"Yes, and what are you willing to do to save them, Jaya?" His question took her by surprise, her lovely features showing her confusion as his eyes fixed on her. "Look... someone has to pay for the past, I'd rather that was you... but are you ready to sacrifice yourself for them?"
Frowning slightly, she bit her soft lips and bit her teeth fiercely, her eyes full of uncertainty, and then her head lifted proudly. "Yes," her voice trembled slightly, swallowed hard by the smile that spread across his face-almost a calm smile.
"In that case, I have a piece of advice for you. You see, being labeled a thief is the worst thing ever for me...and I know your family very well and know that their worst fear is public humiliation.
So I want you to be my pretend lover...as long as I can be bothered to show you off in public, you can live with me. Jaya's eyes and mouth widened in shock. "You...you want me...pretend to be your lover so you can humiliate my family?" Her voice grew louder, he smiled at her, and he shook his head slightly.
"I never said to pretend...I said to be my lover." Jaya jumped to her feet, her hands cramping beside her as she walked up to him, her shocked expression showing how she felt. "You can't be serious." She finally came to her senses, her eyes begging him to tell her he was joking. However, he remained motionless, his expression unchanged.
"That was obscene. Immoral... Jaya burst into tears in shock and finally stopped, turned her back to him, looked at the sky, rubbed one hand on her temple, and put the other on her hip. She can't. He heard him move around the table and let out a loud gasp as his hands moved to her hips and his mouth to her ears.
"You're asking for it, Jaya...I'm offering it. You can take it or leave...the choice is yours." She stared straight ahead, her whole being aware of his approach, aware of His hand was on her as her breathing became rough. His mouth drooped, his tongue flicking lightly against the frantically throbbing veins in her neck,
Jaya sighed, holding back the joy that rose in her heart. "I'll give you until tomorrow at lunchtime to get back to me. If you don't show up...then I'll get arrest your sister and think it's your decision.
Jaya was struggling to understand the soft words, his mouth continuing to probe her throat and neck sweetly, her whole body tightening in an unfamiliar way. Stepping back slightly, he moved his hand to her shoulder, and slowly turned her to face him, his gaze swept across her face, burning the flame flaming in her lovely eyes. "Maybe you'll even like it"
His arms wrapped around her slender waist, pulling her closer to him, his mouth drooping, trying to kiss her lips. Jaya knew she should fight and push him away, but she allowed him, even encouraged him, as his tongue slid toward her, her senses responding to each caress.
When he finally moved away, her eyes seemed to take a lifetime to open, struggling to focus, shaking, frowning slightly, not knowing why he stopped. Alfonzo stood looking at her, his eyes too full of fire, and he half laughed, and Jaya noticed how hoarse his voice sounded. "Well, aren't you a hot little thing? I can see the rumors are true."
His words hit Jaya hard, and she felt reality collapse, her cheeks flaring, knowing what he was talking about. She whimpered and squatted on the ground to pick up the shoes she had thrown away before, then turned and walked towards the door where she needed to get out of there, away from this hateful man, away from the preparations she had just made. His words followed her as she opened the door to flee.
"Remember-until lunchtime tomorrow." Jaya sobbed inwardly as she ran out of the suite, before stopping to put her shoes back on when she reached the relatively safe elevator.
Jaya took a taxi directly to her mother's house, where she and Jara were both waiting to hear what had happened that night, and both women hoped she would come back with good news. If anyone noticed how sad she looked, no one bothered to ask, they all just wanted to know if she had spoken to the CEO of Pearl X. She nodded dejectedly, seeing the two of them looking at each other with fear written on their faces.
"He refused to give us time?" her mother whispered desperately, sitting in one of her rustic chairs, her home a model of grace and expensive, clean to a sterile degree. "Oh my god, I'm ruined, we're going to be abandoned." Jara fell dramatically on another chair.
