All Chapters of Mr Strong, I Refuse To Be Your Duty : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

She didn't call him back.She had dinner with her mother instead,the thick, slow-cooked stew that smelled like every good thing about being home,and she let the evening be simple. Her mother talked about the neighbours and a programme she had been watching and the garden, which needed attention. Nicole listened and ate and refilled both their glasses and did not think about Asher's message.It was only later, after she had washed up and her mother had gone to bed, that she sat at the kitchen table with her phone and stared at the notification.She was still staring at it when her phone rang.She answered before she could think better of it, because the number was her mother's name on the screen, not Asher's, and her mother never called this late and why was she calling when she could just meet her in the kitchen??She picked it up regardless. It was a habit that her mum found it hard to let go of, always complaining that going up and down the stairs, especially at night, proved to b

He had proposed on a Thursday evening.Asher only remembered this now, sitting across from Zara in the kitchen of his penthouse apartment, watching her turn the ring on her finger the way she had been turning it for the past hour, slowly, absently, as if testing its weight.He had proposed on a Thursday evening because he had asked Khalid what day of the week would be most conducive to a serious conversation and Khalid had said Thursday without looking up from his phone, and Asher had not thought to question why the day of the week should matter at all for something like this. He had done it over dinner. He had said: It makes sense, doesn't it? The company narrative writes itself. He had not gotten down on one knee. The ring had been presented in its box, across a restaurant table, like a contract clause.Zara had said yes.He knew why she had said yes, because she had come back for him, crossed an ocean and a decade for him, and yes was what all of that was in service of. Yes was the

The email arrived at eleven forty-seven in the morning and it came to all staff simultaneously, as these things always do when everyone has almost or already finished their first half of the work for the day or are preparing to go for lunch breaks. It was a cascade of notification sounds rippling through the Strong Group's open-plan floors like a gentle wave, drawing eyes to screens with the practiced efficiency of a well-timed announcement.SUBJECT: EXCITING NEWS, A PERSONAL UPDATE FROM PRESIDENT STRONGLuke read it twice and almost couldn't believe his eyes. He was standing at his desk when the email arrived and he couldn't sit back down. He just stood and read it again and again before setting his phone face-down and looked out of the window at the Thames below.Asher and Zara have been engaged, that was the content of the email. The email came with photographs taken at a private dinner. The ambiance was beautiful, lowly lit candles, and a pretty atmosphere. The photographs se

It arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, gold-embossed and hand-delivered to the Stardom Fashion Home's reception desk by a courier in a company-branded jacket. The receptionist took it to the top floor herself rather than sending it through the internal mail, which meant she had read the return address and decided the President should see this immediately. When she got to Nicole’s office, she noticed that her PA wasn’t on the seat and quickly rapped on the golden wooden door. "Come on in," called Nicole from the other side. The receptionist immediately opened the door. "This came in for you," she said, raising the envelope so that Nicole could get a proper look at it. She looked at it with confusion etched in her features, "Okay, that is fancy," she said as she stretched her hand to receive the envelope. The receptionist took two steps forward and handed it to her. "Thank you. You can be on your way now," she said without missing a beat. After the receptionist had le

She chose burgundy.Not red, burgundy, only because she wanted to make a statement. More to herself and less to the other people around. The dress was structured at the shoulder and simple everywhere else, fitted through the body and falling cleanly to the floor. She wore very little jewellery and her heels were pretty high. Even the way she walked in them was beautiful. She strutted in them like she actually owned the place. As though she had always been exactly where she was.As she came down, she saw that William was waiting at the bottom of her front steps when the car arrived, he looked up and did not say anything for a moment. It made her nervous, just a bit as the cold was biting into his skin. Then he said, "You look…" and stopped."What?" she said, wanting to hear his words. "Ready. You look ready, that is what I wanted to say," he said. He obviously wanted to say more but didn't want to cross the line. He held out his hand for her to hold. "Shall we?" "Definitel