Bond's Of Deception

Chapter 4

Aiden's POV:

I slammed my phone on the table as I slowly began to get irritated. One phone call from my father after the next kept reminding me, that my 6 months of finding a wife are almost over and that if I don't succeed in the mission, the CEO position will be handed down to my snake of a cousin Mark.

I started on my journey at the beginning of October, travelling from one country to the next. But unfortunately and as always no results. Or to put it in a more specific way, no GREAT outcomes.

One stressful day after the next and yet not one glimpse of hope is anywhere to be found.

The univers has favourites and I sure as hell am not one of them.

And now that it's the middle of march, I've been contemplating, whether I should pack my stuff and forget the whole ordeal.

In fact, the idea has been on my mind since December, but the one thing that held me back from taking that step is seeing the ugly smug face that Mark will make, when he securs the spot.

Never in my 26 years of existence did I think that I would be taking a trip, to find a woman to marry. I'm the guy people would look at and comment about how I most definitely have every girl on their knees for me.

And while that might be true, it isn't as amazing and as magnificent as one might predict. If anything it has been the cause of my headaches, that I've been dealing with for the past 10 years, precisely since the start of my teenage hood.

The problem doesn't just recircle around the unwanted spotlight, but also the women themselves. The concept of wanting my attention was simply out of three things:

Reputation.

Lust.

Money.

The thought alone didn't give me the motivation to even try and make an emotional or physical connection with anyone. Which, of course, led me to this situation.

After giving myself another headache from thinking about the topic too much I release a heavy sigh, grab my coat, my essentials and walk out of my hotel room. A little bit of fresh air will help me clear my mind out of the stress I'm in.

I started walking and tried to think of solutions to this hell of a problem.

What I needed was a woman. And not just any woman. But rather someone, who has the potential to get along with anyone, no matter the age, race or gender.

What I needed was somebody to play as my fake wife.

God, just how did I end up in this situation.

Fate really had me switch places with the women, who desired and clung onto me. Now I'm the fool throwing myself out there to find an individual.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughing. I turn to look at the direction of the sound and spot a child on the other side of the road, hanging by a sling on a womans body, who just so happens to be sitting on a swing.

I couldn't see her face because her back was turned to me and her wavy hair was in the way. From the looks of it, she was playing with the baby by saying things along the lines of:

"My little bundle of joy"

I'm not exactly sure what it was, but something about her words brought comfort to me.

No. It's not the words coming out of her mouth that bought me inner peace, but rather her actions, as she gently patted the little boys head.

God, what has gotten into me? I'm seeking comfort from strangers now? I need to go back to booking appointments with my therapist.

My phone vibrated, signaling that David, my bodyguard and driver, was calling.

Wonderful. I forgot to turn my location off, so that mom wouldn't panic and have David looking around the whole town for me.

I waited till the vibration stopped, opened my phone and sent him a message saying he can come pick me up, since he already knows where I am.

Once that was taken care of, I turn my attention back to the woman with the child. 

"You look the absolute cutest, when you have that beautiful smile on your face", she says with a soft tone. 

Confusion would be the perfect word to describe, how I'm feeling right now. And no, it wasn't the compliment she gave her child, that set me off, but the fact that a mere stranger was able to get my attention.

When was the last time a human being managed to pull me out of my trance, without having to yell my name twice? Not sure, but definitely years ago.

A honk interrupted my thoughts. As I look to the other side of the street and to my right, I see David sitting in the car waiting for me. I make a move to cross the road and get into the backseat.

However, just as I was about to open the car door, I see from the corner of my eye the brown wavy haired woman stand up and turn around, just in time for me to catch a glimpse of her.

And God must I say, the sight infront of me did not disappoint.

Beautiful was the perfect definition for describing her features.

Dark brown eyes. Regular size but adorable lips and cute cheeks.

At that moment something clicked. Soft charisma, beautiful features and a  homey atmosphere.

Perfect.

Just perfect for the role.

I needed her for it. 

"Sir, is everything alright?"

As I heard David's voice calling me, I quickly got into the car, pulled out my phone, gave it to him and said:

"That woman. Infront of you. With the brown wavy hair. Take a picture of her."

He gave me a nod and did as I said. Luckily the windows are tinted so there is not a single chance of her noticing David fotographing her.

After he finished snapping the picture, he gave me my phone back and I quickly went to Luka's contacts, my childhood friend. I sent him the photo and asked if he can find important information on her.

He responded back with a thumbs up emoji, which means he is already on it.

As I returned my focus back on the woman I noticed how she suddenly seemed terrified. Looking closely, it seems as though she was looking at her watch and started speed walking in the other direction, that I was standing on, when I first noticed her.

Up close, I could see a bruise on her neck that she clearly tried to hide with make up but failed miserably. There was also another one on her elbow, which was a slight shade of blue.

God forbid woman in this town ever get a break from the people they live with. The abuse in this area is like people being on their phones. Normalised and nothing out of the ordinary.

I signal David to drive off and as he does, I take a quick look at the woman before averting my gaze to the front.

"It's natural for woman to be the prey and men to be the predator in this part of town", David explained to me, as he seemed to have noticed me staring at the lady's bruises earlier.

"Which is why guns are the solution to escapism according to the preys mindset", I answered back.