Bewitched His Soul

The whole week Aria had been busy gearing up for the upcoming exhibition. Justin has been busier than her and sometimes did not return home at night. They could not spend much time together other than late-night messages or stealing secret glances during work.

When Aria was half way home she realized that she had forgotten her cellphone in the office. Tomorrow was the exhibition and she was setting up the paintings in the hall and had told Piper to pack her bag.

And it looks like Piper did not remember to take her phone from the charging socket. Aria took a U-turn and drove back to the office. Thankfully, the phone was there in the same place as she left it.

She noticed lights in Justin's cabin and asked the guard nearby, "Is Mr. Brown still working?"

"Yes, he will spend the night here," the guard answered.

When Aria started to walk towards the cabin the guard stopped her. "Ma'am, there is a strict order not to let anyone in," the guard warned.

Aria thought Justin did not want anyone to disturb him, but they were dating, so she was excluded. She did not want to explain this to the guard and ignored his warnings.

Aria was very excited and thought he would like her surprise visit. She guessed he might not have had his dinner as he forgets everything when there is a laptop in front of him. She will ask him which cuisine he prefers and then they both can have dinner together.

She wanted to see the smile on his face and hurried her footsteps. But when she was about to push the door she heard a woman's voice. She was rooted to her spot and retracted her hand from the door handle. The door was open a little bit and she could clearly see what was happening inside.

There was a woman sitting on the edge of the desk with her back towards Aria. Justin was checking something on the laptop with one hand and his other hand was on that woman's waist.

"How many times have I told you we are not supposed to be seen together in the office?" Justin said sternly.

"But no one is here at this time, you did not have any problem when we made out on this desk last month," the woman spoke.

Aria found her voice familiar but could not exactly pin point to whom it belonged.

"Leave now, I have a lot of work," Justin said in an annoyed tone.

"Stop pretending, do you think I am blind. Now that you have Aria, why do you need me?" the woman complained and tilted her head. Aria's breath struck in her throat as she knew who this woman was, it was none other than Josie.

"It's not like you didn't know about my conditions when you agreed to be with me," Justin raised his brow.

"I know what I signed for but with Aria you are so different. you've never taken other women to dinner dates and long drives. Tell me what I should do for you, I can do anything for you. My father is one of the top artists," Josie was abruptly interrupted by Justin.

"But what you can give is nothing compared to what Aria can give me," Justin's words were louder.

"What is that?" Josie was confused.

"Damn it, she is the aristocratic family Aiden's Cooper daughter," Justin banged the table.

"What? Are you serious? I never expected she was such royalty," Josie was shocked to the core.

"I hope now you understand how much this is going to help my company's name," Justin replied.

"So she is just a pawn in your game? But you were not interested in her in the beginning, it means you discovered her identity somewhere in between," Josie asked, but Justin remained silent which proved her guess was correct.

"Josie, tomorrow is an important day, go home now," Justin dismissed her off.

"Justin please, a few more minutes. You know I hate how it's so difficult for us to spend time together. I will leave in another ten minutes," Josie pleaded in a soft tone.

Justin looked at her for a second, and nodded his head not before warning her that ten minutes is the time limit. Josie giggled loudly, ran her hands on his arm and placed a light kiss on Justin's jawline.

Aria felt like someone had sucked the soul out of her body, felt paralyzed unable to move or think anything. But she knew standing here will not give her anything other than pain and heartbreak.

She did not want them to see her and make fun of her in her weak state. Aria silently walked back in the same direction she came, not wanting to alert anyone of her presence. She drove her car with the maximum speed limit and after reaching home she went to her bed straight away.

As she slept on her stomach and hugged the pillow, all the tears she was holding for a very very long time fell on her cheeks. God it hurt her, like someone has squeezed her heart out of the chest slowly, and then crushed it harshly under their feet.

Was she nothing but a tool to fulfill Justin's motive? She should have seen this coming if she was a little smarter, but unfortunately she was not.

The thought that Justin was using her never crossed her mind even once. She was so naïve that she was easily fooled by his charming exterior.

Justin was annoying, rude and always had nasty temper. Initially he never gave her a second glance except when they were working, but she was not sure when his attitude towards her changed and he started to woo her. She didn't know how or when he learned about her father.

Aiden Cooper was one of the brightest and prominent men in the world, and Justin wanted his help to grow his company. Aria, being a fool, would probably have persuaded her dad to invest in his company.

He never liked her for a second, the only thing he liked was the benefits he was going to get from dating Aiden Cooper's daughter. Josie was his girlfriend or by the way she accused him of not giving special attention to any of his other women, they seemed to be in an open relationship.

Now, she understood why Josie's behavior towards her had changed and why she was harsh only to her and nobody else in the entire office. It was because he thought Aria was a threat to her.

All this time Justin was seeing Josie and other women while dating her. She felt so stupid, and pathetic falling for his lies.. Had she not discovered the truth today, they could have continued to exploit her for sure.