Henry’s POV.
I heard my phone ring, jolting me out of my thoughts. I was exhausted but the reason behind my exhaustion was one I had no idea about.
I stared at the caller ID and realizing it was my personal assistant, I finally picked it up.
“Hello.” I called into the phone as I picked up the call, we had a pending discussion and he’d probably just called to tell me about the recent findings.
“You’re right Sir, something fishy is indeed going on and while I was trying to balance these accounts, I just couldn’t help but notice that there really are some loopholes.” The voice answered from over the phone and my greatest suspicion had just been confirmed.
Someone was indeed taking money from my company, I’d thought it was just bad calculations and business but I knew there was no way in hell I’d do a bad business.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I listened to the explanation he made as he also passed a subtle reminder to me.
“Mr. Thorn?” He called and I immediately knew what was about to follow, “you need to get married as soon as possible to claim your spot here, right now, the things you could do here are limited and whoever is taking money from the company will keep on doing so if you don’t claim your spot.” He added and I nodded my head rhythmically like I was listening to a song on replay.
I don’t want a wife, I never wanted a wife, I’m good with being alone and the Casanova that I am, being with someone forever was the last thing on my mind.
“I know, I’m working on it, I promise. I just haven’t found someone that has brought out that part of me yet.” I lied, I wasn’t working on getting a wife.
I was working more on getting laid than getting a wife as that was even more comfortable than searching the earth for a potential wife.
I have lots of females around me but none of them fits into the description of Henry Thorn’s wife, how would I ask my flings or one night stands to sign a contract marriage with me?
The thought itself was disgusting, I shook my head, not wanting to think about getting a wife as I let out a slight sigh.
It stresses me out that I needed to get someone to be beside me before I could claim my spot.
“you’d better act first then.” I heard him say before hanging up the call, I’d wanted to talk but whatever I’d wanted to say got stuck in my throat when a figure caught my eye.
She looked angry, I hung the call up to follow her every step.
Her eyes were blood red that she could eat anyone that got in her way raw, she wasn’t exactly my type but something about what I was seeing right now was intriguing.
Just when I was trying to take in her figure, I saw her increase the pace of her walk as she stopped in front of me and dumped the plate of pasta she was holding on my head.
What the hell?
That was my order, I was famished but now my hunger was replaced with anger, unable to speak, I slowly stood up in surprise as I took a look at her.
She looked like she knew me and as hard as I tried to think about whether I knew her or not, nothing came. I’d initially thought she was one of my flings but her face didn’t ring a bell nor did her voice.
My face was a mask of fury.
“That was a mistake.” She spoke but her voice didn’t show any form of regret, she wasn’t sorry about what she did.
She’d just said it was a mistake but I saw her drop the plate intentionally, she was angry about something and had decided the best person to take it out on was one of the customers.
A costumer that’s also… me.
She doesn’t know who I am?
“What the fuck, did you just do?” I yelled, not in any way concealing my anger as I spoke, I stared right into her eyes and she didn’t flinch.
“What do you want me to do?” She asked, “I just said it was a mistake, just get yourself cleaned up, why are you making a fuss about it?” She finished.
Wow, here I was trying hard to believe she meant it when she said it was a mistake when obviously it wasn’t.
I looked around, in search of the manager, not only do I know the manager, I knew the owner and I was one of their most important customers.
I was going to talk when I saw a sturdy man make his way to my table, I immediately recognized him.
“Mr. Thorn,” he gasped, “Oh my god, I am so sorry. What happened?” He began to frantically apologize as he turned to the waitress that had committed such an atrocious act after he’d apologized to me.
“Your waitress here thought it was the perfect idea to dump a plate of pasta on me, she just ruined my suit.” I answered before she did.
I knew what she was going to say, she definitely would insist it was a mistake, she proved me right when she spoke.
“It was a mistake, Mr. Smith.” She answered after rolling her eyes.
I wasn’t just going to stand here and let her disrespect me, I voiced my displeasure to the manager who took it upon himself to fire her immediately.
I was satisfied but what had happened next wasn’t what I was expecting, pulling off her apron and flinging it at her manager. She picked up the glass of water on my table and emptied it on me. Again.
“Gina Georgia!” The manager exclaimed but I guess that was where the waitress drew the line.
“What?” She barked back, “y’all are just fucking birds of a feather that flocks together, all y’all want is a woman you can control, one whose wings you can clip.” She spat at her boss who was also taken aback by her audacity.
“And you,” She added, turning to face me after I’d been at the receiving end of her anger, “you Lazy, selfish, Pathetic fucking Liar!” She screamed.
I was confused because I still had no idea who this woman was!
“Get back to your wife and be a better human for once in your life, and don’t you dare live off her! Pay her rent and stop getting yourself into every other ladies fridge you can find. Stop being a stupid, shameless cheat!” She screamed at me again.
I am not even married… yet.
The fuck?
I blinked twice, it was a sight to see, I was right about the reason for her anger and it was amusing to see her act this way unprovoked. I’d have found this more amusing if I wasn’t looking for whom to take as a wife, a decision which has been giving me so much headache.
“Fucking Cheat, all of you.” She screamed again as she pointed at every other man in the restaurant while she spat.
I let out a slight scoff as the security walked in to usher her out, still screaming and causing a scene.
I took the napkin on the table as I cleaned myself up while also making my way to my car with the face of this feisty stranger replaying in my memory as I drove out.
“Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned.”
