The next day, Venice made the proper preparations for their scheduled lunch meeting with this Mavis Crawford. She was not able to get a good sleep the other night since she saw no record of what the designer looked like, making her more anxious with each hour that passed."Are you sure you want to hold the meeting here?" Grayson questioned, wondering why Venice chose Laurasia's rooftop as the venue for their scheduled lunch.Not to mention, she had returned the former internal design of the break room from three years ago."Of course. I actually contacted Diana last night and she said that Mavis did not like going to expensive restaurants. She wanted things simple so this place is the perfect one for our lunch," Venice replied, which was a complete lie.She did not actually contact Diana. In truth, she hired a private investigator the other night and came to know that Mavis Crawford was indeed her stepsister. It infuriated her, however, she wanted the wedding dress so until she got ah
Upon reaching her house, Hestia immediately removed her summer dress and threw it on the floor. She changed into her nightgown after a quick hot shower and headed to the small cellar just near her kitchen. Walking down the aisle, she stopped and grabbed her favorite wine, the DRC Grand Cru 1945 that she bought in an auction. She poured a glass for herself, watching the velvet liquid fill the container while tempting her to taste it as soon as possible.She breathed in its flora scent, making her smile and feel more relaxed after sharing a not-so-appetizing meal with the couple who destroyed her sister's life.As soon as she sat on the couch overlooking the pool, she dialled Karylle's number."How is she doing?" she asked the moment Karylle answered."She is doing fine. For the past few days, she finally started to spend time with Kyler," she reported. "Her psychiatrist had visited twice ever since you left and she said that Mavis is doing a bit better than before."Hestia smiled upon
"What kind of ridiculous claim is that, Venice?" Mrs. Charter said while watching her daughter pace back and forth in front of her. "How can Mavis suddenly appear out of nowhere?"Venice shook her head as she listened to her mother, who obviously thought that she was going crazy. She faced her and looked at her with a sharp gaze."I do not know, Mom! All I know is that she is back. She returned to ruin my life again! We have to do something!" The crease on her forehead when an idea crossed her mind immediately vanished. "That's it! Since she is now back, it is time to reopen the case and have her imprisoned as soon as possible!"Mrs. Charter remained unconvinced so she simply let out a heavy sigh and left her daughter's room. She was already stressed out because of work so she did not want her supposed break time to be occupied with nonsense. She went to her husband's study room and found him putting down the telephone before taking a seat behind his wooden desk."Is there something w
"Mavis! There is nowhere to run!"Karylle's voice drowned as another flash of lightning crossed the dark sky followed by a loud thunder. The rain poured harder that day yet it did not stop Mavis from running away from the cottage where she was actually being held captive.Mavis kept her mouth shut as she hid under the bush. She could not clearly see where Karylle was, but she was sure she was near. She had to wait for her pursuer to leave before she attempted to run again or else, there might just be no other chance for her to escape. "Damn it," Karylle cursed under her breath upon seeing no sign of Mavis anywhere.She did not want to report to Hestia until she found Mavis or she might just bring herself into serious trouble. As she continued to venture deeper into the woods, Mavis got out of her hiding spot and ran in a different direction."I'm so sorry, Kyler," she thought as tears fell on her cheeks. "I will come back and take you. For sure."Mavis had been walking and running fo
The soft music greeted Noah upon entering the club that Grayson owned. Just as he expected, the vintage-themed place was already filled with people. He recognized some of them, especially those who were in the big-time businesses, but he completely ignored them and headed to the room exclusively for Grayson to use.It had been some time since he last visited so he could not wait to hear what his friend had to say. Entering, he found the CEO already drinking whiskey so Noah immediately approached him."Tell me already," he said, wanting to know what had pushed the man in front of him to ask for his help. "Are you receiving death threats again?"Grayson shook his head. He put down his glass and grabbed the documents that his secretary gave him that day. He handed it to Noah."I want you to keep me informed about her," he said, piquing Noah's attention even more."Her, huh," he merely mumbled before going over the documents.He thought it had something to do with any of his rivals in bus
"Jackie... Why the sudden call?" Hestia asked with a friendly tone as if she had not gotten mad just a few seconds ago."Oh my gosh, Hestia... You will not believe what I am about to tell you right now. The girls and I are totally spooked," Jackie said while walking back and forth in front of her car."What? What happened?""Okay... Remember the time you turned down my invitation to come with us for a hike?""Yeah. I told you I will be out of town.""Exactly!" Jackie immediately responded. "Okay, so yeah... You are out of town, but just yesterday afternoon, we thought you were the person we saw in the middle of nowhere.""Wait, what?" Hestia questioned as she finally came to realize what was going on."The woman we met looked exactly like you, Hes. Like from head to toe, but she said that her name is Mavis, not Hestia. She and I spoke last night. I am more than sure that was real, not a dream because she even left a note before disappearing." Jackie took a deep breath. "Are you sure y
