HIS BILLIONAIRE PROXY BRIDE

CH.16

Elise sat on a park bench that was placed

under a tree, totally famished and feeling

incredibly stupid. After she left the house,

she had flagged down the first taxi that

she saw and asked the driver to take her

to the bank so she could withdraw some

money. Once she had done that, she had

proceeded to stroll around town leisurely,

just getting a feel of the place. From what

she had seen so far, it was a nice place,

and she would not mind living here one

bit. She located a*****e where she got

some clothes for herself at an affordable

amount and armed with her purchases,

she hailed a taxi, only for her to stare

dumbly at the man when he asked her

where she was headed.

"Huh?" She asked, trying to buy time so

that she would not look stupid in front of

the man and wracking her brain

desperately to see if she knew anything

about where the house was. No, she did

not know where it was, neither had she

had the sense to ask Bryce or even the

gateman this morning about the address

of the house. She had been too busy trying

to go out on her own this morning that

she did not realize that she did not even

know the name of the area she lived, talk

more of knowing the house address.

"Ma'am?" The man had prompted, so she

had quickly apologized and said that she

forgot something. Then she got out of the

car and walked some blocks down to

where she was now sitting on the park

bench and thinking of the next thing to

do.

She could not call Bryce as she did not

even have his number, to begin with, if

she was willing to overlook the

embarrassment and call him to find out

the house address. Who did not have the

phone numbers of their spouses, for God's

sake? She and Bryce, that's who. Also,

she did not have the phone number of

anybody at the house. Time was going and

she was tired, hungry, and sweaty, so she

made the decision to call her father and

ask him for Mr. Ralph' number. No doubt,

Mr. Ralph would know where Bryce

lived, or at least be able to give her

Bryce's number so that she could call

him or something.

She dialed her dad's number twice, but he

did not answer the phone, and she was

beginning to curse her rotten luck and

thinking of calling her mother when her

phone rang. It was a strange number, one

that was not saved on her phone.

Exasperatedly, she picked up the call. The

last thing she needed was for some lucks

to call her when she needed to reach

someone who would help her current

plight.

Who is it? She Snapped into the phone.

"My, my. Is that any way to greet your

newly wedded husband?" Bryce

drawled from over the phone.

"Oh my God, Bryce. It's you. Thank

God. I've been trying to reach you or

anybody else." Elise told him, heaving a

huge sigh of relief.

"Hmm. How strange and flattering I

never thought that the day would come

when you would be happy to hear from

me. Pray, what am I missing here?"

Even though he could not see her, Elise

blushed to the roots of her hair and

stammered into the phone.

"I'm... I'm lost."

"What's that?" He asked. Something told

Elise that he heard what she had said and

knew exactly what was happening, but

was just trying to get the best of her.

"I said I'm lost. Well... not technically lost

I left the house to do some

shopping, but now I don't know my way

back."

"Is that so? I could have sworn that I left

instructions with a driver and two

bodyguards to take you wherever you

want and stay with you. Whatever

happened to them? Did they forget the

way home too?" He mocked.

"Look, I'm tired and famished, and I don't

have the strength for these games you're

playing. Kindly send me directions to the

house and I will find my own goddamn

way back there." Elise, who was stressed and

hungry, yelled into the phone and cut the

call angrily. This man was so annoying

What was the big deal in giving her

directions that he had to make a song and

dance out of it first?

Belatedly, she realized that she was only

been tough on herself. Getting angry at

Bryce would not solve anything.

Instead, it might even make him angrier

and in a bid to teach her a lesson, might

make him let her stew for a bit.

Reluctantly, she began to dial his number

to apologize and ask more nicely. He did

not pick up immediately and she began to

wonder what on earth to do when she

noticed that a phone was ringing and

closer to her and she could sense someone

approaching despite the traffic. Swinging

her head in that direction, she saw

Bryce and another man approaching

her where she sat on the bench. Relief

flooded her whole being, but she noticed

that he looked angry.

"Oh, hey. I did not know that you were

close by." She told him as he got to where

she was seated with her parcels beside

her.

Bryce did not answer, but in one swift

movement, grabbed her elbow and pulled

her to her feet as easily as though she

weighed no more than a loaf of bread.

Elise yelped and tried to drag her hand

from his iron grip to no avail.

"What on earth are you doing? She

screeched.

Don't you ever cut the call on me again.

Let's go." He informed her sternly,

tugging on her arm to get her moving

Nobody even paid them any mind.

"That was a rude thing to do. I'm sorry.

How did you find me anyway?" She asked,

allowing herself to be pulled along. She

was willing to be humble as long as she

could go home and have a much a needed

rest. The other man, whom she guessed

was a bodyguard was carrying her parcels

and minding his business.

"I have my ways." Was the terse reply.

They walked in silence until they got to a

car that was parked on the side of the

road. Bryce opened the door of the

back seat for her and got in after her,

slamming the door in anger. The

bodyguard got into the front seat with the

driver and they were on their way.