Chapter 8
Lorraine 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 you keep ogling at me that way." He rumbled, wiping his alluring wet lips that called out to me. I quickly shut my eyes, tilting my face away while biting in a hiss. This wasn't right at all. He wasn't supposed to arouse these kinds of feelings from me after everything. "Don't count on it. I'm an early bird." I retorted and dashed into the bathroom before him, ignoring his sigh. "If you do that next time, I'll ignore your rules and jump into the bathroom with you." He shouted after me while I turned on the shower to douse his voice. Some minutes later, we left the house together in readiness for the day's work. He headed straight to his car and opened the car door for me which was quite amusing because I hadn't expected that. I glanced at the open invitation then shook my head, eliciting a frown from him. "Don't you think it would be weird that we go to work together? I'm not supposed to be seen or suspected to be your wife, remember?" He massaged his forehead and sighed, then shrugged. "That's fine," He entered the car, closed the door then ignited the engine. "Have a nice day." He zoomed out of the house leaving me floored. I found a way to get to the office just before the opening hours. Stefan was already sitting on his desk, his attention fixed to the laptop in front of him. "Good morning, Stefan. I hope you had a good night's rest?" I asked politely, donning a small smile. He took his gaze off the computer and returned the smile and that was when I noticed the nose rings he wore and a tinge of shiny lip gloss on his lips. "I slept like a baby, darling." He glanced at the clock then darted his gaze back to me. "You're right on time. Once the others come, you'll be introduced to your tutor." "Yes, Stefan." I returned back to the meeting room where Dexter had taken me to the first time and sat patiently. I scrolled through my phone for interesting news on the Internet, but the free time didn't last for long as the door flew open with Emilia storming in. Her expression did nothing to hide the scathing disapproval on her face. She was beautiful but her aura wasn't. And even if nobody told me all about her, her attitude was enough to warn me to steer clear of her. "Trying to impress us, huh?" She sneered, dropping her bag on the table in a lousy manner. Knowing that she was trying to sniff out trouble where there was none, I took a deep breath before responding. "Being punctual is part of the rules." I said curtly. She scoffed and approached me, "I know that you have it hot for my man, but don't act on it because he'll never notice you. There's no heart in that body of his and trust me, I'm the only one that can handle his shit." She didn't have to tell me about how cruel Dexter was because he kept proving it every single day, including this morning, and I wasn't even interested in having any romantic experience with him. "He's my boss, as well as yours. I won't stand in your way if he still wants you." I watched her face turn red in embarrassment. Apparently, she didn't expect my reply but I was good at giving snide remarks even though I couldn't fight back physically. She raised her finger, stomping her feet continuously but she couldn't say anything. Soon, other people trooped in, relieving me of the burden of sharing the same space with Emilia. It was quite depressing. Few ladies and young men, who seemed to join the industry, came in, filling me with more excitement. It would surely be fun to train with all of them. "I wasn't able to introduce her to you yesterday because of a few issues but I have tjr opportunity right now. So this is Lorraine Hills, our new member." Stefan said enthusiastically as they all came to shake hands with me one after the other. A few of them shared the same expression with Emilia, but the intensity was different. "It's nice to meet you all. I hope to blend in and learn everything you have to teach me." I said with a smile. Stefan introduced me to my tutor along the line and I couldn't wait to be trained under her. She looked genuinely happy to have me which got my mind settled. I was taken to a separate section where I'd be asked to practice my catwalk. It was no news that my steps were poised and unique, but I had a feeling that several things had to be corrected about it. The only sad part was that I had to cut down on my diet so that I would be able to fit into designs. My heart skipped a bit when Dexter stepped into the room, his face schooled into a business-like expression and his hand folded behind him. For some unknown reasons, I was happy to see him while reconciling the billionaire Dexter with the bully I knew way back. But my happiness was short lived as Emilia rushed off to him, pulled his face and merged her lips with his. At that point, I couldn't explain the tinge of anger that surged through me when I saw the both of them together. It took all of my willpower not to walk away and burst into tears as my heart raced all the way to my mouth. They were still kissing and he was obviously enjoying it. I blinked away the tears, knowing that he would be the same man I always knew him to be. A liar and a traitor.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?"
Chapter 14Lorraine I refused to acknowledge how much Dexter's worried expression affected me. I thought we both loathed each other? How could my pain make him feel this way? He flashed a reassuring stare at me, "How do you feel?" He didn't even wait for me to respond when he bombarded me with another question. "Is it getting any worse? Don't worry, we'll soon arrive at the hospital." "Thank you." I whispered as I willed myself to refrain from touching my ankle. The pain increased by the minute but I suppressed the yelp that nearly burst out of my lips and thought of how to continue the conversation. "How did you know that I'd sprained my ankle?" "I was about to enter the room to check on the progress of the training when I heard your scream. It really did something to me and I'd have lost my peace if I didn't help out." He responded with a little grudge. A smile formed at the corner of my lips and butterflies fluttered in the pit of my stomach, knowing that he still cared a bi
Chapter 15Lorraine Time passed between us as we kept staring at each other in silence. Stefan cleared his throat, reminding us that he was still around. "You're here, Mr Hemmingway." He chuckled nervously. "Yes, I am and what are you doing in my house?" He asked in a tone that showed how indignant and jealous he was. "Oh no," I muttered under my breath, thinking of several ways to salvage the situation. This was the last thing I wanted. Since it was a fake marriage, I didn't want anyone to know about it to avoid a scandal ensuing, but Dexter wasn't making things easier for me. He didn't have to blurt out the truth like that. "Ummm, Stefan, it isn't his house as he said. He just came to visit just like you're doing right now." I chimed, hoping that he would believe me. Stefan swung his gaze from me to Dexter and when Dexter didn't say anything else, he picked up his briefcase which I appreciated as the tension was growing by the minute and headed for the door. "I'm happy to s
Chapter 16Lorraine I regretted asking him that question immediately after the words left my mouth. "Sure," He answered with a lackadaisical tone. "You're going to give me a child, Lorraine. It's a part of the contract." He said obstinately while I raked my hand through my hair. "I can't get pregnant now." I retorted. He folded his hands with an amused expression. "Why not?" My eyes churned with tears at his emotionless question but I blinked hard to keep them from falling. "I don't think I'm ready to have a child after what happened with Eden. Right now, I'm still trying to find myself and having a child with someone I don't love... That would be very difficult." I explained. I loved him before, but I wasn't sure I didn't right now. There were several barriers between us and having a child for him would do nothing but remind me of my resentment for him. "That's well understood and I won't bug you now, but you still have a lot of time to have my child." He walked away, endi