The Pretentious Daughter-In-Law

PROLOGUE

I looked at the vastness of the sea beyond the glass-walled room I was in. It was only for a few moments. Taking a deep breath in, I turned my back on the glass wall and made my way out of the room and through the collection of antique vases along the hallway of the penthouse, following the butler in charge.

The butler was quiet, so I shut my lips and just looked around me as we ventured through the hallway. The walls were designed like they were built from the Roman era where classical architecture was a common word, at least that’s what the butler said when he noticed that I was looking at the designs of the walls. I couldn’t understand any of that, of course. As I was a mere prostitute with a job to escort one of the prominent bachelors in the business industry where tycoons, businessmen, and entrepreneurs make their way to the top… while I remained at the lowest of low.

“You will be meeting Mr. Agravante soon. Just wait for him inside this room,” the butler said in an almost hushed voice but I couldn’t focus on what he said last. Not when I heard the name Agravante which was so familiar to me but couldn’t quite recall where I heard it from. Perhaps I was only imagining things.

This was the first time I didn’t know anything about my client. Unlike my past clients, I knew almost everything about them because my agent would always give me the information I needed in order to please those clients. But right now, my client was a complete stranger to me. I didn’t even know what he looked like. Let alone his name. And I was starting to get scared because of it. This was all new to me.

Without second thought, I entered a very extravagant room. It’s also my first time attending to a client in his own residence that I couldn’t help but feel more nervous. All my past clients held me in the four corners of the room assigned to me in the prostitute house where I work.

The butler left me in the room and I was immediately welcomed by a deafening silence. Fear crept within my heart. But I knew I had no choice but to stay inside and wait for my client. However, there was something about being alone in that huge but suffocating room that I couldn’t get off her chest. It was familiar, dangerously familiar.

I was preoccupied with what I was feeling. I seemed to have failed to notice the man I’d been waiting for, entering the room. It was only when the man client spoke that I was able to get back to my senses.

“Mira Hernandez?” the man called, his voice was as cold as a snowstorm which immediately sent shivers down my spine.

Mira Hernandez, was a fake name I still couldn’t get used to hearing, despite being addressed that way ever since I turned 18 years old. But there was something with the way he said my fake name that almost sent warmth inside of me.

Sighing, I turned to face my client.

Perhaps it was the way the man carried himself or the way he looked like a god incarnate, I thought I saw the very heavens before my eyes. The man was not just beautiful, he was beyond that. He was dark and danger personified. With his eyes and their color between green and gold, the hazel of them were deep, almost anchored to the ocean’s floor. His jaw was tight and defined with his nose and lips in perfect rhythm. His beauty was dangerous. I wanted to back out.

“I’m Mira Hernandez…” pursing my lips, I looked away from him.

I felt him nearing me, his manly and minty scent filling my nose. I almost gasped for air when I suddenly felt his index finger lifting my chin up, making me face him. When our eyes met, rationality escaped me. I no longer knew what to do or where to go from here. It was like a wake-up call that I won’t be able to escape from here… from this dark and dangerous man.

“Let me take a good look at my prostitute…” His voice was hoarse and sensual. It sparked something inside me, much more different from what I felt with my past clients.

It was only then when I took a good look at his face, that I realized that the man in front of me… my very last client, was often found in the news. Joaquin Alfonso Agravante—the heir to the biggest and the most successful holding company in the country—the Agravante Holdings. And the same man who was promised to marry the daughter of the Chua Holdings owner—Grace Chua.

The news of Joaquin Agravante being promised to Grace Chua was only released recently and now… finding the very same man on the news before my eyes was a big punch to my gut. He’s almost engaged and yet… he’s here paying me to escort and fuck him in his residence? This is ridiculous!

It was as if my mind had been washed clean despite my soul being dirty to the core. I want out of this mess. After all, every single elite man I fucked in the entirety of my being a prostitute was not married or engaged, didn’t have a girlfriend… just mere horny men who didn’t mind seeking pleasure from a prostitute. But this man…

As he held my gaze, it felt as though all my strength was being pulled away like a whirlpool cornering a ship into the ocean deep. It was cold and warm at the same time. He was looking at me icily but his touch held warmth like how a hearth held its igniting fire in place.

His gaze was intense. I couldn't help but want to look elsewhere. And when I tried looking away, he was quick to pull my chin back.

