Olivia Anderson is a young, ordinary girl but the thing that is not ordinary about her is her job: being a stripper. She is compelled to do the job because of her sick mother who is a cancer patient, but she loses her job while protecting herself from being harassed. Thomas Walker is the sole heir to a billion-dollar business, but the dilemma is that he can enjoy the perks only if he marries and produces an heir. Different, yet, compelling circumstances bring them together to form a contracted marriage for a year. But, will they go their separate ways after the year ends? Will the marriage not turn into something more?
Lihat lebih banyakThomas’s POV:
“For God’s sake, grandpa! I am not ready to take the responsibility just yet.” He yelled after being lectured for an hour about how he was an irresponsible man. He had just returned after an amazing night with the new girl he had met at a party. Now, all his good mood was down the drain thanks to his persistent grandfather: James Walker.
He heard his grandfather sigh as he sat down on his favorite chair. He was silent for a minute before speaking.
“Thomas, I have given you enough liberty to enjoy life the way you want. I cannot afford to do that anymore. I am not healthy like I used to be, so it is hard for me to run the company. I want to make you the CEO as soon as possible, and you have to listen to my orders whether you like it or not.” He said in a calm but stern voice while leaning back as if the deal was sealed, and he would not listen to anything Thomas had to say. But Thomas was his grandson. He would be damned if he did not fight for himself.
“I will not be the CEO, now and never. You can do whatever you like.” He scoffed as he stood up and left the room in anger. He was serious about not wanting to become CEO ‘now’, but he could not change the ‘never’ part. It was not up to him to decide. He could not believe his grandfather would force him like that. He had told him numerous times that he was not ready to take such a big responsibility yet. He knew that it was inevitable and that he would have to become the CEO eventually, but it was too soon for him. He was twenty-four and had just graduated.
Being the sole heir to a billion-dollar business sucked just as much as it benefitted him. He had a comfortable life and every luxury he wanted but at the expense of giving up all his desires and wishes. He always wanted to sing and was also part of a band in high school, but his grandfather made him give up on his dreams as he wanted him to take over the company in the future. That future had come knocking on his door.
He obliged and gave up singing as he was aware of the fact that his grandfather would not allow him to be in a band. But he decided that he would not listen to him this time. He wanted to have some extra years to live a normal life just like everyone else, without his grandfather dictating his every step. Was it too much to ask for?
He just knew his mother would not have let it happen if she was alive. He was the only child, and his mother took care of him like he was the most precious thing in the world. That was why he was able to make ‘ordinary friends’ as his grandfather liked to taunt him; joined the band that his grandfather despised so much but remained quiet just because of his mother. She belonged to a middle-class family and worked in their company as his father’s assistant. They fell in love with each other and got married despite his grandfather’s protests. He did not allow them in the house and kept his father away from the company for a year to show how mad he was that he had married a woman from a middle-class family. His father had to work a cashier's job to feed his family.
He could not remain mad for long as he forgave them as soon as Thomas was born. His wish to see his grandchild was so strong that he called them to live with him again, and acted normal as if he did not make them suffer for one whole year. He also tried not to indulge himself with Thomas's mother. She was a very strong lady, and she also knew how to handle her father-in-law. Nobody could tame James Walker though except the thought of having a grandson who would take over the company in the future. Thomas knew that his grandfather never had a liking towards his mother till the very end despite how much she tried to get on his positive side.
Too bad, God snatched away his parents too soon.
He left the house feeling empty as the sad feelings hit him again. Not not a day passed when the memories of his parents did not hit him. After all, he was only sixteen when they died in a car accident. He remembered—he remembered everything.
Olivia’s POV:
“Mom.” She whispered afraid of waking her up but making sure she was asleep. She wanted to make sure her mother was resting comfortably.
She did not hear her response, so she thought she was already asleep.
She was about to leave her mother's room when she heard her name being called. It was so faint that she almost did not hear it. She turned around and saw her smiling at her.
“Olivia, my lovely daughter. Come here.” She spread her weak arms for her. It was always her way of showing her love for Olivia. She smiled going towards her bed and hugging her softly.
“I thought you were sleeping,” Olivia said smiling at her mother. Her heart hurt at the way her once-strong and healthy mother was looking so weak. It was all fate. Nobody could change it. But God knows how much she wanted to change it--only if she could.
“I could never sleep before saying goodbye to my only child.” Her mother tried to chuckle, but she choked. Olivia stood up in hurry to bring her a glass of water. Her mother kept coughing until she brought her a glass from the kitchen.
“Mom! Mom! Are you okay?” She asked worriedly as she made her drink the water. Her heart was beating so fast. Ever since her mother fell ill, she would get scared so quickly. She was her only family left. Her father left the world when she was only thirteen. She could not understand the pain of losing a parent at that time. Now, she knew. When she had to take care of everything and when she got afraid at times, she would miss her father badly. Her mother was all she had now.
