When Love Becomes a Contract

Chapter Two: The Protective Wife

VANDAL'S HAVEN

“Ohh! Just put me out of my misery,” I cried out to Kira, who in turn gave me the most disgusted look ever.

“Please don’t tell me you fell for his crap again.” Kira rolled her eyes.

“I just couldn’t resist him this time,” I whispered excitedly.

Kira stayed quiet for a while, her arms folded as she stared at me in pure disbelief.

“You might as well have ten kids with him. The f**k, Quinn… and it doesn’t even look like he’s home.”

“Well… he said he had some things to sort out at the office. And why do you care whether he’s home or not? I might as well give him to you,” I scoffed.

“No, thank you.” Kira rolled her eyes. “What happened to you planning to divorce him? Or your plan to make him cheat on you?”

I immediately pressed my palm against Kira’s mouth. “Could you keep your voice down? The guards and maids are still working in the house,” I hissed.

Kira quickly pulled my palm away from her mouth before standing up from where she sat.

“I’ll be heading to the studio now. We need to finish with our brand model.”

My face twisted in confusion. “Model? Did you get a new model for the new wristwatch?” I asked.

“Not the wristwatch Quinn. It's Mary’s newly designed dresses,” Kira scoffed. “You need to chip in at the fashion house sometimes… or your husband’s built business might crash to the ground while you’re asleep.”

“ Come on, no personal feelings Kira. I have an insider that tells me everything that goes on in there.”

“ That's if you trust such an insider to deliver clean work.”

Silence settled between us.

“Anyways, I have got things to do… see you at the studio… or not” Kira picked her hand bag and walked out of Haven.

I signed in relief, taking my phone out of my pocket and dialing a number. The line went through.

“ Who's the model at the fashion house today?” I asked the person on the other end of the line.

“ Jayden Shore” he replied before the line went dead.

“Jayden Shore… Jayden…”

The name sounded a bit familiar. I thought, as different faces ran through my mind.

A simple wave of satisfaction washed my face and I hurriedly picked up my bag before leaving Haven.

VANDAL HAUTE COUTURE

“Can we normalize a clean shoot? Why do you keep breaking line!” Sweetie yelled, waving her hands in the air like a signal. Her face looked slightly swollen and stressed from all the shouting.

“Take it easy, Sweetie, or you might break,” Kira said as she walked in. She took what looked like a script from her hands.

“Umm… I thought you weren’t coming for today’s shoot. You said you weren’t feeling too well, remember?” Sweetie said, her hands tucked under her breast.

“I changed my mind. The president is here… I want everything wrapped from the beginning,” Kira said as she walked away.

Sweetie rolled her eyes with a grumble.

“She always acts like the boss here. I hope Quinn will open her eyes one day and see who she really is.”

Kira stepped in, cutting through the chatter. “Where’s our model?” she asked one of the makeup artists.

“She took an early excuse for the restroom,” she answered.

“In the middle of a photo shoot?!” Kira brushed her hands through her hair.

And where the hell is Cole? I hope it isn’t what I’m thinking, she thought.

She walked out of the showroom to the president’s office.

Maybe I could check if she’s in here, she thought.

She moved to walk in but got a light tap on her shoulder. Startled, she turned back to see Quinn.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a whisper.

“I will take it from here,” I said, anger displayed on my face.

I walked in on Cole and Jayden with rage and slapped him across the face.

“If you want to do this with her, at least not here. There are a lot of people waiting for her out there, and anyone could walk up here at any time,” I shouted using the last strength I had.

I saw confusion wash over Cole’s face.

“Does it seem as though we were having anything intimate when you walked in here?”

“Argh, please can I leave now? I don’t want to be involved in this family drama,” Jayden chuckled as she tried walking out of the room.

I quickly grabbed her wrist.

“This should be the last time I find you alone with my husband,” I said in a low but firm tone, my eyes fixed on hers.

Jayden scoffed and bent toward my ear. “Well, since you’re his protective wife, why don’t you learn how to satisfy his cravings better than I do?” She winked and walked out of the room, swaying her hips in an annoying, exaggerated manner.

Cole sat on his chair with both hands across his face.

“I don’t remember marrying you because I liked you, Quinn… I married you because this f*****g country needed me to have a wife.” Cole’s voice was as cold as ice.

“We’ve only been married for a year and a half and this is what you’re telling me? How is the country supposed to feel when they see that all you do is sleep around?” I blurted out.

Cole slammed his fist on the table, sending a loud, sharp noise across the room, his bloodshot eyes fixed on me.

“Stay out of my business, Quinn. I won’t say this again.” After which, he walked out of the room.

I could feel my stomach tightening. I had never felt this much hatred from Cole since the day I got married to him. I could see that he clearly felt irritated by my presence and would rather chase clout than see me right now.

I fell into the nearest chair, staring at the ceiling like a dead man. Kira walked into the room, her face showing irritation at how I handled everything.

“Did you get any evidence that he was cheating on you?” she asked.

“No! Why?” I asked.

“Why? Come on, we need it for your divorce. The court needs proof of any vow breaking,” Kira explained.

I immediately sat up and slightly tilted my head, observing Kira with a faint smirk on my face.

“Why are you so interested in me divorcing Cole? Do you want him too?” I threw all the possible questions in my mind at her.

“You must be crazy,” Kira said, her voice tight with restraint.

My smirk turned into laughter.

“Yes, of course… I might be crazy, but I can’t help but notice those little bitches trying to push my husband’s d**k into their dirty holes,” I yelled.

Kira stood up, rage in her eyes and tears threatening to fall.

“We might be close enough to share our secrets, but I don’t deserve this kind of insult from you,” she wiped the tears from her eyes.

My face stiffened. I had never seen Kira cry, and I think I might have been the bad one here . I tried placing my hands on her shoulders, but she pushed them away.

“Have a nice life,” she said and stormed out of the room.

I placed my hand on my face as tears dropped freely from my eyes. I have lost everyone in my life, including my father. And now I’m left with my mother, who married my stepfather, Christopher. I wouldn’t really call it a legal marriage because they couldn’t afford a full wedding. Or I would say Christopher only wanted something from my mom… or rather, me.

Now I’m at the edge of losing my only friend who stood by me through thick and thin. I wouldn’t let this chance slip away.

I stood up and went back to the studio, only to see Fabian, my inside man and the same person who told me about Jayden, walking up to me. He seemed troubled, as though he had something to tell me.

“Later,” I signaled him to leave and walked further in search of Kira.

She must have left the studio, I thought.

I made to leave the room when I stumbled into a tall figure.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I apologized and looked up at the person, only to see it was my stepfather.

What is he doing here? The question hit my mind, and a sharp pain tightened in my stomach. My hand trembled as my phone fell from my grip.

Christopher smiled widely at me and held my shoulders.

“Are you okay, princess?” he asked with a faint smirk on his lips.