After pretending to faint, Hestia could hear the murmurs around her. "W-What happened?" Venice asked as she saw Hestia unconscious on the floor. She approached her and shook her shoulder. "Mavis, Mavis. Wake up!""I... We did not even touch her!" a woman shouted defensively. "We just spoke to her. She must be faking this!""You mean you ganged up on her," another woman said across the table. She raised an eyebrow. "It was obvious how you all are bullying her.""Shut up!" the other rebutted.While the others continued to argue, the bartender on standby approached Venice who seemed to have no idea how to deal with the matter. He carried Hestia with ease."Should we take her to the hospital?" he asked with a calm voice.Venice could only nod before following the lead of the bartender as they made their way out of the bar. They took Hestia in her car and drove to the nearest hospital. This was not something Hestia expected to happen so she just continued acting until they reached the hos
The next day, Hestia spent most of her time making the new set of clothes for Mrs. Charter. She only snapped out of her concentration when the doorbell rang for the third time. She raised her eyebrow since she was not expecting a guest that day. Either way, she left her working room and headed to the monitor to see who the unexpected visitor was."Diana?" she muttered before opening the door. "Did something happen?""You are not answering my calls and messages so I thought you were in trouble." Diana stared at her. "Wait... You still don't know?""About what?"Diana fished out her phone and pressed something before shoving it right in front of her face. It was about the news of Mavis Charter's return after three years of being missing. Hestia smiled at her."I saw that last night," she said with a smile before heading to the kitchen to prepare some food for the two of them. "And to let you know, the DNA test result came and guess what? Mrs. Charter is welcoming me back into her home."
Grayson's kiss was possessive. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her closer towards him and feeling her warmth that he seemed to have been hungry for. With his other hand, he held the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, however, Hestia pulled away. Pain tugged at her heart and disgust started to boil at the pit of her stomach. "We... We should not be doing this," she muttered, putting her hand over his chest to push him away."You're right. My apologies."After saying those words, Grayson turned his back on her and strutted out of the gazebo, leaving her all by herself. He ran his fingers over his hair with a frustrated sigh upon realizing what he had done. He already divorced her and was now preparing to marry the woman who saved him and who was supposedly his bride years ago, but he hated himself for having contradicting feelings. He could only remind himself to get his senses together so as not to make another mistake that he might regret later on.Not to mention, he did n
Hestia sat on the side while enjoying her glass of champagne. Her eyes scanned the room and she pretty much could name every businessmen who attended the party. Heaving a sigh, she could only wait for Mrs. Charter's next move since she was surely to play Cupid that evening. It was probably to make sure that Hestia won't try to get Grayson back from Venice and keep her occupied until the wedding.Shifting her gaze to the right side of the room, just two tables away from her was the group where Venice and Grayson were. According to the information Hestia gathered, they were the elite friends of the up-and-coming bride who visited from overseas."Oh, Mavis... Don't just sit there and watch everyone get along," Mrs. Charter said as she approached Hestia with a rather exaggerated smile.Along with her was a man, probably in his early 30s. He stood at almost six feet with his hair slicked back and only a few strands fell on his forehead. The moment their gazes met, the man smiled and nodded
Early in the morning, Hestia was already awake to prepare for her interview at the Star Magazine. Wearing a simple blue dress with a ribbon tied behind her revealing back, she paired it with two-inch high heels. She grabbed her small bag and headed downstairs, where she found Venice and Grayson surrounded by several bags and luggage. Before any of them could speak, Mrs. Charter came in and greeted them with a kiss on the cheek. "Mavis, dear. It's still early in the morning. Where are you headed to?" Mrs. Charter asked. "If your errand isn't that important, then you should cancel it for now and help your sister unpack.""Unpack?" Hestia questioned since she thought that Venice just packed her stuff and was more than ready to leave the family home. But it seemed like it was the total opposite."Yes. Since it is just a matter of time before their wedding, she decided to live here because she wanted to reconcile with you. Isn't that much better so once she gets married, you two would st
