CONTRACTED

Contracted

Armando felt uncomfortable with Julie sitting beside him speechlessly in the Limo, just after her discussion with Isa.

He held himself from inquiring about the topic of their decision. He felt it was a gossip about him since Isa was in tears, but decided not to ask since Julie said nothing about it.

Julie relaxed opposite him, her eyes blinked tiredly but she refused to closed them for more than a second.

"When we get back, I will like to review the contract by the pool side by 9 Am." Armando ordered.

Julie nodded tiredly in approval before crossing her legs and massaging her temples.

"What do you keep staring at me for?" She groaned tiredly as she placed Armando's mask over her face. He didn't wear it much. Immediately after they settled down at the ball, it never knew his face.

"Stop being a kid!"

"Okay pops."

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  Julie pounced tiredly on her bed after a quick shower. Her  body system was shutting down.

It was just fifteen minutes past the hour of three. She had a ten hours flight back to Texas by noon and Armando's emergency contract review by 9am. Was she gonna survive till then or join Mario?

She finally gave in to the sleep.

Her eyes were barely shot when the ringing tune from her phone forced her up. She checked the clock again. 4 am.

Her body froze as she stared to her screen. An unknown caller. The fear of the unknown choking her. She didn't move an inch wondering how they kept tracking her. She had protected her device, changed the sim but "I never changed the device." She gasped.

The two devices were gifts from Armando. It was a very rear brand, technically the best she had used. The only memory left of Mario. What if Mario was using the device to track her down after faking his death?

No, that would not be possible. Mario would never want her dead. Maybe she was overthinking. Maybe someone who wished to talk with her got her new number from Marissa. Marissa would have informed her if that happened. Maybe it was Armando. He had a lot of devices.

She couldn't switch off her phone. What if Marissa and Leo or the nurse wanted to reach her for some sort of emergency?

She tossed the phone in the drawer attached to the bed and laid flatly. Staring to the ceiling as she heard only it's vibration, she couldn't help the thoughts that flooded in continuously.

Why and what did she not know? Was her entire life a lie?

She couldn't blink, even after she stopped hearing the vibration. She checked her clock once more. Four hours and few minutes had passed. She wasted them thinking of nothing that made sense to her.

Diella's knock was heard on the door. "Come in" she lifted herself up from the bed grabbed her headset and hopped on the treadmill in the room.

"Good morning Ma'am, hope you enjoyed your night."

Julie bored her tired eyes into Diella's as she jogged at the treadmill's pace. "I can't hear you over the headset." She mouthed as she increased the pace of the treadmill. She needed to run. Run and escape reality. Run and keep running. Her eyes were shot as beads of tears trickled down her cheek. Her heart felt heavy but she wasn't ready to stop

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Julie stood by the pool in  black harem pants and a crop top. Her hair flowed freely with the wind as she watched the empty skies .