“I am okay. Don’t worry, my child. Go to your job. It must be tiring working till late at night.” She cupped Olivia’s face and ran her fragile fingers through her cheeks. Olivia laughed.
“It is not tiring at all. I enjoy my job. Come on, mom. Now, rest. I will come back before you know it.” She tried to cheer up her mother and made her lie down and ran her fingers through her hair. Her mother closed her eyes and fell asleep soon while she sat there to watch her. She was glad that she fell asleep. Some nights, it was so hard for her mother to fall asleep, and she could not leave her before making sure she was okay.
That was why she chose the job. There were mainly two reasons why she worked till late at night: She would not have to work during the day and take care of her mother, and the pay was also sufficient to bear the expenses of her mother’s medication and pay the rent and bills.
Otherwise, she hated her job. There was nothing in the world that she hated more than doing what she did. She had tried other jobs, but they did not pay enough. She had a sick mother to take care of.
She hailed a cab and soon reached her destination as there were only ten minutes of the distance between her apartment and her workplace.
“Hi.” She politely greeted the two big security guards that she saw every day. The guards nodded and allowed her without looking at her ID as she had been working there for a year now.
The strong smell of liquor and the loud noise of music hit her as soon as she entered the club. It was as packed as she had expected it to be. It was a Saturday night, so it was a given that it would be houseful.
She made it to the changing room while bumping into the excited club-goers and saved herself from the glass of wine that was about to be poured down her head by some drunk stranger.
“Whoa!” She huffed and sat down grabbing her head and taking a minute for herself. She was an introvert. It was still hard for her to cope with such a busy and intense environment, but she had no choice. It was part of her job to not only bear the busy environment but to also entertain the crowd.
“Hey, you! You are next.” The head of the strippers, Laura, came to inform her briefly and went her way. She had been working there for 5 years—since the club was inaugurated. She was strict and not-so-polite with people except the manager who she was seeing even though he was a married man.
She sighed and stood up to get dressed. Normally, she would be dressed in a baggy shirt and pants, but her work outfit was so different and revealing from what she always wore. Nobody could think that she was the same person who made the drunken crowd whistle and go wild with her performances.
She got ready within minutes and changed into the skimpy outfit for the night. It was more lingerie and less of a dress. The bright pink dress that ended just below her underwear had big holes everywhere. The only things hidden were her private parts. That too, because she had requested a moderate dress from Laura. That was the most moderate dress that could be found among the hundreds of other outfits for the strippers. The club took stripping part of the business very seriously.
She wore black stilettos and started doing her makeup. It required the strippers to do their makeup as loud and dark as they could. Laura appeared again, as soon as she was done, to cue for her turn.
She let out a long breath. She could never get used to the work however she tried. Yes, she had lied to her mother. She did not enjoy her job at all.
Putting all the sad thoughts aside, she left the room and feigned a big smile to face her crowd.
Everything felt blurred. She tried to open her eyes, but even that little task hurt her head. She winced as she finally opened her eyes.The sudden light compelled her to close her eyelids again.“Olivia?” She heard her name being called. The voice…she recognized the voice.She opened her eyes again. This time, it felt less hurtful. The light was too bright for her liking though.“How are you feeling?” She heard the soft familiar voice again, but the voice sounded panicked for some reason. She adjusted her eyes and was finally able to look at his face.The face that she loved to look at… Why did he look like he had grown his beard? He always had this 5 o’clock shadow. It looked quite rough now. His hair was also ruffled. She wondered if he even took care of himself. His eyes looked concerned.She saw him opening the door of the room and calling for the doctor.“Olivia? Are you hearing me?” There was concern written on his face as he came to stand beside her. He looked quite happy but
He was terrified as soon as he heard the scream. It was as if someone had pulled out his heart out of his chest. He had experienced such kind of feeling only once in his life and that was when he got the news of his parents’ accident. He was never the kind of person who would get scared easily. However, at that moment, he was scared to no end.He rushed in the direction where he had heard her terrified voice calling his name. A few steps inside the woods, and he reached there.He saw her plastered against the tree with no shirt on and with her hands tied. He saw that lunatic picking up a piece of wood and getting ready to hit her.How dare he!His blood boiled, and all he saw was red.Thomas did not know where he got the superpower to launch himself on Joe in a second, but he did. He smacked his face and threw him on the ground. He attacked him before he could do any more harm to Olivia.“You bastard! How dare you touch her.” He blew punshes after punches on his face. He was not aware
“I don’t know Mark. I have decided to let her go.” He sighed leaning against his chair. He was in the office when he received her text. He felt devastated to type the reply he sent to her, but he had no other way. He had to free her after all the suffering he put her through during their contract marriage. It was about time he put a full stop to all of that.But why did his heart feel like it had just been pierced? Even the thought of letting her go hurt him to no end.“Listen, man, it is not her fault that her father had been involved in the accident that happened years ago. Don’t get mad but it is not her father’s fault either. Nobody can control an accident, Thomas. He also lost his life. His family has also been suffering just like you have been suffering all these years. Let go of this hatred, Thomas. It will destroy you and your relationship with Olivia.” Mark said trying to make him see sense. He had seen him being engulfed in that hatred for too long. Due to this hatred, he wa
