Not Much Different

As per Elise and Brian's agreement, in the afternoon he ordered a bodyguard to take Elise to her home.

Brian certainly wouldn't let her go home alone, he couldn't just trust Elise. They may have signed a contract, but for him it wasn't enough to earn her trust.

"Do you have to order a bodyguard like this? I'm not going to run away," Elise protested.

Brian tried to ignore her, he continued his busy schedule and reluctantly turned his head towards Elise. "Who can trust you? You've already escaped from my bed eight years ago, so no one can vouch for that, right?"

"But--"

"I don't accept rejection, Elisabeth Galloway," Brian said firmly. He didn't want to risk Elise running away like she did eight years ago, he really needed her to be there right now. "Jack, stay with her until morning, take her straight to my mansion tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr. Brian."

Elise was reluctant to argue, she felt it was just futile. She quickly left Brian's room, while behind her, Jack followed her footsteps. Suddenly, this caught the attention of the other employees, who believed that Elise was not just Brian's secretary, but the man's pet.

Rumors about him being gay made people always think that he would never get close to a woman. In fact, even though he is now close to Elise, they believe it was just to cover up the rumors as they began to spread.

Since his return to the country, he has never been close to women, which makes people think that Brian has a sexual orientation disorder. In fact, he just didn't want to have a relationship with just any woman, especially if it turned out that she was only after his wealth.

With Elise, of course, it was different. There was only a mutually beneficial agreement between them. He would no longer be pressured by his parents about marriage, while Elise would get freedom from the debt that had been a scourge for her all this time. After all, he was doing this as a form of revenge on Elise for what happened eight years ago.

He didn't have to worry about their relationship. After the contract ended and his parents were tired, he would no longer have to continue the relationship and live in complete ignorance of each other.

Elise tried to ignore the way they looked at her, she didn't think it was important. Right now she was at a loss to explain to her best friend about what happened to her and Brian. She was sure it would be difficult to explain because, after all, her best friend--Sandra, knew nothing about the incident 8 years ago.

Jack opened the door of the luxury car for her. This made Elise feel awkward. "Behave normally when your master isn't around."

Jack shook his head slowly. "I can't do that, Miss. Please come in."

Elise really couldn't refuse, not even Jack would listen to her protests. She was really uncomfortable being treated like that, she was worried that she would get carried away with everything and forget that it was all temporary.

The woman immediately got into the car, then Jack closed the car door and immediately went to the driver's seat. He drove the car carefully. Elise was the toughest task his employer had given him since he first started working.

He, who knew nothing about the relationship, naturally thought that Elise was an important woman whom his employer loved very much and it was his duty to take good care of her. This was a very important task, he thought.

The trip went smoothly, until they finally arrived at a small apartment building in the slums.

Elise and her best friend rented there because it was so cheap, no matter how shabby the place was, she had survived for several years living in the city.

"I think you'd better park here, this car won't fit in front of my apartment building," Elise suggested.

Jack looked around and wondered whether the car he was driving could fit in or not. Elise was right, the space was very narrow. "Okay, Miss."

She quickly got out of the car and entered her apartment building. It was an old building, even the elevator was unusable and she had to take the stairs to the fifth floor, where her apartment was located.

Even though she was tired, she kept walking, even though her heels were already hurting from wearing high heels, something she rarely wore before.

After a grueling journey, she arrived at her apartment. However, just as she was about to knock on the door, someone came out of it, a familiar man, who looked exhausted after making love with his best friend.

"Hi, beautiful," he greeted.

"Go on."

"Are you sure you don't want to be my pet too, sweetie? We could have a threesome, it'll be so much fun."

Elise widened her eyes at the man. He chuckled, making the sound of his laughter echo. "Alright, I'll go. If you want, just tell Sandra, okay?" he said as he walked away.

From where she was, Elise could see how tired her friend was after serving her customer. She hadn't even had time to clean herself up. Sandra immediately got up and went to the toilet, then returned after she was completely clean.

"Didn't I tell you to stop doing this job?" Elise protested to Sandra.

The woman sighed heavily. "You know that I can't do that, right? I've already done it, it's my fate to be a mistress."

"You can stop if you want--"

"You know that I depend on him for a living, right? My family back home needs a lot of money, especially my sick brother. You wouldn't understand--"

"Does it have to come down to being a prostitute?"

Hearing that, Sandra was silent for a moment, then she laughed. "I know that you're worried about me, but this is my choice. Besides, being a prostitute is better than having a lover. I can earn money by serving them. Sorry, but your words hurt me this time, Elise."

"Sandra, that's not what I meant, I just want you to love and be loved sincerely--"

"You can comment on me if your life is much better. Your love affairs are messed up, you're still thinking about Max, while you know he already has a girlfriend. Do you think that's called true love?"

Elise was silent, she realized that she was actually not much better than Sandra. The agreement with Brian proves that she is also not very different from Sandra. Both have a relationship without love and only based on profit.

"I'm sorry--"

"It's okay, I understand." Sandra sighed heavily, she then gave Chloe the keys to the apartment. "Keep it well, starting tonight I will stay with Mr. Long. He is uncomfortable every time he has to come here, so he asked me to stay with him. You don't have to return my deposit, just keep it for yourself."

Elise looked at her best friend closely. "Do you have to do this?"

"It's for my future, Lise. I'm tired of being poor. You may be fine with this life because you're a single person, but I have a lot of people who depend on me."

Hearing that, Elise was speechless. She hadn't even told Sandra about herself yet, but it didn't seem like the right time.

"Okay, I understand. I also just wanted to tell you that I will move and live in my employer's house. I got the job and my boss wanted me to move. Even though we will be far apart, I hope we can still exchange news."

Sandra was happy to hear that, she knew how much Elise hoped for the job because she had been unemployed for a long time. "I'm happy for you, LIse." She hugged her tightly. "At least you're not like me. You're smart and you have a good job, which is good for you. Just let me be like this, you don't have to feel it."

Elise returned the hug. She was sure Sandra would be very disappointed if she knew that she was actually doing the same thing, even though she didn't have intercourse, but she was also deceiving her love.