Crystal’s POV I was confused with everything my grandmother was saying. She told me herself that she picked me up from a dumpster while she was digging through dumpsters to get food. ‘Grandma. I don't understand you at all. Who am I?’ I asked her with a deep frown. ‘You will all have to listen to my explanation and you Crystal, you need to listen to me with an open mind. Promise me you will not judge me until you have heard it all,' my grandmother said looking pitiful. ‘I promise Grandma,' I said. ‘Ok. Where do I start from?’ Grandma asked looking at Mr Rotman. ‘Start from when you took Pearl,' Mr Rotman said with anger very evident in his voice. ‘No. I think she should start from the beginning. Who were you to my mother?’ I said. I didn't want any details left out. It was obvious that Mr Rotman knew who she was to my mother but I needed to know too. ‘Okay. I met your mother when she was still pregnant with you. She was homeless because her landlord had thrown her ou
Eric's POV I sat in the car, watching her house from a distance, deliberating exactly how I intended to make her pay for what she had done. At a point, I wanted to turn back and just release the uncensored video to the Internet; of course, I had nothing more to lose as it was. Everything had already gone to ruins but I changed my mind and decided to confront her instead and tell her to expect her nude photos all over the internet the next day. If I go down, she goes with me. I would have gotten out of the car, but I stopped when a car came to a stop in front of her house, and a man well dressed came out looking like he had just walked out of a magazine cover. She opened the door instantly, the car parked, and rushed into the waiting hands of the other man. My blood boiled, I wasn't even out of the way yet and she was already in another man’s arms. I thought she said she cared about me. It all just showed that she didn't love me in any way whatsoever. I was sure that she must hav
Eric's POV ‘You need to eat Eric. That is the only way you are getting out of this bed. You need to man up and stop behaving like a child,' Dad said angrily before leaving the room. I didn't have an appetite, but they seemed not to understand. How could I eat when my whole world had just crumbled. ‘For us to get out of this mess, we need our strength and our wits around us Eric. So starving yourself won't help you,’ Mum said coming to sit beside me. ‘Mum, in just a blink of an eye, I have lost everything. I realized too late that I could lose Crystal.’ ‘Crystal will come back Eric. She can't possibly leave her grandmother alone.’ ‘The Martins haven't contacted you?’ I asked Mum in surprise. ‘No, they haven't,' Mum answered. ‘I thought they were the ones who gave you this house.’ ‘No. That is another friend. Not them. Why did you ask if they have contacted me?’ ‘Crystal’s grandmother is missing alongside her caregiver.' ‘What! And those fools didn't deem it fi
Midas’ POV ‘How did I do?’ Crystal asked me the moment the cameras were off. I pulled her up from the chair and pulled her straight into my chest. I kissed her lips gently before I answered her question. We had decided that Crystal should grant the interview to let the Conners off the hook for a while. Netizens were going wild on the Internet and people had placed a siege on their companies everywhere they were in Roseville. It was time to move on to the next line of action, hence the interview. ‘You did great babe. You were eloquent and you looked like a queen. Tell me, how did I get so lucky?’ ‘Stop being playful Midas. I am serious here,' Crystal said trying to push me away but I held on to her. ‘I am serious here too Crystal. You were magnificent,’ I said then kissed her neck. She shivered in my hands then blushed. I knew she was uncomfortable with the camera crew still in there but I just wanted to hold her. ‘Mr St Clair, I will be on my way now,’ Theresa the hos
Midas’ POV I could see the fear and nervousness on the faces of the staff of the Conners' company as I entered the office complex. Even those who met me at the door greeted me nervously. I knew they must have already heard that I was the new owner of the company. I had worked with some of their accounting staff for a day or two before coming to the place, and from my interactions with them, I knew the tension was high, but I had promised Crystal that none of the current staff was going to lose their jobs. A lot of them were standing around greeting me as I entered. I had the intention of addressing them once I was through with the Conners. It is a new year, and no one deserves unhappiness except people like the Conners, who have been dishing out sadness to others. ‘This way, sir,’ one of the staff said, pointing at the office where the Conners were. He opened the door and Edmond and I entered. The Conners were all there including their daughter CC. I wondered what she co
6 months later Eric's POV ‘What are you doing with the Rotmans’ invite?’ Dad asked Mum as he came into the living room ‘Mrs Rotman herself sent it to me,’ Mum answered smiling. That was the first real smile I had seen on her face in months. We were staying in our house but things weren't as rosy as they used to be seven months ago. We would have been living in abject poverty if I hadn't taken it upon myself to sell our cars and cunningly invest them into shares at the company Daddy manages, which was our former company. The company had been renamed Crystalized Pearl. It was an irony that the name had Crystal in it. Hearing the company's name sometimes gave me a headache, so I just avoided listening to anyone calling out the name. I sold my house where I lived with Crystal to pay off debts and I had to burn the clothes she left behind just to keep her off my mind. I still loved her even after everything that had happened. Dad was doing fine with the company. He w
