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031: Just a Little Longer
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Minutes later, Ayla was leaving over his hand as she lightly dabbed the site with a wet cotton ball.
"It's gonna sting a little." She spoke up, giving him a heads-up for the stinging pain which was about to shoot along the length of his wound anytime now.
Just as she had predicted, Claude began to hiss through his teeth. His tolerance of pain was definitely more than others, but in the end, he was also just another human—mortal and weak.
"Just a little longer." Ayla added in a whisper. She wanted him to know that the pain wouldn't last long. Though she failed to notice that the man was too lost in observing her, he failed to pay her words any attention.
Claude was more focused on observing every little change in her facial expressions. Be it the way she drew her brows together when he would hiss through his teeth, or the way she nibbled on her lower lip while keeping her focus on his hand, nothing escaped his eyes.
He
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Gushes of cold wind blew by her hair, turning them into a tangled mess. Ayla was regretting not tying her hair up into a bun as soon as she stepped out of the private jet. When Claude had mentioned about the getaway, she had agreed to it right away. She knew that there was nothing for her to be afraid of. He had done nothing so far to break her trust. And she believed that he would not attempt to do anything of the sort. Moreover, she was supposed to make some public appearances with him anyway. Hence, Ayla didn't find any harm in tagging along. It was a much better alternative than having to spend her weekend back at the mansion listening to her mother-in-law. But never did she think about it being out of the city. They had to take the company's jet to arrive at their destination: San Francisco. Though it only took them almost an hour and a half to reach, Ayla could feel the flight's tiredness creeping up her back. All she wanted was to jum
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"Ayla?" Claude called her out as he tried to catch up to her steps, climbing up the stairs. "Hey, hey, hey…." He grabbed her elbow and tugged at it to bring her close. "I know what we talked about, and I meant every single word of it." He used his free hand to brush away the stray locks of her hair. "There's no one in my life, and there will never be one as long as you are with me." He didn't know why, but her words affected her more than he let on. Every last one of it serves as a jab to his soul. It made him wonder about the depth of his feelings for her. So far, he used to believe that he was attracted to her because of reasons he didn't know yet. "That's not what I mean." Ayla was no less confused by her sudden outburst. Why did she make a big deal out of it? There he was, trying his best to give her a good life. And she was doing nothing but to ruin their trip. "I am so sorry." She shook her head as an apology left
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"By the way, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly are you two related? Claude kept on saying that it's a surprise and refused to tell me anything." She rolled her eyes at Claude first before giving Katherine a smile.Ayla didn't find it comfortable to be poking her nose in their private matters, but she had to know for sure."This little fool hasn't told you about me?" Katherine was a little baffled by the sudden revelation. "Don't tell me that you haven't told her anything?" She shifted her eyes to throw Claude a deadly stare, only to see him shaking his head."For real?" Katherine was clearly having a hard time believing her ears, but all Ayla could do was to watch it all from the sidelines."I didn't get the chance to do it." This time Claude spoke up in his defence. "Everything happened so fast, and I wanted her to get settled down first before disclosing anything about the family's secret. More so, I couldn't do it with Mo
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"Name the devils and here they are. Come on Ayla, I'll introduce you to them." Given no other choice, Ayla followed Katherine out of the living room with Claude walking closely behind her. As soon as she was out and about, her eyes landed on three children—two boys and one girl—and a man following behind them with a couple of plastic bags in his hands. "Noah!" Katherine threw him a glare before giving him a warning out loud. "You better have not let them overshop that sugary junk. Or else, be prepared to sleep on the couch tonight." Ayla found the whole scene a bit hilarious as her eyes darted around the entrance hall which was now filled with loud chattering. "Kids, behave!" Katherine yelled once again, but this time it was directed at the three children who had their eyes focused on Ayla. Their eyes shifted back and forth between her and Claude as they exchanged a few words every now and then. "Is that our new aunt?" The gi
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"Claude…""What is it?" He muttered a reply under his breath as he took a step closer to her. Bringing his free hand up to her face. He slowly tucked away a few stray strands of her hair which had managed to slip out of the bun that rested on top of her head.A sharp breath left her trembling lips and she shook her head."N-nothing.""Talk to me." He refused to let go of it. He wanted to know if any of his actions bothered her. Because if they did, he would respect her space and take a step back no matter how badly he wanted to feel her in his arms."Kathie must be waiting for us." Ayla forced herself to reply to him. She lacked the courage to say anything else to him even if she wanted to. Hence, she chose to make the safer bet and brought his attention back to the matter at hand. But what she didn't know was that he could be a lot more persistent than he seemed."She can wait." His thumb moved over the
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[The following chapter includes mention of sexual assault. Kindly read at your own discretion.] "Let me tell you a story, kitten." He pushed himself off the wall, dusting his coat in the process. Gavin walked to the other side of the room to pick a chair and dragged it to the centre of the room. He settled down on it so that he was facing Ayla. "What story?" Despite the fact that she was scared for her life, she didn't show it on her face. She knew that she had to put up a brave front until Claude could reach her. He would realize sooner or later that she was missing. With a smile, Gavin began. "My father and a friend of his started a business together. The kind which was to grow into a big one over time. But the old man got played by his so-called friend. My father spent everything we had or owned on his dream. When our family w
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"Because it looks like I interrupted something important."Her frown was the only thing which Claude could see but the helplessness which filled her eyes was enough of a giveaway for him. She was feeling guilty for interrupting their meeting. Well, it was more of a tour now. The actual meeting had already been wrapped up a while ago. It was what had Claude believing that her interruption was not going to have any repercussions. Even if there were any, he didn't care."It's fine. Don't worry." Claude rubbed his hand up and down her back to calm her down. Turning his attention to the group, he began. "Apologies for the interruption everyone, but let me introduce you all to my girlfriend." He was smart enough to not announce her name to the team. Though he wondered where Ayla was going with the secrecy."I am sure she must have a name." It was Mr. D'Souza who spoke up. There was a small smile playing acros
