The Good Bad Girl

Chapter 25 Whispers in the dark

It was after our dinner when we decided to take a walk in the park. It was late as stores started to close at distances, the traffic sounds were getting softer as more time passed and crickets hummed in the bushes. If we're silent enough, we can hear the cry of an owl too.

Olivia and I were walking by the pond. It was almost closing time but I paid a few extra bucks to the grumpy security guard to let us use the park for a few more minutes. 

"Did you follow me?" Mi Zorro asks when we come to a stop near a bench. 

"Yes," I say without hesitating. If there's one person who deserves my honesty, it's her. I won't hide that I had my men follow her and when I found her at the restaurant with a guy she had a history with, I couldn't control. They never dated but there was something between them according to my reports. 

She turns and looks at me, "Yes?"

"Yes, I followed you," I admit,

She laughs bitterly, "How can you say that so casually?"

"Like this," I shrug my shoulder, "I am following you, Mi Zorro. I am following you like a madman who wants his wife to be at his side. Every second, every minute, every hour of the day."

Her cheeks redden. Under the glow of moonlight, she looks so cute and mine, I can't help but smile at her innocent reaction. This is who she is. A simple girl who got caught in the lies of the cruel world. 

 "You're definitely crazy," She says averting her gaze from me. 

"You look cute when you get shy," 

"Wha- I am not shy," 

I turn and close the distance between us, "You sure about that?" I say slowly scooping my hand down her waist and pulling her to me. Our chest collides and we both shiver. She puts her hand on my chest, creating some distance between us.

"What are you doing Asher?" 

"Something that I should've done before," I bend forward and close my arms around her. "Something that hadn't made us waste those five years like that."

She takes a deep breath and brings her arms up. There was hesitation in her movement but she hugged me back and that's all it matters. I close my eyes at this feeling of her in between my arms. It feels like heaven. So pure and mine, I can't believe Benedict made me miss this for so long. 

I tighten my hold on her and bury my face in the crook of her neck. She tugged back with a nervous breath but I didn't let her go. Not yet, not when I finally have her. "I like having you in my arms, Olivia. So much that it hurts that they made me miss this."

She stiffens, "What do you mean made you?"

"Neither of us had a choice when it came to the contract, baby, " I tell her. "I followed my father's order for marriage despite not wanting a wife. I hated the idea of tying someone to me. I was a messed up person, too afraid to make commitments or responsibilities about someone besides me and my father. I didn't wanted a burden, a setback so when Benedict approached me with the contract, I found the only way that'll help me follow my father's decision without compromising my own sanity,"

It was true and I thought of following the contract until I fell in love. 

Until I found the real intention behind the terms and conditions of the contract.

Until I learned what Benedict wanted. The contract was supposed to stop Olivia from meeting me. I wasn't ready to be a husband neither was I confident with the commitment my father expected me to take. Olivia was a good girl, a better human than me and I didn't want my bad world to catch up to her. So, the only way out without disappointing either party was to sign the marital contract Benedict offered.