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
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
"Come back here! Where is the dessert I asked for?! And how many times have I told you that mother doesn't like her kiwis cut this way?! Are you going to be dumb forever?" Audrey, the first daughter-in-law of the Meyer family, yelled at the beautiful young lady who was multitasking as she served different dishes in front of different people at the same time and pace. The hardworking lady had woken up at 4:00 am to get started in the kitchen, while preparing the different dishes that were eaten by each member of the Meyer family. And she had to make sure she served it fast and got back to work, which included fixing Aaron's school uniform for the day and whatever errand they all wanted her to do. There were a variety of Fresh berries, Granola for crunch, Poached eggs on English muffins, Canadian bacon, smoked salmon, sautéed spinach and kale for general feeding, and on the other hand, for the saucy sisters, there were bagels with cream cheese, burrito, omelet, and baked buffalo win
Gossip was flying around the mansion of the Meyers and transmitting with the speed of lightning, as soon as one of the maids saw Malcolm making his way into Zoe's room, which was stationed in a hallway, different from the members of the family. They all wondered what was going on as they tried to think and figure out reasons, Malcolm would suddenly come back from work and go straight into her room. It had never happened before. For him to enter her room ever since they had been married. Their voices rose in speculation. "Is he finally seeing her as his wife?" One whispered as she scrubbed the same spot in the kitchen over and over again. "Or does he have something important to tell her?" The younger maid insinuated. "Could he be mad at her for something she did, and have decided to scold her secretly, unlike the rest of the family?" Another one guessed. "What could it be? Or does he suddenly need sexual relief?" The tallest of them smirked with a seductive grin tugging her lips,
"She must have clearly lost her mind.""Reject a hundred million? Can her family ever get a quarter of it till they all die?""But are you sure, Mrs. Meyer has not gone mad from the aftereffects of too much suffering? She suddenly looked prideful when she asked to eliminate the compensation part from the papers." "Is that not a foolish way to deal with things? Choosing her pride over millions?"The maids around nudged themselves and whispered into each other's ears as low as they could, wondering what was going on in Zoe's head. It was clear to them that she would rather become a penniless, divorced outcast than take the Meyers money. Malcolm was still sitting in his comfortable position like a king's figure, inwardly shocked by Zoe's request not to receive a dime from him. Though his face was cold and etched with an expression as stoic as ever, he smirked maliciously and thought to himself that she was trying to pull silly tricks. Edward met the eyes of his boss with uncertainty a
It has been two weeks since Zoe left, and the difference in the ambiance around the Meyers mansion was evidently palpable. The maids had returned to their post as usual trying to catch up with everything they had left for so long, and things became difficult because there were barely enough hands to handle all the jobs at once. It had them all wondering endlessly, how Zoe had managed to juggle everything by herself at once. It was difficult. The chefs had been unable to prepare meals to suit everyone's palate and taste buds, and they could not afford to set the table as early as Zoe cooked all meals because of the difference in everyone's preference. The maids that were hired hastily in a few days to cover up for the job, had broken almost all the precious glassware collections in the kitchen. There was always too much confusion in one morning, with vicious rages flying around from every member of the family, and the maids to be the receiving end of every complaint. They had no clu
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
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
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
The faint aroma of herbal tea lingered in the air of the office, where Zoe sat uprightly behind her table, with her poised demeanor betraying no sign of the turmoil that had lingered over her for the past few days even till the night before.Across from her, Zara, who was holding a notepad clutched to her chest, continued to stare at her so overtly, while wondering what kind of woman she was. “You have been watching me like a hawk,” Zoe, whose gaze was fixated on what she was looking at on the tablet that was before her, “Spill it.”Zara hesitated before speaking, as she stared at her, with a concerned expression, “I don't want you to say I bother too much, but I really cannot help but be so worried. I mean you suddenly made me book a flight after the launching, and then left. You came back and told no one. You came in looking so sick and pale, and now you are doing so much work already. You are asking if things you've never……..”“Can you catch your breath, Zara?” Zoe cut her off ins
