There you have it! The final chapter of ZESA: Love on papers. I want to thank every reader who started this book from the beginning and ended at this point. I appreciate the votes that motivated me and the lovely comments that made me feel special. I love all of you. Please do me a favor and leave a rating on the book. I hope to greet all of you with a new book in the future. Stay safe!
ZESA RUSSO The sound of hands coming together resonated in my ears as the stage lift rose. I interlocked my fingers, excited and nervous about what was about to happen in the next five minutes. I, Zesa Jimena Russo, would sign a contract with Levi Del Campa of H.K Group and, in return, he would give me what I have always wanted from him. His heart and body. Flashes from cameras that would normally bother me were of no concern to me today, as it was a special day for me and my husband to be. The stage lift stopped, and I smiled widely for the cameras as ceremonious music filled my ears. I looked to my right. Standing beside me was my husband to be in a navy blue suit. His straight, black hair was pulled back to reveal a charming face. One reason I fell for him. Piercing gray eyes stared at a woman in the crowd, his mother—Marie Del Campa. I was thankful for her. She made my dream come true. Of course, their company’s lack of funds contributed to it, but Marie played a key role. He
ZESA RUSSO It would appear Levi was serious about what he told me at the contract signing event. One month after our wedding and his behavior toward me had yet to change. Before the press, he was the sweetest, most caring husband a woman could ask for, but behind closed doors; I was nothing to him. His heart was somewhere else. With Nina Meyer. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Levi and I knew each other since we were eight, making it over twenty years since we met. With Nina, it was different. They’d met each other last year. On my birthday. Nina was to serve drinks and instead of doing her job, she bumped into Levi, spilling the drinks all over him. Did she think she was in a movie? When I realized they were getting too close, I did a background check on her. It turned out she was the daughter of a restaurant owner. It made me wonder if she blackmailed Levi into loving her. Then again, Levi wasn’t the type of man to be blackmailed. He was righteous. Too righteous. I f
After my encounter with little miss smarty mouth, I headed home. I needed to clear my head from the fact that I could be getting divorced soon. That he’d gotten a ring meant he was probably working on divorce papers. I took off my suit in front of the pool so I was standing in a matching set of white underwear. I jumped into the water and swam for minutes until I was exhausted.Right from when I was twelve, swimming was a means of comfort for me. Whenever I wanted to avoid my parents or just get away from things, I would come to the swimming pool. It felt as though I was washing my concerns away. It felt superb.I moved my hair away from my face when I heard footsteps. “Finn, I told you to go to the...” I paused. It was Levi. Judging from his hostile glare and how his face contorted into one of rage, it was obvious what had happened. “She called you, didn’t she?”“What the hell is wrong with you?” he stretched out his tie. “Do you have any idea what that restaurant means t
LEVI DEL CAMPA Never in my wildest dream did I believe Nina would let go of me for money. I always knew she was a materialistic woman, but I refused to think that she would do such a thing to me. I had that much faith in her, so imagine how broken and foolish I felt as I watched her shake hands with Zesa. It was a lot worse when Zesa tried comforting me. She was rubbing it in my face that the woman I loved would rather have millions in her account than be with me.“You can’t stay here like this.” Zesa said, hands on my shoulders. We were still in the restaurant and Nina had returned to her work. “People are looking at us. It’s as if I said something hurtful to you.”If there was one thing I disliked about Zesa, it was her selfishness. It was always about her. She was always worried about the image of her that people saw.I threw her hand off my shoulder. “I want to be alone.”“And wallow in misery? No, darling.” She sat down beside me. “Look at me.”Instead of doing as she
ZESA RUSSO They say sleeping next to someone you love makes you fall asleep faster, reduces depression and helps you live longer. That was true. But what was even better was waking up to be greeted by the almost naked form of the person you love. It was a sight that rid my heart of every sadness and worry. It made me feel reborn. I did not know a man’s body held that much power until now.I let my eyes slide over his body, from his tanned chiseled abs to the V-line just above his towel. My pulses added and subtracted like an equation when his muscles stretched as he dried his hair with a towel. The way he moved made me wish to see him in action, lifting a weight or, even better, lifting me. Levi was perfect with the strong body of an athlete and the brain of an intellectual.I snapped out of my trance when he cleared his throat. He’d caught me shamelessly ogling at him. How dare he distract me after hiding such a wonderful sight from me? It was enough to make me cum without
ZESA RUSSO After explaining myself to the protesters, I went home. Today was extremely stressful for me. As I watched the news, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the protesters had said and their anger toward me for closing down Techya Bio without giving them a heads-up. It was not my first time shutting down a subsidiary, but this one went south. Perhaps I did not do a good enough job with this one. I needed to fix this mess because the workers were right. They had families looking up to them for survival, and it was wrong of me to dismiss them like that.My phone rang, forcing me back into reality. I swiped my thumb across my screen to pick up after reducing the volume of the television.“You asked me to call you when I’m ready to sign the contract.”Ah… Nina Meyers.“Are you ready to sign it? Can you really give up Levi?”“Money is more important than love. You should know that. You’re a businesswoman. Did you make Techya a global company by choosing love every time?”
