One desperate contract. One year to pretend. One chance to change the trajectory of her life. Amelia Davis never expected her past to collide with her present—it almost seemed like a soap opera. When her childhood friend, Dax Hughes, wakes from a three-year coma, and the Chairwoman of Kenzyl group, his mother demands the unthinkable: Amelia must pose as Dax’s wife to help him recover—else pay a staggering debt left off from ten years ago. Bound by obligation and driven by desperation Amelia steps into the world of wealth, lies, and manipulation. What began as strictly business quickly spirals into an undeniable web of lies and deceit. A thin line between pretense and reality is crossed too many times, as her heart is tested—Dax’s charm could not be denied, pulling her whilst he drew closer, igniting feelings and emotions she didn’t care to feel. But when Dax reclaims the life he'd forgotten, old love resurfaces and Amelia's resolve shatters. Can Amelia still go on playing the role of a wife? Or will this fake marriage break her, much more than her heart in ruins?
Lihat lebih banyakA few minutes before her awakening… He wanted to caress it. Golden Brown or Auburn was it? Dax’s gaze traced over those tresses, It was almost… sinful, the way they wrapped around her frame. It looked so… right. Dax clenched his fist, a subtle action— He wanted that too. What would they feel like? Having them wrapped around his fingers… a fistful. Inhaling sharply, he reflexively closed his eyes, the daunting scent of begonia filling his nostrils. He had his hands in half grasp almost scenting them. As though already holding what it is, he desired most… her. Exhaling gradually, Dax kept his eyes on his prize, reaching for the wheels of his chair. Dragging himself closer to her. He caught the light on the smooth surface of her forehead, and from then on he traced, committing all that met his gaze to memory. Her lashes. Her brows. The bridge of her nose— Cute! He caught himself smiling. Did he find it all cute? What was wrong with him? Dax’s eyes wavered momentarily fro
“Hello Mrs. Amelia” A woman came out from among the seven. “I’m Carla Will, the head designer. It's a pleasure to meet you.” She reached for a handshake.“N-nice to meet you a-as well.” Amelia shook her hand hesitantly.Her heart cringed with uncertainty as a wave of intense unease built over her, having so many faces watching her, their gazes calculating. “Here, take this,” Mrs. Sims threw a few catalogs her way and Amelia caught them mid-air, her knees almost hitting the floor in doing so.She stood straight, her gaze drifting on the cover pages of each magazine.“These here are the designers” Amelia's gaze snapped back to Mrs. Sims, watching as she gestured to the lot of them in the parlor.“They will be responsible for your clothes, shoes, bags— every little thing you may need to look the part of the Hughes family’s daughter-in-law. Your underwear included.”Amelia looked down at the catalogs in her hands, she turned a page, gazing at shoes, bags, and outfits in different styles
The next day at the hospital… A knock came through Dax’s hospital room. “Mr President” Jones his secretary, came in. “Why is it you?” Dax scowled. Secretary Jone’s steps faltered “Yes? Pardon???” he gazed up at Dax, confused to take another step inside the room. Tsk—Dax sounded out, he was running out of patience. “Never Mind” he swept his hands through his hair gazing back at his secretary “Don’t just stand there come in” At first, Secretary Jones hesitated, but then he made his way down to Dax’s bedside. “Took you long enough to come visit ” “Apologies sir” his secretary bowed lightly “I will do well to be punctual from now on.” “You better keep that promise” “Yes sir.” His secretary stood straight, and he leaned back comfortably on his hospital bed. Unlike someone who only bothered to show up when he was inebriated… this was far better. Dax’s gaze was caught on the birds beyond his hospital window. They chirped so happily one with the other— a companionship
Catching a sorry figure, with her eyes tinted red and her gaze lowered to the ground, Amelia walked down the streets; her posture slumped as she made steady but aimless progress down the sidewalk.The pedestrians were but a blur—a fleeting shadow of some sort as the day turned to darkness, the sun had set a while ago.She slammed into a person on the road.“S… sorry,” she muttered, turning only slightly in apology yet not meeting the stranger’s gaze.Hahhhhhh… She needed to get home, and yet she didn’t want to…Packing her bag, leaving her home and her sister to stay all alone without her. She didn’t want to do all that, and yet it was inevitable. Even if it was for a fleeting moment of a year, she would belong to the Hughes to do as told… act as told.Hahhhhhh… She really didn’t want to do all that.Amelia squinted her eyes, coming close to a brightly lit store, her gaze caught on the show glass, and her step faltered on the display where a rack of noodles of all kinds.On cue her s
