Barely ten minutes after Russell disappeared into the bedroom to get showered and changed in preparation for dinner, he came back out with some news that was not very pleasing.“I need to step out for a quick bit.” He informed me, throeing his coat back on and fixing the collars. “There is some urgent business I need to attend to at one of our warehouses.”“And since when did you start handling matters like this personally?” I demanded in annoyance. “I’m sure there is someone who can go on your behalf Russell. So why does it have to be you? You just got back, you need rest.”“I’m afraid not this time. This issue requires my personal intervention. But not to worry babe, I’ll be back before you even realize I’m gone and then i'll rest enough for 5 years..”“I doubt that very much.” I grumbled esoecially since i knew how much of a workaholic he was. he loved his job and i loved that for him. i just wished that somwhere between his hussle, he woukd find some time to take care of himself a
Charlie here is your what now?” Sasha asked, her eyes widening to the size of frying pans. I expected that she was going to be considerably shocked when she found about my connection with Charlie, and I was not wrong. In fact, she had exceeded my expectations by far, and right now, she looked like she had seen a ghost. She stared back and forth between the two of us, searching for answers, for some sort of clarification, but I noticed that she couldn’t really focus as her gaze constantly kept straying to Charlie’s wounds and bruises. Clearly, she didn’t feel quite comfortable leaving our battered guest standing outside for too long even though I knew that once she found out about what he had done, she might be the one advocating for us to kick him out, preferably on his butt, and I would be right there to second the notion. As for me, I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling at that moment. Between feeling light headed, shocked and totally stunned, I wasn’t sure whether to welcom
“It does not matter.” I said simply while simultaneously trying to signal Sasha to stop talking but unfortunately., Sasha had never been one to do as she was told. She was always impulsive and always inclined to do whatever her heart told her to do, and 90 percent of the time, it turned out great but the other 10 percent was almost always a disaster. “Of course it matters.” She argued, standing up from where she was seating and making her way towards Charlie who shrunk back into his seat at her approaching presence. Clearly, he had started learning first-hand what she was capable of which was sensible considering that even I never wanted to get on her bad side, and she was my sister. “How can you tell me that you didn’t know she was married to your brother. Like are you even kidding me right now?” She demanded, placing her arms on her hip in confrontation. “Well, I haven’t exactly been around much, and my brother has been very busy with work so we don’t get to talk that of
Russell’s POV. My heart was pounding heavily against my chest as I sped down the highway. My mind was a barrage of emotions consisting of fear, anger and worry. I had promised to protect Elisa every step of the way, and the same did I say for her baby, but the baby wasn’t even here yet and I had alredy started failing in my promise to them. If anything happened to them, I knew that I could never forgive myself, and i would never forgive my brother either. This resolve was what motivated me to step on the gas pedal a little harder, which in turn made my car to travel a lot more faster. i was driving well over the speed limit but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I needed to know that she was okay, that she was safe, and I couldn’t do it if I was ten miles away. “Why couldn’t he just stay the hell away from her?" I wondered, slamming my fists angrily against the dashboard. It was definitely going to bruise, but again, I did not care. i was much too numb to actually feel any pain. H
I never really like kids.In fact, 3 years ago I would not touch a baby with a six foot pole.Babies were whinny and gross and overall just annoying, turns out they also liked to drool over things and i much preferred if my vey expensive italian shoes remained drool free.But ever since my angel Emily came into the picture, my perspective had changed, and not just about kids, my perspective about everything had taken a full on 360 degrees, and for the better too.The world looked brighter these days, the trees greener and the winter warmer. I saw more hope in the world and i was now even more convinced that global warming could be stopped."Quite the optimist You've become." Sam laughed at my enthusiasm, and Elisa said it's because I was happy that I was spewing out nonsense, but I had been happy about stuff before but this, this feeling was different, it was honestly a feeling I had never experienced before. It was as though I was floating through life rather than walking and even m
Russell’s POV.The importance of family is grossly under emphadized even though they get on your nerves sometimes and you want nothing more than to walk them out of your house sometimes and warn them never to come back again.But in moments of joy, in moments when one is celebrating, you want nothing more than to be surrounded with the people whom you love and care for.Baby Emily was having her first big ceremony since her christening and she couldn't be happier. It was her first birthday and although I would have much preferred a very low key ceremony without much noise, Elisa’s parents had been the ones who insisted that it had to be a whole thing, and since Elisa didn’t object, there wasn’t much I could say concerning the matter. Her father had opened the ceremony with a prayer session followed by a sermon that almost never ended, and for the millionth time that day, I was reminded of all the reasons why I didn’t go to church. The cake cutting of the cake came next after
