“It must be hard for you. Don’t you want to admit it?”
Lisa halted again and turned to the pale woman. How could she not know it was a trap to get to her? “Do have a safe trip, Ms. Cornwell.”
She walked back to her car and let the chauffeur drive off.
“Are we heading back to the office, Ma’am?” Sally asked carefully from the shotgun seat. She could tell just how tired the woman at the back was.
Lisa sighed. “Take me home. Postpone all my schedule to tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma.” Sally tactfully agreed. Despite that the meetings were of huge importance; she could tell her boss was nowhere in the mood to work.
The car drove into a large, beautiful villa, stopping right at the door. When she alighted, the driver drove off to park the car. Lisa strolled into the house while the maids rushed out to collect her bag from the car, echoing their greetings as they walked by her. She stopped by the door to kick off her shoes and change into a pair of comfy home slippers before heading straight up the stairs to her room, massaging her neck as she went. The bedroom was big with a king-sized bed that was meant for two. Actually, it was meant for two people.
Unfortunately, most nights, she had been the only one on it.
Without changing out of her dress, she slumped on the bed, shivering a little from the cold air from the Air Conditioner. Her head replayed Ms. Cornwell’s words. Would she end up like all the other girls she had paid off and sent out of the country?
She couldn’t deny how the thought of it scared her; but then, the difference between her and the other girls was that he hadn’t touched her. Ever. She laughed, surprised at the hoarse voice she could barely recognize as hers. Life indeed has its ways of playing games on someone. She could still remember it all. Vividly like it only happened yesterday.
She was sitting in front of a large mirror as stiff as a block while the stylist worked on her hair. She sighed severally watching her face and hair change under the expert hands of the stylist. Just outside those doors, in a Cathedral, a few distances away were seated more than a thousand guests; both invited and uninvited. Of course, who wouldn’t want to attend the wedding of the century? Her hands shivered slightly as her eyes shifted to look at the magnificent wedding dress hanging just beside her.
Then, someone knocked on the door, just before it opened. It was her father.
“Dad.” Her voice was barely a whisper. She was scared and nervous.
“You look beautiful, princess.”
Tears welled her eyes. “Dad.”
He turned to the stylist instead. “Excuse us please.”
The stylist nodded curtly, closing the door behind her as she left to give the duo the privacy they need.
“Are you okay?” He asked gently, pulling a seat adjacent to hers.
Okay? How could she be okay? She was getting married to someone she barely knew! She flashed a forced smile and nodded, swallowing the bitter lump in her throat.
Sighing, he reached out and took her palm in his. “I am sorry, Lisa. I failed you as a father. We need this. The company does.”
She had the urge to roll her eyes. She had heard these same words constantly for the past two weeks.
“I understand, Dad.” She managed to flash a smile.
He nodded but still continued. “Your mother and I had no choice. The Norths are the only answers out of this mess.”
Of course, she knew the whole story. She knew her father’s company was on the verge of bankruptcy and would fall any time soon if she didn’t lure the Norths in with the marriage. However, she couldn’t understand why Mr. North would refuse to help her father without tying the nuptial knot despite that they have been friends since forever.
“I am only playing my part as your daughter. At least, I owe you that.” No, I don’t owe you that. She had spent the last two days telling herself it was alright; that she was going to be fine. She hadn’t seen the venue for the reception but she knew it was going to be huge. They hadn’t let her do a single thing in preparation; all she did was test gowns and go for fittings. She didn’t even get to take a glance at the guest list.
He reached one hand to stroke her half-styled hair. “Indeed, you have grown. I am so proud of you, Monalisa.”
She smiled. Somehow, she searched her memory for the last time her father ever said those words and realized it was years ago when she won a stupid gold medal in a math competition. Her eyes teared but remembering her make-up, she blinked the tears away.
“Alright.” He stood to his feet. “I guess I better leave the bride to get ready else Raymond may kill me.” They both chuckled. Then she left.
Lisa returned her gaze to the kitchen waiting for her stylist to re-enter the room. Minutes passed but the door remained shut. Worried, she stepped out into the large hallway. Thankfully, she was still wearing her pink silk nightwear. She couldn’t imagine wearing the heavy, flowing gown in search of her missing stylist. Speaking of the stylist, she looked up and down the hallway but there was no single sign of her. She went back to the room to grab her cell phone only to realize that she didn’t even have the stylist's number. It was Raymond, or probably his mother who had contacted her.
Raymond!
She couldn’t get to his mother but she knew Raymond was in the hotel somewhere, preparing for the wedding. She quickly scurried outside and down the stairs.
“Hello. Please may I know the room number of my fiancé?” she asked the receptionist politely.
