Everyone was charmed and impressed beyond their expectations to see the stunning female stand before them and give her speech as the new heiress, while the entire family of the Meyers was about to lose their minds as they tried to comprehend the scene. It was too much for them to bear and handle at once.
They couldn't even fully grasp the shock. Their breath hitched collectively caught in their throats in a suspended moment of silence as if the shock had momentarily stolen the very sound of their voice, when they realized the reality of their ex-daughter-in-law standing before them, and was introduced to everyone. Audrey and Ivy clamped their palms over their lips with their eyes widened in disbelief, while Irina lost her footing as she froze with her muscles locked in a momentary paralysis.Only Malcolm and Isla remained comported irrespective of how they were feeling, while Aaron was too carried away by his video game to even realize the disorientation his family had been plunged in.'How would Zoe Oliver, their wretched daughter-in-law, be the heiress to the Multi-Billion dollar fortune of the Sinclairs? Was that not too far-fetched?''Or was the real heiress's doppelganger? Maybe they just looked alike and bore the same name?''Was she taking someone's place? Or was it some kind of facade before the real introduction of the person they had really come to see? It was even too unimaginable for the Sinclairs to pull off something fake like that?' The members of Meyers all speculated different things in their minds, as intense anxiety and shrivels overwhelmed them.Please someone wake them up from their dream back to reality?!"Is what I am seeing truly real? Is it?" Audrey's voice came out in a cold shrill as her eyes met that of Ivy's. Their eyes met and watered endlessly with unsaid questions.Malcolm sat still in his spot, with his attention fixated on the stage as he watched the lady before their very eyes. His eyes compulsively darted around the room after a while, searching for confirmation to be sure that what he had seen was not a fragment of his imagination, and that it was indeed his ex-wife, whom he had flashed a divorce paper at two weeks ago, that was standing before everyone.Everyone soon stood up to clap after her great speech, and she stepped down to make her way down into the crowd through the pathway of regality that had been positioned for her to walk through. Everyone wanted to talk to her. There were flashes of brilliant lights that were so blinding, and they captured the beauty of Zoe, as she met with people of the highest positions in the society and exchanged pleasantries with them, the same way she had mastered perfectly.Zoe's eyes trailed across everyone in the room with so much confidence as they all marveled at her gorgeousness, and they landed on the very people she had been truly waiting to see among the crowd. It was so satisfying to see every one of them that had belittled her and treated her like rag aghast at the sight of her, as she remained flinty-eyed as she strutted past the Meyers to exchange pleasantries with the royal family that was well affiliated with the Sinclair's. Throughout the evening as the ball party got more splendid and exquisite, bodyguards were around her and didn't let anyone come near her till it was time for the car that brought her back. The Meyers family were not even able to get close to her till she left the ball and entered into the car that was meant to drive her back."Do not take me to the Sinclair's mansion. Find me a nice five-star hotel and just drive there," she instructed the chauffeur tiredly, and shut her eyes immediately as the car zoomed off from the spot.There was so much to get done.~•~°`•`°~•~ :::….**•**....::: ~•~°`•`°~•~Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror at the suite that had been booked for her, Zoe stared at her beautiful reflection in the gorgeous dress that she was still donned with. Her mind traveled back to the moment when she was at the ball and the feeling of standing before everyone, and she heaved a sighHow she got to that position and became a billionaire heiress, happened by the tiniest bit of hope she never thought would shine again. She had grown up as a poor lady with her grandmother in the countryside where they fished domestically for a living, after her mother, Emily, dropped her off at birth and only came to visit once in a while. And as she became an adult, enough to fend for herself and struggle to go to school, her mother barely came around again.With only a little information about her father and how he rejected her, Zoe had been living her life in the dark as a lonely child until her life changed when her grandmother, Evelyn, got in touch with an old friend after Zoe finished college and got her married to his grandson, which turned out to be Malcolm.Thinking she just had to endure the suffering and torture for the sake of her grandmother, Zoe learned to love Malcolm and do every his family wanted for her sake, but her life became miserable by the day because they never loved her.She was in no way close to the standard of ladies they would have wanted for Malcolm, and they could never stand the thought