Elisa’s POV.“What did he want?” I asked Russel who seemed to be as eager to have this conversation as he would be to have cobblestones for lunch.“I already told you.” He replied, avoiding my gaze and choosing instead to focus all his attention on our daughter. I knew he adored her and was always eager to spend time with her, but I knew that this time, he had ulterior motives. She was fast asleep anyway so I knew that she wasn’t engaging him in any activities at the moment. “…He Just stopped by to offer us his congratulations.”“Baby?” I called in a warning tone, but he still wouldn’t look at me.“What?” He replied instead, trying to sound innocent. “That’s really why he dropped by. He was in a bit of a hurry so he couldn’t come in, but he sent his regards to you and the baby.”I sighed, knowing fully well that he was lying again, but there was really nothing I could do to bring out the truth when he was so reluctant to discuss it with me.“Wow.” I replied, taking baby Emily from his
"Where are we going Russel?" I asked for the millionth time that day but Russell refused to disclose his plans. "It's a surprise," He replied, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "But trust me, you'll love it."I raised an eyebrow. "A surprise? I'm not sure I like surprises. " I told him truthfully. Russell just smiled "You'll love this one. i promise."When Russell had told me had plans for me now that Emily was spending the weekend over at my parents' i thought he meant fir ys to spend the entire time indoors, having the time of our lives in the bedroom and only stopping to either eat, shower or have a bathroom break. I was honestly not mad idea especiallt since he and i had varely had any time to ourselves ever since baby Emily came along and although i couldn't be more grateful for her, i still missed Russel and my sexual life and how exhilerating it was before the baby." Besides, he had been kissing me and caressinv me so sensually when he was talking about the surprise so how
Detective Jameson's eyes narrowed as he watched Charlie being handcuffed and led away. The confession had come unexpectedly, but the motive was all too familiar. "Revenge," he muttered to his partner. "The oldest motive in the book." Rodriguez, Jameson's partner shook her head. "Family dynamics can be toxic. Brothers, especially." As Charlie was taken into custody, Elisa finally felt a sense of closure. Her daughter, Emily, was safe, and the kidnapper had been caught. But the truth was harder to swallow. Charlie, her husband's brother abd the man whom she had once thought of soending her life with had orchestrated the kidnapping. "It was all about revenge," Charlie spat during the interrogation. " He took everything from me – our parents' attention, the family business... He left me with nothing." Jameson's expression remained stoic. "And you thought kidnapping an innocent child would even the score?" Charlie's eyes flashed with anger. "You don't understand. Russellalways got e
“What are you doing here?” He asked, composing himself and trying to pretend like he wasn’t affected by my presence but I could see through his charade. He wa spanicking a lot and although he thought that his hideout had been pretty secure, here i was standing right there in the flesh. Still, he couldn't show his fears or he was going to appear guilty.“What do you mean?” I came to see you.” I replied, pretending to play his game.“Cut the crap Russ. What are you doing here and how the fuck did you find me?”“What can i say? I was just passing by. i mean i was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to say hello to my only brother.”At my words, he huffed and went over to his bedside to put on his shirt, and boxers on pretending to ignore me."Are you going to stand there and watch me get dressed?" He asked probably in a bid to get rid of me."Its nothing i've not seen before so you can relax."Charlie sighed in frustration at my adamancy.“Well, you’ve said hello now so you can
I had faced a lot of challenges in my life. I mean, that was avoidable considering what i had achieved. No great achievement came without challenges and I was proud to say that I was fairly successful myself. I also prided myself in the knowledge that I was a troubleshooter and a problem solver. I always had an idea on how to get out of complicated situations, and if i couldn't get an answer right away, all i had to do was sleep over it and come morning, I'd have a solution on my hand.But two days had passed and I was yet to discover a solution to my most prominent life problem. My daughter was missing and I had no idea where she was or where to look. With every passing day, I felt as though the very world in which I live d was crumbling in on me and I simply felt suffocated and helpless. The police had no leads and the one sure lead I had; they were not giving me the go ahead to look into. They weren’t looking into it themselves either or at least they weren’t look into it fast eno
