Love’n’Lust

“You are already getting that, I don’t have to sign a contract besides you don’t love me, do you?” After her last two words, Belle felt like she shouldn’t have asked that.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

The car stopped suddenly, they were now in front of the Crisp-tv media house. Belle sat on his thighs still, with no words and no action, just sheer silence.

“I will think about it, Ben.” She said oddly before picking up her purse and leaving the car.

Nathan was just about to walk into the building when he saw her alight from an expensive car parked right outside the office; he couldn’t tell if the other cars parked behind it were escort cars or not because they also looked pretty expensive. He wasn’t generally into cars but he knew this one Belle came down from was a new model.

He hid when she was about to enter the building, he was still too shocked to talk to her. She seemed to be more affluent than he thought.

‘Maybe I should heed Laura’s advice, maybe I should stay away from Belle.’ He began to think after remembering Laura Johnson’s advice the other day. He started to believe she was right about her assumptions and he was wrong, maybe Belle wasn’t from a rich family but seeing someone powerful, a politician maybe.

He took the stairs, not willing to wait for the elevator after Belle took it. Throughout office hours, Nathan did his possible best to avoid her.

Belle on her part spent every free time she had to think about what Ben wanted her to do; surely, she had no plans to sleep with anyone else but she didn’t want to sign a contract either. She made up her mind; she was going to refuse his idea.

LATE EVENING

Belle stepped out of the elevator while checking what time it was on her wristwatch. She stopped when she left the building, she was looking around at the cars parked along the roadside to know if she could identify any of Ben’s cars he had frequently come to pick her up with.

Not marking any of the cars as Ben’s, Belle decided to hail a cab to go home. ‘Maybe he’s too busy today,’ she thought.

When the cab drove past the house Ben gifted her, she asked the driver to drop her off there. Searching her purse for the house keys as she approached the front porch of the house, she almost believed she didn’t have the keys in that particular purse but it fell out from the open purse.

Alone in the modern bungalow, she looked around like it was the first time she was there. The quietness made her consider telling both Brie and Cherry about the house because now she wanted to stay in it. She needed to come home to somewhere as quiet as this. She loved her cousin’s sister but sometimes she didn’t want her around; sometimes she wanted to be alone, no Brie and no Cherry.

*****

Belle went home and started to pack some of her clothes in one of her luggage. Cherry came into the room randomly and saw Belle folding clothes with some of them scattered on the bed but she didn’t bother to find out what was going on, she just made a rough assumption that Belle was just re-arranging her wardrobe.

It was different when Brie walked into the room. She saw Belle packing and she had to ask.

“Okay… what’s going on?” Belle asked making Belle pause from what she was doing.

“Finally, you are back,” Belle started because she had been waiting for Brie to return from work but for some reason, she didn’t return home at the same time as Cherry.

“I’m moving out,” Belle broke it to her in the simplest way she could.

“You are moving out? Where to? Did you find another apartment? Why am I just knowing? When are you leaving, tomorrow? Don’t you have to go to work tomorrow?” Brie asked a chain of questions, some of which Belle couldn’t grab.

“Yes, I’m moving out, tonight.” Belle gave answers to the questions she could process.

“Tonight? Why tonight? Are you mad at me or something? Is this about my advice with you and Mr. Larkson?”

“No. No, no, no.” Belle put stress on her not to let her sister know that she was not angry with her.

“Then why are you leaving? And so soon? It’s like you trying to run away from me.”

“I’m not running away from you, it’s just….” Belle paused her words to give her decision one last thought.”Ben got me a house,” Belle got an expected look from her cousin the moment those words left her lips.

“He got you a house?”

“Yes, it’s just a small bungalow, it’s close to where I work, that’s why he got it,” Belle explained hoping Brie didn’t judge the gift from Ben. She made sure to mention that it was just a bungalow so it didn’t seem like Ben was doing too much for her( Belle).

“So that’s why you are leaving? Are you gonna be staying with him? Why is he buying you a house, he hasn’t even been with you for up to a month?” Brie began to criticize.

“He is a billionaire, Brie, he has the money to spend on her, that’s why.” They both heard Cherry.”Just to be clear here, I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything, I just happened to be here during your conversation.”

The room went silent for a very short while until Cherry spoke again.

“Are you taking this with you?” Cherry came to the bed and pick up a jumpsuit from where it lay on the bed together with some of Belle’s other clothes.”I thought you said I could have it?”

“Have it if you want it.” Belle just said and resumed folding the clothes. She looked up once in a while at Brie who didn’t seem happy with her decision.