10 RULES OF OUR LOVE

'I never planned to marry a man I barely knew, but that was before Andrea Peters walked into my life and turned everything upside down.'

LOLA ERIKSON'S POV

I sat down on a car bonnet in the workshop, looking at a man who had just driven in with his daughter. She was a beautiful chocolate skinned young girl jumping around and asking her father questions on some things she saw in the workshop. I stared at them and wondered how I was when I was her age. Was I timid? Or maybe I was more vibrant than she was. I couldn't help smiling as I tried to imagine my younger self in different scenarios.

My name is Lola Erikson, and I'm the only child of my poor parents. I have no memories of my childhood, so I enjoy watching little children.

"Hey beautiful," I heard someone say really close to me. I looked up and realised I had been so cut up in my imagination that I didn't know when the man walked up to me. His little girl was still playing around his car.

"Hello, Sir," I said as politely as I could, looking up and smiling a little bit.

"I could see you checking me out from the distance, and I decided to come over. By the way, you look really hot in that uniform of yours, I could pump a baby into you right here and now, " he said, and I felt a shock wave go through my system. Did he just say that to me? Is that respectful in the slightest way? Did he think I was checking him out because I was staring at his daughter?

I took some seconds to reply and tried not to be disrespectful to a customer.

"I wasn't checking you out or staring at you, Sir," I said and decided it was time to leave.

I had barely taken a step when I felt a hand grab my waist, pulling me closer to himself. I turned immediately and instinctively gave him a hot slap on the cheeks.

It took him some seconds to register what had just happened.

"Did you just slap me?" He asked, walking closer to me aggressively, but my co-worker Lucas intercepted him and stood in front of him.

"Your car is ready, Sir. I have to deliver it to you, so I can go ahead and secure the CCTV footage for today," Lucas said, and the man immediately got the message. He either left without creating a scene or he gets into a big mess.

He took his car keys from Lucas, took a glance at me, walked to his car, and drove off with his daughter. As his car faded into the distance, I couldn't help but feel pity for the little girl who had to go through life with such a man as a father.

"Thank you," I said, turning back to Lucas, who I felt really grateful to for defending me.

"I'm sorry about that, and you don't need to thank me," he said, and I smiled. He calmed me down and went back to his work.

Some days were like this. Shitty customers could come in and choose to throw their shit on me. It's probably because I am the only female mechanic in this workshop. I sighed and got back to fixing the car whose bonnet I was previously sitting on.

Hours Later.

I had closed from work and was heading back home. I silently prayed within me that my friend and roommate Kira had prepared some food. I was just so exhausted and tired.

"Damn!" I heard someone utter angrily, and I turned to see a very handsome man in front of his car whose bonnet was open, trying to fix his car. I could see that he had no idea what he was doing, and if he continued, he would totally destroy the car.

"Hello, what going on with your car? Let me see if I can help you," I said, but the next words I heard got me so angry that I couldn't hold myself back.

ANDREA PETER'S POV

I have not been so angry in like forever!

"I'm sorry sir, I can't make it to work today," That was what my driver called to tell me this morning. Who does that? What lousy work ethics! I don't employ or trust just anyone to drive me, so I had to take myself to my company this morning, and now, on my way back, my car just broke down.

My name is Andrea Peters, and I'm the son of Jackson Peters, the richest man in Canrany. I've got lots of enemies and admirers, and women can do anything to have me to themselves. Why won't they? Snagging me would be the best thing that ever happened to them, but that would be impossible.

I called my mechanic and personal assistant, but they seem to be taking a long time to get here. I opened the bonnet and stood in front of the car, trying to fix it magically. I knew I could get it worse than it was, but I cared less.

"Hello, what's going on with your car? Let me see if I can help you," I heard a lady say, and of course, I got angry.

These ladies and their unrealistic schemes! She must be one of my daily stuckers, who wants to leverage on this opportunity to get in my bed, cage me with a child, and get some billions of dollars from me.

I wasn't having that today.

"Get the hell away from me," I sparked angrily, and I turned to see a very beautiful and slender lady behind me, looking as innocent as an angel. She looked different from all the women that have ever thrown themselves at me. I immediately felt bad for shouting the way I did.

"Stupid jerk!" She screeched at me, throwing her head back in complete disgust.

"Did you just call me a stupid jerk?" I shouted, losing the little bit of remorse I had felt after shouting at her.

"You know what? You look like a dumb entitled jerk, I should never have offered to help," She said, and I felt a pit of anger rising within me.

