I blew an exasperated breath and exhaled deeply when I saw the look on Lucas' face. I saw the anger in his eyes as he stared at me pointedly. The day had already been filled with enough drama to last for a long time, I was too at loss for words to make matters worse than it already is.I forced a grin across my face, and feigned surprise,"Lucas, hey! It's good to see you here… I…I just wanted to do a little catch up with Valerie," He looked over at Valerie then back at me, without uttering a word."They make some of the best coffee around here… you'd like it," I said, and regretted it after realizing how foolish I sounded.Lucas glanced at me, his expression softening slightly. "Sam, you should inform me whenever you're leaving the office…"I nodded,"I-I-I…I apologize for not letting you know. It won't happen again." I pleaded.I held my breath and waited for his response. Instead, he simply nodded and reached out to grip my hand firmly, pulling me up from my seat. My heart skipped fo
I was too stunned to speak as we looked up and saw Andres standing by the car, a devilish smile plastered on his face. His stoic expression showed no remorse for what he had just done that had almost cost bruises on my skin. I turned to face Lucas, who was by now fuming with anger.I reached out and gently held Lucas's hands. I wanted to tell him to ignore Andres but the words weren't coming foth, so I clamp my mouth shut. Lucas wasn't having any of it, with a stern expression on his face, forcefully shoved my hands aside."Stay out of this, Samantha," he said firmly, his voice laced with anger as he focused his gaze on Andres. "This is something I need to handle myself."I watched as Lucas locked his gaze on Andres, with a clenched fist. Andres took two steps backwards and shook his head."Lucas, my dear brother," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I didn't mean to intrude. Just passing by and thought I'd say hello."I looked at Andres with contempt, his presence meant only one
The morning sun created a warm glow through the curtains, painting the room with shades of gold. I groggily rubbed my eyes as my alarm rang and reached over to turn it off. I sat up and glanced back at the bed to see Lucas still deep in his sleep. I slipped out of bed and tiptoed towards the bathroom quiet enough not to wake him up.I turned on the faucet and stood under the warm spray of water. Two months had passed since the contract begun.I reminisced on all that had happened. The arguments and clashes, then finally giving in to being civil enough to condone each other's presence. I giggled when I remembered the first day he sneaked back into the room. Now, I like it when I roll over and hit his sturdy chest.After the shower, I stepped out of the bathroom. I stopped right in track at the sight of Lucas still wrapped under the duvet. It was unusual for him to sleep in till this time, it was only a few minutes past seven a.m, He was up and headed to take a shower at this time. I wo
I stood there, my body frozen in place, as Lucas's angry words reverberated through the room. His outburst caught me off guard. Lucas had never raised his voice at me before. What had changed?I opened my mouth to defend myself, to make him understand that I had only been concerned and it was best to talk instead of bottling up emotions, my words failed me. My tongue felt heavy and twisted so I clamped my mouth shut.He wasn't done yet, he stomped his fist on the bar and a shifted backwards. I wanted to walk away but I didn't want things to become worse than they already are. "Who do you think you are?" he shouted, his voice echoing through the room. "Telling me how to live my life? You need to learn your place, Samantha, and stop meddling in my affairs!"I had never felt the pain of a sharp knife pierced through my heart, but if it felt like your heart was going to drop and your legs would stiffen unable to move, then I have… his words felt like a knife that dug through my heart ripp
Five days passed since Lucas made the trip, every other day since he traveled I went about my duties like nothing happened– or so I thought.Except for the time Emily called my attention to a file I omitted, it wasn't entirely my fault– everyone omitted things every second!And the other time I had mistakenly taken freshly brewed coffee to his office, his secretary had looked at me awkwardly and had forced a smile on her face, "Umm, ma'am he isn't on seat because… he traveled," I had felt embarrassed but I nodded vaguely and trashed the cup with its contents at the ladies.It was a windy Sunday, I sat by the window in my room enjoying the cool breeze when my phone rang. I ignored it for a while. I wanted to be on my own, especially now I was getting used to being alone in his room.I sighed when the phone rang again, I got up and my heart skipped a beat when Lucas' name flashed on the screen. I slowly brought the phone to me ears,"I'm at the airport, come pick me up," he commanded fr
I got down from the car immediately Samantha brought it to a halt and headed towards the house. I avoided her gaze, I avoided her stare. I didn't want her to see through me. Otherwise, I'll become even more weak than I already was.As I got into the house, I headed straight to the bar and pulled a bottle of vintage Cabernet Sauvignon wine and headed to my room. It was useless, nothing made sense anymore except getting drenched in liquor. I slumped into my chair trying to play the scene that took place at Audrey's house."I can't anymore Lucas," she had said, "I can't continue with this arrangement anymore, it's killing me,"I had reached for her hands but she drew back, "I'm sorry… I know this isn't easy but you can't just call the relationship off, Audrey think about what we shared,"She stood up and walked to the bar and had poured her drink, she gulped down its content in one gulp and exhaled deeply. She didn't look as troubled as I was in fact, she seemed calm about it.I wasn't.
