ELOISE'S POV.
I felt a wave of nausea just by sitting with these people.
“Excuse me.” I blurt out and my legs start carrying me out of the dining room before I lose my temper and do something I'll regret.
“Wow, now she just left the table when everyone’s not finished? Klein, this is exactly what happens when you don’t discipline your woman!” Mrs Wesley’s nonsense keeps ringing in the back. I only stop walking when I'm out in the building premises.
My heart is as heavy as a rock. I'm taking in short, shallow breaths to try and steady my raging heartbeats and I'm blinking many times to stop the tears burning in my eyes from spilling down.
How did I let my life become like this?
“Eloise!”
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
“Eloise.” He calls yet again in his cool tone. Sighing heavily, I snap my eyes open and his face comes to view. He looks calm and collected as always.
“Yes.” I answer dryly.
“What was that about?”
“What exactly?”
“Throwing your cutleries and walking out on everyone. That was uncalled for.” His accusing words are accompanied by an ice-cold look in his eyes. A look that sends shivers down my spine, but I don't let myself falter.
“Klein.” I
“I have already asked her to stop, walking out on everyone like that would just give her another excuse to come after you.” I stare at him blankly, completely speechless.
“Cut the crap, Klein, you know the reason for my mood isn't only about your mother's insults. Where were you last night?”
“I already told you something came up.”
“Darn it, Klein! Am I a fool to you? You were with a freaking woman last night! You were drunk. Both of you went to a hotel together. And now you stand here and tell me “something” came up! Is it a norm for you to go to the hotel with other women?”
“How did you find out about that?”
I stare at him in disbelief.
“Is that all you have to say?” I ask, fuming with rage. How can someone say such a shameless thing with a straight face? “Let me tell you how I found out. I heard that btch’s voice through the call. She freaking picked it up just to let me know she was with you. And your photos with her in the hotel are all over the Internet! See how I knew about it?”
Klein stares at me with a blank expression and releases a small sigh.
“If you are referring to Jasmine, she’s just an old friend of mine and I’d appreciate it if you addressed her with respect. And for the pictures, show me the link.” He says in his usual cool tone and I scoff.
“You don’t even think that’s a problem, so why bother to look at the pictures?”
“ELOISE, SHOW ME THE LINK!” His cold and firm tone makes me jump in fright and I quickly hand over the phone to him. I take a step back and silence stretches through the atmosphere as I watch him scroll through my phone for a while before handing it back to me. When I check the screen, I notice he has forwarded the link to his number in my phone. I look up at him.
“Pictures like this will cause scandals and damage the Group’s reputation. Also, Grandpa’s health is not in the best condition right now so we can’t let this reach to him. I’ve asked Logan to take care of this.” He explains coldly, staring at me as though that’s the best thing he could say to me in this situation. I cross my arms over my breasts and scoff in derision.
“I can’t believe you just said that to my face. How about you leave things as they are and tell the world you are sleeping with another woman? Don’t bother, I’ll still call you a man and if she’s the one you want. All you have to do is tell me and I will quit. Just don’t treat me like a fool!”
“Eloise.” He calls and inches closer, his eyes zeroed on me. I look away with a huff. “Yesterday, Morgan organized a small party with a few other friends since Jasmine just returned to the country. It was like a welcome back party for her. I drank, got drunk, so they sent me to Morgan's hotel. That’s all. Nothing else happened.” He explains calmly and I look back at him with a deep scowl on my face.
“And why should I believe you?”
“I can ask Logan to find all the security footage at the time I was at the hotel last night, if that’s what you want.” He says, his gaze never leaving my face and the sincerity shimmers in his eyes .
“Eloise, I'm sorry I didn’t make it home yesterday.” His apology takes me off-guard. My stomach does a flip as I look back at him. His cold mask has disappeared and he actually looks remorseful. That makes my heart swell with emotions. “I didn’t know you’d remember my birthday. I didn’t remember it myself.”
A fleeting frown touches my face.
We’ve been married for three years, how on earth would I not remember such an important day of his life?
"Of course I did." I say in a small voice and pout my lips.
