Threats
Adrian's POV I sat in the car, waiting patiently for Miguel to get done with the brief introduction, but it seemed he was taking things too far. I had to stop him. The expression on her face when she set her eyes on me was indeed priceless. Astonished at the way she looked at me, I couldn't help but wonder if she had thought it was all going to pass away like that. If she had thought so, then she was dreaming and needed to wake up. As the prideful man that I was, I sauntered right to where my assistant stood. "Hello, Mrs. Gonzalez" I greeted, emphasizing the name so she could realize what she had gotten herself into. Her silence made the atmosphere awkward, and a moment passed before I realized that we weren't going to make any progress if I didn't take the first step. "Miguel" I called, walking towards the door and pushing it open. "Let's go in." "Alright, sir" Miguel replied and followed me in. It was then she snapped out of her daze and tried to block our path, but it was already too late. I made sure I sat comfortably on the sofa before putting my full concentration on her. "You can't just claim to be someone I don't know and barge into my house like that" She shouted, her bloodshot and her face etched with anger. "I don't know who...." Before she could complete that sentence, I waved the marriage certificate before her eyes, and she kept shut immediately. "You forced me to marry you at the courthouse yesterday" I began, my voice low and firm. "I've thought about it and I've accepted my fate. So, as the legal wife of the Gonzalez family, you'll have to live with me. I came here to take you home with me." "No, no, no" She refused, shooking her head vehemently. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't myself when I did that. I was hurt and I was searching for a way to vent my anger...." "So you chose me," I said, cutting her off again. "You chose me to vent your anger and forced me to get married at a time I never planned to." "It was a mistake, and I'm sorry" She cried out and clenched her fist. "We could sort this out without having to do things this way." I chuckled amusingly and said. "The only way you can make up for this is by taking responsibility for your actions." She couldn't utter a word for a while, and I didn't plan on giving her the chance to refute my words. Most certainly, I had come prepared to win the case. "Being forced into marriage affected my mental and emotional state" I continued. "You'll have to remain as my wife till death do us part." "No way!" She screamed. "I didn't sign up for this." I waved the marriage certificate before her eyes again. "You did. You signed up for it with your actions and hands." "But I already told you I wasn't myself when it happened" Luisa argued, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry about your health. I can pay you to get yourself treated." Without warning, Miguel burst into laughter, clutching his stomach hard. I let him laugh all he wanted until I detected the displeased look on Luisa's face. "That's enough, Miguel" I ordered. "Yes, sir" Miguel replied. "I'm sorry. It's just so funny how you believe you can pay off the money bag himself." "Miguel" I called, and glared hard at him. He shut his mouth up and sat back properly on his chair. I returned my gaze to Luisa, who was drawing an imaginary circle with her toes. "Luisa" I called, and she looked at me. "You're coming home with me now. As your husband, I have the right to make such demands." "Mr. Gonzalez, you don't have to keep dwelling on being forced. We can still annul the marriage since nothing has happened between us" Luisa argued, her voice full of urgency. "We can go to the courthouse now, and we'll both be free." "I disagree" I retorted almost immediately. "I want us to remain married." "And I'm saying it was all a mistake" Luisa shot back. "Annulment is still an option." Damnit, I cursed inwardly. She was quite stubborn. I wanted an obedient and submissive wife, but I guessed she could be tamed. I didn't want to use my ultimate card to deal with the situation, but since she was so bent on annulling the marriage, I was going to have to use it. "If you refuse to move in with me, I'll have no choice but to call the cops on you" I stated, my tone full of conviction. "You'll rot in jail for your actions. I'm sure that won't be good for your career." Yeah, I had made my findings, so I knew she was a TV personality and a model. That was another problem. The Gonzalez Family detested picking a wife from the entertainment industry, but that was then. I was the one in control now, so the choice was mine to make. Luisa stared at me for a while with a blank expression on her face. I could tell she was thinking about my threats carefully. "Unless you agree, you're going to spend the rest of your life in jail" I added with a tone of finality. "You don't have to do this" Luisa pleaded, and clasped her hands. "What about my career? What would people think of me?" "You don't have to worry about that" I replied. "I'll protect you from them. I don't make such promises unless I have the power, which I do. Your safety is guaranteed and your fame will remain intact." "No, I don't want that" Luisa disagreed, and inhaled sharply. "I don't want the public to know about us. I want us to keep our marriage a secret from the public. If you can accept that, then I'll accept my role as your wife."Suspicions Luisa's POV Go to jail and ruin my whole career? No way! I'd rather stay married to him. He wasn't bad anyway; I was certain I would be fine. Still, I felt uncomfortable. I should have known rich men were hard to please. Can't believe I'm married to a stranger, because of my foolishness. "We're leaving now" I heard him declare, and my thoughts ended abruptly. "I beg your pardon?" I exclaimed. "You heard me" He smirked, and stood up. I took a step back and stuttered. "I... I'm sorry, but I have to pack." "Don't worry about that. I already have that in control" Miguel chipped in, his eyes on his phone and he typed on it. "I already texted someone to come help you with that." "But, sir...." I trailed off, seeing the angry look on his face. "What's it?" He walked up to me and grabbed my chin. Honestly, I hadn't seen that coming. He leaned forward and whispered into my ears, his breath hot. "You should know my name by now." "Huh...." The words stuck in my throat and
