Zoe was sitting on the rooftop of a classy top restaurant, gazing at the beautiful scenery below, as she basked in the beautiful serenity of the ambiance around her. It was barely lunchtime in the afternoon, and she was bored by herself, because she spent all morning working. She picked up her phone and called the number of the person she had saved as ‘first friend’ under her retrieved line, and the shock from the person that appeared to her after she texted her location was a little too much to bear at once. Standing right before her, grinning from ear to ear, was her secretary, Zara. ‘It was you?!’ Zoe exclaimed inwardly. “I have missed you very much,” Zara pouted so much, forgetting her professionalism, as she pulled Zoe into a hug after she offered a handshake first. ‘Crap. This lady was hugging her like she would snap her back,’ Zoe thought to herself, unable to breath properly, in the way Zara had embraced her so endearingly. “How are you, Zara?” Zoe returned the same ene
‘Shit! When will this guy leave?’ Zoe thought to herself as she laid still on the hospital bed, trembling and almost breaking out in sweat while trying hard to stall for as long as she could. ‘She was tired of pretending!’The moment she saw the guy that appeared before her whom she had no recollection of, she quickly thought of the fastest means to get out of the situation. And the only thought that came to her was, pretending to faint, forgetting that she had a dramatic secretary. “Goodness! What is wrong, Miss Zoe?! What am I going to do?!” Zara screamed as she watched her boss fall unceremoniously to the floor, as she quickly rushed to hold her, while panting so fast and almost at the point of tears. ‘What would she tell people if they asked her what happened to Zoe?’Thanks to Martin, who took the cue that alerting people's attention to them would be a terrible idea, he told Zara to put her emotions in check in order to stop people from taking pictures or a video. He carried Z
“What?! You are not taking back the engagement?!” Zoe yelled furiously as she glared at Malcolm, the moment he made his intentions clear after she asked him. He arrived shortly after Gary left, and had driven at a high speed when he was told that she was in the hospital. Entering the ward, he was bewildered to see her pacing around instead of lying on the next like someone who was truly sick, and her next question surprised him as soon as she saw him.“You and I know that this engagement thing is bullshit. So, clinging on hopelessly to something that is not there is not nice for the both of us,” Zoe tried to convince Malcolm further with calmness, even if she was trying hard not to lash out at him too. “We can make it work better. You are like this because you are yet to regain your memories, but trust me, this is for the best,” Malcolm answered her demurely, feeling a little guilty that he was going along with the agreement he already had with her grandfather to tell her the exact
What are you suddenly getting at?” Zoe questioned with a sneer, feigning ignorance. “Is that jealousy I sense?” Malcolm teased with a chuckle as he gazed at her, tilting his head amusingly. “You must finally be losing it. Can you please be on your way now? I would like to have my peace without having to share the space with you,” she sneered and dropped the cup of unfinished coffee as she stood up, and made her way into the bathroom, without waiting to hear anything he wanted to say.Upon entering, her eyes observed how neat and organized the bathroom was, even if Malcolm had used it moments ago, which showed how snazzy and intricate he was in his doings. She stared at the huge, deluxe space for a long while, before taking her seat in the bathtub. She hung her head languorously as she tried to think of what she would do, since things seemed not to be working in her favor now. ‘Her grandfather wanted to marry Malcolm at all costs, and the only solution she thought of was not worki
Zoe returned to her room instantly and slammed the door forcefully after ushering the maids who were cleaning the place out instantly. She began to pace back and forth every corner of the room, while thinking hard of what she would do concerning what had just happened to her. Of what was going on.‘She needed to know what was going on!’ 'Did these people treat her like that in the past? Or were they treating her like that now? What did she not remember?’ Zoe's body trembled uncontrollably as she continued to think so hard. It frustrated her so much to her guts that she was in the dark about what happened in the past just because her memories were gone. It was more confusing that no one was telling her more than she knew. ‘What the heck happened?!’ Zoe continued to wonder restlessly in fear and confusion. Her hand quickly grabbed her phone as she checked the internet to check for any news about Malcolm, and the only news article that popped up was the one from an event he attended
“Sir. The meeting is in about thirty minutes. We should be on our way now,” Edward informed Malcolm as he entered the large, expansive suite, whose attention was fully buried in the numerous files that were before him. “How far is the investigation into the cause of Zoe's accident going?” Malcolm questioned, instead, with his eyes still fixed on what he was going through, like he had been waiting for him to come around so that he could ask. “They said that there was nothing off and that nothing had been tampered with in the car that could have caused the accident. The truck driver who drove the car died a few weeks ago because of complications from an underlying illness, which made the investigation more difficult because there is no one to question,” Edward explained, the same way he was informed by the officer in charge of the case. “So there are no leads? Nothing to tell us if the accident was premeditated or purely accidental?” Malcolm's eyes were in irritation, evidently
