AMELIA
It almost felt like I was on a literal high as I watched Noah being thrown out of the mall. When Damian had spoken of me getting sweet revenge on Noah, I never imagined that it would feel so good.There was one thing I knew about Noah. It was that he didn't he didn't accept defeat... not that it did him much good anyway. He raved, cursed, swore and struggled with the guards. In the end, the guards had to practically bundle him out like a sack of potatoes. In the struggle, his neatly pressed shirt got rumpled, his tie got awry and he looked half demented. There were sniggers and outright laughs as most of the shoppers gathered around to watch the unfolding scene. I daresay most of them brought out their phone to take pictures and videos of him. I didn't bother to turn. I struggled not to laugh myself. It would seem very petty, especially to those who knew my history with Noah.Noah, panting like he had run a marathon, managed to turn around. His eyes, almost bulging out of his eyes in anger, met mine."You won't get away with this," he thundered. "I'll make sure I get you for this, you..."Thankfully, the guards carried him around the corner and out of sight before he uttered the next words. I breathed a sigh of relief at that, as I had lately come to know that he had a foul tongue. There were murmurs of conversation as the shoppers began to disperse. The ones whose eyes I met gave me looks of respect. I drifted back to the clothing section and continued shopping.Word certainly travelled fast. I had barely been there for a couple of minutes before I was approached by several, eager to please, mall employees who gave suggestions on what I should buy, carried my purchases and practically fell over themselves in an effort to please me, their new employer. On my way back to the car, after shopping, I had to admit that there were certainly perks to getting married to a man who was able to purchase an entire shopping mall at the drop of a hat. I didn't even want to think about how many protocols he had to bypass in order to revoke Noah's ownership.I drove past several companies on my way home and wondered if he could easily buy them like he bought the mall.When I got home, I couldn't help gazing at the portrait of Damian in the living room. I felt my heart warm towards him for what he had done. I felt a smile creep up my face. I had not felt as happy as I did now, in a long while. I counted the hours until he got home.That evening, from my room, I heard Damien's car pull up in front of the house. In a flash, I was out of my room. I could hear his low, quiet voice before I got downstairs."...Yes. I dropped it at the office. No... The meeting didn't hold."He looked up at me when I got to the bottom step. One finely arched brow lifted when he spotted my grin. There was a flicker of something in his eyes, interest maybe, and then the shutter he kept over his emotions went up. Hs gaze drifted away like it always did, dismissing me. Usually, I would feel hurt at this, but I was too excited to be offended. He lowered his tall frame onto the sofa and carried out his phone conversation in low tones, while I could barely stand still. I bobbed up and down on my feet, grinning from ear to ear.The moment he hung up, I launched myself into his arms, just as he was about to get to his feet. He gave a startled grunt and sat back down."Thank you, Damian," I squealed excitedly, hugged him tightly and buried my face in his shirt. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know how you did it. I wish you could have seen his face. I-"I stopped talking when I noticed how rigidly he held his body. It was like he had turned to stone in my arms. He didn't even seem to be breathing. I pulled away at once, and he looked down at me with an unfathomable expression."What on earth was that about?" he ground out through gritted teeth.He sounded so angry. I felt a little deflated."I- I just wanted to thank you for helping me put Noah in his place. I mean for buying the mall for me... and all that.""And is that a valid reason to hug me without consent? Buying just a mall is nothing. I told you that I have a lot of money. What would you then have done if I had bought something more? For now, you're a billionaire's wife, so kindly act the part."I swallowed nervously. "The hug was just a way of showing my thanks. I was excited and-""Well, rein in your excitement next time," he snapped. "And please don't ever encroach into my space again for a hug or anything of that sort."He tugged at his collar, straightened his pristine shirt which I had roughed up a little, and brushed away an invisible speck of dust. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his fussiness. One would think that I had splattered mud all over him. It was just a hug for Pete's sake! Even unmarried people hugged each other all the time.He got to his feet, grabbed his phone, briefcase and marched off into his room without another word. Hurt, I watched him leave.