MARK'S POV
I groaned as I turned in bed. My head throbbed dully and I held it as I slowly rose from the bed. I looked at my surroundings and wondered why I was at home. I should be at work.
I dropped my head in my hands and tried to remember. It didn't even take a second before the memories rushed back.
My assistant had been able to locate where Sydney was and I had left every work I was doing to speak some sense into her. I remember that I had ordered her to follow me then…
I frowned. Everything had gone black.
"That witch! How dare she hit me?" I gritted as I got off the bed. I glimpsed some medication on the drawers as I staggered out of my room.
What was wrong with her? Why was she taking this far? I thought.
The sound of wood banging against walls reverberated through the house as I threw every door open.
"Where the heck is she?!"
The staff of my household just stood there speechless. Some of them flinched each time the door banged.
I had asked where she was about a dozen times and they had all answered me a dozen times that they didn't know where she was. They repeated what they told me that morning. The last time they saw her was with a suitcase when she waltzed out of my house. I remember that day too. I had been slightly surprised. I wondered what gave her the guts and had thought she was going to get over whatever was happening with her and come whimpering back.
My stomach growled as I continued to slam the doors closed. I even checked the garage. It honestly felt like I was running mad. My growling stomach coupled with my throbbing head and my frustration grew.
I stormed back to my room and took a calming shower that did nothing to calm me but only washed off the dirts on my skin.
When I finished getting dressed, I used a painkiller from the medicines on my drawers to stop my head from aching.
I picked up my car keys, shrugged into my suit jacket and left the house.
As I drove to work, my grip on the steering wheel was strong and I pressed hard down on the pedal. I was past the speed limit but it was the only thing I could do not to drive back to that house she was in and strangle her.
She wanted my attention. Now she fully had it.
"Where is she?" I bellowed to my assistant the moment my assistant closed the door behind him.
"I don't know, sir," he voice quivered as he spoke. "I left her at the villa and rushed you to a nearby clinic before I took you home. I left the medications they prescribed on your drawers."
He cleared his throat before he continued. "But she did tell me to not call her Mrs Turess but Miss Turner, she said that a new lady will soon inherit the title."
I just stared at him as he spoke, my rage built with each word he dropped, ready to explode.
He took a step forward, a file dangling in his hands, "She also said she'd re-send the divorce agreement, here's it," he placed the file in front of me. "I received it just before you came in. She wants you to sign it as soon as possible so you don't waste each other's time."
And that was it. That darned word. In blind rage, I gripped the sheets of paper and flung it across the room.
"If I hear the word 'divorce' one more time, you're out!" I told him sternly. If she wants me to sign the papers she had better bring it herself.
My hands clenched and unclenched as I struggled to hold in my anger. What exactly was she playing at? Has she gone crazy? Wasn't it enough that I let her stay in my house and feed? I wondered on what grounds she'd say she was filing for a damned divorce.
"I do not want to hear that word again, ever! Am I understood?"
"Yes sir!" His stance straightened and I suspected that he almost saluted.
Just then, the door creaked open and Bella stepped in. The instant I set my eyes on her, my anger evaporated to an extent but I could still feel it, I could still feel the itch to shred those papers into pieces, the urge to punch something or…someone.
It was either Bella didn't notice the tension in the room or she decided to ignore it as she sashayed her hips toward me and perched on my lap, her elegant arms shooting out to wrap around my neck.
She placed a quick kiss on my lips. She pulled back, pouting when I didn't return the gesture. "You've been working all month. We haven't seen each other for a long time," her pout deepened, her brows furrowed feebly and her eyes slightly glistened.
In my peripheral vision I could see my assistant picking up the papers and shuffling them together. Then he silently left the room.
For a moment, I thought of asking him to hand over the papers so I could shred them like I did the previous ones but then Bella's presence stopped me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I focused on the feeling of her soft asscheeks pressed on my thighs, her fingers intermittently fiddling with my collar and grazing the skin at the back of my neck. I breathed in and out, I tried to relax.
My arms circled her waist, and I pulled her closer. I should forget about Sydney's stunts and desperation for attention and focus on the woman in my arms right now, the one I actually wanted and would readily give my attention anytime.
I opened my eyes and her lips were jutted out as she looked at me. My heart momentarily skipped a beat and my lips stretched into a reflexive smile. God, she was so beautiful.
"I'm sorry, honey. You know it's work."
