Aimee ground her teeth in annoyance at the rude interruption, because she could not understand why Trisha would show up at her house as early as possible in the morning, shatter her very expensive window, and call her a bitch.“What is going on there?” Derek asked over the phone, making Aimee recall that she was even still on a call to Derek. “Are you okay? Is everything alright?” Derek continued to ask.“Let me call you back, Derek,” Aimee said and ended the call before Derek could say anything.Then she opened her front door and stood confidently and fearlessly before Trisha was who standing in the middle of her compound.“How did you know my house?” Aimee could not help but ask.She crossed her hands over her chest and looked at Trisha, fuming with anger. This was the exact reason she hated dealing with people of Trisha’s caliber, because they always had a way of acting irrationally and crazily.“Did you think you could hide from me?” Trisha asked and Aimee burst into laughter almo
Christopher tiptoed into the bedroom in the morning, and sighed in relief when he saw Lily sleeping peacefully. After he had left her, he had gone to the basement and passed the night there.He had never seen her in that light before. He always knew her to be reckless and wild, but then again, Christopher thought that they already had an understanding about the terms of their marriage. It was not a marriage of love or even convenience; it was purely based on a contract, and in a few months from now, all of that would be over.Ashley could take her wildness and recklessness to wherever she wanted; he really did not care, as long as it did not bring him any form of scandal, because Christopher was a man who was big on reputation; it was how he was able to build his company to the level that it had gotten.Last night, as he laid in the basement, one thought had crossed Christopher’s mind; What was wrong with the women around him?First, it was Aimee, although she had been dead drunk, had
Lily had to literally bite her lips with her teeth to prevent her from laughing out loud at Christopher’s shock, even though the flash of fear that she had caught in his eyes before it had quickly disappeared had worried her a little.Why would a man like Christopher Bridger be afraid? Surely, dozens of women had already seen his glorious naked form.“What are you doing here?” Christopher asked frantically.It was difficult, but Lily had to try as much as possible not to look linger on the parts of Christopher’s body that set hers on fire. It was the first time that she was seeing him naked, and she could not deny that Christopher Bridger was sexy as hell.“This is also my bathroom,” Lily said, slurring her words.Christopher’s hands covered his manhood protectively, because when Lily had entered the bathroom, she had taken his towel and held it behind her, and waited for him to turn. After he had left the room last night, Lily had looked through the window to see if he would drive ou
Lily was stunned at the reaction she was seeing from Christopher. Since she got married to Christopher, which has been over three months now, she had never seen him vulnerable, not even once, talk more of crying.Then it dawned on Lily that she had gone too far.“Christopher, I am so sorry,” Lily tried to apologized, but Christopher still had his eyes closed even though no other tear slipped out of his eyes.Not that Lily was expecting to see more tears; the only one that she saw unnerved her even. Christopher remained silent and unmoving, and Lily was confused for a second.“Are you okay?” Lily asked, her voice sounding a little shaky.Then she reminded herself that she was completely Ashley Grander now, and Ashley would not be afraid, regardless of what she had done. So Lily summoned courage and quietly walked closer to Christopher and handed him the towel.Christopher snatched it from her in an instantly, so much so that Lily almost passed out in shock, and he slammed the bedroom r
As Christopher sat at the back of his expensive car as his driver and bodyguard drove him to work, he could not help but feel the ache in his heart. This was the exact reason he never wanted any woman in his life, much more in his house. Over the years, Christopher had managed to maintain a single status, even though virtually all the single women in the city tried at several intervals to shoot their shot on him. “You should be thinking of getting married, Christopher,” his father had told him a year before he passed. “You are thirty now,” he had reminded Christopher. “I still have time,” Christopher had told his father stubbornly, because the mere thought of getting married and living with a woman scared the shit out of him. “You might think you do, but you don’t, Christopher,” his father had insisted. Christopher hadn’t known by then that his father had already been diagnosed of a terminal illness that would snatch his life in a couple of months, and that he was also speaking
Don Grander waited for Monk at one of the private lounges that he usually booked for certain rare occasions. Don Grander had been too preoccupied for days now to even think of his daughter’s impersonator, but thankfully, Emily had assured him that everything was in good shape, and now that she had returned to Christopher, positive change and result were highly anticipated. Don Grander was relieved when Monk showed up sooner than expected, because Don Grander hated to be kept waiting, and he insisted on meeting here rather than the house to prevent obnoxious ears. “What is the news?” Don Grander asked Monk as Monk settled in. “I couldn’t find him,” Monk said in defeat. Disappointment and anger showed in Don Grander’s eyes immediately. “What are you talking about, Monk? Benedict is not a spirit, and he cannot afford to run away from this city, so why are you telling me this?” Don Grander asked Monk angrily. Lately, Monk was beginning to fail in most of the tasks assigned to him. T