*****************DAMIENI focused on putting one leg in front of the other and moving. I could feel Amelia's eyes boring into my back. It felt like I was a stranger in my own body. I felt decidedly... odd. The moment I got into my room, I closed and locked the door. I fiddled with my tie. It took several tries for me to loosen it. I flung it on the floor. I felt as if the damn thing was strangling me.I couldn't remember having felt this way in a long time. Amelia's innocent hug had done this, had made me all hot and bothered. The memory of her breasts pressing against my chest and the smell of her perfume sent the blood roaring through my veins once again. She had turned me on without even trying. For a moment there, I had imagined taking her right there on the sofa, doing things to her that would make her squeal and moan in...Frustrated, I shoved my hands through my hair."Get a bloody grip, Damien," I muttered to myself.Damn! This was not good at all. Amelia was the one woman I couldn't have sexual relations with. Heaven knew I didn't need any more complications in my life. In a year, she would be out of my life, fifty million dollars richer. I threw open my window, closed my eyes and let the cool, fresh air calm my frazzled nerves.On the bright side, Amelia was certain not to initiate physical contact with me again, certainly not after I had told her off so harshly.******************AMELIAThe next morning, I woke up very early. I was still somewhat upset at Damien's reaction to my hug, but gratitude for what he had done won. In the bathroom, inspiration hit. If there was anything I knew how to do very well, it was cook. I could show Damien how thankful I was by cooking him breakfast. I hurried to the kitchen, glad to know that it was well stocked. I was bringing out all I needed when someone cleared her throat.I stopped, turned to see the housekeeper standing just outside the door. Even this early, she was already in her uniform. She looked as though she had been up for hours, and it was just minutes after 6."Hello," I greeted her with a smile.She bowed. "Ms Donovan. Good morning. You don't have to do that. Whatever it is you want to eat, the cook can-""I'm actually making something for Mr Donovan... my husband," I added.The word 'husband' still felt unfamiliar on my tongue.The woman nodded. "You don't have to-""I want to make something special for him myself," I interrupted with a smile."Very well, ma'am." She bowed and retreated.I cooked as fast as I could, as I got the idea that Damain was an early bird. After a taste of meal, I knew I had outdone myself. Even if Damien was a picky eater, he could not fail to be impressed by what I had prepared. I laid everything on a large tray. I was relieved to see that it was still a few minutes shy of seven. I hurried into Damien's room.I open the door slowly and walked in. My eyes roamed the room quickly but I couldn’t spot him. I certainly didn’t hear him leaving so where could he be?As my thoughts darted all over the place on where Damian could be, the bathroom door flung open and he stepped out, completely naked.AMELIA POV"Amelia?" I heard Damien say my name but it felt as though he was calling me from the far end of a tunnel. The breakfast tray was heavy and my arms were trembling with the strain of holding it, but I hardly noticed. Hell! At that moment, the whole world could have crashed and burned and I still would not have noticed. All of my attention was focused on his body. Damien's lithe, naked body was every bit as I had imagined it, and I had imagined it quite often, especially on the day I thought we would have an actual wedding night. He was perfection. He was perfectly toned and muscled, just as I had expected. The smart suits and long sleeved shirts he wore all the time had not been able to disguise that fact. Standing next to the open window as he was, the early morning sunlight bathed him in a golden, warm glow. The droplets of water still clinging to his skin shone and glittered like tiny, many faceted diamonds. My eyes, of their own volition, traveled down his body, and r
AMELIAAs much as I tried to tell myself that his rejection of my food didn't matter, my mood took a nosedive, and with a sigh, I picked up the tray. As I slowly walked to the door, I looked around the room. This morning, I had been so engrossed with the room's occupant that I had not even spared a glance at the room itself. Damien's room was plush, decorated in muted colors. A handful of paintings hung on the walls. Every item in the room was perfectly in order. It's sterile cleanliness reminded of a hospital room; cold and very impersonal, sort of like Damian. My foot caught in something. I stumbled, regained my balance, but a fork slid from the tray and into an improperly closed chest of drawers right beside me.I set the tray carefully on the floor, peered into the drawer. It was full of Damian's pairs of socks, neatly sorted by color. I opened it, and carefully fished out the fork, taking it carefully so as not to disturb anything. Damian looked like the kind of guy that would
AMELIA"Stop already!" I groaned and clapped both hands to my ear. The banging steadily increased in volume with each passing second. It soon became so loud that it felt as if my head would split open. It rose to a crescendo and I opened my eyes. Still disoriented from sleep, it took a few seconds for me to realize that the banging was coming from inside my own head. I groaned as I sat up slowly, gripping my aching head, which felt as though it would detach itself from my shoulders at any moment. Only bits and pieces of what had happened was what I recalled. I only remembered drinking a lot of brandy, and then calling someone- Damian most likely, and then I must have passed out because everything from then on was a blank. The effort it took for me to remember increased the intensity of the headache. Damn! I could not recall ever feeling this hungover. Had I somehow drunk my way through all the alcohol in the house? It certainly felt like I had.I couldn’t even remember why I was s
