For the second time in a span of a few hours, Noelle found herself questioning the choices she had made in life.As she walked into the bathroom to take a call from the hospital, hoping it would at least be the good news needed to brighten up her day, her mind was plagued by the proposition she had received.It seemed like a golden opportunity, yet something about it seemed…off.Whatever that was, Noelle wasn’t given the chance to thinking through, as the voice of her mother’s doctor, came over the line.“Hello, Mrs. Hart?”“Yes, doctor Melvin. How is my mother?”There was a brief pause, one that caused her heart to skip a beat, and before the doctor spoke again, a million scenarios flashed through her mind.“Well, we’re pleased to inform you, that she is making progress.”At those words, Noelle released a sigh of relief.“Thank goodness.”“But we have a problem. Although she has shown progress, your mother is in dire need of the surgery. And as we’ve discussed in our past c
Never in her life, had Noelle thought she'd be stepping foot in the headquarters of one of the biggest and richest corporations in the entirety of Italy, but here she was, following behind a beautiful receptionist and being led down the halls. "Here you are." The receptionist stopped in front of a large, imposing door and gestured for her to enter. "He's waiting for you." Noelle couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness as she stepped forward and reached out to the door knob. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty, a clear indication that she was anxious, but even with all the fear, she knew this was something she had to do. This was her only option. She had to marry Wallace Castellano. And if the way the door was pushed open and the man sitting behind the desk looked up, his eyes meeting hers, and his lips curving into a subtle smile, was any indication, then, her fate had already been sealed. "I'm glad you've come to a decision, Noelle." Wallace stoo
After a few minutes of walking down the hallway, they finally stopped and Wallace pulled her into a room, which turned out to be a study.The furniture were expensive, and the decorations were minimal, yet elegant.“Have a seat.”Wallace let go of her hand and gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk, where he took a seat.Noelle hesitated, before walking over and sitting down.“So,” She began, breaking the silence that had settled between them.“Where do we begin?”“Simple,” Wallace responded, pulling open one of the table drawers and digging through it. “We’ll discuss the details of our arrangement, the roles we will play and how we will proceed, among other things.”Noelle couldn’t help but feel curious at the word, ‘roles’.“What exactly are you talking about?”“This,” He said, placing a stack of paper and a folder in front of her.“What is this?” Noelle questioned, reaching out and taking a look at the first page.“Your role as my fiancée,” Wallace replied, hi
Thankfully, the following day was a Saturday, so, first thing the following morning, Noelle had walked into one of the biggest shopping malls in Milan. Her first stop had been a dress shop. As much as she had a few dresses in her wardrobe, none of them seemed to be appropriate enough for the occasion. So, after a few minutes of searching, she finally found the perfect dress; a long sleeved, v neck, black mini dress, that hugged her curves in the most flattering way. Pleased with her choice, she proceeded to pick out a pair of heels, but much to her dismay, was stopped by the store clerk. “What seems to be the problem?” “The dress,” the lady explained, pointing at attire. “It’s already been picked out by a customer.”Noelle frowned. Another customer? But she had just chosen it. “You can’t be serious.” She was about to ask the clerk if there was a mistake, but the latter cut her off. “Yes, the dress is taken.” Before she could respond, a familiar voice spoke from behi
The following day had rolled about faster than Noelle had expected, and much sooner than she would have liked, she found herself, dressed in the not too tacky black dress she had picked up the previous day, and walking out of her house.The car, a sleek, expensive looking one was already parked in front, the driver, Mr. Khalid waiting patiently by its side.“Good morning,” Noelle greeted.“Good morning, Miss Hart,” He responded, opening the door.“Mr. Castellano is waiting,” He said, and the moment those words were out of his mouth, Noelle could feel a nervous energy fill her.This was it, she thought as she climbed into the car.This was the moment where it would all begin. Her revenge on Jason and her contractual marriage to Wallace, as well as the day she would finally meet her in laws.A whole lot was riding on today, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious at that.However, the thought that her plan would start rolling, soon enough, was comforting and so, with a s
“Well, that went well.” Noelle commented as they walked towards the exit.“Better than I had expected, that’s for sure,” Came Wallace’s response, but unlike hers, there was no trace of amusement or any other kind of emotion, in his voice.Arching a brow, Noelle glanced at him, not missing the way his jaw was clenched, or the tight grip he had on her hand.Something was up, and judging by the unspoken tension in the air, the events that had transpired a few minutes ago, seemed to be the cause of it.“Went better than you expected?” She asked, deciding to voice her curiosity. “Care to explain?”Much to her dismay, the latter said nothing, but instead, stopped in his tracks, turned towards her and looked her straight in the eye.“You did well, let’s get you home, it’s been a long day.” He said, his voice still void of any kind of emotion.Noelle stared at him, feeling a mixture of annoyance and confusion.He wasn’t even trying to mask the fact that he was brushing her off, which
