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2024-07-03 00:44:14Related chapters
The Bargain An arranged marriage
Racheal sat, stunned. She watched in horror, as Skylar seemed to be reliving her own horrible event from a few weeks ago. “What? You can't be serious.” Skylar said.“Do we look like clowns to you?” Danna Sherrod responded angrily. “Dad. I told you, I don't like men.” Skylar looked shattered. “How can you do this?”“That is exactly why we are doing this. You need fixing.” Danna Sherrod said in disgust. Steffan sat quietly through it all. For the first time Racheal looked up at him. Would he not say anything to defend his sister? She had always gotten the impression that he loved her dearly. “Look at the bright side Skylar. You'll finally get mom and dad off your back.” He finally spoke up. Everyone around the table turned to look at him in surprise. “What sort of statement is that? Whose side are you on?” Danna Sherrod gave him an angry look.“You too, Steffan?” Skylar said, sounding hurt. “You will let them do this to me?”“Enough!” The president finally spoke up slamming the ta
Last Updated : 2024-07-03The Bargain You're safe
A few hours later, Racheal arrived at a completely different police building. She noticed how different this place was from the building she had been held in. It was open, and the hallways were busy. Cops and other people in plain clothes milled around, speaking in polite voices. Delbert led her upstairs in an elevator, and a cop joined them, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator. “Hello Mr Dalloz.” She greeted. “Ma'am.” She politely bowed to Racheal. Both of them nodded in acknowledgment to her greeting. “This way please.” She said and began to lead them down a glass-walled hallway.They walked for a few minutes, and were soon ushered into a room that was as small as the one she had been held in. It was dark, with a lone electric lamp hanging low over a table in the middle.Racheal felt uneasy being here, and she had a strong urge to run away. But she felt a calming hand over hers. “I am here.” Delbert said soothingly.She nodded and they moved further into the room. A
Last Updated : 2024-07-03The Bargain The rooftop
Racheal ran past the cop who was trying to get her out of the open space, past Delbert and Isaac, and took the stairs up. Two at a time.She ignored all of them calling out to her, and took an elevator on the second floor. The elevator door slid shut just as Delbert reached her. She saw the anxious look on his face.If anything happened to her, he would be blamed. After all, he brought her out here from the safety of the Presidential villa. But she could not just leave here without trying to help. She would never be able to forgive herself. She pushed all thoughts out of her mind as the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. She stepped out, and carefully took the last flight of stairs up to the rooftop.As she came out into the open, she realised how dangerous this was. The wind here on the fifteenth floor was strong. The sun was beating down, causing one to squint in order to see clearly. “Just step away from the edge ma'am. You don't want to do this to your baby.” A female
Last Updated : 2024-07-04The Bargain A hero
Racheal smiled tightly at the young woman. She could only help her if she trusted her. “I will hand your baby over to my friends now, so she can get out of the rain. Is that ok?” She asked. The young woman nodded. Racheal slowly turned her upper body, keeping her legs rooted on the ground. Isaac gestured for Delbert to stay back, and strode forward. He gently took the baby from her and handed her to another guard who took her away.Racheal turned back to the young woman. “What’s your name?” “Laura.” “Laura, I will come closer now.” She said over the wind.The young woman nodded. Racheal tried not to think of how scared she was. She slowly edged towards her, getting further into a slope with each step she took. She smiled tightly at Laura again to reassure her. When she was close enough, she stretched out her hand for Laura to take it. Just as Laura reached out, the wind picked up. Racheal saw Laura lose her footing and slip.Without a second thought, she dived for her and gra
Last Updated : 2024-07-04The Bargain Festivity
“Any siblings?” Racheal asked. “No. I am the only son of an only son.” Delbert responded. “Oh.” Racheal said. So Delbert was the Dalloz heir. A family she suspected were more powerful than the Sherrods. And here he was, sitting beside her, eager to give her the world. She shook her head, she wished they had met under a different circumstance. She caught him smiling. “What is it?”“You told Laura I was your friend.” He was transformed into a shy teenage boy. “Are you not?” She teased. His smile widened. “I guess I am.” He replied. She had more questions but they were back at the Villa now. Delbert stepped down and opened the door for her. “Thank you.” She smiled at him as she got out. “Racheal.” He called as she was walking away. She turned. He looked at her, hesitated and said. “See you later.” She watched him hastily climb back into the backseat. She waved and watched the car till it was out of her sight. She turned around, and entered a lobby that led to her quarters, hol
Last Updated : 2024-07-05The Bargain A gift for Racheal
Racheal stared at the black and gold sequin mesh dress, as Luna repeated Steffan's words verbatim. “He was here?” Racheal asked, looking around. “Yes.”She ran her hands over the fabric, it was very soft to touch. She pulled it out of the box, and heard her maid gasp behind her. The dress was a vision. It had a full skirt, sweetheart neckline and careful gold embroidery on the skirt.This must have cost a fortune, seeing Steffan only gave her expensive gifts. She carefully lay the dress on her L shaped couch and stepped back to look. “And you said he insisted I wore this?” She asked.“Yes. He said he will not have you wear another thing, that you are his wife. He is wearing a matching outfit.” Luna said.A thought snuck into her mind. She could wear another dress just to tease him. She knew he would be furious, as he is easily angered. But she did not know what he would do, or what his limits were when angered.She was not ready to find out yet. Her mission was to find allies, a
Last Updated : 2024-07-05The Bargain At the engagement party
Racheal glanced back at her maids, they looked like children who just saw candies. She looked back at the diamond necklace. This was a ridiculously expensive item to give anyone. It would also be ridiculously extravagant to wear this to another woman's engagement party. Especially with the kind of dress she had on. “Who delivered this at the door Leah?” She asked. “A guard.”“Mine?” Racheal asked, turning to her. “No. I think he is one of the first lady's.” Leah responded. Why would the first lady let Delbert’s gift reach her? She could not believe the first lady's maids and guards did not spy on everyone for her. She must have known of this gift. Then why let it get to her?She checked her wrist watch. She was running late. “Keep an eye on this.” She said as she closed the box. “If you both will join the party later, please make sure my suite is locked and under guard.”“I plan to get my much needed sleep. I am not going to the engagement party.” Luna said. “I'll stay too. I
Last Updated : 2024-07-07The Bargain What Necklace?
