Standing still behind the casement windows of his office - the eyes intently riveted on the long and straight shadow that swayed elegantly to the golden gate, Cole kept meditating all day long on the way to back his unyielding maid into the corner but none of the schemes or the set of reasons he came up with seemed persuasive enough for her. He was thoroughly aware she was not as easy to manipulate as the other women he went out with. Unlike them, Bexley was maybe quiet but she had an indubitable strong temper. Yet despite this fact, never did he expect her to be so unequivocal about her decision. He thought that at least money or a hint of sentimentalism would successfully corrupt her but in the end, neither his thousands of arguments nor his appealing money offers made her hesitate to his request even for a second, all of which ultimately forced him to play his trump card ; Blackmail. He really tried to avoid the use of his ace for the respect and regard he secretly held for her, but her rugged determination left him no option. Cole finally closed the curtains when she disappeared behind the walls framing his property. He switched on the desk lamp, slumped into his armchair and sighed heavily. He went to his phone book scrolling the short list of names before his eyes until he caught the name he was looking for ; Henry Temples. He clicked on it and waited for his friend to answer. When a hoarse sleepy voice thickened with a strong Scottish accent greeted him with a swear, Cole smiled.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxkWvdX6zb
“I hope for you you have a good reason for waking me up so late,” he groaned.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI6U0tsHZT
“I need your help,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELZQ4s454R
“What? Now?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1tHjDUNA0
“No, not right now but as soon as possible,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9HL8vsbNo
“What is it about?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKr2EtJZRK
“I need you to find some information about a woman but only comprising ones,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdonCO1icH
“What have you got yourself mixed up in this time?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnqljgzXMZ
“Can you do it or not?” Cole turned a deaf ear to his friend’s question.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8JpeqG6PX
“Of course I can, you know it. What’s her name?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVj9xi3K4V
“Bexley Hamilton,”
***
“Ally, I’m home,” the young woman shouted, dropping her keys on the console table and hung her bucket bag as well as her cardigan on the wall coat rack rail. 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76FmXauGrM
“You lied to me,” Alyssa, who just appeared in the small vestibule stated with a frown and crossed arms. Bexley didn’t need any further detail to understand what her sister was talking about. Before starting her defence, she took her shoes off and pressed her sore feet against the wooden floor releasing whimpers of pain as she felt her toe bones cracking under the pressure. All she wanted to do at right that instant was to remove her hideous uniform, take a warm lasting shower to relax the tensed muscles of her aching back and eat something good without thinking or chatting about her employer who kept harassing her with his fatuous idea of wedding her.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpfKfXYHk5
“Please, just let me take a shower first, okay?” she begged.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAuBM5hBGf
“No, I want an explanation now. First you sleep at your boss house without telling and then you lie to me about Maggie coming home. I want to know what’s going on,” 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TB3YkcE02
“Ally, please. Just let me clean myself up and I promise, I’ll tell you everything you want,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlN7MgGkTe2
Alyssa stared at her without a sound, the glower still printed on her face as she considered her words, then opening her mouth, she said, “I want you downstairs in fifteen minutes and no lies. Now go, you smell like shit,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡih5TcgQrRJ
After twenty minutes of self-care, Bexley finally showed up in the front room in her favourite satin pyjamas. She slouched down on the comfortable Lawson-style sofa and turned the television on when her elder came in with a tray on which were two plates of chicken fajitas and glasses of ice tea. Alyssa disposed the tray on the coffee-table and sat by her sister looking at her expectantly, but Bexley who was in a teasing mood, noticed it from the corner of her eyes and ignored her by taking a tortilla and greedily bite at it, her eyes focused on the TV.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNtlcXPb2d
“So?” Alyssa asked impatiently.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOywpJMe97
“What?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzqSUnfcd7
“Becks, don’t mess around with me. I’m really upset at you,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTifrS4gdd
