Lorraine
A sharp pain tore through my head as my eyes fluttered open. I shut my eyes quickly and opened them again and tried to shove the pain aside by shaking my head, but it only compounded the pain.Slowly adapting to the empty bright room, I tried to get up, but then I realized that my legs were tied together at the back, and my hands also suffered the same fate as they were held together at the back of the iron chair.My intended scream was muffled by the rope my lips were covered with, bringing tears to my ears as my heart beat in a staccato rhythm.My fear skyrocketed when the door of the empty room was pushed open with some men trudging in a lackadaisical manner like they owned the world. My eyes gleamed with fury as I caught the sight of their leader, strolling behind them with his lips curved in a mischievous smile.I'd have scoffed if not for the restriction. I bet he was finding it funny."Untie her!" He ordered, his voice firm and hinged with disapproval.One of his bodyguards in a black suit rushed towards me and untied my legs and hands. He turned around and tried to remove the rope from my lips but I raised my hand to stop him as I didn't appreciate the unwanted closeness.A loud gasp escaped my lips as my mouth became free. I remained seated on the chair, examining my bare wrists which had turned red."Do you feel satisfied now that you have kept me all tied up like an animal taken to the slaughterhouse?" I thundered, surprised at the angry tone of my voice and the boldness with which I lashed out at him.He cocked his face to the side, his smirk still donned on his lips. At the snap of his fingers, the bodyguards left, leaving me with him."You should feel proud of yourself for strolling around with several bodyguards like the king of Israel. Can you even protect yourself without them?" I mocked, but his chuckle disappointed me."You'll be amazed at how many things I can do for myself including making you mine." He began, his tone filled with an irritating kind of confidence I wished to have, because till now, my body still tingled with a strange kind of feeling just at the sight of him even though he was the last person I wished to see."I will never be yours!" I disputed at the top of my voice.He moved away from the empty wardrobe and advanced towards me, his step predatory and intimidating yet admirable. If I had been this strong seven years ago, I wouldn't have fallen into his trap. "You tried so hard to run away from me yet you are here, do you think that there's anything else you can do?" He asked, fixing his thumb under my chin so that I could keep my gaze on him.I snapped my face out of his grip and hissed, putting some reasonable distance between us."The only reason I'm still here is because you found a way to get me. Why can't you understand that I despise you and I never want to be with you?" I spat back, clenching my fists as if I could punch him if given the chance.He chuckled again, then folded his arms. "I despise you more, Lorraine, but you still have to marry me because you owe me." He stated calmly, and this time I unclenched my fist and raked my fingers through my air in frustration. "A huge amount of money precisely."Not again. For God's sake, when was he going to understand that I didn't borrow the money?"You know I wasn't the one who borrowed the money, right? Besides, if you know who did it, why don't you go ahead and apprehend him, don't you see that I'm stuck in the middle?" I cried.He shrugged nonchalantly. "I got to know by chance and I'm going to spare you the details of how I found out so just do yourself a favor, sign the papers, and become my wife."I drew in a deep breath to maintain my cool, seeing that he wasn't going to bulge. I needed to find a way to get out of this mess before it would be too late.Masking my sour expression with the sweetest smile I could come up with, I approached him slowly and reached for his hands. Electrifying currents surged through me as our hands met but I held him firmly to keep up the show."Dexter, as long as I can remember, we have both loathed each other from high school and I don't believe that you like me now just because I've grown into a beautiful woman. So why don't you stop this charade and let me go?" I asked sweetly, batting my lashes at him, "It would be good for the both of us" I added.He stared at me, long and hard then took his hands off, digging them into both pockets of his pants."After what you did, I'd like you to know that I can't stand you but this marriage cuts across our hateful feelings for each other. It's something you will never understand." His eyes turned dark and vengeful immediately, causing me to take a step back."This is my life, Dexter. You won't ruin it for me with your so-called marriage contract." I protested.He shook his head, and then vengeful glints were replaced with an unreadable expression. "If you don't marry me, then your life will be completely ruined, dear Lorraine. And don't forget that you have a lot of enemies, especially your stepfather."This wasn't about the debt anymore, something dark was lurking behind and he wouldn't let me in on it. Escaping wasn't an option because he'd catch me again, he was capable of it. And obviously, he was more dangerous than the younger version of him I knew in high school.My stepfather was a huge threat to my life and maybe he could protect me from him. Just maybe.With a tired sigh, I raised my hands in surrender, forcing my voice to be firm and unwavering. "Fine! I'll sign the contract but I have a few rules."Chapter 6Dexter My brows furrowed at the thought of her bringing up new rules. Were they what she thought to be important right now? Though I wasn't happy with her request, I couldn't help but indulge her knowing that she could be stubborn if she set her mind on something. "What are the rules?" I asked with a bored tone, even though I was actually interested in her rules. She sighed, approaching me slowly. "I don't want anyone to know that we are married, after all, it's a contract marriage. The knowledge should remain between the both of us." "What the hell are you talking about?" I blasted her, but she kept my gaze, looking unfazed. "What's the use of getting married if no one gets to know about it?" She shrugged and folded her arms, her stance obstinate and annoying. Sadly, I'd have to put up with this for two years if we didn't end up killing each other. "You've succeeded in making me do what I don't want, so there should be some compromise at your end, don't you think?" S
Chapter 7Lorraine "Who's she to you?" I asked as a pang of jealousy rose up my chest. I shouldn't have felt that way, but right now I couldn't ignore the scathing urge to push the woman far away from Dexter because they clearly had a history. He stared at me briefly with his unreadable brown eyes boring into mine. "Why do you sound jealous? Should you be jealous considering the fact that you don't want anyone to know that we are married?" He used one of my wishes against me and I couldn't deny that it hurt a bit. "I just want to know what I'll be up against," I replied with a lackadaisical tone. "She seems like a lot of trouble and she's obviously into you." He was quiet for a while, like he was deciding if it would be appropriate to part with the information. But then, it was my right to know the people he was involved with since I was his wife. "She's my ex." He finally responded. My eyes widened in surprise then I lowered her lashes, apparently processing the information.
