Audrey was standing in the mansion’s private kitchen on the afternoon of the next day, while lamenting grumpily because of how tough her life had been lately. She was so bored out of her mind since Isla had been hanging out with her mother for days now, and decided to cook something she learned on an online chef she usually followed because she was left out. While trying to find everything she needed for the food, she felt the presence of someone in the room which made her turn instantly like a jolt of electricity surged through her body. “Hi, Audrey,” she heard the voice call to her, and she froze startled to the spot, “How are you?” Zoe asked again, as she sauntered into the kitchen and began to work closer to where she was standing. “I'm.. I'm good. What are you doing here?” Audrey stuttered anxiously as her words became incoherent, with her eyes growing impossibly wide as if waiting for an explanation. She became suddenly restless to the fact that Zoe was standing in the same s
Zoe was lost in thoughts of what ensued in the kitchen with Audrey, and the words she had spoken momentarily without thinking about it. And the manner in which it ended, she couldn't help but be confused about what she heard. “You couldn't do it when you were both married. How do you want to do it now?” Were words she heard clearly which shocked her to her bones. “You couldn't do it, and now you are both getting married, how do you want to do it now?” Were the words Audrey claimed sternly that she had said with a sudden charming smile, which made Zoe confused about what she truly heard. ‘And she and Malcolm. Getting married to one another before? Was that even possible?’ she reasoned again, even if it was hard to convince something in her mind, that she was not yet satisfied with the answer. However, that was probably the least of her problems, because, the short conversation she had with Audrey, made it clear that they didn't want her around and that it had to do with her remembe
There was a little hubbub at the Meyers mansion because of the unexpected visitor that had entered their homes, since it had been a very long time since they last saw him in person. It was Mac Meyer, the grand-patriarch of the family, who was the father to their dead father. Every member of the family came down as soon as they were informed that he was around, because it was a great surprise that he even visited them in the first place. He was a man who was rarely around in the country because he was busy traveling, and maintained a great distance from his family. However, his authority still stood in the family. He was the older version of Malcolm when it came to dealing with business and people, but was more outspoken, blunt, and humorous. “Malcolm isn't home?” Mac questioned no one in particular as he sat in the huge living room, where every member of the family had converged to see him. He and Irina maintained the greatest means of distance as his son's wife, and his grandchild
“Zoe!” They all heard the fierce, sharp voice call so powerfully as everyone's heads turned collectively, to see him storming powerfully towards where they were as he stood in front of Zoe instantly. “I will be back grandfather,” he said to the old man, who was a little surprised by the sudden outburst of his grandson after his unexpected appearance. “Let us go,” Malcolm turned to Zoe sharply, as he grabbed her arm firmly, and pulled her away from the prying eyes and suffocating scrutiny of everyone. Everyone was evidently taken aback by Malcolm's sudden outburst and the way he stormed in to disrupt everything, when they were yet to get over the surprise of Zoe suddenly acting like she didn't remember her grandmother. “What are you doing?” Zoe exclaimed with shock and confusion as she stumbled to keep up with his forceful stride. Seeing that she was trying to struggle with him, he swept her off her feet and carried her in his arms up the stairs. “Put me down!” Zoe fought with a fr
“What is wrong with Erin's granddaughter?” Mac questioned his grandson, Malcolm, as he stood impatiently in the private living room on the top floor, his eyes twitching with suppressed worry about what was going on. “Zoe is doing fine,” Malcolm answered sharply, hoping in his heart that she had not too much impression that something was truly wrong with her. “She asked who her grandmother was. Like she didn't remember her or something,” Mac mentioned, just in case Malcolm had no idea what he was talking about. “She has gone through so much these days. Pretending that her pain doesn't exist is her coping mechanism. I hope you understand,” Malcolm defended instantly, his voice low and convincing, in such a way that his grandfather would not go back and forth about the issue. “Is there something like that?” Mac muttered to himself with heavy contemplation, not seeming impressed by what he was hearing. “Why have you come to see us, grandfather? It is unlike you,” Malcolm questioned i
“Something must really be wrong. Is she pretending on purpose?” Irina asked no one in particular as she pondered on what had just gone down in the living room with Zoe and Mac the previous day, barely eating any of the breakfast that had been served to them. “What about the way he praised only her?” Audrey cut in bitterly, still feeling so bad for her son from yesterday, “He belittled everyone.”“Something is off. Even the way Malcolm overreacted and took her away instantly was suspicious,” Irina mouthed again and turned to Isla, “What do you think?” “I don't have much in mind. We will find out everything that is going on soon,” she responded calmly, not wanting to speak too much. Out of everyone, she was more and greatly disturbed even if she never showed it. The secret that Zoe found out about her was too destructive if it got out. ‘She couldn't allow her.’ “Perhaps their remarriage is true? Maybe for Malcolm, though. He seems invested in everything about her these days,” Audr