Still at the hospital, Amelia came out of the restroom cubicle wearing her own clothes. Reaching for the faucet ahead of her, she scooped a load of water and splashed it on her face.Then her gaze caught in on the mirror, her exhaustion, a reflection... a deep-seated weariness, and she felt it to her bones.What now...She sighed, her hand moving to grab a paper towel, drying her face with it.Her mother's surgery was set in three days, Dax would be out in also three days, and she had to move in by the morrow. So much was still left undone… unsettled.Amelia sighed once more. The last thing she wanted was to confront both situations on the same day. But what do you know?She needed money, and she’d gotten it—like a magpie on a pipe, they’d played her tune.Such a solution as this... was like a double-edged sword… staying close to that family.But it was never up to her to decide. Not to mention her role in all of this.She sighedBut when life throws you lemons, you buy a lemonade
“What do you think you are doing?” she snapped, her teary gaze locked in on who forcibly held her.“Unhand me.” Her tone sharp as her gaze turned fiery.“Where do you think you are going?” his grip on her tightened, and Amelia struggled lightly, but it was no use.“It is the chairwoman’s wish that you proceed with this marriage”“This isn’t pretend, is it?” Amelia scoffed in disdain “The contract you gave me was a lie, wasn’t it; this isn’t what I signed up for. I do not wish to be more than a pretend wife.”“All will be explained to you soon for now, let’s go back to the hospital room,”“No!” she managed to pull her hands off the guard hold “I won’t go back; this is beyond me I cannot go through with this”“And why won’t you?”Startled, Amelia's chest tightened as she turned to Face Mrs. Hughes, who’d shown with a few entourage of guards.“Tell me, David, what was the young lady saying?” Mrs Hughes's tone was soft but unyielding.“She refuses to proceed with the marriage, ma’am”“And
After a mild discomfort, Amelia falls asleep. Her fever broke in the early hours of the morning…She rose from the bed in the late hours; her sunken eyes were bloodshot, and her skin pale white, she seemed to have lost weight over the night.As flashes of her fevered haze went through her mind, the image of her signing the document given to her snapped her out of her weary look.Turning to the bed, she saw the documents scattered on top, linking them to the image she’d seen.Her chest tightened as the feeling of dread filled her. Then she grabbed hold of the documents; her eyes shone as panic filled them, seeing her signature boldly written on one of them.She gazed at the top of the document. The heading was that of the contractual agreement to be Dax Hughes' pretend wife, and she’d signed it.Her gaze flew down, glaring fixedly at her signature. Her hands shook with force whilst gripping the document too tightly.She bit down hard on her lower lip, bruising it.What had made her do
Dax gazed outside his hospital window, watching the fading hues of the sun marking the end of the day. Whoossshhh… the cool evening breeze blew, and he closed his eyes, reminiscing in the tranquility that was the night.Yet a faint aura emanated from him, one that belied his fury—A mild breeze could not quench.It’s been a day now he’d been awake. Why wasn’t she here yet?The sound of the ticking clock, the nurse hovering and checking him, and the damn breeze that blew into his hospital room—they all got on his nerve.According to the doctor, he’d just woken up from a three-year-long coma, shouldn’t his wife be here with him?His last memory was of himself driving to the airport, and even now, he still felt the sense of urgency that propelled him as he drove on that day and then the accident when a truck crashed in on his car. What had happened and why he was in such a rush, Dax could not remember the details, and every time he tried to, there was a fog to his memories. The inner w
Outside the diner, Amelia could barely hold herself straight as her stomach churned, with the overwhelming urge to puke. She squatted on the stone pavement near the diner, she was fired. Watching the many feet that walked past her, her mind zoned out with the world being out of place to her. Where would she go from here? They hadn’t even paid her a week's worth of salary, and her only means to provide for her and her sister was gone. What does she do about tonight's dinner? Was It not enough to have everything crumble around her? Her lips trembled and soon tears fell off her cheeks to the stone pavements. It felt like the world was waiting for her to fall apart, and honestly, she’d reached her limit. More tears flowed from her as her state became evident to most who walked by, with the way her shoulder trembled. A man's shoes came into her view, and Amelia wiped off her tears to check if she saw clearly, and yes, a man's shoes stood before her. She gazed up to see
Amelia's gaze never left the doctor’s as he continued to spill medical jargon, his voice fading in and out drowned by the sound of her own beating heart as her breath hitched in her throat. Cancer! Did he just say lung cancer? “Miss… Miss are you listening… Miss Amelia!” the doctor tapped his finger on the office table. A muscle twitched in the lid of Amelia’s eyes, and her gaze shifted to the tapping fingers, then back at the doctor. She blinked a couple of times ridding herself of the pain of her long stare. “I’m listening, doctor, please continue” The doctor retrieved his fingers, leaning forward instead, resting his hands on his office table. “Miss Amelia, I know this is hard for you,” he started his voice, kind and comforting “But do pay attention to what I say as it concerns the patient's life” The doctor rested his back down on his seat having made his point clear. A gentle warning, to her abated mind. “Okay... I understand doctor, how is my mother? Is there any other w...
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