It felt like there was a big hammer hitting my head repeatedly making the pain more and more uncontrollable in all parts of my head. The situation around me seemed to be spinning around making it difficult for me to just wake up my body. I repeatedly blinked my eyes hoping that the pain in my head would decrease. When I felt my surroundings return to silence, I realized that the ceiling above my head felt unfamiliar. Then another reality struck me, this was not my bedroom!
As I sat up, I realized that underneath the blanket I was wearing, only a tattered shirt was still clinging to my body. What happened last night?
Even more shocking, it made me clamp my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out loud. I saw a shirtless man sleeping beside me. He was lying on his stomach without me being able to see his face clearly because he was facing sideways.
Who is he? Why am I here without clothes with a strange man?
I whimpered as the pain in my head returned. Although the pain still ruled all parts of my head, I tried to remember what happened last night. Although it was vague, I clearly remembered that I was trying to escape from a man who was about to rape me. Until I bumped into a man.
Oh, my gosh.
I shuddered in horror as a flash of horrifying memory appeared in my head. The scene where he and I were wrestling on the bed, crushing each other's lips so intensely. I even screamed out in pleasure as we released each other's satisfaction.
No, no, no. I shook my head, feeling so shocked and unsure of what was happening that I was startled by my cell phone vibrating. It was down there, in a bag lying on the floor. I hurriedly grabbed it for fear of waking the man who was still fast asleep beside me.
The phone call from my father scared me to death. I glanced at him, making sure he was still fast asleep before pressing the green button on my phone screen.
"Hello, Dad?" I replied in as quiet a voice as possible. I swallowed my saliva with difficulty, my throat now completely dry, barren like a desert. My hands trembled violently as I heard my father's heavy voice that sounded so angry.
In just a few seconds he spoke in a demanding tone. My father told me to go home immediately without saying anything else. This made me feel even more scared because my father didn't usually do that.
I hurriedly went downstairs. Picked up each of my clothes that were lying on the floor and hurriedly put them on. Leaving the hotel room that felt so horrible with him still fast asleep like a baby.
God, I hope I don't get into more trouble than this!
"You're home?"
Nicole's voice was the first to greet me when I entered the house. She stood with a smug face with a smirk perched on the corner of her lips. It looked so suspicious. I just brushed past her, ignoring her completely.
Nicole followed me from behind. Still with both hands on her chest until we reached the living room. Mom and Dad were already there. An unreadable look, a tense atmosphere. But I could sense that something bad was about to happen.
"Dad, what's wrong-"
"Gosh, I feel dizzy smelling the alcohol from your body. How much did you drink, huh?" I glanced sharply at Nicole when she interrupted me just as I was about to speak. But Nicole smiled mockingly at me instead.
"Stay out of it, Nicole!" I exclaimed in annoyance. But the next thing I knew, I was snapping at my father. He looked so angry with the veins tightening around his neck.
A hard slap landed on my cheek. I, who was still in shock, could only stay silent with a stupid face staring at my father. My eyes trembled, almost crying, but I tried to hold it in.
"Dad," I whined in a hoarse voice. But that didn't stop my father from making an angry face.
"Why didn't you come home last night? And what is this?! Coming home in a mess like this when you know I've set you up with Ethan!?" My father's voice was loud, and firm, echoing in the living room. He looked angry.
I immediately glanced at Nicole. It must have been her, as I saw Nicole smiling smugly when my father scolded me. He even went so far as to slap my cheek, leaving a reddish mark and a throbbing sensation that was quite painful.
"Did you sleep with another man?" my father demanded. I could see his hands clenched into fists, holding back his anger.
I couldn't lose to Nicole. I couldn't fall twice into her trap.
"Dad, I can explain. It's not what you think. I did meet up with a friend yesterday, but I suddenly fainted. Someone drugged me and I'm sure someone did it on purpose!" I exclaimed firmly. I glanced at Nicole who was still smiling contentedly. It was her doing!
