Kaleb I couldn't remain in place, not when I knew that Ayla was risking her life just to lure Roman. I was squirming in the passenger seat in my car in between the array of cars, looking at my watch, the window where I could see Ayla at her reserved table, and at the entrance where Roman was likely to drive through into the lot. We had resulted in hiring a male escort to be Ayla's fake date, even though the fake profile was mine, so as not to raise any suspicions, despite me being against the idea of another man. I watched as he walked in, my feet already itching to get out, stop the damn date, and walk out with Ayla. "Relax, man; the guy knows that there are limits. Ayla is safe," Dean spoke, leaning on the driver's seat. I watched as Ayla stood up, flashing a smile at the fake date. They had some type of short conversation before the man greeted Ayla, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. "That's it," I muttered, turning to open the door, only for Dean to grab my arm, stoppin
Ayla I bolted out of the vehicle faster than Kaleb could stop me, my emotions pushing me forward faster than I could think. My heart pounded in my chest, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered in that moment except getting closer to them—Arnold, my brother, and Danica, my former best friend. The two people at some point I thought I could trust more than anyone. They froze when they saw me, their argument dissolving into tense silence. I blinked rapidly, half convinced that my eyes were deceiving me, but how could I forget how my own brother looked? "Arnold?" I whispered in a thick barely audible voice, my steps faltering in front of them. "Ayla," he muttered, his gaze darting everywhere but at me. After years of silence, you’d think he’d at least look happy to see me. I didn’t know what to do first—hug him, slap him, or scream. Memories of surviving alone after our parents died and Uncle Rex… I shook my head, clearing the thought as Kaleb caught up to me. I couldn’t take my eyes o
KalebTwo weeks after Ayla had seen her brother with Danica, none of us had made a point to tell Roman. If anything, he deserved to be kept in the dark about Danica's extramarital affairs, just as he had done to Ayla. To some extent, he was getting what he truly deserved—a cheating fake wife.Seated in a high-end restaurant for dinner, I stared at my phone for the umpteenth time, holding it under the table, like I had been for two weeks. On the screen was Amanda's picture holding a roughly four- to almost-five-year-old boy. The caption under the picture in her chat was clear as day, written, 'Meet your son, Kaleb.' It was the same picture she had sent when Dean discovered that Ayla's phone was tapped."You seem distracted; is everything okay?" Ayla asked, making me snap my head up."Who, me?" I hesitated, hurrying to pick up the fork from my barely eaten food."Yes, for the last two weeks all you do is stare into space, barely finish your food, or even get work done in the office," sh
AylaI looked at my wristwatch, tapping my foot on the floor, then looked at the entrance door into the West Wing. I was all alone, waiting for Kaleb to come back from the office like he had said. There was a part of me that felt like he was hiding something from me, but I kept on brushing it off.When I was about to head for my phone in my bedroom to give him a call, there was a knock at the door. Since it was Kaleb's wing at the mansion, I wasn't expecting anyone, not even Marise, to come knocking. It couldn't have been Kaleb either, because he would have just opened the door."I know you're in there, Ayla; I saw you being dropped off by Kaleb earlier. I also know that you are alone because I saw him driving off." Came in Danica's voice, making me roll my eyes. Her voice alone was a reminder of my troubles, and I couldn't help but wonder what she wanted from me, especially 9 at night. I didn't want anything to do with her, so I stood to lock myself up in the bedroom when she spoke a
Kaleb"Did something happen yesterday while I was out?" I asked Ayla, looking at her closely. She had kept to herself the entire drive to the office, pretending to be on the phone."Nothing happened," she murmured, staring past me."Are you sure? You don't look okay to me. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I insisted, hoping that she hadn't discovered about Amanda and the child."I know, and I said nothing happened," she snapped, then turned and covered her face with her hands."Baby, calm down," I soothed, closing the distance between us and going around her counter. Her office was almost ready, and I couldn't wait for her to start handling bigger financial matters for the company."I want to be alone," she muttered as I pulled her out of her chair and wrapped my arms around her. She resisted for seconds before finally she settled and started shaking."You can tell me what's wrong when you are ready. But please come with me to my office; I can't leave you here looki
Ayla MarigoldI stood unmoving, my glistening burning eyes fixed on the text on my husband's phone screen. My left hand squeezed the pregnancy test kit in my palazo pants pocket, while I picked up the phone with my right hand.'Got home safely? I miss that dick already.' The clear words had my stomach churning, nausea rising up my throat. 'I swear I can't feel my legs.' Another one followed, making my trachea squeeze up."Oh god," I whispered in the empty bedroom, closing my eyes briefly. Every part of my body went on pause, my brain working to make a new connection. I could feel my head becoming heavy, so I leaned on the side of the headboard to steady myself. Just then my husband stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist. I gulped, my mind already painting a picture of him on top of another woman, pleasuring her. My hand trembled, attracting his eyes which fell on his phone in my hand. "What are you doing with my phone?" His voice was low as he approached, eyes burni