GINA POV I was really mad and I knew I’d acted way out of proportion, it took a few hours for the anger to finally wear out and for the realization of me losing my job had just settled over me.“What was I thinking? Why would I do that?” I scolded myself as I mentally slapped myself while walking back home, I’d decided to take a rest before going home and now it just seemed like my life had taken the worst turn it could ever take.I live off of what I make from the restaurant, from serving people and now, I have no job or anything to help me get through the day.I stood up to continue my work as I also continued scolding myself for acting so irrationally, another man had lied to me and broken my heart. Why did I think it was okay to take out the anger on someone else?The importance of the client I’d lashed out on hit me when I got fired immediately he was dissatisfied.I picked up my phone and went through my contact, staring at my boss’ contact intently. I contemplated calling an
As Gina packed her bags and got ready to leave her life behind for good, she wondered, for the umpenteeth time, if she was doing the right thing. If someone had told her months ago that she would be married to a wealthy billionaire who didn't care for her or the life she lived, she would have laughed at the person's face. But here she was, dragging her suitcase behind her while Henry's men stood outside patiently waiting.Not all of them though, she thought, as she observed one looking at his wristwatch with an almost imperceptible frown on his face. She sighed and looked around the house once more, it held so many memories for her. Mostly ones she would rather forget, but there were few she would cherish in her heart forever. With that last thought in mind, she closed the front door behind her and stepped out onto the pavement where two guard quickly rushed forward and put her bags in the trunk of the Cadillac, while someone else opened the door for her to enter.She was about to ste
In an ordinary situation, Gina wouldn't have agreed to move into Henry's mansion. True, she wasn't well to do and she liked the good life, but she also prided herself on her level of self respect. Gina was ready to stay in her own house and find a way through the marriage, if it meant keeping her dignity. However, there were two problems with that.One, her rent had expired three months ago and she was living on borrowed time based on her charming kindness to the old woman who owned the two storey building she stayed in. Secondly, and more importantly, the contract she signed included a clause that stated she had to stay with Henry for the most part of the year during their marriage. In other words, she was bound to him for three quarters of the season and couldn't stay on her own, even if she wanted to. Every time she remembered it, she half felt like slapping herself because she neglected to read that part.Gina's mind continued to drift o
Before Gina realized what was happening, day turned into night and she found herself sitting beside Henry's mom discussing the wedding plans. She never envisioned that she would be communicating about such an intricate topic with Mrs. Thorn, number two in top leading women of the century. It felt like a dream come true, but at the same time, she felt nervous and fake. Anyone could see how happy the woman felt that her son was getting married, and Gina felt bad for stringing her on, especially when it was quite obvious they wouldn't be married for a long time.After a few seconds of self pity, she shook her head slightly and resumed smiling at the woman. There was no time to feel guilty about anything, so she had to do her best to enjoy the moment. Gina's eyes floated to the seat beside her and landed on the iPhone on the table. It was Henry's and she wondered if he knew it was still on the dining table. Before she could think of what to do, his mother's eyes tur
After Gina finished breakfast, Henry's mother held her hand and looked lovingly into her eyes. "I'm so happy my son found you. It's so easy to see how much he is in love with you, and I'm sure your marriage will be a happy one." The woman looked like she wanted to cry, and Gina wanted to give up at that point. How could she keep deceiving this woman? It was unfair, and she felt this sudde urge to come out with the truth and damn the consequences.Luckily, Henry broke the mood and walked over to his mother's side to hold her hand. "Mom, you'll make her cry. You've told her how happy you are so many times, I'm sure she's tired of hearing it. Aren't you, Gina?" He turned to her with a silent question on his lips, but she looked away from him and smiled at his mother."I am very happy to be with Henry, and I will try my best to make this marriage work." It was a short speech, but it was all she could manage. It seemed to work however, because the woman wiped her tears and nodded, before p
After many days of preparation and quite frankly, running around town to get the perfect dress, jewelry, makeup artist and souvenirs, Gina was tired and overwhelmed. Even though Henry's mom assumed her that it would be a stress free event, it ended up being frustrating. There was so much to do and with so little time, but when the day of the wedding came, Gina's jitters and nervousness overshadowed the stress of the past few days. As she looked down below where the wedding car was waiting to take her to the church, she tried to calm herself down.It was the day of her wedding and unlike what she thought, no one was there for her. She had reviewed the guest list two days ago and everybody invited was from Henry's side. According to what he said, it was his mother who knew most of them and she was obviously hoping to make a few connections and get Gina roped into their world as quickly as possible. However, the bride to be couldn't decide whether it was really nec
As they dished out congratulations, she smiled softly and tried to avoid the eyes of the top dignitaries. It wasn't hard to guess that most of them didn't really like her but still many of them came over with fake smiles plastered on their faces."Welcome to the family, darling," a red-haired woman said as she gave Gina an air hug. The scent of her perfume stuck in the bride's nose and she grimaced, fighting hard for air. That was the part she hated about celebrities and famous people, a lot of them were fake and it was hard to tell which one was worthy to have by your side. Gina tried to smile as the woman's numerous pearl beads on her neck squashed against her low cut dress, pressing deep into her skin and in desperation, she pushed back, but the woman held on and pressed her red lips to her ear."You will never really belong, try hard as you might," the woman moved away and chuckled like she said something funny. A part of Gina wanted to
Gina tossed and turned throughout most of the night. Try hard as she might, she couldn't help herself from thinking about why Henry hadn't said anything to her before stepping into his room. Even though she wasn't surprised at his behaviour, a part of her was still annoyed. If for anything, she was now his wife and though a voice in her head reminded her it was all for show, she still wanted to feel important enough. It was ultimately annoying that he didn't seem to consider her at all.She lay still in bed for some minutes, thinking about whether to approach him or not. However, it was very late at night and she doubted he would still be awake and even if he was, disturbing him would make their situation worse. With this in mind, she settled for approaching him in the morning and then tried to sleep. Something told her she would have a busy day ahead and she needed to be well rested for it. Yet, her mind swarmed with another thought.The passionate kiss at the altar. In all Gina's ye