"Do you think it's a good idea?"That was Emily. She had been asking questions since Zoe told her she had agreed to go on a date with Henry. She had even told her she had decided to sign Henry's proposal since she had no other option."It's not a good idea, I agree, but it's the best among the options I have left. You need to understand, Em." Zoe crashed on Emily's bed.Emily was sitting in front of her makeup mirror. She had just arrived from the shower when Zoe had told her of the latest development. She had turned to face Zoe when she had talked about agreeing this was a terrible idea, but she knew she had no better option at the moment. There was a moment of silence.Ever since Emily and Zoe became friends, they had both made lots of crazy decisions, and this to Emily seems to be the craziest. It is crazy and dangerous at the same time. She had read a lot about Henry Arthur, and she knew how ruthless he could be. That dude was a devil!Zoe noticed Emily was still worried. She coul
Zoe signed the documents while Henry watched with keen interest. At last, Zoe belonged to him alone. Victory at last.Zoe signed the last paper and returned the pen to Henry, who collected it with a mischievous smile. She marveled at how much money he would have spent on the pen."You can have it if you want," he returned it to her. "It's just five hundred thousand dollars. I have more than one.""Who cares?!" she said inwardly."Thank you, sir; I don't need it," she replied, even though she knew she would love to have it, knowing what it would fetch her if she sold it."I insist you have it, and that's an order," he said. "Remember you already signed the deal," he added, pointing at the documents on the table.Was that it? Was that the type of life she would live from now on? She was pissed at herself. Life had been unfair to her, and it kept fucking her face.She looked at the pen in Henry's outstretched hand. It was a fortune. She hadn't noticed there were diamonds until now when s
"I can't believe it, Zoe. He told the bodyguard to drive you home by this time?" Emily said with eyes wide open.She was surprised Henry did not take advantage of the time. She had thought he would force her to spend the night with him since it was late, and God knows what would have happened. She knew what would have happened."I was surprised myself. You need to have seen my look; my mouth was practically opened in surprise," Zoe emphasized while cleaning the red lipstick off her lip.Zoe was seated in front of the dressing mirror with Emily behind her, dressed in her silky nightgown. She looked at Emily's reflection in the mirror as she talked, waving her hand dramatically, making one think she was talking to the reflection in the mirror."And what did you say?" Emily asked, resting her hand on Zoe's chair."Say?" said Zoe turning slightly to face Emily. "What do you want me to say? Girl, I said nothing," she added, turning back to face the mirror.She grabbed another handful of a
Zoe woke up feeling light-hearted. She couldn't recall when last she woke up feeling this much freedom of mind. She wasn't wondering what she would tell the loan companies if they called. She wasn't scared that they might take legal action against her. She could look Leo in the eyes confidently and feel like a capable older sister, which she had always wanted to be. Today, she was going to spoil Leo and Emilly silly. They had endured much together, and today, she decided they would enjoy a great deal together.Zoe reached for her phone and opened her account to confirm if the money she had received last night was still there or whether it had been a dream. She blushed as she saw the additional two hundred thousand dollars sitting on top of her measly five hundred dollars which she only had left as a last resort. She overcame the urge to scream, but she did practically dive into the bathroom.She sang in the shower, taking her time to wash as if she was cleansing not just her body but
The stranger lady wrapped her hand around Henry's midriff. She threw her head backward and laughed at something he said or did. Zoe tried to peel her gaze from them; instead, she stared at them more intently. Suddenly, her eyes, like a pair of magnets, attracted Henry's, who looked surprised to see her. She saw him lean towards the lady's ear and whisper animatedly to her. The lady shot Zoe a cold stare, crossed her arms, rolled her shoulders, and paused dramatically.Henry saw Zoe coming towards her."Oh, lord!" Zoe thought."Zoe, what a surprise," Henry said, stopping before her."Hi," Zoe stared at her foot."You want to get out of the line? I could get you a ticket faster, and you can join me."Zoe looked at Emily and her brother standing behind her, and she didn't know if she should introduce them. Neither of them even darted a glance in Henry's direction. Naturally, Leo would've been keen about who was talking with his sister, but Emily had already said the word boss and Leo wou
Zoe had already been on an outing with the billionaire, but this time it was different. She was meeting with him in his penthouse. Thanks to the heads-up she had gotten from Henry, she had spent time with Emily in the boutique to pick out the best dress for the occasion. A car pulled up in front of Emily’s house at 6 p.m., and Zoe peered out the window and groaned, wishing it hadn’t.Her phone rang, and she crossed over to the table where it lay and stared at the caller’s ID. Seeing Henry’s name displayed made her feel like she was staring down the barrel of a gun. Reluctantly she picked up the phone and answered it.“Hello Zoe,” Henry’s voice was deep. “My driver is waiting outside your house to pick you up. I hope you are ready?”“Okay, I’ll be with him shortly,” she replied.She took a look at herself in the mirror and smiled at how perfectly the silver and black gown she wore accentuated her curves. The dress stopped at her knee. She had done her makeup by herself, and it was perf
