The CEOs Rejected Bride

Hera was running in the rain but not at a fast pace. It was quite dark due to nature's course of events. Even though it was cold, she had hot burning tears streaming down her now pale skin. That night was the darkest and most unforgettable night of her life as she was forced to experience a second death to her recovering heart that was filled with injuries that were scarcely bandaged. Why did this happen to her? Was it bad to ask for just one time a chance to be happy and to forget her sorrow?... Just one time to try to live in her world of fantasies?

Someone who appeared to be a man ran up to her and grabbed her right hand, forcefully turning her around. He was breathing heavily as the rain reduced its power of pouring.

" He...Hera, you've got to listen to me, okay? Don't jump to any conclusion yet, I need to explain what you saw earlier and it's not what you think. "

" What did you say? It's not what I think? How could you have done this to me? She is my stepsister! Even if you wanted to commit such an abominable act, why should you have done it with my sister? Why? It's a month to our wedding, you fool! " Hera cried as she hits his firm chest harder.

" Listen Hera, it's not really what you think... "

" Shut up, James! Just shut it. Aren't you ashamed of saying these dirty words over and over again? I saw it clearly. I...I saw it with my two eyes, you and...and her on the bed...stark naked... " Hera paused as she swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She just couldn't say it out as it tasted like a bitter pill.

She had planned all day how she was going to surprise the man she had come to love with her broken heart that she thought was being fixed with her arrival into her life. It was his birthday and she had baked a cake for him with rich ingredients...a homemade cake she was sure that he would love. Hera didn't bother calling him so she could inform him of her coming. She set out as early as she could in the evening after waving her son goodbye and making sure that he had dinner. She never planned to stay over for her son's sake so that was why she sets her short journey as early as possible not knowing what she was going to face.

On her way to his house, she tried calling his number but it was switched off. ' Why is his phone switched off? It never gets switched off. ' She wondered but never cast any negative thought to the reason. There was traffic on her way and she was stuck for a whole thirty minutes before she arrived at her destination. She got to the entrance and knocked repeatedly but she got no response so she opened the door, surprisingly it wasn't locked. She looked around in search of him and opted for his bedroom with a huge smile on her face but the smile soon got wiped off when she heard erotic sounds coming from the bedroom. She did not want to believe her ears at first but her legs took her there. She opened the door only to meet the worst scene of her life, her stepsister was sitting on her fiancee having raw sex.

They did not seem to notice her arrival until the cake she was holding fell to the ground, that was when the two looked up at her with a shocked expression. James wasn't expecting her that late neither was Ella, Hera's stepsister but she did not stop the act as she continued moaning loudly and had her release. Hera's feet were rooted to the ground for about three minutes before dashing out of the room and house in pain.

James, in a haste, pushed Ella off him and put on the least clothing he could think of before running after Hera. Ella did not mind as she picked up the remote control on the desk and turned on the air conditioner after the hot sexy she had just finished. She stood up and went to take her bath so she could go home for the night.

So, there they were, Hera was seeking an explanation for James's misconduct in the dark, cold, and rainy night.

" You betrayed me, James. You betrayed the...love I have for you. " Hera was sobbing hard as her lips shivered.

" Will you quit it already? I am sick of hearing you tell me how much you love me when you certainly don't! " James accused and Hera's mouth widened in disbelief at the sudden outburst.

" Yes, you don't love me, Hera. What do you think a relationship is all about? What do you think it entails, huh? No, you tell me. Do you think it's all about visiting me every time with that son of yours you got from God knows who? I am a man, Hera, and my body craves sexual needs and desires like every other man out there but you...you denied me this multiple times even though we all know that you aren't pure anymore. " Hera looked dumbstruck by what she just heard. They started dating six months ago and their wedding...not even an engagement was planned for next month. She allowed him to kiss her and maybe go a bit deeper once in a while but she only denied him sex because she wanted to know how faithful and loyal he could be if he wasn't a man who was only after her body and to add to her problem.

