CHAPTER NINETEENHe was waiting for them, Lucien and Elizabeth could see he was angry. His eyes were ice cold and feet tapping rhythmically on the floor.“Hey bro” Lucien smiled upon entry, his eyes twinkling mischievously.“You are back.” Elizabeth breathed as she watched him.“I am and your phone is switched off.”“Yes, I went with Lucien and errr… he… we” Elizabeth stammered.“Relax brother, we decided to turn off our phones and eat out, it’s no big deal.”“No big deal? You had your tongue down my surrogate’s throat. Now if that is no big deal, I wonder what big deal is.” Jason explodedElizabeth gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth.He had seen them, somehow he had seen them“She is not yours to have” Lucien said quietly.“I asked you for one favor and that is to leave her the fuck alone but as you do every time, trying to undermine my fucking authority.”“Did you leave Cassandra alone when I asked you to.” Lucien said.Cassandra? Elizabeth thought.“So this is what this is abou
CHAPTER TWENTYElizabeth was dreadful about going to the hospital again and having the doctor probe her vagina and so she and Jason prolonged it for as long as they could.The news about herself and Lucien had long since died down much to her relief as they had not been spotted together since that day and Lucien had moved out of the house.It was just her and Jason which made her too self aware. Her skin tickled anything he was near and she was overly conscious of all of his movements. He had taken the week off; according to him, he realized he had been careless as to her welfare and would like to make up for it by been around her for the week.Elizabeth was happy about the decision for like two days until she could no longer bear to be in his presence without her eyes straying to his lips and her heart pounding when he looked at her for too long and it was as though he was doing it all the time.“You are staring again” she had told him one day while they were having breakfast.“Your
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE“Did you call him?” he asked her as they got down from the car“of course not, why would I do that. I have no idea why he is here.” She told him.They were walking In the direction of Lucien and he was watching them or at least watching her with hooded and intense eyes, non blinking.“Lucien” Jason said nodding in his direction.He nodded back but his eyes remained on her.“what are you doing here?” she asked, her breath hitching in her throat at the sight of him.“I wanted to see you, Elizabeth because I have missed you so much.”She could not respond… his words washed over her like waves crashing against its banks.Jason was watching her face, it was quite obvious that she was still besotted with his brother, she was looking at him like he was the last thing on earth she wanted to see but still there was some sort of sexual tension between them, like they could not get their hands off each other. He looked like a fool standing there and watching them eat each othe
CHAPTER TWENTY TWOIt had been a full week since her official non- official breakup with Lucien. Jason was being as polite as ever towards and which was totally infuriating and she was cranky. Elizabeth was never cranky but at the moment all she wanted to do was throw things and maybe break a plate or two but who was that helping except putting more work for the housekeeper who seemed really nice. She had made plans with Mara for today but that was cancelled because something came up at her workplace that needed urgent attention and Darren claimed to be busy with football practice and school, now that her mother was out of the house and in intensive care he had all the free time in the world.Elizabeth heard the door open and close, she could only guess that Agatha was going about her daily duties, cleaning up the house but it was Jason’s voice she heard filtering through. He walked to where she was sitting and nodded, not sparing her a glance.“you are back early” Elizabeth commented
CHAPTER TWENTY THREEThey were quiet on the ride home, It was pretty obvious that something had shifted between them, something that neither of them wanted to explore at the moment. Jason watched her from the side, wishing he knew what was going through her mind at the moment and if in their moment she had been thinking of Lucien. He knew how much he wanted her but he wasn’t sure if she had the same feelings towards him which was infuriating.“you seem deep in thought” she said breaking the silence.“I am driving Elizabeth, of course I want to focus.” He knew was lying and he was pretty sure she knew too.“about Taco… did you enjoy it?” she asked him.“I did strangely, I haven’t had street food in forever and the only reason I actually ate them in the past was because I was trying to rebel against my parents” he responded.“that must have been cute to watch, little rebellious Jason.” Elizabeth said and they both laughed.“Thank you, I needed the stress relief.” He told her.“I know an
CHAPTER TWENTY FOURElizabeth woke up with one of the most excruciating head ache of a lifetime and serves her right when she went ahead to drink so much knowing she could not handle it. She groaned unable to lift her body was the bed, it was that bad. The rapid pounding of her heart was the only movement being made as she lay there wondering how why she had taken so much wine.A knock on the door interrupts her fuzzy thoughts, she doesn’t answer not because she did not want to but because she could not get her mouth to work, her tongue felt really heavy and she could feel that she desperately wanted to throw up.“Elizabeth, it’s Jason. Are you up? I had Agatha make hangover soup for you.” He said softly.She groaned again, turning to her side and trying to get her legs to work properly. She finally managed to reach the door and open it, standing there like the world’s greatest earthquake happened in her room and managed to touch only her.“you look terrible.” He said, smiling and ent
