It was almost evening time and the sound of the sea waves could barely be heard over the volume of the loud music blaring from the speaker. It was noisy as different activities were going on at the same time. The party was in full swing. A group of ladies in two-piece bikinis walked past a shade with cocktail pitchers in their hands. Bianca Sanders laughed as two of the men in their group stood up to go after them at once. Her phone started vibrating at the same time. "A minute please," Bianca said as she excused herself from the rest of her friends."Hi Mom." she greeted as she picked up the call.Unlike her daughter, Charlotte Sanders was in no mood for pleasantries. "You were supposed to be home an hour ago Bianca. Where the hell are you?." she asked angrily."Mom about that... I wish to stay back a bit longer. Why do you need me back home anyway?." Bianca asked complaining as she removed the phone from her ear, holding it away at an arm's length to guard her eardrum from the fami
A red Rolls Royce Ghost car drove into the Sanchez family estate only to be greeted by the noise of an abnormally bustling mansion.Furrowing her eyebrows, Ava Sanchez stepped down from the back seat of the vehicle as the chauffeur held the door open for her. She wondered why the mansion was so noisy as her servants had been trained to always be organized and quiet as they went about their chores.She ignored the greetings of the maids who had lined up outside to help carry the bags containing the new luxury items she had shopped earlier in the morning from the car trunk and she walked into the house with low clanking heels.Inside the huge mansion, the servants were busy rearranging pieces of furniture and adding more seats to the long table in the large dining hall. “Mrs Dorothy?.” Ava called as she made a signal for one of the nearby maids to call the housekeeper over. The maid scurried off and returned with a plump woman in her mid-fifties. “Madam Sanchez. Welcome back.” Mrs. Dor
It was already past 5 p.m. and Ava watched with a content smile on her face as the extended members of the Sanchez family started to arrive one after the other. As the mistress of the house, she was dressed in the finest outfit and adorned with the most befitting accessories. With her thirty-year-old appearance, it was hard to believe that Ava Sanchez was a woman in her mid-fifties. “There you are Ava, It’s so nice to see you again after so long!.” Aunt Lucy, Grandfather Sanchez’s younger sister exclaimed as she sighted Ava. Peter, her husband was right behind her and he also gave Ava a quick hug after his wife.“It’s also nice seeing you, Aunt Lucy. You keep looking younger by the years.” Ava teased making the old lady blush uncontrollably. “You would never stop teasing me,” she complained making Ava and Uncle Peter laugh. “No I won’t Aunt, I’m glad you guys could make it over with such short notice,” Ava said as she signaled for Mrs. Dorothy to lead the old couple inside. Soon, th
“Who is that girl?.” they asked. But how could Ava provide the answer to a question she also wanted to ask? At this point, only Noah could explain his actions so they waited for the duo to walk up to them.Just then, Grandfather Sanchez who had been waiting for Noah to arrive with his granddaughter-in-law walked out of his study room excitedly with some elders behind him.Noah who was still holding on to Lola’s hand was unfazed about the attention they drew. They walked past his mother and the curious relatives, not bothering to stop until they reached where the old man stood.“Grandfather, meet Lola, your granddaughter-in-law,” Noah said as he introduced Lola to the old patriarch. The crystal chandeliers above were giving out bright white lights as they shone on every face with surprised expressions.“Noah got married? How is this possible?.”“Are the rumors of him being gay all untrue?.” Everyone present had similar questions in mind but they didn’t dare to voice it out loud and c
Exiting the garden, Lola walked beside Noah towards the dining area. “Here they come.” Grandfather Sanchez who was sitting at the head of the table said as he gestured for Lola to come and sit at his right-hand side and so Noah had to follow suit as well. Since they were now married, they had to sit beside each other.Ava, who had followed behind them bitterly from the garden wished to retire back to her room but she dared not to or she would receive an earful of scolding from the old patriarch for abandoning her guests and her duties. Grandfather Sanchez led everyone to toast to the couple and to give them their blessings.Because he was overjoyed, Grandfather Sanchez ordered for his specially preserved wine to be served and then, he tripled the salary of the household staff for the month.The servants who were already earning a good amount of money from working in a large family such as the Sanchez’s were more than excited and grateful and wished for such celebrations to happen ev
The personal maid assigned to Lola was about her age and she communicated with her politely. When they got to the room that had been arranged for her, the maid slid an access card over the door’s keyframe which clicked open and granted them access to the room.“Everything in here has been arranged earlier by Mrs. Dorothy ma’am, your luggage had also been unpacked and arranged by me but if you need anything else, all you need to do is to press the button close to the bed stand and I’ll be here to attend to you in a jiffy.” The maid who had identified herself as Hannah said with a blush as she bowed and after dropping off the access card, she hurried away as if she was being chased before Lola could even let a word out.Lola wondered why the maid was in a hurry but shrugged and turned to walk into the bedroom only to be stunned by the sight before her. The place she thought would be only a bedroom was more like an apartment on its own. She had walked straight into a living room instead
Lola stared at the large spread of food laid out on the table which was prepared by the Sanchez family’s chefs and she wondered if anyone else had also missed breakfast like she did or if wasting food was just a norm in this family.She was alone with Hannah and had yet to meet any of her new family members including Noah. She settled down on a seat and immediately one of the chefs walked over with a notepad and a pen in his hand. “Good day, My Lady.” The French chef greeted. “I’m Chef Armel. I’ll be here to record whatever dishes you find to your liking and what dishes you would like us to refrain from serving you. Though I reckon you would find most of the dishes here to your liking.” he continued with a smile.Lola was flattered as she tried a serving of each food while the chef kept taking down notes. The food was indeed delicious and while she was on yet another little serving of food, she noticed Hannah bow in greeting along with the chef in the opposite direction.She gazed ove
The tea room went completely silent as Lola walked in. The three women including her mother-in-law looked up at her without saying a word and Lola wondered if she was intruding on their conversation by joining them.“Miss Lola?” Mr Henry, the family butler called from behind before Lola could take one more step further into the room. “Yes?.” Lola replied as she turned to face the middle-aged man. “The Elder Master has asked that you join him in his study.” Mr Henry said politely as his gaze swept through the tea room. His brows furrowed slightly on seeing the two guests with the mistress of the house. Ava frowned on hearing that he was there to take Lola away. “We have guests who are here specifically to visit Lola. Whatever it is. Can it not wait until later when they leave?.” She asked impatiently.“I’m sorry but the guests would have to wait, the elder master says it’s urgent.” Mr Henry insisted with an apologetic smile. Without waiting for any further words of protest from Ava h