Elena's POV
I blinked slowly, my jaw dropping in disbelief. I had expected Mr. Mysterious to be handsome, but nothing prepared me for this. The man before me was nothing short of godlike. He was tall...easily over six feet, with muscles that strained against his tight black designer shirt. His hair was a striking shade of black, brushed back with a few stray strands falling onto his forehead. His deep black eyes radiated a cold, intimidating presence. He looked like Superman come to life, but just a lot more handsome. My heart fluttered just at the sight of him. “I said, let her go,” he repeated, his voice icy and commanding. ‘Get yourself together, Elena. He’s just a man,’ I told myself, though he was undeniably stunning. I shook off my daze, pulling my hands free from the bearded man’s grasp. “He said let me go, you idiot.” The bearded man looked utterly shocked. Then, to my astonishment, he dropped to his knees and bowed, banging his head on the floor with a resounding thud. “Mr. Reynolds,” he groaned, sounding almost like he was about to cry. It was almost comical. I stifled a laugh, but then Mr. Reynolds spoke again. "I had no idea that she was your woman." His woman? I smirked, my eyes glistening in joy. I liked the sound of that. But before I was able to fully enjoy it, Mr Mysterious, or Mr Reynolds as this idiot called him spoke again. “She is not my woman,” he said, his brow furrowing. I glared at him. What did he mean by that? I meant why did he just say that like that? Could he not see the kind of situation I was in? The bearded man looked between us, bewildered. “She’s not your woman?” “No… Of course, I’m his woman,” I said quickly, wrapping my arms around Mr. Reynolds’s and holding on tightly. I tilted my head at the bearded man with a smirk. Mr. Reynolds stiffened at my sudden display of affection, and I used the opportunity to lean even more closer towards him, interlocking out arms. I made a 'tsk tsk' sound with my tongue as I stared down at the beardy man with a look of disgust. “You should be ashamed of yourself, trying to take another man’s woman,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Not just any man’s woman…” ‘What was his name again?’ “Mr. Reynolds,” I recalled just as someone called out behind me. “Boss...” Two men approached and bowed respectfully. Mr. Reynolds immediately withdrew his hands from mine and stepped back. I felt a pang of hurt pride. His swift retreat made me feel as though I had shocked him or most probably disgusted him. ‘Hey, look here, Mr. You may be godlike in your handsomeness, but I’m still very beautiful!’ He acted as if I was a plague or something. I bit my lower lip, cheeks flushing slightly with embarrassment, before turning back to the bearded man. ‘Please don’t let him witness that,’ I pleaded inwardly, sighing in relief when I saw that he had vanished. If he had seen that he would have known that there was nothing between me and this handsome beauty, and knowing rich people as I did, he would have insisted that I was his. “Boss, we’ve found him,” one of the two men said, addressing Mr. Reynolds with respect. My curiosity was piqued. “Found who?” I asked, looking between Mr. Reynolds and the man who spoke. His cold gaze sent a shiver down my spine. Then, to my astonishment, he took out a white handkerchief and wiped his hands clean. I stared, mouth agape. ‘What the hell? Was he suggesting I was dirty?’ Now I was sure he really thought I was a plague, to the point of even cleaning his hands... But I choosed to stay composed. Mr. Reynolds had just saved me from an awkward situation, likely preventing the bearded man from causing serious trouble. Clearing my throat, I drew the three men’s attention. “Thank you for helping me,” I said softly, batting my eyelashes. Mr. Reynolds’s eyes swept over me with a cold, indifferent stare. His expression remained impassive, and I wondered if he was questioning my sanity. Despite the subdued music in the bar, the silence between us felt stifling. ‘Does he not speak?’ I wondered, before remembering that he had spoken earlier. His voice had been cold yet alluring. “Okay…” I said, trying to break the silence. “I’m Lena, by the way.” I extended my hand with a coy smile. Mr. Reynolds glanced briefly at my hand before looking back at my face, his expression unchanging. It was clear he had no intention of shaking it. Okay, that was embarrassing. “Um…” I retracted my hand, clenching it behind my back. “What’s your name?” I asked again, testing his limits. He blinked, showing no interest, and then turned his attention to one of his men. “Let’s go,” he said, striding away. Both men followed him, casting confused glances at me. "Wait a second!" I yelled after him before “Wow,” I scoffed, watching him leave. He didn’t even spare me another glance. Had I lost my touch? Three years away and I was already out of practice? I reached into my purse and pulled out a small mirror. “No... I’m still beautiful,” I reassured myself, smiling at my reflection. Despite my hurried arrival and missing blue contacts which I always wore before going for a job, my appearance was still striking. “Then why the hell did Mr. Handsome act like I was a ghost? An unattractive ghost, at that.” I complained, putting the mirror away. Mr. Reynolds intrigued me. From his demeanor to his cold eyes, he was a perfect target. I tilted my head, a small smile forming. “Alright then, Elena, you’ve found your guy.” He seemed hard to break, if not impossible but that was the type of tasks I loved. Something like the last one I did three years ago. My rivals deemed it impossible and even went as far as daring me to do the job, so I did. Though it almost cost me my life and I had to flew back to my home town, it was worth it. Now returning after three years, I was welcomed with another impossible looking task, only that this one was younger and much mlre handsome. Mr. Reynolds, aka, Mr Mysterious. 