“Why do I have to do this?” Zoe questioned her grandfather on the phone after Gary came to the Meyers mansion, and put him on for her. “There is no time, Zoe!” He snapped angrily, hating that he had to explain himself to her when he wanted to save her ass from being canceled, “Leave with him now and do what is required. Else, your life might be over if people find out that you are mentally unwell!” Those were the very short words she had in a conversation with her grandfather, in the early hours of the morning, when she demanded to know why she was being asked to suddenly leave the country together with Malcolm. The news of her losing her mind had taken over the internet, and the front of the major company, other subsidiaries, and the Sinclair mansion were swarming with reporters, wanting to know the validity of such news and if she was indeed crazy. However, the fastest solution that Francis could think of was for her to go with Malcolm in his private jet to Canada as fast as poss
“We aren't leaving now?” Zoe's eyes jumped in surprise to hear different news from Malcolm, as she tilted her head in anticipation of a reason from him. “Yes,” Malcolm answered her, already observing how irritated she was by his answer. “Why?” her eyes narrowed at him, her lips curving to her deep frown. “It has been a while since we have been on a trip together. We could take this opportunity.”“I have no time for all this. I have to be back home,” Zoe dismissed with a much deeper grimace etched upon her face, as she turned away from his sight and began to strut out of the building, only to find out that no one that she recognized seemed to be there. “What have you done?!” She turned to Malcolm, who was coming behind her when she realized what was going on, her eyes blazing murderously at him. ‘She truly didn't have time. She was yet to find out anything, and this man was talking to her about a trip?!’“The workers were all hired for an hour at most. They left after doing thei
The air in Malcolm's office was filled with so much tension the moment he let his sister, who had come to momentarily disrupt his schedule, in. It had been days since they saw each other, ever since the unfortunate incident that almost cost her life. He had been expecting that she would come to see him after the information he had gotten about what she had been up to for the past few days, and unlike before, he didn't even give her the chance to speak first, before he lashed at her. “Do not come and shout in my office like you have been going around doing!” He warned gravely as soon as she stormed into his office, with all of her entirety quivering uncontrollably. “You know well that I should not keep calm at all!” She glared at him, “You of all people, know that I deserve to rant. At least if you treated me like trash, I should have one thing for myself!” “Why, in the name of everything sane, do you keep running back to fight with them?!” he demanded, his words seething with ange
Malcolm Meyer sat on the plush leather armchair in the living room of his new home in a faraway estate from the city that whispered wealth in every detail, from the vaulted ceilings which held huge modern diamond five-tier chandelier whose lights art reflected on the ebony floors of the huge mansion, to the floor-to-ceiling windows and perfect walls that were lined with first editions arts and rare artifacts.For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he allowed himself to sink into the quiet of his living room right after he returned from work and took a warm bath, instead of retiring to his room as usual. As he swirled the colorless wine in the wine glass he was holding and took a slow sip at each unconsciously calculated rhythm, his thoughts could not help but drift to the one person he had seen by chance earlier that day at a conference meeting. And even though they didn't get the chance to talk, and he just got to watch her from afar, he was relieved that she had risen f
Dressed in a white silk robe that blinked and waved smoothly in the direction of the wind, Irina Meyer lounged on the chaise longue in her private suite at Le AVARSON wellness resort, as she basked in the lights of the sun's rays that seeped in through the wide, floor-to-ceiling windows. On her right was a crystal glass filled with freshly pressed grapefruit juice on the side table, and right before her face was a fashion magazine which she buried her eyes in, as her right hand occasionally flipped to the next page. However, her mind was barely on what she was reading. It was deep in the thoughts of the confrontation with Andre earlier in her room that morning, and the words she hadn't expected that she would say to him. Though she felt a little guilty that she had smacked him hard with the bitter truth, her face scrunched up with the unwillingness to go and appease him as she continued to enjoy the peaceful repose of her environment. Irina was just beginning to let the peace of t
