Chapter 2 It can't be him

Angelica could hear the loud sound of her heart thudding frantically in her ears echoing the shock and confusion she felt upon seeing the man who had forcefully tortured her last night. A shiver ran down her spine as angelica recognized him, how could she ever forget that face. Her breath caught in her throat.

How could this be? How could it be him, no, not now, not here.

She had always envisioned seeing him again, but definitely not in such circumstances.

How could it be possible that the most unfortunate thing she'd ended up doing in her life brought her to the man she once loved more than anything?

Was fate toying with her?

Replacing Diana was something Angelica knew she would force herself to forget immediately she got it over with, she'd told herself she would do anything she could to get it done, then close that chapter of her life as if it never happened, but how could fate suddenly play this cruel joke on her? Diana' s husband, was none other than the man she had held in her heart a long time ago. The Nick she knew from the past, was Nicholas Stoll.

Nicholas no longer paid her any attention after making that crude comment about her no longer being a virgin, he began to dry his hair then swiftly got into a fresh set of clothes, all while acting as if there was no one else in the room.

Tears gleamed in Angelica's eyes as she watched his tall and broad back while he wore his shirt, distant memories from the past resurfacing in her head of a handsome looking teenage guy sitting under a Ginko tree with the cool autumn breeze ruffling his hair which was dyed with tinges of green in them as he casually played a redundant tune on his guitar, and she would always hide in a corner peeking at him in the school garden while hearing the song he was playing.

As those emotions filled her heart, Angelica subconsciously opened her mouth to utter the name forever etched in her heart, "Nick." She called in a soft voice filled with emotion.

Hearing what she just called him, Nicholas who was buttoning his shirt suddenly stopped his action, his deep eyes swung up evidently showing shock in them, he slowly turned around his gaze meeting her tear filled eyes as she sat with the sheets around her body on the bed. The surprise in his eyes seemed to turn into realization as he slowly began to approach her. Her heart pounded as he came to stand by the edge of the bed in front of her.

Angelia parted her lips to say something, however, before the words left her mouth she suddenly saw his hand move, a clicking sound came as he plopped a pill out of the pack of pills he was holding, it was then that she realized what he was doing as she saw the white pills in his hand which he extended to her. "Here, take these."

Bewildered, Angelica raised her eyes to meet his with a questioning look, there was a derisive curl on his lips as if she amounted to nothing in his eyes, those deep set eyes fixed chillingly on her, she couldn't see a single emotion In his gaze but derision, every feature on his face was immensely beautiful, placed together it became the heart jolting looks of this man whose cold aura made him seem unapproachable, as if he had an invincible wall that separated him from the rest of the world. He was so cold that despite hearing her address him by that familiar name, he showed no reaction.

"What's wrong, has this shattered your little plan to give me a child and secure your position as Mrs. Stoll?"

Hearing that, Angelica once again looked down at the pills in his hands and that was when she finally realized what kind of pills they were. Those were contraceptives!

Appalled, she swung her eyes up to look at him again looking immensely frightened.

She couldn't take contraceptives, she just couldn't, that would totally ruin her mission here, she wouldn't be able to get pregnant if she took the contraceptives, and that would leave her assignment incomplete.

Seeing her reaction, a cold sneer left his lips, "Just as I thought." He said as if to himself, confirming that she indeed wouldn't want to take the contraceptives because she wanted to give him an heir.

Angelica didn't say a word, she only lowered her head guiltily clutching the white sheets surrounding her even tighter. He added,

"Burt the thing is, I have no intentions of letting anymore of your plans succeed on me."

Angelica looked up once more but immediately regretted it when she saw the chilling light in his eyes, it almost made her shudder as her blood ran cold at the sight of the dark clouds in his eyes, he looked incredibly enraged as if her silent confirmation of wanting to get pregnant for him had infuriated him.

Nicholas lowered himself coming to her height where she sat, "Consider succeeding in your plot to marry me as a single win on your part. But from now on, I won't be allowing you get any more wins again, because every moment from now till the rest of your life which you've dedicated into being my wife according to the wedding vows, you'll only experience pain worse than hell." Completing his words, a dangerous smirk curled his lips, before he suddenly raised his palm that held the pills to his mouth.

