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Stop fighting it
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Bargain You will stay?
Ten, nine, eight,Racheal turned around to see everyone was staring at the large screen on the stage that was now counting down to 00:00, Alvaro and Jade’s birthday.Alvaro finally let her go, and Racheal turned to Jade smiling. Jade pulled her in a side hug as they screamed,four, three, two, oneThe sounds of fireworks outside were loud. Racheal heard people gasp. She turned to the side to see the blinds to one side had been drawn to reveal a glass wall. The guests hurried to it like children, to watch the beautiful fireworks. “Happy Birthday.” She said, hugging Jade tight.“Thank you.” Jade was grinning, and they turned to watch the fireworks again, side by side. The sky was bursting with colors, and the sounds came blasting again and again.Finally, Racheal heard a singing group approaching them.Cumpleanos FelizCumpleanos FelizTe deseamos todosCumpleanos FelizRachel giggled as she joined the guests to sing the popular happy birthday song in spanish. Jade hurried away to
The Bargain You give fine gifts
“I will leave you to your breakfast,” Racheal said, turning away. But she felt Alvaro's gentle hand on her wrist.“No.” He said as she turned around. “You will join me.” She paused, hesitated.“Please,” he added. She nodded, and watched him pull out a seat for her. “Thank you.”From where she sat, she could see the main lawn area where she had walked with Chloe yesterday. Alvaro placed a mug in front of her, and poured her coffee. He then gestured to the hand woven basket in the middle of the small table that had toast in it.“Thank you.” She picked up a plate, and placed two slices of toast on them as Alavro took the box to a couch to open it.“Damn. You give fine gifts.” He said, as he pulled up the shirt she had gotten him. “This is handmade, right?” He asked.Racheal smiled, and nodded. She ate her food quietly as he disappeared. He returned with the shirt on. Racheal looked at him in surprise.“Yes. I would wear it every day if my father did not pass away from the shame o
The Bargain He never told me
Racheal quickly wiped her eyes, and took Skylar’s hand. “Come.”People were already beginning to stare at them. Both women walked back to the couch she had left. Racheal picked up her book, and moved it closer to herself.“I have never liked the idea of what Steffan had to do. Even our mother does not like it. But it’s father’s business and Steffan has always been eager to please him and prove himself.” Skylar said, after a few minutes of quietly sitting with her.Racheal watched her sister-in-law quietly.She could understand why Steffan did that in the past. He told her himself that he felt indebted to his father after he helped him with Malorie's case. But that should be different now, now that he knows the truth.“So you knew too?" Racheal found herself staring at Skylar angrily for the first time since they met.Skylar turned to her “I tried to tell you many times.” Racheal looked away. She had no cause to be mad at Skylar. She was not the one at fault. It was all Steffan,
The Bargain Racheal makes a decision
Racheal watched Skylar get into the speedboat, and return to the jet she said had brought her, parked on a helipad somewhere.She returned upstairs to her suite and sat thinking. She thought about all the times Steffan had stood up for her, defended her against even his own parents. She knew he was not a monster. Hot-headed, not a monster. She remembered how he had comforted the teenage Isaac’s mother after yelling at the woman in defense of her too.How much respect he treated her with, before she allowed him to touch her, and after she had banned him from ever touching her.But why did he have the stomach for violence at all? She did not know how to live with the knowledge that he had killed and may still kill, till he found a way out of this mess.Mess she put him in because she was stupid enough to fall for her father, and Madame Dalloz’s manipulation and stealing the permit from Asad.She sighed as she heard a soft knock on the door. It was Jade.“Here.” Racheal said from h
The Bargain You have wild friends
The party of fifty drank, some guests stood up to dance, and Racheal clapped and giggled, enjoying the entertainment they provided on her last day here. Jade spent her time talking with Axel, so Racheal was forced to speak with Alvaro more than she would have liked.“What have you done for fun since you came to Yin?” He asked suddenly.Have sex with Steffan, she was tempted to say, but she shook her head. “I cannot think of anything. Yin is more work than fun for me.” She said.“I see.” He said, and she wondered if he truly did. She played a game with death every day she spent in Yin. A few times, she had come close to losing.She took a swing from her wine glass to drown out the thoughts. When she looked up, Alvaro was watching her.“You fascinate me. You are more than the quiet woman image you portray,” he said.“How?” She giggled.“Drinking, for example. You take it better than I would have thought.” She smiled and looked away. Was that a compliment. What did heavy drinkers lo
The Bargain You think I will hurt you?
Racheal was almost falling asleep when she heard a knock on the door.Could that be Jade? Did she forget something? She groggily climbed out of bed. She should not have drunk so much.She opened the door, and Alvaro stood there. Racheal was surprised. He had not come here since her first day here when he showed up to her room.He took his hand from behind him, revealing the bouquet he had given her earlier.“You forgot that,” he said.“Oh.” She relaxed, stretched her hand out to take it. “Thank you.” Just like earlier that morning, his finger brushed hers. She winced and pulled her hand away.“You are truly leaving tomorrow? Why?” He brushed past her and went into her suite. Racheal turned around surprised. She had not asked him in. Would never ask him in.But she said nothing. This should be quick.“Yes. I am going home.” She responded, going to drop the bouquet on the nightstand in her bedroom. When she turned back, Alvaro was looking at her. For some reason, he reminded he
The Bargain He will never walk again
Racheal turned her attention to Alvaro, who seemed so taken with his lust that he could not hear the door. She bit his arm. He cursed, grabbed her face and knocked her head against the wooden headboard.She literally saw light explode before her eyes, and she began to feel slow and lethargic. Alvaro grabbed her hips, and pulled her body against his. Even her punches against his chest were lighter now.He was prying apart her knees that she still managed to stubbornly press together, when she heard a gunshot, and a loud thud of the door hitting the wall behind.And then Alvaro disappeared.She relaxed because she knew Steffan was finally here. She could hear the sound of rolling punches as she struggled off the bed. Her head hurt so badly she could barely see. She felt someone behind and turned around in fear.Isaac. He forcefully yanked the blanket off the bed, and draped it over her shoulder where she squatted beside the bed.She finally focused her attention on Steffan. She
The Bargain I finally caught Hamza
“My father wants to have a meeting with all of us tomorrow. I don’t know what it’s about,” Steffan said.Racheal looked at him in surprise. He was still talking to his father after all he learned?“Why did you not come for the card anymore?” She asked. Was it because he did not want to see the evidence? Did he not believe his father did it?“I finally caught Hamza,” he said. “Oh.” Racheal felt relief on behalf of Skylar. She was truly free now, and that monster would suffer for all he did to her.“I got news about his location that night after I dropped you off. I could not risk him slipping away.”“OK.” She said, and went quiet.“You still have the card, right?”“Yes.”“Racheal, can we talk about what you saw?” He said, and she suddenly became aware of how bad her headache had gotten.“Skylar already told me all I need to know. That is why I came back at all," She said, stretched out on the bed, and closed her eyes to sleep.The next afternoon, Steffan worriedly looked at her as
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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