“Stay your eyes on me,” the man holding me said as he caressed my lower lip with his thumb. He was now looking at my lips and I just watched him, doing exactly what he told me to do… to look at only him.

He was mesmerizing to look at, his beauty so dangerously terrifying. And yet, I didn’t want to look away anymore.

The thinnest string of my inhibitions was cut off when his lips softly met mine. It was sweet like cookies dipped in honey. My mind went blank by the second our lips were connected. And when he deepened it, I was entirely lost.

I couldn’t help but moan against his lips and then all I could feel was him smiling because of it.

“S-Sir…” I tried to push him away so I could catch my breath, but he caught my wrist and placed my arm on his shoulder. It was as if he knew how weak my knees had become.

“Call me Joaquin tonight, Mira…” he said sensually then he started kissing me again.

“But that’s against—” he didn’t give me the chance to finish my sentence. Instead, he parted my lips with his tongue and it slipped through my parted lips, entering my mouth, giving me wet kisses, tasting every corner of it.

Then he stopped kissing me just when my eyes started getting sleepier because of how soft his kisses were. I looked up at him and saw him smirking at me, like he knew well enough how turned on I was right at that moment. And I really was. I was so turned on that my insides were starting to twitch and warm at his touch.

“I am the rule. While you serve me and pleasure me, I want you to call me exactly how I want you to call me. And that’s Joaquin for you, my sweet Mira…” His voice was authoritative, eyes dark and his lips no longer smirking.

I gasped for air when I felt his hand traveling from my waist down to my butt cheek. His touch sent shivers down my core but it immediately found warmth amidst the coldness. It was there, despite his cold demeanor, warmth was there… hiding somewhere deep inside him.

Perhaps I was only starting to get turned on because of how sensual he looked at me and how he touched me.

“You want me, right?” he said as if he knew exactly what was going inside my head.

“Yeah…” I couldn’t even recognize my own voice.

He kissed me again. And I was moaning against his lips, the vibration of our breathing felt sensual as our body entwined with one another. He didn’t stop kissing me until I felt myself being placed on top of the soft bed.

Joaquin moved away from me and quickly removed his expensive suit. I watched him do that as I bit my lips in anticipation, wanting him to kiss me again with more aggressiveness. I couldn’t get enough of his kisses. I felt like I was being hypnotized by his roughness and sweetness all at the same time.

When Joaquin successfully got out of his suit, he started removing my laced dress, leaving me naked under him. I saw the corner of his lips rise, grinning at the sight of me naked and completely helpless under his huge body.

“Gorgeous…” he whispered as he started attacking me with another yet fiery kiss that ignited the desire deep inside me.

It was an intense night. We did it almost in every corner he could find in the room. On the bed, on the carpeted floor, on the sofa, against the glass wall of the room with the city lights as our witness. I was tired but I couldn’t get enough of him. I wanted more and he did, too. We didn’t stop until both of us were exhaustingly catching our breaths.

It was the most pleasurable night I had with a client. Joaquin Alfonso Agravante was a master in bed and I couldn’t deny the desire I still felt even after all those rounds. He was intense, dominant, dangerous, and rough… but there was gentleness in every move he performed. At least, that was what it seemed to me.

I quickly grabbed the new set of clothes that my client’s butler prepared for me and went inside the bathroom to take a quick hot shower. While inside the bathroom taking a shower, replays of what happened invaded my mind. I felt my cheeks blushed and my insides twitch as the pleasure found me again. Without making a sound, I pleasured myself and took another shower. Then I went out of the bathroom, fully dressed. All ready to leave.

I saw my phone beeped, notifying me that the payment for tonight was successfully wired into my account. I blinked and saw the amount. It was way more than the usual payment I’d received from my past clients. It was also way more than the paycheck my employer would send me twice a month. Two million dollars was too much.

Maybe there was a mistake?

I looked at the sleeping Joaquin Agravante on the bed. Biting my lip, I turned my back on him and took a deep breath. I shouldn’t care about the amount anymore. It was already transferred to me and for sure, there’s not a single mistake here. I performed too well… probably. That’s why he paid me such a huge amount for a single night of pleasure. I deserve this.

I took one last glance at my last client. He was still sleeping, so peacefully that I couldn’t help but feel sad about my situation again. I pity myself. In fact, all I feel about myself is pity and anger. There’s no way I could be that successful. Maybe in another life, which I don’t believe exists.

