The dream of everyone with regards to marriage is to be able to find that special someone and settle down with them. Even arranged marriages grant you an opportunity to meet your partner briefly before the wedding. How will you feel about waking up in the morning with someone sleeping next to you who is not just anyone but your legally married partner yet with no memory of how that had happened in just a few hours of going out the previous day? This is the story of Jason Haward and Julia Harrison, two strangers trapped in a marriage they never planned. The quest to find out why led to the unfolding of a mystery which made them realize they are both living a lie. To find out more, read this amazing story of love, betrayal, revenge and murder.
A ray of light falling on Jason's face made it impossible for him to continue enjoying his sleep. Squinting his face, he turned, but he felt something behind him preventing him from lying on his back. He turned the other way to allow him to see what was behind him and was surprised to see a half-naked woman sleeping in his bed. He quickly got out of bed and realized he was not wearing any clothes.
"What the hell happened?" Jason thought.
Confused, he left the bedroom, entered the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection. He tried to recall the events of the previous day but remembered nothing.
"Who is she? And why is she in his bed?" Jason thought and ran his hand through his black hair.
His eyes fell on the gold ring on his finger. He quickly turned his hand and looked at it closely. He removed it from his finger and read the initials engraved inside it.
"J.H"
"What does that mean? Jason Haward?" Jason thought.
"Looks like my initials," he thought.
"Why do I have a wedding ring on my finger?" he thought, and remembered the lady.
"Maybe she put it on my finger," he thought.
Back in the bedroom, the lady, Julia, had just woken up but held her head in pain. She tried to recall what she did to give her such a terrible headache.
Julia attempted to sit up but quickly realized she was naked. She covered herself with the sheet but felt some discomfort between her legs.
"Where am I and what the hell happened?" she thought, realizing the strange environment.
"O no, what did I do this time?" Julia stared in horror at the blood stain on the bed when she finally got out of bed.
She had lost her virginity and yet had no memory of how that happened. How could she have lost her virginity like this? She wanted a memorable experience for her first time, yet she had no recollection of how this one happened or even how it felt. Just when she was lost in her thoughts, the door opened and a tall handsome man with blue eyes and black hair stepped into the room.
"Who are you?" Jason asked in his deep voice.
"I should be asking you that question. Who are you and how did I get here?" Julia questioned, moving backwards, away from the king-size bed.
Jason's gaze shifted to Julia's hand, which was holding the sheet she had wrapped around herself with part of it sweeping the floor, and he saw she also had a ring on her finger. He walked towards her and she was startled by his sudden advancement towards her. She started moving backwards and he kept advancing towards her.
"Don't get any closer or I will scream," Julia threatened.
"Scream all you want, like someone is going to hear you."Jason retorted.
Julia's back hit the window and he grabbed her hand roughly.
"How did you get this?" Jason questioned, drawing Julia's attention to the ring on her finger.
Julia looked at it puzzled and could not answer him. She had no idea how she got it but she loved the diamond stones around it because they were very beautiful.
"Are you hearing me, woman?" Jason yelled at her, tightening his grip around her wrist and shaking her violently.
Julia winced in pain and her face quickly became red.
"I don't know" Julia replied, her voice trembling.
"You don't know how you ended up in my bed?" Jason yelled at her.
"I don't know," Julia cried and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Jason threw her to the ground out of annoyance.
"Get out of this room before I get back," he said and heard his phone ringing.
Jason scanned the entire room following the sound and finally saw it lying on the bedside table. He walked back to the bedside and picked it up. It was a call from his brother.
"Hello James," Jason said.
"Hello Jason, what time are you coming over," James asked.
"Coming over for what? I have some things to do at the office. So, whatever you want to say, spit it out quickly," Jason replied, annoyed.
"Brother, it is Saturday. Dad came home sick last night; we sent him to the hospital. Mum called you, have you forgotten?" James reminded him.
Jason stood frozen. He had no memory of that. He thought very hard but nothing.
"Sure, I am coming over" Jason replied calmly.
Jason ended the call still trying to recall things, but could not recall anything. He placed the phone back on the table but his eyes caught sight of the stain on the white sheet.
"Is that blood?" Jason thought, knowing exactly what that meant.
"Does it mean I am her first?" Jason thought, turning to look at the woman covering herself with the sheet still standing in front of the window.
"F**k!" Jason exclaimed, understanding he had to take responsibility, but he was not ready for that.
"What is your name" he questioned, but was met with silence.
"Answer me dammit," Jason yelled, causing Julia to jump out of fright.
"Julia Harrison," Julia replied, trembling.
"Julia, get out of my house now," Jason yelled.
"I don't know where my clothes are," Julia said in a trembling voice.
"What size are you?" Jason asked in frustration.
"What?" Julia replied, not understanding what he meant.
"Your clothes size" Jason repeated.
"8" Julia replied.
Jason picked up his phone and dialled a number.
"Bring me a female dress, size 8. You have 15 minutes," Jason said and disconnected the call.
Jason entered the bathroom, leaving Julia in the bedroom.
"Who the heck is that guy and why is he so mean?" Julia thought.
She started looking around to see if she would find her clothes but there was nothing. A knock on the door startled her. She stood frozen, not sure what to do. The man came out of the bathroom.
