Billionaire's Exhibit Wife

Chapter 12-

The bells tolled, trampling sound of feet against gravel gradually decreased and chattering murmurs from the crowd grew to silence as a man now stood behind a crystal clear altar.

Elora sat still, on an elongated wooden chair in the far back position. No one else around her as they heartily occupied the front seats...

She needed a change of scenery, she needed clarity on this life altering decision she was about to take.

Moreover, it had been a while since she last went to church.

It was left a crucially slow pending day to the wedding and she had not heard from Zane. She’d expected him to have paid a visit, called or check up on her in any way possible after the whole ordeal with Carol... Who’d still left her quite shaken up from their encounter.

Perhaps to soothe her agitated self with his reassuring presence, or calm voice. Something she could really do with just about now.

However, it would be a a far more greater relief to her if he’d suddenly changed his mind. Admitted how stupid it was to be united with someone whom you barely knew, or desired.

Then again, this is Zane she was talking about. The most self centered person to have ever walked the face of this earth, and whom is probably secretly shagging someone this very minute.

“Is any of this worth it?” she muttered as she clasped tightly the envelope at hand.

Thinking of the way she could easily settle her landlord whom she owed month’s of rent, the bank she’d taken loans on different accounts.

Equally use half of it to terminate the contract. And most importantly guarantee her well being.

No more breaches, no more threats, just a second chance at life, one that wasn’t based on conditions and in the company of such a man.

But why did she go back and forth in making a clearly easy and absolute decision?

Yes she would finally have fulfilled her dream of working a white collared job, but that was it.

And even though it ached her to admit it, she did like his company on some occasions. His level of sarcasm was quite a treat to her, and she’d had a few unwanted flashbacks on their latest intimate interaction.

Why had he been the first to make a move despite knowing he would be breaching the contract?

But then again...

Zane already had someone he liked, and so did she. They’d shared nothing but a few meaningless kisses in the heat of the moment, embarrassing moments and even slept on the same bed.

Elora huffed in exasperation, about to place the envelope aside when her phone began its silenced vibration. The ones in which she ignored.

“Mankind, from birth, has been deemed sinners” the sermon had now begun, the pastor flinging his hands aimlessly in several directions all the while navigating his loitering eyes throughout the congregation. “We steal, we lie, we fornicate-“

She’d come to listen to the sermon, knowing damn well that the money in her purse was a bribe, a corrupt act, a sin, to accept Carol’s wishes.

‘Does this make me a hypocrite?’ Elora pondered with a heavy heart. A heavier heart as the atmosphere was suddenly filled by a certain douchebag’s perfume and the empty space beside her now cramped up.

“I would have saved you the trouble of seeing me till tomorrow if you had picked up the call” Zane began almost immediately, before then tugging at his blue vest, keeping both their peripherals straight ahead towards the agitated pastor.

‘Saved me the trouble?’

“How did you know where to find me?” Elora whisphered, not willing to be shushed by a pissed elderly lady for obscuring her attention.

“I have my men watching you” he disclosed so casually as though it was a norm to have people secretly follow you around while you had no knowledge of such.

With an unsettling frown, she took a brief look at the man who sat beside. His side profile revealing just as much of chiseled bones as it did his front.

She was disturbed, not only by the consideration of having a magnifying object pointed straight at her window while she sauntered about half naked in her motel room, or reported back to him on her drunken stupor as she bawled her eyes out after Carol’s threatening visit...

So had he known of his mother’s visit? And paid no mind to how I might feel so as to offer a simple conversation or someone to talk to?

“ I think, my mother might be out to get you” Zane mustered after a while of unsurprising silence on her side. “Truth be told, I am surprised she has not reached out to you yet”

Was he pretending not to know??, Elora notioned, instinctively placing her hand atop her purse as a shield, uncertain if it was just an act of his and wished to snatch the money from her.

“Why are you here Zane?” she quickly cut to the chase, her voice still maintained at a low pitch after having her eyes peeled away from the handsome gentleman.

Zane frowned by how dismissive she was regarding his last statement.

“The last time I was in a church it was under pretence of shedding tears for my late wife all the while attempting to hide a boner as I thought of my mistress in lace” Zane suddenly admitted, unabashedly.

Elora caught sight of the slight shifting of the two heads before her, as they momentarily took a peek at the man behind him.

Though he had the whole setting of confessing in a church accurate, this was definitely not the right time.

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked in a pretentious tone.

She’d rather people not think they knew each other. Especially after that disturbing fact.

“I have been nothing but honest with you from the very first day we met”

“You were intoxicated” Elora dryly slipped in as she was bitterly burdened, every single day, by the recollection of the night to have changed, one could even say, destroyed her life.

“And I promise to protect you throughout this whole ordeal” Zane finalised despite her acidic remark, carefully accommodating his hand on hers.

The one that clutched tightly to her purse, a purse that contained just about enough for her to betray him.

Elora impulsively sucked in all the air available to her...

That was the reassuring presence of his she’d longed for. The calm voice that now easily vanquished most of her worries

Only for this moment to be interrupted by the dreadful harsh shush of a member .

“Shhhh!” though it was but for a brief moment, it was quite resounding. At least to Elora who had been the one to receive the full force of her glare.

And that had been enough to puncture through the misleading fog Zane had tactfully generated with his words and touch.

“Just like you promised not to lay a finger on me...” she whipped her hand away from his, missing, almost immediately his warmth “And yet here we are”

“Poor judgement on my side”

“Madam” an voice from behind spoke, alerting the already jumpy Elora as she noticed how prone to danger her back was “ I’m sorry, but I have to ask you to quietly move out”

“I do not know him” flatly denying any affiliation she had to Zane, mostly worried he might’ve been a spawn sent by Carol.

“He can stay” the aide calmly pointed out “It is you who seems to be the distraction”

“He can stay but I can’t?” she unconsciously let out, “Is it because of who he is? Even in church?Really!?” wrapping the belt of her purse about her arm as she now stomped out of the sanctimonious grounds.

Zane undoubtedly following after.

“You’re surprisingly jumpy today” Zane indicated once close enough to her.

Elora stood silent for a while, still contemplating whether to disclose his mother’s visit or not

“Earlier you said, you think Carol might come after me” she began, unsure how he might feel knowing she’d held onto her bribe all this while, regarded leaving town

All in all, betrayed his trust.

“Well of course” Zane spoke up.

“Did you think there would not be setbacks...” carrying on with what he had to say when she fell still. “ Did you think my family would wholly accept you, given how poor you are, just because you are this adorable little gift wrapped bundle of neck choking joy”

He knew the only way to get her to accept the fact was to be brutally honest.

“Even I have not fully accepted you but arrangements have been made and been agreement upon”

To be unforgiving.

"Do not dare to get cold feet on me"

To be frightening.

“I am terrified” Elora involuntary opened up after a while, making Zane feel like a complete arse after having concluded his side of his speech.

Her eyes gradually welling up from the damning silence that followed. Zane, reluctance on his feet, watched as she made her way to him.

Déjà-vu, he thought, a crying Elora welcomed in his warm embrace.

"I just might die tomorrow"