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Sealed Fate: Love Found and Lost

"In my head, I knew this wasn't right, but every other fiber of my being screamed otherwise. Our breaths mingled together as our tongues conversed passionately with each other. Had it not been for Jordan's solid grip on my waist, I wouldn't have been able to hold myself up because of how weak my knees felt. He moved his lips from my lips to the hollow portion on my neck and a moan escaped my mouth. If it was the alcohol or the absolute fatal attraction that I had felt for him since the moment we met, I didn't know. All I knew was that this felt euphoric. It felt right and I wanted to feel like this some more." ____________________________________________________ When Skylar Rose lands a job to write a magazine about the infamous playboy of the business world-- Jordan Parker, there is instant attraction. Jordan is obnoxious, selfish, a certified lothario and just insufferable to sum it up. But with looks like his, who cares, right? Skylar cares. While the very presence of Jordan in a room makes her brain go wild with the hormones, the moment he opens his mouth all of Skylar's energy goes into not slapping that mouth off his pretty face. So when an impromptu dinner date goes wrong in ways no one could ever imagine, Jordan finds himself in a bit of crisis and it seems like Skylar is his only way out. Leaving her no choice but to agree to his cause; Jordan entraps Skylar to form a PACT. One that will give them both what they want. Jordan can finally get his mother and her attempts at getting him married, off his back and Skylar will get the unfiltered details of Jordan's journey into the business world. All she has to do is pretend to be his girlfriend. Skylar agrees, but on one condition: what transpired on his balcony that night can never happen again. Easy enough? But life never goes how it's planned, does it? Feelings. Desires. Lust. All find their way into the crack of their hearts. Burdened with a secret of hers, which she plans to carry to her grave, Skylar can no longer stay. So she vanishes in thin air leaving Jordan nothing but pieces of his broken heart and memories he wishes to now erase. He swears to never let anyone in again. But months later he finds a journal, Skylar's journal, which has the answers to all his questions and so he embarks upon a journey to find Skylar and get the closure that he deserves. Will he find the answers he's looking for? Or will an even unimaginable secret unearth itself in front of him? ----------------- WPC Winner #159 (Bronze Tier) || DAILY UPDATES **SLOW BURN** THIS STORY IS MY ORIGINAL CREATION. THE COVER PHOTO BELONGS TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNER. It is not my original creation.

itslikeametaphor · Thành thị
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Law of Attraction

[ A/N: Okay, this chapter is diving into Jordan's account from the past. The timeline remains the same as the one in which we are reading Skylar's account. ]

(JORDAN)

"Well, didn't you want a girlfriend? Now you've got one, Jordan Parker."

Rose took a step back and de-tangled herself from my embrace.

As I felt her warmth fade a part of me yearned to pull her back. But the other part, the sane and practical part of me, forced my attention to the voices rising around me.

I retracted my hands to my sides and warily skimmed the floor which was now bubbling with hushed voices.

"We should get upstairs," I cleared my throat and shifted my focus towards Rose but her attention wasn't on me.

I followed her line of sight but she appeared to be staring at nothing in particular.

I did not have time for this.

Grabbing her hand, I started walking in the direction of the elevator.

"Ow! I can walk on my own," she urged.

"You have no idea what you've just done," I growled.

As the lift opened in front of me I rushed inside along with Rose.

"What I've done?" she said sounding perplexed.

I clenched my jaw and waited for the doors to close. As my own reflection stared back at me, I pressed the button to my floor and swirled on my heels.

"Why did you kiss me?" I looked directly into her dazzling blue eyes.

They widened in response and her brows furrowed in confusion. "I just did what you asked for!"

"I didn't ask for you to kiss me in front of my entire staff!" I growled. "This was supposed to be a small diversion for my mother, which by the way, I had exempted you from a few minutes ago! You were free—"

"I just helped you!" she looked at me with incredulity. "The least you could do is breathe a 'thank you' instead of going all beast on me!"

"Fat lot of good that'll do me! You've just turned, what should have been our very private lie, into a fucking theatre act!" I trembled with anger.

"I don't... I don't get it. You're insane," she began to pace around the small area in the moving lift.

Her fingers brushed through the chestnut brown locks cascading down her shoulders in waves. She let out a frustrated cry.

"I told you the deal was off and then within the next few minutes you went ahead and kissed me in front of a whole damn audience."

She inhaled sharply and opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she heard the door open. Composing herself, she took a step back as an employee of mine entered the lift.

"Good—"

"Get out," I clenched my jaw. "Take the stairs."

The blonde stopped in her tracks and looked flabbergasted. I lunged forward as she traced her steps backward and pressed the close button.