If I were eight and still believed fairies exist, I quickly would make a wish… two wishes. The first would be to know what was eating Lucas up and the second wish would be to make me as strong as I was when the contract kicked off and leave him to his liquor. It hurt me that I cared and it hurt me even more that I could think of not caring.I snatched the glass from his hands and some of its contents spilled on my hands, "Lucas…" I began "Why are you doing this to yourself?"He tried to grab the glass from my hands but I lifted it further into the air. When he looked up, I couldn't tell if his eyes were swollen from tears or from drinking too much alcohol– my bet was on alcohol."Give me that," he said. He tried to stand up but staggered a little. I walked to the bedside and placed the glass on the lamp table. I walked back to the table, I hadn't felt this bad about anybody as I did right now.Now that I was thinking about it, it dawned on me that I had not taken a closer look at Luca
"Damn!" Lucas groaned as he slumped on the ground, his hands clutched to the part I had hit him. My blood ran cold when I realized what I had just done– I shouldn't be going through this. I thought of what made me agree to this contract in the first place and brushed it aside. I should be thinking of Lucas who was curled up on the floor groaning.I crouched beside him and placed my hands in his head, but he angrily shoved it aside, "Stay away from me!" He yelled."I'm sorry Lucas… I didn't mean to do that, I tried to warn you," I said, and regretted that I said the last words.He glared at me for some time and stood up, his hands still on his head. "We should check for any sign of bleeding," I said, trying to touch the injured part."I said, stay away from me!" He said, shoving my aside. My jaw felt tense as I held my breath, "I just wanted to check for any sign if injury that's all,""Oh really?" He smirked, "Samantha, Samantha, Samantha… how thoughtful of you," he teased, his voice
Days had passed and everything seemed to return back to normal except for a few times– when I saw Audrey, either at the house during breakfast or at the office. Asides that, my relationship with Lucas was moving just fine.I got out of the bed and made to walk into the bathroom to prepare for work when I lost balance and fell back on the bed. My head felt fuzzy and my legs were wobbly. I held the back of my neck to keep it steady, but it was like a log of wood was stuck in my head."My goodness…" I muttered under my breath as I managed to stand up and started making my way to the bathroom, when I felt bile rise to my throat. I quickened my steps, turned on the faucet when I stepped foot into the bathroom and threw up all the content in my stomach. I felt fuzzy the more I threw up, I slid onto the floor and leaned my back against the wall.There was a knock on the door. "Come in…" my voice was faint, even through the sound of the water gushing out I knew he must've heard.Lucas came in
I had mixed feelings about Lucas' actions. Yes, Audrey was a bit too much, but she was carrying his baby or at least that was what she made us think. Perhaps, he should have been a little lenient with her and let her be till she puts to bed."Are you cussing at me because of Samantha?" Audrey's tone was that of bewilderment.A vein in Lucas' neck pulsed hard, "My wife. That's who she is and I wouldn't have you displace her," he tightened his grip in my hands, "Now get out," his voice was calm but had the sharp edge of a sword.Audrey looked at me intently and I could clearly see through the hatred that brewed from her. She stared for a while and left.Lucas turned to face me. "I shouldn't have picked up a fight with her in the office," I regretted my actions, but it was much needed.He placed a finger over my lips, "It's okay pumpkin, you don't have to defend anything," his voice reached to my heart and patched the broken pieces like the holes weren't there to begin with."I love you
My schedule stared at me and I could barely make out the words. I had a meeting slated for four p.m and I was already bored. I was tired sick of everything happening, Samantha was doing a good job trying to keep it together but, for how long would she keep up with the act.A knock sounded on my door, the door creaked open and my secretary walked in. "Sir the meeting–"I rubbed my forehead in frustration, "I know what time the meeting is slated for,"She nodded and walked towards my desk to pick my laptop. "It's in five minutes right?" I questioned."Yes Sir, and some of the board members are already on their way," she said.I waved my hands in dismissal. I was suffocating and nobody was seeing it, or maybe they were and they can't do anything to salvage the situation. Audrey coming to the office was something I'd never have imagined to happen and it did.What was my father thinking, agreeing to it in the first place? He hated her the moment he set eyes on her, ''She's not good enough
Soon after Lucas left for his office, Laura walked in looking a bit disgruntled and without my regular morning coffee."Laura, I thought you left to get my coffee?" I questioned, when in fact she left to give Lucas and I privacy.She inched closer to my desk, "The new staff took the cup of coffee from me," her voice was low, I had to strain my ears to make out what she was saying.I clenched my fist into a ball, taking a deep seated breath to quench the anger that was threatening to erupt. "And who's the new lady?"You know who.Laura tugged at the edge of her shirt, "Audrey–"Take a deep breath Samantha. I took a deep breath, paused for a few seconds and forced a smile across my face. "Thank you Laura, you may leave now," I tried so hard to conceal the disdain in my voice."I'm sorry ma'am. I should have been more careful. But, she just snatched it from–"I raised a finger to stop her from saying more. I should have scolded her, but this had absolutely nothing to do with the young la
All through the drive, all I could think of was; What would the other staff say when they see Audrey and with a growing bump? Besides Lucas' secretary whom I was sure would keep the situation under lock, I wonder who else got wind of the news.I tried to focus on other things. Other things like exposing Audrey for whom she really was. I don't know if it was what comes with old age or his way of punishing Lucas for slipping up but Javier wasn't seeing Audrey for the sly she was and it bothered me."Samantha…"What does she want now?No response. I wasn't in the mood to talk to her and I was only doing what Javier asked, "I just want to get acquainted to the Java's working system," she rubbed her bulging stomach gently, "It would be nice if I get some experience to at least share with him when he comes of age and is ready to follow in the family's footsteps," she laughed.Lucas, where are you?I bit so hard at my lower lips until I felt the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. Don't cry.
