-JOANNE“You’re pregnant?”“For how long?”“Already?”The questions all came at me at once, and I found myself heaving."Oops,” I bite my bottom lip. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. Hardy and I wanted to keep a secret until birth day.” I lied with a smile.I had all the attention in the room now, and I knew instantly that Anne had lost this round.I was playing a big role now, and I had no chance to mess it up anyway.I was starting to fit into their puzzle. And I was starting to become the biggest piece.“Don’t worry, whatever happens in the white Aleo house stays with us here. Your secret is safe with us” Aneesa nodded.“She’s right,” Ruby added, adjusting the fancy bracelet around her wrist.It was no mystery; I was pregnant, and Hardy had given me permission to declare my pregnancy to these women in order to elevate me above the rest of them and leave them in a rage of envy. Because, while they may not say anything, three out of them all, also want to become pregnant.Everything
JOANNE-The night the women of the Ale-o house threw a celebratory party for Lisa was the night she died.Theodore didn’t seem to care about my frozen state. He continued speaking.“I hope you realize that Hardy is walking you down the same path. It’s all for his big investigation. He knew Lisa would never commit suicide. The police and a lot of powerful people were involved in this case, but none registered it as homicide. But suicide. Until he hired a private investigator who proved that Lisa’s death was indeed a homicide, A few days later, Hardy received a letter that came in an actual envelope saying everything Hardy has ever had will be taken away from him, no matter how much he renews them, and he or she will make sure Hardy never finds true happiness. Ever since that day, Hardy hasn’t remained the same. Because it all just proves someone was onto Hardy and gave Lisa a clean death with her unborn child.” Theodore paused to catch his breath.A little too soon, he continued.“
HARDY’s POVJoanne’s face morphs from an intense state of loss to horror the moment she sees me standing by her door.I watched her slowly pull the blanket above her body and clutch it tighter.What is she supposed to mean by that?“Joanne McCain, are you trying to starve and kill my child?” She slowly started to sit up while I took a massive stride towards her bed.She looked away, and I caught her rolling her eyes.Typical Joanne.“I’m not hungry,” she says, shaking her head.“Like I give a fuck,” I deadpanned and caught as she engulfed hard."Well, it’s my body, and I’m not eating,” she said, shaking her head.Stubborn as always.“Trust me. You do not want me to force food down your throat. Do you?” I glowered at her.I almost saw a glimpse of fear across her face, but she tossed it immediately and replaced it with anger.“I hope, while forcing the food down my throat, you clog my throat and kill me instead.” Her voice was almost quiet, but that was the most wicked thing I’ve hear
HARDY-Joanne's words struck me like one of those massive Fourth of July launches. I immediately turned to face her, and her sad eyes slapped something inside me.I should never empathize with this woman.I should not.I would never.“Is this a new thing? Spitting out crazy random things?” My voice was low but sounded harsh, just like I wanted it to. Joanne scoffed.“It’s not crazy, and you know it.” It was at that instant that I realized she was aware. She was fully aware of everything.I wasn’t sure where she got the information, but someone had informed her about Lisa and her death.The night she passed away after returning home from the party the women had organized to honor her pregnancy,.And it's possible that she believes everything that occurred with Lisa could happen to her as well.I would never let history repeat itself. “I don’t know what you heard, but do not believe anything, these women—“Bailey’s back.” She interrupted me.The situation left me utterly stunned.Tr
JOANNE -My eyes widened in response to the sound of something heavy colliding with another large object.I was still drowsy, so when I spotted Hardy in my room, standing opposite my bed, staring at me like a lunatic,.I brushed the tiredness off my voice. It terrified me, but I tried not to show it.Instead, I asked.“What are you doing?” Without uttering a single word, he completely disregarded my question and began approaching me.What was the matter with this man?As soon as he approached, the scent of alcohol wafted towards me and caught my breath in a wave. Was he drunk? How much did he take, if he did? He was behaving more creepy than drunk.What the heck did he want?All I wanted was to drift off to sleep right then.He had been a jerk hours ago, a dickhead that almost made me cry. Why was he here? To apologize?An apology would not settle for how I’ve crisscrossed his face in my heart. I couldn’t believe I almost took sympathy for a man as shitty as Hardy.Maybe I should
JOANNE.Hardy aggressively grabbed the upper folds of my nightdress before tearing it apart like it didn’t cost a dime.I shrieked, and my hands immediately went up to cover my unclad breasts.“What are you doing?” I tried to yell, but my voice came out weak, already infected with anxiety.“What am I doing?” He chuckled bitterly. Even with the room’s dim light. The intensity of his gaze, filled with animosity towards me, was unmistakable.His gaze had deepened to a shade twice as dark as usual. What was once delightful turned into something repulsive, making me wonder if he was even human.“What? You have nothing to do with me.” His voice sounded so painful that it almost made me regret saying anything.But I had to.This man had no heart.But he was drunk. I wish I could say all these with him sober.“Look at you,” He chuckled and examined me closely.There was a moment of silence. Endearing in the dreadful void of silence.His gaze was fixed on me.My body. To be precise,.His eyes