"You need help," Rose spoke through her teeth. "You're going crazy by the day!"

I hit the 'stop' button on the panel and the elevator suspended its motion. I turned to face her again. "I am going to ask you this one more time. Why did you do that?"

I took a step in her direction.

"What are you doing?" As she looked her me through furrowed brows, I noticed her trying to mask her fear behind the anger she displayed.

"I told you it wasn't necessary. I had a plan!"

She breathed heavily with every step I took towards her.

"I..." she began. "I saw..."

"Saw what?" I spat.

"I saw how desperate you were for my help and I decided to show mercy."

"Had I been desperate I wouldn't have rescinded the deal earlier."

"But you kissed me back," she said and my feet stopped. "Yeah," she smiled in realization. "You kissed me back. So, you wanted me to help you. Because otherwise, your reciprocation makes no sense."

"You have no idea what this means," I ground my teeth together.

"I saw an opportunity to help and I helped," she shrugged.

I stared at her intently. Her pretty eyes danced in wait as she stood still for a reply from me.

"I hadn't planned for a lie this elaborate. Do you know what this means? Every single one of those people working down there witnessed your bold acceptance of my previously offered deal. It will be minutes before it reaches every single ear in this building and maybe an hour before this makes the headlines."

The hint of boldness displayed across her face fell and Rose looked at me as she stood utterly astonished by my words. The way that her mouth slightly parted in surprise could tell how she hadn't anticipated the consequences of her actions.

Creases fell on her forehead as she appeared to be lost in thought.

"Do you realize the extent of a show we're going to have to put up?" I snapped my fingers in front of her face. She clicked back into the present from wherever she had wandered off to.

"Y-yeah. I do. And I'm ready for it," she nodded her head with conviction. "If I remember last night clearly, which I do, you were the one who had ambushed me into a lie and forced me to oblige in exchange for my job. I spent my entire night twisting and turning on my bed thinking of how to get out of this deal until I finally decided I would surrender. So I surrendered," she marched up to me and pressed the 'start' button on the lift.

The lift regained its momentum.

"You know what—" I began.

"And I have some demands," Rose spun around. "There will be rules. What happened last night, what we did earlier—"

"What 'we' did?" I scoffed.

She flushed but held her ground. "It cannot happen again. It will not happen again."

The door to the elevator opened on the 20th floor.

"Since when do you call the shots around here?" I said as Alec's face came into my line of sight.

"Are you guys okay?" A worried expression was displayed all over his face. "I thought the elevator broke down. I was about to call the technician but—"

Rose turned to face him.

"Yeah, Alec. Um, I have to ask you something," she exited the elevator and stood facing Alec.

I followed after her.

Alec's eyes danced from her face to mine. "What is happening?"

"Let's talk about it in my office," I said.

"Um. I need to speak with Alec first," Rose urged.

"Well, then talk," I placed myself next to Alec.

She set her piercing blue on me. "Not you. Him," her finger lifted in Alec's direction.

I balled my fists at my sides as I took a step in her direction but before I could say a word, Alec inserted himself between us.

"Woah, you guys. Jeez. There's no reason to display your affection towards each other to the world," he turned to face me.

"It's a little too late for that, isn't it Rose?" I retorted.

Rose's lips formed a scowl, "Oh, bite me Jordan."

"Okay, guys. Time out," Alec turned to face me, "Go, I'll be right there," he said.

I moved my eyes from Rose to Alec. He gave me a reassuring nod and I reluctantly turned away. I walked back towards my office.

"Sir, I called mister—" I passed through Andrea in a fit of rage and shut the doors behind me, cutting the sound of her voice.

I had not anticipated this.

The first time I had laid eyes upon Rose, she appeared as a delicate, precious little prey walking into the den of an enraged lion. I didn't have the energy to put on a facade and entertain a decent human interaction with this writer Alec had hired to do some damage control.

My mind was preoccupied with the unfortunate meeting I had with my bastard of a father earlier that day which precluded me from partaking in the theatrics for which Alec had set me up.

It wasn't until I felt the blood rush to my cheek as Rose's palm left a forceful imprint on it that I noticed her. Her piercing blue eyes looked fierce just seconds before the realization of her actions settled in.

Never had I been so appalled yet enchanted by another person. She looked delicate as a rose but surely had thorns around her to protect herself.

I had felt an instant attraction towards her. As she walked away from me, in her stance, she tried to conceal the glimpse of the fear that I had seen in her eyes just before she turned away.

I was furious at her audaciousness. But she was beautiful, nonetheless.

I wanted to stop her. To see her again. But I also wanted her gone.

