All Chapters of Bound by Deception : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The door to her bedroom flew open, startling her. Mother stood in front of the door, a slight frown on her made up face. She looked more dressed up than usual. Dakota grabbed her sketch book from the table to show her the designs she’d been working on.“Mother, I just finished the—,” She attempted to speak.“Get yourself something nice to wear. We are having an important guest over soon.” She spoke out, cutting Dakota off. Her eyes trailed the blue jeans shorts and white T-shirt she had on, a look of distaste on her face. “Don’t come out looking like that.” Dakota peered down at her clothes, as if she just realized what she was wearing. She wondered who the important guest was that made Mother act nervous and eager to please. “Who’s the guest we’re having over? Is it about work?” She asked, curious.Mother stared at her for a while, like she was debating whether to answer or not. With a smug smile, she finally responded. “Diana’s getting married soon to one of the Persson’s sons. H

Dakota parked her car at the parking lot and walked towards the clothing store. Today was the launch day of the spring set collection she had designed. Mother and Diana were already at the store, attending to new and existing shoppers. She stood in the parking lot, checking her phone for any missed call or message from Ryan, her fiancé. She had been calling him all day but it kept going straight to voicemail, so she sent him a text message to know what was going on.As she got into the store, she took in the scene before her. The fact that people looked so eager to invest an insane amount of money on clothes she had designed made her smile with pride. At the corner of her eye, she spotted Diana talking to some customers, animatedly. A young man who looked familiar was making a video of her, just like the other shoppers. They seemed so taken by Diana and what she was saying that they didn’t even notice her.As Dakota advanced forward, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. It was Ryan.

Elias was not the type to be impressed easily, as a lot of things didn’t pique his interest. Until today. He couldn’t deny that he was very interested in the young woman standing before him, clad in his large jacket. Everything about her was interesting to look at. With the way she tilted her head at him expectantly to how small she looked in his jacket. “Elias?” She repeated, calling him by his name. He liked how his name sounded on her lips.“What kind of proposition would that be?” He couldn't help asking.She glanced around like she wanted to reveal a secret. “We can’t talk here. Let’s meet up in a quiet place. Say, tomorrow?” She suggested.He wondered what was going on in her head. She had looked so pale and shaken up earlier. Right now, there was a hardness about her that he didn’t quite understand. He wasn’t sure he liked it.“Why don’t we meet up at a restaurant? I’ll text you the time of the reservation. My driver will come pick you up tomorrow.” He added.Dakota shifted un

“Elias, can you explain what’s happening right now?” She turned to Elias with a look of panic on her face.He didn’t even spare her a glance. “So what’s it going to be?” He faced Dakota.She stared long at the black card on the table and finally grabbed it, making her decision. Diana gasped. “Is that…That’s not what I think it is, right?” She turned to her sister with wide eyes. Dakota smirked, enjoying the look of horror on her sister’s face. She stood up to meet Diana, a smug smile on her face. “Excuse us, will you?” As Elias stood up, he took her hand in his as they walked towards his hotel room, leaving Diana with her mouth agape.***Her hands couldn’t stop shaking as she struggled to open the hotel room with the key card. She didn’t want to think of what was about to happen. Maybe this was the price she had to pay for her freedom. She swiped it across two more times but it still didn’t open. She gritted her teeth in frustration, much to the amusement of Elias.He placed his h

“You want to marry Diana? Why, that’s great news!” Mr Stone exclaimed with a loud laugh.“It’s not Diana, sir. I intend to marry Dakota.” Elias corrected, meeting Mr Stone’s gaze.Her father did a double take. “But how is that possible? I thought you and Diana were seeing each other?”“We were initially, and then Dakota caught my attention. I couldn’t resist getting close to her.” He explained as he held Dakota’s hand affectionately. Dakota stared at Elias, astonished. One would think he was actually in love with how convincing he sounded.Her mother looked on, not even the least bit convinced. “And you really expect us to believe that? How long have you two even known each other? Does your family know about her?” “Helen! That’s enough!” Her father chided. Her mother flinched at his tone.To Elias and Dakota, he said, “You are adults and I want to believe you both know what you’re doing. If this is what you want, then I give you permission to get married.” “Is that all you’re goin