Larissa Maynard
~•~I held my breath as Alesia zipped up my dress. It was way tighter than it needed to be but I had to go down in two minutes so there was no time to change it. Even if there was, my future mother-in-law wouldn’t want me to change the dress. She had picked it herself and she also paid for it, as an engagement gift.I was certain she knew it was a size too small because she was unnecessarily obsessed with my size. As though I wasn’t thin enough, she wanted me to lose more weight. I’d be damned before putting my wedding dress in her hands.Finally exhaling when it was all done, I turned around to smile at Alesia. “Thank you.”Her eyes ran across my body as though looking for something out of place. I was putting on a red strapless dress with a white beaded necklace and matching earrings. My hair was in a complicated updo that had been done by the hair stylist and my makeup was done perfectly by a professional. I was more than ready to face the millions of guests already in the hall.She returned the smile when she didn’t have anything else to complain about. “You need a smile to complete the look.”Most people said I had a resting bitch face and it was true. If I was walking alone on the road, I never looked approachable and I couldn’t help it.I forced out a chuckle. I was not into the idea of throwing an engagement party, but my parents thought otherwise. I was certain my wedding ceremony would be just as huge and I didn’t want that. I wanted a small wedding with family and close friends, nothing more.My parents were making a big deal out of this. It was just a marriage for fuck’s sake.“Try to pretend you’re happy to be here.” She smiled sarcastically before she left the room.My smile dropped immediately after she left. I didn’t like Alesia that much. She never did anything bad to me but she always made it seem like her brother was doing me a favor by getting married to me. If anything, it was the opposite. Getting married to Alexander would do his business a lot of good but I never thought about rubbing it in his face.As she left, the door opened again and my brother poked his head through. A real smile finally spread across my face.“I always knew you’d get married before me, but I didn’t expect it anymore after…” he trailed off, not daring to mention his name.I didn’t even want to think about him. It had been five years since I last saw him but I could remember the details of his face vividly. I hated the fact that my thoughts still strayed to him sometimes, but I had moved on from him. I am a fully grown adult now. I had a boyfriend, now a fiancé, and a soon-to-be husband. I was doing just fine without him.“It’s his loss anyway.” Luke walked toward me. “He missed out big time.”He did. He really did.“Shall we?”I nodded and put my hand through my brother’s own as he led me out the door. I didn’t get to see my brother a lot as he was always away on business trips. He was only thirty but he was already a workaholic just like my father.Since they were making a big deal about our engagement, it was supposed to be my father bringing me down to meet my fiancé as though we were already the bride and groom, but I strongly opposed it. If anyone was going to bring me down to meet anyone, it was going to be my brother. He was literally my best friend.I didn’t have many friends and I even had less friends who genuinely gave a shit about me. I’d learned the hard way that we were all alone in this world, especially when we were involved in the business world, but my brother was always there for me.I took a deep breath as we descended the stairs that led us to the hall where the guests were already waiting. Alexander was waiting at the foot of the stairs where Luke handed me to him.Alex placed a kiss on my cheek before putting his hand around my waist. I clung onto his arm as we stepped into the hall, bringing all the focus to us.“And here, we have our future bride and groom,” the MC announced and some kind of stage light shone on us. It made me uncomfortable but I tried to ignore it, putting on my best smile for show. “We are gathered here to celebrate the union of Alexander Theodore and Larissa Maynard.” The man laughed after that sentence like anything was funny. “My bad, that sounded like it was their wedding.”The crowd laughed – I still didn’t get what was so funny – as they all looked at us.Noticing I was uncomfortable with all the stares, Alexander leaned in. “Are you okay?”I realized my smile had dropped and I quickly put it back in place. “I’m fine.” If I said I wasn’t, he was not going to do anything about it anyway. There was no point in telling him the truth.I zoned out on the MC as he went on about irrelevant things. I was only brought back to reality when we had to make a toast. Alexander and I went on the makeshift stage and after Alex gave some kind of opening speech, I smiled accordingly, staying beside him because apparently, that was my role.Since I was not going to be saying anything, I had no reason to go up there with him but the planners of this party had different ideas from mine. They said it’d show our strength as a couple as though we could fight off enemies by opening our mouths to give a few speeches.Fuck, I was so done with this party and it hadn’t even properly started.Larissa Maynard~•~My engagement party, which was supposed to be a happy evening for me, was one of the most torturous parties I’d ever been to. I had to put on a smile and pretend to like the numerous people in the room, most of whom I didn’t know. I didn’t know if it was an engagement party or an opportunity to meet new clients and investors.Alexander was busy socializing with everyone while I stood beside him. After congratulating us on our engagement, everyone went straight to business. I didn’t even see the point of the party anymore.I was bored as hell, but I tried not to let it show in my face as I looked around until someone tapped me. I turned around and my eyes went wide, a bright smile spreading across my face when I saw my friend, Bridget. I almost kissed her in delight.She smiled politely at Alexander. “Congratulations on your engagement.”“Thank you, Bridget.”“May I steal Larissa for a few minutes?”My eyes shone with gratefulness at her words. While I didn’t mind t
Larissa Maynard ~•~I was more than happy when the guests started to reduce two hours later, but that meant Bridget was about to leave as well and I was sad about that.She gave me a kiss on my cheek, bidding me bye. As she left, I set out to find Alexander, but I ran into my mom instead. She smiled when she saw me. “I knew you weren’t up for a party, but you did well.”I returned the smile. My mother was the only one that considered my feelings, but that still never stopped her from doing what she wanted. “Come on, let me introduce you to this high-end model, she can help push the business forward.”I shook my head at once. “No, ma. I haven’t eaten all day and I’m leaving.”“But–““If I stay any longer, I will die of hunger.”She pouted, but she let me go. I spotted Alexander in a conversation with three other men, but thankfully, he excused himself when he saw me. “Hey, baby.”“Can we go now?” I went straight to the point.He looked around at the few guests that were still around.
