Lahat ng Kabanata ng A contract with my ex boyfriend's step brother: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

Elena“Love.” The word was beginning to feel like the cruelest joke ever invented.I swirled the whiskey in my glass before throwing it down my throat. It burned all the way to my stomach. Maybe if I drank enough, the pain I feel in my heart would finally disappear.Two years…Two whole years of loving Jack with everything I had.Two years of investing my time, my money, my emotions, only for him to tell me that he could never proudly introduce me to his family because of my job and I'm not as sophisticated as he likes his woman to be.All because I get paid to entertain people at a club as a pole dancer.According to him, women like me weren’t the kind men married.As if that same job hadn’t kept us afloat, even when he couldn’t even afford some basic needs for himself.I let out a bitter laugh.“So every compliment was a lie…”I took another sip. It feels like my chest is being crushed.In as much as I have my own shits to deal with…Paying off the debt my father left behind before he

ElenaThe elevator door slid open with a soft ding as I stepped out without looking back.If I stayed another second in that room, I was afraid I would either burst into tears or march back inside and slap that arrogant jerk across the face.“Take the money and get lost.”His words echoed inside my head like a broken record.I tightened my grip around my handbag until my fingers hurt.“Idiot.”The receptionist smiled politely.“Good morning, ma’am.”I forced a nod. “Morning.”The smile disappeared the moment I stepped outside.Cold morning air hit my face. Only then did I realize how exhausted I was.The last thing I wanted was anyone recognizing me.I hugged my arms around myself and started walking toward the roadside.After several minutes, an old yellow cab finally slowed beside me.The driver rolled down the window.“Where to, miss?”I quietly gave him my address.He nodded. “Hop in.”The driver occasionally glanced at me through the rear-view mirror before finally asking,“Night

ElenaI pulled the door open. I swallowed hard and froze in shock.Three hefty men dressed in black suits stood outside.Their expressions were cold and unreadable.“My boss wants to see you in his office. Now,” the man standing in front said.I frowned.“Who are you? And who exactly is your boss?”“The man from last night.”My heart skipped. Before I could process his words, he added,“And you’re coming with us right now.”His tone wasn’t a request, It was an order.I glanced from one man to another. They looked more like bodyguards.If I slammed the door, they would probably break it down.“If this is some kind of joke—”“It isn’t.”He folded his arms.“So don’t make this difficult.”I swallowed.“Give me a few minutes. Let me change into something else.”“Be fast about it,” he replied impatiently. “I don’t have all day.”I shut the door and leaned against it.Everything is just happening so fast.I took a deep breath, and changed into a pair of fitted blue jeans, a plain white T-sh

ElenaBy the time we left the boutique, I was already exhausted. Mike carried the shopping bags while Damien walked ahead of us the entire way to the car, phone pressed to his ear, talking about a shipment delay to whoever was unlucky enough to be on the other end of the phone.I glared at his back the entire time, still fuming from the changing room incident, still replaying the way he’d looked at me in that dress before catching himself and pretending he hadn’t looked at all.The drive back to my apartment passed in silence. When the car finally pulled up outside my building, I didn’t wait for anyone to open my door. I climbed out myself and grabbed all my bags. “Elena.”I paused without turning around.“This weekend,” Damien said through the rolled-down window. “Be ready by noon on Saturday. Mike will come pick you.”“I’m aware. You’ve mentioned it approximately four hundred times today.”“Because you don’t really strike me as particularly reliable.”I spun to fire him back, but t

Elena“That’s what you go around doing, isn’t it?”For a second, I couldn’t understand what I had just heard.I stared at Jack, wondering if the man standing before me was really the same person I had spent two years loving.“What do you mean, that’s what I do?”My voice trembled, but not from fear but from anger.“How dare you say that to me?”Jack gave me a mocking smile.“What? Did I say something wrong?”“Hold up.” Damien’s voice cut through the room. “Do you two know each other? What’s actually going on?”I looked at him. “Why don’t you ask this gold-digging, greedy fool?” I snapped, pointing at Jack.Jack’s expression darkened. Julie immediately stood.“How dare you call my son that, young lady? Have you gone nuts?”She moved toward me as if she wanted to do something, but Lucas quickly stepped in front of her and held her back.“Can we all calm down?”“Damien is never good news,” Julie spat. “And he also brought someone just like him into this family.”“Say that to me one more