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE“you are still blushing” Jason noted, offering a sitting Elizabeth, the glass of water he had gone to get.“thank you” she said; accepting the glass, her cheeks reddening again.“you do not need to feel embarrassed, it just happened and we are both responsible for it.” He said, taking a seat beside her.“I literally forced myself on you and I know you were only trying to humor me, I am really sorry. I have been doing a lot of apologies today.” She smiled awkwardly at him.“Elizabeth…” he called.“yes?” Elizabeth turned to him but did not get much response past her lips before he kissed her, lightly as if trying to gauge her reaction.Elizabeth opened her mouth, giving him access and moaned when his tongue swept inside her mouth to meet hers in a tug of war.Jason was kissing her like his life depended on it and he was sure it did, she tasted like sin and everything absolutely forbidden and all he wants is to drown and never recover. A groan escape his throat at the
JASON“Congratulations Mr. Rodrigues, your girlfriend is indeed pregnant.” The doctor tells me, a smile on his face.I am shocked to say the least and do not say anything for a long while. Elizabeth is really quiet and sitting up on the bed with a lost expression on her face, no doubt in the same shock I am over the news. We had signed a contract that she is to get pregnant and bear my child and in return I am to take care of her mother’s bills and pay for her services but I do not expect that she will take in so soon and just when we are finally getting along after the whole fiasco with my brother Lucien who thank God is far away from us right now.“if you would excuse us, I need to speak with my err… girlfriend privately.” I say.The doctor nods once give us the room. Elizabeth has still not said anything and I am also at loss on what to say to her at the moment, my child is growing in her and that is a whole new experience for us.“Elizabeth” I begin, watching as her eyes come up t
CAMILLAAfter the previous day encounter and the kiss… I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on the same team with Nathan.In all honesty, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted.My lips still tingled from the memory of Nathan’s kiss, and yet, the feeling did NOT settle in the way I expected. It wasn’t the passionate rush of desire or the warmth of something more. No, it was an unsettled ache, a reminder that whatever this was between us was anything but simple.I stared at the ceiling, my mind spinning in a hundred different directions. My thoughts kept circling back to that kiss.Why had he gone and kissed me?The last thing I needed was to get caught up in Nathan’s mess, in whatever internal struggle he was going through. I could not afford to lose myself in him. Not again. He had kissed me, and now I had to decide whether to let it go or pull back before things went any further.I dragged myself out of bed, staring at the clock—7:00 AM. My meeting with Nathan was at 9:00, but I had a hundred t
NATHANI was stalling.Her apartment had grown quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of a clock on the wall, but I stayed seated at her table, watching her stack dishes in the sink. My car was fixed. My excuse to linger here was gone. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to leave.She moved with a confidence that was uniquely Camilla. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone…least of all me…but damn, she did. I traced the curve of her spine with my eyes as she walked back into the living room, her bare feet soft against the floorboards.I should have been thinking about Eleanor. About Trish. About Alicent. About the cold-blooded satisfaction I would feel when the truth about Eleanor’s death finally saw the light of day. But all I could think about was how Camilla and how I should be apologizing to her.“You’re awfully quiet,” she said, sitting across from me, tilting her head to study me.“I have been accused of worse.”She rolled her eyes. “You are always like this. Mysterious and brooding. You wou
CAMILLA “Good morning.” I started at him, unsure of exactly what I was looking at. Then it hit me: the smell. Warm and savory, the scent of something cooking drifted through the air…eggs, maybe toast. It was so out of place… he was out of place here. I moved, the motion sending a fresh wave of pain through my skull and a queasiness to my stomach. I groaned again, slower this time, trying to steady myself. “Morning,” I mumbled hoarsely, my voice barely more than a croak. He was standing by the stove, his back to me, a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. His shirt was untucked, the fabric clinging to his broad shoulders in a way that made him seem even larger than usual. In my tiny kitchen, he looked impossibly big, like he didn’t belong there, yet somehow…he fit. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice weak but laced with confusion. Nathan glanced over his shoulder, his profile catching the morning light. His hair was a little messy, like he hadn’t bothered t
