Christopher Bridger sat in the balcony and worked on his iPad. If his members of staff could see him now, they would be bewildered; why the heck was he working on his honeymoon?!
But this was far from a honeymoon to Christopher. He knew what this marriage was all about and what was expected of him and now that they were not really in the eyes of the public, there was no need pretending to be a couple in love. Christopher wasn’t married for up to three days and he could not wait for the one-year marriage contract to be over so that he could go back to his life and space, but then again, Christopher’s mind wasn’t even fully concentrated on work; his mind was elsewhere. On his wife, Ashley Grander. “What is going on?” Christopher asked himself. It was early morning the next day and he just wanted to spend this time alone, so he had called the hotel service staff assigned to them for the period of their stay to take Ashley out on a tour. In truth, Christopher could not stand Ashley, and he would do anything possible to have her out of his hair. Christopher’s phone rang. He picked it up. “Aimee, it’s barely 8am and I am on my honeymoon,” Christopher said, but his voice had a teasing sound and Aimee knew this. She giggled softly over the phone. “I wanted to check up on you and I know that you are an early riser,” she said. “Ah, you know me too well,” Christopher said lightly. “I know you more than anyone else in the world, Chris, and why wouldn’t I? We have known each other for more than a decade now,” Aimee said seductively but Christopher did not catch it. “Did I interrupt anything?” Aimee asked when she figured that once again, Christopher did not even realize that she was flirting with him. “No, you did not,” Christopher said. “Is there anything that needs my attention at work?” Christopher asked. “There is nothing; I am handling everything just fine, but regardless, I would let you know if anything comes up,” Aimee said. “Thank you, Aimee. I knew that I could always count on your efficiency,” Christopher said as his mind drifted back to Ashley Grander. “When will your…the honeymoon be over for you to get back?” Aimee asked, sounding as harmless as possible. Referring to the honeymoon as his honeymoon just made it look like Aimee was accepting the fact that Christopher was with another woman, and Aimee could not stand that. With Aimee, Christopher was always clueless and sometimes, it made Aimee really frustrated. She should have gotten used to it by now but, the feeling just never gets old with her. “What did you say?” Christopher had missed what she had asked. “When will you get back?” Aimee asked again. “Oh, when the honeymoon is over,” Christopher answered vaguely. He was hoarding details from Aimee again; she did not like it, but Aimee was being extremely careful with Christopher. She knew him too well, and she knew just how to get him, so she painfully let it slide. “I have to go, Aimee. I will talk to you when I am back,” Christopher said and ended the call before she could say another word. Then he sighed deeply and allowed his mind to take him back to where it had been all morning; Ashley Grander, his supposed wife. Christopher had always been a discreet and secretive person, and that was just how he operated. It was one of the secrets to his success over the years; keeping things to himself, and even his longstanding friendship with Aimee has not made him open up to her. He knew that she was asking, because she wanted to know the specific day, but Christopher was just being himself by not telling her. He did not want her or anyone else to know about his plans and movements Thinking about Ashley, Christopher could not shake off the feeling that something was awfully wrong somewhere. To some extent, he knew Ashley Grander, because when their families had arranged their marriage, he had heard snippets of her escapades. Christopher hardly spent his time on the internet feeding on baseless gossips, but occasionally, Ashley had popped up on the news. Either she was caught in an expensive clubhouse, dead drunk and dancing on the table with her extremely short skirt and long pair of heels, or splashing millions of naira on a brand new car, or travelling to another country just to buy a pair of trending earrings…just something. Ashley Grander was always up to no good. And the first time they had had dinner together at the Grander’s mansion, Christopher had pegged her as being loud, uncouth, and extremely scandalous, and he had been turned off, but ever since he said ‘I Do’ at the altar and kissed her, there had been something really different about her. Ashley Grander had been too calm and she always acted as though she was seeing luxury for the first time. Also, Ashley hadn’t shown any of those attributes she was popularly known for, and it began to trouble Christopher greatly. Something was amiss; from her reaction in the plane that she thought he hadn’t noticed, to the fact that Christopher had been informed that Ashley did not spend up to ten minutes at the beach, to the drama that unfolded with her last night when she had that terrible nightmare. Christopher wanted to know what was wrong with Ashley and why she wasn’t acting her very self. Just then, the door to the suite opened and she walked in. “Great, just the person I wanted to speak with,” Christopher said to himself. He got up and walked into the room from the balcony just as Ashley entered. She stopped when she saw him; another weird thing about her, but Christopher was about to find out what was going on. “Ashley, we need to talk,” Christopher said and he watched color drain from her face.Lily could not believe that Christopher Bridger, one of Mexico’s wealthiest and most handsome bachelor was in her grandmother’s hidden cabin with her.He had come to find her!“I have been combing the entire country for you with the best investigators I could hire, Lily,” Christopher said softly as they talked in the living room, alone while Joe stayed outside with Christopher’s driver and bodyguard to give them privacy.It was the second time that Christopher was calling her by her real name and identity, and he did so with such tenderness and gentleness that it melted Lily’s heart. It was very different from the gruff and angry manner with which he always called Ashley.“I thought I had lost you. I was afraid that I would never get the chance to see you, until I got an information that your brother, Joe, contacted his teammates, and then we were able to trace the connection to this cabin,” Christopher explained.Lily ground her teeth in exasperation. “And I warned him,” Lily said, t
Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror with sheer horror and then down to the test strip on her hand which showed two thick red lines; she was pregnant.Then Lily broke down in tears.“How could this be happening?” She asked herself, sobbing.It had been almost a week now that she ran away to her grandmother’s cabin in the woods with Joe. It had been a miracle; one that Lily never thought would happen, but it had happened, and she and Joe had been hiding there since then. She had no idea when it would be safe for her and Joe to return to their lives, but Lily was ready to hide in this abandoned cabin for as long as possible as long as they were both alive. They had agreed not to make contact with anyone at all so that their hideout would not be known.And now, she had fallen pregnant for Christopher Bridger; the man whom she had fallen in love with but would never have.A knock on the door interrupted Lily, and she knew without a doubt that it was Joe; they were the only ones in
Christopher arrived at the company from the hotel in a grand style. He was looking dashing and stunning, and more, he was impressed with what Aimee had come up with in the crunch of time.His company was buzzing with elegance and class, and with everything that had been scheduled to happen tonight, Christopher had no doubt that it would be a successful night for him. The papers he would use in sealing the best deal the company had ever had was with him.However, Christopher was troubled.In all honesty, he had a pretty rough night last time, because while at the hotel room, he kept battling his conscience.“I should have gone home to her,” Christopher told himself.Lately, especially after their intimate affair, he had been unable to get her off his mind, and last night, he regretted allowing Aimee persuade him into sleeping in a hotel home. Christopher had also battled with anxiety and nervousness, and he knew that if he simply wrapped his arms around her, he would have felt better.
Lily stayed in the bedroom and waited for Christopher, but she was downright scared to her bones that something might go wrong and nervous.It was as though the time was ticking by too slowly, but she had no choice but to wait for him in his mansion. However, she was very restless.Lily thought of Don Grander who she guessed must have realized that his papers were missing and would be searching frantically for them. He would kill Lily if he knew that she had taken it, and worse, wanted to show them to Christopher.In thinking of the devil, Don Grander began to call Ashley’s phone, and she jumped in fright.Lily contemplated on not answering the call, but then if she did that, Don Grander might suspect her, because she had never ignored his call before, so Lily took a split second to catch her breath before picking the call.She would have to act normal otherwise Don Grander would know that something was amiss.“Where are you?” Don Grander asked gruffly as soon as the call connected.“
“Monk!” Don Grander yelled at the top of his voice, almost tearing out his lungs. He was in his bedroom, and he paced furiously. Some minutes later, Monk rushed into his room.“Boss, you sent for me,” Monk said, confused, because he was just with Don Grander about an hour ago in the study where they talked at length.“Something has happened,” Don Grander said through clenched teeth.“What might that be?” Monk asked.“Before you and I went out, I was going through the original and fake document that I and Bridger signed before his demise, and the one that Benedict drafted for me which he showed to Christopher to make him believe and succumb to what we want,” Don Grander explained.“Okay…” Monk said, paying rapt attention to what Don Grander was saying even though he was wondering why Don Grander decided to go through the papers in the first place.It was as though Don Grander could read Monk’s thoughts, because he answered right away. “You know that this last deal is very huge; it is t
Aimee threw herself into planning this special event for Christopher and his company. He did not give her the full details, but she worked with what she had anyway.She had been busy contacting vendors and planners, making plans and readjustments; Aimee wanted complete perfection, because this was the event that she was banking on completely. She was fed up of waiting for Christopher to come by, and even though he had reinstated her with even better promotion, Aimee feared that Christopher had fallen for Ashley, and she could not let that happen.After this event, she would have exactly what was hers!Aimee was still in deep thoughts when her phone rang. When she checked the caller ID, it was the new man that she had hired to do her dirty business. The moment Aimee realized that Derek was no longer on board, she had had to find someone else. This time around, Aimee ensured that she went for someone who was fierce and dangerous.“What news do you have for me?” Aimee asked.Now that she