that she was from a poor and wretched family. However, Malcolm didn't mind. He got everything his grandfather promised concerning the corporation, and that was all that mattered.The biggest turnaround for Zoe in her life which she could never imagine was when Francis Sinclair contacted her grandmother, who wanted his long-lost daughter to come back to his corporation to inherit the properties.Apparently, Zoe's mother briefly dated a wealthy guy she met while working as a bartender and got pregnant by him. He rejected the baby and told her off, but she was determined to use the baby to change her life by trying to find the contact of his father, Francis Sinclair, to tell him what happened. However, the old man dismissed the email after he read it, which caused Emily to suffer because of how poor she was and for her to abandon the child after she had her. One could never imagine that Francis Sinclair would come back to locate the child after his son died, and he had no one to inherit his fortune amongst the hundreds that were trying to take over through dubious means. There was no way he could leave his entire wealth in the hands of strangers to take over.Zoe became his only choice.Her lips curled up into a dangerous smile as she spoke to her grandfather the day they met again, and she decided to take his offer to be the official heiress of the corporation after rejecting the offer the first time she met him. It was a win-win situation for her, and it would change her life forever."On these conditions. I will not be changing my mother's last name from my name. I will bear Zoe Oliver and then Sinclair as an additional. And also, use your connections to find my mother. I haven't seen her since she left. Also, I will be allowed to make my own decisions and voice out opinions. I refuse to be a puppet," she told him sternly, as she presented the undertakings he had to sign so as to make their agreement valid.The old man paused for a while to think for a while because of his calculating and witty nature, as he stared at the lady, whose entire story he had done a background check on. He thought it would be easier to make her do his bidding since he knew of her marriage to Malcolm Meyer, but it seemed like something in her had changed. She didn't even seem fazed by him, unlike the first time they met.However, he did not have much of a choice. He needed her to carry on the family name and the companies as his surviving family member. And they made it clear to one another that their closeness and doting nature were only going to be to the sight of those around and not when they were by themselves.He extended his hand to her and shook her with a grin, "Fine. Welcome home, my dear grandchild."Every member of the Meyer family alighted from the luxurious car in front of their mansion after the party in the same way they went, and they all sauntered into the living room silently with so much silence that was stifled with heavy tension, through the grand double doors of their opulent mansion which swung open.The family's footsteps echoed on the marble floors with their heels and shoes clicking rhythmically, with the force under their feet evident as they made their way in, each stride a confirmation of the restless anger coursing through their veins. "Do you all believe what you just witnessed at that banquet?!" Ivy, who never took her time to speak her mind among everyone in the family, suddenly lashed out as soon as they all got to the living room."Is it even possible for someone to suddenly change within two weeks, and go from being a wretched lady from the countryside to the heiress to the Sinclair wealth?! Can you even comprehend the possibility?!" She continued with a
In the hushed ambiance of the standard luxurious suite where soft rays of blocked sunlight filtered through the deluxe curtains into the room, Zoe lay in a peaceful repose on the plush bed, sprawled tiredly on every part of the bed. The soft sheets cradled her body into a gentle sensation of warmth and comfort, with her head buried into the huge pillows that decorated the bed in an opulent decor. And for hours since dawn, her eyes had been wide open and staring at the white ceiling. She couldn't sleep further no matter how she tried. The distant hum of the air conditioner was the only thing that she could hear in the deep silence that settled in her room, and it wasn't like the way she had lived her life in the past two years with constant buzziness. She tossed endlessly to the other side of her bed and shut her eyes tightly to find some sleep, but nothing was helping matters even if she tried and wished. Her sleeping pattern had become haphazard ever since she got married to Malco