18+JOANNE-Minutes ago. All I wanted was a good night’s sleep.But with the enormous man in front of me, Stark was naked and a bit intoxicated. I didn’t want to look too desperate, but I would bite him if he didn’t try to finish what he started after shredding my night dress.I gulped heavily before I made my eyes travel to Hardy’s Dick, and my eyes fluttered at how thick it is.It was long and veiny and exactly what I needed, but I had to pretend I wanted nothing more than sleep.“Did Theodore look like this? I fuckin bet not!” Hardy scoffed when he saw my eyes wandering around his dick.Note to self: Hardy gets witty and shows a boy jealousy when he’s drunk.I rolled my eyes.“I need my beauty sleep." I scoffed, like I wasn’t throbbing down there. “I’m pregnant, remember?”“I don’t see a bump yet.” He scoffed.“Well at least“Quiet” He quietly shunned me.I pursed my lips, and his big hands grabbed a hold of my thighs.Before I could make out a proper reaction to his action, He spr
-JOANNE.“Good morning, Joanne." - I opened my eyes to see Trinity staring at me and grinning from ear to ear.It caused me to flinch.She was so close to my face.“Fuck!” I cursed and sat up. “That scared me!”“That’s mean. I’m not that pretty like you, but at least I’m not that bad to scare someone,” Trinity added, and I scoffed.She briefly glanced down at my body and cleared her throat.I glanced down at my body, and I gasped and immediately pulled the blanket to cover my nudity.“Since when do you sleep naked?” Trinity asked, picking up my shredded night dress and tossing it in the hamper in her hand.“Trinity,” I called, and she laughed.She picked up some parts of my shredded night dress and titled her head at it.“Was there a tiger in here last night?” She teased and watched me roll my eyes.“Look at you. You’re glowing!”"Okay, Tri, please stop talking!” I scoffed, and she laughed—a genuinely happy laugh that filled the air. It caused me to smile too.“Why do people always l
—JOANNE- I looked at Hardy and the expression he had on his face, was so overwhelming, I had to ask“what’s wrong?I knew he wouldn’t tell me because he practically never tells me anything, but he has been really nice to me dad, I had this feeling that he was going to tell me.“nothing we should go home”Right. Had my hopes up for nothing. But the way He said home drew this sense of security that embraced my spirit.I knew he wouldn’t wouldn’t tell me no matter how much I persists, so I just let the matter immediately.Even though I had seen his phone screen and saw that Theo was the one who called I knew something was up, but I only hope to have something good. I was exhausted beyond exhausted to be specific.The only thing I wanted to do was lie, my head and close my eyes I haven’t slept properly, but any time I close my eyes all I saw was the Rope beside me waiting to be wrapped around my neck.It’s made me she had really badly anytime. I thought about it.I ignored the ladies
—HARDY CONTD. The detective stepped out of the interrogation room and asked if we grabbed anything.Joanne had to explain her first to her last meeting with this Ophelia girl which caused everyone to be in total dismay.“Wait a second, so she warned you about the ladies when she was the mastermind behind all these?” Detective Alex asked.“Yeah” Joanne nodded, looking frightened.“But she works for Anne—“Anne shaw? Age 26. Married to Asher Black?” Alex interrupted.“Yeah” Joanne nodded.“Well she and the other ladies are asleep now, they drank so much they all passed out. But don’t worry, the moment they’re awake they’ll be interrogated.” Alex said to be assuring but Joanne didn’t bulge.So he continued to put her mind at ease.“Ophelia is being tracked. Every means of transport registry has been nicked with cops, she won’t escape. We’ll understand who she works for”Joanne nodded and turned to me.Her gaze were soft but yet I didn’t know what it was demanding.“What’s wrong, I aske
-HARDYI pulled Joanne in a tight embrace, making sure I buried the entirety of her body in mine, she looked so scared. I need to eat every bloody corners of my heart. How much does a bust out I hadn’t planned this world I kept being played. I have sent her to congratulatory party to lure the fuckinh murder. Not get abducted.I watched the police handcuff the man that taken Joanne away, the bastard thoughts just because today was the stupid parade day didn’t mean in I’d seat and watch pave the way for the same history.The man now handed to the police, Looked vain. He was echoing pleads, and seen it wasn’t his intention for the attempted murder, that someone has sent him. I breathe in and out to see a relief because he look like such an easy targets. Unlike Lelani, who is currently being watched under my men’s custody, and wouldn’t darn lead us to the culprit.I knew this man would be an easy one. Definitely, I shouldn’t touch my eggs before they hatch, but I knew what am I got was t
