Contract Marriage starring Love and Revenge
Chapter 124. We found him.

Chapter 124: 124. We found him.

Duke chews on the apple and smiles, "Well the hand-fed apple tastes quite delicious." He pinches my left cheek.

"Of course it would. It was prepared by your wife who loves you more than anything in this whole wide world." It’s almost insane how I get shy telling him this yet I can never stop confessing it to him.

"Do you know what the apples you prepared taste like dearest?" He asks.

"No, I don’t."

A hand slowly curls around the back of my neck as he says, "Come here, let me show you." and he quickly takes my lips, I can feel the sweetness of the apples from his mouth as his tongue feeds me what’s left of the apple in his mouth.

Normally, if I watched things like this in a movie, I’d say it’s disgusting, eating something from someone else’s mouth!

But right now, I’m wondering why I’ve never tried it before. It’s so sweet.

"What do you think?" He asks.

"I love it." I say and he grins so I add, "the apple I mean." and he pinches my cheek.

"I also love the apples, but I love the person who fed them to me even more."

"I know." I say with a shrug and he laughs.

"Duke,"

"Hmm?"

"I think it’s time we pay my dear aunt Evelyn a lawful visit."

The way the sweet smile on his face quickly morphs into an evil grin is almost frightening, "Really?

"Yes dearest." I wrap my hand around his neck once more and I think spending time with Duke is bad for me because I can feel my face slowly morphing to match that wicked expression on his face.

"Alright, pagne. Let’s do that and while we’re at it, I have news for you."

"News? What news?"

"We found the bastard." The smirk on my face slowly fades as he says those words. Aside from Rowan who we already have cuffed to a hospital bed, there is only one other bastard we’ve been searching for.

"J_ Jonathan Wood?" I ask even though I already know the answer to the question.

"Yes. I just got the message before you walked in. They are bringing him here as we speak." They finally found Jonathan Wood, the man who carried out the hysterectomy procedure on me while reassuring me that my ’cancer’ would be gone by the time I woke up.

Jonathan Wood, Rowan and Alicia’s accomplice.

"Do you think you can face him or should I meet him alone?"

I drag in a breath and force a smile to my face as I ask, "Why? So you can beat him up?" He gives a half smile as his fingers lazily areange my hair behind my ear.

"Dearest, left for me, I’d do more than just beat him up, because beating him won’t suffice."

"True. You know you sometimes sound like a thug. No, more like a Mafia boss."

"And how many Mafia bosses have you known in you space of life my dear?" He asks and I shrug.

"Well, just about fifty." I say.

"From novels?"

"Yeah of course from novels." I laugh and so does he.

"I’ll meet him, Duke. I’ll see Jonathan Wood."

Silently, he stares at me as if trying to read every single expression on my face then he sighs and says, "Alright."

...

I’m standing now in front of a man whom I have hosted in my former home many times. A man I had prepared a meal for as my then husband’s friend and colleague whenever he had to come over to our house for some reason.

This same man who held my hand just right before the surgery and told me, "Don’t worry Champagne, everything is going to be alright. By the time you wake up, you’ll be rid of everything cancer. I’ll do my best."

The same man had done nothing close to what he had promised me. In fact he did the complete opposite. He did his worst.

He’s tied up on a wooden chair in the outer house, a small building away from the main house so as not to scare or startle the kids with his hideous bloody appearance.

As expected, Duke didn’t bring him here in one piece, he’s been beaten pretty badly.

"I just want to know one thing." I speak for the first time since I stepped into the room. He lifts his head and guilty eyes stare back at me, "Why?" I ask.

"R_Rowan," He stutters, "H_He promised me a huge cut." something stirs inside me at those words. So it wasn’t for any actual reason.

It was for money.

I let out a choked chuckle as I look up at the ceiling trying to hold back tears.

"So it was all for money. You ruined a person’s life for money." The more I say it the more my stomach turns. Dear me, I’m feeling nauseous. I might fall if I don’t walk out of here.

These people, Rowan, Jonathan and Alicia... They make me sick. To the point where goosebumps crawl up to the surface of my skin whenever I discover something new.

Even though I had expected such an answer, it is still quite painful to know he really did it for money.

Just money.

Without saying another word, I turn around and walk towards the door. I open it and I’m staring at the face of the man standing outside this room, staring back at me right now. Along with the man is a refreshing wind that quickly washes away that stuffy and choking feeling. It takes away the nausea.

The door closes behind me.

I watch his lips slowly part and the words, but before he speaks, I say, "Alicia did it because she wanted to hurt me, Rowan did it because he wanted to please Alicia and this guy agreed to it for the money. Aren’t these people a bunch of losers?" I ask with a fake broad smile.

Silence follows my words, and I’m trying hard to keep this broad smile on my face but then he asks, "How are you?"

At that question, I can feel the expression on my face slowly distorting, slowly changing to how I really feel right now.

I break the little space between us and slip my hands around his body, the soothing scent of eucalyptus fills my nose and I feel the sadness and pain, but being like this, I feel fine.

"I’m fine now."

{Alicia’s POV}

Champagne.

Champagne!

She’s threatening everything I have. Everything that belongs to me. She’s become a threat to the entire Gold group! Our stocks are plummeting, our goods are staying longer and longer on the shelves of our dealers.

At least investors have not begun pulling out. That would have been the height of it all.

Dad already moved out even though their divorce is yet to be finalized, mom has been a mess ever since the divorce process started. She tries to act tough, but I can see she’s distraught about the divorce.

All this is the fault of one person, Champagne!

If things hadn’t gotten out of hand at mom’s birthday party then dad would never have gotten into an argument with mom in the first place and he would never have brought up a divorce!

No matter how I think about it, everything is Champagne’s fault.

Everything is falling apart. Every damned thing!

I thought after taking everything from her she wouldn’t be able to get back on her feet, I thought she wouldn’t be able to find happiness. I thought if I broke her to the ground completely she’d stay down forever, but then somehow and I still don’t know how, but she had met Duke Grand.

Then I thought all I had to do was take away what she cherished from her like I have always done, but then that bastard husband of hers was not easy to steal.

I thought I could win him over but I’ve given up on that now.

There’s no point in trying too hard. Duke Grand is an entirely new story. Completely different from the other men I’ve seen around Champagne. All those other guys were easy to win over. In fact most times I never had to do much. Just passing by them was enough to do the trick, but with Duke Grand I had tried everything. Every damn thing, yet he wouldn’t budge.

Worst of it all is that idiot Rowan went and got himself caught! "Ahhhhh!!" I scream and slump back on the couch.

I acted all high and mighty the last time he came to me talking nonsense about her hysterectomy procedure, but that was then. Now I know very well that Champagne is out to get us all, I can’t be so sure and confident anymore.

"What if they find a way to link it back to me?"

I’m biting my nails, I’m too young to go to jail!

I’m too beautiful to waste away in an unknown prison on an unknown island, in a forgotten country!

Why did that bastard have to appear again! I told him to stay in hiding yet he went on and kidnapped Champagne! What if they start questioning him and he calls my name! Worse, what if he has evidence to back his claim!

"Oh, no, I’m doomed." I say to myself. "I have to meet him first." I stagger to my feet, "I need to meet him now. I need to know if he has anything that could incriminate me. I can’t go to jail. I can’t!"