Steffan was about to say something when his chief guard came over, and whispered in his ears. He nodded and turned to Racheal. “Let's go congratulate the bride and groom.” He said, and helped her up from her seat. She smiled politely at all the people who greeted her on their way to the front of the hall. She saw Skylar sitting beside a handsome man in a black suit and purple shirt. She was a bit surprised. How can someone so handsome be so nasty? She turned her attention to Skylar. Skylar was in a beautiful purple dress with a long train. Her dark hair was held up with twinkling diamond pins. She looked like a beautiful fairy. It pained Racheal to think all that will go to waste on a man like this. She wished she had enough power to save herself and Skylar. Help them both out of this wicked world of arrogant, power-hungry people. “I have only seen you on TV. I thought the images were merely airbrushed.” Hamza stood up when he saw them. “But apparently, you're stunning in real li
Last Updated : 2024-07-07
Latest chapter
The Bargain Epilogue
“Mind Skylar’s head.” Steffan said, watching her get out of the car. Racheal cradled six month-old Skylar’s head in her arms and got out of the car. Steffan turned and walked ahead towards the courthouse. She knew he did not like this, neither did her mother, but she wanted to lead a new life from now on.She would only allow any dispute to be settled by the court no matter how long it took, instead of the torture, killing and all they had done up to the point that she had Sterling.“Maman," Sterling said, peeking his head around his father’s shoulders.“Yes, baby.”“Maman.” He said again, and she smiled at him. Steffan adjusted him in his arms as they walked into the building.It was an informal courtroom, and the biggest case in Xen. This case was what had disgraced Roslyn and made her lose the elections. Journalists waited outside for the final hearing.She and Steffan sat side by side after the judge took her seat, and the accused began to be escorted in by the cops. Roslyl
The Bargain I can live with that
Racheal followed Steffan into his house quietly. His housekeeper greeted her warmly. She nodded at the woman. She was surprised to see Chef Bennett come out.“Dinner in five minutes, sir.” Then he paused. “Mrs Sherrod.” He bowed.“Make a place for two,” Steffan said. Those were the first words he had said, since she told him she missed him.“Sure, Sir.” Chef Bennett responded.“You kept him?” Racheal asked, as Steffan led the way upstairs. “You liked him.” He said simply.She said nothing more. He surprisingly led the way to his bedroom on the second floor. It was a dark masculine room, wide, dark and intimidating.She stood in the middle, unsure of how to act, or what to do next.He dropped his bag on the bed, and glanced at her.“I am sorry I hurt you.” She said. He paused, midway into sitting on the bed, then started to take his tie off.“That’s rare. Women never apologize.”She made a face at him. But continued anyway. “I was conflicted. I wanted to be with you, but I was
The Bargain Pregnancy test result
Racheal sat on the toilet bowl, staring at the pregnancy test kit. It clearly read positive. In denial, she took others. They read the same thing.She hurried back to her room and pulled on a dress. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. She sat nervously in the backseat as her chauffeur took her to the hospital.She waited nervously as her blood got drawn, and patiently waited for the doctor.She could not smile back as the doctor said.“Congratulations Mrs Sherrod. Would you like to see your baby?”She climbed the table, and stared at the ceiling as the doctor smeared a cold gel on her flat belly.“You are about seven weeks pregnant.” The doctor said excitedly. “Look at your baby.” She held her breath and turned.She could hear the heartbeat of the fetus as the doctor pointed out where the baby was in the sac. It was so tiny, she burst into tears.The doctor helped her up and soothed her, telling her it was OK to cry, that days like these were an emotional day for
The Bargain Please let me go
The president is dead did not cover the horror of how Spencer Sherrod had died. He stared at his father’s coffin the next morning as the priest talked on and on. He had wanted to kill this man. He had wanted to kill him with his own hand, so why was he reacting this way to the man’s death?His mind kept going back to how Spencer had looked in the video he had seen. He was headed for a meeting, surrounded by his guards, edgy and nervous, and alone.The old woman had come from the crowd, begging an audience. He had hesitated, but asked them to let her through. The woman had hugged him, even as his guards had yelled that it was against protocol.One had even reached out to pull her away. Then flames. He shook his head as he remembered the explosion sound. They had quickly found out the woman was the journalist’s aged mother. The journalist Spencer had killed at Racheal’s office.He felt someone squeeze his arm. He looked down at the little woman. She was the only good thing in
