CLAIREI stared at him breathless for a moment. I was almost sure that I had misheard him, but then a part of me knew that I didn't. This was really happening. “Wait, what?” I sounded more breathless than I would have liked. My eyes fluttered closed as I tried to piece together what he was saying. But a part of me knew what was happening already. Maybe it was the fact that I was in denial. Maybe it was the fact that I was secretly brimming with anticipation, or maybe it was the fact that I couldn't still get over the shock. I knew that Asher was full of surprises. I guess I wasn't just aware of the surprises that he decided to have to go sleeves. Like traveling to another country after informing me in the short space of an hour. “I was hoping for two reactions. A smile on your face and a kiss afterwards. I'm not really sure I know what to do with the reaction on your face right now, he said. I inhaled deeply. He was right. I should say something. “You just told me that I'm going
/-Claire-/“She's losing blood. She needs an urgent transfusion.” I heard the voices from a distance.“She has a rare blood type, sir. The blood bank is out of it…”My brain was not processing anything other than the pain between my legs. Tears pooled in my eyes as I stared at the very man who put me in this condition.His eyes were cold and unfeeling, unsympathetic to my suffering. “If she continues this way, she will bleed to death! Even if we can cut the bleeding, she will still need blood. Is there anyone in the family who can donate blood?” The nurse asked. “No,” came a cold response. A tear slipped past my cheek as I reached for his hand. “Regal…” my voice came out croaky. My throat hurt from the dryness. “Please…”“You heard them, the blood bank doesn't have your blood type,” he stated. “I don't know what you expect me to do.” “Annabelle…”He snatched his hand from me. “Have you lost your mind? Do you want your pregnant sister to donate blood to you? Have you thought abo
/-Claire-/My eyes fluttered open and the light almost blinded me. I let out a wince, suddenly aware of the consistent pounding of my head.“She's awake,” I heard a strange voice say. Where am I?The smell of drugs hit me and I felt the sudden urge to throw up. I blinked to clear my vision and the blurry faces became clearer. They were different from the personnel attending to me back at the mansion. Did Regal change his mind? Did he get Annabelle to donate blood?My heart rate picked up as I pushed myself up. “Easy…” the strange doctor said, and just then, I felt a sharp pain in my vagina. They had this baffled look on their faces as they watched me. “What is going on?” I asked weakly. “A lot, Miss Claire. You are indeed a miracle,” he exclaimed. “I… I don't understand…” I muttered. “You were declared dead an hour ago and your family just left a few minutes ago,” he said.The information sent my head spinning. I died? I looked at him in confusion.“We understand you are conf
A year later…/-Claire-/I couldn't say my life was terrible. I ran three charity organisations which focused on helping neglected children and orphans. I had a foundation for abused women and three restaurants that were fast climbing to fame. You could say I have achieved a lot for myself and now I was working on paying back what I stole.It was a whole ton of money, and I knew it would take a while to clear the debt, t but I was giving it my best. That singular act of compromise haunted me every night in my sleep. After I stole from him, my first instinct was to flee New Jersey before he would use his connections to prevent me from leaving the country.Tonight, I was officially opening my clothing line so I made sure to look my best. The turnover was better than expected. I was honoured that most of the dignitaries I invited had shown up. I've never felt so proud of myself. I managed to achieve so much within a short period of time. With a drink in hand, I leaned on the bannis
/-Claire-/I should have taken his threats seriously. Over the next three weeks, things have slowly begun to change.It started with individuals who had no dealings with our company posting bad reviews about our skin therapy products. I didn't know what to do because the lies were very creative and believable.We thought that was all until investors started pulling out, and we received a lawsuit for Intellectual property theft. Panicking could not even begin to explain my state of mind. The remaining days were filled with sleepless nights. I had a lawsuit on my hands and if I followed up this legal fight, it would drain a lot of money from me. Especially if I lost. Which was very likely considering how stable and trusted Agingwell Corporation was. The craziest thing was that I didn't even know about this company until now. Sure, we had the same goals and very similar products but I didn't think they would pick me out of a hundred others in the same business line.And these attac
Claire.“I want you to be my wife.”His words hit my ears like a missile, making my perceived self-confidence falter. I felt blood drain from my cheeks and I blinked rapidly, still trying so hard, but failing to process his words. Be his wife? I swallowed the huge discomforting lump lodged in my throat.“Miss Peters, are you okay? You suddenly look like you've seen a ghost. No, I feel like I'm the one looking at a ghost.”I didn't need a mirror to know my skin had gone pale. I literally felt the blood seeping out with every labored breath. I watched his lips tilt into a small smile as he interlocked his fingers. His hands formed a steeple on his table, and he laid his jaw on it. His eyes twinkled, more like he was amused or proud of the game he was playing. It was all a game to him, wasn't it? He knew how desperate I was for his help, and he'd stoop as low as asking for my hand in marriage in addition to a whopping 70% profit on all investments.“Have you suddenly lost your ability to