“But according to Miss. Jones’ statement,” The judge continued. “It appears that she told you that she was pregnant but you refused to acknowledge it and rather accused her of lying.”“That’s true your honor.” Charlie agreed. “But in my defense, the first time she told me about her pregnancy, she called me through my brother’s phone. Now prior to the time, she and my brother Russell had never met before. In fact, I had never even told her that I had a brother, so it didn’t make sense to me that she was calling me from his phone. I took it as it was a prank planned by my brother seeing as my brother and I often play such pranks on each other.”Wow, Charlie was really going in for the kill with his calculated lies and fabricated lines. I never knew he had it in him, but then again, he had enough money to hire the best lawyers to give him legal advice. But unfortunately for him, our lawyers were just as good, maybe even better, and that is why he was bound to lose.“You claim that you lo
As expected, the news that Charlie was suing for custody spread like wildfire. In less than 24 hours, media houses had carried the news. Social media hashtags were eating this up and even my family and friends somehow got a wind of the situation. My phone was constantly pinging with calls and texts and calls and Russell’s phone was honesty not any different. At this point, I had still not gotten around to telling my parents the real story behind how Russell and I met and the circumstances surrounding our marriage so when I received a call from them as well, my anxiety creeped in. I thought about ignoring them for a little while longer, just until I could gather my thoughts and gains dome courage, but with the issue of Emily’s paternity being debated, I knew that there was no more hiding it from them. So the very next day, I got on a flight and flew home. Russell offered to go with me and knowing how much I hated flying, I honestly wished he could accompany me. Him holding my hand duri
Elisa’s POV“…And you should have seen April’s face. She looked like someone who had swallowed a turtle shell. And Amy, she was so horrified, she couldn’t even bring herself to say hello to me. Apparently, they hadn’t been expecting me to show up as soon as I did. They thought that I’ll take at least a couple of days off, giving them enough time to recuperate and get used to the latest developments.” I said laughing. After the close of work, I decided to use my evening to give Russell a recap of my day and apparently he had some pretty satisfying stories to share as well.“I thought you said Amy was the nicer one?” He asked, fully invested in my story. “How comes she is the one who couldn’t stand to speak to you." “Honestly, she and Amy switch up on most days and I can hardly choose which of them I prefer. I think that they both have their moments.”“Hmmm.” Russell replied thoughtfully. “I Can’t even tell them apart honestly. They look exactly the same to me.”“No they do not.” I rep
Elisa’s POV\I couldn’t believe my eyes, or my eyes for that matter.I was standing in the center of our living room, staring at the massive LED screen that served as a television in our home. I was already on my way to work that morning but I was forced to stop and take a closer look because of what was showing on the screen, or rather who was showing. A gasp of surprise left my throat as I realized the scene that was playing before me. My mouth fell open without me even realizing it, and even after realizing, I couldn’t bring myself to pick it back up.On the screen, Russell was sitting in an interview segment with one of the most popular TV shows in the city while looking as fabulous as always in his signature three piece although this time, it was a dark shade of maroon red and an auburn tie. His lean legs were crossed leisurely in front of him and he sat with an air of confidence that was peculiar to him. He was the guest on the show but yet somehow, he managed to look like he ow
Russell's POV I sat still, criss legged at the tv station as I waited for everything to be sorted out. Skipping work on a day like this may seem like a bad idea to a regular onlookers, and they'd probably be right considering everything that was going on. An emergency board meeting had been scheduled in line with the new information that my beloved brother had been so kind to release to the public. Logically speaking, I was supposed to be seated with my lawyers, buried in a mountain of paperwork, trying to find loopholes in my grandfather's will that allowed my contracted marriage to Elisa. As expected, Charlie was the leader of the team seeking to bring me down and their argument was that I had not fulfilled grandfather's conditions in honesty and hence didn't deserve the position of CEO. The board was meeting today to come up with a final decision, but rather than getting ready, here I was, waiting for a TV segment interview which most might consider unimportant, while
“Are you really married to CEO Russell?”“Was it really a contract marriage?”“Are you two getting divorced soon as per the details of the contract?’’“Has he paid you the settlement money?”“Are you really asking for more money than was agreed in the initial contract?”“Did you really seduce him and trap him with a pregnancy?”“Who is the real father of your child?”“Are you a gold digger who is only with Russell for his money, and fame?”The questions were endless, all of them unkind, and for some reason they all seemed to be directed my direction and my direction alone as if I was some kind of villain in my own love story. It was all so fucking ridiculous. Like, why was I getting stabbed with all the shards of glass, like everything was my fault. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want Russell receiving any heat, but I also didn’t feel like I deserved any either. If anything I felt like I was supposed to be comforted and consoled, especially since my only offence was falling in love with