Though Zoe had planned the day to take a peace check and go out to have fun by herself, Francis Sinclair had called unexpectedly and demanded a brief audience from her as soon as she was about to leave the spa. She strode elegantly out of the spa a few minutes after Audrey and Ivy had seen her, leaving them aghast and battered by intense guilt and fear of the most unexpected thing that could happen to them. The feeling of having to see them shocked beyond their bones at the sight of her, made a satisfactory smirk cross her lips as she sat back in the car that drove her away from the building. But first, that was the most basic because it was an encounter she least expected. Dealing with her grandfather, whom she just got to familiarize with for lunch, was another hassle. The old man was too obnoxious and unnecessary. "You are late," Francis pointed out as Zoe sauntered in and took her seat elegantly in the chair opposite him. "I'm sorry for that. My location was quite far when y
"Are you joking now?! I cannot enter here because someone has booked the mall for two hours?!" Dafne Brown raged angrily, as she stood in front of one of the largest malls in the city to be the first to get the limited edition heels that just came in that afternoon. She couldn't believe that she would be treated in that manner, just because of some simpleton that wanted to show off their wealth. 'Who was the person?!'Zoe was still contemplating what to buy amongst the numerous designer heels that she was looking at, when she heard the loud voice raging from the grand door that led to the section. As soon as she was about to turn her eyes away, she watched some tall lady force her way classlessly into the room. "Who are you and what gives you the right to close up this store as you please?!" She frained imperiously, as her eyes shot out lasers of dagger towards Zoe's direction. Zoe turned her eyes to look at the person talking, and it turned out to be the person who humiliated her
On seeing the most unexpected man about to enter the elevator that Zoe was just coming out of, time seemed to slow down as their gazes met, and at that moment, memories both bitter and sweet flooded her mind. Her eyes, which were once filled with love and vulnerability, held a glint of restrained fury, with every fibre of her yearning to unleash the pent-up frustration and resentment in her. But she remained composed with a stoic expression, hiding the tempest of emotions raging within her as confidence surged from nowhere in her body. Not knowing how to react to such an infuriating situation of suddenly seeing him, she decided to ignore him the same way they always did even when they were living together. 'Afterall. They rarely spoke to one another in the past.' "People are looking around desperately to see you make a mistake and put it out for the whole world to see," she remembered Francis' words to her. She didn't even need the words anyway. She already knew that she could n
A black, sleek car glided to a graceful halt in front of the huge ANCLAIR corporation, and the bustling reporters that were hanging around all day for the entrance immediately swarmed around, their cameras flashing brightly in anticipation to capture the sight of the lady they were waiting for. She was nervous about facing such a spotlight which she had never had the chance to ever be in her life. It felt so overwhelming to know that she, who was always someone of no significance to other people, was being sorted by many. Gary had told her that there had been so many emails being sent to the CEO's seat to those that had private email for the CEO's table, ever since her being named the heiress. The chauffeur that had gone to pick her up that morning in a different car, stepped out of the car, and walked up to the right side of the car where Zoe was sitting. He opened the door to prepare her for what was next. "Ready, ma'am?" He asked her, blocking the bright flashes of the camera fro
"Should we just release the news about how she was treated here? Tell the truth that she's been hired by Francis Sinclair and that her family lives in the poor countryside," Ivy blurted out suddenly, the moment she thought of what they could do to have Zoe wrapped around their fingers. They were eating breakfast at their private dining, and it was just the same old lame food they had to manage after hiring numerous chefs in just two weeks. The taste of the food had never been the same, and the service could never be the same either, if they wanted to have breakfast at their usual early hours. Most times, Audrey had to agree to eat the same food as Ivy, while Irina and Isla ate the same meal. Aaron had no choice but to eat whatever he was served too, and had to wear his clothes regardless of how the maids had ironed them. He didn't like the new way of things, and he missed Zoe's way of doing his things so much, even if he could never speak of it. "We would just say she was a maid, no
Zoe was standing on the balcony of her new-storey apartment leaning against the intricately carved railing, as she stared at the beautiful surroundings of her new home. The gentle morning breeze swirled through her flowing gown and her silky hair, as she tilted a cup of sizzling coffee to her lips and drank from it. A mischievous smirk suddenly tugged at the corners of her lips in satisfaction, as she recalled what happened at the party the previous night, and her mind replayed the events like a well-choreographed play while she revelled in the sweet taste of victory."Do I know you?" She asked Sasha, when she demanded what she was doing at the party, to recognize her as the daughter-in-law in the home of Meyers. Realizing that things might go wrong with her lips, she decided to deny her to the extent that she would question her sanity. "What…. What?" Sasha stuttered confusedly at the lady standing before her, wondering if she had too much champagne to drink and had seen the lady sta
