"Woah, everybody's at the table before me," Elara said as she got to the dining area. "What took you so long? We have been sitting and waiting for you all morning," Ronan commented as soon as she came in. "Good morning, Mr. Grumpy Pants," Elara murmured. Coming to sit down, she greeted her parents and sister before facing the empty plate before her. "I am sorry I did not get the memo that I had kept you all waiting for me," she said and shrugged. "Some of us have real work to get to..." "Like what? Saying hello to your little girlfriend?" Isla interjected, causing Ronan to throw her a death glare. If she was being honest, she did not care about his death glare. Finding a way to rile him up was part of her obligation to him. "You know that I do not like it when you say things like that," he said, picking each word with great care while also adding insane pressure on them. "I know, but it is still fun to tease you," Isla said and shrugged. Ronan opened his mouth to talk, but Clar
"What? My daughter?" Elliot asked, looking from side to side. "Yes, she claims she is a Quinn." "And that is the reason Micah is getting married to her because he thinks he would be able to climb the wealthy ladder by being with her," Isla said as the realisation of what was happening hit her. "He claims to actually love her though," Elara said. "You do not actually believe that bullshit do you?" Ronan asked. He was visibly angry. He wondered how the interaction would have gone down when his sister found out. Elara would have been too nice to even do anything to him. He must have left feeling proud of himself that he was able to ditch Elara and get with a Quinn. "What am I supposed to believe? I was with him for four years, and I believed he loved me; looking back now, maybe I was just delusional." Elara took a deep breath and shook her head. "None of this is my fault; how am I supposed to know what kind of person he is?" "Nobody is blaming you for this," Elliot said. "But Dad,
Elara swallowed the lump in her throat just because she could not take it anymore; it felt like someone had taken time out of their busy day to tie up her throat, and it felt itchy. She cleared her throat and straightened her back as she walked through the restaurant.She looked to one table in the corner; her boyfriend Micah's back was to her, and she took a deep breath, clutching tightly to the handle of her purse. As she approached the table, she wished that this was different.When she first caught on that he was cheating, she did not believe it one bit because there was no way that her boyfriend, who swore to love her even though he was too closed off to show it to her, was showing another girl with flowers and chocolates and dinner dates; she could believe that the same man she had been with all these years was cheating on her.But when her sister called to tell her that she was getting out and that everyone knew that he was getting married to Zara, she knew that she did not sta
"You are the heiress?" Elara asked, letting out a long laugh. She was angry to meet her boyfriend with a woman, but it amused her that this woman was pretending to be the woman she hid from Micah all these years. She did not want anyone going after her for her family money and influence but for who she was. "But I hear that no one knows what she looks like, so how can we be sure that you are the one?" Elara followed with continuous laughter. She was sure that her siblings would have a field day with this information if they got to hear it. Her father had been the expert at keeping his children away from the public and had only introduced her brother Ronan when he was twenty years old to the media because he said he had to learn the ropes of the business. Since Elara stayed hidden from the press, it was easier for her to live a life of freedom. "Are you saying that I am lying?" Zara asked, shifting on her feet uncomfortably. "Of course not; how can I call you an impersonator?" She
"Regret this? Regret marrying to the Quinn family?" Micah scoffed like she had just told a lie. "I don't think so," he said with a smirk on his face."Oh, boo, don't listen to her; she must be crazy," Zara chimed in."Crazy? You are calling me crazy? I am the crazy one here?" She said, looking around, hoping that the people around her would help her judge the matter."Both of you are shamelessly out here cheating on me, and you think I am the crazy one? In what world are you the sane ones?" She did not even know she had those kinds of words brewing on the insides of her."If you know he is cheating on you, as you said, why don't you let him be?" Zara asked, air-quoting the word cheating. "Moreover, if you were never in a relationship, why would it be cheating?""Did he say that?" Elara asked, quietly dropping the plate in her hand to the table and cleaning off the soup residue that had stuck to her hand on the napkin. "Did he tell you that we were not in a relationship?""Well, he did
Elara held her cheek as the words she had been saying were now lost in her throat; she could not believe that she had been slapped across the face by Micah's mistress. The two of them stood there, Zara's chest rising and falling in annoyance as she balled her hands into a fist by her side. "Imposter? Who are you calling an imposter?" She screamed at her. The entire restaurant was now fully focused on them. The couples who were there on dates would probably think that the show before it was more enticing than their date. "I guess you must really be an imposter," Elara replied. She had always been a confident girl, but meeting Micah had done something to her and made her believe that for her to be accepted, she needed to be sevirle and submissive to everyone, and everything around her meant that she had forgotten the training that her father had given her. "Do not call me that," Zara said through gritted teeth. "Why should I?" What else am I going to call you? You are here claiming