" But that does not serve as an excuse to have betrayed me just like that. You could have told me about it. " Hera replied. The rain wasn't pouring much anymore as it had now turned to a drizzle but the thunder still rumbled in the sky occasionally. James chuckled unrepentantly.

" Yes, you are right. That isn't supposed to be an excuse. To be frank, I hate you, I really do. " He declared. The thunder struck again, a bit louder at James's words giving it a dramatic entrance.

" You...You ha...hate me, James? "

" Yes, with everything in me. " He answered. Hera could not react again as she kept on facing rejection after rejection so she could only stare at him with hopelessness in her tired eyes.

" The first day I met you, I knew we wouldn't last long. Your family wanted to give you away to me by any means because you're a pain in their lives as they told me. I wasn't interested in you but your sister. She has that beautiful face, big and round ass, plump breasts, straight legs, name it all. These assets of hers can make a man go crazy. Moreover, she offered me a deal. " James smiled as he stared at the woman before him who had now turned fragile and boy, this pleased him more than ever.

" What was the deal? " Hera managed to ask.

" The deal was to be her sex master. All I needed to do was to have sex with her once a day and she would pay me very handsomely. At first, I didn't want to accept but after weighing the available options, I decided to go with it. I mean, who wouldn't? I later realized that you have no inheritance, you have no share in your family's properties, and you are an outsider so if I were to marry you then I would be at loss but being with Ella was meant to be. I gave in to her demand. " James answered.

" How long has this been going on? " She asked.

" A few days after we met, it wasn't even up to a week. " James replied nonchalantly. Hera's heart shredded into pieces at his confession. She had never expected this at all in her wildest dream.

" So...so you decided to hurt me this deep because of your greed? "

" It's not greed, it is called struggling for survival as a man. Moreover, you are a whore, a nobody who was raped six years back so rather than blame me, you should apologize and appreciate me for taking good care of you till this very moment because it is from the money I make for being a sex master that I use in taking good care of you and that bastard you call a son. "

That was it! That was the last straw that broke the camel's back as Hera gave James a resounding slap on his cheeks. Her face burned with fury and fire as she stared at James.

" You're disgusting as a man, James, and a shame to manhood. Now, listen to me very carefully, I might accept whatever treatment it is that you are giving me but not my son. I don't joke with my son so don't call him a bastard ever again in your life because he has a father, do you get it? " Hera spoke furiously and James burst into laughter.

" Oh, is that so? Then please tell me, madam, who the father is? Because as far as I can remember what I was told by your family, you were raped. " He gave her a mocking gaze.

" You are filthy, Hera and no righteousness can clean you of this impurity, take it or you leave it. I am done with you so let's end this relationship. "

" There wasn't any relationship, to begin with so what is there to end? " Hera sniffed and looked away.

" Are you denying the past we both shared? " James gasped mockingly and then, he smiled.

" If you are then it's no problem for me. We are over, filthy rag and this is for the slap you gave me. " He pushed her unexpectedly and she fell to the ground.

The road was like a small hill that made one go up and then come down again so the two of them were chatting on what seemed like the top of this...hill road. Hera wasn't expecting the push. James watched her roll and yelp. He smiled evilly before turning his back against her and left.

Hera stopped rolling and just laid on the ground. Her tears increased so was the rain again. She had never been this humiliated in her life, this was the worst that she would never forget. Her body now ached a lot and was shivering because of the cold. She finally stood up after so many attempts and tried to find her way from the area. Her life was in a mess, a total mess, she kept on telling herself as James's hurtful words replayed in her head.

Having lost herself in the wilderness of thoughts, she didn't know when she walked into the middle of the road. She couldn't see anything nor did she hear the honk of a speeding car that was coming towards her end. She suddenly jerked up and she saw that she was in a danger zone. Her eyes darted towards the coming car. Her body screamed death due to shock and her eyes went off as she lost consciousness before the car could hit her.

