LANA'S POVI rushed out of the house and went to my car, and when I got inside, I cried against the steering wheel. I wanted to feel nothing when I saw JJ and killed him, but the thought that his blood was on my hands, tortured me. Dax couldn't even help without making me feel worse than I already felt. I sniffled and lifted my head off the steering wheel, pushed the key inside the ignition, and drove away. I went straight to the nearest bar that I could find. I ordered five shots of vodka and gulped them as if they didn't make me feel as if my tongue was being burned. I wanted to forget everything that happened and wake up to a whole new chapter of my life. I was tired of how miserable I felt every day since I lost my parents. I needed a break..."Lana, we need to go home." A familiar voice spoke as I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. My head was heavy as I lifted my head from the table and looked at the person. "Dax?" "Can we go home?""I don't want to go home. I don't want to go
OCTOBER 2022LANA'S POVThe next morning, I woke up from my cell phone ringing inside my bag. I got up and took it out of the handbag and answered it. "Hello?""Is this Amalah James?" I hesitated for a second, closed my eyes, and exhaled. "Yes?""You're talking with Din Flemmings, I am Paolo Costa's lawyer. I am calling regarding your father's estate." "Oh." I sat down on the couch in the bedroom and looked at Dax and Xavier as they got up and looked at me with confused expressions on their faces. It was a bit weird that Costa already listed me as one of the beneficiaries of his estate when we only reunited shortly before his death. "Can I come and see you to talk in person, Miss James?" "Oh, I'm- That will be okay, I guess." I was hesitant."Perfect. You can send a location of your choosing," Din replied enthusiastically. "I will send you my house address," I answered. "That will be perfect. I hope to see you soon."I hung up the call and felt like there was a big lump in my
MAY 2022 ~LANA~ "You have coronary artery disease. It causes the blood vessels to your heart to narrow and limit blood flow..." The doctor's voice echoed in my ears as I sat there and saw my life flash right before my eyes. I was 24 years old and barely had anything in my name to leave a legacy behind. "What do I do?" I gathered all my strength and looked at the doctor, trying so hard not to shed a tear. "You will need a heart transplant. Or else, you have a year or less than that to live." A year to live? "Oh, so how much is that transplant?" I swallowed. "It is a very expensive procedure, Lana. You will need donations, or perhaps a sponsor. There is no way that you will be able to raise this money all on your own," he answered with worry on his face. It was just so funny how I always imagined my inevitable demise every time I remembered my parents' death anniversary. It always crossed my mind that I might not live past the years they had lived. They, too, had nothin
~DAX~"I will not get married so that you can hand over your company to me, Father! We both know that I am good at what I do, regardless of my marital status!" I snapped as I walked down the stairs. My father was behind me. Insisting for the hundredth time that I get married before he can legally hand over his company to me as his firstborn son. It was so demotivating that I had to earn my rightful inheritance by my marital status instead of my hard work and dedication. He knew that I was more than qualified to handle the company after him. "I will not have you rule that company with hoes, son!" He yelled as we both got downstairs. I turned to him. "If you don't want me as the successor to your company anymore, Dad, don't try to force it by making me marry before my appointed time!""You are 30 years old, Dax! Aren't you ashamed of yourself that at your age you still sleep with different girls and have no prospects for your future?!" He asked. "I decide when I want to marry, Fath
~LANA~After I met with Dax, he took all my contacts, and my house address and said that he would contact me as soon as his lawyer and financial advisor went through the contract and sent me all the terms and conditions before I commenced as his 'Fake Wife'. I was giggling inside when I left his office. "So, did you get the job?" My very nosy work friend asked during our shift at work. I remembered that I informed her a few days ago that I applied at Dax's Club to be a stripper. I sounded very enthusiastic and made her believe that I would be leaving the underpaying job very soon. "You would not believe what I'm about to tell you," I led her to the passage so that our boss would not scold us for talking during working hours.I looked both ways before I whispered to her, "I got a good deal. 10 million dollars for just being his fake wife."She looked at me and gasped. "What the hell?!""Shh... Ben will hear us," I whispered to warn her to get her voice down. Ben was the manager of
~LANA~Xavier? I could not believe my eyes. I hadn't seen him since forever. It had been exactly 2 years since he graduated from college and left. I never thought that I would ever see him again ever since. "Oh, you've bought yourself a wife already?" He smirked. "Bought? Really?" Dax scoffed. Xavier rolled his eyes, cleared his throat, came forward, took my hand, and brought it to his lips. The brief kiss left tingles on my skin, and I awkwardly smiled at him because we were pretending not to know each other. "I am pleased to meet you, sister-in-law," he smiled."Nice to meet you," I smiled back. He was so good at pretending. I wasn't even sure that it was him or just someone who happened to look exactly like him. I imagined how hard it was going to be to have dinner with him in the same room. He and I had a history. We did things to each other that still lingered in my mind whenever I thought of him. "I am Xavier. Dax's younger brother," he kept eye contact. It felt so a
