“We will live together as husband and wife under the same roof for a year. When the year ends, we are going to file for a divorce. After our separation, you can do whatever you like, and I can do mine. We are free from any accountability from each other.”“While we were married, we had to keep appearances at all costs, especially in front of my grandfather. Pretend that you are crazy about me. Understand?”Wyoming nodded, trying to keep a straight face while listening to Cayden read the supplemental contract his lawyer drew for them. They were inside the study room in Cayden’s mansion. This is the first place he brought her to after they came from the hospital. This is also going to be her temporary home for a year. “We have separate quarters. My private quarters are off-limits to you.” He warned.Wyoming rolled her eyes when he was not looking. Why does he keep on insisting that she has any designs over him? Wyoming threw him an exasperated look and started doodling with h
Inside the car, Wyoming unconsciously rubbed the palms of her hands on her dress.Cayden did not respond to her message. She looked outside the window and saw they were getting near their destination, and she began to panic. Alicia Ellish, noting her nervousness and misinterpreting it, tried to appease her. All the while, she held Wyoming’s hands between hers and patted them gently.“Do not worry, dear. Noah, Cayden's grandfather is a good man.” She assured Wyoming countless times, not understanding the reason for her panicked state.Alicia was also surprised when Noah’s private nurse called to relay the old man's request - get Cayden’s wife to visit him soon. The request delighted her. She felt in her gut that Noah Ellish liked Wyoming for her son, and in her excitement, she did not waste any more time. She went hurriedly to Cayden's mansion to fetch his wife. Alicia would also like to take advantage of the time to bond with her. She never had a chance to be a mother to a d
After Cayden had deliberately and spontaneously dealt a blow to Andi Smith’s ego, Cayden turned around to sweep everyone with a chilly gaze. “Sorry people, I have to go. Please keep tabs with my office on the changes we will implement soon.” Without waiting for a reply, Cayden walked out of the waiting lounge ignoring the stunned crowd he left behind. He walked crisply and briskly that all the journalists could do was helplessly follow his retreat with regret on their faces. They could have gotten more information from him. Cayden rarely indulges the media with his elusive presence. The journalists wanted to ask him more questions, and his abrupt leave whetted their appetite for more of him. And there is only one person responsible for it - Andi Smith! She ruined their interview! They could not believe that any man would ignore Andi's unparalleled beauty. As Ellish Film Production's prime artist, Andi Smith commands royalty treatment. So why did Cayden Ellish make
As the trio composed of Alicia, Cayden, and Wyoming stepped out of Noah’s suite, Cayden’s bodyguards alertly covered them. Cayden’s arms which previously snaked her waist, dropped like a log to his side when they were already out of the old man’s sight. Cayden’s unexpected action had Wyoming dig her feet to the floor to keep her body from reeling. Cayden, not realizing that he almost made her lose her footing, abruptly turned to his mother while purposely looking at his expensive watch. “Mom, can you drop Wyoming off?" "I have to go ahead. My flight is in thirty minutes.” Then without looking back or even telling Wyoming goodbye, Cayden walked ahead of them, his bodyguards following him like goons. When they were gone, Wyoming looked awkwardly at Alicia, who returned her smile with a kind-hearted one. “Come on. I will take you home.” Alicia invited. They rode the elevator in silence. Wyoming felt compelled to make small talk but could not find her voice. She felt shy
Cayden’s body fell face first on the bed. He was bone tired running around Mayflower District searching for Tori Hutton.After two days of unfruitful search, he finally gave up. He had to accept the fact that Tori was gone. Cayden felt he should have done that the day Tori walked out, but his heart refused to think about it.He refused to accept that she was gone and clung to the littlest hope that he could still persuade her to change her mind and marry him.Now, the harsh, painful truth glared at him. Tori was ready to throw everything away the day she walked out on him.Cayden sighed.He does not know what to do anymore.He was tired and hungry and a bit angry with himself.He should have stayed in New York and let his people bring Tori back.But his excitement got the better of him.He wanted to see her - ask
“Wyoming, you are back!” Marie shouted after she got out of the car driven by Teddy and screeched to a stop to hug her.“Marie, it was nice to see you. What’s up?” Marie darted a glance at a formal Teddy who shut the door after Wyoming got out before she whispered.“I am more than fine since he was the one who drove you here. Oh my! He is really cute.”The two girls giggled. It was a no-brainer to anyone around that Marie had the hots for Teddy.Marie linked their hands together and drew her inside.“Come, Mrs. Benson prepared breakfast. You must be hungry.”Wyoming stopped. She did not know that the housekeeper took so much effort for her return. She felt sad turning them down, especially since Marie seemed happy this morning.“Oh. I already had breakfast with my
