Winnie. Today was supposed to be the grand opening of my bakery, but I could just go ahead and forget all about that. Apparently, I didn't have a building, not the bakery and not the apartment above it, just a really costly oven that was currently sitting pretty in a building that I had no rights to and was generating interest every second that went by. My dream had always been to run a pastry shop. I'd started messing around with flour and butter even before I was five. Watching my grandmother create so many wonderful smelling things had kick-started my love for baking. She had taught me everything I knew and before she had died, she had made me promise that I'd own a bakery one day. I had gone to culinary school right out of high school and gotten a job afterwards at a small cafe that sold a minimal selection of baked goods. All the while, I had been on the lookout for the perfect space to run my own shop. Nothing had felt right, and for me who had always worked with intuit
Winnie. We stared at each other for what felt like hours but must have been only a few seconds. Just as the elevator doors made to shut, the man stepped forward and into the car, and then the doors slid shut. The space seemed suddenly small with him in it. I knew I was staring openly like a creep, but I couldn't look away from him. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life. Not only was he unfairly good looking, he was also wealthy. The gray three piece suit he wore looked expensive, and the way it fit to his trim frame had all the tells of a bespoke suit. The watch he wore on his right wrist was a shiny gold, big, heavy looking and probably worth more than what I made in three years. "You're staring." He sounded irritated. I looked away hurriedly. I would also be irritated if a stranger in the elevator gawked at me like I was some sort of alien. I sighed, irritated at myself too. I had more important things to worry about. I didn't have time to drool over th
Ares. I had never been one for impulsive decisions. In fact, it went against everything I stood for. The girl that stood in front of me was everything I was staunchly against and yet, my brain had decided that she was the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate to be my wife. Now, you may be wondering why I needed a wife, it all went back to my father and his mission to control my life even from the grave. I had just stepped out of a meeting with Jude Kerrigan, my childhood friend turned attorney. He had called me at dawn and demanded an urgent meeting. There were very few people in the world who could make that demand of me and Jude was one of them. Apparently, my father didn't think I was fit enough to be CEO of Masters Global. Hence, the stupid contingency that I had just found out about. Apparently I had to be married by my thirtieth birthday if I wanted to retain my position as the CEO. I was turning thirty in three days, which didn't give me a lot of time to explore my
Winnie. "Will you marry me?" He asked. There were a million words I imagined were about to come out of Ares Masters mouth. The most persistent thought I had had though was that he was about to proposition me for sex to which I was going to give him a very sound no and shame him for being such a creep. I was already having a shit day, the last thing I needed was for some man to start making gross attempts to get me into his moldy bed. I would never have imagined that this was what he was about to say though. Not even in my wildest dreams was this a possibility. "Excuse me?" I asked. I waited for him to laugh or brush it off, but his expression remained serious and determined. "I don't like to repeat myself, but I'll excuse you because you don't know any better. Will you marry me, Miss Hugh?" I let out a peal of deranged laughter. "Are you messing with me?" He didn't dignify the question with a response and I just knew that this man was dead serious. Or crazy. One of th
Winnie. The cheque burned a hole in my pocket as I hurried away from the building and it felt like everybody around could tell that I was carrying a super expensive cheque. Was it real? The question resounded in endless loops in my head. A big part of me said no, but a small, silly side kept on insisting that it was real. I hated being unsure and not like I had anywhere else to go. I was jobless and homeless, what would a detour to the bank hurt? And If I was truly carrying a real cheque for a million dollars, did that mean that I was going to agree to the crazy man's harebrained scheme? He could be into women trafficking for all I knew. Nobody in their right and clean mind offered all that money for marriage. What had he said his name was again.I dug out my phone and decided that Google was my best friend as of that moment. A quick Google search later and my mouth was on the ground. How hadn't I recognized the name? In my defence, I wasn't religious about following up with wo
Winnie. Contractual agreementI stood there motionless for a few seconds, with my hands shaky as I held my phone to my ears. My mind running around in circles wondering what response to give?I had just found myself in the middle of a financial crisis and crying about it, then suddenly meeting a billionaire, and getting right out of it the next second? I had to ask, was the universe just playing chess with my emotions? And having fun in just giving me mini heart attacks from time to time? Plus now, it was putting me in a position where I had to quickly make a decision. And one where I had no time to properly process my options. Like I even had any… “Are you there?” his rich voice suddenly boomed again from the other side of my phone.“Yeah, yes!…” I said, nodding my head, shocked out of my subconscious. “Uhm… I'll need some time to think to about it, I'll call you back when I decide…”“You don't have any options left. You've taken the money, and the only thing you can do is such a