AsherI looked at my watch. It has been hours since she left but I couldn't get my mind off our little encounter. As much as I had pretended to be in control, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or even saying. It felt as if my words and actions were guarded by a primal need to own her. I scoffed. I had tracked her all these while and immediately I had the opportunity, I had pounced on it like a hungry wolf.I swiveled my chair, wondering what she must have thought of me to throw a marriage proposal at her. What was more shocking was her reaction. She went pale, almost as if she had received bad news. Most ladies would have jumped on the opportunity to marry me—most would jump into my bed if they had the chance. But she was different. I didn't know there was a woman who didn't care about my status or money. I had to change that somehow. I stood up from my chair and headed home.It was a short thirty minute dr
ClaireI stepped out of the car, slightly pulling my jacket closer and wishing it could generate more warmth than it already did. I let out a deep, calming breath through my lips. Things weren't going exactly the way I planned, so the least I could hope for was to be in charge of the outcome. Two days earlier I didn't even have a boyfriend, but here I was about to sign away my life to a man for one year. The end determines the means, I told myself. I just needed to ensure that he broke up with me before one year and I'd be free and would have also made tons of profits.I reached his waiting room and was greeted by his secretary. She was a petite woman who looked like she was in her mid thirties. Blonde, hazel eyes and a voice that was so high-pitched, I checked if there were any broken glasses. After a little while, her telephone rang and she smiled and gestured to me to enter. With a broad smile, I entered Asher's office. A man sat on a chair across from him. Their gazes both glued o
CLAIREI stared at him breathless for a moment. I was almost sure that I had misheard him, but then a part of me knew that I didn't. This was really happening. “Wait, what?” I sounded more breathless than I would have liked. My eyes fluttered closed as I tried to piece together what he was saying. But a part of me knew what was happening already. Maybe it was the fact that I was in denial. Maybe it was the fact that I was secretly brimming with anticipation, or maybe it was the fact that I couldn't still get over the shock. I knew that Asher was full of surprises. I guess I wasn't just aware of the surprises that he decided to have to go sleeves. Like traveling to another country after informing me in the short space of an hour. “I was hoping for two reactions. A smile on your face and a kiss afterwards. I'm not really sure I know what to do with the reaction on your face right now, he said. I inhaled deeply. He was right. I should say something. “You just told me that I'm going
CLAIRE I tried to refrain from being conscious as Asher stared at me over the table. I noticed that the corner of his lips was tilted in a small smile. With the way he was looking at me, you'd think that I was something that walked out of a dream. My lips parted slightly in surprise. My heart paused, and I didn't exactly know how to react to the way that he was looking at me. I paused and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is there something on my face?” I said, and he smiled, shaking his head silently in response. My gaze traveled down to his food. I noticed he hadn't exactly eaten much, and my brows furrowed as I wondered what could possibly be wrong. I closed my eyes.“You don't like the food. Am I being too much? Did I do something wrong?” I blurted. I was unable to keep the questions at bay anymore. “Don't think too much about it. You didn't do anything wrong,” he said. “Then why do you keep looking at me like I have something on my face?” I said. “You just look... different,’’ he
CLAIRE This wasn't the usual morning that I had expected to have, but somehow, it came out for the better. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the sight of Asher handling the wheel, but it was a very interesting sight. Asher had decided that he wanted us to have the morning to ourselves without the interference of the driver. I looked through the window; the small smile that I had on my face refused to fall off as I observed the passing trees through the window. I tried not to flutter as Asher placed a hand on my bare knee. I shivered as subtly as I could. I wondered why he found it difficult to keep his hands to himself. But it was Asher. He was always going to look for an excuse to touch me. And even if I wasn't going to admit it openly, I wanted it to be that way. I secretly loved it. “You should've given me a bit more time to pack some more things,” I pouted slightly as I shot him a look. I was only able to pack up a small foldable mat, some towels, my water bottle, and than