After my visit to Valerie's place, I became more sensitive to Audrey's movements. Where she went to, what she did when we were out. So far, nothing out of the ordinary has happened."Lucas, wait up for me!" Valerie cried from the stairs. We were already running late and one of Audrey's dramas was something we didn't want so early in the morning.Lucas sighed sharply, "What the hell do you want this time?" He gritted.I hope it wasn't what I was thinking. She was dressed in a black velvet gown that stopped just on her ankles, court shoes and a blazer over the gown. It wasn't exactly my style but she looked good."I am coming to the office today," Audrey said.I was a bit taken aback, "Why?" We asked almost at the same time.She rolled her eyes in disgust, "Isn't it obvious?" She sighed, "I want to start working at the company," she looked at me with disdain, "Afterall she works there too,"There was no way in hell. The vein at the back of my neck pulsed hard, and I felt my heart bruise
Going to the office and coming back to the mansion to see Audrey with her fast growing bump wasn't something I looked forward to. I tried to square my shoulders and act like nothing's wrong when on the contrary, I was dying slowly.Audrey altered everything. The peace in the house, the scent and everything to suit her smell on the basis of being hyper sensitive to smell. Lucas ignored her and acted like she was some sorta ghost. But, I knew he looked forward to having his own child.It wasn't the birth of the child that irked me, it was the vessel bearing that child that made this unacceptable."Good morning Ma'am," Laura greeted when I got to work one morning.I nodded in response and made my way to the office. She followed in silence till we reached the door."Do I have any schedule that'll take me out of the office?" I asked when I slouched into the chair. She looked through her memo."Yes ma'am. A meeting with the investors slated to take place by three p.m and–"I waved my hands
I waited till the two lovebirds drove off to work before I started getting ready to go out. It was already past nine a.m exactly and I was a few minutes behind time. The prison visiting hours would be due in forty-five minutes.I'd been in touch with Andres since he was convicted of the crime. They'd all forgotten about him, I couldn't not after all we shared together. He wasn't the nicest person but he ignited the fire in me."Where are you off to?" Javier's voice sounded from the stairs when I opened the door. Lousy old man. I rolled my eyes and put on a calm expression before turning to face him.I flashed him a grin, "I'm going for antenatal," I lied. I could only hope he didn't request I go with the chauffeur because then I would be busted.He nodded, "Have a nice day," his voice was cold. I knew he didn't like me, he never did. Not when I was with Lucas, not when I was with Andres. I wondered why he didn't object to I and Andres' relationship when he got wind of it. Maybe he kne
She looked at the door, maybe hoping for a sign of Lucas then back at me. "Look I didn't ask your husband to get pregnant–"I sensed her anxiety from a mile away. Now was the time to act, "On the contrary, I don't care for you," My gaze lingered on her and fell on her growing stomach. "You would stay here till you give birth,"Audrey leaned into the bed, "I don't intend on moving out after childbirth if that's where you're driving at," her voice was a little shaky but she did a good job hiding it."We'll see about that. After childbirth, you'd go for a DNA test to ascertain who the father of the child is,"Now she got started, her face squeezed into a frown. "What the hell are you saying?"I rolled my eyes. Audrey. Audrey. Audrey. Still as vain as ever, "Exactly what you heard. If you claim Lucas is the father of your child," I paused when the housekeeper walked into the room from the closet and waited till she left, "Then we need to confirm, afterall…" my voice trailed off when she s