The door to the room slammed open with a crack like thunder, and Andre emerged from his room, his face a storm of furrowed brows and clenched jaws. The sound of his shoes clacked so hard as he strode down the hallway that led to Irina''s room, his breath coming out in uneven huffs, and his hands balling into fists at his sides. There was a wild urgency in his eyes amid a simmering frustration that seemed to radiate off him like heat, as he burst into his mother’s room without knocking. Irina, who was in her dressing room while getting ready to step out for an anniversary event, was visibly startled by the noise of the abrupt entrance in her room, as she rushed out instantly to see what the ruckus was all about. “Mother!” He called sharply, “Who else had been to that room?!” He demanded heavily, his voice heavy with anger and anxiety. “What do you mean?” Irina scrunched her eyebrows up in confusion, as she stared at him with questioning eyes, almost stumbling against the large s
Sitting slumped in his high-backed chair, with the city skyline stretching out beyond the window behind him, Andre’s hand rested heavily on the armrests of his chair, his chest rising and falling in shallow, controlled breaths, even if the storm that was brewing inside him was anything but calm.He had gotten yet another rejection. Another blow to his pride. He had poured days into crafting the new proposal, painstakingly aligning every detail with the vision he thought Malcolm wanted for their flagship company. And yet, the same words were delivered to him again. “It doesn’t fit our strategy.”The words rang in his ears, colder than the polished marble of the boardroom where they had been uttered, and he swore he almost punched Malcolm right at that moment in his face. He made him feel like a fool again! He effortlessly dismissed his proposal yet again. “You have to be very cautious. Though Malcolm is sitting back, he is watching you with his might! Do not make mistakes. Just wai
“You want to find out the truth too, don't you?” Zoe stared at the cryptic and blunt sentence that flashed in her eyes as soon as she slipped her phone out of her purse, when it sounded with a soft chime signaling the arrival of a new message. She had just stepped out of her car after they arrived at the underground parking lot of the mall, when she received the message that had her pausing on her tracks. Her heart skipped a beat and a cold shiver traveled down her spine immediately she read it, as her head turned sharply to the left and right, to see if the person who sent the message was somewhere around her. ‘Who could have sent this?’ She wondered, her eyebrows furrowing high in worry, as she tapped the screen on her phone, ready to reply to the message and ask who the person was. However, she restricted the urge to do that, cautioning herself that it was not the time for impulsiveness, as she slipped the phone back into her bag, straightened her blazer, and made her way t
Zoe returned home late in the night after a long day at work, had her bath, and changed clothes, before she went to the most quiet place in her house, which was tucked away in the farthest corner of her house, while carrying a bowl of neatly cut fruit in her hands, shortly after she went over some office papers in her study desk. Though feeling tired and stressed out with her entire body extremely sore, she knew she just had to visit the room to do a review of the last discovery she made. Turning on the light in the room, she moved to the wall by her Eastside, and instantly raised the white veil she had pulled over the series of photographs which were pinned in neat rows and newspaper clippings. Each was marked in red. Some had the letter ‘X’ written on it boldly and definitively, while others had circles drawn around faces in the pictures, and were connected with taut strings of thread that crisscrossed like a chaotic spider’s web.Carefully, Zoe sank onto the plush armchair that
Seated in her new office, which was a masterpiece of modern elegance, was Isla, whose aura of calculated grace radiated strongly in every corner of the room. Rather than the usual custom-made suits she usually donned to the office when she was still the CEO of Hila jewelry, she was wearing a stunning turquoise blue dress, with its off-the-shoulder design this time around, revealing her delicate collarbones which were adorned with a simple but exquisite diamond necklace. However, regardless of how stunning she looked, her face was bunched into a disdainful mark, her left fingers tapping rhythmically on the table and her mind momentarily lost in some other place, as her eyes constantly darted to her phone which was before her. Barely a few minutes later, while still seething uncontrollably, her phone began to ring, and she quickly snatched it from the table. Instantly, her lips, which were painted in rich, pepper-red lipstick, curled into a smirk, as a hint of malice instantly flicke
ZOELVA’s luxurious structure, erected tall, reflected the shining bright lights of the afternoon sun from the east, with its luxurious designs radiating across the core and surroundings far and beyond the huge city. Inside, shoppers went from floor to floor, wandering wide corridors that were lined with top-tier brands, with staff moving around to guide and direct everyone in the most orderly manner. Groups of families made their way to food stands, their laughter and shouts mingling with the savory scents of sizzling burgers, crispy pizza, and sweet, sticky treats. On another side, fashion enthusiasts, elites, and socialites were gathered around numerous designer boutiques, their eyes fixed longingly on the glossy displays of haute couture, while others anticipated getting their hands on the most sophisticated top-notch tech devices. Amid the crowd’s awe and excitement and the hubbub of purchasing endlessly and engaging so many sections in the mall, a moment of stillness fell int