Caspian Bianchi~•~I knew it was a bad idea, but I was a selfish ass, which was why I didn’t mind visiting Larissa when I was certain she was done with her stupid engagement party. The Larissa I knew would not have agreed to that, but she had probably changed.Part of me hoped that she was still hung up on me as I was on her. A selfish part of me hoped she wasn’t in love with the man she recently got engaged to because the irrational part of me wanted her back despite how unsafe she’d be with me.Maybe, I could have moved on from her if I had tried; if I wasn’t stalking her to know what she was up to, if I was not going out of my way to always check that she was okay. When she had started dating Alexander, I thought it would be a fling like the other men she’d dated. Imagine my surprise when he proposed to her a month after meeting her. He was obviously after her connections.I rang the doorbell for the third time, beginning to wonder if she wasn’t home. My men had seen her dickhead b
Larissa Maynard ~•~I still didn’t understand what Caspian was doing in my house. I didn’t know why he was kissing me but I blamed it on the alcohol as I kissed him back.“You taste like champagne.” I breathed out when he pulled away just enough for his lips to latch onto my neck.“And you taste like my fucking favorite wine.”It was my favorite wine now, but I couldn’t reply to him as he continued to kiss down my neck. I knew it was wrong to let him kiss me but his kisses and touches were so fucking familiar that I couldn’t stop him even if I tried. It was easy to get lost in him when I was tipsy; when the wine I drank reminded me of him.When he was in my house after five years of no contact, holding me like I was his again. My back automatically arched as I bared my neck for him, giving them space to place open-mouthed kisses on my neck. My breathing was heavy and my brain was in a haze as I pulled him by his shirt so I could kiss him again.Caspian devoured my mouth like he used
Larissa Maynard~•~I woke up the next morning with a slight headache, but when I pulled the covers away from my naked body and saw the fingerprints on my hips, I knew last night had been real.“Fuck,” I muttered, realizing what this meant. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I chanted. My wedding was six months away and I had just slept with another man. It didn’t matter that he was my ex. It didn’t matter that we didn’t get closure yet. I was engaged to someone else and I was meant to be faithful. Fuck!I stood up, wincing at the slight soreness between my legs. That damned man hadn’t cared to hold back. He knew I was engaged. He came to congratulate me on my engagement. He knew exactly what the fuck he was doing.Exhaling, I decided not to blame my poor decisions on him. He wasn’t the one who cheated on his partner. Sure he knew I was taken before he decided to barge into my house and kiss me like his whole life depended on it, but Caspian had never been one to care about the rules anyway, especia
Caspian Bianchi~•~I let out a satisfied sigh, savoring Larissa’s naked body again. I knew it was my last chance, for now. When she woke up, she would come back to her senses. My eyes strayed to the digital clock on her nightstand. It was already morning and I needed to get moving. I had already cleaned her up last night and arranged our clothes properly, so I didn’t have much to do as I woke up.Placing a kiss on her forehead, I let sleeping beauty rest as I got out of bed. I stared at myself in the mirror, my fingers brushing my hip where her name was tattooed on. I had it done two years after I left her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and I knew my heart would only belong to her. I was hers in every sense of the word. She just didn’t know it yet.I got dressed quickly and dropped the note and keys I had planned to give her last night. I gave her one last look before I finally left her house.I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Larissa was still in love with me but there were
Larissa Maynard~•~Monday came by so fast and despite the fact that I just had my engagement party three nights ago, I was back to work.My part-time assistant, Ava, pushed open the door for me and I walked in while she kept her pace behind me. Ava had been my assistant since I took over the company right after finishing college, even if she only ever assisted me during specific work hours. I didn’t like a full-time assistant as I didn’t want someone following me around all day and everywhere.However, Ava was leaving soon. She had gotten married last year and she was pregnant. It wasn’t showing yet but she was going to take a break anyway. I needed to find a new assistant before she left and I wasn’t looking forward to it.“Good morning, boss.”“Good morning, Miss Maynard.”“Good morning, CEO.”“Good morning, ma’am.”Despite the turmoil going on in my head, I managed to smile at all my employees, replying to their greetings as I walked by. My life had been going smoothly before Casp
Caspian Bianchi~•~It was exactly a week after I visited Larissa. I had missed seeing her already and I felt the urge to, but there was something I needed to take care of first. I was going to visit her fiancé.I stepped out of my vehicle and gave the keys to the valet, then I entered the club through the back door. It was my luck that Alexander decided to visit my club today.“Good evening, boss.” The two men by the door bowed respectfully as I walked past them. Larissa would have my head for daring to meet with the man she was to marry, but I didn’t care. I was doing it for her good, and eventually mine. The only way to convince her to be with me was to get rid of Alexander. Well, I wasn’t going to kill him. I just needed to remove him from her life.I walked up the stairs that led to the VIP area. It was basically a gentlemen’s area where all sorts of things took place. Women usually stripped for men and if they wanted extra servicing, they could have whatever women they wanted ho