CHIARA

A WEEK LATER...

I was scrolling through the reels on Insta when Ezekiel exited the bathroom and made his way to the bed.

A moment later, he lay down with his head on my lap.

Two minutes passed by in silence and then he snatched my phone from me.

"Give that back," I whined trying to take it from him but he threw it on the other side of the bed.

"What is your problem?" I questioned, pouting angrily.

He stared up at me. "I want all your attention to be on me not on your phone."

I huffed. "Fine. You have my attention, now what?"

"Good." A small smile touched his lips. "Now keep your eyes on me."

"Seriously?" I chuckled. "It will be creepy if I just keep staring at you."

"I don't care."

Shaking my head slightly, I placed my fingers in his hair, caressing it.

His eyes fluttered close as I continued to massage his scalp, his face softening.

"I was wondering..." I spoke softly. "...why you call me 'my heart'?"

His eyes opened and burned into mine. "Well, isn't it fair when you own my heart?"

My breath stuttered, my cheeks turning red. "Um..."

He grabbed my hands and bringing them to his mouth, kissed both of them.

"I never knew you could be this cheesy," I mumbled, still blushing.

"I saved all my flirting skills exclusively for my wife." He teased.

My hands returned to his hair and I resumed massaging his scalp, smiling softly.

But my smile soon faded away when a memory resurfaced and guilt trickled into me.

"I...I have to tell you something..." I murmured gloomily.

"Yes?"

"But please don't get angry." I bit my lips.

He frowned subtly. "What is it?"

"I...um...when I was thirteen...I..."

Now he was looking at me suspiciously and I felt more nervous.

"You remember the boy I told everyone about at the dinner table? The one I was going to ask out?" I asked nervously.

His jaw clenched. "You went on a date with him?"

"No! I mean...I...I was very angry when I got to know about our marriage contract and just to rebel against it...I...asked him out."

I quickly continued, "But I felt guilty about it so later that day only, I just went and told him that I won't be able to make it. I shouldn't have done that, I am sorry."

He stared at me blankly and then slowly got up and sat opposite me. "I am not sure how to react to this."

"I am sorry." I chewed on my lips. "Please, I never even looked at any other boy after that, I swear."

"You didn't go on a date with him and you were thirteen and at that age, we tend to do a lot of stupid stuff..." He didn't even look at me and scratched his stubble. "But I was ten when this contract was signed yet I was mature enough to not do anything like that."

Tears welled in my eyes and I clasped his hands. "Please, I am so sorry, Eeel. It was only meant to be a rebellious act. Yes, I had a crush on that boy but I didn't ask him out because of that."

His face held no emotions at all which scared me and I was ready to beg him when he flicked my nose. "Relax."

His features softened. "I am messing up with you. It's okay. I am glad you told me and apologized for it and like I said, you were thirteen. I don't care anymore as long as you remain mine for the rest of our lives now."

I released a deep breath. "Ugh, you scared me." I let myself fall against his chest. "I thought you will be really angry."

Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he leaned back and laid down, pulling me on top of him.

He rubbed the tip of our noses together, brushing our lips together. "You are mine now. No one can take you away."

"Yours." I kissed him leisurely.

He stroked my hair as we pulled back and I rested my head on his chest. "So, did you never like someone?"

Playing with a strand of my hair, he said, "As a teenager, I did have some silly crushes, nothing serious. Once I gained some more maturity, all that faded away."

Now I wanted to see all those girls he had a crush on.

"But..." His pause made me lift my head and stare at him curiously.

He cupped my cheek and kissed my forehead lingeringly. "No other woman ever interested me like you do. It was as if my heart already knew that it was destined for you."

Not able to express my emotions in words, I leaned in and kissed him firmly.

And we soon lost ourselves in the kiss.

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I woke up to a pair of lips trailing kisses down my neck and fingers teasing my pussy.

"Eeel?" I mumbled sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Five in the morning." He gruffed. "I need you so badly that I can't sleep."

I hummed, burying my face into the pillow, spreading my legs in an invitation.

I was already naked and wet and he slid one finger inside me, stroking me, making me wetter.

"If I fall asleep, you can continue." I moaned.

"Fuck." He nibbled on my earlobe. "I knew you were kinky."

And then he was pushing into me from behind, fucking me slow and hard but I was too sleepy to keep up with him and fell asleep eventually.

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Pausing at the front door, he faced me. "I might be a little late today."

I adjusted the lapels of his suit. "Why?"

"Meetings. Lots of them. But I promise to take you out tomorrow, hmm?"

"On a date?" I grinned.

"Of course. Wherever you want or I can make it a surprise."

I got on my tiptoes to peck his lips. "I love surprises. I will see you in the evening then."

Bidding me goodbye, he kissed my forehead before leaving.

I was behaving like the perfect housewife and to be honest, I had no issues with that.

But I wanted to tell Ezekiel my feelings and I just couldn't wait anymore.

I needed to talk about it to someone and obviously, I couldn't say all these things to my brothers so I called Lilith.

"Chiara!" She greeted me, cheerful as always.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Except for your brother annoying me, I am perfectly fine."

I chuckled. "I guess that's his way of showing how much he loves you."

She groaned. "Not this again. Tell me about yourself, how is it going with Ezekiel?"

"Yeah, about that...I love him, a lot. And I am also sure that he loves me too yet I feel nervous about confessing. I have been waiting for him to do that but it seems he is also waiting for me."

"Oh, don't wait for him. Just say it already when you are so sure. Maybe you could do it through something?"

"Through something?"

"Yeah, like a love letter? Or a note... something like that."

"That does sound nice plus I wouldn't feel nervous then."

We talked for a few more minutes before I hung up and started to formulate an idea in my mind.

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Right before his lunchtime, I walked into his office building with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers in my hand.

I ignored everyone's stares and took the elevator up to his floor since I already knew it.

When Uncle was CEO, I used to visit him with Dad and after his retirement, Ezekiel occupied his office.

Reaching the top floor, I stepped out of the elevator and almost bumped into someone.

"Mrs Vandeleur." Surprised, Edgar, his assistant stepped back. "I am sorry."

"It's okay. Is Ezekiel in his office?"

"Yes, he is currently having a private meeting with Mr Gulliver."

"Mr Gulliver?"

"Um..." He cleared his throat. "Anthony Gulliver--"

"Oh, okay. I didn't know his full name."

Giving him a polite nod, I walked further inside while he took the elevator down.

I chased away any nerves that I was feeling and went up to his office but before I could knock, I heard Anthony's voice.

It was cold and sounded wicked, "And what about your wife? When am I getting her?"

What?

"Soon. Have patience."

What the fuck is Ezekiel talking about?

"I bet she would look good among my other slaves and once I am done, I can sell her to the highest bidder." He sounded so sure of himself.

I stopped breathing, eyes burning with tears. This can't be true.

"But", Anthony's accusing tone cut through me, "you care about her? Are you sure you will be able to give her up?"

"And what makes you think I care about her? Our marriage is based solely on a contract. A contract that says that I have to care for her for a minimum of a year before I can acquire the remaining thirty per cent of my company."

"It's all bullshit spewed up by our fathers in a futile attempt to make us love each other." He added further.

The bouquet fell from my hand, tears streaming down my face and then I ran away.