Don Grander could not arrive home any faster. Emily wasn’t usually one to cry wolf or even call him at the slightest inconvenience. If he ever got an urgent call from her, it meant that whatever was going on was intense.It reminded Don Grander of when Ashley was still alive and living with them. Often times, when Don Grander would get such calls, it would only mean that Ashley had done something of grave consequences and Emily wanted him to punish her severely.Don Grander was sick of juggling from one problem to another, and he just wanted everything to be over really soon with him emerging as the winner. Before he left, he strictly instructed Monk to continue to look for Benedict, even though he had already bought Monk’s idea of including it in Lily’s task.Emily was in the living room when Don Grander arrived home was early as he could make it.“What is going on?” Don Grander asked impatiently.Emily seemed very enraged. “You never listen to me, and it freaking pisses me off,” Emi
Lily decided not to dwell so much on the cruel words that Christopher said to her before leaving, because if she did, she would cry more, and she might be forced to stop trying.She knew that he meant that he wasn’t attracted to her but to Aimee Landon, and he only denied having anything to do with her, because he did not want to be accused of infidelity, which was equally a horrible scandal.Lily hadn’t met with the domestic employees since she got back, and she decided that it was the best thing to do to get her mind of Christopher and his harsh words.“When I am done setting some rules, then I can begin reading Ashley’s journal,” Lily told herself as she got ready to go downstairs.Thoughts of the journal made Lily awfully scared and worried, which was why she hadn’t even thought of it since she got back, but she knew that she couldn’t put it off forever. She already made a promise to the old maid, and now that Lily had an inkling of the kind of life Ashley lived, she genuinely wan
Lily could not believe that Christopher Bridger, one of Mexico’s wealthiest and most handsome bachelor was in her grandmother’s hidden cabin with her.He had come to find her!“I have been combing the entire country for you with the best investigators I could hire, Lily,” Christopher said softly as they talked in the living room, alone while Joe stayed outside with Christopher’s driver and bodyguard to give them privacy.It was the second time that Christopher was calling her by her real name and identity, and he did so with such tenderness and gentleness that it melted Lily’s heart. It was very different from the gruff and angry manner with which he always called Ashley.“I thought I had lost you. I was afraid that I would never get the chance to see you, until I got an information that your brother, Joe, contacted his teammates, and then we were able to trace the connection to this cabin,” Christopher explained.Lily ground her teeth in exasperation. “And I warned him,” Lily said, t
Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror with sheer horror and then down to the test strip on her hand which showed two thick red lines; she was pregnant.Then Lily broke down in tears.“How could this be happening?” She asked herself, sobbing.It had been almost a week now that she ran away to her grandmother’s cabin in the woods with Joe. It had been a miracle; one that Lily never thought would happen, but it had happened, and she and Joe had been hiding there since then. She had no idea when it would be safe for her and Joe to return to their lives, but Lily was ready to hide in this abandoned cabin for as long as possible as long as they were both alive. They had agreed not to make contact with anyone at all so that their hideout would not be known.And now, she had fallen pregnant for Christopher Bridger; the man whom she had fallen in love with but would never have.A knock on the door interrupted Lily, and she knew without a doubt that it was Joe; they were the only ones in
Christopher arrived at the company from the hotel in a grand style. He was looking dashing and stunning, and more, he was impressed with what Aimee had come up with in the crunch of time.His company was buzzing with elegance and class, and with everything that had been scheduled to happen tonight, Christopher had no doubt that it would be a successful night for him. The papers he would use in sealing the best deal the company had ever had was with him.However, Christopher was troubled.In all honesty, he had a pretty rough night last time, because while at the hotel room, he kept battling his conscience.“I should have gone home to her,” Christopher told himself.Lately, especially after their intimate affair, he had been unable to get her off his mind, and last night, he regretted allowing Aimee persuade him into sleeping in a hotel home. Christopher had also battled with anxiety and nervousness, and he knew that if he simply wrapped his arms around her, he would have felt better.
