Lily was not just stunned, but she was also speechless.“What are you doing here? How did you get in here?” Lily asked in a rasped breath.For crying out loud, Hedge was in her bedroom, and this could spell doom for Lily; she certainly could not risk that at all, because if she got caught, it would be more tragic than she ever dreamed of.“To see you, my lover,” Hedge said lustily, licking his lips.Lily almost puked when he did that, and for the life of her, she could not imagine what Ashley could possible see in a man like Hedge. Judging from her escapades, Lily felt that Ashley should have better taste and choices when it came to lovers. Lily’s breath almost caught in her throat when Hedge walked into the room and gently closed the door.“What?!” Lily was alarmed. She immediately went to the door and yanked it open. “Do you want to ruin things for me?” Lily asked.Her heart was beating, and although it had something to do with the risk of being caught in her bedroom with a man. It
“He didn’t just take all the money,” Lily almost sobbed. “What am I going to tell Emily now for crying out loud?” Lily asked herself, utterly dejected.She knew she should have stopped him, but how would she have been able to stop a man like Hedge from taking all the money. The first mistake she made was letting him come to her room, and that was another thing to be worried about, because Lily highly doubted that it would not come to the knowledge of Christopher, but then again, if Maggie had explained to her why she was surprised when she asked her to send the guest upstairs, she would never have allowed her to bring Hedge to her room.Someone cleared her throat, and when Lily looked towards the door, she saw that it was Maggie.“I am terribly sorry to interrupt you, ma’am, but you have another guest,” Maggie said.Lily knew that it was Emily, and her heart already began to beat faster than normal with just the mere thought of facing Emily, but she was not about to let her assumption
Lily was foolish to think that Emily would have answered the question that she asked, but now, Lily could not stop thinking about what Hedge said, and she could not stop wondering what they had forced Ashley to do.“I need to know,” Lily said to herself.Lily spent the entire day dreading what was to come, because coupled with thinking about what they might have forced Ashley to do, she still had to worry about Emily’s threat. More than ever before, Lily knew that it wasn’t an empty threat. They were two money-hungry people who could do something as terrible as looking for someone to impersonate their dead daughter when they could have easily just told Christopher that his bride was dead.Lily almost jumped out of her skin when Christopher came into the house in the evening. She was surprised that he came back this early, because usually, he came home at almost midnight. What could have possibly made him come back this early?“Welcome,” Lily said.“We need to talk,” Christopher said g
“Ashley, get in here immediately!” Christopher bellowed angrily, causing Lily to jump in fright.She left his room just a couple of minutes ago, so how come he had already discovered that his money was missing? Something wasn’t exactly right, and even though Lily could not exactly pinpoint exactly what it was, she just believed that it was unreal. First of all, there was a chunk of money there, so he would have to count it first to know that a fraction of it was missing, and secondly, he reacted too quickly.“Ashley!” Christopher’s loud and angry voice cut through Lily thoughts, making Lily jump again.Lilly’s heart began to beat faster as she approached Christopher’s bedroom. She also began to think about what she would say or do that would completely get her out of this situation.“Thank God I sent Maggie to clean the room,” Lily said to herself gratefully. All she needed to do was play defensive.Lily took a few deep breaths to calm her steady raging nerves and also summon enough c
Christopher could not get over what happened recently. It had been two days now, and Ashley was yet to produce the money she stole from him. He had noticed something was off right from their wedding day, but he could not exactly pinpoint him. Ashley was always acting off, and then there were the nights that she battled with troubled sleep when they shared a room together. Although Christopher had never spent the night with Ashley Grander prior to their wedding day, he knew that she was just not that person to be troubled by sleep. It was evident that she was fighting demons of her own, and Christopher knew this, because he also had demons of his own that he wrestled with every now and then.He knew that Ashley was wild and rugged, but a thief? That was just something he didn’t expect she would do, because it didn’t seem like Ashley’s personality. Anyway, Christopher decided that he would pay Don Grander a visit, because something was off, and Christopher was beginning to have this uns
Yes, this is exactly what I am looking for!” Aimee said in her head.She felt like standing up and twirling in delight, but she could not do that, because of obvious reasons, but she definitely would when she returned to her apartment later this evening. When Christopher had sent for her, Aimee had prayed deeply that it would not be work-related, but when Christopher had mentioned Ashley, Aimee had wished that it was work-related. She would rather spend the entire day buried in work than talk about the one woman that stole her man away from her. Nevertheless, as the conversation progressed, it then began to swing in Aimee’s favor. If Christopher was doubting Ashley, then that was good news in Aimee’s book.“Ashley Grander now steals?” Aimee could not help but ask. Ashley Grander certainly did not have a clean slate now.“That is the thing, Aimee; she does not steal,” Christopher answered.“With all due respect, Mr. Christopher, how do you know this?” Aimee asked. “A woman like Ashl