Angelica's eyes widened in surprise when his other hand suddenly came behind her head pulling her face towards him, brusquely, her mouth was caught in his own. She felt a stinging pain when he bit down on her lips making her open her mouth releasing a pained sound that got muffled against his lips, but the pills got pushed into her mouth at this moment, along with the irresistible warmth of his tongue. Realizing what he was doing Angelica began to resist, she couldn't swallow those pills otherwise it would ruin all her plans.

However, with her slightest resistance, Nicholas put in more force, his mouth pressing hers in a painfully savage way, she could feel her breath getting used up in this struggle where if he didn't pull away any time soon, she could as well suffocate in his arms. But he didn't seem to care, his only goal was to make her swallow the pills, her life or death seemed to matter little to him.

Without another choice, Angelica gave in letting the pills successfully pass down her throat. Immediately he noticed that, Nicholas straightened himself and pulled away.

She was heaving and panting, tears gathered in her shimmering eyes as she looked up at him, but on his face was nothing but nonchalance as he wiped his lips with his hands as if they had encountered something dirty, the grim frown on his brows and the thin line of his lips told of how angry he was at the moment. He pinched her chin forcefully pulling up her face to look up at him, "Fighting and resisting will only make things worse for you, there's no escape from this." His thick voice rang like the gongs of hell by her ears, he wiped the small trails of blood by the side of her lips, she whimpered in pain as his coarse thumb brushed the wounded side of her lips from his painful bite, "And anytime you feel any pain like this, remind yourself that it was you who brought this upon yourself. I want you to regret ever scheming your way into becoming my wife."

With that he flung her face away and decisively strode out of the hotel room, but before he exited the doors he suddenly paused, with his tall and proud back facing her he said, "And bear this in mind..." his voice was biting cold, anyone would feel fear instantly engulf them hearing it, "...don't you dare call me by that name ever again." She couldn't see it, but his expression looked like one that had suddenly recalled something, like a distant memory that had resurfaced in his mind but only brought about a feeling of rage in him. After sternly delivering his warning to her, Nicholas promptly left the room, the door shut with a bang behind him.

Feeling overwhelmed by the unexpected turn of events, Angelica sat on the bed pulling her knees closer to her body. The situation had completely shifted from her initial expectations. She could still feel the painful sensation on the corner of her mouth as a result of him aggressively forcing the contraceptives into her mouth. Meanwhile her entire body continued to ache from the distressing ordeal of their intimate encounter the previous night.

But more than the pain or torture she had been subjected to, the main cause of the pain in her heart was the fact that the man doing this to her turned out to be no one else but the person whose image in her heart had always been pure and clean, the man she had always secretly adored but never got to tell him about it.

The tears finally streamed down her face, "How? How am I going to do this with you being here? Why did it have to be you, why?" Angelica cried to herself feeling defeat eating at her heart. She wasn't surprised that he had become this cold and heartless, after all he had also heartlessly turned his back on the innocent teenaged her back then.

Perhaps her fate was this terrible, not only would she have to sell herself just to ensure her family's safety, but she would also have to accept hatred and torture from the man she once loved.

Her fate was cruel indeed.

Angelica was smart enough to have figured out that it wasn't a love marriage between Diana and Nicholas, rather, Diana had perhaps worked her way into making the marriage happen using the help of his mother who probably wanted nothing but an heir, and for that, Nicholas must have despised Diana, which Angelica would now have to bear the brunt of. But with him despising her this way, then how would she be able to bear him a child? And how would she bring herself to do it knowing it was him?

Angelica was suddenly plunged into a painful dilemma.

***

Hours later, when the sunset had already cast it's golden glow upon the earth, a knock sounded on the door of the hotel suite.

Angelica had never left the room the whole day, after sitting for hours in the warm shower that burned her skin, the water slightly warmer than normal, but she couldn't feel it, letting it pour down on her as if it could wash away the pain in her heart. She had stayed in the room the whole day without getting anything to eat, she knew her fate now was no longer in her control, and she would have to live according to someone else's rule, and her only concern at the moment was getting pregnant, but even that proved to be an almost impossible task.