In City A's famous airport, two men could be seen walking hastily out of the area. It had started to rain so everyone was finding a good spot to keep their heads and body from the rain but the two men weren't unfazed by what was going on as they had their umbrellas. One was the driver and assistant while the other was the boss. He was dressed formally in a business suit and had a powerful personality. The assistant quickly carried his luggage into the car and opened the door for him. He entered and the car's door was shut.

The assistant got into the driver's seat, brought the engine back to life, reversed a little, and zoomed off out of the airport at high speed.

The car's heater was soon turned on to keep his boss and probably himself warm as he drove. The man's phone rang and he answered the call at the first ring.

" Hello, mother. "

" Zacharias, where are you? " The woman asked her son. Zach obviously knew that whenever his mum called his name in full then she was impatient.

" I just left the airport, mum. I will be there in a few minutes. " Zach replied.

" Okay, don't be long. We are waiting for you. "

" Hmm "

The call ended and Zach sighed.

" I was only gone for a month. What would happen if I were to leave for a year? " Zach asked and his assistant, Ben looked at him from the rearview mirror and smiled.

" You will probably be getting their visits every weekend. " He joked.

" That would be frustrating. " Zach replied and turned his head to view the road as the car drove past the buildings. All the side lamps were on to provide light for the night.

He seemed lost in his thoughts when suddenly Ben started honking. His eyes darted towards the front where he could see a figure there. Ben had been speeding right from the airport because the road was deserted at the moment so he didn't caution him moreover he saw that there was no need to since his speed limit wasn't above the required one by law.

Ben hits the brakes and gasps. He looked at his front with fear.

" Boss, did we just hit someone? " He asked. Zach frowned a bit for two reasons. One was Ben's choice of words, what did he mean by ' we ' when he was the one driving the car while the second was that the person had already fallen before the car could even get to whatever gender the person was. They both got out of the car into the rain which had now turned to a drizzle. The person happened to have been a female who fainted on the road but what was she doing in the middle of the road? This question popped up in Zach's mind as he stared at the woman. Thanks to the help of the car's fluorescent, he could see her face.

" Bo...bo...boss? " Ben was scared, he had never been in this type of a situation before.

" Let's get her to the hospital. " They carried her into the car and Ben headed towards the route that led to one of the prestigious private hospitals in the City.

He drove into the hospital in less than ten minutes and Hera was taken into the ward for treatment while the two men waited patiently for the doctor to finish treating her. After a while, the doctor came out with a nurse.

" President Zach. " She called.

" Hello, doctor. How is the patient doing? " Zach stood up.

" Not quite well. She sustained a few injuries on her body and she has a fever now, hopefully, it will be subsided by tomorrow morning. " Zach nodded.

" We also got to know that she is a traumatic patient. She might not know this though. The results of our treatment show this, she has probably gone through a lot and it is taking a heavy toll on her. " The doctor paused to see and know Zach's reaction but he didn't give any so she took that as a clue to continue.

" But with time, she will recover once she doesn't stress her mental state so she won't have a psychological problem. " The doctor said in a tone of finality.

" Hmm, thank you very much. I will let you know when anything comes up. "

" No problem, President Zach. " The doctor left after this.

Ben walked closer to Zach when the doctor had gone.

" Boss, should I stay here with her? " He asked.

" You don't need to, I will do that. Go home and tell everyone if they ask about my whereabout that something urgent came up and I am in my penthouse. "

" All right, boss. See you tomorrow morning. " Ben left.

Zach walked into the ward where Hera was. He closed the door and moved closer to her. His eyes lingered more on her pale face than on the bruises on her body. Hera was given a bit of oxygen to steady her breathing and drips were connected to her body to help to recover. Her face was now really pale. Zach sat on the couch provided opposite the bed she was laying on and stared at her. What situation could this woman be going through? Zach let his fingers brush through his black hair for a while, his eyes never left the woman on the bed.

" What happened to you? " He asked.