Chapter 17: Chapter 17
He gets out of bed and walks toward me as I am also jolted out of bed by an irresistible spell. His beautiful, complex features light up the room even more as we rack before each other in the nightlight. If the circumstances were different and I had any legal rights, I would right now be delineating the alluring contours of his handsome face with my fingertips. Right now, they appear to be so ominously alluring. But that's too bad. It's just too bad that I have to admire them from a distance.
“There is a secret behind that that only I know about.” He speaks quietly, sending a paralyzing chill down my spine.
My hands are shaking as a result of an amalgamation of dread, fretfulness, and exhilaration. This is yet another bombshell that will boggle my intellect for sure. I can feel it. If he can come up with such an insane thought as letting his own wedded wife be screwed by another man, what more can he do? I can just feel the shock beckoning. So near.
“What is the secret?” I mumble between trembling lips, refusing to break my sight from his dominating ones. I need to hear clearly about the mystery that surrounds this whole surrogacy thing.
“I stumbled across a certain clause in the contract that says that, in case we break this alignment or if anything happens to me before we bear a child, half of my properties will go to Mitchell, including my shares in the company. If that ever happens, given the percentage of shares they now own in the company, they will practically become the owners of our empire. I cannot let the sweat and the legacy of my family go down the drain like that.” He fumes the last part, and I am left thinking, Is there a conspiracy here?
Given his looks, I smell something else more fishy than what he just let out.
“And what else?” I query, curiosity stroking me real bad.
“I may be right or wrong, Lynn, but I am starting to wonder if Mitchell's attitude may have an ulterior motive.
Everything is making me feel so leery, from how she never displayed any interest in making this work. The way she has been extremely withdrawn from me has closed up all the chances of us trying to work things out in our marriage. I was ready to give up everything, Lynn, even my own dignity and ego, and become sexually close to her just for us to bear a child. But you should have seen her mockery and disgust when I approached her. She maniacally scoffed at my idea, as if it were the only thing she would ever consider in her life. And since then, her animosity toward me has shipped back.” His face drops, perhaps with shame and defeat.
“What were her excuses?” I ask, and he lifts up his worn-out face.
“Her stupid career and how she cannot afford to ruin her model body right now I know she is ambitious and a fucking dictator, but there is more to this. I feel it, Lynn. Her fury seems like a facade. I am guessing their family coming to our rescue was all staged. It was a plan. But I have no way of validating anything right now. That is why I need to take precautions as early as now.” Liam says.
How? I mean…
“You think their motive is to take over your family’s empire?” I query, and a series of banging thoughts cross my mind.
“It is just my mere thoughts, but I have a strong urge about this inkling.” He clarifies.
“But the Edwards family is so influential as it is. I doubt they would ever succumb to such cheap traits. I mean, why, given their status?” I query.
“I did a background check on that family some time back. There is no mention of their source of wealth anywhere. Their name just popped out of the blue and they are now taking over most of the companies they invested in. That alone is a red flag. And second, there is no limit to wealth, Lynn. The more you have, the more you crave for more, and that is where sometimes people’s ambitions blur the line between limits and dignity.” He says it, and I remain thunderstruck.
I want to presume that this is just a mere inkling. Maybe his choler towards this whole marriage thing has yielded this remorse and paranoia he is feeling towards Mitch’s family. Then again, thinking about it carefully, the manner in which this Mitch bitch spoke to him this morning arouses some dubiety in my head. She spoke with so much vigor, as if his life were in her hands. As if she has him all wrapped around her finger. That boldness hits differently. I know she was the iron queen, always bold and bitchy, but this is too much. And if all that Liam says about her is true, then I might agree with him on this.
“Look, Lynn.” Liam speaks again since my mouth ran all dry. He cups my face, fixing our eyes on each other, a gesture that is too risky, recalling his wife’s warning, but then I tend to be glued to the spot by some magic. Yanking his hands away should be my reaction to this beckoning sin, but instead, I find myself basking in the warmth and gentleness of his sweet touch, savoring it all.
“I don’t mean to vex you with my burdens, which I already have. So, don’t sweat about this. Just let's focus on our original deal, okay?” He pleads, his thumbs doing a terrific job of luring me into his plea.
I can feel my gaze on him weakening, as do my bones, and soon enough I find myself holding on to his wrists as the heat between us escalates, the soothing strokes of his thumbs becoming gently wild.
“You know I cannot stop worrying, Liam. I am so deep into this. Whatever affects you will affect me too.” I state, and he draws closer, aligning our faces as he soothes me more. Our chests are nearly resting on each other, our lips nearly brushing, while I am sampling his hot, alluring pheromones.
“I promise to never let any of this affect you, Lynn. You will be safe, and that is my solemn promise. You and our baby will be safe from all this.” He whimpers on my lips, and that summons my sixth since
Our baby!?
Between the inkling of how he says that, the thought of me having his child once again, and the feeling of the possibility of his sweet love being still there, I cannot tell which one is more compelling. Or maybe it’s the whole combo that explains why the feeling is so strong.
“Our baby?” I whimper.
“Our baby, Lynn.” The tremor in his voice, the desire in his eyes, and the thought of us becoming parents again are enough to send me to cloud nine, but I amass all the sanity in me to just hold on to the surging rapture for a minute as our eyes do some small talk. “What?” He whimpers after noting my uneasiness.
“When I told you that I was worried about conceiving from our sex back at home, you said something that has baffled me until now. Is there a reason behind what you said, too? That it would be even better for me to conceive you a child the natural way?” I implore, and for a minute, we stare at each other as if our eyes were pleading with each other to read through them. To understand the secrets and the truths buried deep in them. And perhaps pleading with us to surrender to this dominating heat consuming us both.
“Because if I had not been robbed of the chance to start with, I would have made you a mother to my kids a long time ago.” He speaks, his eyes parked in mine, bleeding all the sincerity out of him.
Holy God! That stings hard!
I squinch, a cold adrenaline rush rushing down my spine as a reminder of the pain of what I went through spewing in. But in a flush, I manage to cloak it all and try to ponder his words.
I want to ask something, but I am incapable of uttering a word. Everything is at a standstill! And all I can do is stare as his words hang like a heavy cloud in my mind.
Seconds of pure lull pass, turning into minutes. Our eyes seem to be holding a long, intense dialogue that only they can infer what it is about, or maybe our minds do not want to comprehend what this feels like—what this seems—a reminder of what we felt for each other back then. It is the same old sweet feeling, daring us to resist it. It is strong. It is intense! It is so alluring and dominating. The heat is burning savagely, threatening to consume us both if we do not do anything to curb it.