The Bargain Stay away from my daughter
“We should start moving. I don’t want Limuel’s men to find us here," he said as he stocked the fire. She dropped a plate of Ramen in front of him. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.He did not mind if he lost all his wealth, and became doomed to this kind of life, as long as he had her. She was all he wanted now, all he had ever wanted really from the day he met her.“It will be a few hours still before we can start moving.” She responded. He nodded and picked up his meal. She walked closer and sat beside him. He turned to her, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, enthusiastically, the way he remembered, the way he liked.He loved how much she loved his touch. They were soon grappling at each other, their meal forgotten. He squeezed her warm soft body as she moaned his name and dug into his back. He savored the warmness of her, the fullness of her curve, the lusty way she matched his thrusts, squeezing tight around him.He did not want to
The Bargain Do you still love me?
Racheal sat shocked, staring at Steffan’s face, just barely able to see it in the near darkness. But she could see clearly enough the honesty in there. His blue eyes were clear and honest, open and pleading.“You should have said that when I wanted to hear it.” She said, shaking her head, starting to move away. But he held her.“I should have. I was a fool not to have.”“I even told you once that I loved you. You said nothing.”“I am sorry.”“Stop apologising. It won’t fix anything," she said, trying to pull away. She did not have to hear this, she did not want to hear this. It would make leaving him that much more difficult. It was easier walking away from a man who hurt her, and had never admitted to loving her even once. But now…“Racheal.” He said, taking her face between his hands. “I love you. I have always loved you. My heart stops at the thought of losing you. The day Isaac told me you were dying, the day you sent that divorce document, my heart completely stopped beatin
The Bargain He ruined my life
“I thought you changed. Apparently, you did not," Steffan said finally, looking away. “You are still as stubborn and careless as ever.”His words stung her.“Careless? You sound like I got some warning that a certain Limuel was after me and ignored it.”“I tried to warn you. I sent a dozen messages, tried to make an appointment,” he blew up.She shrank back. Well. There was no way she would have known. She had his number blocked, so there was no way she could have seen his messages. She still did not know how he had gotten her new contact number by the way. She could not think of any of her staff who could have given him her personal number.She knew he was in contact with Isaac, but could Isaac have given him the number?“After all that has happened to you, I don’t know how you can still put yourself in danger like this.”“One could say I was in danger, hiding with you in a storm like this. At least Maman would think so.” She said quietly, lowering herself to the floor. That got
The Bargain Locked in
“What are you doing?” Racheal asked as she watched Steffan walk towards one of the many couches in the room. He said nothing.He placed a bright flashlight she suspected he must have found wherever he found the axe on the floor, lighting the whole room up. He raised the axe, and began to hack at the couch.She stared at him in shock, at first not understanding what he was doing. Then she turned back, and shut the heavy bolt on the door. He had to make fire somehow, or they would freeze to death before the storm was over. Between the both of them, they could probably buy a million couches for this family.She walked further into the living room, past him, checking the whole place out. The only place that was open to them was the hallway, the open kitchen in the living room, and a tiny bathroom at the end of the hallway. All the other rooms were firmly locked. She was not very eager to ruin their locks like she did the front door.She walked towards the kitchen, and turned on th
The Bargain Can you run?
“What? Why?” Racheal screamed in confusion as she watched Limuel’s guards pull a limp Steffan up.Then they began to pull him to pull him away, his tall frame causing his foot to drag behind him.“I had a suspicion he might come here.” Limuel said, pulling out a big cigar.“What did we do to you?” She asked, looking from Limuel to Steffan, who was being dragged away.“I have no problems with the Sherrods. Just you.”“What?” She asked just as she saw Limuel’s toddler run out of the house. The guards tried to stop the child who was not warmly dressed for the weather. The toddler screamed. He just wanted his father.Lukas Limuel turned at the commotion. “Let him through," he said, standing up. The child broke through the barrier of guards, and ran into his father’s arms.“I don’t have the time to explain anything. I hear your mother has suddenly returned from the dead. I believe she will pay a decent price in exchange for you as compensation for what your family did to us.” Lukas sa
