Estelle Biggs“Damn!” Jeff cussed as he hit his release before pulling out.Estelle lay in bed with her eyes fixed on the ceiling, just as she was when this whole act started. Saying she wasn’t into him would be an understatement. She hadn’t been into it in the last three months since they began dating and having sex, but she knew that wasn’t healthy. She needed sex; she needed that heart-racing, leg-quaking feeling that made her feel like she’d been taken.The only one who came close enough was Jared, her ex, but he proposed marriage after six months of being together, and she told him she couldn’t marry him. Not because there was anything wrong with him—goodness, he was perfect—but because she wasn’t good for him. Not at that time. She was in a deep, dark place, and she made some very poor choices.She ended the relationship a week later because she couldn’t stand to see the look of hope and optimism his eyes had for her. Also, she declined his offer of friendship because she knew it
The university student union heads received information about a meeting held today with the vice chancellor and other high-ranking officials, and it was geared towards positive publicity for the university. As part of the student union leaders, they invited Estelle Biggs and seven other elected student representatives to the meeting because the factor they needed the most to push this movement forward was students, and this body represented them.Estelle was the president of the student union at the university, and they always needed her presence at this sort of gathering. Despite her clinical, hectic personal life, and heavy study while she headed towards her graduation, she had to show up. Mr Phillips, the vice chancellor, stepped into the meeting room with his PA, holding a journal in his hand. He took a seat, and his PA placed the journal before him.“Good afternoon, everyone.” He greeted.“Good afternoon, Mr Phillips.” They all chorused the answer.He opened up the journal. “Thank
As the meeting ended, Estelle made her way out, unlike the other excos, who stayed to meet and greet the new sponsors. She had so much more on her mind, and they still had a week of meeting and greeting before the march kicked off. Running into Jeff was the last thing she expected or wanted. She ended things with him a few days ago, after three months in the relationship. She knew she should never have given in to his pressure to turn their friendship into a relationship. He got his feelings involved fast and professed his love for her a month after they began dating, and it put her off. How she managed to stay two extra months still came as a shock to her. “Hey,” he said, stepping towards her. “Hey,” she answered. “How are you doing?” “I’m doing good, and you?” “Not good, to be honest. I’ve been a mess since the breakup.” She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she kept quiet. She didn’t feel sorry. She did what she had to do, and she did it for herself. “It was for the be
She didn’t give him any answers. She couldn’t. He wanted a chance, but she didn’t want him close. She didn’t even know if she had it in her. Perhaps back then she would have, but not anymore. Now she just wanted to live her life without any significant other holding any form of power over her.“Hey, I saw Jace Henshaw on the news today.” Darcy started up, pulling her out of her thoughts. “Isn’t the guy your father’s best friend?”“Yes...”“Yeah, I knew I recognised him from somewhere.” She nodded and came to sit down, picking up the remote and scrolling through the list of channels until it got to BBC. “Perhaps we might see him again. You didn’t tell me he was among the new sponsors for March?”“I forgot,” Elle mumbled, not very keen on this discussion.“He also spoke about expansion. Apparently, he’s taken over the Harvey Trust company here in Oxford, renamed it Henshaw Trust, and has been working to bring the company back to where it once was. Did you forget that, or you didn’t know?
Jace HenshawJace’s eyes searched the crowd of those gathered for the last meeting before the one-week march would commence, looking for Elle, but she wasn’t a part of them. She had been present in the last two meetings because of her role at the university, and she had to meet him. He had listened to her words to keep his distance, but finding her face in the crowd at the previous meeting was a sort of compensation. It made him know she was okay.He knew she didn’t forgive him; she didn’t forget what he had done, and he didn’t expect her to. He had yet to forgive himself. He was a coward and an asshole for taking for granted someone who loved him genuinely. If it was black and white, the decision would have been so much easier, but it was black, white, and grey. What she wanted was what he couldn’t give and couldn’t afford to give, yet he took what she offered without hesitation. If he could go back, he would have done some things differently. He would have been a better man for her.
He set the plate down in the sink and washed it before returning it to the plate rack. He turned around and found Darcy standing at the kitchen door.“What exactly is your endgame here?” She asked, sounding protective.“I have no endgame,” he replied, a little hurt that his reputation had made him someone who wasn’t trustworthy.“Then why are you here doing all this? You had your chance with her, and you blew it. You do not know the pain you caused her or the number of times she cried herself to sleep because of you. What she had to do! And give up—” She held herself back and pressed her lips together. “Because of the scar you left, she can’t even love or let herself feel vulnerable. You don’t get to come back and act as if you did none of that.”He felt miserable at her words, and he was mad at himself for everything he had put her through. He only wanted to make amends. “You’re right, I am an asshole. I hurt the one person I was meant to protect, and I want to make up for that. I kno
He slept better with her beside him than he had in the last few years. It could have been his senses finally finding peace for the first time. Whichever way it was, he felt content. He returned to consciousness with a smile on his face at the sight of her still in his arms. She was going to be the death of him, and he wouldn’t mind at all. He planned on telling Lyon as soon as he got the chance. It was something he had hidden away for so long and no longer wanted to.He loved his best friend’s daughter, and he knew that might make him the villain in Lyon’s book, but he had been one for a long time.His finger toyed with the strands of her hair, and he leaned in and placed a fleeting kiss on her shoulder. She shivered against the feel of his lips on her skin.She turned around, and her lashes fluttered to reveal those adorable brown eyes of hers. He couldn’t help smiling down at her, even as her consciousness returned. She pouted and scrunched up her face as she did a brief stretch befo
Partnering with the march had brought positive publicity for the company as well. There had been an increase in clients of over twenty per cent in the first three days, about thirty-seven per cent in the last four days, and then the past seven days.The March, just as he expected, was hectic and energy-draining. Nothing, however, kept him going more than knowing that at the end of today, he would have Elle in his arms.It gave him joy and filled his heart with contentment. It’s been seven days since the march started, and today was the last day of it. He felt happy to have reached his goals for the company, and even if he hadn’t, he’d still feel happy just at the thought of Elle.They had barely had a chance in the last seven days, and so they sort of satisfied themselves with the slightest opportunity they found. She was insatiable, perhaps more than he remembered from years ago, but he didn’t mind. It only made his desire for her grow.He grabbed a bottle of water from one of the coo