JOANNE* Adjusting his neck tie, and taking his off his jacket after,Hardy gave me a look. My gut gave me a weird feeling, like he was going to force me to the bed any minute. He wouldn't now, would he? I held my breath, as I watched the man in front of me. His eyes never left mine as he managed to take off his wrist watch, and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his white shirt that was almost a see through. I gulped. Hardy sighed "Now…" Now what? What did he want now? "I don't like you sitting on the floor. Would you get up." His voice was gruesome and demanding.I got up. "Good" He breathed out. "Now… let's have a proper conversation, take a seat" His voice was low, as he gestured his hand towards the wooden chair at the end of the room which was hardly visible. I looked back and forth between Hardy and the chair, not wanting to have any conversation. "Go!" He ordered, and I found my feet making their way towards the chair.So bossy!And I didn't know what he would d
I was lying on Hardy's king sized bed watching my life fall behind me. His room had become mine, which was more like a prison than a room, I wasn't allowed to go outside the room myself. I never had a reason to, and even when I once decided I would like to see the sun and feel the wind on my skin, I had more than four entourages, including Theodore, they all stayed glued to me like I was going to fly if they glanced elsewhere. Well I did plan for my big fly, but they never glanced elsewhere at the same time. I won't blame them, they were just doing their job. And I was doing somebody else's job. How sad. And after that day, I never requested to go outside again, all I did was eat and sleep in such a room. I got so sick of everything at one point, I tore down the gorgeous gigantic portrait of Hardy, crushed everything into almost crumbs, waiting for his worst. He did see the mess I created, but said nothing, he ended up ignoring me just like always, and I almos
That night, Hardy had stepped into my room - The room that used to be his. And with his sleeves all rolled up, exposing his veiny hands, he gave me this look. That look that somehow became the hardest thing for me to decipher. I was Joanne McCain, the brainiac in school who was smart enough to solve things right in a flick of an eye. But there was something about the look he gave me that I couldn't solve. It was not unpleasant yet was not pleasant either. "What?" I shook my head, when he wouldn't say a thing, but bury me alive with his stare. "Watch your tone," He scowled. I rolled my eyes as I took a seat in front of the newly built wall mirror and the princess-like table in front of it. Supposedly, it was to make the room more feminine-like and also to my liking, but it just made me feel like Rapunzel, the three days old pregnant version. I picked up a brush and started to brush my hair with it, doing that to buy time and not feel awkward with Hardy in my room or his
"Miss Joanne. . .""Miss joanne!""Joanne!" I was brought back to life thanks to the small tap one of the maids behind me dropped on my shoulder. I turned to my side to see Trinity beside me, her mouth slightly parted open, and her eyes craving for my attention. "Yeah…" I managed to say, adjusting my weight on the Chair."You've been spacing out more than usual, is everything okay?" Trinity asked. Nothing about my life was okay, as long as I was under Hardy's custody. I said nothing, but my eyes said more and Trinity grabbed it. Seeing that the maids were all done brushing my hair, Trinity told them to excuse us. The room emptied in one go, leaving Trinity and I alone. As the head maid, she got more respect than every other person, including me. She sighed. "I heard Master Hardy came to your room last night." "Mmm hmm.." I nodded, taking a chance to stare at my reflection with the mirror in front of me. "And I guess he must have said something that's become
make Hardy fall in love with me?" I scoffed, saying the words as if they were heavy.And they were in fact, heavy-handed and absurd.Trinity is amusing. "Are you kidding me?" I scoffed yet again.Trinity shook her head and wore an air of difficulty. So that wasn't a joke?"Wow," I mumbled as I made my way to the bed, all the way to the other side of the massive room."You know, I thought you really meant something logical when you claimed you knew what to do about my circumstance. But this is just ridiculous. how can I get Hardy to love me?, this sounds like a poor fairytale line."Flushing really hard, I had to fan my face with my hand to stop myself from exploding. But I kept going, "What happened to plans like assisting me in escaping, or even finding a replacement, or getting me out of this contract? Making Hardy fall in love with me sounds like bad news; he'd never fall in love with his toy, who lives and breathes for him. Please, Trinity."Trinity took a big step forward,"P
"Joanne" Hardy called and I found myself gulping. "You're pregnant." He said, and wow, I was starting to hate that word. "You're pregnant with my child, not yours. And that's why I need you to always grab an escort whenever you're leaving your room. Because not a single hair is ought to leave your body by something or someone else, if I didn't give permission. Now you will walk around here with caution. Get it?" His tone was sharp, but I gave no reply. Letting myself drown in his dark eyes, I went off. How… How is love possibly the only way I can be free from this sudden life this man has shoved down my throat. Or should I say that Bailey has shoved down my throat. Because he doesn't seem lovable, neither do I want him to love me, or let myself love him. But is love really the only way, if it is, do I really have no choice? I am not really a type to give up, I never want to give up. But doing another length to deceive this man, to seduce him. Would it be worth it? Can I even
That evening, when the maids had gotten me all dressed up, I stepped in front of my room's wall mirror and inspected my flat tummy.I envisioned how I would appear with an unanticipated baby bump, how I would appear after nine months, and how my child - His child - would appear after being born, and the thought of it all gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.My hands slid from my hips to my tummy, and I softly rubbed my stomach, as if I could already feel the child.I exhaled a sigh."Is it kicking already?" Hardy's voice almost knocked me over against the chair in front of me.I sighed again as I jerked my head towards the entrance and softly scoffed when I saw Hardy standing there, dressed in a tuxedo sans the blazer."You scared me," I mumbled under my breath. When the hell did he walk in? "Seems like you were lost in your little world, you hardly noticed my presence," As he looked at me, his gaze hopped from my belly to my face.His voice sounded tired and more thicker and i
It was undeniable how good Hardy tasted, his lips hungrily crashing into mine like he'd been dying to kiss me. His hand was still holding my neck in place, like if he lets go they might wobble and fall off. My response to the kiss was unmatched by the man's ferocity; he went from fast-paced nibbles to emptying my lips and claiming my tongue as if it were his.I was out of breath, but I had no intention of stopping.It was really taking my breath away, yet I was ready to die on that spot, just for it. I had no idea what was playing on his mind. Had just that small gesture of mine driven him to such a state to kiss me this way, of course I would do anything to get out of here, but this is just… Hardy broke the kiss, the moment all my body started to give in, and I almost pulled him back. But I didn't want to get ahead of myself. He glanced at me from the mirror, seeing how my chest moved up and down from the night dress I was wearing, he smirked. His lips were red, and a bit