Bexley smirked.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhrP5lFZxA
“I’m not joking, seriously,” Alyssa pinched her arm.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiZHwZkVxK
“Ouch! No need to be so brutal,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAvUupogx9
“Tell me. Now,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuABaAefuhj
Bexley sighed and said quite nonchalantly, “My boss proposed to me,” 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0vWksRMV1
“Not funny,” Alyssa scowled.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaklS9oehB
Bexley kept eating her tortilla quietly until her sister realised at her silence that she was not lying. Alyssa turned the volume down and looked at her benjamine with astonishment.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCX3QkFCXC
“Oh my!” 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILwP3rbsLl
“Yeah, oh my,” Bexley scoffed.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5FPJzkFiM
“Why did he...I mean, that doesn’t make sense,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQB6KbJdFjc
Bexley gave her the details of the previous event that occurred in the morning, explaining how the man proposed to her and why she lied. Alyssa remained silent for a long moment, evidently assessing the situation with the solemnity of a priest while Bexley ate her diner with appetite.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHT2rYLOKV6
“How much money did he offer you again?” Alyssa questioned at the end of her contemplation.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0sgONOPc9
“Five million,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQl3MbPg65c
Alyssa paused again and said, “I think you should reconsider his proposition,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDJJtAqHT5
“You’re kidding, right?” Bexley retorted as she threw a piece of sweet pepper in her mouth filled with smashed food.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetFRs6N8my
“Look, I think it’s a very good opportunity for you,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1U1A3ujvN
“How? How marrying this man could possibly be a good opportunity for me?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17902IMm1Z
“Can’t you see? He’s offering to pay all your tuition fees and five million dollars. You won’t have to worry about earning your scholarship again or to work to provide for us. You’re finally getting the chance to make all your dreams come true,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvh7nFNkX4
“I don’t need to marry this man to fulfil my dreams, moreover fighting for what I want bring up more excitement to my life than anything else,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuK3IzkqAN4
“You’re not serious”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNloAZAMwe
“I deadly am,” Bexley answered back.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV6a9qv9nT
“Bexley, please. Don’t rush in making a decision. You can’t waste this opportunity like that,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkGKCPqZtc
“So what are you saying? That I should sell my body, pride and dignity to this man so I could live more comfortably? I’m indeed struggling a bit for a living but I’m not a beggar. We are not beggars,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWJg1QbwBB
“Stop being so dramatic, this is not what I said. And I will never allow you to sell your body, you know it. I’d rather die than let you or force you to do such thing,” Alyssa said now looking straight into her eyes, but Bexley averted her eyes as a memory surfaced in her mind, “But look, all you have to do here it’s to pretend to be his wife in front of his family, that doesn’t mean you have to sleep with him or anything,” 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VnmmGvor3
“Then what about you, huh?” Bexley answered back putting her plate down on the table, “What if we get caught? We’re talking about a sham marriage here. It’s illegal! What if the police goes after you because of me? I cannot take this risk,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMwsyKzfKu
Alyssa closed her eyes and let a breath out, hiding her face in her hands. She understood her sister’s fear, nonetheless she couldn’t simply neglect the fact that this proposal was like the helping hand that could snatch them from their financial issues.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVbp1OxFUi
“Is that why you turned down his offer, Bexley? Because of me?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4dSgLyRDh
“I turned down his offer ‘cause I hate deceiving people. I turned down his offer ‘cause I don’t like him. And I turned and always will turn his offer ‘cause I can’t jeopardise you,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDxSArwvlk
“Bexley-”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhdZvqTYbq
“You know what? I don’t want to talk about this any more. I won’t change my mind and this conversation is officially over,” she said leaving for her bedroom before she lost her temper.
