MELISSA’S POV
“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, Mr Steve Ross and Miss Melissa Ferguson, husband, and wife. You may now kiss the bride” I squealed. That was it, it was official. My gaze was focused on the only man I lived for, the love of my life. Steve was beaming ear to ear as he pulled me for a kiss, a long wet kiss. I leaned in, enjoying every moment of it, drowning out the entire audience. “We’re married babe” He said, his lips still on mine. My cheeks flushed as we pulled away from the kiss. I did it, every woman’s dream, I married the love of my life. I couldn’t shake the smile off my face. I was in love, and still in love. “You disgusting piece of shit” a voice rang through my thoughts. My eyes flickered open, a tall manly figure standing inches away from the door. Steve. I looked around and tried to roll over half asleep, only to jolt upright as an unexpected dampness hit my skin. Then it hit me, I must have fallen asleep while…. I took a glance at myself, my naked body sprawled on the bed wet from my rose toy. “I’m so sorry” I looked up at Steve as he watched me in disgust. “You make me sick you fucking whore, you have nothing better to do than to spill your juices out on my bed”. A pan of guilt hit me, I didn’t know he’d be back from his business trip today. Ashamed, I hurried out of the bed, my thighs sticking together from my dried up juices. I hear Steve mutter something under his breath as I helped myself to the bathroom. Tears streamed down my face as the warm water from the shower hit my skin in multiple drops. This wasn’t how we used to be, we used to be in love, inseparable, obsessed with each other. Now I had to resort to a rose toy to satisfy my sexual longing. I hated it. I hated that he was so busy, he didn’t kiss me in the mornings before he went to work. I hated that he didn’t bother to come home early anymore. I hated that we hadn’t gone on a date in over two years. I hated that he didn’t let me please him in the way he wanted. He never wants to have sex anymore. I love how hard my husband works but we need to keep this marriage alive. With all the money he has, he shouldn’t even be working that long. “Get out and clean that silly mess you made” I heard him say as he banged the bathroom door. “You can’t be in there forever”. I was done, I turned off the shower and grabbed my towel, wrapping it around my wet hair. I grabbed another and stepped out of the bathroom into the bedroom. “Listen to me woman” Steve said as he caught me off guard pulling me by my arm and slamming me to the wall, ignoring my wet naked body. “Never make such a filthy mess ever, in my home, is that clear?” “Mmm” I nodded “Good” he said as he released his grip on my arm. Silence fell between us before he spoke eventually “You’ll move to the other room” he said coldly “What” I exclaimed “You heard me, we can’t share a room anymore Melissa, since you clearly need more privacy” he said matter of factly. “No no no, you can’t do that babe” This room was the only major thing tying us together at this point. I loved to share a bed with my husband, to feel his warmth after he left for work. “Yes I can, on second thought, I’ll move. The bed disgusts me anyway.” He said as he strode out of the room and slammed the door. His words stung, my juices didn’t seem so disgusting a year ago. A sigh escaped my lips, maybe that’s what marriages lead to anyway.I woke up to the sound of my alarm. It was time for me to get back to work. I got up and dressed up, putting my hair into a ponytail. The weather was a bit cold so I decided to throw on a coat. I got into the Redmond building, the receptionist and headed straight to the elevator. Once I reached the office floor, I could already feel his presence. He definitely had a way of infecting a room with his presence. My heels clicked against the marble floor of the executive wing as I walked toward my desk outside Mr. Redmond’s office. I caught a glimpse of Steve beside the glass walls. He was surrounded by some junior workers but he wasn't saying anything and I could tell he had seen me. “Morning, Melissa,” Jenny greeted me with a cheerful smile which startled me. I managed one in return, though it felt a little forced. “Hey, Jules.” I sat at my desk and pulled up my schedule, needing something to distract me from the tension in my chest. I was able to get some work done and just
