Pampered Like A Princess

Knowing Edward, he wanted more than just a bagel.

Nelissa ended up only buying breakfast for Jolene, who was already occupied with work.

She put the bagel and coffee onto Jolene’s desk, “Have them while they are still hot.”

Jolene was startled, “Nelly!”

She took the coffee and frowned, “Did you spend the whole night at Edward’s?”

“Yes,” Nelissa blushed.

Jolene turned her monitor slightly in Nelissa’s direction and said, “You have to come to see this.”

It was a news article on the charity dinner.

“Edward Hales bid necklace at a high price for Sophia Bailey, disaffirming his rumored relationship with Miss Quest,” Jolene read the title out loud as Nelissa skimmed through the main text.

“Oof, you’re not even dating him, yet you already have at least two women to worry about. What do you have to fight against someone from the Bailey or the Quest?

“Besides, I don’t think that Edward is fully committed to you. If he ends up choosing you, what are you going to do about all those possible competitors in the future?”

Truth be told, Nelissa had no idea. She even wondered if Edward would kick her out of the picture if Anna were to return one day.

She asked for Jolene’s opinion.

However, Jolene asked her instead, “Where’s Noey and Nate’s birth father?”

Nelissa frowned, “Why do you ask?”

“I’m thinking if you could use him as an excuse,” Jolene shrugged. “Tell Edward that you’re going to start a family with the twins’ birth father. Surely a gentleman like him will respect your decision and let you go, yes?”

Nelissa’s smile dropped. She was certain that he would let her go, but he would definitely take Noey and Nate with him.

“Alright, fine,” Jolene said, gauging Nelissa’s reaction.

Nelissa had been very reluctant to talk about the twins’ birth father. Perhaps he had deeply hurt her in the past, and things would only get worse if he was involved.

Jolene continued, “You do know that you can’t handle Edward, right? You should settle down with someone else other than him… Someone simple and honest.”

“I know,” Nelissa sighed. She couldn’t possibly tell Jolene that Edward had threatened to kill her future husband.

Jolene took a bite of the bagel and changed the subject, “So, did anything happen last night?”

“Apart from finding out that he’s not going to sign the contract anytime soon? No.” Nelissa grimaced, “What am I going to tell Mr. Marcel later?”

Jolene laughed, “Oh, you poor girl, sandwiched between two rich men.”

Nelissa wanted to chat for a little longer, but it was already almost time for work. She returned to her desk after borrowing a phone charger from Jolene.

Countless notifications jumped right up once Nelissa turned on her cell phone. Most of them were missed calls from Edward, all of which were made during the charity dinner where he had bought the 30-million-dollar necklace for Sophia.

She sneered, putting her phone aside.

……

Nelissa was called to Marcel’s office later that morning.

“What’s taking you so long?” Marcel asked grumpily.

Nelissa sighed silently. She couldn’t say that Edward was making things difficult for her on purpose, could she?

“Mr. Marcel, haven’t you been keeping up with the gossip lately? Mr. Hales is busy. I couldn’t even schedule an appointment with him.”

Marcel, of course, had caught wind of Edward’s private life. It was the latest talk of the town, and if it was true, Edward indeed had his hands full.

He waved his hand dismissively, “Fine, I’ll give you more time then.”

Before Nelissa could express her gratitude, he continued, “You’re free tonight, right? Come to a business dinner with me.”

Nelissa nodded and left Marcel’s office in annoyance.

During lunch, she told Jolene about the dinner with Marcel and asked Jolene to take care of Noey and Nate for another night.

Although Nelissa really wanted to spend time with Noey and Nate, she needed to make necessary sacrifices to uphold her family’s quality of life.

……

Later that night, Nelissa arrived at the Time Square Hotel with Marcel and a few other colleagues from the Public Relations Department. In a daze, she followed them to a private room in the restaurant.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

She didn’t expect that she would return to the very same hotel that bonded her and Edward together for life.

Five years ago, she got herself wasted at one of the bars in this hotel. Driven by the primitive desire hidden in her body, she threw herself at a man, who gave her a warm embrace in return.

It was her first time, and that man, of course, was Edward.

“Do you want to go home?” he whispered gently into her ears.

She burst out in tears, “I don’t have a home anymore!”

Nelissa left the following morning before Edward woke up, never coming back for years.

“Nelly,” Marcel called out, bringing Nelissa back to reality. “You’ve got sharp eyes. Pick some girls to entertain our guests later, will you?”

Nelissa nodded and shifted her eyes onto the row of young women waiting at the door. Because she didn’t know who their guest for that evening was, she made sure to pick those of different aesthetics, hoping that one of them would catch the guest’s eyes.

Based on her experience, the lucky girl might get a generous amount of tips. As for what would happen after the dinner, it was none of Nelissa’s business.

Right at this moment, the guest entered the private room. Naturally, Nelissa looked up, and she was shocked to see his face.

Edward scanned across the room and frowned, “Who asked for escorts?”

“…Me,” Nelissa bit the bullet.

If she had known the guest was Edward, she wouldn’t have picked the hostesses at all. After all, he didn’t enjoy women’s company in such places. So, his annoyance was understandable.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Marcel had asked her to pick the girls on purpose to get back at her for the gibberish she talked about earlier that day.

The room was pin-drop silence.

Nelissa gulped under his death stare, remembering how displeased Edward was when a hostess went near him at the clubhouse in Golden Springs. She couldn’t let his temper mess up their dinner that night.

She asked the young women to stand by the door. Then, she went up to him and whispered, “I was only curious.”

He sneered, “About what?”

“About your cup of tea, Mr. Hales,” Nelissa answered.

Edward didn’t reply. Instead, he walked past her and headed to the empty seat they left for him. Then, he gestured for her to sit beside him.

She had no choice but to do as told. Up until this point, she had given up worrying about what Marcel and her other colleagues would think of her. After all, there were already rumors about her in the office.

Rumors said that she had a wealthy long-distance boyfriend at Southville City, and her boyfriend was a close friend of Edward. So, it was natural for Edward to pave the way for her work.

“So, who do you think is my cup of tea?” Edward asked, his eyes skimmed through the line of girls.

Nelissa sipped on her juice and hesitatingly pointed to one with a full bust.

He shook his head, “Too desirous.”

She pointed to another one with a slim waist.

“I don’t like girls with short hair,” he shrugged.

Nelissa dropped her hand and stopped guessing.

Since none of the girls caught Edward’s eyes, they left after getting some tips from Marcel.

Marcel’s lips twitched. He thought Edward would want to seek comfort from docile girls after what he was put through by his girlfriends, but it seemed like Marcel had messed up.

Unsurprisingly, Edward either changed the subject or pretended that he didn’t understand Marcel’s hint whenever their collaboration was mentioned. And their business dinner, of course, ended earlier than expected.

However, after they bid their goodbyes, Edward had Nelissa stay behind.