***
Bexley looked blankly at the opened book in front of her, the hundred of words aligned on the pages suddenly losing their meaning. She attempted to focus on her last revising session but ended up failing. The entire morning, her sister’s voice and the echo of Cole’s offer kept haunting her restlessly, leading to a stormy trial in her mind, where two parties were confronting each other in fierce indictment and speech defence in which they dressed the drawbacks and advantages for her to marry Cole Ramsden. Bexley was usually not indecisive, her “yes” was “yes” and her “no” always remained a “no”, never she got back on her decision once she made one but here, for the first time, she was uncertain as she thought about her sister. She knew the thirty-five year-old woman had a point ; they needed that money, but Bexley wasn’t ready to make such a costly sacrifice. Frustrated to not be able to concentrate her attention on her work, she gathered her things and decided to leave the library where she spent the morning. She was walking along the corridor when her phone buzzed in her satchel bag. She paused on her way, took the device out and checked the screen.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbtNMunJxU
“Hi, babe. Look, I’m sorry for what I told you yesterday, I didn’t mean to bug you, I was just trying to help. Although I still judge the proposal as a great deal, I won’t force you to do anything against your will. Just want you to know I respect your decision. Love you, Ally,” Bexley read the text. She smiled and continued to step towards the exit door of the huge building as she was texting back.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfBD4TKAp8
"Becks, wait!” 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tZDBe4hXe
Immediately recognising the owner of the pleasant baritone voice that called her name far behind her, Bexley pivoted on her heels to see a very tall man with long and natural dark blonde hair styled in a bun, bright indigo eyes that shone through the glasses of his spectacles and a short but neat luxuriant duck-tail beard; Ezra Simmons her high-school first crush and long-standing friend. A grin brightened her face as she watched him covering the few metres between them at a run then halted in front of her, panting. Bexley laughed slightly putting her hand above his shoulder.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9vLQPguEX
“You’re not going to faint here, aren’t you?” she teased him.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIsPyn4qtQ
“Don’t make fun of me or I'll fight back later,” the charming medical student jested back resettling his eyeglasses on his nose with a push of the finger.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kmJ50Ea5E
“I would like to see that,” she defied him smiling devilishly.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VhFLqs4YL
“Are you provoking me, Bexley?” he asked amusingly now that he regained his breath as they walked side by side in the deserted corridor.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhnMjZVKOP
“I don’t know,” she replied innocently, batting eyes dramatically which caused the man to laugh.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1iuFky3uf
“So, how’s going your revising?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFO5bis64O
“Good, I’m worn out but I think I’m ready for the exams,” she shrugged, “You?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1awmeEdi3
“Hard, but I’m handling it quite well too. You know what?” he said after a moment, “Since we’re good with our revising, how about we take a break?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEXEkOiVwv
“Do you have something in mind?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGVj8E9FIF
“I’ve got two tickets for the Weeknd. Interested?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnEsI68lZa
“No way!”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOmv954XS7
He laughed, “Way,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesWGcCczUF
“And you’re inviting me? What about Rachel?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGQw13C8m2
“What about her?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblk2y7xW30
“Aren’t you into her? You should ask her instead,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmL9C0nNGmC
“I’m not into Rachel,” he replied looking straight into her eyes then darted a glance at her lips.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZyuAk7uvT
“Oh,” she whispered looking away as she tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear, starting to feel uneasy.767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTplpVJi52
“So, are you in?”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEDU6UxgyZ
She beamed at him, “Sure,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfyo8AfhD9
“Cool, I’ll pick you up Saturday at 9 so we could go eat something first,”767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWXReZWe0x
“Sounds great," 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtonWojsZc
“See you on Saturday then,”
∭∭
Hello, Hello, dearies! 767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9PLXITcHb
I know it's been quite a while since the last update but I had a writer's block (not exactly, actually. I had all my ideas, events, everything in my mind but I needed time to put them together). Anyway, here we are. I know you're expecting to see Bexley and Cole together but let's just say that our heroine is not easy to deal with. On Thursday I'm going to publish the sixth chapter as an apology for my lateness.
767Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgwq9FpMby
By the way, THANK YOU to my sweet and dear BRIAN aka WEIRDGUY96 for your advice, it helped a lot to write this chapter, Love You Mate!
On this note, see you on Thursday ;)
L.S
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