ALEXANDER
He knew he had made the colossal decision when he ditched his engagement party yesterday.
But, once again, he got ambushed.
By his father, by his family name. The Browning held an invincible string toward his future.
His anchor, who grounded him from this family insanity, had already departed from this fucked up world. His mother left him, and now he no longer cared if he acted rashly or unhinged.
Just half an hour before his engagement party started, Alexander decided to give a big middle finger toward his father.
So he ran away and dealt with the consequences later.
There was another important agenda to set his freedom in motion.
On the black sedan he deliberately rented for this purpose, he pushed the pedal and went above 150 km/hour on a highway.
Based on the GPS, he should reach the target place around 15 minutes after he exited the highway.
Yes, he came to the small and humble bakery shop after he took a left.
A cute one, if he might add.
The signage was written as 'Iris Divine Cupcakes'.
Alexander threw a small smile while seeing the pink and lilac frosting symbol. Such a girly and feminine logo. Just like the owner.
"Iris..." he whispered, his body instantly hard every time he could remember how soft and pliant the girl inside his hug was when they met in the ballroom.
'She will be mine!' His mind already took ownership, and he decided the girl's fate.
She will be completely and thoroughly ravished under his body, and wilfully his. Eventually.
But when he put his mind on something, it most likely became his at his bidding.
Alexander texted something to his own shadow, the private investigator he paid exclusively to do such dirty work, which he ordered to him right now via text.
'Investigate this person to me, Iris Patricia Denvier, owner of Iris Divine Cupcakes. I want detailed information about her. Dig deeply, and I want the information by tomorrow.'
He sent the text and put his phone inside his jacket before he went to another destination.
Her home.
Called him a stalker, but it did not matter.
Iris Patricia Denvier would be his, and she would be a piece of chess that he could move on his chessboard to tackle the enemy's king.
His father.
He arrived at her home thirty minutes after he inspected her bakery store.
Her home was a definition of homey.
A small home, but it had a tiny yet beautiful compact front garden with sets of colorful flowers and a lot of herbs that she took care of with love.
Alexander could believe that a fairy lived in this very home.
The home was still dark. Maybe Iris had not yet come back from his mansion.
He could wait until she came back. He was that patient to get his endgame.
While waiting, he contemplated opening his phone to call his right hand and one of his best friends to brief the situation.
But he knew his father and his goons would likely bombard him with hundreds of calls, voice calls, and texts.
So he put this bad idea back into his mind.
He needed to take his trust fund and sold his and his mother's shares in a company. He might need to resign from his position as a Chief Operating Officer after the antic that he did today.
Or should he fight his position and force his father to step down instead?
Alex entertained that idea, and he tried to form a formula and plan to realize this plan.
His father, as the CEO of Browning Corporation, would likely give him hell after he ruined the party.
But Alexander Roman Browning cultivated his reputation as a ruthless bastard and a crazy devil through his actions. Now, his father would taste what it felt like to get fucked by a crazy devil himself.
A black van soon arrived in front of Iris's home.
The black van had the same logo as the bakery shop.
Alex smiled widely when he saw Iris get out of the car.
"It's showtime, baby!"
***
He rang the bell twice and waited until Iris came to open the door.
He saw minimal light and was almost sure that Iris went to bed early after she arrived home.
Alex tried to ring the bell once again.
Still empty ... and quiet.
Because he did not want to return to his apartment empty-handed without touching Iris again, Alex grumpily took his phone and turned on the device.
Yeah, hundreds of messages and voice calls flooded his phone, but he ignored all of that. He focused on calling the number from the name card Iris gave him tonight.
Faintly Alex heard the ringtone inside her home. It meant his call was gone through.
"Uh ... hello?" Iris' husky voice directly pierced through his heart. A woman's voice when she was just waking up interrupted. So warm and inviting.
"Iris, open your door," said Alexander.
Iris gasped when she heard his voice.
"Who are you?" She became alert, and Alex detected a hint of fear in her voice.
"Alexander," he replied shortly.
"C'mon, I am already in front of your door," Alexander added impatiently.