“You’ve been too uptight and stressed lately and you need to relax. I’ll take you out on a fancy dinner in two weeks’ time. Just you and me, how does that sound?” He tilts his head and gives me a playful look. Surprise spreads through me like a raging river.
It sounds absolutely riveting!
He knows how to make my insides melt from a sentence.
Taking me out for dinner is something he hardly ever did! My heart is thrumming with happiness, but I mask it with a frown.
“I will check my schedule and let you know if I’m
“Right. You do that.”
“Listen,” I said sternly with determination, “I'll let it go this time. But if I do find you cheating on me, I won’t hold back.”
“I won’t do such thing.”
Before we can say anything more, Klein’s ringtone starts blasting and he looks down at the screen for a split second before turning to me again. “One minute, please.” He walks a few meters away before answering the call and from his knitted brows, I can tell it’s something important. Probably work related.
I patiently wait for him to finish the call and once he does, he returns and a heavy sigh escapes his
“Unfortunately, I have to go back to the office now, but I can give you a ride home before doing that. Are you coming with me?”
“Well…” I hesitate. I don’t think all doubts have been cleared yet, and I can’t pretend we are back on good terms already, but the sincere look in his eyes gives me hope. “I think I’m good. I’ll go home later with the driver.”
“Are you sure?” He asks, concerned and I give him a small nod. “Alright then, see you later.” Shock fills my entire being when he gently strokes my hair and gives me a forehead kiss before heading to his car.
That completely caught me off guard and now I’m blushing and at the same time, fighting the urge to feel happy about it.
I am still angry with him, darn it. I shouldn’t be this pathetic.
ELOISE’S POV.I’m still in shock as I watch Klein’s car drive out of the premises. Suddenly, my phone vibrates again and I notice that I hadn't realized messages and phone calls were coming in like floods from Maeve.I quickly unlock the phone and go through the messages.“What annoys me the most is the fact that Klein didn't even try to be cautious about his affair! He just shoved it in your face. Such disrespect!!”I can feel her rage in her words. I won't be surprised if there was smoke coming out of her ears when she was typing this. Maeve always treats my problems like they were hers. She'd get so upset, I would be the one to beg her to calm down.“I asked Klein and he said she was just his friend.” I write back to her and seconds later, she starts typing. Soon, her message comes in again.“Girl!! Do you hear what you are saying?? Don’t fall for men's lies!! They NEVER forget the ones they didn’t end up with . You gotta keep an eye on that chick. I swear she's after your man!”A
ELOISE'S POV.I can't believe she has the nerve to sit in front of me and smile.What I can't believe the most is the fact that Klein let her in here.God, I'm trembling with rage. I want to lay my hands on any part of her body right now. Her hair and her face seem like the best options. But I know better than to do that. So, I snap my eyes shut and release a low, ragged breath, willing myself to stay calm.If I do anything outrageous, I’d be stepping right into the trap she has set for me.“Good morning, Eloise.” She greets in the warmest tone as she rises to her feet and faces me.She knows my name already. She’s prepared.“Good morning.” I greet back in a dry tone, eyeing her from head to toe. “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself. And you are…?” I wear my best fake smile.“Jasmine.” Her smile widens. “Finally, I get to meet the girl who makes so many girls jealous. It's an honour.”I scoff in derision.She's not wrong though. When my engagement with Klein was announced, the in
ELOISE’S POV.The world is fading in and out of focus, shades of grey. My mind is being tortured with the memory of the incident that took place in my husband’s office a while ago. Klein walked into his office and saw that two women were lying on the floor probably hurt and there was blood all over and he chose to rush over to check on the woman whom he claims to be his long-time friend and not me, his wife. As if that was not enough, he scolded me and asked his personal assistant to bring me to the hospital while he personally took the so-called friend of his to the hospital.I’m beginning to doubt everything he said to me that night at his parent’s house.Did nothing really happen between him and the girl at the hotel? He was drunk and I clearly recall that when I called, she was the one who answered his phone. The brief conversation I overheard between her and Morgan was spine chilling. He said something about her arrival rekindling old feelings or something of that sort. It felt