LEVI DEL CAMPA When I woke in the morning after getting drunk the night before, my head hurt as though someone swung at me with a bat. It became worse when I saw Zesa sleeping beside me. I stared at her sleeping form, wondering why she was there. Then the memory hit me. How I came home drunk, said some dumb things and ended up kissing her. I could vividly remember the feel of her body against mine, her breasts rubbing against my chest, my hands around her small waist, and how I almost did it with her. I recalled how she told me she loved me and kissed me again before everything went black. My guess was I passed out, and she laid me down on the couch.That was not the issue. The issue was the kiss. I hurriedly got dressed for work as I was trying to avoid her. How could I face her after what I did last night? Unfortunately, the universe chose to be a bitch and woke her up. When I saw her, my heart skipped a beat. Not out of love but out of worry, she would get the wrong ide
ZESA RUSSO It was time for me to leave for the event I was invited to. Clad in my beautiful, black dress from earlier with silver earrings dangling from my ears and the same colored necklace resting on my collarbone and wrist, a black purse and silver heels, I was ready to live with my hair in soft curls. I’d visited a salon to get my hair and makeup done, as I was in no mood to do it. I was afraid I would mess it up out of anger.After ensuring I had my phone, card, and lipstick, I was ready. Thankfully, Levi was not home, which meant he changed his mind about coming as my plus one. I guess I would end up attending the event alone. Edwardo had my limousine parked out front when I came out the front door. He silently opened the back door for me and I got in.Just when he was about to close the door, I heard approaching footsteps before I saw the face. Levi. What was he doing all dressed up in a black tuxedo? He motioned for me to scoot over. I didn’t.“What are you doing?”
ZESA RUSSO Fifteen minutes later, Levi arrived at the orphanage. It made me happy to know that he’d stopped by somewhere to get the kids gifts because he had bags upon bags of gifts. While the nuns shared the gifts amongst the kids, Levi joined me in Juliane’s office. I still hadn’t swallowed down what she had said. Was it when we did it in the car? But it had been over three weeks since then. Dear Lord, please save me.“Hey,” I was forced out of my thoughts when I felt Levi’s hand on my thigh.“Huh?” His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. “You’ve been spacing out.”“I have a lot on my mind.” I responded, managing a small smile for him. To change the subject, I turned to Juliane who was staring at me before I even looked in her direction. She had succeeded in dropping a heavy bomb on me and she knew it. “What were you saying about the adoption?”Juliane averted her eyes to Levi. “Mr. Del Campa, earlier I suggested adoption to your wi
ZESA RUSSO Ever since the release of Veltrina-50, Techya got more attention from companies abroad and a lot more than normal in the country. I was proud of the researchers who made it possible and, because of that, increased their pay. They deserved that much. Back then, I thought we would be unable to perfect the drug, but the result exceeded my expectations. I’d just wrapped up a meeting with the researchers to thank them since I could not do it at the time of the release.With Leandra by my side, I made my way to my elevator, only stopping when I saw Eric come out of an elevator. We’d failed to talk about things the last time we saw each other. I looked over my shoulder at Leandra. “I’ll be up soon.”“Alright, ma’am.”I walked over to him, noting how he had a file with the company’s name on it. His brother must have given it to him.“Eric,” I said, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. He turned around with a smile that immediately disappeared and his expression turned bu
ALEJANDRO ORTEGADISCLAIMER: This chapter contains slight sexual harassment. Read at your own risk. {After the first _}THREE WEEKS LATER I was livid with the betrayal of Enzo, Sophia, and her father. They cast me aside, and left me to suffer the very minute I found myself in a ditch. Even my father would have done the same if he hadn’t been caught trying to flee the country. The pain of knowing that he wanted to choose himself and leave me to suffer on my own sank deep into my flesh and into my bones.I stood before the court as they announced my sentence before Zesa Russo, whose face looked like it hurt from smiling too much. She reached into her purse and pulled out a rainbow colored handkerchief to wipe at her nonexistent tears. What did she offer Sophia that was just too irresistible that she let go of her so-called love for me? Was it always that easy to get rid of me if I proved to be useless to her? Had she lied to me the entire time?I looked at the man beside
FINN GIOVANNI After Zesa showed me what dirt she had on Alejandro’s father, I was disgusted. Harming people without remorse was really their thing. Once she’d sent the mail to a news station, I saw her happiness double. I was glad she wanted revenge as much as I did. It brought joy to my soul. In a few hours it would be released and people would want to know the truth. Their stocks would drop and they would be taken to court and humiliated. What better revenge was there than watching the person who hurt my sister go down with his father and cherished company?I trailed behind Zesa with my hands in my pocket as she made her way to Alejandro’s room where four police officers were situated outside. The two at the door moved to the side to let us in. Sophia had already beat us and boy, was she furious. Her body shook with rage as tears rolled down her face. Alejandro simply took it in with his head lowered. What was this? He wasn’t snapping at her because I knew very well he wa