After her shower, she had promptly worn her black wig that was made to look exactly like Diana's hair to cover up her own golden blonde hair. That was one of the differences between them both, their hair color. Which was why Angelica would have to wear a wig and cover up her own real hair.

After checking her appearance in the mirror to make sure nothing was off, Angelica got up to answer the door, a middle aged man in a dark suit stood at the door of the hotel suite, the minute he saw angelica he bowed his head slightly in respect, "Good day madam Stoll. I've been asked to bring you to the mansion, please come with me." The man beckoned respectfully.

Angelica didn't argue, she nodded and obediently went with him remaining silent throughout the way, she didn't feel the urge to speak plus there was a painful hoarseness in her throat due to having cried so much.

The man who had come to pick her up opened the door of the glistening white Range Rover as he did a hand gesture for her to get in the car.

After a ridiculously long drive where Angelica felt her eyes slowly closing due to exhaustion and the amazingly comfortable interior of the car, she felt the car slightly swerve, Angelica opened her eyes to a clear and smooth drive through into a majestic building.

The car smoothly drove into the estate that looked like a modern day European castle, the car drove around a large fountain that held a beautiful and sophisticated figurine from which the water spewed in showers. Angelica's mind had still not been pulled back to reality at the fantastical looking home in front of her when the car door opened, the man in a dark suit respectfully bowed, "We're here madam."

"Thank you." Angelica muttered absentmindedly as she stepped down from the paradise like vehicle only to step her feet into another paradise. It wouldn't be an exaggeration If she were to say she had never seen a house as large and beautiful as this one even in her dreams, not to mention stepping into one.

It took a hot while for Angelica to be brought back to her senses by the realization that she wasn't supposed to act too stunned in order not to give herself away. Though Diana's family were quite influential themselves, their wealth absolutely couldn't be compared to this, nevertheless, such luxury wasn't something that Diana hadn't seen before, so Angelica schooled her expression while still being internally stunned.

The man bowed once more beckoning Angelica to the grand entrance that had towering doors, with majestic and intricate detailing on it's designs. However, before Angelica could even attempt to knock, the doors pulled open to reveal a jaw dropping interior. It took a lot for Angelica to not physically show her awe and surprise on her face, but her eyes still wandered. She was shocked at the line of people that stood in a straight line inside the large hall of the mansion, all welcoming her respectfully, "Welcome madam Stoll." All the maids echoed in unison.

"Welcome to the mansion madam Stoll, elder madam asked us to take good care of you upon your arrival. My name is Tessa, the head maid of the Golden gate villa." A decent looking woman seeming to be in her thirties stepped forward and introduced herself nicely.

"Hello, I'm Ange..." she was quick to stop herself before she said her real name, the woman had nicely introduced herself, so she had politely done the same by instinct and almost said her real name but good thing she timely stopped herself.

However the woman smiled, "We all know who you are madam Diana."

Angelica nodded giving a slight smile while telling herself not to say anything anymore before she ended up exposing herself.

"Would you like a bath first before dinner?" Tessa asked politely.

Angelica returned her polite smile and nodded in agreement, before something crossed her mind and her heart jolted, she wasn't able to stop herself from asking.

"Will he... will he be here for dinner as well?"

Tessa was quick to understand who the he she was referring to was, she replied, "Ah, master might not be home in time enough for dinner."

Tessa had taken care not to reveal the fact that Nicholas barely stayed home, and even if he would return, it was usually late into the night because he had always been a workaholic person by nature, though it wasn't certain if this habit of his would change now once he was married.

Angelica was led into the majestic bedroom whose interior glistened with beautiful golden lights, the double king sized bed looked like one befitting a monarch.

The maids prepared a bath for her, which relaxed her significantly. It took a long time for Angelica to find a casual pair of sweatshirt and pants inside the huge walk in closet where Diana's clothes alone made it look like a mini boutique itself.

