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051: Our First Date (III)
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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Because I own this place."
Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as Claude's words hung in the air. She had her eyes staring back at the man, ready to roll out of their sockets any second now. It was the soft 'ding' of the elevator arriving on their floor that pulled her back to the present.
"You what?" She drew her brows together, questioning the man. As far as she knew, Atkinsons' Corp never dealt in the food business.
"You heard me, wife." Claude brought his hand to rest at the small of her back and gave her a small push forward, guiding her to step inside the elevator along with him. "I own this place." He repeated his words from earlier before explaining himself.
"It's much easier to have a place ready for business meetings and gatherings. Saves me a lot of time on making sure that a reservation is scheduled for a specified day and date." He reached forward to press a button on the side panel of the elevator wall that was m
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Ayla could only shake her head at the man's words even though they managed to turn something inside her chest. He was more than a gentleman when it came to treating her right and she knew better than to take it for granted. She would always voice out her gratitude with a soft "thank you" usually, but at times like this, his words threw her mind off balance a little. Hence, she would go for the next best option: changing the topic of the conversation. "Why is it that I didn't see any staff members on our way?" She muttered out in her calm tone as soon as the duo made it inside the private room. Claude, being the gentleman he was, pulled out a chair for her, pushing it a little forward once Ayla had settled down comfortably. "Thank you." She muttered under her breath while keeping her eyes trained on the man as he moved around the black marble table and found him settling down in the chair across from her. "I like my privacy." Cl
The Heartless Bride 053: Making it to the Newspaper
The next morning, a groggy Ayla made her way down the staircase with a jump in her steps.She woke up to an empty room. Claude was nowhere to be found, and one look at the grandfather wall clock in his study made her realize that she was the one who woke up a little later than usual.It took her half an hour to take a bath and get changed into some black, cotton, skin fitted trousers which she paired with a white tee and matching high platform converse. Tying her hair up in a pony, she put on her black rimmed glasses. Giving herself one last look in the dressing table mirror, she made her way back to where her bag was lying. She only spent five minutes fixing her college bag before flinging it over her shoulders and heading downstairs."Good morning." She announced her presence with a cheerful greeting as soon as she stepped inside the dining hall.Her eyes wandered around the room for a little while before landing on the lone figu
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"Come here." Claude brought his arms to rest on her sides before pulling her down to settle on his lap. He made sure that she was comfortable with her legs dangling over the armrest of his chair while he hugged her body close to his chest. His actions took Ayla by surprise, but she didn't find herself frowning over them. Instead, her stiff muscles eased under the warmth of his body. "I know you only mean well, but I would hate myself if my presence ends up bringing you trouble, of any kind." He brought his free hand to her face, cupping her cheek before pressing a feather light kiss on her forehead. "But it won't. It will, in fact, put my worried mind at ease." Ayla tried to reason with him only for him to turn her down. With a shake of his head and a deepening frown, Claude shushed her by pressing his index finger against her lips. "Things have finally started to become normal between us even though we are
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Ayla stared back at her own reflection with a deep frown etched in between her brows, causing them to almost meet in the middle. "Are you sure this is not too much?" She couldn't stop herself from voicing out her doubts as much as she was afraid of offending the artist. "Trust me, darlin', this is just perfect." The lady kissed her teeth and shook her head. She could understand the lady's concern, but she knew better. Despite it being a 'charity' gala, the elites of the society never backed down from showing off their wealth through the gowns and dresses of their partners. "You scream just the right amount of elegance and sexiness." She added with a wink, teasing the lady a little. "Thank you so much, Irene." Ayla looked over her shoulder and passed the woman a full blown smile before making her way to the table that was set up by the wall. "It's been my pleasure, Mrs. Carter." The make-up artist shook her head before following
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"F*ck."Claude sucked in a mouthful of air through his teeth as he took the sight before him in. His eyes never wavered away from her figure. He opened his mouth a couple of times only to close it once again as his words failed it."It's too much, isn't it?" A groan followed Ayla's complaint as she eyed herself down.It was only then that Claude came out of his trance, a loud scoff forced out of his lips."Are you kidding me, woman?" He rolled his eyes before closing the distance between them. "It's nowhere near too much. On the contrary, actually." He huffed out a long sigh as his steps hurriedly covered the gap between them, bringing him to stand before her."You look perfect, Ayla." He mumbled in a whisper as he brought his right palm to cup the side of her face without applying much pressure. He would hate himself if he somehow ended up ruining her makeup. She was looking a little too perfect for him to allow that to hap
