by Lily Orevba
Something in Gloria was desperate to win. She already lost so many years invested in the hard work of sharing the same bed with all sorts of men the moment she walked out those brothel doors that she knew walking out of these mansion doors empty-handed was not an option she was willing to contemplate.
Three thousand dollars! Money that was enough to settle her for life. While she didn’t have a well-structured out plan yet, she knew the only thing she was good at was prostituting herself. Perhaps she’d purchase a building in a city far away and start a brothel of her own? That way, she’d do what she was good at and wouldn’t have to share her earnings with anybody.
A smile settled on her lips as the realization that she just might have a plan for her life, began to sink in. Her gaze shifted from Howard to Stuart, who had his eyes on her. The moment her eyes settled on him, he offered her a smile and nodded his head before turning to Howard.
“I was thinking, a ball to celebrate your new wife is in order,” Stuart said, placing his spoon gingerly in his bowl.
“That won’t be necessary,” Howard spoke for the first time, his head rising and turning to his father who sat across the table from him. “I’m filing for divorce.”
A coy smile settled on Gloria’s lips as she leaned forward and placed both her elbows on the table, her eyes resting on Howard. “No, you’re not, Howie boy.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him as he turned sharply to her.
“Citing that” ―He pointed an angry finger at her and turned to his father― “as the major reason why I cannot continue with this.”
“What did you expect?! A bed of roses?” she asked cynically.
“No, Gloria.” He turned to her once more. “I expected a wife.”
“And you got one. Really, Howie, it’s not my fault you can’t handle all of these.” She made a gesture toward herself that deepened the angry crease that raced across his forehead.
Visibly frustrated, he turned to his father once more. “No ball necessary, Father. I made a mistake, and I admit it.”
“The Mayor! I knew I was missing out on a guest for the guest list,” Stuart continued.
Gloria nearly howled in laughter but decided she was enjoying this and didn’t want it to end so soon. “I also thought the lady in red would be a great addition to the list. You know, the woman in town the other day who couldn’t keep her eyes off of Howie here…Brunette…I can’t seem to remember her name.”
“Roxanne…” Stuart offered, his smile making it almost impossible for Gloria to keep herself from laughing. But she was determined.
“I believe so, Stuart. Although, you know, there were many women who couldn’t keep their eyes off of Howard and if we are to invite them all―”
“You think this is a joke, Father?” Howard yelled.
“―There simply will not be room for that many women,” Gloria continued, her gaze not shifting to Howard for a second.
“I see! It’s finally clear to me now. This was a plan. Ha-ha! I find it ridiculous, too, Father. Now that you’ve gotten your revenge on me for being horrendous to your despicable wife…”
Gloria saw the effect Howard’s words had on Stuart, and it filled her with rage. “Oh, pipe down, Howard!” She turned to him.
Howard rose to his feet and shoved his seat back. “You know what the problem is, Father?” His yelling was getting out of hand. “You never listen to me! You…”
“That is enough!” Stuart turned eyes of steel to Howard. “That is enough, Howard. I’ve listened. The real question is, do you listen to yourself when you spew so much nonsense out of your mouth?!” Gloria watched as he heaved a shaky breath. “Now sit down, I would like to continue with dinner.”
Gloria turned her gaze to Howard, her brows raised, half expecting him to storm out of the room. It took a few seconds, but he finally sat back down and focused his gaze on his meal.
***
Howard’s heart pounded loudly in his chest all through dinner, and once that was over, he was thankful he could leave, completely doubtful he could survive another second in the same room with his father and Gloria without smashing something.
What he needed was wine, to get drunk and hopefully drag his messed up life to a world of oblivion for a few seconds.
He stomped up the stairs and made his way to the bedroom. Shoving the door wide open, he had only just taken his shirt off and was about to change into another one in order to go out in an attempt to escape, when the door cracked open, gaining his attention.
Turning sharply, the frown on his face deepened the second his eyes came to rest on Gloria standing by the entryway. She stood still for a long while, eyes fixed on his bare chest.
He opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced as she reached behind her and began to peel her dress off of her body with surprising speed.
His lips falling wide open, his eyes trailed the garment until it was falling to a pile at her feet. With his heart pounding wildly in his chest and his lungs shutting down, his eyes moved slowly up her feet, to her knees, taking in the perfection of her thighs.
He breathed softly and swallowed, unable to tear his eyes off of her.
Gloria stood before him, naked—a vision of perfection with white, glowing skin that made Howard feel like he was staring at a goddess.
Slowly, Howard felt himself being pulled into the schemes of the seductress who stood before him, fully aware of the message she seemed to convey―she was here to offer her body but not her love, and he could take her, but he could never have her. But he wanted more. Against his better judgment, he found himself wanting more and getting frustrated because he couldn’t have more from her.
My wife will never love me. The realization scared him. Would he end up like his father? Loving a woman and not being loved in return?
I love Gloria. A thought that came out of the nowhere, surprising him.