Everyone knew of her and Raymond’s wedding. She was sure nearly all the billboards in the city bore the news.
“1080, Ma’am. Congratulations in advance, by the way.”
“Thank you.” She flashed a smile before taking the elevator to return to the third floor. Luckily, Raymond’s room was on the same floor as hers. It would save her the stress of running back to the room. She looked at the huge clock in the distance. She had less than an hour to finish preparations. The dress fitting would obviously take more than half of the time. In her hurry, she forgot to knock and pushed the door open instead. It wasn’t even locked.
“Raymond can you—” the words froze in her mouth at the scene before her.
There was Raymond, elegantly dressed in a grey suit, all ready for the wedding; except that his fly was open and his phallus fully buried inside a woman. Not just any woman. Her stylist.
Her first reaction had been that of disgust; no, not fear. She had long heard of his exploits. Only that she refused to believe he would stoop so low to disrespect her, and on the most important day of their lives. Well, maybe it was only important to her and not to him.
“Hello, wife.” He grunted in utter pleasure like a pig as he pounded furiously in and out of the screaming lady.
Lisa sighed and folded her arms with no intention to watch him getting pleasured. “I need my stylist. The wedding starts in less than an hour.”
“Oh, is that so? Maybe you should join us.”
She snickered in reply. However, Raymond’s attention was no longer on her. He was now pounding away furiously, finding his relief while she screamed out loud. He found it soon and wasted no extra second before pulling out of the panting lady.
“You are one hell of a badass whore.” He complimented, slapping her buttocks while she chuckled. This time, Lisa grunted out loudly before walking out on both of them. Her stylist returned minutes later and managed to fix her dress just in time for the wedding. However, that wasn’t the biggest shock she got.
As she walked down the aisle, arms hooked around her dad’s, she caught sight of Raymond grinning on the altar and pretending just well to be blown off; putting on the perfect show for the herd of reporters as if she hadn’t caught him seconds ago fucking her stylist.
And guess what? He was wearing the same suit he had worn to fuck her. Just on the zipper of his fly, was an almost unnoticeable white stain of semen. The effrontery!
In the distance, her phone rang suddenly, jerking her out of her reverie. The sky was already dark outside. It made her wonder how long she had been out. She picked it up quickly, catching the words on the ID caller. It was the last person she was expecting to call her.
Lisa jerked out of her train of thoughts, grabbing her phone almost immediately. Looking at the caller’s ID, she sighed, deliberating whether to pick up the call or ignore it. Just then, a soft rap came on the door. “Who’s that?” “Dinner is ready, ma.” A maid’s voice sounded from outside.She sighed. “I’ll be down in a bit.” She replied without bothering to open the door. She then returned her attention to her phone and put it quietly on her ear. “Hello, Dad.” Maybe because she was a bit tired, her voice was crackly as she fought back tears from her eyes. “I saw the news. You handled it quite well. I am proud of you.”Even if he couldn’t see her, she smiled wryly with a ‘hmm’. She had not expected him to say anything less but somehow, in her heart of hearts, she had hoped he would ask after her. Even if he didn’t mean it. “The Chinese agency called.” “Oh! Did they?” After the press release, she had been so tired and had gone straight home. Sally was yet to update her.He g
Raymond kept his word and showed up early for Lisa’s mother’s birthday party. Lisa had returned home that evening and was quite surprised to see him home, sitting comfortably in the sitting room. Perhaps, because she was used to having the big mansion all to herself. “You’re back.” He greeted and she hummed in reply, caught off guard by his gentlemanly attitude. “Don’t stare at me like you have seen a ghost. I promised to come, didn’t I? Well, I am here.” He turned to the maid nearby. “Quick. Take madam’s things to her room and set the table for two.” His gaze returned to her, “We’ll be having dinner together.”Lisa looked at him in surprise. Well, that was Raymond North. One minute, he was the guy who slept around with nearly all the ladies in town, and the next, he is back to acting all loving like the best husband ever. She chuckled dryly when the maid left to carry out his bidding. “Are you okay?”The smug smile on his face irked her. “What? Isn’t it what you wanted?” “You d
Lisa’s brows furrowed. Now, she was really curious about the gazes she got. Plus, Belinda’s naughty smirk irritated her. “Did something happen?”The other ladies exchanged known glances as if deliberating if to let the cat out of the bag. On Belinda’s face was a dirty smirk, like she was about to face an enemy. Now, Lisa had no doubt there was trouble. “Oh! It’s actually nothing. I just got an exciting piece of information. Would you like to hear it?”On a normal day, Lisa would have turned it down without a second thought. Belinda was no bearer of good news, but now, with nearly everybody’s gaze on her, she was indeed willing to hear whatever piece of information it was. She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.Belinda didn’t rush. She raised her glass to her lips to take a sip of wine, her face still carrying the dirty smirk. “Well apparently, your beloved husband was seen seconds ago fucking one of those girls on a black uniform; whoever they are.”Lisa froze. Of all the ex