So when I saw her again in Alec's office, later that day, it was like a switch being flipped. Her eyes held the same contempt for me as I felt for her and we had only had a few minutes of knowing each other.

I was reluctant in letting her stay, after all, she did insult me to my face, but Alec was right. No matter how much I denied the truth, I needed every last bit of help to keep my empire afloat.

I couldn't let it drown. I couldn't afford to lose. Not when I had my father riding down my neck every time I made an error in life. Whatever the cost, I had to prove that man wrong.

So, I let her work.

However, I was weirdly drawn to her. A feeling I couldn't quite decipher or even admit to myself. All we did was argue when we were together and each time, I made her task to manage me more and more difficult. But she sustained it all. She was tough.

With Rose around, I could barely bring myself to focus on work. Her presence was captivating. But each time we collided, it resulted in a verbal tennis match. Despite my obvious dislike towards her, I craved to be near her.

All my life I've had women falling in line after me. I haven't really cared much for their affections and attention but none of them ever insulted me as Rose had. No one stood up to me. No one talked back. No one dared to look me in the eye and deny me of what I asked for.

No one besides my family.

And now Rose.

What was even more amusing was how I let her.

Which was why I offered to drop her home that day and which was why, despite my best efforts to keep my distance, I ended up asking her for dinner.

I hadn't intended to do that.

Alec had simply asked me to mend my ways with her. To treat her nicely for the sake of the company and I had intended to do just that. Upon realizing that I had been letting my personal biases get in the way of my company's future image, I decided to play nice.

So, when that red dress caught my eye as I was passing down the street, I could only see Rose. My mind conjured an image of her in that dress and it just clicked. It was meant to be worn by her and no one else.

That was all I had planned. To give her the dress, apologize and play nice. But sitting in my office with her, watching her as she asked me questions about my life, all I could think about was how I wanted to see that dress on her. And how desperately I wanted to be the one to get her out of it.

I had been with a lot of people's share of women in all of my 27 years of life but never had I ever desired someone the way I caught myself desiring Rose.

It had to be pure attraction.

And before I knew it, the words rolled off my tongue and I invited her to dinner. I hadn't anticipated that myself.

Seeing her in that red dress, looking drop-dead gorgeous, it took every fiber of control in my body to not take her right there. But alas, however apt my reputation might be as the city's most eligible lothario, consent is what I believe in.

From the look on Rose's face, I was assured of at least one thing; she wasn't buying my attempt at playing nice.

But I kept at it. I wanted to. I wanted to talk to her without it turning into a spat. I wanted to know about her more than just what was already on paper and I found that want daunting, but surprisingly refreshing.

After a seemingly normal and pleasant dinner with her when I saw her leaning against the parapet, her red dress hugging the curves on her body, her chestnut brown hair cascading down her shoulders in waves, and the moon casting her radiant shine on Rose's alluring face, I wanted her.

At that moment all I could think about was how I wanted to worship her body. I could not connote a single word to that need that I felt for Rose. She was beautiful and I was undeniably attracted to her.

So, I threw caution to the wind and leaned in to taste the forbidden fruit. It was when I felt her lips reciprocate the kiss that I finally gave in and let the desire to have her run through my veins like blood.

She wanted me, too.

Or if it was the alcohol that contributed towards her reciprocation, I didn't know.

I didn't care.

As I ran my hands through her body, feeling every inch of her, every curve under my palms that I could feel relief rush through me coupled with a passion so strong, I was afraid I might break her.

But she clutched on to me and worked her lips on mine with equal fervor that I let all doubts slip out of my mind. The only thing between us was the gorgeous fabric on her body.

I wanted it off.

Breaking away from her I searched her eyes for the passion that I felt coursing through my veins and I saw it.

But the moment I tried to show her more, she hesitated.

It was just a moment of weakness for her. She didn't want that and I had grossly misread the signals. How desperate had I been to jump at the first chance I got to be near her.

I felt awful. Embarrassed even.

It had felt as though an illusion was shattered and my defenses walled up.

As I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye, I turned my head and saw Rose walk inside the doors with Alec on her heels.

"Are you done with him yet?" I raised an eyebrow.

Rose rolled her eyes at me instead of answering. She walked over to where her belongings were kept and started to collect them.

"Do you think the day is off?" I looked at her. "We have much to discuss."

"I think I've had my fill for today," she said slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"After what you've done? I think not."

"Mr. Parker—" she lunged forward but stopped at the sound of a loud voice.

"WHAT IN THE HOLY HELL— is this you two?" Alec held his phone, screen up, in front of our faces. His face displaying utter shock.