THIRD PERSON’S POV.“How are you feeling now?” Klein asked Jasmine who was lying on the hospital bed.“A lot better.” She calmly responded and Klein, who was sitting on a chair by her bedside, leaned forward and gently placed his palm on her forehead to check if she was running a fever. But she wasn’t. Her body temperature felt normal so he calmly retracted his hand and nodded his head.“Your temperature is normal. That’s a good sign.” He calmly remarked and she nodded in agreement. “Yeah.” A few minutes later, the door opened and a middle-aged man dressed in a white overall walked into the ward and Jasmine slowly sat upright.“Miss Bradford, your test results came in.” The doctor announced and both Klein and Jasmine shot him expectant looks. “Fortunately, there’s nothing wrong with you. You were probably shocked by the accident and that’s why your blood pressure spiked, but everything is fine with you now. All you need is rest.”“Oh…” Jasmine exclaimed in a small voice and a tiny s
ELOISE’S POV.“Come in.” I signal when a gentle knock sounds on the room door. Immediately, the door is pushed open and a maid in uniform steps in.“Good evening, Mrs. Wesley.” She greets formally and makes her way over to the bed where I’m seated.“Good evening, Sophia.” I greet, not sparing her a glance because I know exactly why she’s here.“Ma’am it’s already ten pm and you still haven’t had dinner. You need to eat to be able to take your medication. Please.”I heave out a frustrated sigh and curse Logan under my breath. When he brought me home from the hospital, he completely went overboard by rallying all the household servants and telling them I was unwell and needed proper care and attention and since then, I have not rested. They keep checking up on me every now and then. A few of them even ganged up and bathed me because they didn’t want me wetting my wound.It’s a sweet gesture from my home employees and it proves how much they care about me, but right now, I’m too angry an
ELOISE’S POV.About thirty minutes later, Klein walks out of our closet dressed in pajamas, his hair wet and ruffled with a few strands sticking down his face. As he approaches the bed where I’m sitting, I tear my gaze away from his body and plaster on the wall far ahead of me. If I stare at him too much, his handsome face and hot body will cajole me into letting go of the anger burning in my chest. I’m still very mad at him.First, he has blatantly refused to explain in detail why he owes his life to Jasmine. Second, he looked me in my eyes and called me a nagging wife and lastly, he hasn’t apologized for abandoning me today even though I was hurt. He sees absolutely nothing wrong in the fact that he took Jasmine to the hospital and not me, his wife. What an insensitive prick!“Eloise.” His deep voice sounds my name and I turn to face him even though I don’t want to. “Would you like to go downstairs for dinner or would rather it be served here?”“I said I’m not hungry.” I snap and lo
ELOISE’S POV.“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or sarcastic right now, Eloise.”“I’m being very serious. Does she qualify for the position as Director of Production of PHOROMA?” I ask, my voice sounding a lot more intense. I watch him chew the food in his mouth and swallow. A silent breath follows before he meets my gaze again.“What do you think?” I angrily slam my spoon against my plate and shoot him a heated glare.“Just answer the damn question, Klein. I don’t have time for your mind games tonight.”He looks at me long and hard, probably finding it hard to believe that I just used that tone on him.“You must have lost it if you think I’d hire someone without the right qualifications for such a vital position in the company.”“I thought there was going to be a vote or even if you had to appoint, you’d pick someone in the company. Someone who’s already versed with all the affairs of PHOROMA, and WESLEY Co. as a whole.” When I’m done talking, he gently drops his fork on his plat
CHAPTER ELEVEN.ELOISE’S POV.“Eloise.” Klein’s gentle voice calls and I instantly spin around to see him see him standing by the doorway of the closet, draped in an immaculate white dressing rob, looking as hot and pristine as he always does after his morning shower.Ugh! I will never get used to the way his hair gets all ruffled and spiky when it’s wet. One day, I will let my intrusive thoughts win and thread my fingers through his hair. He’s going go stiff with shock and scold me in annoyance, but I will not care.“You have no business picking out my outfit with a hurt palm. I thought I asked Cassandra to do this.” He protests and I walk over to the closet island by his own section of the closet where I lay the suit jacket I’m holding together with the trouser and shirt and other accessories I’ve picked out for him. I do a quick scan of everything he’s to wear to work today and smile in satisfaction.Klein could restrict me for doing everything for him, but not this. Not once has he
