It dawned on her that she didn’t have what it takes.
“You need me, Ari,” he said.
She looked up at him, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. Her heart leaped when he said that. The only person who had extended a hand towards her was him. The only person she could look in the eyes was him, the only person who had made her feel calm. The only person who ever asked if she was okay was him. But could she really trust him?
“You need me. Let me be the land you can firmly stand on. I’ll be your shield and protect you. I want to be the reason you have nothing to fear.”
“Why should I trust you?” she asked.
“You have no choice. You want to be strong? Stand for yourself? Make it to the top, where you’ll be unstoppable and untouchable? Then you need me.”
She sighed; he was right.
“What will you do for me?” she asked.
“You want to be a fashion designer, right? I’ll get you into a fashion designing organization, and the rest is up to you.”
“What do you want in return?”
Christian giggled. “I’m right, she’s still the Ari I know, damn smart.”
“What I want?” He feigned pretense.
“I know nothing is free. What do you want in return?”
He smiled and walked towards her, leaning forward. Her heart quickened as he spoke in a hoarse voice.
“I want you. I want your heart.”
Her heart began to race, and with him that close, she couldn’t think clearly. She stepped back, blinking rapidly.
“Please, ask for something I can give.”
“You can give me that.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have the heart to give.”
“Dummy! I mean, I want you to love me.”
“I understand,” she replied. “I don’t have the heart to love. I can’t.”
“Give me reasons why you can’t.”
“I don’t want to, and I also had a deal with my grandfather.”
“Oh, shit! Damn that old man,” Christian cursed under his breath. “What I need is to chase my dream and be a woman of my own,” she said firmly.
“Nice. Okay then, I’ll make two requests. I’ll give you everything you need, and in return, you’ll give me…”
Her heart raced with curiosity about what he was about to say, eager to hear his words. He paused to observe her reaction before continuing.
“My first request is that you go on three dates with me.”
“Three dates?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
“What’s the second one?”
He gave her a mischievous smirk. “I’ll tell you after the last date.”
“What? That’s not fair.”
“I choose when I make my request. What makes it unfair is you saying no to them.”
“How can I say no to something I don’t even know?”
“You’ll know it after the last date. But for now, I’m tired. I need to rest. Unless, of course, you want to cuddle me all night.”
“I’m leaving,” she said quickly, walking out of the room with a frown. She didn’t like the idea of making a deal without knowing all his requests, but he always had the final word.
“If I want to be able to do everything I have in mind, then I have to take this risk,” she thought to herself, her eyes darkening. Her heart felt heavy with a mix of rage and coldness.
Patricia sat patiently in the sitting room, anxiously awaiting Alice’s message. She couldn’t stop thinking about the outcome of their plan. The party had been seen as the perfect opportunity to execute it. As the minutes passed, curiosity and nervousness gnawed at her as she reflected on the plan and its potential outcome.
The plan was simple: Alice would drug Christian during the party. After gaining attention and causing the crowd to bully Clarisse, Alice would drive her out of the event. She would then keep Christian company, ensuring that he didn’t feel bored and making sure Clarisse was out of the picture without Christian’s knowledge, so he wouldn’t go after her. Once that was achieved, Alice would slip a pill into his drink. He would become dizzy and aroused, and she would escort him out, claiming that he was drunk, and take him to a private suite where they would have sex. The plan was straightforward, and once completed, it would be a triumph-a guaranteed win for Ferdinand.
Patricia kept checking her phone, hoping for an update that everything was going according to plan. Each time her phone beeped, she eagerly checked it, only to hiss in frustration when she saw it was just a notification from the news, the internet, or from friends.
“Is she that busy? At least one update,” she muttered impatiently. “Maybe it’s going well, and that’s…”
Before she could finish her thought, she heard the door open and saw Alice walking in.
“Alice?” Patricia called, surprised to see her, the expression on her daughter’s face speaking volumes.
Alice was seething with anger, nothing going her way, and it made her so furious that she could almost break something. She nearly walked past her mother without saying a word, but Patricia quickly grabbed her hand.
“What happened? Did the mission not go as planned?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Alice snapped harshly.
“What happened exactly?”
“Everything!” Alice shouted, yanking her hand free. “Nothing went as planned. First, Victor ruined it by embarrassing himself like a loser. Then, he was surrounded by that useless Ashley and that tall idiot Kyle. I never had a chance to be with him.” Her eyes darkened as she remembered Clarisse. “And Clarisse…”
“What about her?”
“She ruined everything. She took my attention and became the beauty in the limelight. Everyone was talking about her, saying she’s better than me,” Alice scoffed in anger. “That shameless whore.”
“Who said she’s better than you?”
“What the hell have you been doing? Check the damn internet and see what I’m talking about,” Alice yelled at Patricia, who quickly grabbed her phone. She noticed one of the notifications was about the party. Clicking on it, she began watching the video. Patricia frowned as she watched, clenching her fist around the phone and glaring at the screen.
When she could watch no longer, she threw the phone onto the couch and gritted her teeth, deep in thought. Alice slumped down onto the couch.
“She annoys me. Everything about her irritates me, and I can’t keep up with this. It feels like everything that belongs to me is slipping away.”
“No, it’s not,” Patricia said, correcting her. “No one is going to take what belongs to you. Christian, Iston Corporation-they’re yours,” she said, looking away as she tried to think of a solution.
“We need to do something then, Mum.”
“I’m thinking. Your dad mustn’t know that the plan didn’t work out. He’s not going to take it well.”
“Is there a way he won’t find out? He has something to do with all of this.”
“He doesn’t. He told you to marry Christian, but you were the one who refused.”
Alice hissed and looked away. “Whatever,” she muttered under her breath.
“We need to find a way for them to divorce.”
“And what way is that?”
“We took the cunning route, but it didn’t work. How about we take a bolder approach?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.