"I finally got rid of her, and I did not have to do much work," Micah said as they walked to his car. They had to leave the restaurant immediately because of the embarrassment that came with the scene that Elara had created for them. Immediately she stormed out as if she had won; he paid the check and left with Zara in his hand. "Since you have been able to ditch the b*tch, how about we go ahead and have the wedding as planned?" Zara suggested, poking his chest roughly. "Of course, we are going to have the wedding next week," he announced. "Now just remember, since my parents do not want me to be exposed to the public, they would not be attending the wedding, and they would not be sponsoring it either, so you have to do all of that by yourself, and also I cannot access my trust fund until I get married and have a baby," Zara said. "Oh my darling, what do you take me for? I definitely remember all that you said, and I am going to keep it to them all. As long as Mr. Quinn has agreed
Elara walked through the door to the house that she had shared with Micah for the past three years. Everywhere in there pushed out some kind of memory for her. She wanted to sit in the darkness of the house and cry out her eyes because when her family had told her that she was making a mistake by trusting a man like Micah, she had told him that they loved each other, and that was all that mattered. Now she understood very well that love was not all that mattered. She walked to the bedroom that they shared and took down her box; these were the same ones she left her father's mansion with, and now she was leaving with the same one. She had wanted the relationship to work out so badly so she could prove to her family that she was right. Now that the relationship was in shambles, she began to clearly see all of the warning signs. "I really am a fool for ignoring all of those signs for the longest time," she murmured to herself with a sad smile. She barely had anything to pack from the h
"What? My daughter?" Elliot asked, looking from side to side. "Yes, she claims she is a Quinn." "And that is the reason Micah is getting married to her because he thinks he would be able to climb the wealthy ladder by being with her," Isla said as the realisation of what was happening hit her. "He claims to actually love her though," Elara said. "You do not actually believe that bullshit do you?" Ronan asked. He was visibly angry. He wondered how the interaction would have gone down when his sister found out. Elara would have been too nice to even do anything to him. He must have left feeling proud of himself that he was able to ditch Elara and get with a Quinn. "What am I supposed to believe? I was with him for four years, and I believed he loved me; looking back now, maybe I was just delusional." Elara took a deep breath and shook her head. "None of this is my fault; how am I supposed to know what kind of person he is?" "Nobody is blaming you for this," Elliot said. "But Dad,
"Woah, everybody's at the table before me," Elara said as she got to the dining area. "What took you so long? We have been sitting and waiting for you all morning," Ronan commented as soon as she came in. "Good morning, Mr. Grumpy Pants," Elara murmured. Coming to sit down, she greeted her parents and sister before facing the empty plate before her. "I am sorry I did not get the memo that I had kept you all waiting for me," she said and shrugged. "Some of us have real work to get to..." "Like what? Saying hello to your little girlfriend?" Isla interjected, causing Ronan to throw her a death glare. If she was being honest, she did not care about his death glare. Finding a way to rile him up was part of her obligation to him. "You know that I do not like it when you say things like that," he said, picking each word with great care while also adding insane pressure on them. "I know, but it is still fun to tease you," Isla said and shrugged. Ronan opened his mouth to talk, but Clar
"Elara is going to tell us the reason why she came back home tomorrow, so please make yourself available," Clara said as she took off her robe and slid into bed beside her husband. "Don't tell me that you pestered the girl to tell you why she came home," Ellipt murmured. He knew what his wife was capable of, but he did not want to believe that she would ever pester her. "Are you saying we should just act as if it is all okay that she disappeared from our sight and then appeared without any word?" Clara asked."Aren't you happy to see her?" "I am" "Then shouldn't you leave it at that?" "Are you saying I should just be happy to see her without asking any questions?" "That is exactly what I am saying," Elliot nodded his head, and Clara turned up her nose. She knew her husband might act like this, so why was she still surprised that he did? "You know it is not a crime to show a little bit of concern for your children and to know what is going on in their lives too." "I know what i