ELOISE’S POV.That’s a warning which I take very seriously. In the next five seconds I am sitting on his thighs and he’s smiling at me as though I just did the most amazing thing ever.I can feel my blood pressure rising very rapidly. I am going to die of a heart attack one of these days and it will be all his fault.Adrenaline spreads through my body like poison when I feel him slide his arms under my knees and rises from the couch along with me. He stands on his feet, with me, bridal style in his arms, staring at him with a mortified expression.“What… what are you doing?” I am genuinely scared. He starts walking towards the bedroom and if he wasn’t my husband, I would be screaming by now.“I think we’ve done enough talking for tonight. It’s about time we did something else, don’t you think?” He kicks the room door open and steps into it.That was not necessary.“And, what is that “something else” we are going to do?” I ask with a shaky voice as he gently lowers me onto the bed and
ELOISE’S POV.“Is this where we’ll be eating?” I ask Klein as we both head over to the sitting area of the living room where dinner has been set on the center table.“Eating on the dinning table feels too formal. I want us to have a casual, fun dinner, that’s why I asked the staff to set our meals here.” He calmly explains and my smiles grows wider.Indeed, eating on the dinning feels too formal. It’s like eating at a dinner party with all his business associates and I only ever play with my food during those dinners. I’m happy he did this instead.“I hope you like it.” Concern flashes in his eyes as he eagerly inquires and my heart melts completely. He’s so considerate, it makes me want to hug and kiss him right now.“It’s perfect. I love the idea of a fun and casual dinner.” I say with a smile that nearly splits my face into to halves.“Cool.” He says, taking a seat on a couch while I go over to the one opposite his and sit on it. When my gaze meets his again, the frown on his face
JASMINE’S POV.“Klein!” I almost scream in relief the moment the call connects. I shoot his mother, who’s sitting beside me, an excited grin which she reciprocates before I turn back to focus on the call.“Hello Jasmine.” The sound of his deep, gravelly voice calling my name almost makes me moan. This is the voice Eloise wants to have all to herself for the rest of her life. I’m only going to let that happen over my dead body. Klein will be mine! It’s just a matter of time.“Klein…” I call yet again, this time around in a softer tone. “You’ve been ignoring my calls." I say in such a small voice that it almost makes me sound like I’m crying. I hear him let out a small sigh on the other end of the phone. I know I frustrate him with my shenanigans, but I’m his Jasmine. He could never grow tired of me. Ever!“Jasmine, where is this coming from?”“You still haven’t come to check up on me even after knowing that I’m not feeling too well.” I say pouting.“I haven’t done that yet because I’ve
ELOISE’S POV.“No way!” I exclaim in disbelief the moment the car is opened and I take a peek of the premises. Excitement is coursing through my veins like a raging river as I step out of the car and ogle the surroundings. It’s dark, but I know exactly where we are.Unbelievable!This is unbelievable!When Klein refused to disclose our vacation destination and called it a surprise every time I asked, I had no idea it would be this. I knew he was going to take me to some exotic sight-seeing facility somewhere out of the country. I did not expect this man to bring me to my favorite recreational spot here in the country. My father used to bring me all the time since I was little and even before I married Klein, this was my to-go spot when I needed some time away from the world and its harsh realities.“Do you like it?” Klein asks, stopping beside me.“Like it? I love it! How… How did you know about this place? The smile on your face tells me you were expecting me to react this way. How d