"No!" she replied in a panic.
"Yes," Alexander chuckled.
"Alexander Browning?" she asked doubtfully.
"Yes, the one and only." Now Alex smiled widely, hearing their banter.
"What are you doing here?" Iris was full of doubt and fear.
Yes, a sensible woman needed to be wary of him.
"I will talk to you when you open the door," Alex said, with a tone full of authority.
"No, please go from my home. Or I will call the police, Sir!" said Iris.
"Open your door, or you can kiss your bakery shop goodbye! I mean it, Iris." Alexander played dirty and did not hesitate to resort to some kind of blackmail if it could give him what he wanted.
Silence greeted them for a moment.
"What are you going to do?" she whispered.
He knew he made Iris scared. But he needed to meet Iris right now!
"Just want to talk to you. I promise there's nothing to be scared of, baby," he explained.
The connection went off. Iris disconnected the call.
Less than three minutes later, the front door opened slightly. She still put the chain to stop the door from opening completely.
Alexander tried to hide his smile.
"Mr. Browning?" her eyes scanned Alex behind the door. Thinking she was safe behind, out of reach from Alexander.
"Hi, Iris. Please open the door," Alex tried again.
"Let's talk like this," Iris argued.
Alex exhaled his breath.
One moment Alex was outside the door, and a moment later, he took off the chain door, put his shiny loafer to avoid the door closing, and pushed off Iris gently while he came and bulldozed his way inside.
"This is much better, baby ..." Alex closed the door and put his hands on her waist. Turned her body so her back was touching her door.
It was extremely easy to subdue and trap Iris.
She looked at him with fear. Her eyes dilated, and her mouth opened. She was scared shitless of him.
"Shh ... it's okay. I won't hurt you." Alex gave her reassurance.
He traced Iris' face softly, full of desire and insurmountably lust. He basked in the warmth and softness of her body.
"What do you want?" she asked with a small voice, almost whispering.
"What I want is you, Iris."
"Or, to be precise, I want you to be my wife," Alex said the sentence with full emphasis and a wide smile.
IRISHer heart thumped heavily, and she felt the blood rush through her veins upon hearing the handsome stranger’s absurd proposition. “What do you mean?” she whispered. She could not believe what she just heard. Alexander grinned, and shortly after, he replied to her question. “Exactly what you heard. I am proposing,” he said. Iris shook her head, she tried to move away but his strong hands held her captive. She could not move from his hand cage. “You’re crazy!” Iris still could not gain her voice back. She still half whispered and half shouting. “Listen to me first…” Alexander barged in and took her personal space. They stood close, their toes touched each other. She could not escape, because her back met the door and she could go nowhere. “Listen to me Iris…” he caressed Iris’ face gently, and she had no other option but to look up at him and stare into his deep eyes. “It is going to be a contract marriage. You are going to be my wife in name only.” The more Alexander talke
ALEXANDERIt was one AM after midnight he arrived at his cold and quiet penthouse. His temporary resident when he got back here and visited his mother when she was sick. Now the darkness and the coldness of this big room were more profound and Alex contemplated his life and his colossal decision to defy his father. He knew his quick action, and he set the spontaneous decision once he put his eyes on Iris. He had to have her. And how his father schemed and join forces with The Ruthford family solidified his resolution to break the ties with his father. He would fight back and take what was his and his mother owned since the beginning. Her mother was the true beauty. The old money who brought her wealth to support his father’s venture ever since the beginning. Until his father’s company became big and put the status as a billionaire. All was because of his mother, and her naivety if Alex thought bitterly. “Hey Sebastian, sorry to call you this late,” After he arrived at the penth
IRISShe woke up late today. She needed the moment to recall why she woke up late. She usually woke up at the same time, like the clockwork–no matter how late she came to bed.But apparently not today.After a moment of confusion, she finally understood why she felt restless after she was awake.An engagement Party. A handsome stranger. And a marriage proposal.A crazy night she had yesterday!But, life must go on. Even though she felt a bit scared, she needed to open her bakery store and started her day just like usual.So, with that mindset, Iris rose from her bed and straightaway went to th