After getting dressed, Angelica went back downstairs where she was met with a sumptuous dinner at the dining room. Her jaw was dropping a lot in the span of a single day that she almost could no longer control herself. She felt like a bunny brought out of it's little burrow into the vast and beautiful world.

She felt uncomfortable to eat due to the line of maids waiting on her in the dining room who would rush to serve her a dish the moment she set her eyes on it, "It's alright, I can do that myself." Angelica had to voice to the maids before they finally backed away. She almost thought they would feed her themselves because of how overly attentive they were being with her.

As she ate, she savored the taste of each dish, she knew full well that it wasn't just her hunger for the whole day that made the food taste like the best thing she'd ever eaten but because the food indeed was tasty. After having a few bites, Angelica stopped abruptly as her mind drifted off to her family, she wondered if her brother had also gotten something good to eat, she wondered how her father's surgery was going at the moment.

She had told her brother that she had gotten a high paying job in another city and she wouldn't be able to come back home because she would be living there for some months, she had also given him a good enough sum of money that would be enough not only for their father's surgery, but would also pay for Josh's tuition along with enough expenses to keep them going for some time. That was all the advance money Diana had given her, she would receive another half when she gets pregnant, and the rest when the child is safely delivered.

All Angelica cared about was her family's wellbeing, and for that she was willing to do anything it takes.

Recalling how Nicholas was part of this, Angelica sighed. Perhaps this was a sign that whatever feelings she used to have for Nicholas should be completely over right from years ago, he was married now and his life would continue after she left when she completed her mission. She shouldn't dwell on his identity or her feelings and focus on her mission here. That was most important.

After her meal, Angelica returned to the bedroom upstairs, she remained awake deep into the night patiently waiting for his return, this time if something were to happen between them again, she didn't care how painful the torture would be this time, she would endure it, and make sure she wouldn't take the contraceptives, her mission was to get pregnant.

It was about two AM when the doors to the bedroom was pushed open, Angelica quickly sat up on the bed seeing that tall figure walk into the room, his strides were long and elegant.

"Have you heard from the foreign investors?" His thick deep voice seemed to be speaking on the phone as he strode into the bedroom, he was about to say something again to reply to the person he was talking to on the phone when his sights suddenly landed on her where she was sitting on the bed, he momentarily froze for a single second as if he had completely forgotten about her existence in his home.

Angelica quickly lowered her head as their gazes met, after registering her presence, Nicholas gritted his teeth in slight annoyance before he also looked away from her then resumed talking on the phone, "Yes, check the files and report back to me in ten minutes." He dropped his phone casually on a side table and headed into the bathroom as he pulled off his neck tie and his suit jacket.

Angelica took in a deep breath finally relaxing the moment he went into the bathroom as if she had received relief from having to be in his strict and cold presence. The cool night wind blew in through the window making Angelica get on her feet and walked to shut the windows, however the moment she turned back around, Nicholas was also leaving the bathroom at the same time, and they were both forced to come face to face with each other.

Angelica stood stunned, his dark eyes casting a fleeting gaze on her before he walked away, she could perceive the whiff of the masculine body wash on him the moment he passed her. Angelica felt her face heat up just by his presence, but she slowly dragged her feet towards the bed just to make her presence less felt however suddenly stopped her steps a second later.

No matter what, she had to get pregnant, that was everything she should be focused on at the moment, and she had to even if she would have to seduce Nicholas. Though she knew about his dislike for Diana, she still hesitantly turned towards his direction, she slowly approached him coming to stand behind him towering before her where he was rummaging in the drawers for something to wear.

"Yes David, I'll need those papers on my desk first thing tomorrow." He seemed to have resumed his phone call again.

Angelica swallowed hard before she slowly moved her hand, her fair soft palm slowly touched his back, but when she felt the coldness of his skin, her fear quickly overcame her and she hurriedly pulled her hand away as if being electrocuted.

But Nicholas had suddenly gone stiff felling her touch on his back. Slowly he turned around to face her, she looked up at him with wide frightened eyes as his dark orbs glared dangerously down at her.

He looked like a devil unleashed and undoubtedly enraged.

"How dare you touch me!" his voice sounded like a dangerous growl from a beast.