"What? You didn't hear the knock or you didn't know how to answer the doors?" Jason asked annoyed.
He walked to the door and opened it. Collecting the dress bag from the young man at the door. He closed the door without a word. He took two steps and threw the bag at her.
"Get dressed and get out before I come out," he said and went back to the bathroom.
Julia opened it and put on the straight blue dress. She wasn't wearing any underwear and had no shoes on either. She quickly made her way towards the door and opened it. She stepped out and closed it shut by banging it, making a loud noise.
There were lots of people working in the house all wearing uniforms. They all turned to look at her. She quickly turned white as a sheet.
"I am sorry," Julia apologized and looked around her and ran towards the staircase.
She descended the staircase but was not sure how to get out of the house. She saw a lady carrying a tray in one direction. The aroma told her it was food.
"Please how do I get outside," Julia asked, standing on the last stairs, and the lady pointed her in the right direction.
Julia quickly ran in the direction the lady had shown her and was soon out of the house after descending a never-ending long staircase. She looked behind her to see the huge eight-storey beautiful building she had just exited.
She walked barefoot on the wet pavement, indicating it had rained the night before. She raised her hand to stop a cab and realized she didn't have any money and she was not familiar with the area either.
"O God, I need to stop clubbing and drinking. How did I end up with that handsome ass, and here?" she thought as she looked around in frustration.
Julia had no phone to call anyone. She continued walking down the street. She was not sure how long she had been walking when a Bugatti Chiron slowed down close to her.
She ignored it and continued walking. The car honked at her so she stopped to see who it was.
"Get in" came the deep familiar voice.
It was the man who had yelled at her earlier in the Storey building.
Julia ignored him and continued to walk. A man got down from the front in a black tuxedo wearing sunglasses. He walked up to Julia and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards the car.
"Let go of me, I am going to scream," Julia threatened as she struggled to free herself.
"Go ahead, like anyone will come," replied the gentleman as he continued to drag her towards the parked car.
He opened the door to the back seat and threw Julia into the car. She fell onto the seat but quickly collected herself and pushed herself backwards till her back hit the car door. She was trembling as she was very terrified.
"Listen, woman, when I say something, you listen and obey. Get it?" Jason said in a deep calm voice.
His eyes were fixated on his phone as his fingers typed away. Julia pushed back further as if she wanted to go through the door and end up outside.
"Where to?" Jason asked, still looking at his phone.
"Belle glade," Julia replied, trembling.
Jason shifted his gaze to look at her briefly and could see how terrified she was, but he was not bothered. He turned his gaze back to his phone and gave the instructions to the driver to drop Julia off at the destination she mentioned. Julia sat in the corner of the car with her back pressed against the back seat door, with her head lowered all through the journey till they got to her destination.
Upon reaching her destination and the door unlocked Julia jumped out of the car.
"Thank you" Julia managed to say and moved away quickly.
She kept looking back occasionally and realized the car had left.
"What a rude man," Julia thought as she continued walking down the street towards her home.
Chapter 1 Waking Up in The Morning
17/02/2024
Chapter 2 We Lost Him
17/02/2024
Chapter 3 Father's Funeral
17/02/2024
Chapter 4 Reading of The Will
17/02/2024
Chapter 5 On one condition
17/02/2024
Chapter 6 Sad News
17/02/2024
Chapter 7 He is a Man of Integrity
17/02/2024
Chapter 8 The Haward's Family New Heir
17/02/2024
Chapter 9 Conflict Within
17/02/2024
Chapter 10 Flash Memories
17/02/2024
Chapter 11 I Was Your Favourite Son
18/02/2024
Chapter 12 Unannounced Visit
18/02/2024
Chapter 13 Why Can't I Get Her Out of My Mind
18/02/2024
Chapter 14 Evicted from The Family Condo
18/02/2024
Chapter 15 We Are Your Family
18/02/2024
Chapter 16 Tilly Left
18/02/2024
Chapter 17 Suspicious Acts
18/02/2024
Chapter 18 Investigators at Work
18/02/2024
Chapter 19 The Marriage Certificate
18/02/2024
Chapter 20 Mrs Haward Finds Out About Julia
18/02/2024
Chapter 21 Power Over Her
20/02/2024
Chapter 22 Her First Surprise
20/02/2024
Chapter 23 A Night to Remember - Part 1
20/02/2024
Chapter 24 A Night to Remember - Part 2
20/02/2024
Chapter 25 The Morning After
20/02/2024
Chapter 26 A Night Attack
20/02/2024
Chapter 27 Counter Attack
20/02/2024
Chapter 28 New Plan
20/02/2024
Chapter 29 He Is Your Brother
20/02/2024
Chapter 30 Introducing James to The Business
20/02/2024
Chapter 31 Unpleasant Experience
20/02/2024
Chapter 32 She Came On To Me
20/02/2024
Chapter 33 You Will Pay For This
20/02/2024
Chapter 34 James's PA
20/02/2024
Chapter 35 Company Emergency
20/02/2024
Chapter 36 Let Me Take Care Of That
20/02/2024
Chapter 37 Prey Before Predator
20/02/2024
Chapter 38 The Arrest
20/02/2024
Chapter 39 Jason Returns Home
20/02/2024
Chapter 40 Illegitimate Child
20/02/2024
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