Bound By A Contract

There was a certain thrill that came from planning a wedding. Whether an arranged marriage, a love marriage or in my case, a contract.Especially if the intended groom happened to own a whole lot of money.A private chaffeur, fancy parties, trips toworld-renowned designers, all expense paid stylists, helps to attend to my every need. But, the best part–seconded by the Annex card–was the popularity.In the weeks leading up to the wedding, my name was all over the news, bringing in both positive and negative reviews. Suddenly, everyone had an opinion they felt entitled to especially the receptionist and secretaries in Winston Corp.I saw the questions and accusations on their faces, some felt I did not deserve it, while others asked if blackmail was the reason. Why would a billionaire want to marry an unknown face, an ordinary secretary?If there was one thing Cole and I agreed on, any publicity was good publicity. He needed the media to see him as a humble CEO who fell for his 'number

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. "Theearlier, 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 raise

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

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

"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