In twenty-four hours, exactly three days after my wedding to the billionaire boss, my suitcase was packed and ready to go.
I looked at the mirror one last time, and readjusted the black Gucci shades sitting on my face. I struck a pose and took a picture, making sure the flight ticket was visible in the mirror selfie.
Uploading it, I walked out to the Mercedes waiting and joined Cole in the passenger seat. Immediately the car started, he turned his phone to me and frowned, "I see you've already started with the pictures."
I shrugged an arm in response. "The
earlier, the better. Right?"
"Good day ma'am. We'll be arriving at the airport in approximately twenty minutes," the chaffeur greeted, looking at me through his front mirror. I nodded my head, and out of habit, signalled for him to put the partitions up. I held my leather jacket tighter against my body, letting out small breaths of air as I rubbed my palms together and placed them on my face.
Cole glanced at me with an eyebrow raised, but said nothing and continued to smile at his phone. I tilted my head to see and caught a glance of his last message: "She won't pose a problem, baby".
I sighed loudly and folded my arms, turning my face away to stare at the high-rise buildings as we drove past. My boss had always found a way to play me down, whether professionally or personally. Even now, he still made me look insignificant to Susan, whoever that was.
"Sorry sir, ma, but there's a bit of hold-up ahead of us. I'll contact the team and find out what is going on," the chaffeur called out, quickly getting on the phone with the Winston security team driving in the Honda ahead.
I looked out of the window and saw a small group of people carrying cameras and notebooks. Reporters. When we drove closer, they began to speak loudly.
"Mrs. Winston, what are your thoughts on your husband's infidelity?"
"Mr. Winston, is that really you in the viral
video?"
"Are you both going for your honeymoon or trying to escape?"
"Is this a means to diffuse the damage?"
My breath hitched in my throat, but I folded my arms and kept my glasses on, trying to keep my composure stoic. Beside me, Cole chuckled and crossed his legs as he took a sip of the water in front of him.
"Drive on. I don't know why they still bother. How can we converse when they cannot see us?" He chuckled and shook his head, still glancing down at his phone.
"Your post made a lot of moves then. Let's see if it will attract more negative attention or bring some positivity," Cole directed at me and leaned back, assessing the situation as his security dispersed the crowd.
"If it is attracting reporters, then that is positive news. They will be watching us now, so we have to play it right," I replied smoothly, fighting down the urge to hurl a quick jab at him. I was already doing more than him, considering everything imploded because of what he did.
It was a silent ride till we got to the airport. Immediately Cole and I stepped out, more reporters rushed to us armed with more cameras and microphones. His team swiftly got to work, shielding us from the attack as we tried to moved on.
Somehow, one of them got past and shoved a mouthpiece into my face. "Mrs. Winston, will you file for a divorce after the debacle?"
I stumbled backward and stepped on a set of toes behind me, hitting their torso afterwards. The person winced in pain, but steadied himself and grabbed my hand. I looked up at Cole who drew me to his side and glared at the baby-faced reporter.
"There'll be separation between us. That video is a fake, and it is your job to see that. Not to harass my wife," he glanced at the name tag on the reporter's shirt and continued, "Nate, don't make me sue you defamation of character," he warned, using the same threat I employed weeks ago.
After that, the reporters went silent and we passed, Cole still latching onto my hand till we got to check-in. A portion of his security team stood behind us, while others sat down in different corners of the airport watching our movement.
"Remind me why we had to travel in a commercial plane, Elizabeth." He
grumbled and rubbed his forehead absently as he frowned at me.
"For the exposure. I did not know it would get this bad," I admitted, feeling thankful for the glasses I still had on. My eyes were watery, and my face had started to itch. Beside me, Cole dropped my hand and I closed my eyes in relief and sighed.
"I want to use the bathroom. I will be back soon," I said and quickly left him, rubbing my hand in a circular motion until I entered the female stall.
I dropped my bag on the counter and set to work. The first thing I did was to remove the glasses from my eyes and rinse my face, drying it with a towel as I readjusted the contacts in my eyes. Somehow the stumble had made them shift out of position and if not for Cole holding me, I might have misstepped.
I blinked twice and stared at the mirror where a pair of brown pupils surrounded by flecks of gold sat properly, and a sudden memory of a dark haired woman with green eyes floated in my vision.
"Not now," I murmured and quickly reapplied my makeup before stepping out, this time without the glasses. A bulky man with long hair and a full beard standing outside the door nodded when he locked eyes with me and I nearly shrieked in fright before remembering he was part of Cole's security.
I kept a small distance from him until I reached Cole again, who looked me over once and faced the man.
"No one disturbed her?" He made it sound like a question and an order, but the man seemed to understand because he nodded and left us.
"What took you so long? Let's get checked in," he commented, not kindly, and stood behind me. Used to it, I ignored him and smiled at the gesture.