Lola Erikson

Why would he talk to me that way? What gave him the guts? I just had to meet two mad people all in one day. One at the workshop, and now this? It felt really annoying, and I just couldn't hold back.

Three cars pulled over behind the man's car, and I understood that he was one of those rich people who didn't care about others. I continued walking home, and when I had barely taken ten steps away from him, I heard something that made my heart jump right into my stomach.

"Get her!" I heard the man shouting, and two hefty looking men started coming after me.

"Oh my God," I muttered and began to run as fast as I could with my tiny legs. 'What have I gotten myself into?' I thought within me, wishing I could just dissappear.

I couldn't get far when the men caught up with me and picked me up like a doll. They threw me into a car and drove off behind their heartless boss. I kept crying and screaming, but nothing changed, and I got no help. Where were they taking me to? Who was he? What have I gotten my self into? All these questions kept going through my mind, and I couldn't help but cry all the way to my unknown destination.

LOLA ERIKSON'S POV

After going through more than 10 gates, we got to a very beautiful and exquisite mansion, and the gates were thrown open. Although the sky was dark, the mansion and it's entire surroundings were lit up with beautiful multi-coloured lights, and the designs were breathtaking. I had never seen a place so beautiful in my twenty- four years of life.

"Take her inside," I heard the man in charge of my abduction say, and I was bundled into a room in this beautiful heaven like house.

The room was breathtaking, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy its beauty.

'Where am I?'

'What is he going to do with me?'

I didn't want to die. I was the only child and breadwinner of my poor family. My father has been crippled ever since I can remember, and my mum worked as a cleaner. What would they do without me? What would Kira do if she can't find me? She would probably tell my parents, and they would have a heart attack.

Tears streamed down my eyes as different scenarios went through my mind. I curled myself on the ground close to the door and cried my eyes out. I wasn't rude to people. But today, I had just gone through a lot and had so much pent-up anger and frustration. He didn't help matters either! I was only trying to help. I shouldn't have, I should have shut my mouth and went my way, but this good heart of mine had landed me in trouble.

I sat there crying for a while, when I heard the door open suddenly. I looked up and saw him. He was the one who abducted me. He was putting on a night wear, and his fragrance was amazing. It seemed he had taken a shower, and he looked more handsome than ever.

I couldn't help gazing into the eyes of the heartless jerk who abducted me. He bent down before me and lifted my face with his left hand. He leaned in closer as if he wanted to kiss me.

"Why are you crying?" He asked gently, like an angel and not the person who had just abducted me. I couldn't help being shocked. Who wouldn't cry after being abducted? Was he serious?

"Do you really not know who I am?" He asked, and I kept quiet. Was I supposed to know him?

"It's okay, go and have your bath. I will get you something to eat, and then we can talk further tomorrow," he said, but I sat still not ready to move an inch.

"It's fine if you don't want to go alone, I could take you in and bathe you myself," he said and I found my self running through the doors in the room, trying to locate the bathroom. I could hear him chuckling to himself. I finally got into a huge room, which served as the bathroom and locked up the door. I heard the door open and close, and after a brief moment, it opened up again.

"I got you some clothes and food," he said, and I heard him step out of the room.

I checked for hidden cameras, and when I found none, I had my bath and slowly came out of the bathroom. I got into the night wear he got me, and after hesitating for a while and wondering if my food was poisoned, I ate the delicious yam and egg sauce and took the plate close to the door, ensuring to lock the door securely. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done that since. But since he had not, I figured out I would need all the strength I could get in order to ever be able to escape.

I sat on the bed and remembered my phone. It was still in the pocket of the trousers I took off in the bathroom. I ran to get it, wondering if I should call the police first, or my friend Kira.

As I brought it out, the glimmer of hope I had was turned into sorrow. My phone had turned off! I had failed to charge it before work this morning, and now I had gotten the result.

I held unto my phone and lay on the bed, praying it would magically turn on. While praying, I slowly drifted off to sleep against my will because I had been working all day, and I was totally drained and exhausted.

Next Morning

I woke up to a loud bang on the door. Someone was banging loudly at the door, threatening to tear it down. I jumped out of bed, shivering in fear.

'Have they come to get me?'

'What do they want to do with me?' I thought, extremely scared and afraid for myself.

The bang on the door continued and I hid myself beside the bed, covering myself with the blanket. I felt really scared for my life.

Suddenly, there was silence. I could hear the receding sound of someone's footsteps. I stood up and began to contemplate on what to do now. Should I try to escape?