"You... Ruined!!!... I'm going to jail", her vicious gaze fell on Jaya, who snarled at her twin sister. "You're not trying hard enough. You should promise him something...whatever it takes...whatever!Her meaning was clear, Jaya's eyes widened in shock, her lovely face filled with coldness.
"The CEO of Pearl X Inc. is Alfonzo Peralta...or you might remember him." Her words silenced both women, who turned their heads to stare at her. She stared at her, two pairs of shocked eyes staring at her. "That Alfonzo the... thief!" her mother spat out in disdain. "That...that person is responsible for our failure?" Jaya narrowed her eyes, seeing Jara looking back at her uncomfortably, and then cleared her throat.
"He didn't steal the money," she explained reluctantly, her eyes flicking nervously back and forth between Jaya and her mother. Jaya felt the icy anger deep inside her. "How can you be so sure?" she asked softly, Jara already showing a hurt expression on her lovely face. "Arzen took the money." The two women stared at her in disbelief, "You know this, you let him, an innocent man, get fired and nearly go to jail!", Jaya in disbelief at the accusation made her sister frown.
"Of course not. I didn't find out until a few years after we were together. We had some problems and I told him I didn't think he loved me and he thought he was going to lose me." There was a flash of sadness in her eyes. "I thought he did it because he loved me." She sobbed pitifully, and Jaya moaned in frustration.
"Did that sound romantic to you? Dear goodness Jara. Well, guess what. It's time for retribution, and Alfonzo wants a pound of his flesh. The two frowned, not understanding what she was talking about, all waiting for her to elaborate as she paced the tiled floor. "He said he would give us the time we needed if and only if I became his lover." Affects everyone differently, her mother sits ahead, there was a gleam in her eyes.
"So he's giving us more time?" Calm was her reaction, and Jaya felt sick, her mother didn't seem to care that she was being pimped as revenge. However, Jara was watching her with barely concealed enthusiasm. "You mean he wants you to be his lover!" The jealousy in her voice made Jaya furious.
"Has he changed a lot?" She sneered at the corner of her mouth. "Maybe he's fat and bald." Jara hissed. Jaya shook her head displeasedly. "No... He hasn't changed." Seeing the look of desire and jealousy in her sister's eyes reminded her of the way she pursued him five years ago.
"If he needs a lover as a sacrifice, why would he choose you?" Jara asked viciously, and Jaya gritted her teeth to remind herself that she was doing it for Aira and that this little child had lost a parent who, anyway, had how bad. Her voice was cold, and she shook her head, "Trust me, Jaya, I'd be happy to step aside for you," her voice was full of sarcasm. Jaya glared back, "I'm not saying I want... just why you?"
"He made it very clear that his problem was with me because I was the one who fired him. He wasn't looking for a willing volunteer." She threw it back at her sister, then groaned in pain. "What the hell am I going to do? I can't be his mistress...I want to be his mistress." Jara said.
Jaya gritted her teeth firmly. "Private detectives will find Arzen... This will all take care of itself." In front of her, her mother slowly stood up, her expression stiffening.
"You listen to me about Jaya. Be this person's plaything, you can do whatever you need to do." She spits out these words with disdain, a flash of disdain in her eyes, and then her eyes filled with greed again. "He's rich. Very rich. Pearl X Inc. is a multinational company, and if you play your cards right, you can even turn things around. Make him the one who will pay for the rest of his life.
Jaya stared at her mother in confusion. "What are you talking about?" a smile from her mother, Jaya's greatest fear as a child, whose manipulative tendencies and malicious nature often led her to attack those who she thought -- rightly or wrongly -- had done her a disservice. Injuring someone wrong or minor. "If you become pregnant with his child..."
Her mother stunned gasps silenced her, and her daughter looked at her in horror. "Never," she stepped back from the room, staring at them wide-eyed in shock, "I'm going to bed," and she turned and flew up the stairs back to her room.
Pregnant with Alfonzo's? No way!