He sent someone to watch over me.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome onboard Flight 2Y7 with service from San Francisco to Maldives. We are currently second in line for take-off and are expected to be in the air in approximately five minutes time. The approximate time for departure is 10:15am, and we are expected to arrive the Maldives at 16:30pm tomorrow. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts–""Why didn't you say you felt cold?" Cole asked me immediately I held my jacket and fastened my belt.I raised my head to meet his eyes but even as he waited for my answer, his eyes were glued to the retreating figure of an air hostess. I shook my head and cleared my throat noisily.He glanced back at me, blatantly oblivious to his errors. I gave a soft sigh and answered, "I always say it, but you like setting the temperature low. Also," I gestured at the lady and continued in lower tones, "it would be very advantageous to us if we try to pretend to be in love during this vacation.""Of course, I know that," he responded.Th
In the middle of my third episode, Cole tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to pause the movie."Do you need anything?" I asked, removing the headphones from my ears as I leaned forward. Involuntarily, I grimaced feeling pain settle in my back from sitting in one position for three hours at a stretch."Yes. Did you bring those documents I was working on yesterday?" He questioned, a frown on his face."What documents? I do not know anything about them," I responded, covering my mouth to stifle a yawn. I needed to stretch my body or walk around a bit."Meaning what?" Cole raised his voice, now glaring at me. "How am I supposed to work on the proposal then? Why are you so incompetent?"I stared at him and began to flare up, but when he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, I took in a deep breath and responded,"Cole, you relieved me of my duties as your secretary when we signed the agreement. Besides, you did not inform me about any proposal nor any documents. Also, will there be
"There are a lot of people here," Cole commented immediately we stepped out of the tour car."It is the largest island in all of Greece, so it is expected."I put on the mittens I purchased as soon as we landed at one of the shops located in the airport, and shrugged as I walked forward into the heart of the crowd.The first thing I noticed in Crepe was the contrasting landscapes. Somehow, the scenery combined expansive coastlines and rolling mountains with lush greenery and rocky terrains. I could not resist taking a picture of the beautiful wonder.Like us, most people in the crowd were tourists and most of them stood huddled in separate groups. On one side, a tour guide hurried through his English as he described the exotic parts of the town to a majority to the crowd while on the other side, a family of seven took a picture sitting under a huge tree."Is this the Old Town?" Cole came up beside me and asked, showing me a picture of our location on the internet."Yes, it is. Have yo
I dabbed a tear from my eye, sniffing noisily when another tried to escape. How did him turning into a zombie and then dying make any sense in the storyline?"You should stop watching those Korean dramas of yours, Elizabeth. They give you false illusions about love and make you look silly," Cole complained into my ears just as the episode credits began to roll."Good morning Cole," I responded sourly, the sarcasm evident in my voice as I turned to face him. He shot me a sharp look in response before stalking off into the toilet. By the time he got back, the flight attendant–a middle-aged man this time– was done serving the breakfast and I had begun to dig in.He glanced at me and asked, "Did you make an order for me?"I nodded my head, my mouth full of food, and pointed at his seat where a dish was covered with cutlery and a serviette by the side.I watched as he opened it and raised an eyebrow turning to me, impressed. "How did you guess?""I worked with you directly for years, Si–Co
"Why did you pack so much?" Cole complained, even as he stood watching the driver load our luggage into his boot.I glanced at them and folded my arms as I responded, "They are not plenty, Cole. Besides, we are staying for two whole months. I do not want to run out of clothes."Men never understood our plight. While he could carry one box and fit all of his necessities inside, I had to have one large suitcase for my clothes, a medium sized box for footwear, make-up and jewelry, then a handbag for my body care products."What's the point? You'll still end up buying more anyway," he said and opened the car door for me."Still, you can never be too prepared. Anything could happen," I argued back, seeing the driver glance between us and give a short smile. The man was enjoying our banter, and I could bet he supported Cole."If you say so."I nodded once and looked outside the window as the car started to move forward. Long coconut palms spanned along the sidewalk, swaying from side to sid
"This is not my kind of scene," I shouted into Cole's ear, trying to drown out the thrumming beats of the music. We were squeezed together on the couch, and the unwelcome scents, loud noise and smoke were beginning to give me a headache.Cole laughed out and offered me a glass, shaking his head. "But I'm having fun."I looked around, still surprised by his definition of the word. We were sitting directly behind the blasting sound, numerous people grinding and gyrating to the awful beat as they passed cups filled with alcoholic content to each other. The disco bulbs shone different colours of light into my eyes. The whole scene reminded me of a high school party, and I felt disgusted.One girl stumbled towards us and tried to flirt with Cole, but I shot her a glare and she quickly walked away. He made a face at me and pouted, the dark shades covering his eyes, "Why did you do that?"I shook my head and groaned. Gods, the guy was totally wasted and we had not even been here up to two ho
"I would have handled it," I responded stubbornly, even though I was still shaking. I turned to look behind us, counting my breaths when I saw the assaulter still on the ground."Can we get away from here first?" I asked quietly, and Cole looked at me for a moment before sighing and driving silently towards the hotel.Immediately he parked the car at the front of the hotel, I stepped out and walked straight towards the elevator. As it chimed and moved down, the fact that I could have been raped seeped into my thoughts, and I broke down. If only Cole had not come at that moment–Anger flooded me as I got rid of that particular thought. I would not have been outside if he had chosen another place, or even responded when I complained about being uncomfortable. Instead, he watched me as I walked away to my near doom.By the time Cole got to the suite, I was already in the shower shaking as I furiously scrubbed my body over and over again to get rid of the grime and smell of that man.When
Cole placed an arm on my shoulder casually and leaned back, like he had been doing it for years.I took my mind off it, and continued to talk to Crystal. She was naturally sweet, and like me, had a sarcastic side and a love for Koreans."Have you watched that new series, The Boss and me? Gosh, they are so cute," she cooed, showing me a picture of the main characters."No, I have not. Been so busy after the wedding," I said, inserting my fingers into Cole's hand and smiling when he held on tighter. Crystal's eyes caught the action, but she did not say anything. Perfect. "I barely had time to watch anything, but I will try. Is it that good?""It's totally amazing. The main girl, Soon-Hee is a high school student but the guy is–""Babe. You'll end up telling her all about it, and there will be no point of her watching it," Zach chided softly, but she stuck out her tongue at him and continued showing me pictures."Liza will still watch it though. She spent half of the flight time watching