The sun was just beginning to set as Jenny arrived at her mother's stately house, her heart heavy with a mixture of emotions. As expected, she was welcomed home like royalty. Her mother, who was a single parent, was quite ambitious so she had been able to amass wealth and build a majestic house in that state.Miss Isabella, her mother, greeted her with open arms, her eyes sparkling with joy at the sight of her only daughter."Jenny, my darling! Welcome home!" Miss Isabella exclaimed, embracing Jenny tightly.Jenny felt a fleeting moment of comfort in her mother's warm embrace, but as they pulled apart and settled down in the elegant sitting room, the weight of her troubles resurfaced.As they settled down, Miss Isabella looked at Jenny with a smile. "So, how have your future in-laws been treating you? Have they been taking good care of you?""Mother," Jenny began, her voice choked with emotion. "It's been a nightmare. I don't know what to do."Miss Isabella's expression turned to one
Laura walks into her room, the dim light casting shadows on the walls. Her heart skips a beat as she suddenly sees Anna seated in the corner, her face expressionless. “Oh good lord!” Laura instinctively clutches her chest, her breath catching in her throat. She lets out a sigh of relief as she realizes it's just Anna, but the fear lingers."Anna, you scared me," Laura says in a shaky voice, her hand still pressed against her chest as if to calm her racing heart.Anna's eyes narrow as she looks at Laura, her gaze piercing. "Were you drinking again?" she asks coldly, her voice tinged with disappointment.Laura opens her mouth to deny it, but Anna raises a bottle and holds it up, her eyes fixed on the label. Laura's heart sinks as she realizes her secret has been exposed. She looks down, unable to meet Anna's gaze."I found this by your bedside," Anna says, her voice soft but firm. “Want to tell me something about it?”Laura takes a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. She knows she can
Jenny timidly knocks on Anna's door, her knuckles barely grazing the wooden surface. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation. This was her first time coming to Anna's room, and given the animosity between them, she wasn't sure what to expect.As the door creaks open, Jenny is met with surprise. Anna and Laura are both standing there, their eyebrows raised in unison. Jenny can see the tension in the room, palpable and suffocating.Laura's expression is guarded, her eyebrows furrowing as she eyes Jenny. Her lips twist into a sneer as she rudely asks, "What do you want?" Her tone is confrontational, as if bracing herself for another fight, even in the late hours of the night. Her arms are crossed over her chest, her body language defensive, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Jenny's heart skips a beat, and she tries to steady her nerves."I... I didn't mean to intrude," Jenny stammers, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just... I
Mrs. Gray walks down the hallway, her steps hesitant as she approaches her husband's room. She had been hoping to spend some quality time with him, but as she pushes open the door, she's greeted by the sound of her husband's deep snores. She sighs softly, her heart sinking with disappointment. It seems like he's always either busy with work or asleep these days.As she leaves her husband's room, Mrs. Gray can't help but feel a pang of worry. Jackson had recently resigned from his position as CEO and handed it over to their son, yet he still seemed preoccupied and distant. She couldn't shake off the feeling that he was still prioritizing work over their relationship, despite his retirement. If he had not time for her now, when would he?She sadly makes her way to the sitting room, where she can hear giggles coming from. She's curious to see what Laura and Anna are up to, as they had become close friends over the weeks. Mrs. Gray knew they often spend time together these days, she was j
Stephen whistled as he headed towards Anna’s room, he had forced himself to stay away from her throughout yesterday as a way to convince himself that he wasn’t getting obsessed with her, but now he couldn’t just hold back. He wanted to see her, he desperately needed to see her.Stephen got to the stairway and had stepped on the first step when he heard his name, “Marcus!” Of course, there was only one person who referred to him by his middle name.Stephen turned around and smiled. “Good morning mom.”“Aha… Good morning, where are you off to in such a hurry? You are moving like a ghost is after you,” she teased.Stephen laughed softly, trying to not make this look more embarrassing. “Funny mom, I just wanted to go and check on…”“Anna,” Mrs. Gray cut him short. “You wanted to go check on Anna, I know, it is obvious… Why else would you climb up to the guest room hallway?” she smiled.Stephen grinned, “Okay, I don’t know what that is supposed to mean, but I will see you later, mom.” He l
Anna sat on the edge of her bed, her cellphone pressed to her ear as she spoke to her mother, Mrs. McCurry. She had been worried about her parents ever since their house had burned down, and Stephen had taken them to a new place.She had not been able to communicate with them aside from the day of their arrival, she had been unable to reach them and whenever she asked Stephen, he assured her that they were fine. It was almost two weeks now and she could finally get through to them."Mom, how are you and dad being treated there?" Anna asked with concern, her brows furrowed.Mrs. McCurry's voice came through the phone, sounding relieved. "Anna, we're being treated like royalty here," she said. "Stephen has been so kind to us, and the people here are really friendly."Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully, even though her mother couldn't see her. "So, you're too busy enjoying your queen's treatment to even bother asking about your own daughter, huh?" she teased, trying to hide h
Stephen took his mother's advice to heart and decided to spend more time with the women in his life; today he had one of them in mind. He walked down the stairs to the sitting room where Laura, Anna, and Jenny were chatting away."Good morning, ladies," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "How are my favorite ladies doing today?"They all looked up at him with surprise on their face, his behavior was unusual. Why did he look so happy today? Everything seemed to be different around the Gray mansion this week. Laura, his sister, scoffed and rolled her eyes. Anna gave him a shy smile and looked away, even though she found his behavior strange; he wasn’t this smiley on his best days. Jenny, his fiancée, stood up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, she seemed to be the only one not surprised by his behavior."Stephen, you're up early," Laura said, “You didn’t forget it was a Saturday, did you?” she teased."I am. I wanted to spend some time with you guys today, I realized I haven’t rea
Stephen leaned back in his chair, his eyes flickering between the figures on his computer screen and the man sitting across from him. Dominic, his friend and business partner, was nodding attentively, scribbling down notes as they discussed the details of their upcoming project. Stephen's focus was intense, but his ears were alert to the sounds beyond the closed door of his home office.Even though it was the weekend and he had originally planned to spend it in Florida with Jenny, he was kind of glad that she turned him down because he still had a lot of office work to do. As he couldn’t go to the office today, he decided to work from home. Just like his father, he had a study room; there were so many books on the shelves, but maybe they were just there as interior design because he barely touched them.The door suddenly opened, and Stephen's father walked in, his face creased with worry. "What's going on in our house?" he asked, his voice gruff.Stephen looked up, surprised. "What do