When I headed out of the penthouse building, the cold air of the midnight wrapped my whole body. I was just wearing lingerie under my old denim jacket. My jeans were also too thin to fully fight the harsh coldness of the night breeze.

I didn’t head back to the exclusive prostitute house where I resided for years. I decided not to come back there anymore. And I decided that the client I’d entertain tonight would also be the last one. I haven’t reached the end of my contract yet, but I didn’t want to go back there anymore. I’ve had enough.

Instead, I went to an old apartment building. I reached the top floor and opened the door to the rooftop. I’ve been eyeing this apartment building. It was so tall and I knew it would be a perfect place to end my worthless life.

For years, I never wanted anything but to reclaim the company and the properties my dead parents left for me. But my evil relatives stole everything from me. And the family lawyer my parents trusted betrayed me in the end. I had no one. Even myself was a property of someone. I had nothing but all the money I saved up from working nonstop, from bedding horny elite men. And now I’ve had enough.

I realized that money wouldn’t be enough to quench my thirst for revenge. And the time I had left wouldn’t be enough to get back everything I’ve lost. The only escape I could find is this old and rotting building… perfect for my rotting soul.

I took a step on the edge of the rooftop, removing my jacket and jeans. I was left with nothing on but the expensive lingerie my last client prepared for me. I smiled at the city light, dancing gracefully in the darkness of the night, as the coldness threatened my bare skin more.

“It’s a beautiful night to end everything…” I whispered as my heart clenched in pain.

I moved my foot forward, ready to let myself fall but a hand immediately caught my wrist, waking me up from a dream that was meant to happen in a few seconds. I fell on the ground with a stranger that felt so familiar.

My eyes were closed as I realized what just happened a while ago. And I shivered at the thought and at the coldness I felt against my delicate skin. But then, a large suit was placed on my shoulders, covering my bare skin and I instantly felt warm.

“I didn’t give you the permission to leave me while I was sleeping, Mira…” The man in front of me uttered and the voice immediately registered to me.

Only an hour had passed since I heard the same voice moaning my name in pleasure and showering me with sweet dirty words as we fucked in his room. And now he’s here…

I opened my eyes and saw the very person I had in my mind. Joaquin Alfonso Agravante, my very last client.

“Wha—”

“And I didn’t give you the permission to end your life just an hour after we pleasured each other…” There was indifference and annoyance in his voice.

“How did you… find me?” My voice trembled in fear and panic, while still processing everything that happened so fast.

“I put a tracker on the lingerie I prepared for you…” he simply said. “And I’m glad I did and that I woke up almost immediately after you left my room…” His minty breath touched the skin of my face.

“I paid you two million dollars and you already tried to run away from me?” Joaquin’s eyes were filled with nothing but darkness. And I knew it’s dangerous to look at those eyes, but I couldn’t look away from them.

I pursed my lips, still trying my best to calm down. “What else do you want?”

Joaquin chuckled darkly and icily. “I will ask you the same question…” He leaned more, his lips touching my ear. “What is it that you want the most? Pleasure? Money? Tell me and I will give it to you, whatever it is…”

My brows curled in confusion as I felt his breathing against my skin, making me feel things I shouldn’t feel minutes after trying to jump off the building.

“What do you mean?” I asked, almost gasping for air.

“Tell me, sweet Mira. I will give you everything you want… And in exchange… you will marry me…”

I knew exactly what this man was capable of doing. And so, I gave him my trust and did exactly what he wanted. And in exchange, he would give me everything I want. From money down to my sweetest revenge, I’d make sure to claim everything and win all of it.

CHAPTER 1: The Scandal

Slap!

My face turned to the side as I received the slap my future mother-in-law gave me as a welcoming gift. I pursed my lips and closed my eyes, bracing myself for another slap when she lifted her hand again, but nothing came.

When I blinked to open my eyes, I saw Joaquin—my last client—stopping his mother from slapping me once more as he looked at me with anger filling his eyes. I looked away, but I could still see him—them—from my peripheral vision.

“Tita Claudia, stop…” Joaquin’s voice was soft but firm and authoritative.

And I only realized it now that Joaquin didn’t call the woman mom. Instead, he called her tita. It meant that the woman named Claudia wasn’t his biological mother. Perhaps a relative… or his father’s second wife… or mistress.

I looked at them again. Claudia took her hand back from Joaquin’s hold and stepped back.

“I can’t believe you allowed this kind of