She rolled her eyes, "You should always find time for me."
"I'll work on that," I shifted my head closer to hers and my lips grazed hers in a brief kiss. "So what shall I gift my queen so she'd forgive me?"
I could see the twitch on the corners of her lips as she struggled to keep her pout in place. Her pupils rolled up as she thought of what she wanted. "I want a jewelry," her eyes were on me now, "one designed by Atelier studios."
"Atelier?" I raised a brow.
Her head bobbed up and down, "Atelier designs the best jewelry. All the girls in the upper levels own one, I want one too."
My arms further tightened around her waist. "Done. I will make sure it's specially made for you."
Her face broke into a smile and my heart swelled. "Thank you!" She squealed and pulled me in for a hug.
I made a mental note, as I hugged her back, to get one for Sydney too. It would shut her up and make her feel she had the attention she desperately begged for.
Bella suddenly pulled back, her eyes peering into mine. "This Sunday is my dad's birthday, you remember, right?"
I did not remember. My head was too occupied to accommodate the date of someone's birthday. I nodded, "Yep! I do remember."
She smiled. The last thing I wanted right now was for her to get mad. "It's actually why I'm here. He's throwing a party and I want you there. I'm sure dad does too," she looked away and ransacked her tiny bag that was sitting primly on my table. Her hand emerged with a white card. She slapped it on my desk, "That's his invitation card. You're coming," she turned to me, "right?"
I hesitated. There was a lot to do. My last business trip had got me more investors which equaled more money and more money equally meant more work. I couldn't afford to slack or spend time attending events that didn't aid the growth of the firm.
I opened my mouth to explain to her why I wouldn't be present but I stopped. If I could make time to attend this party, I could accomplish two things; get to speak with Sydney's father and please Bella.
Even if it were for a few minutes, I'd be able to speak with him and let him know how urgent he needed to knock some sense into Sydney's head and remind her that our unfortunate alliance was a win-win so she had to stop yapping about divorce.
I decided. Perfect, it will be a few hours away from work but it would be worth it.
I smiled at Bella, "I'd make time and attend." I placed a kiss on her cheeks and she blushed.
"I can't wait!" She chirped.
SYDNEY'S POVI couldn't stop the laugh that burst out of me as I took in the fourth special order for the day.Usually, Atelier receives a bunch of orders on a daily basis, and our employees take care of these orders. But if the jewelry order were to be custom made, the orders came directly to me.Right there on my screen was an order for two pieces of jewelry from Mark's assistant. It had been included in the preference space for it to 'stand out' from any of our jewelries, then he ended it with 'just name your price'.Typical. Only Mark would be so egotistic to make a request sound insulting. It was Mark's assistant that placed the order, but I was sure the order was on behalf of Mark. There was no way his assistant would be able to afford Atelier's custom-made designs for himself.I swiveled in my chair, whistling, "Time to make some extra millions."I turned back to my laptop's screen and reread the last phrase. My grin widened, "Oh. I am so going to name my price."Briefly, I won
MARK'S POVA knock came on my door."Come in," I called out without tearing my eyes away from the files before me.I heard the smooth creak of the door as it was opened. My assistant's voice drifted to me, "Luxe Vogue has replied, sir.""Hmm," I hummed, and nodded. "When will the necklaces be ready?""It's not about the necklace, sir. It's about the acquisition offer we sent them."I looked up and pushed my chair back. "Oh, really. When are we meeting to finalize the handover of the website?" I asked.It had been a coincidence that Atelier is partnered with the website I've had my eyes on for the past months. Their response hadn't come for months, but I had been relentless. I kept instructing my assistant to keep sending them emails.After Bella had left, I had searched about Atelier myself and damn! Bella was right. They made stunning jewelry. The quality of their stones was top-notch. It had filled me with pride and reassured me that acquiring the website was a good decision. It wou
I kept struggling, pulling at my hands and cussing out as Mark pulled me to the hallway, right beside the male section restroom. I stumbled after him, unable to keep up with his pace in my heels.Even in my wildest dream, I wouldn't have thought I might run into him here. I mean, in our three years of unfortunate marriage, I could count the number of times on the fingers of one hand I had seen him elsewhere apart from home. I had assumed he was always at work then recently, I concluded that he was either at work or in some fancy hotel fucking my sister."Mark, what is wrong with you?" I hit his fingers wrapped around my wrist with my free hand, "Let go of my hand."He didn't say anything, he just stormed ahead, his back rigid.Ever since I proposed the divorce, he seemed to have become a ghost out to hunt and haunt me, appearing everywhere I was.I let out a low groan as he slammed my back to a wall and pinned me to it. The depth of his deep blue eyes were fathomless and they had turn
