LOGINShare
145: The New Arrangement (I)
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56[A week later.]
"Good morning, Miss." Ayla was greeted by the housekeeper as soon as she stepped into the open kitchen.
"Morning, Mrs. Grace." Ayla passed along a wide smile to the old lady who was working her way around the kitchen counter to prepare her some breakfast. "How are you feeling this morning? Is it better?" She perched herself on one of the high kitchen stools and continued with their conversation. "You really don't have to work today, or better, for a couple of days until you have recovered fully. I can easily fix myself some breakfast. You should go home and rest." Ayla tried to persuade the old lady even though she knew that it was a near impossible feat.
Mrs. Grace, her new housekeeper, had not been feeling well for two days now but no matter how much Ayla tried to stop her coming to work for her, she wouldn't listen to any of it.
"Oh, please, Miss." Mrs. Grace shru
Related chapters
The Heartless Bride 146: The New Arrangement (II)
"Morning…"The slight dragging of the stool was enough to break her focus combined with the husky greeting. Ayla turned in her seat and stole a glance at the man who was looking no better than a mess."Morning." She greeted him as she raised her mug closer to her lips to blow off the steam. "What happened to you?" She continued to watch him from the corner of her eyes as the old lady busied herself with serving Claude his breakfast."Work." He kept his replies short."I didn't hear you coming back last night." Even after they had come to a mutual understanding, Ayla found it hard to not care for him. Not after figuring out her newfound feelings for the man who refused to engage into a proper conversation."It was pretty late. You were asleep already." Claude muttered out a reply, not bothering to carry on the conversation once his food was ser
The Heartless Bride 147: The New Arrangement (III)
Later that night…Ayla stepped out of the hospital building as she hurriedly tapped on her phone's screen. She was formatting a text for her driver to come around the building so that she could leave as soon as possible. She glanced at the time displayed on top of the phone's screen and sighed to herself as she realized that she was already running half an hour late. Claude was not going to be happy about this, definitely not. She shook her head to either side before looking up, her eyes searching for the man who was supposed to be out here already. She had left him a text before logging out for the day, yet the man was nowhere to be seen.Her eyes drifted off to a lone figure who was standing by the corner, his attention too focused on his phone's screen as his fingers tapped away. All she could make out in the dark was the man's silhouette which was wrapped by a long winter coat. He reminded her of someone, only if that someon
The Heartless Bride 148: The Scandal (I)
Claude looked up from his phone as he heard the door click. A small smile swept across his face as he eyed the beauty before him. "Well, don't you look lovely." He couldn't stop himself from throwing out a praise as his eyes travelled up and down her frame. Ayla was donning a deep red gown with an A-line silhouette. There was a slit running up on one side, leaving part of her right leg bare. She was barely wearing any accessories, though she didn't need to. Her blood smeared lips were enough to garner anyone's attention. "Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself." Ayla couldn't meet his strong gaze. Her eyes looked everywhere but at him. She knew that it would only end up on a bad note for her if she was to look him in the eye. Moreover, she failed to understand his motives. One moment, he was pushing her away whereas the very next, he was openly flirting with her. "Ouch.
The Heartless Bride 149: The Scandal (II)
"..I want a divorce…"The very second those words came out of Ayla's mouth, the car was brought to a screeching halt by the side of the road."W-what did you just say?" Claude took off his seatbelt and turned around to face her. "You want a divorce?"This time, Ayla looked him in the eye. She didn't want to come off as a coward before him despite the fact that saying it out loud was hurting her just the same. "You heard me right the first time. We have already separated our paths. I don't see any point in keeping the act up." She was only speaking the truth.They have drifted apart so much that she found it hard to believe that their relationship could be salvaged at any point in life."That's not what I was talking about when I said that we couldn't be together." Claude shook his head, frantically. He refused to believe his own ears as every last w
The Heartless Bride 150: The Scandal (III)
"Why don't you let me have one more thing in exchange for a few thousand bucks…," he paused as he leaned in further, bringing his lips next to her ear as he whispered into it. "You."Ayla couldn't believe her ears. It was hard for her to be buying his malicious words but the sinister curl of his lip was enough to convey the truth. Claude meant it. He meant it all."Y-you…" She shook her head frantically as she backed against the car's door. "You don't mean it.""But, I do, wife." The smirk never left his lips. "We never made it past the romance. If we are to divorce, why not consummate our marriage first. It would make it all too real. Don't you think so?" He leaned further in and ran his nose down the side of her face as she tried to pull further away."Stop it, please! Just f*cking stop it, Claude." She begged him to not push it any further in her quivering voice. Tears we
The Heartless Bride 151: Separation