A trap Adrian's POV "What is it?" I asked sharply, annoyed by the interruption. One of the things I valued greatly was table manners. A fearful glint flashed through her eyes as she stuttered in reply. "My... My manager is at my house. How do I tell him I've moved out? If he finds out about this, my career is over." I exhaled heavily and dropped my cutleries on my plate. At one point, I shrugged. "You insisted on keeping our marriage secret, so you have to deal with it yourself." "What?!" Luisa exclaimed. "What are you saying? I'm not the one who insisted on moving in today?" "That's not my problem" I fired back. "I didn't force a ring on your finger." Luisa stood up abruptly and banged her fist on the table. Her cheeks were burning red with anger. She wanted to lash out but was probably short of words. "Have your seat and finish up your meal" I ordered. "You're not my father" She snapped and walked away, dashing to the stairs. My cutleries hung in midair as I sighed deeply.
His territoryAdrian's POV"You're making a big mistake, you know" I let out a deep scowl."Nah... This is a golden opportunity for me" Ortega retorted nonchalantly. "I had my men keep an eye out for your assistant. That was how I got to know you were coming. It's so stupid of you to have come here alone.""Well, I guess you still have that mentality of you being the most powerful" He added."And what's wrong with that?" I berated. "I'm undeniably the most powerful.""Not for long. I'll be taking that title away from you tonight" Ortega declared with a frosty voice, his eyes narrowed. "Have your seat."I remained adamant but had to comply when his men cocked their guns. I needed to make him have a little taste of victory before turning the tables. That way seemed interesting.I crossed my legs on the sofa and smirked. "Now, tell me, Mr. Ortega, what do you want?"The man chuckled amusingly and stood up. He walked to a desk and picked up a document. He walked back to me and dropped it
Chapter 9PrideLuisa's POV"Oh, no!" I exclaimed as my stomach grumbled for the umpteenth time.Thankfully, my manager had called to tell me he had left my apartment. I was relieved. His call had saved me the trouble of telling a lie.I rolled on the bed and punched the pillow to vent my anger. That silly man thought he could play me like a fool. I wanted to suck it up, but the worms in my stomach were uncooperative. I needed to snack on something, but my pride wouldn't let me leave the room, so I decided to get some sleep.A few minutes passed, and my eyes were still wide open. I lowered my so-called pride and jumped out of bed. I tried wearing my footwear but changed my mind instantly.I glanced at the wall clock and it was just five minutes past eight. I walked to the door and opened it, I peeped out to make sure no one was lurking around, before tiptoeing out of the room.Soon, I found myself at the dining table. It was already cleared up. The only option I had was to head to the
RegretsDiego's POV"Mr. Sanchez, the report you asked for is ready" Michelle stated the moment she walked into my office.I looked up to see her walking seductively as usual. Ever since Luisa ended things with me, she's been hellbent on finishing what we started, but the truth was, whatever I felt for her during those times was just pure lust.She wasn't even close to my type. Unfortunately, I had a high libido; I couldn't resist her. My life had never remained the same since Luisa left. I couldn't even do anything properly.I wanted her back. I just hadn't figured out a way to get to her. Wait. I could use.....A loud bang jolted me out of my thoughts and my eyes settled on Michelle, who had a deep frown on her face.I was furious. "Did you just bang your fist on my desk?"Michelle snorted in disgust and folded her arms with a challenging posture. Took me a lot of courage to take my eyes off her body figure."You've been spacing out lately. Is it because of that bitch?" She question
SnitchesLuisa's POVHow come I didn't know he worked here? I'd never paid attention to the company's name itself, or was it a transfer? He looked so terrible, but I didn't feel even an ounce of pity for him. What was more shocking was the fact that he worked for my husband, the CEO himself.It was hilarious, I must admit.His pleas were so absurd. Now, I regretted telling the bodyguards to allow him to speak. He has further ruined everything with his last statement.Get back together? In his wildest dreams. I'd rather become a penguin than be with someone as useless as him again."Please, Luisa. You know you love me" He pleaded desperately. "I know you still do. You're just angry.""There you go again; making me feel like I was the obsessed one" I stated. "What you're asking for is beyond my capabilities. It's best you move on and find someone else to love you, or you stick to your assistant. She can satisfy you in bed, can't she?""It's you I want" Diego argued. "Unlike you, she's s
Testing her patienceAdrian's POV"You have five minutes to tell me the truth" I stated.Hmph... She thought she could hide it from me. I had already received a text from the bodyguards before she got here."Tch..." She clicked her tongue. "Fine. He's my ex-fiance.""Oh," I smiled mischievously, leaning my back against my seat. "Was he the man who made you force me into marriage?""I didn't force...." Luisa trailed off, her cheeks burning with anger."You want to say something?" I questioned with a teasing tone.Luis's inhaled sharply and snarled. "Can we not talk about that again? We've gone past that.""Nah... We haven't" I refuted. "It was never my intention to get married like this, so I'll always remember.""Fine. Suit yourself" She snapped and folded her arms."He's going to get fired" I declared nonchalantly."What?!" Luisa spat. "You can't do that."I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why? He caused commotion in my company, didn't he?"Luisa hesitated a bit before responding.