The silence that followed was immediate. Thick and suffocating, almost as if a pin drop would be heard if the slightest of sound was made.Noelle, from behind Wallace, could see Ivette’s face go pale, the anger and shock she had previously displayed, gone without a trace.It was clear that his threat, no, more accurately, his words, when he had addressed Noelle as his Fiancée, had left quite an impression, and it was an impression that Ivette took lightly.“Fi… Fiancée?” She asked, darting her eyes between her uncle and Noelle. The latter did not hesitate to flash her a cunning smile.This of course, went unnoticed by Wallace, but the moment Ivette saw it, her anger returned.“Uncle, what nonsense are you saying?!” She shouted, her face flushed. “Fiancée? Her?” She pointed at Noelle, disgust in her voice.“Yes, she’s my fiancée, so I’d advice that you watch the way you speak to her.” Came Wallace’s short reply, his tone commanding, yet, there was a softness in it that made Noell
Ivette couldn’t believe what she was hearing, or more importantly, the scene unfolding before her eyes. Her uncle, the cold, powerful head of the Castellano Family, was allowing some strange woman to disrespect and mock her.Not only that, but he was going as far as playing along with whatever she was planning. Tolerating her nonsense and acting like he actually cared for the engagement between them.Ivette frowned, unable to stop her anger from growing. It was impossible! There was no way her uncle would actually do something like that…not after what had happened to him.Yet, here he was, the proof was right in front of her and the realization, was like dozens of needle pricks on her nerves.“Wally, it’s getting late, we should get going.”Her uncle’s name, was the last straw, and Ivette had to hold herself back, from attacking the woman who was clinging onto him like a leech.The nerve! She thought, her hands shaking. The sheer audacity of her, was unbelievable and the fact
“If you don't want your nude pictures plastered on that screen,” Ivette repeated, going the extra mile to point at the huge screen at the center of the hall, with a smirk. “I suggest you follow me now.”“You…” Noelle wasn't quite sure what to say, or rather, how to feel. Was she meant to feel baffled over the fact that Jason had leaked the private photos she sent to him, for his eyes only, or, was she meant to feel surprised and panicked, that Ivette had just threatened her with those photos.Whichever two of it she was meant to, Noelle surprisingly, did not feel that way. Rather, she felt assumed. “You…you're threatening me at my own engagement party, with my own nude pictures?” She asked, finding the situation amusing, but did her very best to keep her smile at bay.Ivette nodded boldly, crossing her arms with a smug look on her face. “Exactly. I won't repeat myself again, so come along.”Noelle watched as she turned and began walking off without even waiting for a response. She c
Saturday had breezed by faster than Noelle expected. One second, she was waking up, contemplating if she still wanted to go through with this and the next, she was throwing on the white dress she had picked out, and hopping into the car Wallace had sent to pick her up.The drive to the event center was a silent one, allowing Noelle stew in her growing nerves. It wasn't everyday she did something like this, an engagement ceremony, mostly, with all sorts of influential and rich people surrounding her.She wasn't a social person and the thought of mixing up with many people alone was already tiring her out, but her motivation, the date circled with a red marker, payment date for Adrian Black’s loan, was enough to keep her going.The car soon came to a stop in front of a magnificent event hall. The outside alone, said tons about what the inside was going to be. Castle like structure with highrise and glass finishing. Noelle’s astonishment for the place was clear as Khalid held the door op
Less than forty eight hours had passed when Khalid showed up at the door, carrying with him, a bunch of expensive looking dresses, nearly hung on a rollable hanger.Noelle, standing by the open door, surveyed the dresses with clear surprise written across her face. When Wallace had said he was going to send Khalid with dresses from her to pick from, she didn't think it was going to be This much.“Mr. Castellano sent me,” Khalid stated the obvious, pointing in the direction of the dresses behind afterwards. “He'd like you to pick out a dress. May I come in?”Politely spoken, Noelle noted as she nodded and took a few steps back, granting the assistant entrance into her apartment.Elena wasn't home today, haven woken up in the early hours of the day to get ready for an even Noelle couldn't quite make the name out from all the mumbling and mindless words she said when getting ready, so, letting Khalid in with the dresses wasn't going to to any sort of inconvenience.Once Khalid had rolled
