The moment Lily’s butt touched the plane seat, she breathed a breath of relief; one hurdle crossed!She could hardly believe that she almost lost an opportunity to get some information that might help Don Grander and get him off her back. Christopher did not say a word to Lily as expected, so she did not let it bother her, because ever since she got married to him, they had been living like absolute strangers. Lily thought about being in a country for the first time, and she could not help the thrill that came with it. When she was a little child, she had often dreamed of being a pilot, because Lily wanted to tour round the world, but then again, her parents had died tragically, and she had had to step into their shoes. Lily had had to forfeit her dreams to help Joe chase his.When Lily was tired of thinking about everything and looking around, she dozed off. It was better that way than being awake, because if she stayed awake, her mind might wander into unhealthy territories. Upon t
After Christopher got out of the bathroom some minutes later still looking very upset, he turned to Lily and asked, “Would you mind a drink?” Lily looked at Christopher, stunned at the question. It sounded as though he was asking an acquaintance or a friend of his out on a date, and even though he still looked angry, the tone of his voice was lighter.“You have been acting like a zombie all through the trip and getting stunned at every damn thing,” Christopher complained, and Lily realized that she was doing it again.She could not understand why she was letting herself get carried away when she should be bringing her A-game to this business trip, because her performance mattered more than anything in the world.“God, please help me not to mess this up,” Lily prayed in her heart, hoping that God would forgive her for doing something bad and actually come to her rescue this time around.“I don’t know what this is, or what has been going on with you that has been making you to act thi
Lily walked around the room as she held the phone to her ears, waiting and hoping that Don Grander would take his calls.Lily had not been given the schedule for their stay here, but Christopher could actually waltz back into the room and inform Lily that they were going out on a dinner date with the business associates he travelled all the way to see, and she was yet to go through the things Christopher said he sent to Ashley’s email about them.“They are possible questions that might be asked as a couple, and our story must be in synchronization,” Christopher had told her strictly.How could Lily even forget those words so easily?The bigger problem now was that she had no access to the email, and if Don Grander would just pick up his phone and give her Ashley’s email login details, then she would be able to practice the lies before any meeting they might have with the businessmen.As Lily paced about, her eyes caught sight of the large ocean through the wide window.“Oh heck, no!”
“Excuse me, who are you?” Lily asked, blinking in confusion.Running into people would never end with the way things were going, and Lily was beginning to wonder how many more coincidences she would have to deal with.What if Christopher had been in the room?The female staff cocked her eyebrows at Lily in disappointment. “You most certainly haven’t forgotten about me, have you?” She asked coyly.Lily became irritated!Aside from the fact that she clearly had something to do with Ashley Grander, this was the most unprofessional experience that Lily had ever had. All through when she worked at the wine shop, she never acted out of place. They were strictly taught to respect customers and clients and to always put up their professional hats. So Lily could not understand why this hotel staff had the audacity to approach her.“This is so unprofessional, and I am going to ensure that the hotel management handles this strictly,” Lily said firmly.Right now, she hardly cared if she sounded l
Lily was back to pacing back and forth and talking to herself in the hotel room.“I am doomed. I am ruined,” she kept repeating to herself.Each time she felt as though she was getting something right, other things always came and destroyed everything. She was supposed to be acting as Ashley to get her parents what they wanted from Christopher, but at the same time, Ashley was still the same person ruining things for her.“What am I supposed to do now?” Lily asked herself frantically. “I can’t go for this meeting, otherwise if her words were true, they would catch up with me right away,” Lily pondered. Then she stopped pacing as her shoulders fell in defeat. “But I have to go for it; it’s the reason I am here for crying out loud,” Lily added.She was conflicted, and confused, and defeated, and angry at Ashley Grander for making things extremely difficult for her.“Gosh, I hate you, Ashley Grander!” Lily said out loud, and vehemently.This was the first time that she would be saying so
“Huh?” Lily asked like a zombie as she stared at her hair on Christopher’s hand.Indeed, some of her hair had turned to wavy blue, her original hair color. It had been weeks since her hair was dyed to auburn, and they had all completely forgotten about it.“Why are there strands of wavy blue hair on you?” Christopher asked, staring at Lily skeptically.It was dark, but Lily could very much see and feel Christopher’s skepticism and suspicion on her, and she knew that she had to do something real quick before things got out of hand.Lily cleared her throat, “I am pressed; I need to use the restroom quickly,” she said as she hopped out of bed immediately.Thankfully, Christopher’s hold on her wasn’t strong.“Ashley…” Christopher called out, his voice a little strong.“What? I just said I have to pee,” Lily said as she opened the bathroom door, entered and slammed it shut.She really needed some time to gather her thoughts together. First of all, she stared at her reflection in the mirror
The day for the meeting came like a flash, and Lily had never been this unprepared before in her entire life.“I am going to give you time to get dressed,” Christopher said.He was dressed in a fitted suit that clung to his body and made him look like the most handsome man on earth. In truth, Christopher Bridger was the most handsome man that Lily had ever set her eyes on. Anyway, Lily shook her head to get rid of the thought; now wasn’t the time, and a man like Christopher Bridger would never belong to a lowlife girl like her.“Have you mastered all that I sent to you?” Christopher asked.“Yes, I have,” Lily lied boldly.Of course she hadn’t gotten the time to try enough to get access to Ashley’s email, and Don Grander wasn’t even helpful at all, so she had no idea what Christopher had sent, but she would have to give this her best shot, even though she would have to do so blindly.“Okay then, hurry up. I don’t want us to keep Mr. Yang waiting,” Christopher said. “When you are ready,
“Hey, Rudney, there is someone here to see you,” one of the staff members of the wine shop informed Rudney who was arranging some bottles of wine on the wine rack.“Alright, I will be out soon,” Rudney responded.It would be his lunch break soon anyway, so he just decided to finish up what he was doing so that when he would attend to that person, he would not have to be in a haste. When Rudney was done, he got out and saw Joe waiting at the reception area.The moment Joe saw Rudney, he broke into a smile.“Did I come at a wrong time?” Joe asked.He was dressed in a pair of faded jean trousers and a jersey shirt from his baseball club, and he also wore the neckpiece that Lily got for him on his last birthday. “There is never a wrong time for you, Joe,” Rudney said and he meant it. “I was just around the corner and I thought to say a quick hello,” Joe said.“Even though Lily is not here anymore,” Rudney mused, but he didn’t know that he was loud enough for Joe to catch his words.Joe
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