"You really are shameless," Venice hissed. "Stop being desperate and leave me and Grayson alone!"Hestia looked at her with wide eyes. Within a few seconds, her eyes teared up."I... I did not do anything," she said before a tear finally escaped her eye. "Venice!" Mrs. Charter's voice filled the room as she stomped her way towards the two. She pulled Venice's hand and forced her to keep her distance from Hestia. "What kind of attitude is this, Venice? Your sister has finally come home after three years of being missing, yet this is what you do?"Venice scoffed at the sudden change of her mother. She looked at her while pointing at Hestia, who was still looking down and wiping away her tears."Really, Mom? You are taking her side?" She let out a forced laugh. "Are you forgetting that she posted that article blaming me for the death of her baby and her disappearance? Mom, why are you suddenly welcoming her into our home?!""I am not siding with anyone here," Mrs. Charter said with a fi
"No!" Hestia insisted as she held onto her chair. "I do not want to go home just yet! I wanna drink! I wanna go all-out!""Enough already. I'm driving you back to your house," Grayson said before turning to Noah. "Let's meet up some other time. I will call you."After saying that, he managed to force Hestia to let go of the chair. He immediately carried her over his shoulder despite her attempts to get away from him. Reaching the parking lot, he had her occupy the front seat and put on her seatbelt. Just when he was about to move away from her, Hestia leaned against his shoulder."What did I do?" she asked. Her voice sounded like it would break at any moment. "Why did you leave me, Grayson? Did I do something wrong?""No... You did nothing wrong, Mavis."After he said those words, Hestia did not respond or move. It was only that time did Grayson realize that she had been knocked out so he carefully adjusted her seat so she would be more comfortable. It took them only several minutes t
Grayson was done preparing dinner and it puzzled him when Venice still did not come downstairs. Usually, she would be in the kitchen with him, watching him cook and prepare dinner. Just when he was about to head to her room, he received a message from Noah, his friend and the private investigator he hired to look into Hestia. "I don't know if you already saw it, but you should take a look at this." Along with the message, there was a link attached. Grayson clicked on it and it immediately led him to the anonymous that was still being feasted upon by the public. Reading through it, Venice was the very first person who crossed his mind. It probably had reached his fiance so he rushed to her room and, indeed, he saw her all wrapped in her thick blanket. Her small sniffles reached her ears. "I... I did not do it," she mumbled. "Why are you blaming me?" She repeated those words like she was chanting a spell. Grayson sat on the edge of the bed.
Maximillian was confused since he had no idea who this Karylle or Kyler was. Even then, he still kept himself together and squeezed Mavis' hand."Hes... Who are they?" he questioned before lightly shaking his head. "More importantly, are you okay?""Karylle is the babysitter of my son, Kyler," Mavis replied as she took her hand away from Maximillian's touch. "And... I am not Hestia. I am Mavis."Before the mafia boss could speak, the doctor entered the room and checked on Mavis. The nurse with him started to put ointment on the cigarette burns on her skin to lessen the chances of it scarring. Meanwhile, Maximillian stood and led the doctor outside the room."You said before that Hestia's CT scan came out okay. Are you sure about that?" he questioned."Yes, sir. Here it is." The doctor handed him a copy of the CT scan. "Everything looks okay. There is no bleeding, fracture, or any kind of abnormalities so there is no need to worry about it."Maximillian stared at the doctor with a cold
Trigger Warning: Depiction of slightly detailed violence ahead. Viewer's discretion is advised.For some reason, Grayson felt something off with Hestia."What kind of favor is it?" he asked."Maybe you should get inside first." Hestia opened the door for him to enter. "It's raining."When the two of them settled in the living room, the first thing that Grayson noticed was the wedding dress displayed on the side. "You still have the blank check I gave you, right?" he asked, shifting his gaze to Hestia who just prepared him some snacks.She sat on the chair across from him and smiled."No," she replied, earning a confused look from Grayson. "I threw it away since that dress will never be for sale.""I see. As for the favor you mentioned before, what is it?"Hestia held her mug of chocolate drink with both of her hands. She stared at it for some time."When Mrs. Charter visited me the other day at the hospital, she showed me the DNA test result between me and her other daughter, Mavis C
Trigger Warning: Depiction of sexual assault and violence ahead. Proceed with caution.Yarrow was none other than the nickname for Hestia to keep her real identity hidden from the other members of the mafia. For her to be held as a hostage was more than enough reason for Maximillian to kill anyone.He grabbed the phone from the newcomer and spoke."Where is she?" he asked."Maximillian!" the man on the other side exclaimed with excitement. "It's been a while since we last spoke. As for your precious woman, it's better that you speak with her yourself."The old man holding Mavis captive held the phone towards her with a grin. "Speak, woman," he demanded before one of his men removed the gag in her mouth."H-Help me, Maximillian," she cried. "I... I cannot take this anymore. It's too painful..."Sobs left her mouth, stopping her from speaking any further. The moment the old man stepped out of the room, the tattooed guy put a hanky over her mouth to stop her from shouting just like the