He loved her. What was there to love about her? Nothing! There was nothing to fall in love with. Yet, he found that he was desperate to stare into these perfect green eyes and find them full of love for him. He was desperate to have her behold him in utter adoration. He was desperate for her to reach out to him, not out of a sense of duty but out of love. For she stood there, stripped of her clothes, out of a sense of duty. Her eyes held no emotion in them, not even the slightest emotion was buried in these hollow eyes. He was desperate for love.
The same way that I was desperate for mother’s love.
Howard was afraid of rejection, and as he stared into Gloria’s pool of green eyes, he knew his greatest fear had come alive―Gloria would never accept him.
CHAPTER NINE
He stood still before her, eyes slowly drinking in the sight of her. His fingers twitched, a muscle in his jaw worked, and his lips hung open. When he lifted his eyes to her, she saw his emotions move swiftly from shock to confusion and finally, desire.
Satisfied by the effect she had on him, a small smile played on the edges of Gloria’s lips.
She wasn’t ready for a divorce, not now anyway. And she wanted Howard to know just how much she was willing to sacrifice to stay in the marriage, at least until her goal for getting married in the first place was achieved.
She watched in satisfaction as he ever so slowly, made his way to where she stood by the door. Eyes scanning his face as he moved, she stood there in anticipation of the victory she was guaranteed to have.
He leaned forward, and his cologne drifting into her nostrils. His warm breath tickled her ears, causing tiny goose pimples to break out on her skin while a strange shiver ran down her spine. It was a wave of emotion that shocked, yet thrilled her. She stood, waiting for him to make his move, perhaps even desiring it. But after a few seconds of waiting, he still stood there, breathing against her neck.
Impatient, she reached forward and pressed her palm against his bare chest, the warmth of it causing a soft sigh to escape her lips. Her eyelids pulling shut, she ran her palm up his chest.
“You don’t have to do this
.” He grabbed her wandering hand, forcing her eyelids to pull apart.
She stared wide-eyed at him and swallowed the lump that was now clogging her throat; she was speechless. His resistance and lack of interest in her rendered her speechless and utterly shocked for she always knew what to say, and she had never in her life been rendered speechless.
Gloria could feel her sense of control slipping from her firm grip, to her horror.
She felt Howard bend low before her, pick her gown off of the floor and drag it up her body, and all the way to her chest where he took her shaky hand and pressed it against the fabric to keep it in place.
Without a word, he released his hold on her and walked past her.
To her horror, she stood there, two emotions bombarding her mind: the first was rejection and while she couldn’t remember the last time she felt the second emotion, she recognized it quite well, shame.
***
It took a while for Gloria to get over Howard’s rejection, two days to be precise. But it was a fact Gloria would never admit to. She’d die before she would admit to the fact that a man rejected her body or that his rejection left her feeling ashamed.
No!
Gloria was a prostitute who took pride in her profession and just because a man could behold her stark naked and still resist her, did not negate the fact that she was desirable, it just meant Howard had a problem. Which was why she wasn’t offended when he took his belongings and moved into another room. If avoiding her was his decision, fine! She’d never beg! Never! She’d stay married for one year and not having to look at Howard the entire time, would make her job a lot easier and a lot less unpleasant.
She tucked the last strand of her hair into her tight bun before turning to her drawer to retrieve her dress. Slipping into the pink cotton masterpiece, she stared at her perfect image in the mirror. She could tell just by running her hands down the classy fabric that it had cost the Sullivan men a lot of money.
Gloria was starting to get used to living a life of comfort and wealth, an experience that didn’t require her to earn her comfort through devious means.
Her hands reached for the gold choker necklace that lay on the dresser. She placed it on her neck and offered her breath-taking image one final look; she was perfect. Her beauty had caused many great men to fall. Heck, her beauty caused the fall of the entire townsfolk of San Francisco. Yet, Howard, the man she was married to, had somehow been able to withstand it.
Deciding she wasn’t going to focus on such nonsense, she pushed her bedroom door open and made her way through the house. She was walking past the entryway to the living when a voice stopped her.
“Heading out?”
Turning around, she found Howard seated on a sofa in the living room, his gaze resting on her. She placed her hands on her hips and offered him a small smile.
“You look beautiful, Gloria.”
His words both surprised and filled her with a tingling feeling on the inside. She frowned, annoyed at her reaction to his words.
“Very well, Howard, if you need me, I’ll be spending my day on a tree.” She made to walk past again.
“And your night?”
She paused in her tracks. Was he finally interested? A coy smile settled on her face. Straightening, she turned to offer him a welcoming smile. “My night is wide open.” She raised a teasing brow.
“Good. We have been invited for the annual ball tonight.”
Disappointment washed over her. She nearly kicked herself for feeling that way at his rejection yet again.
With a sigh, she said, “And you are only just informing me?”
“The invitation came two months ago, Gloria. We weren’t married. My intention was to have Father go with me.” He frowned slightly. “Obviously, to get out of it, Father insists he isn’t feeling well, and I cannot back down now, not when I have already passed across my intention to attend.”
