Christopher had been in a meeting for hours now with his senior staff members who were associates in his company, including Aimee Landon. Christopher went to his office as soon as the meeting ended.He had an international business call to make.Even though Christopher Bridger had trusted senior staff members who were associates, he sometimes handled some of the work himself, and discreetly. Christopher had always known even before he took over the company that in business, no matter how trustworthy or loyal one’s associates were, you could never trust them completely, and you should never show them all the reigns of the company, because sometimes, they either got greedy, or your enemies could get to them.When Christopher’s father was alive and dealing with a strong enemy at that time, the enemy had kidnapped one of his most senior and trusted partners, asking for vital details about the company that would help him sabotage the company, but because the man had no idea about it, he ha
Lily arrived in the house and went straight upstairs. She made certain that she bowed her head as she made her way into the house. She had no idea what she looked like, but her cheek bone still hurt like hell and her scalp was also hurting bad. On Lily’s way back, she had to touch her head to be sure that blood wasn’t coming out, or to be sure that that area of her hair that Don Grander had pulled hadn’t become bald.Lily got to her room and opened her door, but she was met with harsh resistance.“Who the heck locked up this room?” Lily asked angrily. She shook the doorknob again, willing the door to open, but to no avail.“Who shut this door?!” Lily asked, her voice hitting the roof.When she had left this house a couple of hours ago, she had left an open room, and she knew that Christopher had not been at home, so who had the guts to shut her bedroom door in her absence? Being here, Lily realized that it would be better to actually act like Ashley Grander, because the domestic work
"Shit! Shit! Shit!” Lily became frantic as she thought of what to do quick and fast.“He cannot see me like this,” Lily said to herself.“Ashley!” Christopher’s enraged voice reached Lily in the room again. This time around, the voice was closer, and for Lily to hear the pounding of his footsteps against the stairs, she knew that he was enraged, and that was when Lily remembered that she had actually stepped out with one of Christopher’s securities who she never came back with.In fact, after Don Grander was done hitting her, threatening her, and ensuring that she never did anything that would jeopardize their chances of getting what they wanted from Christopher, Lily had had to jump a bus to get back to the house. It wasn’t a big deal for her, because all her life, when she wasn’t walking, she was jumping buses. Anyway, Lily had ensured that she bowed her head low enough so that no one would recognize her, because that would be more dangerous. “What do I do now?” Lily asked hersel
After the agreement, Christopher grudgingly left.Lily knew that he was dying to have the discussion of her whereabouts that day, but he could not, because there was nothing he would have said that would have made Lily opened the door for him. Her face was still battered and swollen.Lily took the ice pack and placed it on her face. She sat on the bedroom couch and tried to close her eyes so that the ice pack would be able to work its magic, but then again, her head started banging. She could not tell if Don Grander had done any real damage to her head, especially internally, because she could not feel any blood, but the pain was so excruciating that it caused a dull headache at the center of Lily’s head. Lily used the intercom in the bedroom to ring Maggie.“Get me some painkillers for my banging head,” Lily said into the phone.In less than five minutes, Maggie arrived with some painkillers. Without turning to face her, Lily said, “Just drop it where you are and leave.”But Maggie h
“Excuse me?” Lily asked, stupefied.For a moment, she had lost herself and forgotten whom she was supposed to be impersonating. In fact, she was about to say that they had never met before it booted in Lily’s head that she actually called Ashley, not Lily.The lady cleared her throat and said loudly, “Um, I was complimenting your makeup.”Christopher didn’t hear what she had said the first time, because she had whispered the words into Lily’s ears alone, so when she lied and said she was just paying a compliment, Christopher looked at Lily’s face, and in that moment, Lily felt scrutinized under Christopher’s gaze, almost making her uncomfortable. She feared that he was going to see her bruised cheeks, and even know that she was struggling with a bad headache with the way he stared at her, but instead, he ended his stare with a look of irritation and disgust. Fortunately, he reserved that look for Lily alone, so no one else in the living room knew that he was giving her a bad look. In
Ashley, two nights before your wedding, you were found at a nude club, why?” The words rang in Lily’s ears; she could not believe what she was hearing, neither did she understand fully what was going on. If Rosa said two nights before the wedding, then it meant that it was probably the night that Ashley had been found dea.Christopher had not only been shocked, he was also enraged, so much so that he jolted out of his seat in a rage.“What is the meaning of this?!” Christopher charged at Rosa.Rosa got up in fear and she staggered back, trying to get away from Christopher’s wrath. “That question wasn’t part of the questions Aimee sent to my mail that you were going to be asking, so what is the meaning of the damn question?!” Christopher barked.“I am so sorry, Mr. Bridger,” Rosa apologized. She probably did not expect that Christopher would react angrily to her question, and for a moment, Lily thought that Christopher might know something about it, and if that was the case, then Li
Lily began to shake dreadfully.“Don’t you dare bring that game on me, Ashley, because if I have to choke out the words from you, I will,” Christopher threatened harshly.“I have no idea what she was talking about,” Lily answered.She was being honest, because in truth, she had no idea what happened that night, because she never even knew that that night had existed, but the good thing was that Christopher would not read meaning to her words.Instead, Christopher stared at Lily; a worried expression on his face.Lily was confused, because she could not tell why Christopher was looking at her with such expression. He was supposed to be mad with rage and forcing her to explain as he threatened, but instead, he was more worried than confused.“What is it? Lily had to ask.Christopher stared curiously at Lily for some seconds before he said, “Nothing.”Nothing? Lily could hardly believe it. Now, Christopher was acting all weird and strange, and she could not fathom what was going on. “Yo
It was the weekend and Christopher knew that he shouldn’t be at work, but he just couldn’t help himself. Not that he had work to do, but Ashley Grander kept giving him reasons to doubt her.“Something is not right with her,” Christopher said to himself as he sat on his swivel chair and pondered on everything that had happened.Then recently, after she had mysteriously disappeared and reappeared, she had been wearing this heavy makeup that had made her look funny in a way; it just didn’t sit right on her face. Christopher checked his expensive wristwatch again and waited. When he arrived at the office, he had also called Aimee Landon to show up at the company as well. Aimee arrived just about that time, making Christopher relieved.“Mr. Christopher, I am here,” Aimee said as she entered Christopher’s office.Christopher felt as though he was seeing Aimee in a casual outfit for the first time, but then again, he could not recall seeing her in anything other than her official outfits.
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