A wail escaped Wyoming’s lips when Cayden’sbody weight dropped on her while she frantically spread her arms wide to catch him, stop him from falling to the ground. The alarm in her voice alerted Teddy, Marie, and Mrs. Benson. Sensing that she needed help, the three hurriedly ran to her side to help peel the unconscious Cayden away from her. "Thank, god! I thought I was going to be squished back there." She said, relieved. Teddy still supporting most of Cayden's body weight, informed them that Cayden's out cold. Then, he wrapped Cayden's arms around his shoulder to take the bulk of his weight off Wyoming, who smiled gratefully at him. Wyoming did the same on Cayden’s other arm, putting it behind her shoulders while she and Teddy tried to carry him upstairs to his room. It took them a while and a lot of effort. Cayden is a big man. He was also quite tall. Wyoming felt her muscles protest with every move, but they managed.Marie assisted. She hurriedly ran up the stairs ahea
“You could have killed me, you j*rk!” Wyoming pawed at Cayden when she got her wind back. She could not believe that he would dunk her in the pool. She hit him: on the chest, cheek, and arms, unaware of where her fists landed. All she knew was she wanted to vent, and vent she did. Cayden did not try to retaliate. He covered his face and tried to dodge, so she sometimes missed his face, but when she did, she would aim for his chest or any part of his body that she could come in contact with. She was so angry!“I don’t know how to swim!” She yelled at him. “You never told me.” He said it like it was her fault. Wyoming’s nostrils flared. “Idiot! How can I tell a total stranger that bit of information?” Then, she swatted his arms when he tried to subdue her. She hit him again, harder this time. Cayden grunted when her fists landed again on his chest. On her next assault, he covered her fist with his hand and engulfed her. “Let go!” She shrieked when he clamped her right
Cayden backed off, afraid to anger Wyoming in her delicate condition. After Wyoming climbed into the car, Alicia turned around to talk to him. “It’s best if we take her, Cayden.” He nodded. He did not want to argue with the elders or raise Wyoming’s hackles in her sensitive condition. He was right, it seemed, when Alicia added, “Her hormones are acting up making her blood boil every time she sees you. If she’s indeed pregnant I am sure the baby would take after you.” Alicia teased leaving him in a daze. “Mom!” Wyoming called out from inside the van, prompting Alicia to bestow an apologetic smile his way before closing the car door behind her. “Pregnant.” He murmured to himself while he tried to wrap his mind around the possibility. It wouldn’t be impossible since he and Wyoming spend most of their night doing the deed. Cayden watched in a daze as the van moved forward before blending into the morning traffic. It was a long time before he decided to get back to the house a
Wyoming woke up feeling at ease. She had no idea what woke him up, it was just that her nose had become sensitive. She smelled something that she found not to her liking. She sniffed the air, her nostrils scrunched up in distaste. “What is that awful smell?” She asked hoarsely, opening one eye to check if there was something wrong with their room only to see a semi-undress Cayden hovering above her. His hair dripped wet from the shower. She smiled warmly at him. In a daze, she propped herself on the bed, her hands stretching out to put them around Cayden’s neck. With eyes sparkling in delight at her warm reception, Cayden leaned forward to peck her lips. She meets his downward motion with an upward motion, sniffing at the same time. That was when her nostrils started to twitch scrunching up in distaste for she smelled something not suitable to her taste. “You smell disgusting!” She cried, covering her mouth with her palm to avoid smelling that awful smell. However, the stench s
Giggling sounds and laughter filled Wyoming’s ears. Surrounded by her family, her heart felt full. She blushed when she remembered Cayden and her were supposedly hiding from their families. Now, looking back toward the living room, she saw everyone looking at them, smiles wreathing their faces.Overwhelmed with shyness, she buried her face in Cayden’s chest, as if he could hide what they were doing previously from their onlookers. Cayden threw his head back at her natural display of shyness. His laughter started as a low rumble in the pit of his stomach crossing his lungs and finally coming out of his mouth. The sight of him looking so carefree and happy caught her in a daze, affecting her in ways she did not understand but could only feel.“Mommy! Daddy!” Connor’s shout distracted her from her intent perusal of Cayden’s face. She turned her head to the direction of the sound and saw Connor running toward them, his little feet creating a soft thud as his shoe collided with th
