waving my hands in front of me. Oliver was behind me, leading me carefully to whatever surprise he had for me. I was blindfolded, and my heart was already racing. "Just a little more time, mi amor." He carefully led me until he came to a stop. I sighed. We were finally at the surprise, and I held my breath because I did not know what to expect. Oliver put his arms around me, hugging me from behind. I could feel his breath on my neck. "Are you ready?" he whispered in my ear. "I am curious. Oliver, show me already!" I whined. He slowly took off the blindfold from my eyes. I blinked twice to get my eyes accustomed to my environment. I gasped when I saw what was in front of me. "Oh, my God, Oliver," I said as tears pooled in my eyes. "Do you like it?" Oliver asked. I walked away from his hold, reaching out for the beautiful flowers.
ELLEN I had the sweetest dream in months and woke up with a smile. I ran my hand beside me at the part Oliver was supposed to lie in but found it empty. I opened my eyes and saw that it was really empty. I will not be happy if Oliver goes without saying goodbye again. Panicked, I sat up, only to see Oliver standing in front of the dressing mirror, all dressed up. I sighed with relief. "Good morning, my queen," he greeted and stalked toward me. "I hope you have a good night's sleep?" He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips. I clutched the sheets around me and blushed like a teenager. He sat beside me and ran his fingers over my ruffled hair. "Has anyone told you that you look prettier in the morning?" he said, flashing me a sensual smile. "Okay, you are flattering me now." "I am not. I am serious." "Well, I got a little job done on my face; you cannot attribute it all to me." I looked down at my fingers as I spoke. Oliver moved closer to me and curled his foref
ELLEN I was lying on the lazy boy by the pool when Oliver came rushing back. I could not contain my laughter as he came back down almost immediately. "Are you sure you went to the room?" I asked, eyeing his bulging muscles. He wore a black vest that showed all his perfect chest and arm muscles and grey sweatpants. "I needed to be with you," he said, dazzling me with his signature smile. I stood up, walked up to him, and took his hands. "I made a special dinner for us and hope you like everything." "I love whatever you make, Elle." The table was set behind me, and rose petals were scattered around the poolside with candlelights surrounding the table. A bottle of wine was on the table with tall wine glasses and the wrap of my meal. I led Oliver to the table and made him sir. "Tonight is a special night," I whispered in his ear. It was a special night for me. It was the only night I had felt free in a year and a few months. My troubles might not be over, but I wanted to s
OLIVER Antonio Romano is dead. That phrase lived rent-free in my head. I had seen the bastard only a few hours ago, and now he winded up dead in his apartment. All fingers would point at me, no doubt. I was the last one to get physical with him before his death, but I did not kill him, even though I would gladly have done that without hesitation. I left the house hurriedly so that no police would arrest me in front of my daughter. The police would come for us soon. Tony's father would not take the death of his remaining son lightly. Our source told us that police were swarming his house, looking for evidence. Nicholas was already in the company, and he wanted to get information from me first before the police saw anything. I walked into the meeting room. Dante, Jerry, and Alejandro stood when they saw me, but Nicholas remained seated, regarding me calmly. I ignored him and turned to Dante. "What's up? What is this I hear?" "Oliver, you should be speaking to me right now."
ELLEN I made sure to wait for Oliver and his men to come home. It was way past midnight when they came back to the mansion. Once I saw their car, my heart lurched in my chest. I knew this was the time to get out with my secret. I had already braced myself for what would come next, but part of me still maintained that t was not the right time. This was past midnight, and Oliver must be stressed from wherever he came from, considering that he left so early in the morning and came back this late. I wanted to heave this off my chest, but I did not want to be selfish. I should consider his mood before breaking such news to him. I had waited for the perfect time to say it, but none had presented itself. When he was happy, I didn't want to ruin his mood. When he was sad or cold, I feared what his reaction would be. In as much as I told myself that I considered his mood, I knew that I had held back so much because I was scared of losing him. When he came into the room, looking all bloo
OLIVER MORENO Antonio Romano. The bastard. He was already out of his car, tossing his keys to one of the men that would park it for him and hopping into the club. A few other vehicles followed the direction of his car. We got out of our car and started toward the club. One of the men we planted inside notified us that he was there already. They had gone there as harmless clubbers and took in every detail we wanted and knew where his men were positioned. We walked to the front of the club. The bouncers recognized us and let us pass. But I was sure they had notified Antonio, and if he didn't already know that we were there, he would probably be waiting for us. Loud sensual music hit us as we stalked into the club. A wave of booze and alcohol wafted toward us. I was in front while Dante and Alejandro followed closely behind me. A few heads turned towards us, especially the ladies, but I was not there for any of them. We stood by the entrance, my hands tucked into my pockets wh
ELLEN I woke up alone. I knew that I had slept alone last night. I knew when Oliver came in last night. I didn't understand the feelings that were running inside me. I knew he was the only one I felt safe around after my attack, but when I was calm enough, I didn't know if I wanted to trust him that much. I still didn't know how to face him with a clear eye. I wanted to tell him about Tony, not to get even, but to remove this heave from my chest. Tony texted me last night when I was still in the living room with Lily, and I did not even tell her about it. I headed straight into the room, feeling worse. I thought about suicide, but I also thought about Sophie. I could not let her go through that pain because of my mistakes. I wept a little in the bathroom, with the showers on, so that everyone would feel I was taking a shower. I contemplated using the razor on the counter to cut myself until I bled out, but I couldn't. I tried Oliver's number, but it was switched off. I wanted to s