A frown settled on Gloria’s face at the mention of Stuart. She couldn’t say she had spent a lot of time with him since the dinner two nights ago and she knew his health condition was getting worse. She saw the way his hands trembled as he tried to handle a fork. She would have to see about Stuart later.
“Alright, I’ll go.” She nodded.
Perhaps if Howard saw the way other men swooned around her—because she’d be sure to make them all swoon and bow—he’d want her too.
She turned from her position by the doorway. If she didn’t know herself very well, she’d think she was desperate for Howard. But, she did know herself, and Gloria Grande had and would never be desperate for a man.
CHAPTER TEN
The presence of the new couple in the town’s annual ball was difficult to ignore. Gloria, in particular, knew her red low cut, ball gown, did the required job of drawing the eyes of every gentleman in the room, to her and the scowls of the women alike.
Red was undoubtedly her color. It contrasted beautifully with her skin and from her experience in San Francisco, it was the color of sin and seduction—a color she carried quite well.
She knew she was stunning. She had taken perfect care to pick out her dress, style her hair into clusters of ringlets behind her head, as well as adorn her hands with beautiful silk, elbow-length gloves. And, thankfully, Howard reacted favorably to her outfit when a bright smile settled on his face the second he laid eyes on her.
Howard himself looked breath-taking if she was to admit it herself. He smelled of men’s cologne and aftershave. He wore a black tailored suit and his usually curly hair was slicked to the back.
Her hand was trapped in the crook of his arm for the first few minutes of their time in the ball. But after a while, he needed to excuse himself to attend to some personal business. His announcement displeased her greatly, knowing he wouldn’t be here to see the way the men were unable to keep their wandering eyes away from her. But she didn’t see the need to argue with him, so she let go of his arm and turned to watch as a few people took to dancing on the dance floor.
Gloria never got to learn to dance and thankfully, this fact could stay hidden too, seeing as Howard so conveniently abandoned her to the ravaging eyes of shameless men.
She sighed, tiring of their attention. Some of them even had women she presumed were their wives or promised, standing beside them, but they didn’t care. One even gawked at her, his eyeballs threatening to pop right out. It wasn’t until the blond who stood beside him slapped him in annoyance, that he was able to snap back to the present world.
Gloria was bored with these men. She didn’t like to admit it but not having to prostitute herself for almost a month, changed her. She didn’t want their attention, she wanted Howard’s! She wanted him to gawk at her! How on earth did he continue to withstand her beauty even when she basically threw herself at him?!
Her mind plagued her with anger over Howard’s rejection, a rejection that was continuous. But she wasn’t done with him yet, she was going to make sure if it kills her…
“Gloria?”
Her entire body froze at the sound of the voice behind her.
“You must be jesting!”
She spun around, in time to see him, standing there, smiling brightly at her like a nightmare, dragged from the pits of Hades to haunt her.
With her lungs shutting down and her vision darkening, she whispered, “Marcus.”
***
Marcus Brody hated social events. He hated getting dressed and socializing with people he could care less about.
Yet, he couldn’t miss this particular ball. He came here to make a point to the fifty-year-old wife of one of the most powerful business moguls in Arkansas, that he was a man not to be trifled with. Whatever Marcus Brody demanded, Marcus Brody got. And this time, Marcus was demanding a payment of ten thousand dollars from the adulterous wife whose bed he defiled when her husband was out of town on business trips. Over the past six months, Marcus had been her lover, enjoying the benefits of being with a rich woman.
Then, out of nowhere, she wanted
nothing to do with him. Giving in to guilt, she insisted she wanted to try to salvage what was left of her sinking marriage.
Well, Marcus wasn’t feeling too generous by letting her walk away like that. After threatening to expose her illicit affair to the world, he showed up here to ruffle her feathers and show her just how serious he was.
Then luck smiled on him. Like a beautiful fantasy, Gloria walked in through those doors, looking breath-taking as always, while hanging onto Howard Sullivan’s arm.
Marcus knew the Sullivan men and being one to listen to gossip and even propagate some himself, he heard of Howard’s marriage to a beautiful woman. Now that he thinks of it, he should have known the only person capable of possessing such scandalous beauty was Gloria.
Was it possible that the heir to the Sullivan fortune had gone ahead to deliberately marry a prostitute? It was an unbelievable fact. Unless of course, Howard didn’t know what he was getting when he agreed to marry Gloria. He probably didn’t know that Gloria was a soiled dove. Option two seemed like an explanation of the madness.
Marcus hadn’t set his eyes on Gloria since the night he stole her jewelry and the little savings she kept hidden from Coleen. As he stood before her, staring into the eyes of the most beautiful woman that ever walked the streets of San Francisco and Arkansas and every town Marcus had been to, he knew he missed her. He had been with many women, yet, being with Gloria was a feeling no woman could evoke in him.
But he didn’t love her. He only told her he loved her so she could keep sneaking him into her room in the middle of the night to spend time with her without the usual fee he had to pay if he went through Coleen. Poor Gloria, the naive teenager fell head over heels for him and hopefully, was still in love with him; he was banking on it if he was going to spend more quality time in her bed.