Wyoming got out of the bathroom, a large towel draped around her body, and another one wrapped like a turban around her head. She was about to pull the towel from her head to rub her hair with it when she stopped suddenly. She debated within herself whether to go back to the bathroom and wait for him to leave the room or feign nonchalance.Choosing the latter, she walked inside the room she shares with Connor and stopped a few paces before Cayden.Then she remembered if he was here. “Who is taking care of Connor?” The idea that Connor is playing by himself somewhere inside the house or maybe outside on the beach had her hurrying. She moved about the room, opening a closet to get a change of clothes. In her haste, the towel knot loosened, threatening to fall off her body. She clutched the front with her hand while her other hand held her change of clothes.The towel on her head fell off. Cayden saved it. He held the towel and gently pulled it off her head. “Thank you.” She mu
“Argh!” Wyoming’s fingers clenched, her teeth gritting in frustration while Connor and Cayden, the duo from h*ll did another trick that left her breathless, her body humming in unreleased tension. “Mommy, put some sunblock on my back and daddy’s,” Connor demanded, handing her a bottle of sunblock lotion and turning around, so his back was facing her.She opened the cap, applied some to her palms, and lathered her son’s small back with the lotion.“There, all done. You can now go swim in the water with your dad.” She told him while she placed the bottle of sunblock aside, careful that her eyes led her astray. She had been trying so hard to ignore the rippling muscles on Cayden’s exposed back which he also displayed alongside her son’s. Cayden previously followed Connor’s lead and presented her back to her as well. She smoothed sunblock on Connor but not on Cayden. However, her eyes betrayed her every time. She could not help but look at Cayden’s back, filled with ridges and cur
Contrary to what she initially thought, Cayden did not bring them back to New York, back to their old house surrounded by their family. When their plane landed and she got out, she was surprised to find out they were nowhere near JFK International Airport. In truth, she missed her father and would have wanted to bond with her mother. She braved the longing to be with her parents to protect herself and her son from Cayden. She had mistakenly thought that putting distance between them was enough for her and her son to get away from Cayden’s peripheral. Only to be corrected when he came barging in on her despite the distance. “Where is this place?” She asked, looking at the expanse of trees and dirt around them, totally opposite of the City that never sleeps. She was still miffed with him for trying to blackmail her into submission, but she could not totally ignore him. The man is huge and his presence was not one to be ignored. All through their flight, she was fully aware of t
Chest heaving from anger at the audacity of this man to lie to her through his teeth, Wyoming all but cried, “Liar!” The bitterness of five years ago came to her in full force, flaming the rage inside her. Gaining her memory has intensified the pain like it just happened a while back. She clenched her fist, struggling from her confinement. It was futile, though. With Cayden’s buffed body, he had her trapped very neatly. She did not know how he was able to become this muscled man and still evoke the same feelings from her. His body and her body might change. He became bigger and muscular, and she became softer and fuller due to childbirth, but when their skin connected, it was as if fire sizzled between them.Wyoming could feel the hardness of the wall digging into her back, yet she did not even flinch. The anger gnawing inside her was more powerful than the physical pain. “You can not win me over with all your lies. My son belongs to me. He is mine and you can not take h
“Where are we going, Collins?” “It’s a secret.” Wyoming fidgeted in her seat but did not press Collins for more information. She was surprised when he asked her tonight. They do not usually go out because their finances are tight. And the few times they did, it was always with Connor. “Relax. We’re not going far,” he told her, seeing her getting all worked up. “I’m just not used to leaving Connor at night with a sitter. You know how he wanted me to lull him to sleep. I’m worried that he’ll raise h*ll when we don’t come back at his bedtime hour. “Don’t worry about Connor. He knows Lizzie and he won’t make a fuss.” He assured her. Lizzie lives next door - a single mother of a four-year-old daughter, Samantha. “To ease your mind, why don’t you call them?” Collins suggested.Thinking it was a great idea, she took her phone from her purse and called Lizzie. “Wyoming? Did you forget something?” Lizzie’s soft voice permeated her ears causing her to feel a little self-con
“I am fine, mom.” Wyoming insisted and rolled her eyes for the second time during that phone call. Her mother has been deluging her with phone calls these days and it has become quite annoying. “Will call you back, mom. I have to fetch Connor from the kindergarten. The school notified me they will be released early today.” Wyoming paused, listening to what her mom said on the other line before responding to cut the overseas call. “Yes, mom, of course. Will call you some other time, bye.” She expelled air after she hung up. “Your mom’s pretty difficult today,” Collins commented after she dropped her phone. Wyoming did not like how it sounded coming off from him. He did not even know her. The only interaction they had was when she was at the hospital back in New York and there has been nothing significant about their conversations, mostly getting to know each other, etc. In an offhand manner, she shrugged her shoulders to make light of it. Her mom, she knew, could be a bit