The Heartless Bride 058: The Charity Gala (III)
"You gotta be kidding me." Ayla mumbled out an annoyed groan as she eyed her surroundings. She was somewhat thankful for the privacy that the tinted windows were providing her and Claude.Their car was parked outside the main entrance of the hotel where the event was supposed to be held. Atkinson Corp. Two of the adjoining ball halls were booked for the entirety of two days so that nothing could go wrong."It's going to be alright, Ayla." Claude reached out to caress her bare shoulder, trying to calm her jittery nerves down. "Why are you getting so worked up?""There are so many cameras out there…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to gather her thoughts. Her mind was already hazy with how stressful she was finding it all. She was never one to do good in between a large crowd. Especially when she was the center of all the attention."That's normal for an event as big as ours." Claude kept caressing her right shoulder in slo
The Heartless Bride 059: The Charity Gala (IV)
Claude watched her fiddling with the fabric of her dress as her eyes roamed around the wide hall which was filled with people. He wanted to make sure that all of his attention was on her, but it was really starting to get really hard. There were many people around who were waiting to have a conversation with him, and he had to entertain his guests even though he would rather get done with the night already.Another reason for his tolerance was the event itself. If it was some other high-end ball, he would have already left after making an appearance even if he was the host. But he couldn't do the same for tonight. Tonight's event meant a lot to him; it was more like a personal cause than bringing some good PR for the company."Hey." He leaned down and whispered next to her ear as his hold around her waist tightened ever so slightly. "You look like you are about to puke." Now that they were given some privacy, he decided to voice his thoughts out.
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[Three years later…]"Breathe in… breathe out…" Ayla was mumbling to herself as she tried to calm down her jittery nerves.She was standing before a floor length mirror, her eyes focused on her own reflection as her dress glinted under the warm lighting of her new room. Bringing her palms to the front of the dress, she ran them down in attempts to smoothen down the nonexisting creases. She couldn't help the worrying thoughts resonating at the back of her mind, her frown only deepening. But before she could delve down further, a knock at the door brought her out."Is anyone inside?"The voice was so familiar to her that a sigh of relief left her lips unconsciously."It's just me in here." Ayla breathed out as a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She had sent everyone out including the make-up artist and her team once they had
The Heartless Bride 191: Desires (II)*
[The following chapter includes mention of R-18 content. Kindly read at your own discretion.] Claude sucked onto the soft spot as his finger moved inside her, earning her moans in return which were not less than a siren's call for him, luring him to continue. He felt her insides tightening around his finger as he moved it relentlessly. He knew that she was close to finding her release and deliberately slowed down his movements. Ayla could feel her orgasm building up, inching closer to the edge. She let out a frustrated groan when Claude slowed down his movements. "D-don't st-op." She managed to say in between her gasps for air. "Oh! I am not planning to, my love, not tonight." Claude murmured against her skin and moved his lips to her cleavage, biting and sucking on her fair, smooth skin. "This might hurt a bit." He said as he inserted
The Heartless Bride 190: Desires (I)*
[The following chapter includes mention of R-18 content. Kindly read at your own discretion.] "You don't think that it makes me unworthy of you?" She managed to mutter out as she held Claude's gaze. "You must have hit your brain if that's what's going through your brain." Claude scoffed as he leaned down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. This time she didn't push him away but responded with the same passion. It wasn't until both of them ran out of their breaths did they pull back. "Do you understand now how much you mean to me?" Claude flicked her forehead as if he was reprimanding a small child. "I do… you mean no less to me." She smiled for the first time today and it was enough for Claude to know that everything was going to be just fine. All she needed was a little time and his love. "I love you." Claude mumbled
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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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The Heartless Bride 185: Suspicions (I)
"So…"Ayla dragged it out as she turned around to stare at the man who was still standing by the doors."Mr. D'Souza?""Call me Gavin, please." He still has the same charming smile playing across his face as he walked further into the room"Umm… I am pretty sure I can not do that." Ayla let out a nervous chuckle. There was something ominous about the way he stared back at her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was sure that it wasn't only her mind playing with her. Something about him had shifted since the moment they walked in."Oh, please. Claude and I may not be the best of friends, but we are on our way there. It would mean a lot to me if you'd call me without any formalities." He paused before adding after a while. "Only when it's us… three."'What the f*ck!'Ala
The Heartless Bride 184: I was Missing you (II)
"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