~LANA~The next morning, I woke up as usual and prepared myself for work. I dressed up and put on a jacket because the weather was a little bit chilly. I tied my hair into a bun, and when I was satisfied with my look in the mirror, I headed to the kitchen to have breakfast. After I was done and had had breakfast, my phone beeped. A text from Dax. Dax: "Be ready in two hours. I'm going to pick you up. I have a meeting that I need to attend with you.""He got to be kidding," I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I read the text. But then again, I didn't tell him that I had a job at the coffee shop. As I was contemplating whether to go to work or not, my phone beeped again. Money transfer of $5,000. And a text from Dax.Dax: "Get yourself a nice dress." 'Did he just send me my monthly salary to get a dress with it?' I muttered to myself as I looked at the bank notification. I sat down on my kitchen chair, and it then started to sink in that I signed a contract with Dax to be his
~LANA~When we got to Dax's meeting venue, he took my hand and boldly walked with me in the boardroom. His father and brother were there. Together with a group of boardroom members who lifted their eyes and studied me carefully as I walked in with Dax. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My apologies for being late. You know how it is living with a woman. They take time getting ready," Dax chuckled softly as he helped me to sit down. The people in the boardroom chuckled. "Oh. This is my wife, Lana." He finally introduced me, taking my hand into his and kissing it. If that was not all a pretense, I had to commend Dax for being such a perfect gentleman and husband. He knew exactly how to make me feel like a lady and make people envious of our union. A part of me wished to find something as beautiful as our fake marriage someday. "We are pleased to meet you, Lana. Though you and I have made acquaintance, I believe that everyone here is also pleased to know you as my son's wife."
OCTOBER 2022LANA'S POVThe next morning, I woke up from my cell phone ringing inside my bag. I got up and took it out of the handbag and answered it. "Hello?""Is this Amalah James?" I hesitated for a second, closed my eyes, and exhaled. "Yes?""You're talking with Din Flemmings, I am Paolo Costa's lawyer. I am calling regarding your father's estate." "Oh." I sat down on the couch in the bedroom and looked at Dax and Xavier as they got up and looked at me with confused expressions on their faces. It was a bit weird that Costa already listed me as one of the beneficiaries of his estate when we only reunited shortly before his death. "Can I come and see you to talk in person, Miss James?" "Oh, I'm- That will be okay, I guess." I was hesitant."Perfect. You can send a location of your choosing," Din replied enthusiastically. "I will send you my house address," I answered. "That will be perfect. I hope to see you soon."I hung up the call and felt like there was a big lump in my
LANA'S POVI rushed out of the house and went to my car, and when I got inside, I cried against the steering wheel. I wanted to feel nothing when I saw JJ and killed him, but the thought that his blood was on my hands, tortured me. Dax couldn't even help without making me feel worse than I already felt. I sniffled and lifted my head off the steering wheel, pushed the key inside the ignition, and drove away. I went straight to the nearest bar that I could find. I ordered five shots of vodka and gulped them as if they didn't make me feel as if my tongue was being burned. I wanted to forget everything that happened and wake up to a whole new chapter of my life. I was tired of how miserable I felt every day since I lost my parents. I needed a break..."Lana, we need to go home." A familiar voice spoke as I felt a hand tap on my shoulder. My head was heavy as I lifted my head from the table and looked at the person. "Dax?" "Can we go home?""I don't want to go home. I don't want to go
DAX'S POV "She's been sitting in that exact position on the couch for hours now. She refuses to eat anything or even drink anything. I don't know what we should do," I vented to Xavier as we watched Lana from the upstairs balcony. "JJ is in the garage, so maybe she should see him before I kill him." Xavier's response sounded as if he didn't think before talking. I quickly turned and looked at him and whispered. "Are you insane? She doesn't need to see that asshole after what he did to her, again." "It's the only way to get her out of the current state that she's in. She must face him," he still insisted. "No, Xavier. That's a stupid idea and it's not happening," I stood my ground. "Where is he?" We looked down when we heard Lana's voice. Xavier took the opportunity to give me a 'I told you so' look and I frowned. I took a deep breath and headed down the stairs to Lana. "You need to get something to eat and rest," I said when I got to her side. I wanted to see JJ pay for eve