I would have loved the rough way in which his lips kneaded mine, and I would have kissed him back with equal fervor if it was someone else. But this wasn't some stranger or lover of mine. It was Mark.I struggled between pulling him to me and pushing him away. I wanted to clamp my teeth on his tongue or lips as I did the first time, but I couldn't bring myself to. This feeling was confusing. I wanted him to stop and go far away from me, but, insanely, I was scared that he would actually stop. It was crazy.But I still struggled, and as I did, my eyes squeezed shut. I tried to speak even with his lips on mine. His tongue, somehow, made its way into my mouth. His body pressed on mine, and I could faintly feel the bulge in his trousers against my thighs.My struggles doubled, and a scream rose in my chest.My scream died in my throat because suddenly, his hands were off me, and I couldn't feel his body heat anymore.I brushed off the tiny tinge of disappointment and looked up to find a w
The cold night air hit my face as we both burst out of the door and the hairs on my arm stood erect. I was still grappling with the information that the bar owner was the one I had seen in my Villa.I had every right to call the police on him right now and maybe get this place searched. I mean, he had a gun that day but I had no evidence. I shivered, shaking the feeling that swept through me as I remembered the feel of the metal behind my back.Still lost in my thoughts, Mark pushed me into the car. He hastily and roughly fixed the seat belt around me as though I was some kid he needed to take home with immediacy."Where are you taking me?!" I clumsily pulled at the belt as I threw the question at his moving figure. He went around the car. The car slightly shook as he climbed in and slammed the door closed.His face was set straight, staring ahead as he blatantly ignored all the questions I threw at him."Where are you taking me, Mark?!" I asked deadpan."I'm taking you home! We're go
As I pulled up to dad's mansion, I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the inevitable confrontation. I knew he wouldn't be pleased with me showing up without Mark; he always wants me to scurry after Mark like some lost puppy. For a while, I'd admit, I had actually scurried after him. I had practically changed my life to satisfy them. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.I made the short walk to the mansion's courtyard; the courtyard faced the well kept garden. I had admired the garden when I first came. It was where I preferred to spend my time whenever they were fawning over Bella. The garden looked even more beautiful and we'll tend to. I was sure mum must have gone bunkers as she instructed the household gardeners on how to trim it right.The area was already bustling with activities. The servants were already up and down attending to the guests - young and old - that were seated around tables, each person clad in luxurious outfits and jewelry. Some young
The feeling that coursed through me was heavenly. And for the first time since I announced to Mark that I didn't want to stay married to him again, I felt free.After my announcement, the courtyard was shrouded in pin drop silence. Their eyes alternated between Mark and I then between dad and mum.I could see some young girls immediately shooting their shots. The already deep neckline of their dresses become even deeper, their amble blossoms half on display as they cast flirtatious glances at Mark. I didn't blame them. In truth, Mark was like a diamond among the many men in town. Who wouldn't be excited to grab such a man if there ever was a whisper that he was back in the market?Bella looked pissed, her hold still on Mark's arm.I wished I could capture the look on dad and mum's face right now and frame it. Their eyes bulged as they turned to me; I couldn't tell if it was out of panic or anger at me.Throughout the years I had been with the family, I had learned that Michael's famil
I stared at Mark in disbelief, my eyes widening incredulously as his demand echoed in the room, harshly bouncing off the walls. His determined eyes were fixated on me, his lips were set in a straight line and his arms that were folded across his chest hinted at his seriousness."You're saying I have to give you a million dollars as a breakup fee?!" The words burst from my lips and my voice resounded in the room. "What the actual hell! A million dollars?" The absurdity of his request was incredulous."Yes, you have to give me a million dollars before I sign those papers," he answered calmly as if he was asking me to pay him a measly sum of three hundred dollars. The nonchalant demeanor with which he responded only did more to heighten my disbelief than make me come to terms with his demand."You can't possibly be serious," I exclaimed, the words tumbling out of my mouth in a mixture of disbelief and frustration as I got on my knees on the bed, all strung up. "You're a billionaire, and