"But I will have you say it back to me one day…"The words she wanted to speak out loud were pushed to the back of her throat as she struggled to come up with the courage. Ayla shook her head before taking a step back against the side of the car."I don't think that I am ever going to be ready to be saying them back to you, Claude. I just don't." She shook her head as she tore her gaze away from his face. She didn't have the heart to witness the conflicting emotions swirling in the depths of his eyes."Take your time, wife." Claude managed to mutter out as he took a step to the side. The cars speeding by were long forgotten as the couple carried on with their conversation."I don't think I can do this any longer either, Claude." Ayla shook her head as she raised it to look back at him. "I can not." Her vision was starting to get blurry with unshed tears forming in the corner
The Heartless Bride 152: Back in the City
[A year and a half later…]"Mr. D'Souza, you are not understanding the situation. I only agree with you partly. This deal will definitely do my company some good, but we are still going to be doing no less if this deal doesn't go through. Can you say the same about your company though?" Claude spoke into the phone's speaker, his feet never stopping once as he made a beeline out of the airport's terminal. A small army of uniformed men followed him closely, their sharp eyes trained to detect any sort of danger."Now, you are talking." A heavy chuckle left the man's lips as his free hand came up to push his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "I will send the finest of my men to take care of everything. All you need to do is make sure that there's nothing wrong on your side." The smile never left his lips even when he was bidding his goodbyes. "It was good doing business with you, Mr. D'Souza. I look forward to seeing you at the
The Heartless Bride 153: Fancy Seeing You Here
"Dr. Lawrence?""Yes?" Ayla looked up from a patient's chart. A nurse was standing before her looking a bit queasy."You alright, Em?" Ayla couldn't help but inquire about her well being as she closed the charts and placed them back on their stand."I am completely fine." The nurse shook her head as she clasped her hands together at the front."Okay… you called for me?" Ayla continued the conversation, reaching out for the sanitizer bottle. "Do you need me for something?""Umm.. well… you have a visitor." Her voice shook ever so slightly as she struggled for words. The nurse's eyes were looking everywhere but at Ayla who was intently staring down at her."Okay. Who's the visitor? Please, tell me it's not a patient's family member. Especially not that old lady from last week." A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled la
Latest chapter
The Heartless Bride Epilogue
[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
The Heartless Bride 189: The Most Precious Thing to Me*
[The following chapter includes mention of self harm. Kindly read at your own discretion.] "Ayla?" Claude knocked at the door as he glanced at the clock. "Are you done, love?" He made sure that he was loud enough for his voice to go through the thick door. It had already been an hour. But she hadn't come out yet. Claude was starting to get worried. "Ayla?" He called out her name again only to be met with the same reply—silence. Though he could hear the water running constantly, he wasn't able to hear her voice. "Ayla?" He tried it one more time before making his way to the other side of the room. Claude searched through a drawer and then moved to another one. If only he could remember where he kept it. "Found it." He mumbled under his breath as soon as his eyes landed on a golden key. It was the master key
The Heartless Bride 188: The Culprit (II)
"Take your hands off her!"Ayla's eyes flickered to the owner of the voice and a long sigh of relief left her trembling lips."Claude…"In between the chaos, Claude could only see her lips moving before her eyes rolled up and she fainted."Ayla!" He didn't waste another second and rushed to her, not paying any attention to the culprit. He would have plenty of time for him later. At the moment, the only thing which mattered to her was the wellbeing of his girl.With hurried steps, Claude walked to where she was and started to untie the ropes which were holding her in place."How the hell are you here? Where are my men?" Gavin kept babbling but even then, Claude paid him no attention. He was so busy sheeting with rage that he didn't bother paying attention to anything else. Not the men, who were dressed in black from head to
The Heartless Bride 187: The Culprit (I)*
[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
The Heartless Bride 186: Suspicions (II)
[Three weeks later…]With a jump in her step, Ayla made her way to her favourite store. Things were going great with Claude finally. Everything in her life seemed to be on track. Well, almost everything.Though Claude and her were spending more and more time together with each passing day as if they were in a relationship. They kind of were, but the man never asked her to be his girlfriend despite the fact that's how he had been introducing her to everyone who saw them together.There was one other thing which was bugging her at the back of her mind. Because of peer pressure about them dating—if it could be called that—the two of them inadvertently started using black masks whenever they were in public. Neither of the two wanted to let others throw in their unwanted opinions about their relationship. Though somewhere deep inside her heart, she wanted the whole world to know that Claud
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