CLAIRE I shivered with delight as I felt a cold finger trail down my back. My eyes fluttered open almost immediately as I felt myself being pulled out of sleep. I don't know how long I allowed myself to bask in his body warmth. I noticed that his arms were still wound around me like he had no intention of letting me go. I closed my eyes and sighed as I shifted closer to him. If it were humanly possible, I would enter his skin. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was all kinds of exhausted, but in a good way. “I've been thinking,” he said as he continued to trail a finger down the length of my back. I raised my head up slightly to look at him when he paused halfway. He seemed to be lost in thought. I sighed. “What were you thinking about?” I decided to press further. I didn't want him to feel like he couldn't tell me anything. “Well. I've been thinking, and I just realized that we never really get to do anything fun. Together, I mean, he said. My eyes fluttered closed once more as a sm
CLAIRE I noticed the way Asher stared at me as I sat at the vanity. I had just finished having a warm bath, and my face was bare and fresh from all the makeup that it had. I turned to the reflection in the mirror and I realized that one of my sleeves had rolled down by mistake, exposing my bare arm. I met Asher's gaze through the mirror. His eyes were dark and full of primal hunger, and for some reason, I didn't shift my eyes away because I wanted him to want me. I could see the struggle in his eyes. “What's wrong?” I decided to ask. I knew what was wrong, but I still had to ask nevertheless. “What are you talking about?”His voice sounded neutral, but I could tell that he was struggling to keep it together. A moment of tense silence lingered between the both of us. “You keep looking at me. So I'm just wondering if there's something on my face,” I said as I lifted my shoulder up into a casual shrug. “Don't be ridiculous; you know that I'm just trying to make sure you're okay,” h
CLAIRE Dinner wasn't dramatic after Asher and I returned. I politely turned down Liah's father's offer. Why they suddenly picked an interest in my charity fundraiser was something I wasn't sure that I would've been able to understand. I was convinced that they weren't genuinely interested in helping out the people who needed help, the orphan kids. It was more for recognition and a rub of ego, which I wasn't interested in. It didn't align with what I really wanted, which was my genuine intentions to help the kids and the women in the cancer ward. Liah's father's demeanor never changed after I turned him down, although I noticed a bit of tightness around the corner of his eyes when he smiled at me. Liah shot him a look screaming, I told you so'. Asher said nothing throughout the dinner, but I could understand why. Gregory said nothing either; I noticed the reluctance in his movement when he picked up his fork to eat, and I wondered if Asher's words hurt him more intently than I thoug
CLAIRE I paused at the sight of everyone seated around the dining table. It was unusual to see everyone here. I took note of Liah's displeased expression, but then again, when was she ever happy to see me? I realized that there was a new face sitting next to hers. An older man who seemed to be bordering on middle age. My gaze lingered on his features, and I realized that they held a striking resemblance to Liah's. I paused, and my eyes widened slightly when I realized that he was Liah's father. I didn't exactly know what to make of his presence. This was the least place that I was expecting him to be. As if he could sense that he was being watched, he raised his head immediately, letting his gaze travel over to me. His eyes clouded with something that I couldn't entirely describe. His expression was neutral, but I noticed the way he watched me with interest. I watched as he leaned down to whisper something to Liah. I wished that I could catch what it was, but then again, it wasn't
CLAIRE The warmth engulfed me as I entered the house. It was good to be back. The familiarity hit me, and the warmth hit my belly as soon as Asher walked in behind me. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was utterly exhausted but at the same time. I was relieved that I was out of the hospital. Somehow I was able to make it out of there without losing my mind. That had to count for something. I paused in shock as I spotted Annabelle and Regal at the start of the staircase. Asher paused behind me, taking the sight in as well. What I wasn't anticipating was my stepsister's presence. Not here, not now. I wanted to ask what she was doing here. But after eating at the cafe and making conversation with Asher. I was spent. The anticipation that I had was making my way up to bed and falling asleep. Not this. Never this. “Is it me, or do you just have a thing for showing up in places that you're not wanted?” Asher growled. He didn't bother hiding his irritation. “Claire. I was so worried about
CLAIREI felt light as I created distance between the hospital room. The relief that I felt when the doctor cleared me and confirmed that I was going to be okay was something that I couldn't exactly put into words. Asher held my hand as we walked towards the exit of the hospital. There was an unusual swing in my steps as we headed out of the hospital. “Looks like someone is happy to be out of here,” Asher teased, bringing my hand to his lips for a light kiss. “You don't even know half of it,” I said as I shot him a warm smile and pressed a kiss against his cheek. My stomach rumbled and I paused. My cheeks flushed red almost immediately. Asher grinned.“You don't know how relieved I am to hear this,” he smiled at me. “What are you in the mood for?”I paused because I couldn't exactly remember the last time that I had an appetite. It seemed like forever. “Blueberry pancakes? Muffins?” He suggested as we headed towards the car that was already parked and waiting for us. “A change wo