Chapter 8Lorraine Waking up to prepare for my first day at the agency filled my body with nervousness and a sizzling excitement. Finally, I'd be doing what I loved after a long time. Rubbing my sleepy eyes with the back of my hands, I realised that it had been a long time since I slept on a bed as comfy and plush as this. Dexter slept in the same room with me, but in a different bed as I'd wanted. I got up, tossing on my black robe as I'd gotten really self conscious because of the overly revealing nightwear that he had forced me to wear. "Good morning," I chirped as I reached for my toothbrush while scanning Dexter's bare chest with the corner of my eyes. God! His body was ripped with thick muscles that flexes with each movement. My fingers itched to touch his smooth skin and feel the sturdiness of chest. Dexter had always been a hottie since high school and I could remember girls sprawling all over the place just to have him notice them. "You are going to be late for work if
Chapter 9Dexter Sitting still in my office with the reminder that Lorraine was in the down floor practicing kept my restlessness burning. I wanted to see her beautiful face even though I had to do it under the pretext of supervision. The feelings were weird because I loathed her and I was supposed to stay several meters away from her but it wasn't working. Hell! I wasn't even comfortable allowing her to commute to the office so I sent one of my men to disguise as a cab driver so that she would be safe. And when he notified me that she was around, I had to rush to my floor to ceiling window which faced the entrance of the building to confirm. Unable to keep the urge away, I got up from my executive chair and headed to their practice room. If I'd known that Emilia would jump on me like a predator, I'd have stayed back and sent for Lorraine to come over. "What the hell are you doing?" I pulled away with a grimace, glaring at her satisfied grin. If not for the strong respect I had
Chapter 10Lorraine "Come join me." Dexter offered as I headed for our bedroom with a plate of cookies in my hands. His offer was gentle yet demanding at the same time. Only someone like Dexter could pull off such a tone with ease. I'd have loved to ignore him and move straight to our room, but what good will it do for the both of us? He was trying to call some temporary truce and it wasn't like I didn't enjoy being with him even if I wasn't supposed to. I sank onto the chair he sat with a grunt. "If you say so." My eyes darted to the bottle of whiskey on the table and the empty two glasses beside it. "Why do you have a bottle?" I questioned, hoping that my voice didn't bear so much concern. He poured some of the content into two glasses and passed one to me. "Let's say I'm a bit frustrated." He grumbled. "What could make the almighty Dexter frustrated?" I asked sarcastically, slightly interested in what he had to say. He doused another glass and relaxed on the back rest. "A wo
Chapter 11 Dexter The drive to one of my favorite bars seemed longer than the time I had to wait for Lorraine to be brought to me. Her crude response to my question yesterday was startling, but maybe she wasn't the angel I thought her to be. As I waltzed in, I saw my friends, yelling at me to come over. A smile stretched on my lips as I headed over to their spot and sank onto the seat they had reserved for me. Liam stretched his hand for a warm handshake. "It's been a long time, buddy. You are filling out so well." He said with a New York accent. "What can I do?" I chuckled and greeted Blake as well who was more focused on his bottle of rum. It's been a while since we met after a few years of being away from each other. I'd drowned myself in work and it wasn't until today that they forced me to come over for a reunion which I eagerly accepted. "How have you boys been?" I teased them with a smirk. Liam shrugged and was about to reply when he caught the sight of a beautiful lady
Chapter 12Dexter"Stop it!" I yelled as I jerked up my feet. "I asked you to leave the room and I'm very serious about it." The intensity of my rejection caused her to stagger backward as she leaned on the wall, her back pressing onto it for support. She sniffed and blinked continuously and when I stared at her eyes, I saw how misty it had become. Yeah, I could be cold and nonchalant but that doesn't mean that I went around hurting everyone's feelings. She sniffed again as she couldn't hold back her tears. "I love you, Dexter," She blurted. I hid my surprise well, my feelings properly hidden with a stoic mask of nonchalance. She should know better than to fall in love with me or did she expect me to grow feelings for her all of a sudden because of how frequently I called her over? "You're not saying anything." She rasped when she noticed how silent I'd become. With a shrug, I approached her fluidly after arranging my pants and tucking my manhood in. "I'm silent because I can't
Chapter 13Lorraine It was a lie—a blatant lie! I felt something so strong that I didn't want to acknowledge. Gosh, I thought those feelings were dead but I guess they had been buried in a dark corner of my heart and all it took was a single kiss to stir it up. I quickly walked away so that he wouldn't notice how I truly felt. He'd use it against me once he found out that I was trying to rile him up. The door of our bedroom flung open as I tucked myself under the duvet with Dexter sighing intermittently. "I saw Blake and Liam today at a bar. It's been a long while since I met them." My throat constricted and a deep feeling of dread, stemming from the memories of the past dropped into the pit of my stomach. "How are they?" I asked, hoping I sounded as nonchalant as I could because they never mattered to me, not after the indelible scars they caused me. Dexter turned around and smiled at me. "They are fine. Did you ask because you actually care or you just want to know?"