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099: The Vixen in Red (II)
"Claude!"
The voice was shrill enough to make Ayla's eardrums ring in its wake. A figure rushed closer to her as she forced herself to stand straight without Claude's support. It wasn't long before his warmth was swept away from her as the lady in red squeezed herself in between the two of them.
"I can't believe you are here." She began to ramble about it as she threw her arm around Claude's neck, hugging him close without any reservations. "It's been so long since the last time I saw you." She continued as she leaned back to have a better look at the man's face who had his attention focused elsewhere.
"I heard about what happened to you. I am so sorry. I still can't believe it that they forced you into marrying a complete stranger." The young woman in red was clearly oblivious to the presence of the other three people who were only glaring daggers into her back.
"It was not l
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"I thought he would have at least mentioned me before tying the knot with you. After all, I was the only one he was in a serious relationship with. It was serious enough for him to propose to me…""Selene!" Claude let out a warning growl as he stared down at the lady in red, his hold around Ayla tightening as if he was scared of letting her go."What?" Selene scoffed. "I am only stating the truth here, Claude. What are you so scared of?" She rolled her eyes as she took a step closer to the couple, her eyes focused on the man in black, "don't make it sound like you are actually scared of losing her because I am not buying that sh*t. If you are forgetting, I actually witnessed the fear in your eyes firsthand when I said no to you." Her chin was raised up in the air as she looked down at Ayla who seemed to be least bothered by her sudden declaration."Claude…," a soft mumble escaped her lips, deman
The Heartless Bride 101: Brutally Honest
"I wasn't ready to settle down back then. We were barely adults at that time with no future of our own. I wanted to wait, but Claude wanted to make us permanent. That's why I said no to him when he asked me to marry him."Ayla continued to stare down at Selene as she pursed her lips together, her mind processing Selene's words. After a good minute, her pursed lips finally broke into a smirk."In that case, I owe you a thank you it seems." Ayla mumbled out with a scoff. "If it wasn't for you turning him down, I would have never been able to marry him.""Don't act like you had a choice. You might be able to fool him, but I know better." Selene refused to back down even after seeing how her words didn't affect the couple at all."You can think whatever you want, Selene." Ayla rolled her eyes as she took a step back, finding herself back into Claude's arms. "It only matters to me if he's the one thinking the same about me." She was only spea
The Heartless Bride 102: In the Shadows (I)
"If I wasn't here with you, if we weren't together and married, would you have given her a second chance? Would you have said yes to her today?"Claude watched her lashes flutter around as she kept her gaze locked on his chest, watching it as it rose and fell with each of his breaths. He contemplated her words, thinking through his own reply. It wasn't that he didn't have an answer for her already, but he wanted to make sure it was what he would have wanted.It took him a while before he was able to come up with a reply. Drawing in a deep breath, he muttered out. "If I am being honest here, I don't know what I would have done if that was the case." Claude was speaking the truth. "As much as I would have wanted to jump at the opportunity, I couldn't have done it. I don't think I would have been able to make myself accept her and pretend that she never left me. How would I know that she wouldn't do the same to me again?"&nb
The Heartless Bride 103: In the Shadows (II)
"Why, why, why?" The man from earlier chuckled out loud. "So many questions… but there's only one answer to all of them." He took another drag. "I want to crush him under my foot after striping him of everything… and stealing everyone away from him…."The man leaned back into his chair, resting against its back as a menacing smirk slowly crept up on his lips. "I am going to finish what my father started." He took another drag from his cigarette. "He was a fool to let go of the young boy. Look where it got us." His eyes darted around the dark room as he ran his free hand through his hair."If only he had the guts to finish them both back then, I wouldn't be sitting here and working my brain." He added frustratedly.His lackey raised his hand up in the air to get his attention before speaking up. "If my sources are right, Boss, the old man of the Atkinson's family is going to hand down his position as the family head tonight
The Heartless Bride 104: Pretty Face
"Why are we here?" Ayla spoke up as she brought her steps to a stop right next to Claude.His hand was still holding hers, his fingers wrapped around the back of her palm with no intention of letting go. It was like Ayla was complaining about it, but his actions only made her wonder about the thoughts that ran through the man's mind."Because I wanted to be here with you." He gazed down at her from the corner of his eye, a faint smile clinging to the curve of his thin lips. With a light tug at their clasped hands, he pulled her closer to himself. "I wanted to enjoy a couple of peaceful moments with you before things went down the drain back at the mansion."Ayla watched his shoulders becoming tense under the coat. She wanted nothing more than to take his worries away, every last one of them just like he had helped her family at their lowest without asking anything in return. All the man wanted from her was her companionship. That too because it
The Heartless Bride 105: New Leader
Soon after sharing a moment, the couple was forced to join the rest inside once again. Unlike before, there was an eerie silence looming over the hall. Even the bright fairy lights gleaming in the distance couldn't help in overcoming the gloominess."This is it." Ayla mumbled under her breath as she took a step forward to stand right beside Claude. His arm came to snake around her waist right away as if it was the most natural thing to do. "I hope they don't break into a war against you right away." She muttered out in a low whisper, leaning into his side for comfort."They wouldn't dare to. It's the old man's birthday. He chose just the perfect day to announce this." Claude let out a soft chuckle before pressing his lips against the top of her head. He could feel her tense muscles relaxing into his embrace, calming down his own fretting nerves.Their attention was drawn to the other side of the room where hi
The Heartless Bride 106: We are Eating Chinese Today
"I am going to miss you." Claude mumbled again her skin as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, not wanting to let go of her."You were stuck with me for three days. I am shocked that you aren't already bored with my existence." Ayla couldn't help the laughs that escaped her lips. She was trying her best to not make fun of him, but it was really hard since Claude was behaving like a child.The duo had made it back to Los Angeles after spending another day at the old mansion which somewhat belonged to Claude now. Though he intended on keeping it under the name of his grandfather."I am just glad that it's over now even though I am going to get buried under tons of paperwork." He complained to her as he withdrew his face."It didn't go too bad." Ayla shook her head, finding his pursed lips rather amusing. "Who am I kidding! It went so much better than I was expecting." S
The Heartless Bride 107: Weekend Shenanigans (I)
[One month later.] As the days passed by, Claude and Ayla only grew closer. They were doing much better now, taking one day at a time in building their relationship up. Though they didn't have a good start, both of them were willing to work for it. Neither wanted to already give up and stay stuck in a relationship that was only there for appearances sake. On a lighter note, Ayla had managed to graduate with a good GPA. She wasn't the smartest of them all, but she managed to finish college amongst the top five students of her class. Moreover, she had a stellar performance when it came to the clinicals. She was hoping her records would help her in landing into her desired field. But one could only hope for things to turn out better and for life to not mess up the plans. ---------------- "Claude?" Ayla's soft voice rang through the empty corridors as she made her way down the stairs with a sprin
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The Heartless Bride Epilogue
The Heartless Bride 191: Desires (II)*
The Heartless Bride 190: Desires (I)*
The Heartless Bride 189: The Most Precious Thing to Me*
The Heartless Bride 188: The Culprit (II)
The Heartless Bride 187: The Culprit (I)*
The Heartless Bride 186: Suspicions (II)
The Heartless Bride 185: Suspicions (I)
The Heartless Bride 184: I was Missing you (II)