Beaches of Normandy.Ares. I released a sigh in successful completion of another business deal. The only reason I wasn't even in the slightest bit what people described as happy was because it felt like a futile investment in its intrinsic sense. Throwing away a good million dollars just to milk a woman's emotion into staying with me felt useless. As I could have had her in less than an hour if I just decided to flirt with her for as much a minute…I hated having to do so much legwork for so little purpose. Yet at the back of my mind, I remembered the greater good it would do for me. Not necessarily her existence, but instead her image. Her standing next to me holding hands would surely send those who doubted me into a frenzy. And it was assured they would be even more suprised at how fast I could do it... In just less than three days left to my existential deadline? And the death of my dreams as well as everything I've ever worked hard for? Yet I pulled through and did what had to b
Winnie.Now, Winnie realized that this was no joke and decided to start preparing for her life ahead. She paid back the loan and bought back her bakery. She wanted to pay for the house but remembered Ares said they would live together during the period of the contract so she booked for a stay in a hotel instead.She decided to go shopping since she had to “wear something nice” for the outing. She smirked as she remembered his words.“Who does he think he is? I'll show him something nice alright”, Winnie muttered with a seductive smile on her face as she got to the shopping mall.She chose a fancy shopping mall since she could afford it this time around.“How many I help you miss?”, Winnie heard a young lady whom she assumed was an attendant ask. “I'm looking for the female section”, Winnie replied. “Alright, right this way miss”. Winnie followed her to where the female section was located and was happy with what she was seeing.There were pretty looking dresses everywhere that Winnie
THE PROPOSAL.Winnie.I couldn't believe what just happened. I began replaying everything over and over in my head again. It all began when I woke up and was preparing coffee. Ares went to the living room without greeting me and started watching the News. He suddenly called for me and I went to the living room to meet him.“Where did you go yesterday?” He asked me and I was just staring at him, trying to process what happened yesterday.“I asked you a fucking question!!” He yelled at me and I blinked with a surprised look on my face. Ok, I had definitely remembered now. Why is he asking me this suddenly and why didn't he go to work today?“I didn't go anywhere.” I replied as I sat down on the couch.“Alright then, let me be more specific. What did you go to do at the hospital yesterday?” He asked me. I was shocked as to how he found out about my visit to the hospital.“I went for a check up.” I replied, not meeting his gaze. I knew that I had promised not to lie to him but this situat
THE DIVORCE.Ares.I was in my office when I got a call from Adam, Winnifred's driver. I hope nothing happened to Winnifred. I picked up the call immediately.“Yes Adam, what is it?” I asked impatiently and he hesitated for a moment before replying.“Good afternoon sir. I wanted to inform you that your wife went to the hospital today”. He said and I immediately stood up from my seat.“Hospital? What happened to her? What was she doing there?!!” I thundered over the phone as I started getting ready to leave the office.“No no sir, nothing happened to her. She's fine. She said she wanted to go for a check up”. He said as I sighed in relief.“Why did you call me then?” I asked, calmer this time around.“I think she lied sir.” He said and that got me curious. “And what makes you think so?” I asked him again, curious to hear his response.“I just had the feeling that she was lying and when she came back from the hospital, she seemed lost. I kept on asking her what happened but she was jus
PREGNANCY?Winnie.I didn't know when I slept off but I found myself on the floor of my room when I woke up and I was feeling really tired. It took me minutes to stand up from the floor and when I finally got up, the whole room began to spin and I had to hold on to the wall close to me to prevent me from falling down.I wondered why I had started feeling dizzy all of a sudden but I couldn't seem to come up with an answer. My stomach started grumbling and I wanted to ignore it but it only got worse so I decided to pay attention to it.Since I was obviously really hungry, I went downstairs to find something to eat after the room had stopped spinning. When I got to the kitchen, I found a note on the counter addressed to me from Ares. It read…“I've gone to work, don't think I have run away again or that something happened to me. I'm perfectly fine and will be back in the evening.”I smiled after reading the note and for a second, I thought that things were back to normal but I woke up fr