It was so dark in the night already, and barely anything could be heard around the estate anymore except the branches of trees moving in the movement of the wind, and the sound of crickets that buzzed amidst the gardens that were around. Malcolm was seen returning to Zoe's house after he had left many minutes ago, with big bags in his hands as he made his way to the front of her mansion. Slipping in through the front door now that he knew its password, he stepped in casually and locked the door behind it. Since he left the other inner door that led to the living room open without closing it when he left earlier, it was easier to just enter on tiptoe without disrupting her. Catching a sight of her still sleeping on the couch in her living room, he dropped the bag he was carrying on the cold, marbled floor, and walked over to her side to feel her temperature. He noticed that she was still burning with a fever. Carefully, Malcolm carried her the same way he had done the previous day,
Malcolm had stood by the window of his mansion all evening after returning from work, with his fingers tapping idly at the corners of it which he had never noticed before, but was as sparkly as ever because the cleaning services that usually cleaned his house were perfect at their job. His eyes had fixed on the road outside as he waited restlessly, with his thoughts sinking into a tangled mess of concern and yearning for the woman he had been bothered about more than ever all day because of the articles that were published. And just at the moment when his eyes caught the sight of a car which rolled into view and drove past his mansion, his heart skipped in relief, before he instantly turned away from the window and hurried out. ‘She was back.’He walked fast, and even almost ran, hoping that he would be able to still meet her outside before she entered her house. In the opposite direction, her car drove past him as he walked, and he didn't even mind anything apart from her. His ey
“Please can you listen to me first?” Zoe instantly stood up from her seat and stepped forward in desperation, as her fingers curled slightly the moment she stretched her hand in an attempt to reach her, but dared not touch. Upon hearing her voice laced with desperation and a hint of something she couldn't make out, Jasmine halted on her steps, before she turned her face sharply. A sharp, bitter laugh escaped her lips, as she stared at Zoe's face, with a surfeit amount of emotions rushing through her at once, causing her to almost stumble on words, “If you are here to ask me about us, then I have nothing to say,” her voice trembled, “Did she say anything about me? Did she ask you to meet me? Her eyes burned with so much pain.With a heavy heart, Zoe spoke, unable to meet her eyes, “I am more interested in your side of the story, not Emily's,” she clarified.“What?” Jasmine's brow jumped in a high arch of astonishment, as she tried to make out the meaning of what she was saying, “Wha
An unease settled in Malcolm Meyer’s chest as he leaned back in his office chair, with his left fingers idly tapping against the polished wood of his desk, while his right hand incessantly tugged at the collar of his shirt that continued to feel clammy against his skin. He had barely slept the night before because sleep evaded him, and as a result of anxiety which clung to the darkest corners of his mind that were entangled in the thoughts of her.When he arrived home the day before earlier than he usually did because he was bothered, and hoped that Zoe would be home by then already, he noticed that the lights to her mansion had been off. It was not the usual ‘one’ light on, and the rest ‘off’ he usually noticed whenever he was home before he even knew she lived there. This time, it was completely off. There was darkness everywhere around her mansion, and it was unlike her. ‘Had she even come home at all?’ He wondered endlessly in his heart, seriously bothered that he didn't see h
“We met months ago at the oak tree in Montauk, when I was talking to your mother, Mrs. Carras,” Zoe quickly said while trying to jog up her memory, hoping she would remember, “I said she told me something, but you said there was no way she might repeat it even if it was true,” she quickly added as she stared at her eagerly, seeing that Jasmine was still finding it hard to remember. She also wanted to mention the fact that they had met before that too. That they had met the moment she gave birth to her twenty five years ago. That she had longed for her so much thinking she was dead. “Oh!” She finally remembered, and Zoe instantly heaved a sigh of relief, finally letting go of the breath she didn't realize she was holding, “I think I remember you now. Sorry for not realizing. I have a lot on my mind,” she quickly apologised.“I heard your mother died. I’m sorry,” Zoe quickly offered condolences, her heart somehow breaking so much at the flash realization that Mrs. Carras, who was dead
It was kind of the biggest five-star restaurant in the city. It has been rated the most luxurious, beautiful, and grand for the past six years, and its unmatched prestige made it one of the hardest spots to book too. MarLingTon. That was the name. Zoe had worked on connections to make a reservation at the place within the shortest time, and somehow she had managed to make it possible before the agreed date for her and Jasmine Carras to meet. The day she waited for with every breath of hers. MarLingTon had the most stunning infrastructure ever, and the CGI stunt of a huge butterfly preparing for its first flight in the grand lobby was the selling spot. Its display superseded every other down-to-earth interior that embodied the place, causing it to outshine the most astounding radiance ever. Sitting on the fourth floor which she had booked extravagantly for two hours was Zoe, who had gotten there thirty minutes earlier than the meeting hour and sat by the window, waiting patiently un