"I have not yet introduced anyone to him yet, but I told him that I was a Quinn." "A Quinn?" Sarah asked confused. The name struck a bell in her mind, but she could not quite put her hand on it yet. She shook her head as it all came to her. "A Quinn? Your dad's boss?" she asked, her voice going up. "They have a daughter who has been missing for years now, and no one knows what she looks like." "And why would you do something like this?" Sarah asked."I am sure she has a plan, so maybe you let her...""A plan? What kind of plan do you think it can be? There is no justification for this madness," Sarah said, standing up as she began to pace around. "She lied; she is a Quinn to Amy, a rich man, I suppose. What then would happen after the wedding when he finds out that you aren't who you say you are?" Sarah could not believe that her husband. If she was not her daughter, she would have sworn that she put some kind of black magic on her husband to make him act the way he was. He would
"Dad, Mom," Zara said as she walked into the house. Sarah glanced at the clock and shook her head. She wanted to reprimand her daughter, but it was too late at night for them to begin to throw words back and forth at each other. If her daughter was out working and not partying, then she would not have a hard time allowing her to come back to the house at this time. "Where is Dad?" Zara asked, looking around the dim living room. Sarah was catching up on her favourite shows. "He is in the room," Sarah replied gently. She had wanted to ignore her daughter, so she did not feel the need to talk to her. "I will get him; can you please turn that off?" "What?""Can you turn off the television?" Zara asked as if she were the mother. "And why should I do that?" Sarah asked."Can't you act like a mother for once?" Carlos asked, coming into view. "Like a mother? And what is that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, whipping her head in the direction of her husband. "If she is asking you to turn
Elara fell to the bed. She stared at the ceiling, and all of the stars she put there when she was young had fallen out except for one that still stood in the middle. She stood up and switched off the light so the glow from the sticker could fill the room.She fell back as she stared at the sticker. "I guess one star isn't enough to glow," she whispered to herself. As she closed her eyes, the image of Ezra filled her mind, and no matter how she tried to refocus her attention on something else, all of her efforts were wasted.She had thought she had forgotten him; she thought he was in her past; she thought she had moved on and was in love with Micah. It made her really begin to question all she knew: did I really love Micah, or was he a way for me to forget the lingering pain that leaving Ezra had caused?She remembered, crying her eyes out, after telling him that she wanted to break up. Her heart was wrenching into tiny pieces, but she still believed that she had done the right thing.
Ezra walked into his room with his tie that was always perfect but was now scattered on his neck and his hair disbelieved. He was holding his suit jacket in hand and looked like he had been drinking even though a drop of alcohol had not dropped on his tongue in weeks. He threw the jacket in hand to the bed and sat on it slowly. He had been searching for years, and yet Elara had not turned up. Why was she turning up just a few months before his wedding? When he saw her, all the emotions he had when she broke up with him eight years ago came rushing back. Elara was the first woman he had looked at and liked, and it had stayed that way. When he finally worked up the courage to ask her out, it was a relief that she felt the same way. They were kids according to their parents, but he thought it would stay the same way forever until the day after graduation."I waited a day after graduation to do this," she murmured as they sat in the garden of her house. "And I said we should do this ou
"Sooo...""Isla, can you please not talk about Ezra?" Elara said that because she knew that was what her sister was about to bring up. "Oh my gosh!" Isla exclaimed as if something surprising had happened. "How did you know what I wanted to talk about?" "Because before we left the restaurant, you have been itching to talk about it." "But still, how do you know what I was about to talk about?" Isla asked, still shocked at her sister's skills. "The same way you were able to know that that one out of those girls at the table was getting married." Elara closed her eyes and rested her head, and the car went slowly over the express. Elliot's one rule for all of his drivers was driving within the minimum speed. "I just don't understand it," Isla said as if she were talking to herself when in reality she just wanted to know why her sister and Ezra broke up. They were the perfect high school couple. The school they went to was only for the rich and wealthy, so when Ezra confessed to Elar
"Why are you coming back alone?" the girl with the pixie cut asked as Olivia-Marie approached the table. "Yeah, something urgent came up so he couldn't stay longer." Olivia-Marie lied as she slid back into her chair. "Did you guys make out at the back?" another girl asked, pointing to the direction she was coming from. "What are you saying?" Olivia-Marie pretended to blush as if something had really happened. She could not let these girls know that she and Ezra's relationship was rocky and not what they thought. At first, they always thought that she was making him up since there was never any evidence. No pictures, no gifts, no physical boyfriend to show, and now that he had shown up, they were a bit convinced, even though some of them still had doubts about it. Olivia-Marie had always wanted to prove she would be the first to get married in their crew, so it would not be unlikely that she was staging the whole thing. "I thought he would stay a bit and maybe pick up the tab," t