Midas’ POV I smiled happily as clapping erupted in the hall where Mr Rotman was having the party. I couldn't take my gaze off Crystal now Pearl as she smiled confidently at everyone waving her hands like the true princess that she was. No one could have known that she almost had a nervous breakdown a few minutes before her father called her to the podium. ‘I am so nervous Midas. I feel like turning around and running away,’ she had said to me when I was about to leave her alone behind the podium so that I could watch her walk up there. ‘Running away right now is a good idea but we both know that is cowardice. Didn't the therapy work?’ I asked, looking into her eyes. ‘It did Midas. It is just that …’ ‘Use everything you have learned to get through this night, my love. By the way, you look stunning,’ I said before pulling her into my hands and kissing her lightly on the cheek. I didn't want to tamper with her perfect make up that was why I didn't give in to my urge to kiss
Pearl's POV I was feeling so powerful as I got down from the podium after my father introduced me to everyone as Pearl Rotman. It sounded so good to the ears. Yes, it had taken some time getting used to it but I loved the new name and the new me. It was strange at first when people around me called me Pearl. Sometimes, I forgot that I was Pearl and did not answer. It was weirder when my grandmother or Midas called me Pearl. I was used to being called Crystal. But I needed another identity when I decided to start a new life. Everything about my former name was wrong. Even my mother, who was also Crystal, died tragically. I might be paranoid but I believed that something was wrong with the name. Besides, the name Crystal brought with it the memory of a naive and helpless version of me. I smiled at the young man who had been trying to get my attention since I stepped down from the podium after my father introduced me. He took that as a green light and cautiously approached me.
Pearl's (Crystal's) POV ‘I still feel embarrassed about the fact that my grandfather is getting married,’ Midas grumbled beside me as he came to sit, and I laughed, making people close to us glance our way. We were in the garden of his grandfather's house in Paris. Midas had not wanted the outdoor wedding. He had said his grandfather and Karen should just go to the registry, sign the wedding, and be done with it, but his grandfather had insisted on having an outdoor wedding. ‘What are you so uptight about Midas?’ I asked smiling teasingly at him. ‘Getting married at his age and making a hell of a noise about it. He is getting married to a lady half his age, for Christ's sake,’ Midas said, gritting his teeth. ‘I thought you were already used to that idea,’ I said. ‘Yes. But the idea of getting married this way totally takes a whole lot of getting used to,’ Midas said ‘Look at him Midas. He is happy,’ I said pointing at Midas’ grandfather where he stood before the officia
Six months later Pearl's (Crystal's) POV ‘The auction is about to start, ma'am,’ one of my staff came to the backstage and said to me. ‘Yeah. We are set,’ I said casting another glance over our model. My company was having an auction for our latest jewelry designs. Designs I had made myself during the most depressing month of my life. Midas wasn't joking when he said he was breaking things off with me. He cut off all contact with me and returned to his main office in Paris while he left Edmond in charge of everything in Roseville. I tried to contact him several times to no avail. I went as far as traveling to France, but I was told he had gone to London for a business meeting. I went to his grandfather for help, but the older St Clair only pointed out that he had talked to Midas about his decision, but he doubted that Midas was going to bulge. During the hearing of the case of attempted murder and murder that my stepmom and her cohort were charged with, Midas di
Pearl (Crystal’s POV) ‘I still can't believe that your adoptive sister was a part of your kidnap,’ Karen said as she replaced the lid of the bottle she was pouring water from. I was back in the hospital for loss of blood and malnutrition. Two days after I was kidnapped, I started spotting and it got worse. I was practically bleeding by the time the police arrived the day I was rescued. ‘According to her, I made her father's company sink along with the Conners, so she was doing everything she could for money,’ I said, hissing. ‘The Martins are horrible people,’ my grandmother said. She has been in the hospital with me since I was rescued. No matter what everyone said, she refused to leave. Midas made sure I was in a private ward so that a bed could be moved into my room for his comfort. ‘Mrs Martins called me telling me to remember everything her husband has done for me and drop the case immediately. I simply told her that I had no power over the case. She can call the pol