Chapter 2AylaI woke up to a series of doorbell rings, the sound worsening the thrumming headache behind my temples."Aaargh," I groaned, the repeated ding-dong sound getting on my nerves. I stumbled out of bed, brushing my hands over my heavy eye-lids. My legs were still weak and my head was spinning but I pushed myself downstairs."I'm coming," I weakly shouted over another bell ring, rubbing my temples. "Jesus Christ Ayla, what the fuck took you so long?" Roman's stepbrother stopped pacing seconds after I opened the door, looking at his wristwatch."What the hell Kaleb! This better be important," I responded, closing my eyes when the light had me feeling like someone was forcing stick hot needles inside them."Is this how you welcome me after months of not seeing me?" he mocked, while I rolled my eyes. He had been in another city, where he had established a new company and was required to stay there until it was stable. It was safe to say that I hadn't been around him much, so
Ayla"Please pick up," I muttered, tapping my foot on the rug in the living room, waiting for my best friend Danica to answer the phone. My mind was saturated from hours of thinking about Roman bringing another woman, that I really needed Danica's help. It took me long to finally decide to call her, because she was pregnant for her long time boyfriend and I didn't want to stress her. "The soup is ready honey. Do you want it here or at the dining?" Marise our nanny asked."I tol-"The sound of the front door stopped me mid-sentence, followed by the sound of high-heels on the tiles. I held my breath, realizing that Roman was not joking when he said he was going to bring home his woman. I hardly had time to react when they rounded the hallway, stepping inside the living room."Danica?" I stood up, my eyes falling on Roman's arm around my bestfriend's waist. I let out a forceful breath, an uncontrollable shudder sweeping through my entire body.I wanted to believe that she had been on h
Kaleb"Did something happen yesterday while I was out?" I asked Ayla, looking at her closely. She had kept to herself the entire drive to the office, pretending to be on the phone."Nothing happened," she murmured, staring past me."Are you sure? You don't look okay to me. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I insisted, hoping that she hadn't discovered about Amanda and the child."I know, and I said nothing happened," she snapped, then turned and covered her face with her hands."Baby, calm down," I soothed, closing the distance between us and going around her counter. Her office was almost ready, and I couldn't wait for her to start handling bigger financial matters for the company."I want to be alone," she muttered as I pulled her out of her chair and wrapped my arms around her. She resisted for seconds before finally she settled and started shaking."You can tell me what's wrong when you are ready. But please come with me to my office; I can't leave you here looki
AylaI looked at my wristwatch, tapping my foot on the floor, then looked at the entrance door into the West Wing. I was all alone, waiting for Kaleb to come back from the office like he had said. There was a part of me that felt like he was hiding something from me, but I kept on brushing it off.When I was about to head for my phone in my bedroom to give him a call, there was a knock at the door. Since it was Kaleb's wing at the mansion, I wasn't expecting anyone, not even Marise, to come knocking. It couldn't have been Kaleb either, because he would have just opened the door."I know you're in there, Ayla; I saw you being dropped off by Kaleb earlier. I also know that you are alone because I saw him driving off." Came in Danica's voice, making me roll my eyes. Her voice alone was a reminder of my troubles, and I couldn't help but wonder what she wanted from me, especially 9 at night. I didn't want anything to do with her, so I stood to lock myself up in the bedroom when she spoke a
KalebTwo weeks after Ayla had seen her brother with Danica, none of us had made a point to tell Roman. If anything, he deserved to be kept in the dark about Danica's extramarital affairs, just as he had done to Ayla. To some extent, he was getting what he truly deserved—a cheating fake wife.Seated in a high-end restaurant for dinner, I stared at my phone for the umpteenth time, holding it under the table, like I had been for two weeks. On the screen was Amanda's picture holding a roughly four- to almost-five-year-old boy. The caption under the picture in her chat was clear as day, written, 'Meet your son, Kaleb.' It was the same picture she had sent when Dean discovered that Ayla's phone was tapped."You seem distracted; is everything okay?" Ayla asked, making me snap my head up."Who, me?" I hesitated, hurrying to pick up the fork from my barely eaten food."Yes, for the last two weeks all you do is stare into space, barely finish your food, or even get work done in the office," sh
