Sophie and Edward went back to his place. By the time they got there, Eliza had already left.
Edward headed straight for the couch. He took off his coat and sat down with his arms wide and legs spread apart. His fingers gently tapped on the armrest and the sound was hypnotic to Sophie's ear.
Sophie reached for the lights and switched it on. She then asked, "Edward, what do you think of Miss Quest?"Edward didn't respond. He was still tapping his fingers as his mind lingered on the memories of Nelissa's snow-white face and how succulent her lips looked.
Even the way Nelissa chewed and licked her lips during dinner aroused him.
Sophie bantered on, "Her two kids are so adorable. Everyone loves them back in school. Besides, they are really intelligent too for their age. I heard that they grew up without parents; they must have passed away…"
"Get to the point," Edward interrupted.
Sophie hugged Edward from behind and whispered in his ear, "I think she would be a perfect surrogate mother."
It was obvious that Sophie had taken a liking to the twins and she wanted twins of her own.
She wasn't even worried in the slightest that Nelissa would pose a threat to her relationship with Edward.
Nelissa was a woman that got abandoned by a man and was raising two kids by herself. Even if Edward took a liking to her, he couldn't possibly flaunt her in public. Sophie could easily disperse her with some money.
Edward rubbed his fingers together in silence as he pondered…
Later that night, Jolene came home with supper. It was everything the twins loved to eat.
Every time Jolene received her pay or bonus, she would definitely buy treats for the twins. She really treated them like her own children.
Nelissa wasn't hungry. She pinned her eyes on the screen as she scrolled through the financial news. She was keeping tabs on stock prices and anything else she could make a profit on.
She had two days left to come up with two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. She didn't know if Edward would help her or not, but she would ask him if she had to.
Since they had already come to an agreement, there was no need for her to put on a strong front. She needed money badly!
"Not hungry?" Jolene sat down beside Nelissa. She rolled her eyes when she saw the financial channel and switched channels.
Nelissa shook her head in disappointment and looked at her phone. There was no call from Edward.
Should she make the call?
"Waiting for someone?" Jolene asked cheekily.
Nelissa was twenty-three years old and in her prime. It made sense if there were some potential male interests buzzing around her.
Jolene would be supportive of Nelissa dating anyone except Edward!
But what Jolene didn't know was that Nelissa was now exclusively Edward's woman. If she so much as touches another man, she would be in deep trouble.
The next morning in the Victory Group office, the two clients that had bailed on Nelissa before suddenly contacted her. They made appointments to sign the contracts and seal the deal.
Everything went extremely smoothly; there were no lengthy negotiations, no awkward social gatherings, nothing.
"Mr. Leonard, cheers to our future endeavours." Nelissa shaked Leonard's hand.
Leonard bowed down and humbled himself before Nelissa. "Miss Quest, I'm really sorry for what happened before. I couldn't meet you because some urgent things happened and I couldn't walk away."
He seemed to be extremely respectful of Nelissa and continued, "I hope you don't take it to heart."
Nelissa was shocked to see Leonard acting like that.
Nelissa was now the apple of Edward's eye, the most influential figure in Haleston City. However, she didn't expect that sort of treatment from Mr. Leonard too.
The two appointments took up almost her entire day. Nelissa immediately went to the kindergarten after work to fetch the twins.
After that, she brought them to a nearby supermarket to get some groceries. She was planning to have casseroles for dinner that night.
Jolene was working late that night, so Nelissa kept some leftovers for her.
About ten o'clock, Nelissa finally put the twins to bed and kissed them goodnight. She whipped out her phone; Edward still hasn't called.
She stood on the balcony and stared at the lonely moon. It portrayed a sense of agonizing depression as she came to a realization.
If Edward was not intending on calling her, the only thing she could do was call him instead.
She was running out of time. Her deadline was the next day but she was still hesitant.
However, she came to terms with herself as she knew she couldn't avoid it forever; she needed to face the music.
Her mind was in shambles when suddenly, her phone rang.
She sprang back into the living room and picked up the phone; it was Edward!
She took a deep breath, calmed herself down and answered, "Hello, Master Hales."
A magnetic man's voice sounded, "I'm at the Haleston City Golden Springs Clubhouse, come here now."
"Alright." Nelissa had to go.
She hung up the phone and immediately went to change her clothes. She ultimately decided on a pair of jeans because the last time she was there, she noticed that revealing clothes wasn't the wisest option.
People could get the wrong idea.
Jolene returned home just as she was packing up her stuff. It was great timing; she wasn't feeling comfortable leaving the twins at home alone.
"Where're you going?" Jolene asked as she took off her heels.
"Just meeting a friend," Nelissa replied simply. She didn't dare mention Edward nor her money problem.