NICHOLAS's POV I smoothed out the creases on my suit and walked towards the conference room. I could already see from the transparent glass wall who it was and I wasn't surprised a bit. “Mum?” I said as I walked in through the door. She looked at me long and hard. I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't in a good mood. “Nicholas” she spoke. Yup, she was serious. “You ignored my calls this morning” I nodded frantically, “Yes mother, I did. I promise I didn't want to ignore you, you called in the early hours of the morning and I wasn't fully awake yet” She folded her arms, “Why aren't you going to show up, like I asked you to?” “Mum, we already talked about this. I'm quite busy, my hands are full” “Is this how you want to keep behaving? You want to get wrapped up in work that you won't have time to get married?” My mother was a lot of things, and dramatic was the biggest of them all. She had set a date with one of her friends’ daughters and insisted I ge
MELISSA’S POV I stretched and opened my eyes slightly as the morning sun seeped through the curtains. I blinked slowly awake. At first, the odd scent of cedarwood disoriented me. It wasn't my room. The previous day came rushing in, the near accident, Nicholas bringing me to his home, him asking me to stay and me over hearing his conversation. I got up from the bed and walked over to the closet he had earlier told me about. Inside was a collection of clothing. I could tell some of them were designer clothes if not all. I checked them out and they were one size bigger but I was okay to manage. I settled on a sweater and a pair of sweatpants and made my way towards the kitchen. Nicholas was already there. He got to his feet when he saw me, “Good morning, Melissa. I see your ankle has gotten a bit better” I nodded “Good morning boss” my ankle was indeed better. It only hurt when I put pressure on it. He was dressed in his corporate shirt and pants but the top buttons of the
NICHOLAS’S POV Melissa sat in my home office, her ankle and knees wrapped in bandages and a blanket over her shoulder. I had called a doctor to come over to my house to check on Melissa. Even though she wanted to go to the office, I insisted she follow me home and see a doctor. After the doctor left and assured me everything would be fine, I finally said, “I think someone wanted to scare you or scare me.” I leaned against my desk. “Do you think… do you think Steve had anything to do with it?” Her voice was low. The silence that followed said more than words ever could. I didn't know when I moved across the room and got on my knees beside her. I stared into her eyes, “I don't know yet. But I promise you Melissa, I won't let anyone hurt you” I saw her gulp and shift in her chair but I meant every word of that promise. I don't know where the sudden urge to protect her from everything came from, but I wasn't pushing it away. I wanted to protect her, even if it's from her psych
MELISSA’S POVA few days had passed and I was slowly adjusting to my new normal life. Steve was still on suspension. I had wondered how long it would be but I didn't bother to ask Nicholas about it. At this point, work was the only thing I had that would keep me sane. And keep my mind off the rough patches in my life. “Morning, Melissa,” Jenny from HR called as she passed by. I smiled. “Morning.” The coffee in my hand was still hot. I blew over it, took a deep breath, and began my work for the day. About a few months ago, I was picking up broken pieces and moving back to my mother's house. Now I was receiving emails from invoices that I had paid myself. I sat down at my desk just outside Mr. Redmond’s office, organizing the files he’d asked for the day before. The scent of cedar and clean linen drifted from his office, the same as always. When his door opened, I instinctively stood up with a bunch of files in my hand. He didn’t look up from his phone. “I have a meeting in tw
MELISSA’S POV It was a tired morning for me, I hadn't slept. Well, not really. The office was unusually quiet or maybe it was just me, considering the last time I was in there, Nicholas had to drag Steve out of the building. I had thought about it in my living room. I wondered how my life had unraveled so fast and taken a strange new shape so quickly. Now I was here, sitting at my desk. I opened my laptop and tried to focus, tried to pretend that Steve hadn’t ambushed me in front of the entire building the other day and he hadn't threatened me at the law office. But every time I typed a word, I felt the heat of his presence lingering in my thoughts, like cigarette smoke that refused to fade. “Melissa.” I looked up. It was Nicholas. He stood by my desk with a coffee in each hand and extended one towards me. “Figured you might need this” I hesitated, then accepted it while murmuring a thank you. He didn’t say anything right away. Just watched me, his expression unreadable