“How did it feel to see her?” Malcolm, whose eyes were already shutting in weariness brightened at the mention of Zoe, saying she met her mother. “To be honest, I was so glad. I was exhilarated because it felt so surreal to know I still have a family,” a small smile graced her lips as she spoke of it, “She doesn't know yet, but I like seeing her every time. She is a gorgeous woman. Full of dreams, and beautiful. Fun fact, we have similar eyes,” she was so excited to talk about Jasmine to someone. Turning to look at her, Malcolm stared into her eyes with a smile, “Really?”“Yes. She is stunning,” her lips widened in a deeper grin. His heart, suddenly hurting at the thought of his mother again, Malcolm was curious, “You don't resent all the times you spent away from her? Or her?”“If I say I don't, I lie,” a soft sigh escaped Zoe, as she looked up at the beautiful chandelier that was sitting up on the ceiling of the living room, while staring at it dreamily like a new kind of attra
Ding dong! The shrill chime of the doorbell outside the door instantly cut through Jasmine's thoughts and her back to the present from her room. For a moment, she couldn’t move. Her body remained frozen as if her brain had paused, and her heart, hammered. It was when her phone which was by her side sounded with a loud notification, that she fully kicked out of the reset mode her mind had gone into. She grabbed the phone so languidly as if something was sucking life out of her. A message notification from Justine flashed through her face when she swiped the screen up, and it read, ‘I’m outside. Please come get me.’ Turning on the lights in the room, Jasmine rose to her feet and hurried out of her room with light steps, careful not to wake Raine up. When she opened the front door of the house, a silent gasp escaped her as soon as she saw her. Justine was looking like life had chewed her up and spit her out. Her eyes were red with weariness and swollen with tears, and her sho
The bedroom showed no sign of life because the lights there were off, but someone was sitting by the window side, staring out into her uninteresting compound, while lost in thoughts. She sat at the edge of her armchair with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular. The air around her felt so thick with tension, and it felt too heavy to pull into her lungs, because it was constricted with pain. It had been almost two hours since Zoe left, but Jasmine’s heart had not known rest because of what she said. The most shocking part of her life was all exposed in just one evening, and she was still trying so hard to process it. Her truths were wrapped in so much pain.She had been trying to keep up with the chaos inside her head, but it was as if Zoe's pain now lived in her lungs.‘She was married?’ Jasmine could not get her mind off that part, because that piece of information was not included in her public biography. There was no news about it. ‘If she was
Zoe adjusted the face cap she was wearing and bent her head, her eyes boring deep into the floor as she entered into the elevator with Malcolm. It was when they entered and the doors shut, that she thought to herself that it would have been better if he had gone up first. ‘What could be worse than the tip-off of where she was staying the night? Meeting up with Malcolm Meyer in his private penthouse? It would look too good on paper. The speculations would be terrifying and suffocating!’“You can remove the cap now,” Malcolm told her as soon as they reached the penthouse of the forty-five floored building, and stepped out of the elevator. “Okay,” she muttered, even if she didn't pull it off immediately. She was still a little bothered that someone might see them. The penthouse was quiet when Zoe stepped in after Malcolm opened the door, and it was the kind of stifling silence that made her heartbeat echo in her own ears. And maybe somehow, because she had seen what his house looked
“Those two must have been planning it since! They must have!” Irina’s flare cut through his thoughts, as she gritted her teeth hard, “I have never even thought of her ever coming back. Mill assured her everything was over, and that she would never have reasons to return anymore!” Her heart continued to beat fast, as a raging headache began to rise within her head. She had been having that for days now, and it had just worsened. “This was his silent comeback?” A bitter scowl escaped her, as she sucked in a shaky breath of fury before taking her seat as she shut her eyes tight because of the terrible headache. “No wonder that bastard wasn't saying anything and just watched us run things behind him. He was planning to bring his mother back to the company,” Irina groaned. “Then we should tell the board. This might change their minds,” Andre blurted out without even thinking. “You stupid fool!” Irina cursed under her trembling breath, “What has that got to do with the shareholders?