"Wow, you're popular"
Nelissa was already long gone when Jolene said that. She hailed a cab and headed for the Golden Springs Clubhouse.
After forty minutes, she finally arrived. She watched in awe as the bright lights and spectacular decor of the clubhouse put on the most amazing lightshow she had ever seen.
The clubhouse was notorious for its ridiculously high prices. It was also extremely exclusive, one could only enter on invitation.
Nelissa was clearly underdressed as well. The guards at the entrance stopped her and politely asked if she came to the wrong place.
After all, there was another nightclub down the street with the same name.
Nelissa said, "I'm here to look for Edward Hales."
The staff at the clubhouse heard her but they weren't surprised. After all, there were numerous women claiming that they knew Edward and wanted to get closer to him.
Hence, they refused her entry and said, "Miss, I can't let you enter. Master Hales isn't here tonight. Please go back."
Nelissa was distraught. She took out her phone and gave Edward a call. The call quickly got through.
"The people outside say that you aren't here tonight."
At that moment, the staff was sure that Nelissa was just an imposter. Edward's personal mobile number was a thing of legend! Plus, no one would dare speak to Edward like that.
"Alright," Nelissa replied and hung up.
The staff were amused to see what she would pull out next.
She walked down the steps and sat down. It was really late at night and there weren't many cars on the street.
Nelissa saw a homeless man picking up trash on the other side of the road; she felt sympathetic for him.
She was just like him, barely surviving on the pity of other people.
Edward suddenly exited the building and the clubhouse manager followed closely behind, apologizing and bowing repeatedly.
The staff that refused Nelissa's entry was horrified. His face turned pale as his knees started trembling.
Nelissa had her back turned against the door so she didn't see Edward coming.
Edward was furious. Without another word, he grabbed the manager by the collar and threw him down the steps. The manager stumbled down the steps and landed beside Nelissa.
Nelissa was caught by surprise. She turned around and saw Edward's cold gaze.
He sauntered towards her and held her hand. He rubbed her hands and asked, "Did you wait long?"
Nelissa shook her head, she was still in shock from before. "No, just a while."
"Let's go." Edward then tugged her along.
The staff at the clubhouse were petrified when they saw Edward holding Nelissa's hand. They knew that they had trodden on the dragon's tail.
Edward brought her into one of the exclusive lounges. There was a party raging inside. Nelissa could recognize some of the men's faces but the women were all totally alien.
Just as expected, these playboys have just switched partners.
"Nelissa, over here!" Joshua waved to her. They were playing poker when Edward suddenly left. They needed a fourth.
Edward then mumbled to Nelissa, "Take my place. I'm tired."
Nelissa looked at the cards and swiftly shook her head, "I don't know how to play. I'll lose all your money."
Edward seemed amused and laughed, "You can keep whatever you win and I'll handle the losses."
Nelissa then thought to herself, "This would be a great opportunity to earn some money."
She was still short of two hundred and sixty thousand dollars; these rich playboys were large gamblers. If she was lucky, she could earn that money in no time!
"I'm in!"
Nelissa sat in Edward's place and stretched her neck. Edward stood behind her and began to teach her the rules.
He loomed over her and held the cards in her hand. Her heart began to fluster as the warmth of their skin intertwined.
Just when she thought she got her emotions under control, the smell of his cologne perfumed her nostrils and her cheeks dyed red like an apple.
She tried her best to remember what Edward said but everything went down the drain when she looked up; she was staring at his collarbone.
"Do you get it?" Edward asked.
Nelissa nodded. She was breathless.
Nelissa was a complete beginner hence she was really slow with her actions. She had to keep reminding herself of the rules and before she knew it, an hour had passed.
She had lost about half a million dollars.
Nelissa held a card in her hand as she hesitated. Edward noticed that and whispered down her neck, "Not this, that one."
He ran his large hand around Nelissa's and guided her.
She won that round but she was still in deficit.
Joshua was raking in huge wins and was all smiles.
"Nelissa, give me your number. If we ever play again, I will definitely call you," he said as he teased Nelissa.
Nelissa suddenly stood up and said, "Let's take a break!"
Joshua and the others were taken by surprise. "Alright." They were just getting in on the fun.
Nelissa was traumatized. Large sums of money being thrown around and it didn't even belong to her.
She said to Edward, "I don't want to play anymore. You go play."
"Did you have fun?" Edward asked.
Nelissa nodded; it was still fun.
"I thought that they would go easy on me, it was my first time anyway." Nelissa felt a little disappointed.
Nelissa was dismayed. She never understood the importance of money until she lost Mary.
"Your first time?" Edward raised his eyebrows and held up Nelissa's chin closer to his face.
He murmured in her ears, "I'll teach you how to have fun."