Lily stayed in the bedroom and waited for Christopher, but she was downright scared to her bones that something might go wrong and nervous.It was as though the time was ticking by too slowly, but she had no choice but to wait for him in his mansion. However, she was very restless.Lily thought of Don Grander who she guessed must have realized that his papers were missing and would be searching frantically for them. He would kill Lily if he knew that she had taken it, and worse, wanted to show them to Christopher.In thinking of the devil, Don Grander began to call Ashley’s phone, and she jumped in fright.Lily contemplated on not answering the call, but then if she did that, Don Grander might suspect her, because she had never ignored his call before, so Lily took a split second to catch her breath before picking the call.She would have to act normal otherwise Don Grander would know that something was amiss.“Where are you?” Don Grander asked gruffly as soon as the call connected.“
“Monk!” Don Grander yelled at the top of his voice, almost tearing out his lungs. He was in his bedroom, and he paced furiously. Some minutes later, Monk rushed into his room.“Boss, you sent for me,” Monk said, confused, because he was just with Don Grander about an hour ago in the study where they talked at length.“Something has happened,” Don Grander said through clenched teeth.“What might that be?” Monk asked.“Before you and I went out, I was going through the original and fake document that I and Bridger signed before his demise, and the one that Benedict drafted for me which he showed to Christopher to make him believe and succumb to what we want,” Don Grander explained.“Okay…” Monk said, paying rapt attention to what Don Grander was saying even though he was wondering why Don Grander decided to go through the papers in the first place.It was as though Don Grander could read Monk’s thoughts, because he answered right away. “You know that this last deal is very huge; it is t
Aimee threw herself into planning this special event for Christopher and his company. He did not give her the full details, but she worked with what she had anyway.She had been busy contacting vendors and planners, making plans and readjustments; Aimee wanted complete perfection, because this was the event that she was banking on completely. She was fed up of waiting for Christopher to come by, and even though he had reinstated her with even better promotion, Aimee feared that Christopher had fallen for Ashley, and she could not let that happen.After this event, she would have exactly what was hers!Aimee was still in deep thoughts when her phone rang. When she checked the caller ID, it was the new man that she had hired to do her dirty business. The moment Aimee realized that Derek was no longer on board, she had had to find someone else. This time around, Aimee ensured that she went for someone who was fierce and dangerous.“What news do you have for me?” Aimee asked.Now that she
Lily covered her mouth in shock and dreadful fright as her heart slammed against her ribs. At first, she thought that Don Grander was going to hear her gasp, and she feared for her life. If she was caught hiding by the stairs and eavesdropping, she would be dead even before the actual time, but thankfully, Don Grander and Monk were too engrossed in the whole conversation to even hear her.“I just want this to be over and done with so that Emily and I can finally go for that vacation. We have already missed our flight and she is breathing down my neck…it can be really frustrating,” Don Grander said to Monk.Then the two men stopped right close to Lily, making Lily more afraid.She needed to get away from this mansion before they either discovered that she was here, or that the papers were missing. As far as Lily knew, no one saw her come in except the security at the gate, and hopefully, she would be able to get out before Don Grander declares that anything is missing.“When she steals
“What?!” Lily was stunned and afraid and alert.Her mind instantly went to Monk and Don Grander’s threats that they would kill Joe if she failed on any of her tasks.“Yeah, and it was pretty weird. It made me feel uncomfortable,” Joe said over the phone.She could feel the discomfort in his voice, and Lily’s heart broke into more pieces. She even began to wonder how much heartache she could take at once.“I really wish you were here, Lily; I feel safe with you around,” Joe said warmly and sadly. “It has been over a year, and this is beginning to look creepy to me. Even Rudney does not exactly know where you are,” Joe admitted.Lily did not think that Joe would think too deeply about everything. She hadn’t even really been thinking about Joe and how her absence might have affected him. More tears dropped from Lily’s eyes in pain and regret. If only she could tell Joe exactly what was going on, but then again, she did not even have the liberty of brooding about that for so long, because
Lily felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks at the harshness and cruelty of Christopher’s words, and when she managed to look into his eyes, she could see all the emotions right there.“Let me say what I came here to tell you, please,” Lily begged deeply.“How did you manage to bleed like a virgin when everyone knows that you are not, huh?” Christopher asked bitterly and angrily.Lily opened her mouth to say that it was because she was a virgin, but no words came out of her mouth, and Christopher mistook Lily’s inability to say the words as guiltiness.Christopher shook his head. “You are my worst mistake, Ashley, and I blame myself for not fighting this arrangement when I was told. After this party, you are going to return to your father’s house discreetly until this whole crap of a marriage is over; I never want to see your face again,” Christopher said firmly.Lily squeezed her eyes shut as the words sliced through her heart. She felt like Christopher had literally taken a