“What did you just say?” He growled as he came closer to her. His eyes looked bloodshot. His hair had also fallen from its perfect position. He visibly shivered with anger as he yanked her hair again. This time, it was even harsher.She yelped as she felt like her hair would be pulled out of her scalp. Even in that state, she rose a little and looked challengingly in his eyes.“I said you are a pathetic piece of shit.” She spat at him after saying it again. She was so angry. He was so eager to see her crumble before him and shudder with fear. He thought he would get rid of her without any fight from her side. He was in for a surprise.She was well aware of her situation. She did not have anything with her to defend herself in that state. She had lost her phone when he started dragging her down the road and into the forest. Nobody knew where she was. Joe was looking at her murderously, and she was sure that he would not let her live another minute after what she said.However, he would
She got up after what felt like hours. She started walking toward the exit of the park. The sun had already set and darkness was slowly engulfing the surroundings. She did not want to move, but she knew that she had to.She was so devastated. What would she tell her mom? She was so happy that her daughter had finally found someone for herself who loved her and cared for her. In front of her, they put up a perfect picture of the happily married couple. She would not be able to take such a harsh piece of reality.Olivia knew that her pretended marriage would have to come to an end sooner or later, but she was not aware that it would be this soon.What hurt her the most was not that he had decided to call the fake wedding off. Her heart had broken into pieces because she thought he might feel something for her. She thought that he would somehow reciprocate her feelings. She thought that he would not blame her father anymore for an accident that happened years ago. But he did not stop bla
She was tired of the push and pull. She was tired of playing the double life. It was not her.The life she was living was not hers. She detested lying to everyone about her relationship with Thomas. She hated that their pasts were connected in such a twisted way.Life was so unpredictable. If she had not lost her job, she would have never agreed to such ridiculous terms. Neither she was happy nor was Thomas.When they got closer after separating for a while, she thought that everything would be all right now. She thought that maybe for once, she would have the life she desired to live with Thomas. Although it was a contract marriage, she could not deny having intense feelings for him.It was true. She never imagined herself wanting to live with a man, craving his touch, desiring his presence so much as she wanted with Thomas. He was the first and only man she had opened up so much. She had opened her heart to him unknowingly. Now, it was hurting her like hell. She was sure he was hurt
“Thank you for today.” Olivia smiled as the car stopped in front of the mansion. Seeing her mom’s face was indeed what she needed after the long, torturous days of being away from her mom. And now that she knew that her mom was being taken care of, she was satisfied.It was all thanks to Thomas.“My pleasure.” She saw him smiling as he also got out of the car and came around to open her side of the car door. She got out and was about to go inside when he grabbed her wrist and made her stop.“Are you okay now?” He asked with an expression of concern on his face. She was confused at first thinking why she should not be alright when she remembered that she was upset earlier. He was undoubtedly referring to that.At that moment, standing in front of him and under the moonlight, her heart felt at peace. She felt like everything was alright for once. She did not feel so miserable anymore.She had no idea what came over her as she closed the distance between them and put a soft kiss on his c
“Olivia?” She whispered as soon as she saw her daughter. She was so sad for the past few days that she did not come to visit her. but she knew her daughter. She knew that she must have been caught up in something. Otherwise, there was no way she would not have come to visit her, especially after her surgery.“Mom, how are you feeling?” Olivia sat down beside her and kissed her cheek. Her mom seemed healthier than before. Mary said that she had been eating well. She had gotten sick the previous day, but the nurse had made sure to take care of her. Olivia felt like her heart would explode with pain. She was not there with her mom when she got sick.“I’m okay, darling. How have you been?” She asked her instead. Olivia smiled. There she was asking about her when her health was not in good shape. She had just had her surgery.“I am fine, mom. Did you miss me?” She asked with a smile. She wanted to make some jokes so she would not ask her why she was absent in the last week. As much as she
Olivia had just gotten off the phone when Thomas entered the room. He had left for work in the morning and just returned. He wanted to see if Olivia had listened to what he had said to her.He still remembered the conversation.“Olivia, I have a request to make. Please don’t leave the room. Stay here.” He had said as he was about to leave the room.Olivia was still sitting in the same position on the bed. The pounding of her head had eased a little, but she still had no strength to leave the room. Besides, she was waiting for him to leave before she would go to her room as she did not want to argue with him when her head felt so heavy and she still felt a little nausea.But he had just told her not to do that. Why would she listen to him?“I will do whatever I want.” She had replied without sparing him a glance. She heard him sigh. He was holding the door open but closed it.He turned around, “This is our room. Grandpa is already suspicious. He might use this opportunity to misbehave
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