'We'll be seeing each other again.' With no more reason to stay, I walked out of the bar, feeling a sense of accomplishment. The glances and gasps from the crowd as I left boosted my spirits. Didn't they see me before? Tsk One man approached me, but I deftly avoided him, slipping out of the bar with ease. After I had gotten far enough from the bar, I looked at the fat wallet in my hand with a smirk. “Still got it,” I said, tossing the wallet in the air and catching it with a grin. Back when beardy was still dragging me to follow him, I had spotted his wallet peeping pir of his pants, so what better thing to do than to take the heavy thing off his hands? That would teach him, he messed with the wrong con girl.Layla's POV A YEAR LATER "Hey..." I began softly, snaking my arm around Noah's waist. "Are you going out already?"It was Tuesday. He was definitely going out. But when I saw him, just standing there by the mirror knotting his tie, I just couldn't resist. "Yeah." Noah nodded. He fixed his tie on his neck before turning to face me. "I have to be in the office today." Today... Yesterday, the day before... Everyday. Even on weekends, he worked. Every single day since he returned home from the hospital almost a year ago, he left the mansion early to go to work. "Noah..." Gently, he pulled my hands away from his shirt and stepped aside. "I'll be late.""But you're the boss." I pouted. "And I'm your wife." I had to remind him of those words every single day for the past year. I was his wife! He had to get it into his thick skull sooner or later. "You can afford a day off Noah. You've been working too hard." I tried to convince, reaching out my hands to touch him again. I wan
Layla’s POVI walked down the hallway with a bounce in my step, smiling politely at the nurses who passed, pretending like I hadn’t just rewritten an entire man’s life with one sentence.'I’m your wife.'God. That felt good to say.As I turned the corner, I nearly bumped into the doctor from before. He looked up from the clipboard in his hand, startled.“Oh, Mrs. Reynolds.”The name felt like music to my ears.“He’s awake,” I blurted, unable to keep the excitement from my voice.The doctor blinked at me, then nodded. “I’ll be right there.” He turned, already heading for the room.I followed behind him, trying to put my face back into that mask of concern. Not too happy, not too calm. I needed to be the worried wife, the supportive partner, the innocent woman whose husband lost his memory in a tragic accident. That’s what they expected.And I could be whatever they needed me to be.When we reached the door, the doctor entered first. I paused for just a moment staring at the door which
Layla's POVI scoffed lightly at the question. I didn't mean to... fuck I was a grieving wife, but that question was just dumb. Does he have enemies? "He is Noah fucking Reynolds." I gritted. "If he doesn't have enemies, no one can have enemies." "It was just a harmless question." The other officer argued. Harmless question? No! It was a stupid question. I was about to answer him when Jack raised his hand. "Alright enough, both of you.""Look I can... " "Mark I said enough." Jack interrupted him from speaking. Then he turned to me. "That would be all for today. If you remember something else..." He shoved his hand into his pocket and brought out a card. "Don't hesitate to give me a call." I hesitated in collecting his card. There was no way I was calling a cop number. No, never, especially since I knew the cop was someone Elena had conned before. But I couldn't have him suspecting me either. "Thank you," I muttered collecting the card. A doctor walked over, his gaze fixed
Layla's POV It was over. The ruse was done. Elena was gone. The sound of police sirens filled the air; the street was painted in blue and red shiny lights. From the marriage registry, all they could do was stare. Alfonso came through. The plan worked. My lips stretched upwards, and my hands grabbed the hem of my wedding gown. It was over. "Someone help!" "Call the ambulance quickly!" "There's a man in the car!" Sounds of concerned passersby filled my ears. It felt like the wheel of life just paused. Everyone left whatever they were doing just to see the man in the car. I kept staring until the ambulance arrived. "Time to get into my life," I mumbled to myself before running towards the wrecked vehicle. Streams of tears flowed from my eyes and I sobbed. "No! W... What is happening?" I asked incoherently, my body trembling. The police tried to stop me when they saw that I passed through the yellow and black line... but I was too focused on the officers who were trying to
Noah's POV I didn't hesitate with my answer. This was what I wanted. "I do." The clerk nodded, then he turned towards Layla and asked her the same question. Layla just stared at him as if she had been thinking of something else.My heart had already been through much only today. Layla's hesitation was bringing back that awful feeling she had when waiting for her to come back home. That maybe she didn't want this. Maybe she didn't want me. The clerk had to cough to get her attention. "Sorry," Layla mumbled, sounding a little distracted. The clerk was about to repeat the question when I stopped him. Maybe she needed a little motivation to speed up her answer. I shoved my hands into my pockets, bringing out the box I had stuffed into them back at the mansion. I knew I had to give it to her today. We were getting registered as an official couple. Although it was the Reynolds's way to wait until the marriage ceremony before giving the woman the ring... I couldn't wait any lon
Joshua's POVAfter the call I gave to the boss, I instantly got to complete his orders.I picked up my keys and went to my car driving away to Reynold's Industries.This was the first mission that had taken me so long to accomplish.3 years.3 fucking years that bitch had made me seem incompetent.Not she was caught.I finally found her.Okay, maybe it wasn't me.Because Noah also put me in charge of his wedding ceremony, I had to send someone else to continue the search for the Old Master Reynolds mystery woman.That was because Noah prioritized his marriage more than anything. That was confirmed in the last few dews minutes of his call.The woman he had been haunting down for a long time was just here...I stared at the folder.But he picked to be with his woman instead.A smile appeared on my lips.He was an honorable man.My car pulled over at the company garage; I got the file and stepped out, heading towards the inside.It was a huge building with about a hundred or more stories