I rushed to the bathroom and looked through the window to see if I could jump down and begin the first step of my escape mission, but I couldn't see the ground more than 7fts from the window. I can't go through the window.

"Trying to jump down would mean killing myself," I muttered to myself and ran out of the bathroom. I looked around the big room, the empty dressing room, and every nook and crany of the space, but there was absolutely no way I could escape from this room.

I was still contemplating on my next course of action when I suddenly heard a click, and there was no time to run to a hiding place. The door burst open, and I fell to the bed, shivering in fear. A tall figure was coming towards me, pointing a shiny object at me.

'Where they finally here to kill me?' I thought, as I felt a cold shiver run through my spine.

ANDREA PETER'S POV

I woke up very early, thinking of the lady I had brought home last night. She was very beautiful and had long black hair, glowing skin, and red kissable lips.

She looked so pure and innocent. I had almost kissed her last night, but I held myself back.

Gosh! I have never felt this way for any lady.

"I could have devoured her last night, and that's just insane!" I muttered to myself.

I don't fancy ladies anymore. After what happened with my first love Cari, I just couldn't look at any lady in a good way.

I don't understand why I should be having these thoughts about a lady. I don't even know her name!

I can't let my guard down.

'I'm going to fight this!' I thought, getting up and heading to the guest room where she was.

As I got closer, I thought about what she could be up to.

"Wait, what if she tries to escape?" I thought and ran as fast as I could to the room I left her.

The door was locked! I couldn't believe it.

Had she done something terrible to herself?

I kept knocking continuously, waiting for a response, but I got none.

Then I remembered I had the spare keys in my room. I stopped knocking and ran back to my room to get them.

'Where the hell is it?' I thought, scattering my drawers to find it.

I saw the keys lying on the last drawer. I grabbed it and ran back to the room I left her.

The keys were marked. I picked the right key and opened the door.

I rushed in with my keys, only to see her standing in shock. As I walked closer to her, she fell on the bed.

LOLA ERIKSON'S POV

I was still shivering in fear when the stranger got on my bed and was hovering over me.

What was going on? I tried getting up and running for safety, but he held unto me, and I wiggled myself to escape from his grasp.

"What are you doing?" I heard a familiar voice ask, and I opened my eyes. I looked up to see my abductors face. He looked so handsome, and I felt my heart racing from the extreme closeness.

He was right above me! Staring at me with such crazy eyes. He leaned in like he was about to kiss me, and I involuntarily went closer.

He suddenly stood up, and I saw the shiny object he had pointed at me. They were just keys. I stood up from the bed, embarrassed that I almost let a stranger kiss me. I couldn't understand the effect this man had on me.

"Get down to the sitting room," He thundered and left the room.

I stumbled after him, scared for myself. As I came down the stairs, I saw a picture that shocked me.

It was a family portrait of a man, his wife, and his son. The man in the picture was very familiar to me. Kira always went on about his family.

It was Jackson Peters! The richest man in Canrany, owner of Good Ventures Group of Companies, who had just one son. I looked at the portrait closely and froze in place.

The stranger who abducted me was right there, the only son of Jackson Peters, the CEO of Good Ventures, whose name I heard was Andrea.

"Oh my God!" I screeched and held my mouth immediately. I had pissed off the wrong person.

How could I insult Andrea Peters?

I came into the sitting room and immediately knelt before him.

"Please, Sir, forgive me. I didn't know you were Andrea Peters, I was only trying to help, I would never disrespect you." I said, realising how deep of a mess I had gotten myself in and praying with my entire being that I would somehow be forgiven.

"What's your name?" He asked with a stern look.

"Lola...Lola Erikson," I stammered, and he looked at me with anger written all over his face.

"It's good that you now know how stupid it was for you to insult me. You have no right to have a conversation with me," He said, and I felt a sting of pain in my heart.

"I could buy people like you anywhere in the street, and even for free," he continued, and I almost shed a tear, but I held on and swallowed it all in.

"I brought you here to teach you a lesson, but I won't bother wasting my precious time on someone like you," he said, and it broke me.

Who does he think he is? Just because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he thinks he can go around insulting the less privileged?

"Go and pick your things. You can keep what you are wearing. I wouldn't want anything that has to do with you anywhere close to me, " he said, and I went back to the room and picked up my clothes and phone.

I came back to the sitting room, and he called his driver to drop me off.

"Don't let me see you ever again, or else I will make your life a living hell," he stated, and I left with the driver.

