Nicholas A soft knock sounds on my door, and I look up to find Rosalie walking in. My heart does this weird thing — it skips a beat despite the pain seeing her causes. Lately, I can no longer look at her without my heart feeling heavy. After she got to the hotel last night I could tell that I had already fucked shit up more than before. After Rosalie got in, she took her dress off and sat on the bed without saying anything. It hurt to see her acting like that toward me and I knew it was all my fault. I tried to spend the night apologizing but she told me to get on with what I called her over here for.Hearing her say that, it... it felt like I had been making her sleep with me. As if she only had sex with me because I said so."I don't want us to have sex if you're mad at me, Rosalie," I told her and she nodded her head. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I said all those things to you at the exhibition. And earlier today... fuck! I didn't mean to say it in front of Jacob."She gives me
Rosalie I pause outside of my Grandma's home and stare up at it, feeling lost. I’ve never been an impulsive person. Every single thing I do is well thought out. My steps are measured and calculated. For as long as I can remember, I’ve played the long game.Even when I was younger, I never dreamed too big. The one time I did, reality quickly came calling, reminding me that people like me don’t get to have carefree college years filled with fun and parties.I’ve always known that providing for my family would be a burden I’d carry, and I’ve done it without a single complaint. I know that I don’t have the luxury of acting impulsively when my entire family relies on me.Yet that’s exactly what I did. I quit my job without thinking. The worst part is that I don’t regret it. I don’t think I’ve felt quite this free in a long time, but how long will that last? How long will it take for reality to come knocking on my door all over again?All I know is I'd do whatever it takes to make sur
Nicholas "Talia!" I called out to the substitute assistant that was provided after Rosalie left. "Get me Christopher Harper on the phone immediately!""Yes, Mr. Sinclair. Would you like anything else?" She asks, hanging around."Don't you think if I wanted anything else I would have mentioned it?" I bark harshly. "Ye- yes sir," she mutters lowly before scurrying back to her office.It's no secret that my mood has been sour since Rosalie quit her job. It got worse when she refused to pick up any of my calls or reply to the numerous text messages I sent her. I had it in me to stop by her house after she left but I refrained from doing it.Not with the recent shadow I have following me aroundMy office phone rings and my hand darts out with speed to answer the device. "Sir, Mr. Harper on line two." I press a button and switch from Talia's line to Harper's immediately."Sinclair, how may I help you?" Christopher's deep voice fills my ears. I'm not particularly fond of him, but the o
Nicholas I stare out the large windows in my office, my mind drifting back to the day Rosalie was hired. She was so young, and she had little to no work experience. She didn’t even have a degree — she was a college dropout.I couldn’t understand why my grandfather would hire someone like her, and even less so, why he’d place her beside me. I chalked it up to nepotism and set out to get her fired, but nothing I did ever fazed her.Each task I gave her that should’ve been too hard for her to do was executed perfectly. She learned faster and worked harder than anyone else in the firm — including me. It only took her a year to become indispensable to me.I’ve come to rely on her in a way I would never rely on anyone else, and I’ve compensated her for it handsomely. Fuck I should have done more. Whatever she needed, I should have provided. I once overheard her complain to a colleague that it took her too long to travel to the office from home, I should have bought her an apartment
Rosalie I scroll through my emails on my phone as I walk into the office, my heart sinking. Twenty-six job application rejections and all of them came in at once. There’s only one way this could have happened considering my qualifications. Nicholas blacklisted me.I gave him everything for years, and this is how he repays me. Is he ever going to stop playing with my feelings, with my life? He knows we can’t be together, and I don’t even think he truly wants me. Why does he hold on to me so tightly when he has no right to? Why does he continue to hurt me?My mood is somber as I step into the private elevator that leads straight to the office’s top floor. I pause by my desk and stare at it for a moment, a profound sense of loss washing over me. Five years. It isn’t just Nicholas ’m walking away from. It’s the company and the people that shaped me. It’s late Grandpa Sinclair, and to some extent, most of my colleagues. This environment raised me and taught me everything I know. I’ve
Rosalie I inhale shakily as I stare at the list of candidates I compiled. One of them will end up taking over my job, becoming Nicholas’s closest aide. If I do this well, he won’t even miss me. The right person will make it so that he barely notices my absence.It’s not me he’s worried about losing. It’s the workflow we’ve created and the control he has over me with that damn agreement. It won’t be easy, but six months should be enough time to train someone to do everything I currently do for him. No one is irreplaceable in this world — least of all me.I sigh as I spread out the documents on my living room floor. I could just interview all of them, but I don’t think we have time for that. I need to select my top ten applicants, because I know Nicholas won’t.I’ve just about got it narrowed down to twenty applicants when my doorbell rings. I frown in confusion as I head to the door. Grandma would’ve let me know if she was coming over, and she always let hersef in once she gets here. N
Nicholas I lean back in my chair, my eyes on Rosalie through the glass walls that surround my office. Fragments of last night flash through my mind as my head throbs painfully. I can’t remember the last time I got truly wasted. I hate losing control, yet that’s exactly what I did last night.What the fuck did I do? What the fuck was I thinking? It’s all fucking Maverick and Ares’s fault. They should’ve kept me at poker night, but instead, they filled my head with thoughts about Rosalie and some other man that she’d end up marrying. The fuckers even called me a driver to take me to her place. They should’ve known better, and the same goes for me. My brothers know about the agreement I made with her, although they don't agree with my methods and the entire situation, they're just happy to be involved because we never hide anything from each other.Rosalie has been acting normal all morning, and she even handed me some paracetamol and water with one of those annoying smiles on her
Rosalie Did I choose wrong? Am I stupid for saying yes to him again? That's all I could think of this past week. I kept asking myself these questions repeatedly until I finally gave in. I told myself I was thinking.I told myself it was what I had to do to erase my earlier mistake. In the same way, I told myself that signing that damn contract was the only way to keep my family safe and also earn more money. When I was just agreeing to become a married rich man's whore.And now here I am. "So which is it gonna be?" Anna asks showing me two different gowns. I had gotten them earlier this month after Nicholas sent me the money I asked for in the agreement. He even sent more than we agreed. I decided to spoil myself for once and go shopping.I smiled to myself when I thought of the money I had been saving for the house. I'm so close to getting the complete amount. Pride swells in my chest, it may have taken almost two years to come up with that money -- despite all the expenses from