“Oh, you mean this?” Zoe said, placing the box on the center table. “I don’t want it. It’s beautiful, alright, but I mean, why are you giving it to me? To what end? I don’t need any more favors from you, Mr. Vice President.”“I insist, Zoey,” Henry said, making Zoe groan, rolling her eyes.“You can’t keep forcing me to accept your gifts,” Zoe said, sounding incredulous. “It’s not proper. It’s, it’s like you’re trying to buy my acceptance, but I can never accept you! It’s like you’re pumping me with all these gifts and money, so when you ask for something in return, I won’t be able to deny you that, but you see, that’s the thing, I will never allow myself to be bought with money or gifts.”“Oh, keep quiet; everyone has a price, but listen, that’s not what I’m trying to achieve, okay.”“Okay, so what’s the significance of this gift?” Zoe said, narrowing her gaze. “Yesterday, you gave me a pen worth… I don’t know, five thousand dollars? Then you paid my debts and gave me some extra money
"Thank you, miss, but you shouldn't have done that," Stewart said to Zoe in the elevator."It's nothing," Zoe replied. "That was outrageous and uncalled for.""Ah yes, but I didn't want you getting in trouble with the Vice President because of me," Stewart explained."Don't worry about me." Zoe smiled."I can't believe that after working with the Vice President for years, all it took him to get rid of me was a single mistake.""I'm so sorry, Mr. Stewart.""It's fine; I will look for another job.""I'm sure you'll find a better one.""I sincerely doubt that. I was lucky with this one. I don't think I'll ever see someone who will pay me as much as Mr. Henry does."The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out simultaneously. Zoe followed Mr. Stewart behind, heading to the front door. Before exiting the living room, Zoe glanced back, half expecting to see Henry, thinking she had heard his footsteps, but then there were only giant portraits staring at her.Zoe allowed Mr. Stewart to con
He was not sure who deepened the kiss first. It might have been Zoe- or at least a part of him wanted it to be her- but since it was all he had been thinking about since he saw her when she walked downstairs, it seemed more likely it was him. It stopped being important who deepened it first when their mouths collided fully in a clash of wet, warm tongues. Zoe’s arms went up and around his neck, clinging to him. Henry slid his hands down her body to her backside, scooping her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her mouth further into his, exploring, tasting. The soft moans she released from her throat made his body tremble slightly. His knees weakened as his erection lengthened. Zoe kissed her way down his face, around his mouth to his neck, his throat, inhaling deeply when she got there. She felt perfect in his arms. He dropped her mouth to her shoulder and bit her there softly which caused her to moan louder. Bringing his mouth back to hers, he move
Zoe went to Mario’s house the next day with rage. She had made herself clear about leaving Henry to her. Why he kept meddling, she could not tell. She went into his room without knocking, and saw a half naked girl on his bed. The sheets was the only thing covering her nude body. "Welcome," the girl looked at Zoe from toe to head. "Mario did not say anything about a third person joining us." "Where is he?" "He stepped out for a bit." Zoe groaned in frustration. He was having fun with girls while also making things hard for her. The door to Mario’s room opened and he walked in wearing a black robe. He took one last puff of his cigar and put out the flame on a steel plate, furrowing his eyebrows at Zoe."What are you doing here? I did not ask you to come over." "I needed to discuss with you," she glanced at his visitor on the bed. "In private." "Excuse us," Mario told the girl as she got up from the bed, shrugged on a dress and walked out. "You can speak now.""I thought we agreed
Zoe stared up to the face of the voice in shock. Henry’s eyes searched her face worriedly. "What is wrong?" he asked. "You look like you have just seen a ghost." "I needed to step outside for a moment," she replied, checking to see if Mario was anywhere in sight. Zoe could no longer find him in the swarm of people. "You should have told me. Let us go somewhere else if you do not feel comfortable here." Zoe shook her head. "You still have guests to meet. I do not want to keep you away from them.""You are more important to me. Let us go." She felt bad making him leave early because of her. Zoe followed him outside, letting Henry open the front door for her. "Since when are you this nice?" "I am a changed man." Zoe snorted at his claims. "That is hard to believe." Henry was trying everything he could to gain her trust but she was being too hard headed. He should have known winning her over would take more effort and work. Coercing her into a contract marriage was obviously not e