DAMIANTHREE DAYS LATER"We're here, sir," the driver said, his voice bringing me out of my swirling thoughts. I opened my eyes to see that the jeep came to a stop in front of the hotel. Finally! I breathed a sigh of relief. I fiddled with my tie and loosened it a little. Today's conference had been more tedious and tasking than the others, and I had to keep up with everything that was said and done. But it was the final day of the three day business conference, thank goodness! All I wanted now was a long, cold shower, a lot of rest and then perhaps something to eat. I got down and headed straight for the elevator. I got a bit irritated when I found that it was in use. I glanced towards the stairs, but I was too tired to climb up them all the way up to the fourth floor where my room was.I fidgeted, transferred my briefcase from one hand to the other as I watched the elevator's panel. Finally, the doors opened and I was face to face with none other than Noah. My fingers clenched on
AMELIAI drove Damian back home, and my mind was conflicted with thoughts. Did he fight Noah because he insulted me? Initially, I believed it was because of a business deal or something. But the anger in Damian’s eyes when he told me what caused the misunderstanding couldn’t be ignored. I wanted to pretend that it didn’t mean anything to me. That defending me in front of Noah was just his usual job as my fake husband. But it was more than that. He’d put his reputation on the line because of me. He’d dropped his usual unbothered act to defend me, which meant a lot to me. “I’m sorry you had to get into that fight with Noah,” I said as we walked into the sitting room. He didn’t look bad, unlike Noah. But he was fuming. “I thought you fought him because of a business deal. He deserved what he got.”“I would never stoop so low to confront him over a business deal. I’m far superior to him, and I would never lose an offer to him.” “That’s true,” I sighed, feeling completely awkward. I was
AMELIAFor almost a whole week after the house party, I was still a major news item in the entertainment section of magazines, newspapers, and blogs. There were talks and speculations on when and if ever I was going to host another party, and if so, who was going to be on the invitation list.I didn't want to pander to the public's wishes, not really. Still, after lazying about mostly at home with nothing to do and remembering how very in my element I was while preparing for the house party, I decided to host another one. But this time, I would take it further, and it would be a big party.A color-themed party was what I opted for, and I began preparations right away. Thankfully, Damian's sprawling mansion had enough space to accommodate any other would-be party crashers. How easy it was for me to organize everything still amazed me."I think you're a natural at organizing events, Ms. Donovan," said the foreign chef I had hired when she and her assistants stepped into the grounds and
NOAHI lengthened my strides, and got into the car and zoomed off before Lucy could think of doing something stupid like following me. Just before I drove past the house, I heard her yell something about me being too drunk to drive.I supposed I was, but I didn't give a damn. I drove with the car windows all wide open to help clear my head. Amelia's party was held at an event center I had been to for a business luncheon, but it was hard to recognize it as the same place. The decorations she had put up for the event had changed the whole outlook of the place. The parking lot was full of cars and I was barely able to find a parking spot. I slammed the car door and stomped towards the entrance. The bouncer recognized me at once and hestitantly allowed me to go in. Lucy was wrong after all. I was not getting thrown out. I was bigger and better than that imposter, Damian. My name and face would get me through any door.The number of cars outside had told the right tale of attendance at t
AMELIA"I'm sorry," I muttered and pulled away.Damian nodded politely but said nothing. I felt my face flush in shame. Damn! I was such a fool. What had I been thinking, attempting to kiss Damian? He had made it quite clear that he wanted no form of physical intimacy with me. Why couldn't I reason or act responsibly around him? It was just that he had sounded so kind, so sincere, and pissed at what Noah had done that I had allowed myself to imagine that we were about to have something romantic. Damian looked everywhere in the room but not at me. I felt annoyed at myself for causing him this much embarrassment. No doubt, from now on, he would be extremely wary of coming close to me whenever I was in an emotionally vulnerable state.I clambered off the bed, wanting to get as far away from him as possible so I could stew in my shame. Then I just stood there as I recalled being in my room. Maybe I could escape to another part of the house. Damian sensed my distress. He got off the bed