—JOANNE~I opened my eyes to meet nothing but complete darkness. But my body was moving. I tried to breathe out a yielding sigh only to realize my mouth has been shut with a rough cloth.I let out a muffle scream and tried to seat up.My hands were tied in front of me but thankfully my legs were free.I scuttled before sitting up and realizing I was in a black van.I let out muffled screams that didn’t even stretch at any distant The driver driving the van slightly turned to me and nodded.“You’re awake.“Who the fuck are you” my scream came out muffled but he understood me well and replied me quietly.“Go back to sleep.” I kicked his chair and he scoffed.“A fierce one aren’t we?” I wanted to scream but I couldn’t, instead I started to cry.My eyes started to blink rapidly when I saw the thick ropes sitting beside me.No!History was indeed repeating itself.“Where are you taking me!” My scream loosened the cloth around my mouth a bit and the man driving sighed.“Just shut the fuc
-JOANNE—I was gasping for breath as Anne’s grip tightened around my neck, suffocating me. She was a tornado, twisting me around and smashing me into the table like a ragdoll. Adrenaline kicked in, and I fought back with everything I had. My fingers clawed at her hair and pushed against her slim frame, trying to gain any kind of advantage. But her strength was superhuman, and her nails dug into my neck like talons.I had to think fast.Desperation set in. I lunged at her shirt, gripping it tightly as if my life depended on it—and it did. I pulled hard, forcing her slender form to stumble forward. It was a desperate gamble, a Hail Mary pass to even the odds. I might’ve been down, but I wasn’t out. Not yet. My heart was racing, my muscles screaming, but I wasn’t about to let Anne win. I wasn’t about to let her take everything from me.I finally got the upper hand at things, and as I tried to hit her, Ruby came in full charge at me, pushing me to hit my head on the brick wall and causi
-JOANNE— Two days before my celebratory party. Theodore and I are seated with Hardy in one of the mansion’s empty rooms, talking about the twentieth.For some reasons. I felt enlightenment.Because Hardy was always fond of disdaining me whenever it came to sharing his plans. He would only let Theodore in on it, but tonight he was making me part of it.And it made sense because I was aware of it all.We were trying to fix the crazy puzzle together and rearrange ours. Trinity had walked in and out of the room every now and then, getting us water and all sorts of food.We’ve spent a good six hours in the room trying to come up with different alternatives and routes to take if plans A or B don’t align and manage to collide.We’ve managed to come to the conclusion that Lisa’s killer could be anyone. But the source we needed to pick from was from the White Ale-o house. Hardy looked unfazed, mentioning Lisa’s name a few times, and I tried to fight the urge to scream the truth out lou
-JOANNE -The present > As the revelations from Trinity poured forth, I found my jaw plummeting in stunned disbelief. My mind, once nimble and quick, now labored to organize this flood of disorienting information. Trinity's words had transformed what I thought I knew about Lisa and Hardy into a harrowing tale of deceit, confusion, and unrequited love, leaving my comprehension reeling.I was trying so hard to stay composed.It wasn’t just the fact that Trinity and Lisa had something going on. Well it was part of it. But it was mainly the fact that the woman Hardy was pulling all lengths for, pulling down seas and mountains for. Restraining every one that breathed out her name, the same woman that he had clearly offered his entire life to never loved him.It was shocking.Deeply.She only married Hardy to live a stable life?The fact that Hardy was clueless was alarming. Trinity let out a tired smile.“I’m sorry for boring your day out with this”I shook my head.“No. It’s good you sh
AUTHOR POV-Last part of FLASHBACK- 2years ago- - Days passed, and Trinity avoided Lisa altogether. She made sure Hardy was aware by making it explicit. She had told him, rather erroneously, that she had contracted a flu that might potentially be fatal for a pregnant woman. Even though Lisa tried to convince herself that she couldn't get sick from her sickness. As per her request, Hardy put Trinity in charge of the loo while assigning other maids to take care of Lisa. To genuinely keep Lisa at bay, Trinity had installed a new lock on her door. And when Lisa found out what Trinity had actually done to genuinely keep her at bay. She also stayed away. Under the Bensimon roof, they both became strangers, and even when Trinity's alleged sickness was curedShe and Lisa never spoke to each other properly again.- For what seemed like an eternity, Trinity languished in a bottomless pit of remorse. Until one fateful night, when she stumbled upon a scene that made her heart stop. T
Author POVFLASHBACK contd. -Trinity could feel her entire body heating up from the inside.What was going on?How did her little advances get out of the way for Lisa to notice their great deal?If Hardy were to find out about it, He’d get disgusted and throw her out of his domain.Her quietness and shame caused Lisa to burst out laughing.“Look at you. I’ve got you right where I wanted.” Trinity snapped back to reality and shook her head.“I believe you’re mistaken.” “Mistaken?” Lisa laughed.“The only mistake here is you denying it.”Trinity gently walked out of bed and shook her head.“You are deeply mistaken. And to have my beauty sleep. I would love it if you left.“So now you’re throwing me out?” Lisa scoffed.“I’m sorry.” Was the only thing Trinity said.And after a few gazes of disbelief, Lisa walked out of the room.***Hardy's wedding to Lisa was a whirlwind of excitement, the talk of the town. Everyone wanted to be in Lisa's shoes, wishing they could understand the allu