Belinda watched Lisa leave hand in hand with Raymond, her face nearly tearing up in anger. How could she not tell! The bitch had done it just to infuriate her!Her glass fell from her hand, scattering into a million pieces as they hit the floor. Around her, the other ladies were dead silent, but it seemed like their every eye movement was intended to mock her. She hated this! Hated the feeling of being at the losing end. Hated to be mocked by these low-life socialites who were not even up to her level. “I’ll see who dares to leak a word of this to the public.” She threatened, her eyes glaring daggers at them. Maintaining her graceful poise at this point was hard for her but suddenly remembering that she might be watched by one of the nosy reporters, she quickly adjusted her expression and turned to the lady who had whispered into her ears earlier. “Are you sure of what you saw?”The lady stuttered. “I-I don’t know. The man looked so much like her husband.” Even if Lisa had proven
Lisa let out a tired smile. It was supposed to be her mother’s birthday! How the hell did it turn into some sort of meeting? She approached a tall table with a smile. She didn’t dare show the fatigue on her face. She reached out and grabbed a glass of wine from one of the waitresses. It reminded her of Belinda’s words earlier. The thought of receiving wine from the same whore who slept with her husband barely hours ago irked her. “There she is.”Lisa jerked out of her reverie, turning to see her mother approaching her. “Hey, mom.” “Lisa…”She rolled her eyes. “Did dad come complaining to you again?”She shrugged. “Maybe. He said you left without meeting all the people he wanted you to meet.”Lisa took a large gulp of wine before replying to the woman standing opposite her. “All the people literally meant ninety-nine percent of your guests. You should know dad by now.”She nodded with a smile. “What do you think? I knew he wouldn’t stop bugging me till I came here to talk to you.”
Lisa was fuming by the time she got to the office. Even her entire staff could feel it! Their boss wasn’t the usual smiling boss but they had never seen her this mad. “I demand an explanation!” She barked at Sonia. First, it was Raymond who had gone out right after dropping her home and didn’t return for the entire night. Not like it was the first time, but she had a hard time pushing the picture of him in the arms of another woman behind her. “I am so sorry, ma.” Sonia was frantic. She prayed she wouldn’t lose her job. “The driver only reached out to me this morning to take a leave. I have tried reaching him since but—” “I am two hours late for the meeting. I lost a contract worth billions of dollars. Will your excuse make up for that?” She growled at the quivering lady, ignoring the warnings of her heart to calm down. Her entire body was bursting with anger and she needed an outlet. Her chauffeur provided her with one when he didn’t show up at the usual time to pick her up to
Lisa leaned on the door of the car as it slowly drove down the highway. It had become like a little tradition for her to lean by the window each time she sat in it. Perhaps, it was Raymond’s senseless behavior that caused it. If he had been kind enough not to fill her schedule with his reckless act of ‘love making’.She sighed loudly, her eyes traveling to the rare-view mirror where she found her assistant staring at her. The minute she caught her eyes, the lady quickly turned her head and pretended to be busy on the phone. “You have something to say, Sonia?” Although Lisa could tell what the poor girl had in mind, she needed some kind of distraction to keep the sorrow that was threatening to swallow her whole every single time. “N-nothing ma.” Sonia swallowed hard, her every action showing how scared she was. It was not easy to forget how angry her boss had been barely hours ago.Lisa sighed. “You pity me, don’t you?”Sonia broke into a sudden fit of cough. It wasn’t exactly what
What now?! Lisa wasn’t sure she was ready for just another bad news when her assistant broke it to her. Lexi Conglomerate just got awarded the contract she was in a hurry to get. It wouldn’t have been painful if the CEO of Lexi Conglomerate wasn’t Mr. Thompson.Mr. Davis Thompson; her company’s biggest rival.The same man that was behind the downfall of her company many years ago when her father was still CEO. Up till that moment, she didn’t understand why he was after her company.Was it some sort of unsettled grudge between him and her father? Why didn’t any of them let her know about it?She shrugged, laughing wryly. “I guess that explains it.” The Cops appearing within seconds after the accident, the delay, arresting her driver because they knew she couldn’t drive.Gosh! Why didn’t she think of it from the start?Sonia swallowed, not knowing what to say. From their interrupted conversation in the car, her boss obviously hated being pitied. “Find a cab. We’ll have to head over t