Eliana sat in the passenger seat, her head turned completely away from Noah in the driver's seat. She was looking out of the window, watching the lights of the city pass by in a blur, her eyes filled with unshed tears.Whether they were tears of sadness, betrayal or anger, she wasn't so sure. And the low mechanical whirring of the engine was only causing her gut to twist even further, in tune with the rollercoaster of emotions inside her. She was torn; there was no way she would allow anyone to mess with her boundaries the way Jaxon wanted to, and it was completely non negotiable in her mind. But another part of her was questioning, was it really necessary for Noah to behave like this? She was still partially in shock, unable to believe what had happened earlier. She had always known Noah as a non-violent person, and in the last three years, he had been calm in every situation, almost to a fault… but tonight? Tonight, he had snapped in a way she had never seen before. When she was
Noah's POV:Earlier that morning… It wasn't shaping up to be a particularly good morning so far, first, Eliana had almost seen me in uncle Stuart's car, and only God knows how I managed to deflect the situation with a supposed heart attack, even when I know that the old man is as healthy as a horse!But after that annoying encounter with Gloria, it seemed like my share of annoyances wasn't over yet. I wanted to surprise Eliana with the money, wanting to catch the glimpse of happiness on her face… but it was her best friend, Bailey, who opened the door to my wife's office.Still, I was pretty confident that Eliana would find out soon enough, that every word I had promised her last night was true.I wasn't going to let anyone else torture her anymore… not till I am alive, and definitely not after my death. I snapped out of my thoughts when I saw the sleek black sedan pull up outside the building. I knew I had to shelve my personal grudges for now, and focus on my meeting with William
Bailey sensed the desperation in Eliana's voice, and the soft sound of sniffles was a tell- tale sign that she was crying. In a minute, her panic peaked;“Ellie? Are you okay? Just tell me. I'll do anything… Do you want me to pick you up? I can ask the cab to turn around."Eliana quickly replied, shaking her head absentmindedly like she had forgotten that Bailey couldn't see her. "No, no, Bailey, I'm okay. I just need a favor. Can you please go to my office—""Office? At this time?" It would be an understatement to say that Bailey was puzzled."Yes. I need you to check something on my behalf. Just go to my office as soon as you can."Bailey understood that whatever it was, it was serious enough that Eliana was asking her to go there so late at night without waiting for the next morning, when she herself could check it. With a sigh, she asked the cab driver to stop at Red Swan Entertainment briefly. When she finally stepped out of the cab, the security guard snapped to attention li
Eliana woke up to the incessant ringing of her phone, buzzing somewhere around herself. She tried to pat the bed with her arms, trying to look for it, but exhaustion soon took over and she was pulled back into the throes of sleep. After the third ring managed to break her sleep, she finally cracked one eye open and groggily grabbed her phone from the bedside table, pressing it to her ear.“Hello?”“Eliana, where are you? We had an early morning meeting today, did you forget?”Oh shit… shit shit! Eliana sat up quickly, the sudden movement making her head spin. “Yes, yes I remember. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”She responded in a measured voice and then ended the call abruptly, tossing her phone against her pillow. She sat there for a moment, her head in her hands, feeling the weight of exhaustion; her head felt too heavy and her eyes were swollen because of the excessive crying… She couldn't even remember when she had fallen asleep while crying. Dragging herself out of bed, sh
Eliana was startled by the crashing sound of the tumbler hitting the floor, and Olivia's shoulders also jumped slightly, but Noah didn't even flinch. He calmly turned around, surveyed the damage, and said, "If you wanted fresh juice, you could have just said that. Anyway, I'll bring you some right now."Olivia huffed, her face twisting in disdain. "Huh! Don't act like you're so obedient that you'll obey every single word I say! Or you would have freed my daughter from this torture and run away to your fucking village long ago! Now, what are you staring at me for? It's not like I said something wrong, so are you accusing me right now?”Noah's expression didn't change, and without a word, he swiftly went into the kitchen. Eliana watched him, her heart aching. She knew how hard it must be for him to keep his composure. But just a few moments later, he returned, carrying a plate with three oranges sliced in half, another empty plate, a glass tumbler, and a hand juicer. He placed ever
Eliana followed Noah outside, only to hear her father going off on him this time;“Eggs! I wasn’t in the mood for eggs today! Why can't you make something else, is that all you know how to make?” He barked, slamming his plate down on the table. “I can’t believe it! The breadwinner of this house can’t even get a meal of his liking! Is that too much to ask?”Just then, Olivia, who had been watching with a look of enjoyment, leaned towards her husband and said;“Oh dear, please don't be so angry, it's not good for your health! And speaking of breadwinners, I guess our poor son-in-law is feeling inferior to his wife now. That’s why he’s supposedly gotten a job for himself, did you know?”David smirked. “Ha! Don't believe his words, Olivia, he might be lying! It’s just a generous person like me who gave an ignorant villager like him a golden opportunity to come to the city and even allowed him to join the family. Otherwise, who in their right mind would recruit him? But trust me, if I h
As Noah rushed out of the Redford Villa, Eliana’s image was still fresh in his mind. He checked his phone to find out whose call he had missed, when his mind again flashed back to the way she had stood up for him, the way she had confronted him in the kitchen… he felt a smile tugging at his lips. Maybe, just maybe, her heart was finally softening towards him. However, the smile was also accompanied by a heavy feeling in his chest. He suddenly felt extremely guilty for hiding the truth from Eliana, even though he had planned all this himself.When he had first signed the agreement in uncle Stuart’s car… he had thought it would be best to keep her away from all this mess. And the farther she would be from the cutthroat competition for power in his family, the happier and safer she would be. But things seemed so complicated in just one day… he had never imagined she would be so concerned about him! He had just assumed that, like everyone else, she would be happy to get the money– esp
Samantha tried to explain to the man, her voice wavering slightly, "Sir, the chairman asked me to—"But the man snapped again, cutting her off. "Did he specifically ask you to entertain this idiot in his office during working hours? No, right? Then how the hell can you be so careless? I can understand that the security agency is new, but I honestly expected better from you, Samantha!”"But sir, this isn't the first time this gentleman is here–”"I don't know about that! But tell me one thing, does this man, in any way, look suitable enough to be hired as a janitor here? Let alone enter into the chairman's office and sit on his own chair?Just put that little brain of yours to some good use, will you? Samantha, remember! You are being paid by the company, not out of Mr. Dwayne's personal pockets that you would need to show respect to his cheap relatives! Understand? Now leave!"Samantha didn't say anything more. She just bowed slightly in Noah's direction and mouthed a “sorry.” Noah a