Iris blinked slowly. She was trying to process what Alexander had just said to her. “We don’t have a date!” Iris told him dumbly. “Now we have a date,” Alex replied quickly. His baritone voice really distracted Iris. And she was just realizing that by now, how attractive Alexander was in person. No wonder they dubbed him The Sexiest Bachelor!Elena was standing beside Iris and she looked forth back between her and this man. “Just say yes, Iris.” This one, Elena whispered loudly to her. Iris was sure that Alex heard what she just said to Iris. Iris forgot that Elena frequently did something foolish in front of handsome people. “Mommy…” Iris forgot Eva was here and saw the adults around here were spewing nonsense. “Ah shoot, I need to go Iris. Please ask Rose about our plan. I need to find the babysitter for her.” Elena took her order, picked up Eva who was still busy eating her cupcakes, and hugged Iris while saying something in Iris’ ear. “Go have a date with him! He’s hella fi
“Let me get this straight!” Iris heard Rose’s voice in the counter area.She was in the kitchen and took the second batch of cupcakes from the oven. The sweet smells wafted through the store and could instantly soothe her confused heart and mind.“Oh gosh! That smells so good, Iris!” Her best friend got distracted by the smells and did not press her questions again.After Rose got her call, she came immediately to her store and directly bombarded Iris with many questions with a worried expression written on her beautiful face.Starting with, “What happened, Iris?”And of course, Iris–who realized that she was a tad overdramatic on the phone–fi
‘The leather of this Rolls-Royce car is divine!’ It was the first reaction that came to Iris’ mind when her body touched the passenger seat of this ultra-sleek car. Alexander slid smoothly beside her, and he kept close contact with Iris. His broad shoulder nipped Iris’, and his sturdy legs took up the place so Iris must hurry over to avoid his big body. “We will go straight to the airport,” he said to the driver before he put the partition glass up to cover their privacy in the passenger seats. “Wait… wait… hold up! Airport?!” Iris whipped her head to see the man. “Yeah, we will go to my office in Baltimore before we go back here again. The are some businesses I need to check first.” He calmly answered Iris. Iris was at a loss. “If you are that busy! Why do you insist on having a date with me!” She could not hold her irritation anymore. “Just stop right here! Let’s call this thing off! I don’t think we are compatible at all!” She told him with a strong objection voice. And as
ALEXANDERHe stared at the girl who sat in front of him in his private jet. His jet-set lifestyle apparently impressed a lot of girls, and they even desperately begged Alexander to choose one of them as his partner. They were begging on their knees and prayed so Alex could choose them as a sugar baby. Of course, he was familiar with that scene. It was normal in his lifestyle. His peers, even his predecessor were doing those things as well. No one was immune to money. And the power behind it. So he expected that Iris also fell for his proposition. He gave a generous offer that must be impossible to refuse. Look at Iris’ face right now, she was extremely pale. With effort, Alex concealed his smile and waited for her to get his answer. “Shit! Ten million? In US Dollars?” she whispered to him. Alex could not hold his smile anymore. “Yes, you will get them if you agree to marry me.” “Wow!” she said spontaneously. Really, she was really cute and he tried to control his desire not to
They landed on time and after that, they were escorted to a private helipad in another section and directly took the sleek black private helicopter with the golden cursive “B” word drawn aesthetically in the helicopter door. ‘That must be the abbreviation of Browning.’ Iris mused inside her head. She felt slightly relieved after she could stand her ground and refused his tempting proposal. But she would not trade her dream to have a dream wedding with the love of her life. Of course, ten million was a gazillionaire amount of money. But she was sane enough to decline the offer. Iris could not run away after turning down the man, so she was unfortunately stuck and had to follow Alexander's agenda tonight. The quick helicopter ride was awkward on Iris's end. She was quiet the whole time. Only Alex talked and barked some orders to a man that Iris assumed was one of his staff in the Baltimore office. They arrived around ten minutes later, and Alex offered his hand as support for Iris