ELOISE’S POV.“Eloise, I cannot believe you made me stay on call with you as you shaved intimate parts of your body and showered." Maeve laments over the phone.“Don’t be such a drama queen, Maeve. We both know each other’s naked bodies as well as we know ours and we’ve done worse than shaving together at the same time. This is nothing.”“Yeah, that was when you didn’t belong to someone else.”“I don’t belong to anyone. I belong to myself!” I argue and I know she just rolled her eyes on the other end.“Yeah, right. I dare you to say that to the hearing of Klein Reece Wesley.”“You’re a nutcase.”“Yeah, whatever. Just make sure not to be shy when the time comes for you to seduce your man. After all this torture you’ve put me through, I will be expecting some juicy details on how your first vacation night with your husband was spent.”“Eww! I will not discuss my sex life with you.” She snorts.“Says the girl who rang my phone at three am in the morning after losing her virginity to her
ELOISE’S POV.“Welcome home, Mrs. Wesley.” The butler greets me as I step into the living room and hand her my stuff to take upstairs. “Thank you.” I say and she leaves. As I walk further into the room, my phone starts ringing and a smile forms on my face when I check the caller ID and see that it’s Maeve calling. I instantly answer the call and press the phone against my ear. “Yes Ma’am.”“Ah yeah! Her voice sounds like honey now because she’s about to go on a vacation with her husband.” Maeve taunts and I burst into laughter as I resume my walk towards the staircase.“Is that jealousy I sense in your tone?” I ask playfully and she scoffs.“Jealousy my ass. There’s no way I would be jealous of a married woman. Do you have any idea how much freedom I have as a single woman? Plus, I don’t have an old witch called a mother-in-law breathing fire down my neck every time she sets her eyes on me.” She fires back and my laughter intensifies. She’s right.If there’s anyone who should be jea
ELOISE POV.“Mrs. Wesley.” A voice calls through and I look up from my computer and my gaze meets Nadine who is standing before my cubicle in a very professional manner. “It’s nine thirty am.” She quietly announces and I look at my watch to confirm and it’s indeed, nine thirty am. I flash her a small smile.“Thank you, Nadine.” I say and turn to Kacey who is typing away on his laptop. “Kacey.” He looks at me. “Are you done proofreading the complaint I sent to you?” I ask, rising to my feet and stepping out of my cubicle and he does the same. We both meet at the center of the office where he hands me a brown envelope and I stare at him with creased brows, utterly confused.“It’s been proofread and printed. You just have to give the order and I will have it submitted for you.” He says, stretching his hand again for me to hand him the envelope back, but I hold it behind me and shake my head.I only asked him to proofread it, but Kacey being the sweet and helpful person he is, has proofre
ELOISE’S POV.The sound of the smack reverberates like a gunshot throughout the living room, sending shockwaves down my spine that almost render me crippled. My head stays in the bent position and when I struggle to open my eyes again, all I see is shiny little stars twinkling in the darkness before me. It takes a few bats of my eyelids before my vision starts clearing up again.“Mother!” Klein thunders as places a protective hand over my shoulder and gently pushes me to stand behind him. “What the hell did you just do?” He sounds very angry, but his mother doesn’t even flinch. My hand is carefully massaging the stinging spot she just assaulted and I’m actually surprised by the fact that I haven’t burst into tears yet and I’m not even feeling as to do that. I am angry and if looks could kill, my mother-in-law would be six feet right now.“I just smacked some sense into her. I hope it settles in that thick head of hers and that she learns to use it from now on.” She fires and I suck in
ELOISE’S POV.“Why do you seem so shocked?” He asks with a small smile and his voice sounds like his throat is coated with honey.“I uh…” I croak. “I’m not shocked, I’m just… I’m just surprised because this has never happened before. That’s all.”“Surprised.” He mumbles as he comes closer to me and only stops when we are a few inches away from each other. We are standing way too close to each other and it’s getting me embarrassed because we are not alone in this room, but he doesn’t seem to care about that. Shannelle and Nadine will not let me rest with this particular act of his until this month runs out. “If you’re surprised by the fact that I’m coming to take you home from your office, that means I have not been doing a very good job as your husband. I will start doing this more often so you get used to it.”“No.” I quickly deny, shaking my head. “You don’t have to do that. We can always meet in the parking lot like we always do. I’m satisfied with that plan.” I try to explain and