XAVIER'S POVI kept counting the minutes that Lana was inside Suzy's apartment. I wondered if she remembered that we had to be somewhere and did not have time to waste here. I frowned because I saw this from a mile away, and if they had both listened to me, Dax and I wouldn't have found ourselves in this awkward situation. "We have to go in." I was infuriated and Rico was not even close to finding that asshole JJ. He was nowhere to be found and his bodyguards were back at Boliver, which was very unlikely that JJ could go anywhere without them."She's only been there for ten minutes, Xavier. Just calm down," Dax replied in a very relaxed tone. "She's been with her forever, Dax." "Can you trust her for a minute and give at least five more minutes? Suzy is her best friend, remember?""Fine," I huffed and dialed Rico's number. "Tell me you got some clues about where he could be," I said as soon as he picked up the phone. "He didn't leave Highwaters.""Are you sure he didn't go back t
LANA'S POVTo figure out where exactly we could find JJ, I started off by calling Suzy before Xavier's friend could help in finding him. We were in town and just around the corner from Suzy's apartment when I called her. Dax and Xavier were looking at me and trying to signal to me that I had to act as natural as possible so that she would not be suspicious of my call if she was with JJ. "Hey, Suzy. Are you home?""Yes, I am. What happened yesterday? You just left without saying a word to me or even picking up my calls when I called you. Did anything happen when you went to the toilet?"I was relieved when I heard that she was not convinced that I ran away because I saw her with JJ. "Yeah, I'm - I met an old friend in there and I was trying to get to her, but I already lost sight of her.""You could have said so, Lana. I was so worried about you. Where are you right now?"I looked at Dax and Xavier and stuttered. "I - I am at home. With Xavier and Dax."Suzy suddenly started crying on
LANA'S POVThe next morning, I woke up next to Xavier staring at me."Good morning," he smiled and kissed my forehead."Good morning baby," I looked at him and suspected that he might have been waiting for me to wake up so that we'd carry on where we left off last night. "You good?" "I'm good baby, and I slept like a baby. How are you feeling?" I got up and tied up my hair into a bun so that I'd prepare to take a shower."I'm good. I was watching you to make sure that you didn't run off on me."I looked at him and laughed. "You're unbelievable! Oh my gosh!" I took my pillow and threw it at him and got off the bed and dressed up so that I'd head out to the bathroom that was outside. He chuckled and got off the bed too. "Can I come with you?""Do you want to?" I looked at him and smirked while my hand was already at the doorknob. "Are you daring me?" He smirked and stood up with his dick hard as a rock.I couldn't help it but blush. "I dare you."I quickly turned the doorknob but bu
LANA'S POV As soon as I roared the engine to life and drove off, Suzy tried to call me but I didn't pick up. If I knew her 'Jay' was 'JJ', I would have tried to tell her why she was not supposed to be with him. And now that I had a picture of him sleeping with her in my mind, I felt like I was losing it. The very thought of his tongue on her repulsed me and I could not wait to get home and get Dax and Xavier to do something about this. "Lana, are you all right?" Xavier asked me when he saw me walking inside the living room. He was sitting on the couch with Dax, and it looked like they were having lunch."I saw JJ," I walked towards them. "What?" Dax exclaimed and got up from the couch. "He's Suzy's boyfriend, can you believe it?" I answered them, still unable to get the picture of them together off my mind. "I should have known when Suzy told me her boyfriend's name was Jay."It was as if I was there every time they made love and made each other cum. I wondered if he felt as good
SEPTEMBER 2022LANA'S POVSuzy and I finally had our lunch date. She was so happy when she saw me and we ordered our favorite food in our favorite lunch spot. It was everything that I wanted to do for months, but couldn't because I didn't know how to face her and continue lying on her face. She was the only person I was close to except Dax and Xavier. It made me happy to finally be able to be myself around her and not hide anything from her. It bothered me for months that I couldn't tell her about Dax and Xavier and the contract. "How are the brothers?" She winked. I giggled while trying to get a spoonful of my mashed potato gravy. "They are good boys.""I still wonder how it's like having two men all to yourself. You must tell me what it's like, Lana." "How about I leave you to wonder?" I laughed."No way, you will do no such thing! You must tell me about the sex!"I almost choked on my drink but I quickly had it under control and laughed. "Suzy, will you stop?"She leaned forwar
LANA'S POVAngry, I picked up my phone and called Xavier after ending the call with Costa's lawyer. It was no coincidence that Xavier sent me a voice message about how he wants me to know that he loves me in case he didn't make it. He was with Costa when he died, and I needed to know what happened."Lana?" He answered."What happened to Costa? I know that you were with him."He was quiet for a moment before he answered. "So, you know?""I know. Why didn't you tell me?" "Because it wasn't the right time to tell you that, Lana." "He was my father, Xavier. You don't have any right to decide when I should know about his death.""I understand, Lana. But I didn't want to tell you before you got out of the clinic.""That's no excuse, and you know it. Now, tell me what happened."He sighed. "Lana, we both need our rest.""Should I ask Dax?""Fine. JJ shot him, the guy who -""The guy who raped me, I know his name. So, he killed him?""Yes, but I will find him, I promise." "oh, he killed hi