Christopher left the office with the intention of confronting Don Grander. He already knew that Don Grander would be at the men’s club wasting his time away, and he went straight there. Christopher could tolerate anything, but being fooled was not one of them.When Christopher arrived at the men’s club, his phone rang before he could step out of his car. Christopher looked at the screen and saw that it was Aimee Landon.“Aimee, what is it?” Christopher asked instantly. He did not want to waste any time talking on the phone.“I just wanted to let you know that the date for the interview has been fixed, and the questions your interviewer would ask are ready,” Aimee informed Christopher over the phone.“What about Ashley, are her questions ready as well? I don’t want any mistakes, Aimee,” Christopher stated firmly.“Yes, they are, sir,” Aimee answered. “I will send them to your email. You have about a day to go through them, and if there are any questions you would like her to change, c
Christopher decided that the first thing he would do when he got home was to remove the punishment he placed on Ashley by asking her to return to their bedroom.“I can only figure things out when I have her within eyesight,” Christopher said to himself.As Christopher sat at the back of his expensive car while his driver and bodyguard drove him home, his mind drifted back to about a year ago when his father’s lawyer, Benedict, had informed him about his father’s arrangement with Don Grander right after Christopher’s father’s death and his takeover as heir and CEO to the company.“Christopher, can I have a moment?” Benedict, a man who happened to be the same age as Christopher’s father and his lawyer for decades, had said.There had been mourners and well-wishers in the Bridger living room, because they had all just returned from the funeral. Christopher and everyone else present were putting on black, and as Christopher raised his head to look at Benedict, he wondered what the man wou
Don, why haven’t I gotten an alert for my spa and shopping apartment?” Emily asked as she stepped into Don’s study without bothering to knock.Don Grander was sipping on his liquor and waiting for Monk. Something had been bothering his mind since their last arrangement, and until he spoke with Monk, he would not be at peace. Monk had left to sort out a few of his personal things, and had promised to be back as soon as possible, but he was taking longer than necessary.“Not now, darling,” Don Grander responded. He sometimes wished that Emily was both understanding and sensitive, especially when it came to money, but that was like wishing that pigs could fly.“What do you mean by that?” Emily asked, her voice getting high, and Don knew that he was in for another bout of whining and nagging. “It has been a week!” Emily complained.“And you can wait another couple of days more; it can’t be that hard,” Don Grander said, his mind wandering back to the worry in his heart.“You know damn well
Time was ticking for Lily, and she was still confused with what to do. She could not go to Mr. Yang and fulfill his desires. Heck, she was a virgin! How was she supposed to just give that to anyone all because she needed to play Ashley’s role to the finish line? Lily sobbed and sobbed until she felt as though she could no longer sob. It was even more hurting that without knowing what Mr. Yang requested of her, Christopher had asked her to do it. Or what if he was just like them? Growing up in a middle-class family, Lily was raised with dignity and morals, which was why while most of her age mates were having boyfriends and getting pregnant, Lily stayed disciplined. She had never even had a boyfriend, and one morning, boom! She woke up with a husband. According to what her mother had taught her, Lily was to wait patiently until she found the love of her life, get married, have kids and raise a family just like the one her mother had raised.She was not about to throw all of that away
For a moment, Aimee froze in shock.Rosa was shivering on the floor and battling to breathe while more blood came out of the spot that Aimee had hit her with. “Help me…help me…” Rosa pleaded in rasped breath, her words coming out as a painful and muffled sound. Aimee was shocked at what she had done, because she never expected it to turn out this way. Granted, she had been very upset that Rosa was trying to play smart with her. If it hadn’t been for her, a woman like Rosa would never have had access to Christopher Bridger’s home. Christopher was not a man who was keen on interviews and blogs, and he was also a very private person. Regardless of how close they were and how long they had been working together, Aimee could literally count the number of times that she had visited Christopher’s mansion, and ever since he married the wild Ashley Grander, he had not made any attempt to invite Aimee over. In fact, Aimee knew that as long as Christopher remained married to Ashley, chances of