ZESA RUSSO I’d never had sex in a car before. Until now.Levi unlocked the car and I slid into the backseat, taking off my heels and panties as I watched him go around the car to the driver’s side before proceeding to amp up the A/C. He joined me in the back after making sure he’d locked everywhere. “This is nerve-wracking,” I whispered softly, reaching my hand out to his groin to unbuckle and unzip the clothes in my way.“That’s what makes it fun.” He responded, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, releasing a moan that told me he needed a release and that I was the only one who could do something about it.He lifted himself slightly and peeled down his boxers, revealing the tip of his bloodshot cock that was clearly causing him a lot of anguish, as it lay engorged over his belly, malformed in how it curved to the side. It throbbed and twitched as though happy to see me. He bucked his hips and his drooling dick rose, head pointed straight at my face.My hand hovered
ZESA RUSSO By the time I arrived at the spa, Sophia was already there and had settled in. A worker directed me to the massage room after I stripped out of my dress and draped a robe over my body. I opened the door and was pleasantly surprised by the interior that seemed to differ from what I’d seen so far. The room boasted sandy-pink walls and a dramatic tiered ceiling, which staggered upwards into a cone-like shape. In the middle of the room were two beds, both covered in crisp white sheet that with a towel on top, save for the pillows. It seemed she wanted an oil massage for me. Close to the door was a green terrazzo vanity that brought back the natural vibe the spa gave off. On one bed was Sophia with her head turned away from me while a masseuse massaged her legs. Another masseuse stood at the foot of the bed I was to occupy. I looked towards the table close to the window with two vases and a phonograph that played soft, classical music. It was soothing and created a
ZESA RUSSOOne of the hardest things I’ve ever had the displeasure of comprehending was the funeral of a child.I’d heard that one of the things a parent wished for was to be buried by their child when they become old and wither away like a flower. Not the other way around. This was clear to me as I drowned in my sorrows, feet marching into this black abyss called a graveyard. In the snow and frigid air, all I could hear was the heavy, pounding feet of others as we marched as one. I and Levi’s hands clenched together, gripping at each other as though the pain would subside if we squeezed hard enough. It was purely a superficial comfort to help console others, rather than ourselves.I stood shivering next to a deep hole that had been dug where the casket would be lowered into. While waiting for the pallbearers to deliver the body, I thought about what my life would be like once mother earth swallowed him up. How it would feel to sleep knowing that his cries wouldn’t wake me up in the mi
FINN GIOVANNI Malena and I sat side by side in an awkward silence beside Sophia who had regained consciousness and was currently crying her eyes out. We’d told her everything, and it somehow ended up with her crying. Was it out of disappointment or just the feeling of hurt? I couldn’t tell.“How could he do such a thing to me?” she sobbed, her shoulders shaking as droplets of pain dropped from her eyes. “I knew he was an asshole, but this is too much. He lied to me about an engagement,” she wiped at her tears. “Got a woman out of jail when she’s supposed to be in there serving her time. Now, how am I supposed to face my parents and friends?”“Sophia.” Malena put her hand on Sophia’s in a bid to console her. “You shouldn’t be crying over such a person. He isn’t worth it. No man deserves your tears.”“I know,” she sniffled. “But I love him.”She lowered her eyes to her thighs. “We sometimes love the wrong ones.” It was like a punch to the gut when she looked at me. “Doesn’t m
ZESA RUSSO The police were taking too long to arrive. I was losing my patience. Whilst I waited in the car for them to arrive, Alejandro drove past me. Why now of all times? Why would he come in now? I glanced around the house’s surrounding. There was no sign of Nina. She was long gone into the house, though. If she was dead, I did not know. I got down from my car after watching Alejandro go in. There was not enough time to wait. If he were to get his hands on the contract, he would not hesitate to kill Levi. I couldn’t have that. The least I could do was stall.With my heart beating loudly in my ears, I got closer to the house. Thankfully, he’d left the gate open, so I did not have to draw attention to myself by touching the metal. I lifted my leg to take another step when I heard a blood-curdling scream. I halted in my steps when I realized that the voice belonged to Nina. Something had happened. I looked down at my hands to see that they were quivering with fear with eac