Aimee Landon had taken it upon herself to hire stylists for Christopher’s dress fittings for the party. This was often the job of Trisha, but now that Trisha had been fired and Christopher was yet to get a replacement, Aimee gladly took it upon herself. “He must look dashing and impeccable, and no one in that party must come any close!” Aimee barked orders at the stylists as they styled Christopher in his bedroom. Another reason Aimee was over the moon with joy was because this gave her the opportunity to not just be in Christopher’s house, but in his room for the very first time. Usually, Christopher should have been styled at their studio, but because Aimee wanted this rare opportunity, she paid them extra to come to the house and style Christopher. Christopher was not comfortable with the idea of it; he preferred to go to their studio to get styled, because he hated having strangers in his mansion, but Aimee managed to talk him into accepting. “I think they are doing a good job,
Lily paced about in her room.“I have to do something,” she said to herself frantically. “I can’t just stay locked up here without knowing what is going on,” Lily thought deeply. “What is Don Grander was referring to Joe?” Lily shuddered at the thought of that.She knew she had to do something…or try, at least.Lily gently opened the door and looked around the aisle left and right, and she saw no one. Maybe Don Grander and Emily had forgotten about her, because aside from eavesdropping on their conversation, she had not heard Emily’s voice around.Taking the risk, Lily tiptoed downstairs, careful not to be seen. In the living room, she sighed in relief when she noticed that no one was there. Then swiftly, she made her way to the kitchen. Fortunately for Lily, she saw the old maid chopping some vegetables, but then again, the reserved one was also there.“Ashley,” the old maid called when they both turned and saw Lily.There was something about the reserved maid that made Lily quite un
“Are you there now?” Don Grander asked Monk.Monk sat in his car outside the hospital as he talked with Don Grander over the phone. He had just arrived, but he knew that he could not stay parked in that spot longer than necessary.“All you have to do is get in there, get access to his word, and smother him,” Monk rehearsed the whole process that he had cooked up in his head over and over again.This was a government hospital, and he knew that what he was about to do was very risky. If he got caught, he would rot in jail. Monk never shied away from assigned duties, but he wished that Don Grander had assigned the same person he hired to find out if Benedict died or not to simply complete the task.“Yes, I just got here,” Monk answered, grounding his teeth.He looked around the premises and everyone went about their businesses innocently. His eyes fell on the hospital’s entrance, and Monk swallowed hard. The state government never took lightly to crimes, and Monk knew the consequences. H
Lily was glad that she had been able to get back to her room without getting caught even though her attempts were futile. It was not until she was back in her room and pacing around again that she remembered that she could have called Rudney. “Gosh, Lily! How could you forget such a thing?!” Lily berated herself. The one person that would have picked up was Rudney, and yet, she did not remember to call him and ask about Joe. Anyway, Lily blamed it on the fact that she was agitated and also trying to hurry up. Then her mind went to her call to Christopher. “It has just been a couple of days that I have been away, and he is already going about with Aimee,” I said to myself jealously. Since when did Christopher start giving his phone to Aimee as though she was his secretary, and what were they doing together at that time? Lily had heard soft music playing in the background; were they out on a date? Lily scoffed. “Christopher never cared about me…or Ashley, and coming here was just
Lily could not tear her eyes off the TV. Christopher and Aimee looked like the perfect power couple, and a pang of jealousy shot through my veins. First, it was Aimee picking up Christopher’s call, and now, they were both attending the same party together. From the guests shown on TV, it was obvious that it was an elite party, and Lily could not deny how impeccably handsome Christopher looked. Among all the people in the crowd, Lily’s eyes continued to pick Christopher out, but then again, seeing him also meant that she would see Aimee glued to his side possessively.“Do you see what you have caused?” Emily’s voice rang out, cutting through the moment as she made her way downstairs.I turned quickly and looked at Emily, fear enveloping me all over again. For a moment, watching Christopher, Lily had almost forgotten her current predicament.“I…it’s…” I stuttered, not knowing what to say.Emily came and stood beside Lily, and Lily cowered in fright, thinking that Emily was going to gra
I am Ashley Grander. I am wild and reckless. I have been to many countries like…” Lily began to read through nuggets about Ashley that Emily had given her.“You will have to start from the beginning and relearn everything, and commit the new ones to memory, because if you fail again this time around, you will not be punished; you will be killed,” Emily had told her as she handed the piece of paper to Lily.So Lily had gone back to Ashley’s bedroom and had begun to digest everything written in the paper with vigor and determination, but her mind kept drifting back to Christopher and Aimee at the party. Something good had obviously happened to Christopher Bridger, but Lily could not think about it without thinking about Aimee.“That is your next assignment.”Those were Emily’s words, and Lily knew now more than ever before that she could not fail. She dared not fail otherwise she would not only die, but Joe would also die. Lily now worried less about Joe, because no one had mentioned a
The party had ended about an hour ago, but Christopher was stilled held back shaking hands with men that mattered most in the countries, and already signing business deal.It was a new dawn for the Bridger Empire.As Aimee stood by and watched, she could not help but smile. Yes, she loved Christopher Bridger deeply, but now, she loved him ten times more. It swelled her heart watching him climb that stage, and more, that she was right there with him.“As it should be,” Aimee said to herself.She wondered why Christopher couldn’t see that she was his perfect match. Ashley would not have known the next thing to being Christopher’s anchor for tonight if she had been available, and Aimee was more than happy that she had had to do a little dirty act just to get this moment for herself and Christopher.She smiled triumphantly as she watched Christopher interact with people whose deals were capable of shooting up his company as her mind drifted to what she had had to do for him to earn it.Wh
Aimee smiled proudly as she reminisced on what her achievement was bringing to Christopher. “You might never know this, but I will go to the ends of the earth for you,” Aimee said to Christopher in a whisper as she patiently waited for her to finish up his brief chats with the reputable men. Then Aimee’s eyes went to her bare fingers as she looked down to distract herself, and her heart split into two. The ring on Ashley’s finger should have been on hers instead, because what she was doing for Christopher, Ashley would never be able to do it in many lifetimes. “This is not enough,” Aimee said to herself, her countenance changing slowly, knowing that Christopher had no clue the numerous sacrifices that she had made behind him, and as such, he might not be able to see her what she truly was; his perfect match. “I need to get that ring,” Aimee added. She was tired of taking things slow. Now that Christopher was married, Ashley was likely to fall pregnant soonest, even though Aimee co
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