Such a terrible man!! A stupid jerk! Why would I ever want to see him again? I never want to have anything to do with him!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Home

"Where have you been?" Kira asked as I stepped into the house.

"I've been worried sick about you, and I was about to go to the police station to file a missing persons report." She said, looking very worried and concerned.

I fell to the ground and burst out in tears. She came closer to console me.

"What happened?" She asked, and I went on to tell her everything.

I told her about the man I encountered at the workshop, how I was abducted, and all the horrible things he said to me.

"What? Who is the imbecile that said such hurtful things to you? We are going back there, I'm going to deal with him." She said, picking up her bag.

"No... we can't go back there," I said, and she turned to me.

"Andrea Peters abducted me and said all those things to me," I said, and she stood still.

She dropped her bag on the bed and came closer to me.

"Wait.. do you mean Andrea Peters... the Andrea Peters?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Jeez... you met Andrea Peters, and he did all that to you?" She said, standing up.

"The fact that he is wealthy and literally the son of the richest man in this Country, shouldn't give him the right to insult you, I pray he has a terrible day at work, aaah... i can't even do anything to him," she said angrily, coming closer to give me a hug.

"It's okay, just forget about him, you will never see him again. Let's get ready for work," She said, dragging me up from the ground.

I plugged in my phone, took a shower and we ate the little bread we had left.

"I will get some food stuffs when I get my paycheck today, don't forget to ask for yours," She said and I nodded, feeling a little better that I was going to get paid today.

We left the house and headed to our various workplace.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♡♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

I got to the workshop and went in to change into my work clothes.

I had just finished changing when Martin, my colleague, came up to me.

"Lola, the boss has been looking for you, and he seems really angry," He said, and I got confused.

'Why would Mr Tony be looking for me?' I thought and headed to his office.

Maybe he wants to pay me himself or apologise for what happened yesterday.

I went into his office, only to see a very annoying face. It was the disgusting man who disrespected me yesterday. He was sitted with my boss and they were having a conversation. They stopped talking as soon as I walked in, and Mr Tony turned to me.

"Lola, take this," he said, handing me an envelope.

I felt happy, thinking it was my paycheck, but when I opened it, I saw a termination letter.

I had been dismissed from work!

I couldn't believe it. Why would he do this to me?

"I don't understand sir, why I'm I receiving a termination letter? What have I done wrong?" I asked, boiling in anger.

"What were you expecting after disrespecting and asualting my customer?" He said, and I gasped in shock.

"I didn't do that sir, you can ask Lucas. He saw everything." I said, trying to defend myself.

"I already fired Lucas, you two conspired with each other to make me lose my customers," He said, and I felt so bad. Lucas had lost his job... because of me.

"What about my paycheck, sir?" I asked, and they burst out laughing.

"You expect to get paid? What do you think I would use to pay for the medical bills for the injuries you inflicted on him?" He said, and I couldn't believe my ears.

I didn't even do anything to him.I only slapped him when he tried molesting me. I could now clearly see that Mr Tony was trying to deny me of my pay. I needed that money for myself and my parents.

I begged and pleaded with him, but he sent me out of his office, and I didn't know what else to do. I had no one to help me. Kira had been the one helping me by paying the rent and paying for most of the feeding for the both of us all these while.

I sunk to the ground and was crying out my eyes when my phone rang.

I reached for my phone in my pocket, and the call was from an unsaved number. I picked it up, and I heard a news that broke me even more.

"I'm I unto Lola Erikson?" A voice asked.

"Yes, this is Lola Erikson," I replied tiredly.

"This is the police headquarters located at No. 55 Adison Drive. Your mum, Mrs Erikson, has been arrested on charges of theft. She stole the gold statue of her Employers family. It is worth over millions of dollars, and she has failed to provide it.

You need to come down to the station and get her legal representatives because this case is going to court." The officer said, dropping the call, and I stood up quickly.

I felt dizzy all of a sudden, and I didn't know where I was headed. I picked up my phone and ran like a mad woman, repeating the address the officer had given me continuously.

"No. 55 Adison Drive... No. 55 Adison Drive.." I kept repeating as I ran out of the workshop.

I heard shouts from people, but I didn't care to know what they were shouting about.

"Scrrreeeeeee..eecchhh." I heard a car trying to stop forcefully, and before I knew it, I was tumbling on the ground, and I slowly lost consciousness.

At the brink of losing consciousness, I realized what had just happened. I just had an accident!