Henry cleared out his work schedule to spend the day with Zoe. The last time they went out together on a date, he ended up messing everything up. This was his second chance to earn her trust again. Maybe if she trusted him, she would not have to be sneaking around in the house and be open to him. If she was hiding something from him then there must be a reason. She had never been one to be too secretive. Zoe would come to him herself whenever she was ready, but for now, he had to focus on winning her back. Zoe changed out of her clothes into something perfect for a date. She wore a dress with heels and a sling bag. Henry suggested a date together out of nowhere. Was he really changing for the better? Why did he have to be nice to her now of all times? If Mario had asked her a year ago to crash the servers, she would have done so with glee and without hesitation. But not now that he is actually putting in effort to make sure she was happy. Zoe joined Henry outside who waited for he
What Mario asked her to do was impossible. Crash Henry’s company of all things? He had already admitted to his wrongdoings and even apologized, doing what Mario suggests would be beyond heartless of her. "I can't..." Zoe tried to muster up courage. "I can't do that. I settled things with him. There is no need for that." "I am not asking you to do it for yourself," Mario said. "I am asking you to do it for me." Zoe could not understand why he was being this way. It was not like he held a grudge towards Henry or anything. She used to hold a grudge and she was finally letting it go. Mario’s demands were questionable. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Since you can't hack into their system, I want you to crash the system servers. If his branch here becomes useless, then he can go back to America where he came from." Mario did not know yet that if Henry leaves for America, she is going along with him and that meant she would not be able to work for Mario anymore. "Why can't y
It was a bad sign that Henry was getting suspicious about her. If only Maria had not been too forward and ran her mouth like that. The cons of having an overactive five year old. Henry had even went ahead to do a background search on Mario without her knowledge. Him digging a bit deeper might ruin everything. She had to be extra careful now and quit being so distant from Henry. Her actions was what was making him grow suspicious. He surprised her earlier by stating he was trying to make things right between them. It sounded like this was not about Maria anymore. It was about both of them resolving their past issues. He even got flowers for her with Maria. Zoe came out of the shower that night and noticed Henry was not in the room. They had not spoken a word to each other after she walked out on him in the kitchen. Was she being too harsh? Even Emily advised her to give him another chance. Henry and Zoe were going to spend the rest of their lives together, it was only reasonable t
There was nothing else that could quench Henry’s curiosity other than what he was about to do. Zoe kept giving him reasons to suspect her, and his gut never failed him. There was something about her so called boss she was desperately trying to hide. Henry could tell from her reaction yesterday when he mentioned him. It was either they had an affair, or some other activity Henry was yet to fathom. He called Daniel into his office and Daniel showed up immediately. "There is something you have to do for me," Henry said. "I am all ears." "Zoe has a boss. His identity is unusually unknown. I want you to find out who he is and what he does." "Are you sure about that?" Daniel asked. "If Zoe finds out you are digging into her work life, she is going to be pretty pissed." "Let us worry about Zoe later. Do what you are asked to do." Daniel knew contradicting Henry’s opinions would only cause an issue, so he nodded and left the office. Doing long distance was harder than he thought, and
Zoe moved into Henry’s apartment by the end of the week. He was out with Maria when she stopped by the house. Daniel happened not to be home too. She had been instructed to pick up the house key from inside the flower pot just beside the front door. Zoe dragged her luggage inside the empty house, taking a look around. His taste in house decor had not changed over the years. Everything still looked expensive and shiny. She was conflicted on whether she should share a room with Henry or take a separate one. This was just a marriage contract because of Maria, she thought. Zoe did not feel obligated to share a room with him. Making up her mind, she chose a room and settled in it. Maria and Henry were out having father and daughter time, and Zoe could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy no matter how hard she tried to push it away. They were getting closer day by day and she did not want Maria drifting away from her. But then again, they both still had to make up for the five years
"He said what?!" Emily exclaimed on the other end of the phone call. Zoe had just told her of Henry’s proposal, and her reaction was understandable. "It sounds crazy, right?" "Crazier than when he asked you to be his mistress? Yes," Emily said. "This is marriage, Zoe. You are going to spend the rest of your life with him. Are you sure you want to do that?" "Do I really have a choice? I want to do it for Maria." Emily sighed deeply. "I understand. But it is all just so surprising. You have been running away from him, and now you are going to marry him. The universe must really want you two together.""This has nothing to do with the universe. That bastard would not just leave me alone." "Did Maria and Henry get along?"Zoe scoffed. They did more than getting along. "I would say she even loves him more than she loves me at this point." "You know that is not true." "Emily, please. I know what I saw." Zoe was not jealous Maria seemed to like Henry a lot, she just did not think Mar