Midas’ POV ‘I can't sign these damn papers. What does she think she is doing? How does she intend to get away with this?’ Mr Rotman said fuming as she paced Agent Kendrick's office. ‘Left to me? I will ask that we keep quiet. They wouldn't understand what we are up to. That will confuse them,’ Agent Thomas said. ‘We can't just decide to say or do nothing. They can harm her,’ I said in frustration. It has been three days since Pearl's stepmother took her from my house. The only thing we heard from them was the documents delivered to her father's house the previous day, accompanied by a letter demanding that he should sign his properties and businesses to his wife within the next twenty-four hours or lose his daughter. We have searched so hard and we had less than five hours to the end of the ultimatum. We had paid media houses to announce that anyone who provided useful information would be greatly rewarded. ‘How did I not see beyond the facade my wife put to the front? I am
Pearl’s (Crystal's) POV I didn't have a choice but to let Midas leave. Whatever Agent Kendrick called him for must be very important. I sighed and lay on the bed. I wondered what Midas was about to say before his phone rang. What could he be hiding from me? I got out of bed to get an answer from Karen; at least she was there all through my stay at the hospital. I got up but stopped just before I turned the knob. I changed my mind and went back to sit on the bed. I decided that I would wait till Midas returned so that he could tell me himself. I didn't know for how long I was sitting on the edge of the bed browsing through my phone, but the door suddenly burst open, and my stepmom walked in looking as if she was nervous. ‘Mum, is anything the matter? You look nervous,’ I said. ‘Why won't I be nervous? I was half expecting your self-acclaimed husband to stop me from seeing you,’ she said, walking into the room properly and closing the door behind her. ‘You know he wou
Midas’ POV ‘You won't believe it, grandma. Midas was in the arms of another woman when I woke up,’ Pearl said, glaring at me while I smiled at her, making her glare harder. ‘I was the one, Pearl; stop being dramatic,’ Karen said as she placed the tea cup in front of Pearl. We were back in the house. Pearl was discharged three days after she woke up. Her vitals were fine and the doctor didn't see any reason why she should not be discharged. And the best news was that she had remembered everything. Pearl kept saying I was declaring my love to another woman who ran out the moment she realized she was awake. Karen had tried telling her that she was the one Pearl saw but Pearl kept insisting that Karen wasn't the one. ‘Eat your food and use your drugs, miss. I was talking to Karen, and you know II, but you are just trying to punish me for something I don't know,’ I said, I was inking at her playfully. ‘I am not eating, and I am not using my drugs until you confess to your
Midas’ POV ‘We might be having something massive on our hands right now,’ Agent Kendrick said. I was in the office to see him because he called about the things he observed at the Rotman's mansion. ‘What do you mean?’ I asked frowning. ‘All the security cameras in the Rotman mansion have not been working for two days before the incident. So there were no recordings on the CCTV tapes,’ Agent Kendrick said. ‘How was that possible?’ I asked. ‘Now here is the real deal, one of the house helps put Mr Martins at the scene on the day of the incident.’ ‘What? Mr Martins? Pearl's adoptive father?’ I was surprised. ‘The same,’ Agent Kendrick answered. ‘What was he doing there?’ ‘Apparently, it was not his first time coming there. According to the help, he comes only when Mr Rotman was away on a business trip and the madam always made him come through the back gate.’ ‘That means they are having affairs apparently,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘But Mr Rotman was around that day.
Pearl’s (Crystal's) POV I watched in dread as Eric came into my hospital room. He had never done that before. Each time I landed in the hospital, he jetted away somewhere and would not come back until I left the hospital. ‘Hello darling,’ Eric said and I frowned. Since when did he call me that? What happened to whore, slut, fool, idiot, and the other names he could come up with according to his mood. ‘Hi,’ I stammered. ‘The doctor said I could come in. Where is Karen?’ He asked. ‘She went to get me fruits,’ I answered him in bewilderment. Eric sat on the bed, and I would have moved away from him, but I was too scared. I didn't want to be battered again with the pains I was already going through. I was sitting with my back propped on the pillow. ‘I brought you this,’ Eric said handing the bag he brought with him to me. I collected it and thanked him. ‘Aren't you going to look inside?’ Eric asked smiling at me. ‘No. I will do that later,’ I said. ‘Okay then. So ho
Midas’ POV ‘What is going on doctor?’ I asked the moment the door closed. ‘I think we should have this talk in my office,’ the doctor said and we all followed him into his office. The doctor sat down and then sighed heavily. We quickly sat anywhere we could. The doctor looked worried making my insides tighten. ‘Doctor, what exactly is going on?’ I asked once we had all settled down. ‘At the look of things, I think she has amnesia,’ the doctor said. ‘Amnesia? What is that?’ Karen asked looking confused. ‘Amnesia is a post-traumatic condition that makes you forget things, and in the case of Miss Rotman, I think it is partial amnesia,’ the doctor explained. ‘Which means it could be worse,’ Pearl's stepmum asked. ‘Yes. Now, she has only forgotten a part of her life. Some people forget everything including their names. Her fall was quite fatal, so it is expected to happen,' the doctor said making my insides tighter. ‘If she forgot who she is in recent times then she