Thinking through everything and how Zoe had been insistent on breaking off the fake engagement she had no idea of, Malcolm didn't know why he wanted to keep her around, when it was so glaring that she wasn't willing to be with him even with her lost memories. ‘For what was he even doing this? The proposal? The increased power he would attain if their marriage was announced?’ he pondered endlessly, as he tried to search in his heart why he was still trying to hold on to something that didn't even exist between them. “The ANCLAIR collaboration proposal has been prepared again, sir. The only thing required is your final review before it is sent out to the head company. Mr. Sinclair would give the final approval as discussed,” Edward reminded Malcolm, when he noticed that he seemed to have calmed down a bit. “Not Zoe?” Malcolm questioned surprisingly. “Her grandfather takes care of a part of the review because she cannot do it all by herself due to the accident,” Edward explained, and
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Zoe showed her gratitude to the maid who had helped her into her room. The young maid had come out of the storage room she was cleaning, and saw that her boss's fiancé was struggling to get up from the floor. She told the lady not to call anyone or a doctor and just take her to her room. As a new maid with no knowledge of what had happened in the past and had no friends in the mansion, she picked Zoe up in no time even if they were almost the same body size, and scurried up the other grand stairs which led to Malcolm's room quickly as instructed. “It is nothing, ma'am,” the young lady answered with her eyes looking at the floor, unable to look at the face of the person who was talking to her. It was like that with the other members. “Can I know your name?” Zoe asked, as she took the seat on one of the plush couches that was inside the incredibly huge and luxurious room. “Erin. It is Erin,” the lady answered with a slight trepidation, as she wondered
The day Zoe had met with Jasmine and had embraced her with all her might, and drowned in the sweet scent of the body as well as her warm embrace, she left with a few strands of her hair. She felt so terrible doing that with her consent, but she wanted to be sure. She didn't want her life to be a lie again even if everything and traits about Jasmine pointed out that she was no doubt her mother. She just wanted the hope that truly she wasn't just misguided by a few coincidences. But instead of calling her and having nothing to say to her when she was probably bitter towards her thinking she was Emily's daughter, Zoe let herself sink into the memory of the woman she longed to call as the loneliness around her pressed in, and filled every inch of the luxurious, soulless space around her. While she continued to wallow in her deep concern, she scooped a spoonful of cereal that had sodden miserably in her bowl into her mouth, and forced herself to keep chewing, even if she wasn't sure sh
At the earliest hours of the morning, 5:45 AM, Zoe's eyes suddenly parted open as if some sort of realization hit her from her sleep. Her body felt heavier than usual, like she was sinking into the expensive mattress that had never quite felt like hers as she stared at the white ceilings above her face, which blinked against the pale lights that kicked from the floor-to-ceiling windows of her room. For some reason, as she lay on her bed, trying to grasp an unfamiliar feeling that somehow coursed through her body, she tried to comprehend why she felt a strange sense of relief even if she woke up to the sound of nothing. It was the first time in a long time that she had slept that long. She didn't even realize when she dozed off the previous night after she left the bathroom still lost in thoughts. But for the first time in weeks, she had slept. Straight hours without the endless turning, nightmares and incessant sleep breaks. She sat up slowly, pushing away her silk sheets that
Driving with an aggression and crazy speed, Isla floored on the accelerator of her car just moments as soon as the doors to the Meyers mansion swung open, and swerved in like a maniac under hot pursuit. Stepping out her car and grabbing her bag violently with her face scrunched up into a deep frown, she dropped her car keys on the floor as one of the butlers scrambled unsuccessfully below her to catch it fast. Not minding that her heels grinded on the poor man's hand, she stormed past and made her way into the mansion, the doors automatically opening at the sensing of her presence. With her heels clicking loudly against the polished shining floors as she walked past the huge first living room which had been desolate for quite a while because things were not quite the same with the people living in the mansion anymore, she began to climb the stairs that led to the hallway which was the way to her room. Turning swiftly to the right, Isla's eyes caught sight of her mother who was sta