Back at the Meyers mansion, the moment of peace shattered the moment the front doors burst open, and Irina stormed into the mansion like a hurricane still pompously dressed in her extravagant ball dress.Her hair was still perfectly curled, but her face, which was shining so beautifully, was scrunched up in anger that made the maids scatter as soon as they saw her coming. They hadn't expected to see her so early and had rejoiced endlessly since the plan was to be gone for five days on a nice trip. It made them so disappointed.“Where is my son?!” she barked, tossing her coat and purse aside as she turned to the terrified ones that remained. One of the maids that worked directly with her hurried forward, as she looked to the floor instantly, “Ma’am, Master Andre is in the….”Irina didn’t wait to hear the rest as she stormed past the lady, only for her heels to hit the huge vase along where she passed, causing her to stumble. However, she was fast enough to catch herself against a gil
Driving away from Jasmine’s beautiful and peaceful neighborhood, Zoe struggled to breathe behind the steering wheel of her car. Her entire body was trembling and she was so tensed up, because of the heated encounter she had with her minutes ago, and she had not yet regained herself even after the short discussion she had with Raine. She didn't even understand why she had ranted uncontrollably and talked about her entire life in just a few minutes. She had screamed about her past, pain, and everything she had buried under fine clothing, and business smiles to no one else but her mother. Of course, in the most bitter way ever. ‘Goodness!’ Zoe screamed in her head, mortified that even if she wanted her to see the good side of her, she had failed. Her hands struggled to steady behind the steering wheel as she drove and gripped it so tightly as if it would help her calm herself down, her breath coming in shallow draws. She was confused. ‘Should she call Jasmine back and apologize for
A bitter smile curved Zoe’s lips, “I am sorry I have made you uncomfortable all this while. To be honest, I just really want somewhere to feel at home,” she shrugged slightly as if it was nothing, even if she was crumbling within her. “Growing up with my granny, I had a very rough life. Was bullied endlessly because I had no Mum, and was dirt poor. I worked my ass trying to get an education, but it didn't pay off because I had too many debts. Then an old man my granny knew agreed to take away my debt if I got married, so I did, hoping to escape my lowly, but it was way worse. I suffered a lot,” Zoe began to recount everything that she had been wanting to let out, at least to the very woman she desperately wanted to tell the truth to. She wanted her to know that even if Emily had been her biological Mum, she had a trashy life in the past either way. She had never truly had a family. “You.. you've been married?” Jasmine's incoherent words stumbled out of her trembling lips, as she st
“What do you mean?” Jasmine, who had been pretending not to listen to their conversation almost asked, her eyes widening in shock at what Zoe had just revealed.But Raine took the words right out of her lips before she could say it. “What? Really?” Her eyes sparked up in curiosity.Zoe shrugged lightly, as if trying to make the conversation as natural as possible, “She told me she is not my Mum.”“How?” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “You were adopted?!” Her voice rose in speculation. “No,” Zoe laughed.More confusion crossed Raine's features, making her more puzzled than the last, “Then how? She picked you up?” “Maybe because she has lost her mind or something. She rambles on these days. That was when she told me,” she mumbled. “Lost her mind?” Raine's voice lowered in pity. “Yeah. She did pretty bad things, and I guess maybe that is her reward. She doesn't even recognize me,” Zoe laughed like it was some bad joke. Genuinely, Raine's eyes lowered in worry, as she questione