As soon as Aimee arrived at Rosa’s apartment, she turned to Derek and said, “Don’t worry, I will handle this myself.”Derek seemed surprised. “I thought we were in this together, and don’t forget that I brought this information to you,” Derek said.“If you wanted to get a pat for a job well done, Derek, you would have gotten the full information, not bring something to me in halves,” Aimee said tightly. “I know Rosa, and I personally hired her to create ruins and damage for Christopher and Ashley’s interview, and trust me, she is going to talk to me faster than she would talk to you, and besides, seeing you might unnerve her,” Aimee added logically.She knew that Derek liked to feel important, especially when it was his area of expertise, but then again, Aimee was too desperate to leave this all to him to handle. All she needed to do was go in there, speak with Rosa and that was all.“Whatever you say,” Derek was not cool with the decision, but he also did not want to push it, because
Aimee Landon waited for Derek in her car that she had parked by the road.“I hope he doesn’t delay much,” Aimee said to herself.Not that she had anything else to do, especially now that Christopher was out of the country, but since Derek told her that he found something about Ashley, she had been eager. She could not wait to get her hands on something that she could use against Ashley.“Christopher is mine, and no one is going to take him away from me,” Aimee told herself firmly.These were the words she continued to say to herself, because they made her believe that they were true, and they also made her fight for him. Aimee already knew that loving a man like Christopher meant competitions, and it was a good thing that she was a good player. She had worked so hard to not also be by Christopher’s side, but to also make him see her. She had been able to maintain her position by his side, and one task had been successfully achieved so far, and all she needed to do was put in a little
Lily had just been placed between the devil and the deep blue sea, and she had no idea what to do, but what Lily knew was that she would not give herself to Mr. Yang for anything in the world.“You always have a way of making things difficult for me,” Lily said angrily under her breath as she hurried to their hotel room.She couldn’t even wait for Christopher to return from the room.As soon as Lily arrived at the room, she barged in like a wild dog, startling Christopher who was going through his documents with ease.“Jeez, Ashley, what is it?!” Christopher asked after recovering from the shock that Lily had just put him through.“We need to leave, right now!” Lily said frantically.Christopher was surprised. “Why are we leaving? What are you talking about?” Christopher asked without standing up from his sitting position; he did not share in Lily’s need for haste.“Can you just listen to me for once and let us leave?” Lily practically pleaded.When she had rushed upstairs, she hadn’t
About two hours later, Christopher and Mr. Yang were done with the meeting.Lily was bored and tired of listening to a conversation that she did not understand at all, and the only thing that kept her from dozing off was watching Christopher Bridger in his element, but then again, she could not deny the fact that Christopher was extremely upset. Lily could not tell if he was upset with her, even though she had said things that she shouldn’t have said, but it did not ruin anything, as Mr. Yang still seemed very much interested in whatever Christopher was saying.“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Yang,” Christopher said as the two men shook hands.“We are happy to host you, and I know that you were supposed to have this meeting with the full team, but everyone else had other delegations,” Mr. Yang explained. “Anyway, we will put all that you have said into consideration, and since you fit into our requirement, you will be highly considered,” Mr. Yang addedChristopher seemed pleased t
Lily coughed, as though the tea was choking her, but by the time she was done acting up, she realized that the men were still looking at her, and expecting a response, especially Mr. Yang.“Um, her name is…” Lily stuttered and she hoped that her drama would not cost her the biggest mistake of her life, because she did not know why they had shifted from Christopher’s business to Ashley’s family.It would have been better if she had an idea about what she was being asked, but Don Grander never saw it fit to give her all the details regarding Ashley, and now she was left stuttering.“I think my wife is having a difficult time because she had a rough night,” Christopher immediately chipped in.“Oh my, is that so?” Mr. Yang asked, instantly getting worried.“Yes, it is,” Lily quickly answered, grateful that Christopher had come to her rescue. “I had a banging headache, which was why I couldn’t join Christopher for yesterday’s dinner,” Lily answered.Christopher cleared his throat uncomfort
The show is yours, Mrs. Bridger, please regale me,” Mr. Yang said, looking at Lily with an expectant smile.“That’s right, honey,” Christopher added tightly. “Please tell Mr. Yang the beautiful story of how we met,” Christopher said. Then he muttered something that only Lily could hear. “Hell save you from my wrath if you don’t do this well.”Lily began to shiver inside again while struggling to maintain a better appearance; one that did not say that she was shaking and in dread.“Um…” Lily started. She had no idea what Christopher had sent to her, because she did not even get access to it, and at the same time, Lily could not keep the gentlemen waiting, especially Mr. Yang. “Our parents were very good friends,” Lily started.From the corner of her eyes, she saw Christopher’s jaw tighten in anger, and she knew right away that she had said something contradictory to his story, but whatever the case, Lily could not stop now, which only meant that Christopher would have to abandon his ow