SpitefulLuisa's POVI was so furious that I didn't see the person coming my way until I bumped into something hard."Ouch!" I screamed in pain, ready to transfer my aggression to the person who was not at fault."Are you okay?" I heard a soft male voice say. It kind of reminded me of Adrian, which fueled my anger.I swatted his hands away and pushed him aside with the little strength I had. "Get out of my way."Surprisingly, he didn't stop me. I walked into the elevator and arrived at the first floor as soon as possible, but it seemed today was going to be quite dramatic.Guess who I met standing outside the elevator? It was Joyce, Diego's secretary.Initially, her face was etched with surprise. It instantly morphed into a look of contempt."Hello, Luisa. It's been a while" She greeted with her chin slightly raised. She thought she could intimidate me. One thing she wasn't aware of was the fact that I wasn't scared of anybody but myself.I didn't have friends, so I didn't feel entitl
Plan BValerie's POVI took a deep breath, sparing Jude a glance. He understood immediately and moved around, placing a file on each person's table. As soon as he was done distributing it, I gave him an order."Go through it and tell me what you think. Remember, this is all about business.""Such impudence!" An old man roared, banging his fist on the table and standing up violently, causing his seat to fall backward. "How dare you? This is the highest order of disrespect."I burst into laughter. "Disrespect? Impudence? You use those words like those papers aren't telling the truth. They're authentic and just one mail to the police would get you all arrested.""We won't accept this!" Another board member yelled. "Who on earth gave you the audacity to dig dirt on us? Even your father doesn't have the guts."I shrugged, unaffected by their deathly glare. "That's one of the reasons why I intend to take over from him. He has been quite lenient with you all, which is the reason why you all
MadrilenoAdrian's POVGeorge of all people??She knew how to ruin the mood. We hadn't been on a talking note since last night. I was thankful she never answered my question last night.Meeting my grandfather was equivalent to opening the gate of hell. At this point, I wasn't ready for trouble. I would consider letting him in on the truth, but not anytime soon.As soon as I was done getting ready for work, I headed straight to the dining area. I met Charles supervising the maids to set the table."Good morning, Master" He greeted the moment our eyes met.I nodded in response. "Did she have breakfast before leaving?" I questioned.Charles shook his head. "Madame said she couldn't wait, but she'll surely come home for dinner."I scoffed. "Of course, she will. Unless she wants to test my patience."I sat down to have breakfast, and in just ten minutes, I was done.I grabbed my jacket and devices and strutted out of the house. Kyle was already waiting by the car. Soon, we hit the road.Ar
Dangerous ideas.Valerie's POV"Jude, have you sorted out my dress for the ball?" I questioned as he drove.He looked at me through the rearview mirror, his brows furrowed. "I thought you wanted to go pick your dress yourself. I already made a reservation for you.""Very good, but before that, kindly release a picture of that brat and the evidence of the surrogacy procedure" I ordered, smirking. "It's past the deadline and they haven't met our demands. Perhaps, they don't want to take us seriously. We need to show them we're not playing.""Alright, ma'am" Jude responded, holding his phone with one hand and controlling the steering with the other. "I'll text a friend of mine now."My eyes narrowed. "A friend?""Yes, he is the one who's good at the tech stuff. He's also very reliable and trustworthy" Jude explained confidently.I kind of had a bad feeling about it, but I brushed it off.My eyes brightened as I recalled something."Jude, what do you think we can do about Alicia and Jason
Ruined moodLuisa's POV"What's going to happen to them?" I questioned, breaking the awkward silence in the car.Adrian's sapphire blue eyes landed on me."Miguel will take care of it. I already sent him a text" He replied. "As for the video, it's been taken down. Those fools are only going to offer an apology to make things clear. You have nothing to worry about.""I know," I said, and cursed inwardly. What's that going to make him think I found him reliable?I looked at him, and our eyes met. I couldn't stop staring at his lips as it reminded me of the kisses we shared."I don't mind you staring" I heard him say, snapping me out of my daze.Damn! Can't believe I got lost in his eyes.I scoffed, and looked away, praying silently for an opportunity to get away from me. Though, I doubted that was going to be possible.A few minutes later, the driver drove through a large iron gate attached to a high fence. The outside was quite ordinary, but the inside......it was mind-blowing."Where'