"Drugged?" My father looked surprised when I mentioned the word 'drugged'. He raised one eyebrow, looking at me in disbelief, making sure that I wasn't lying.
I was silent for a moment, unable to say anything to answer my father's question. If I told him more, he and everyone would know that I slept with a man last night. And my father would be even angrier when he found out. And Nicole, victory is clearly in her hands. And I didn't want that to happen.
I told my father not to bring it up again because now I was coming home fine. "Someone helped me last night, so we shouldn't have to discuss this," I tried to convince my father.
"If someone wants to do something bad to you, wouldn't it be better to catch the culprit and punish him? Isn't that right, dad?" I glared at Nicole who opened her voice. I wondered why there was someone like Nicole who was always meddling in people's business and making it worse.
"No, father. I..."
"Shut up, Layla," my father interrupted. "I'm the one who decides whether or not to pursue this matter. And Nicole's right. What if Ethan's family finds out about this and thinks something bad? They might cancel your wedding."
I was getting frustrated hearing my father's words. My hands were shaking with fear. I was afraid he would find out the truth. And I could only look down without being able to reply to his words.
"Dad, we should go to the hotel and check the CCTV. I'm sure we can find out who drugged Layla," Nicole said. It made me want to shut her up so badly that she couldn't speak anymore.
Damn it. She even smiled triumphantly when Dad agreed to her idea. And me? I couldn't do anything when my father firmly told me to drive them to the hotel where I was staying last night.
I continued to grip my hands which were already sweating from nerves. We had just entered the hotel lobby and my father was talking to the security there. He asked if we could look at the CCTV footage from last night to find the culprit who had drugged me.I didn't know what to do to stop my father while Nicole kept inciting my father to look at the CCTV and catch the culprit.Not long after, security came back and told us that we could see the CCTV footage but only with him present. We then went to the surveillance room area. Two officers were monitoring the monitor.The security guard who escorted us explained what happened. They were trying to find the CCTV footage of when the incident happened.I didn't dare say anything when a recording showed me being carried by a man. The man who had slept with me last night. But how shocked I was when my father didn't feel angry at all. It was Nicole who turned angry."Dad?" I asked with concern."So you were with Ethan last night?" my father
After dinner that day, all the days I'd gone through seemed so heavy. When my father kept urging me to take care of choosing the wedding ring and the dress I would wear later. Meanwhile, every time I sent a message to Ethan, he always argued that he was busy and couldn't accompany me. In the end, he only sent me a few sample photos of wedding rings, asking me to choose one of them. I even went to the boutique to try on my wedding dress without him.Like a fool. Forcing myself to smile when I was so hurt inside. Just like me, I'm sure Ethan didn't like the idea of this wedding either.One month passed quickly. I was in the hotel room alone. Our wedding was being held in a five-star luxury hotel. Inviting every important colleague from each side of the bride and groom.I wanted so badly to escape from this one-sided marriage. I couldn't imagine living with a man I didn't love at all. How would our married life be, how would he treat me? Would I be happy married to him?All these questio
Layla’s PovI threw the bouquet of flowers into the air, watching the young girls catch it. How could they want this thing called marriage? Right now, I was probably the most miserable person in the world. Notwithstanding, I maintained the plastered smile on my face and curtseyed ever so often as big shots from various 5-star companies came to congratulate us. I glanced up at Ethan. His firm jaw and well carved out features looked as stunning as they did in the pictures. His arms were linked through mine, as we got into the limousine, portraying the image of a loving husband. If he was planning on fooling those people, then I had to give it to him, he made a fine actor. I on the other hand had gotten a glimpse of the real devil that he was. I could even feel him glaring at me from the corner of his eyes. Once we got into the car, he let go of me and leaned against the window. The look in his eyes were quite readable. As far as he was concerned, I didn't exist anymore. I frowned.