CAMILLAIt was useless feeling sorry for myself, I thought.The lighting in the club was low as I stepped in with my friend, Bella.“Not bad” I murmured.“Told you” She responded triumphantly. “This is what you need to get over him. Nathan Clark is an asshole and should dump him in the dust where he belongs”I wanted to correct her that he wasn’t an asshole, he was merely disturbed but I did not.I was not here to sympathize with him or even think about him. I was here to have fun and that is what I am going to do.I was putting on a red dress and it complimented my eyes way more than I thought it would.“Come on, we should get a drink” Bella pulled me to the bar.The bartender winked at both of us and then asked what we would likeIt was at the tip of my tongue to say nothing but I was at a club, wasn’t I?“Sex on the beach” I announced.Bella turned to me, surprise in her eyes. I was pretty sure she thought she would have to force me to drink.“I would have the same” She told the ma
NATHANThere was nothing to say as I dropped Camilla off at her home.I waited until I was sure she had gotten in before I headed in the direction of my mother in law’s house.I pushed in Christian’s number, my teeth gritting as it rang.I was furious.I did not want to admit I was more furious at myself than anything.“How did your date go?” Christian’s asked as soon as the phone line clicked.“Send me the name of the witness” I grunted.“What is wrong?”“Send the name, dammit”“You need to calm down, Nathan. Where are you going?”“To settle this once and for all” I told him. “Now send the damned number to me”I hung up before he had the chance to say anything or convince me to back away because I would not.I drove way above the speed limit, stopping only when I had gotten to the mansion’s gate.It brought back memories of family dinners where I had to defend Eleanor over and over again. Where snide remarks about the reason I was with her reached my ears and she said nothing about
CAMILLA“I did not think I was ever going to see you again, Camilla” Sarah smiled as soon as I entered the restaurant.She wagged a finger in Nathan’s direction, shaking her head at him.“With the kind of food you sell? I will be coming in here for a very long time” I smiled back.Nathan and I took our seats and waited.She had a queue as usual and I could not help the smile as I glanced around.“You would have watched your father kill me” Nathan commented.“I admit that would have made me feel better for a bit” I told him.He appeared shocked but I could tell from the way his eyes twinkled with delight that he thought it hilarious.I had not expected he would go over to my parent’s house especially seeing as I wasn’t there in the first place.My father however had called me when he arrived with a gun to his head and asked if I wanted to see him. I had hesitated just for the fun of it“I deserved that”“Yes you did” I agreed.“Thank you for coming here with me”I nodded once.Sarah dr
NATHANI was pacing like a fucking clown.I was expecting Camilla at the office today to discuss the project that we were involved in together and I could not help the restlessness coursing through my body.I wasn’t one to be this nervous about anything.“Deep breaths” I told myself, trying to go along with my instructions but to no avail.So much so that when my receptionist announced her presence, I had worked myself into a frenzy.My breath caught in my throat as she walked in, her eyes taking the room before settling on me with stark clarity.What had I been thinking? I thought.Starved of attention?Who was the blithering idiot now?“You look well” She commented, taking the seat in front of me.“You look beautiful” I murmured.She paused, her eyes meeting mine.Sparks flew, that was for sure.“How do you feel?” She asked instead.“Much better. Thank you for attending to me yesterday. For even accepting the phone call from me”“Of course, I am not a demon even though I do hate you
CAMILLAI stared at my ringing phone with Nathan displayed boldly as the callers ID.What the fuck did he want?I however put it to my ear, my heart jumping at the sound of his voice“Camilla, I know you can hear me” He rasped“What do you want?” I asked.“To talk” He answered.His voice appeared tortured… like there was something wrong with him and for a minute I was concerned before my head overrode my stupidity.“Concerning the project-” I began“Not concerning the-” He sighed, his voice trailing off.“I need you” He muttered softly that if I had not been paying attention, I would have missed that simple statement.“Mr Clark” I stopped when I heard his labored breathing.“Is something wrong with you?”“No, its nothing… I just need to speak with you”“Nathan, what is the matter? You sound distressed”He chuckled and then I heard him cough in the background“You are not concerned about me now, are you?”“This is not a joke, what is wrong with you?” I asked again, feeling panicky.He
CAMILLAMy father drove us straight to the house and I did not argue nor say anything when we arrived and my mother enveloped me in a hug.“Oh baby” She crooned.“I am okay” I reassured her“Come on in”I inhaled the familiar scent of home, my muscles relaxing.“I am going to bed” I announced.Their words fell over themselves as they agreed immediately to my request.My eyes closed as soon as I fell on the bed. I did not want to think of anything, I did not want to begin to analyze the anger in my heart directed at one person in particular.When I finally opened my eyes, it was noon.I made my way downstairs and was met with the searching eyes of both my parents.“Are you okay, baby?” My mother asked.I took a seat beside them.“I am not some fragile child you have to be worried about always, mother” I said.“You are my child and I have every reason to be worried about you” she countered.“I am going to be fine” I told her.My father said nothing but I turned to him anyways.“I have d