ExposedDiego's POV"The young lady in there was never pregnant" The doctor dropped the bombshell, and my heart stopped beating for a moment.What?! That's impossible. In fact, why should I stay quiet and listen to such nonsense?"What are you saying, doctor?" I voiced out fiercely. "She told me she was pregnant with a pregnancy test result as proof."The doctor sighed. "Those kinds of things can be forged. It's easy to detect, especially when the hospital's seal is not on it. Most people tend to ignore the seal because of the shock or excitement, so I understand your plight."No way. She didn't just fool me with that. What for?My head was spinning as every other word I wanted to speak got stuck in my throat."Then what was the bleeding all about?" I heard my boss ask.The doctor let out a throaty chuckle. "It was just red wine stored in a ball. She put it in between her legs, and crushed it when the moment was right."Red wine? So hilarious!I still couldn't process the fact that I
Damages Luisa's POV “Oh, my”, I exclaimed inwardly, feeling uncomfortable. I could sense trouble brewing. I mean, why Diego of all people? The moment I got out of the car, and walked over to Adrian's side, I met our driver having a conversation with the annoying being. The argument seemed to be heating up, but Adrian wasn't moved one bit. "You have to pay for damages or get ready to face the consequences" I heard the driver say with a sharp undertone laced with a warning, but Diego wasn't willing to back down. I doubted he knew who the car owner was. "Pay for damages? Never!!" He snarled. "Why don't you go ahead and tell your so-called boss to get the hell out of here? Get your garbage car off the road." "Are you talking to me?" Adrian finally voiced out, his voice stern. Diego's head snapped to our spot, his eyes widened in shock, and his mouth agape. Good for you, I scoffed inwardly, anticipating what could happen next. "Sir... Sir, I... I didn't know it was you
Wrong timingLuisa's POVA few minutes since Miguel left, and George hadn't arrived yet. My heart was beating hard against my chest as I anticipated his arrival. It was never in my plan to meet with him while Adrian was present. I just hoped he wasn't the mischievous type.Soon enough, a knock on the door broke the silence. The visitor didn't wait to be invited and walked in."Hey, brother. You called" A sarcastic voice resonated through the air as George walked in with a weird smile on his lips.Our eyes met for a moment before I looked away."You have just one chance before you lose what your grandfather gave to you" Adrian stated threateningly.The tension between them was palpable, and I was prompted to leave, but George just had to draw me into their conversation."I see you have a new secretary" He mentioned, giving me a wink.I could tell Adrian was furious, but his control was just too good."It's none of your business, George. That's not what I called you here for" He stated
TensionValerie's POV"Hello, Bestie" I greeted, and her pupils dilated, her face etched with horror.She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out."I know you're happy to see me. Can I come in?" I asked, my smile broadening."Why are you here?" She finally managed to utter, her breath hitched.My smile broadened. "To see you, of course. How long has it been? Five years?"Alicia inhaled deeply. "There's nothing between us. Our friendship ended the day you....""Come on, Alicia. I thought you were always ready to forgive" I cut her off, my voice full of mockery. "I'm sure we can both settle our differences and go back to how we used to be.""Not happening" Alicia snapped. "Leave my house."I laughed. "Nah... Not when I haven't seen your beloved husband and your son yet."I chuckled, then added. "I'm surprised you got married before me. Remember we both agreed to be each other's bridesmaid. What happened to that promise?"Alicia inhaled deeply, tightening her eyelids. "Please an
RevelationsAdrian's POVWhat could have made her have the thoughts of eating at the company's cafeteria?It was totally weird and uncalled for. Our relationship for the past few days had been distant, and it stunned me when she brought a tray of food to my office.It was strange, and my years of working as a CEO with many enemies trying to kill me ignited my distrust, so I decided not to touch the food. She seemed upset, but I pretended to not see it.The dinner was just a chance to at least get back to the way we used to be. As for the ball, it was an invitation I received late, but it was from someone of utmost importance to me; that was why I accepted. I didn't even bother giving her room to argue or decline.She was legally my wife, and I couldn't afford to go with any other woman for the sake of peace and my reputation.A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. Luisa surprisingly stood up to get the door, but she scoffed and walked back to her seat. I finally saw Miguel walk