But Zoe didn’t move. Instead, she just stood there, staring at the flowers with her mind tangled in a mess of resentment and something she refused to name as she rose to her feet. And somehow, her feet carried her toward the kitchen instead, as her eyes caught sight of the china and teacup. The ones she had planned to return also. ‘Goodness! Just why would he do all this without even asking her first?!’ Zoe screamed in her head even if her tired lips could utter nothing as she began a careful deliberation in her mind concerning how she would return it, knowing that she wanted to have no business stepping into his house.And just right at that moment too, the small green packet next to her microwave caught her eyes exactly where he had left it, and it was the herbal tea he had sent to her. The note he had attached to it lingered in her head and it made her scoff. ‘What business does he have with her insomnia?’And yet, her hands moved on their own, filling her kettle, lighting the
The black car glided softly into the estate as Dylan steered it through the silent, tree-lined road that led to Zoe's mansion, and pulled up smoothly to the front entrance of her house, his movements smooth and controlled, just as they always were. His eyes flashed to the front mirror for a few seconds as he turned the car off, before he reluctantly stepped out, and smartly walked around the car to the right side of the passenger seat. He hesitated for a few seconds before he pulled the door open towards his direction for Zoe, and then waited for her to step out as usual. And for a few seconds, Zoe remained sitting without stirring, as her eyes dimmed into a distant gaze as if her mind had pulled her entirety into an abyss. She was lost somewhere in her never ending thought, and Dylan knew that look. He had studied it more times than he cared to admit. His usual mask of indifference switched that moment for a few seconds as his gaze lingered on her, with a longing mixed with so
It was late in the night already, and Dylan was just driving Zoe back home. She sat in the back seat and slouched her back comfortably against the leather chair, with her neck hanging sideways against the closed window in the most elegant way ever. Somehow, she was trying not to think of it earlier. She was trying not to think of having to sit before Andre in her office, and talk so casually. It reminded her of Audrey. It reminded her of the woman whose dreams were stolen, and a woman whom somehow no one seemed to remember. It made her heart ache that even her husband seemed to have no ounce of sadness for her death. His expression turned even colder at the mention of her name. As much as Zoe tried to push the thoughts and triggering insinuations that kept creeping into her mind because of the silent investigations she had been doing, she couldn't help but remember what Audrey told her. That someone had threatened her after her encounter with Marcel, and sent an anonymous message
Despite the seeping feeling of cold air into the atmosphere in the office of the CEO of the RINASHONE art gallery, it did nothing to ease the storm that was brewing in Isla's heart, who sat slouched against her chair.Her eyes which had been narrowed by a disdainful glare stared again at the chart that was before her, and she could not help but scrunch up her face the more she read those numbers before her. ‘Ridiculous!’ She almost scoffed, ‘The gallery’s earnings for the month were barely enough. Barely enough!’ her eyes glanced through the pile of invoices again, and then glared at the final figure. “This is not good. Not nearly enough,” she muttered spitefully, the more she thought of her debts which loomed over her like a noose. The ones that had given her sleepless nights because somehow there was nowhere she could have pulled the funds from. Isla leaned back in her chair and gritted her teeth angrily, thinking of how the numbers were still low with the exhibition they held an
The bright lights of the city shone against the tinted windows of the car that drove through the highways of the city, but it didn't do anything to catch the attention of the man who sat back in the backseat of his luxurious car, while rubbing his temples absently with one another.As he remained mute without uttering anything all through the journey back home which was unlike his usual self, his mind momentarily flashed back to the event that happened earlier that day, as he steamed with the remnant of his frustration.It was the second time he had a face-to-face conversation with her. He had stormed into her mall straight from work with his pulse hammering with frustration without even thinking too much about it, the moment he realized that yet again, there was no reply. He was so pissed. For days, she had ignored his email. And when he was told that she asked him to be let inside at once, he was quite taken. He had expected that she would prove so difficult so that he would be ab
Her shortcomings. That had been her concern all afternoon. Not the great news Hepzy went back and forth about. Rather than the joy and excitement that usually came with it, she just felt relieved. Relieved that she was doing well. She wasn't happy about it. There was nothing to be joyful about. As she sat at her desk surrounded by neatly stacked reports and a laptop screen glowing with financial projections before her, the numbers stared back at her. Poor and unproductive in her dictionary. As much as it looked impossible, she had always aimed for every venture she had mapped out in the mall. It wasn't just a mall. It was an empire. The one that billions had been finished off on, and it would end up swallowing more if poured into it. Pulling off something that huge had taken so much willpower and mental strength even if every social psychology quotient of hers was always fluctuating. The ice skating rink and the luxury car exhibition space were doing the lowest. 8% returns was all