THE PROPOSAL.Winnie.I couldn't believe what just happened. I began replaying everything over and over in my head again. It all began when I woke up and was preparing coffee. Ares went to the living room without greeting me and started watching the News. He suddenly called for me and I went to the living room to meet him.“Where did you go yesterday?” He asked me and I was just staring at him, trying to process what happened yesterday.“I asked you a fucking question!!” He yelled at me and I blinked with a surprised look on my face. Ok, I had definitely remembered now. Why is he asking me this suddenly and why didn't he go to work today?“I didn't go anywhere.” I replied as I sat down on the couch.“Alright then, let me be more specific. What did you go to do at the hospital yesterday?” He asked me. I was shocked as to how he found out about my visit to the hospital.“I went for a check up.” I replied, not meeting his gaze. I knew that I had promised not to lie to him but this situat
Winnie. Today was supposed to be the grand opening of my bakery, but I could just go ahead and forget all about that. Apparently, I didn't have a building, not the bakery and not the apartment above it, just a really costly oven that was currently sitting pretty in a building that I had no rights to and was generating interest every second that went by. My dream had always been to run a pastry shop. I'd started messing around with flour and butter even before I was five. Watching my grandmother create so many wonderful smelling things had kick-started my love for baking. She had taught me everything I knew and before she had died, she had made me promise that I'd own a bakery one day. I had gone to culinary school right out of high school and gotten a job afterwards at a small cafe that sold a minimal selection of baked goods. All the while, I had been on the lookout for the perfect space to run my own shop. Nothing had felt right, and for me who had always worked with intuit
Winnie. We stared at each other for what felt like hours but must have been only a few seconds. Just as the elevator doors made to shut, the man stepped forward and into the car, and then the doors slid shut. The space seemed suddenly small with him in it. I knew I was staring openly like a creep, but I couldn't look away from him. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life. Not only was he unfairly good looking, he was also wealthy. The gray three piece suit he wore looked expensive, and the way it fit to his trim frame had all the tells of a bespoke suit. The watch he wore on his right wrist was a shiny gold, big, heavy looking and probably worth more than what I made in three years. "You're staring." He sounded irritated. I looked away hurriedly. I would also be irritated if a stranger in the elevator gawked at me like I was some sort of alien. I sighed, irritated at myself too. I had more important things to worry about. I didn't have time to drool over th
Ares. I had never been one for impulsive decisions. In fact, it went against everything I stood for. The girl that stood in front of me was everything I was staunchly against and yet, my brain had decided that she was the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate to be my wife. Now, you may be wondering why I needed a wife, it all went back to my father and his mission to control my life even from the grave. I had just stepped out of a meeting with Jude Kerrigan, my childhood friend turned attorney. He had called me at dawn and demanded an urgent meeting. There were very few people in the world who could make that demand of me and Jude was one of them. Apparently, my father didn't think I was fit enough to be CEO of Masters Global. Hence, the stupid contingency that I had just found out about. Apparently I had to be married by my thirtieth birthday if I wanted to retain my position as the CEO. I was turning thirty in three days, which didn't give me a lot of time to explore my
Winnie. "Will you marry me?" He asked. There were a million words I imagined were about to come out of Ares Masters mouth. The most persistent thought I had had though was that he was about to proposition me for sex to which I was going to give him a very sound no and shame him for being such a creep. I was already having a shit day, the last thing I needed was for some man to start making gross attempts to get me into his moldy bed. I would never have imagined that this was what he was about to say though. Not even in my wildest dreams was this a possibility. "Excuse me?" I asked. I waited for him to laugh or brush it off, but his expression remained serious and determined. "I don't like to repeat myself, but I'll excuse you because you don't know any better. Will you marry me, Miss Hugh?" I let out a peal of deranged laughter. "Are you messing with me?" He didn't dignify the question with a response and I just knew that this man was dead serious. Or crazy. One of th
Winnie. The cheque burned a hole in my pocket as I hurried away from the building and it felt like everybody around could tell that I was carrying a super expensive cheque. Was it real? The question resounded in endless loops in my head. A big part of me said no, but a small, silly side kept on insisting that it was real. I hated being unsure and not like I had anywhere else to go. I was jobless and homeless, what would a detour to the bank hurt? And If I was truly carrying a real cheque for a million dollars, did that mean that I was going to agree to the crazy man's harebrained scheme? He could be into women trafficking for all I knew. Nobody in their right and clean mind offered all that money for marriage. What had he said his name was again.I dug out my phone and decided that Google was my best friend as of that moment. A quick Google search later and my mouth was on the ground. How hadn't I recognized the name? In my defence, I wasn't religious about following up with wo
Winnie. Contractual agreementI stood there motionless for a few seconds, with my hands shaky as I held my phone to my ears. My mind running around in circles wondering what response to give?I had just found myself in the middle of a financial crisis and crying about it, then suddenly meeting a billionaire, and getting right out of it the next second? I had to ask, was the universe just playing chess with my emotions? And having fun in just giving me mini heart attacks from time to time? Plus now, it was putting me in a position where I had to quickly make a decision. And one where I had no time to properly process my options. Like I even had any… “Are you there?” his rich voice suddenly boomed again from the other side of my phone.“Yeah, yes!…” I said, nodding my head, shocked out of my subconscious. “Uhm… I'll need some time to think to about it, I'll call you back when I decide…”“You don't have any options left. You've taken the money, and the only thing you can do is such a
Beaches of Normandy.Ares. I released a sigh in successful completion of another business deal. The only reason I wasn't even in the slightest bit what people described as happy was because it felt like a futile investment in its intrinsic sense. Throwing away a good million dollars just to milk a woman's emotion into staying with me felt useless. As I could have had her in less than an hour if I just decided to flirt with her for as much a minute…I hated having to do so much legwork for so little purpose. Yet at the back of my mind, I remembered the greater good it would do for me. Not necessarily her existence, but instead her image. Her standing next to me holding hands would surely send those who doubted me into a frenzy. And it was assured they would be even more suprised at how fast I could do it... In just less than three days left to my existential deadline? And the death of my dreams as well as everything I've ever worked hard for? Yet I pulled through and did what had to b