Ayla I bolted out of the vehicle faster than Kaleb could stop me, my emotions pushing me forward faster than I could think. My heart pounded in my chest, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered in that moment except getting closer to them—Arnold, my brother, and Danica, my former best friend. The two people at some point I thought I could trust more than anyone. They froze when they saw me, their argument dissolving into tense silence. I blinked rapidly, half convinced that my eyes were deceiving me, but how could I forget how my own brother looked? "Arnold?" I whispered in a thick barely audible voice, my steps faltering in front of them. "Ayla," he muttered, his gaze darting everywhere but at me. After years of silence, you’d think he’d at least look happy to see me. I didn’t know what to do first—hug him, slap him, or scream. Memories of surviving alone after our parents died and Uncle Rex… I shook my head, clearing the thought as Kaleb caught up to me. I couldn’t take my eyes o
Kaleb I couldn't remain in place, not when I knew that Ayla was risking her life just to lure Roman. I was squirming in the passenger seat in my car in between the array of cars, looking at my watch, the window where I could see Ayla at her reserved table, and at the entrance where Roman was likely to drive through into the lot. We had resulted in hiring a male escort to be Ayla's fake date, even though the fake profile was mine, so as not to raise any suspicions, despite me being against the idea of another man. I watched as he walked in, my feet already itching to get out, stop the damn date, and walk out with Ayla. "Relax, man; the guy knows that there are limits. Ayla is safe," Dean spoke, leaning on the driver's seat. I watched as Ayla stood up, flashing a smile at the fake date. They had some type of short conversation before the man greeted Ayla, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. "That's it," I muttered, turning to open the door, only for Dean to grab my arm, stoppin
Ayla"There's no way whatever software they are using could penetrate the security software used in Kaleb's computer," Dean explained, shaking his head, but my mind was on how I was going to confront Roman about his spying game."Ayla?" Kaleb called, placing his hand on my shoulder."Huh?" I jumped slightly, looking at him, his brows raised."I asked you a question," he stated, squinting his eyes. I could tell that he knew what I was thinking about but didn't want to address it with his best friend around."Do you remember the Securelink software we sold out to Chen's company?" Kaleb asked, pulling the chair for me to sit down again."Yes, it prevents their clients and their company from being hacked," I responded."It's the same software I use for my office devices. If someone were to attempt to even install anything, then I would get a notification via my phone. So I am confident that Randolf didn't access my computer." As Kaleb explained, I sat down but couldn't stop tapping my rig
Kaleb "So all that drama happened and you never thought to give me some of the tea?" Dean asked over the loud chatter in the company's cafeteria. "It happened too fast, man, and that's not even all," I added, looking around for any unwelcome listening ears. Since the clip, Ayla and I had upped our privacy game, staying alert and cautious at all times. "Well, I am listening," he said, lifting up his cup of coffee to take a sip. "I met Amanda in Florida, at the hotel that I was staying," I whispered, rotating my cup of coffee on the table. "Are you kidding me right now?" Dean shouted, drawing attention from other staff members to us. "I told you to keep it down. Come on, we are going to my office," I chastised, getting up that instant. "Come on, man, I just took my first sip," he whined, but got up anyway. "Silence in the elevator; I know it's still bugged," I warned again, hating the fact that I had to walk on eggshells in my own company. Dad could have never been more right on
Ayla"Easy, babe," I cried out as Kaleb rammed my pussy from behind with short yet powerful strokes."I told you I won't be gentle," he responded in between loud grunts, his fingers digging into my hips."Please," I panted, closing my eyes as he pulled out, leaving me feeling so empty."Don't you dare leave me frustrated like you did back at the office," I stated while turning around, breathing through my nose and mouth."Oh, I am just getting started, baby." He winked, and before I knew it, it swept me up bridal style."Where are you taking me?" I asked, clinging onto him, looking at his wet face. His brows were drawn together, his mouth slightly open as he walked out of the shower."Aren't you needy today?" I rolled my eyes at his words, yelping when he spanked me."On your back, baby," he instructed when he dropped me on the bed. I did as asked, my clit still throbbing."Fuck, I wish you could see yourself right now," he rasped, stroking his cock in a tempting manner, making me spr
Kaleb "That was awesome, babe! I swear I had forgotten we had mom's compromising clip," I said, the moment we got to my wing. Ayla didn't say a word; she went straight to her room without looking back. "Seriously, Ayla, after putting Roman and mom in their place, now you're ignoring me?" She dropped her purse on the dresser and walked into the bathroom. "Come on, baby, we should be celebrating right now," I added, following her before she could close the door on my face. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me," I insisted, putting my hands into my pockets and leaned against the door. I watched as she started unbuttoning her blouse through the mirror, exposing her boobs bit by bit. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she shrugged it off and unzipped her skirt. "Fuck," I swore under my breath as she pulled it up and removed it, revealing her lacy white panties, that matched with her bra. Damn, she was perfection, her body playing with my fucking control. As if teasing me, she unc