LAYLA’S POV“Mistress,”My eyes fluttered open. I sat up on the king sized bed. Sunlight streamed in from the open window casting a warm glow on my face. Rubbing my eyes, I wondered where I was. One thing was certain, I had woken up from a terrible dream. But wait... It wasn't a dream. Last I remembered, I was sobbing on the ground, the footsteps of that terrible man sounding in my head. It was settled then, I was the legal wife of the Ethan Crawford, the fucking CEO of some company. “Mistress,” I heard again. Standing at the door was a young lady, not much older than I, with short auburn hair and a plain white dress with black polkadots. She must be a maid. “It's alright, you can come in.” “You were in a bad state yesterday. We took you to this room to recuperate. But your things aren't here yet, you can still choose any of the rooms to stay in.” She said keeping her head low. “I'm your lady in waiting, America.” She said with a curtsey. “Is he always like that?” I asked sudd
LAYLA’S POV“Milady,” The guard directed me towards a red sports ferrari. He showed me the keys. “Would you wait for your driver or should I drive you myself?” He asked opening the back seat for me. He might as well drive, I shrugged entering the car. “Would you mind introducing yourself.” “My apologies Milady,” He bowed closing the door. “I'm Jonas Kent.”“Right,” I nodded. He entered the front seat and the garage gate raised open. The sports car zoomed past and within minutes, we were halfway across the city. He didn't stop for anything and arrived in front of huge brass gates. Maybe being married to a billionaire was not as bad as I thought. I began to think. The gates opened and our car drove in, parking soundlessly in the parking lot. Drake opened the doors for me and led me into the main building. I reasoned he must have been familiar with the people here because none of the security men bothered us. There was an open hallway with a receptionist dest at the front. People
«ETHAN CRAWFORD»I had my reservations concerning one, Layla Wales. She struck me as nothing exceptional. I was drugged, and there, a random lady bumped into me with dressing loose enough to turn me on. Goodness, it could have been any other girl! only to discover that she was the same woman my father had requested me to get married to. I wasn't ready for any relationship. Anyone close enough to me knew that. As a result, I had reason to believe that little Miss Layla Wales had it all planned. I told my father to postpone the agreement and have me focus on my work for now, and what happens next? The very girl I'm avoiding comes around and brings the whole wedding more than a month closer. I sighed, rubbing my temples. “How frustrating.”Entering a black sports car, I told the driver to take me to the company. I had a meeting with the board of directors. Taking out my cell phone, I called the manager. “Has Layla Wales arrived?” I asked coldly. “No, boss.”When she does, “I want y
«Nicole Wales»I stared at the face in front of me in astonishment. The dashing man tilted his head go one side, regarding me quietly. He was on one kneel gathering the remaining of the files.“You stare at me,” He noted cooly with an expression that was difficult to read.I quickly diverted my gaze feeling the red that crept up my cheeks. I wonder what he thought of me... Nothing bad I hoped.He stood up and offered me a hand. “Be careful next time, do you know who I am.”He said it more like a fact than a question. “Mr Ceo I....” I stuttered. He raised an eyebrow. “It's fine, I wasn't going to announce my presence anyway.”He brushed past my shoulders and walked into the elevators. “Well?”“Of course,” Hurrying to compose myself, I shuffled the files under one arm and made my way away. Forward, I thought wobbling slightly on my heels.Glancing back sharply, I caught the slightest hints of a smile in his eyes as the doors of the elevator slided shut.My stomach felt queasy. I had j
«Layla»It was my first day of work, I was already trying to be in ten places at the same time. Was there really that much vacancy at Ethan's company? And if so, half the city would die to work here. Why was he giving all the job to one person?Somehow, I didn't think it was as simple as that. Once I introduced myself as Layla Wales, the manager smiled at me and began typing on his laptop. I offered him my credentials and he just swept his eyes through them really quick and announced,“You got the job.” Then went back behind his laptop.Now, seated in a large hall where fifty of the workers worked, I looked through the slip of paper that he had given me. My working schedule. God it was choked!Mondays to Fridays I took a morning shift at the lab, afternoons, I went for a brief break then joined the archaeological research department. Saturday