Nearly five minutes has passed since Elena walked in on the rather confusing scene. All three of them were now seated in the living room, with Wallace beside Noelle and Elena sitting across from them, scrutinizing their very being at any given chance.“So,” Elena began at last, breaking the silence. Neither of them had spoken after Noelle promised to explain the situation as soon as they were seated, yet, had said nothing up until this point. “Are you going to start explaining or should I start questioning?”“I…I'll explain.” Noelle said with a sigh. Taking a few seconds, she thought of the best and easiest way to explain this, but realized, there was no way. So, she went straight for it. “This…this is Wallace. Wallace Castellano.” She introduced.The male in question, flashed a friendly smile, accompanied by a nod of acknowledgement and did nothing else. However, he didn't need to. Even when he sat beside Noelle, looking all composed and aristocratic, he still managed to give off a
The first visitor to drop by, although unexpected, wasn't as unpleasant as the second one.With a scowl on her face, Noelle didn't think twice to try and slam the door in the face of her ex, scumbag boyfriend, the moment she opened it and saw he was the one standing there.“Noelle,” Unfortunately, Jason had more strength than she did, and found it fairly easy to pry the door open before it closed shut. With the same strength, he held it open, preventing Noelle from doing the same thing.“Don't you dare slam the door in my face. We have to talk.”“Like hell we do,” Noelle sassed, pulling harder on the door to shut it, despite the obvious fact that her strength couldn't outmatch his. “I have nothing to talk to you about, Jason. Now, while I'm asking nicely, get your fucking hand off my door and do yourself a favor, by never showing up in front of me, ever again!”“That's not going to happen until you answer me. I have questions and you're going to answer them.” Saying this, Jason too
Surprise washed over Noelle's entire expression as she looked at the man in front of her.For a second, she was speechless. “How…why are you here?” She eventually asked.“I heard what happened with my mother,” Wallace started. The sound of his voice was surprisingly smooth and when he stepped forward, Noelle realized that she did not take a step back.Instead, she stared, trying to understand what he had just said…meant. He heard what happened with his mother - the incident at the bridal fit- so he came all the way here.To what, check up on her? The possibility of that made Noelle's stomach do a weird flip that she did not like.Suddenly, the feeling of a cold hand against her cheek pulled her out of her thoughts. Only after blinking a couple of times, did she realize Wallace was now standing in front of her with his hand placed on her cheek.Her reaction was immediate. She flinched and took a few steps back, staring up at him, in surprise.“What-” The question began forming on her
The ‘dinner’ was already in full swing by the time Wallace walked in. The large wooden dining table, the very same one he recalled having enjoyed dinner at when he was younger, was decorated from top to bottom with different varieties of food, and at the head of the table, sat his mother.Composed as usual and dressed in fine and neat material. Her eyes followed him as he entered and took his seat by the other end of the table, as far away from her as possible.Silence settled between them for what felt like the longest time. The staffs at the back of the room, although used to interaction like this from mother and son, couldn't help but feel anxious and misplaced, occasionally glancing at each other, but not daring to speak a word.Thankfully, Wallace was quick to break the silence, relieving them of their silent suffering. “I’m sure we both have better things to do than sitting around a table and pretending to have mother-son time. Let's make this quick, shall we?” His words made
Walking out of her mother's room, Noelle gasped in surprise when she nearly ran into a tall figure standing in front of the room.“C-Caiden,” The name rolled off her lips with relief as she looked up and met the eyes of her close friend, former neighbor and now, her mother's doctor.The male smiles down at her. The gesture highlighted his dimples and made his golden eyes crease ever so slightly.“Did I startle you, Noel?” He asked softly and Noelle shook her head, feeling her heart return to its normal pace at the sound of his soothing and familiar voice.“No, you didn't.” She flashed him a smile of her own before pointing towards her mother's room. “Are you here for a checkup?”Caiden nodded.“How is she?” Noelle asked. Although Jane had told her that her mother's condition was improving, she wanted to hear it directly from the doctor monitoring her.“Compared to her condition last month, she's improved,” Caiden began, but when his brows furrowed, his expression falling a bit, Noell
The walk back to Mrs. Castellano’s car was far too quiet for Bianca's liking. Staring at the older woman's back as they approached the vehicle, she tried to figure out what she was thinking.Had Noelle's words had an impact on her? Impossible! Iris Castellano was not just anyone. Words like that meant nothing and had no effect on her. She had seen worse, been through worse. After all, one does not get into the Castellano family by mouth alone.However, it looked like Noelle was about to do exactly that. The thought made Bianca frown. Noelle wasn't worthy of such a position.She knew nothing about the Castellano family, unlike her. She hasn't been through the hardship and training she has been through. That position should and would be hers.“Mother,” At last, she called out to Mrs. Castellano as the older woman was about to enter her car. The close natured way at which she always calls the woman, seemed to lighten the mood. “You must be surprised.”“Surprise no, disappointed, yes. I