BACK HOME.Ares.Winnifred had been calling me for sometime now but I didn't pick up. I'll just look at it ringing until it cuts. I knew she would be worried because I didn't tell her anything but I couldn't care less.By the way, why should she be worried? She can as well go and meet the guy that was flirting with her at her bakery earlier today and not bother about me. I'm sure that wouldn't be hard to do.She stopped calling for sometime then after a few minutes, Judy called and I picked up immediately.“Good morning sir, your wife said that you're not at home and she's been calling you but you're not picking her calls. She's been waiting for you to come back home.” Judy said over the phone and I paused a little before replying to him.“You can tell her not to bother waiting up for me as I won't be going back to that villa for sometime. I'm in one of my other houses and I don't want to see her either. I need space away from her. If that's all, I'll hang up now.” I said and immediat
WISHFUL THINKING.Judy.I was surprised seeing Winnifred's name as the caller ID when my phone began ringing by 1:00am. What could be the problem? I picked after the second ring and I was shocked by what she said.“Hello, I'm sorry for disturbing you but do you know if Ares is still at the office? He's not yet back and I've been calling him but he isn't picking my calls”. She said, clearly worried.“Ares didn't come to work today. Didn't he tell you? I'll try calling him and see if he picks up”. I told her as I yawned.“He didn't tell me. Well, I left for work before him so there was no way he would have told me. Alright please do and call me back if he picks your call”. She said and ended the call.Why didn't Ares tell his wife that he didn't go to work and most of all where could he be by this time? I decided to call him and I was surprised when he picked up immediately.“Good morning sir, your wife said that you're not at home and she's been calling you but you're not picking her c
THE BREAKDOWN.Winnie.I stayed awake all through the night waiting for Ares to return but he never did. I lay on his bed as I watched the sunrise and my heart was heavy. I decided to dial Judy's number again and luckily, it went through.“You never called to give me feedback.” I told him immediately he picked up the call.“I'm sorry about that, I just didn't know how to tell you.” He responded, his voice a little bit shaky.“How to tell me what?” I asked, more curious now.“When I called Ares, he said that he isn't coming back home so you shouldn't bother waiting up for him and that he needs space away from you.” Judy replied and my face fell immediately.“He isn't coming back? Did he say where he was and how long he'll stay there?” I asked again, my voice beginning to break up as I fought hard to control my tears.“He's in another of his apartments but he didn't say how long he'll stay there.” Judy responded.“Do you know that I stayed awake the whole night waiting to see if Ares wo
THE BIG DECISION.Ares.As I was driving, it all became clearer to me. All these changes I had been noticing concerning me. The way I was now calm towards her. I never wanted to see her sad. I never wanted anything that would hurt her. I always wanted to see her smile and happy.How did I let all these happen? Where is the cold hearted Ares that doesn't give a fuck about anybody's feelings? “Aaaarrrrrggggggggg”. I shouted after parking my car by the corner of the road. I wanted to throw and scatter something so badly but I couldn't do that. Instead, I slammed my hands on the steering wheel so hard that it hurt.When I had calmed down a little and was able to drive properly, I resumed driving. I definitely couldn't go to my company in this mood so I decided to go home.Home? I can't do that. I took another turn that led me away from my mansion. I had made a decision. I won't live under the same roof as Winnifred again. That way, I can avoid her with ease.This was what I'd have to do
CAUGHT IN THE ACT.Winnie.I sat down in my office as thoughts of last night flashed through my mind. I couldn't help the blush that crept up my face when I recalled all that had happened.From the surprise to the dinner to the sex in the pool to the continuous sex in his room, all were very memorable and I enjoyed every one of them. Last night was a really fun night.“Someone's here to see you ma”. I heard Anna say, bringing me back from my thoughts.“Who is the person? Did the person leave a name?” I asked, curious because I wasn't expecting anyone.“No ma, he just said he wanted to see the owner of the bakery”. She replied.“Alright, I'll be out shortly”. I told her and she left. Who could be looking for me? I guess I better go and find out then. I left my office and went to see who it was.When I came out of my office, I saw a handsome young man with very black hair and green eyes that reminded me of Ares. He looked like he was in his early thirties. Well he is good looking I'll g
SUCH A CUTE THING.Judy.I was still finding it hard to believe that Ares actually thought of something like this and helped in executing it. If not for the fact that I was there when it all happened, I wouldn't believe that the Ares I know would do something as romantic as this.I was really happy when he suggested the idea and I observed how joyful he was when he was picking out Winnifred's outfit. I don't think I had seen him that happy in a long while and to think that Winnifred was the source of his happiness warmed my heart.I hoped things continued this way without changing. I was also glad that Winnifred loved the surprise because her expression when the light lit up was priceless. My hard work paid off.They didn't even wait for dinner to be over or at least for me to go before they started their make out session. They started doing it right there in my presence.“Isn't it too early for that?”. I had told them when I couldn't take it anymore and they composed themselves. I ch