“Did it really happen?” Kelvin asked Mariam some hours later when Ariella was fast asleep and Mariam had returned to the room, “The thing you said about Hannah pretending to take care of Ariella after an accident but what she was really doing was using Ariella to chase clout,”Mariam sighed as she moved to sit beside him, “It really happened but Ariella did not see it as such a bad thing. In her own words “it was not such a bad thing. They were friends and if Hannah needed the publicity, she did not mind Hannah using her to get it” It was a period where someone accused Hannah of being a bully and a bad friend. Ariella and I had a little fight about it and did not speak for over a month. Everyone was praising Hannah for having a poor friend and standing by her when she was ill.” Mariam snickered.Kelvin shook his head as he wondered the type of spell Hannah must have used on both him and Ariella that they never saw her true color until the very last minute when too much damage had been
Ariella’s eyes were darting around as she struggled to get up from the wheelchair. Kelvin did not give her the opportunity, he clamped his hands on her shoulders and gently shoved her back into the wheelchair before circling to kneel in front of her. “Hey, Ariella, look at me,” he called her in a soft voice, but she ignored him and continued to look around, her body stiff with panic. “Ariella,” he called again, his voice higher this time as he placed his hands on her cheeks to guide her face so she was strong at him. “We were actually in an underground hospital or no, something that looks like a hospital. Where am I? Where is Mariam?” Ariella asked, her shaky voice betraying her fear. “Why did you not take me to a real hospital? Why do you have an underground hospital? What is it for?” “You have to calm down and hear me out. You do not have to be scared. We actually placed you there because you needed protection.” “Protection? Protection from whom?” Ariella snapped but when Kelvin
“Take out your phone and search who Hannah’s boyfriend is,” Kelvin told Ariella after a few minutes of silence between them. A frown appeared on Ariella’s face, “Why? What has Hannah’s boyfriend got to do with you telling me about the memory of two years that I lost?” “Just do it. You wanted an explanation for all of this? This is me giving you the explanation,” Even if Ariella did not know where he was going with what he was asking her to do, she opened her phone, turned on her data and quickly searched for who Hannah’s boyfriend was. Her eyes widened in shock when instead of another man, Kelvin’s picture came up on the search. She thought maybe she was seeing things so she clicked on a video there and watched it. The video was of Kelvin walking with Hannah on a red carpet. Her fans began to chant for them to kiss, and they stopped in the middle of the red carpet and gave themselves a deep kiss to the excitement of their shippers. The phone dropped from Ariella’s hand to the bed
“You did not come to my room that night because you wanted to or because you were trying to snatch me from Hannah. You came to me that night not knowing who I was and because Hannah sent you,”Okay, now her head was blank. “Please explain what you mean,”“You were having a shoot that day and your mothers doctor called to say that your mother’s condition was critical and you needed to bring the money for the surgery and if you delayed, your mother might die. You did not have the money completely so you went to Hannah since she was your friend and was richer than you. You asked her to lend you the money but she gave you some excuses about how her bank was not working properly that day. Then she told you that since you needed the money urgently and your mother’s life was on the line, she had a job you could do, a job that would give you the money you want that night.”“What job could that possibly be?” What job would give her a huge amount of money to pay for her mother’s surgery quickl
Ariella felt like she was hearing things. Her eyes betrayed her disbelief, “What did you just say?”“We are husband and wife, Ariella. We got married," Kelvin said slowly this time so that his words would sink into her head.Ariella was shaking her head before he was done, “Hell no, you do not mean that. Mariam said you are my boyfriend,” He must be joking right? He was trying to pull her legs and make light of the situation.“And she also said that I was more than just your boyfriend,”“And that means that you are my baby’s daddy. The father of my child,” Ariella told him in a firm voice.Kelvin gave her a small teasing smile as he released his hold on her hand and stood up from the bed. Kelvin could not understand why he was enjoying her reaction to the fact he just told her about them being married. She looked adorable with her fierce gaze as she argued.“Give me a few minutes. I need to pick something from my room,” Kelvin told her once he was at the door.“What is that?” Ariell
When Ariella woke up hours later, it was late already and just as he had promised, Kelvin was in the room with her.He was standing and staring out of the window with his hands shoved in the pocket of his blue washed out jeans.“Hey,” Ariella called as she slowly rose to a sitting position on the bed. She pushed her hair out of her face in annoyance, but it immediately came back to block her eyes. Ariella growled in anger as she stood up and went in search of a band to hold her hair in a high ponytail.When she was done, she sighed and looked back at Kelvin who was still lost in thought and had not heard when she called out to him. Ariella walked up to stand beside him as she folded her arms on her chest to stare out of the window too so that she could see what was so interesting that he was staring at with rapt attention, but apart from an open piece of concrete floor with some flower vases arranged in order on them, she saw nothing else. Ariella wrinkled her face in a frown before
“Sorry about that,” Kelvin apologized as he cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from the tempting sight in front of him.“Are you sure you are okay? You are acting weird,” Ariella told him as she moved to clean herself and rummage around in her closet for something comfortable to change into.“I’m good. It is just some business deal I’m trying to close,” Kelvin lied through his teeth. He could not possibly tell her that it was because of her he was acting the way he was. First, it was how to tell her that her mother was gone forever. He was not even done with that, she walked out in a towel.“It is a very important deal, huh?” She called from inside the closet, her voice was muffled.“Yeah,”“You can leave to attend to it since it is very important,”“It is important but don’t worry about it, Jerome will be attending to it until I need to go to work tomorrow,”“Alright, if you say so,” Ariella was relieved when she woke up and saw that he was still in the room with her. She was
“I’m relieved,” Gladys said with a smile, “My only fear now is her mother. How do we brooch the topic with her because very soon she will—” Gladys was interrupted when Ariella strode out of the kitchen with a plate of food and Mariam screaming curses inside the kitchen.Ariella gave Kelvin and Gladys a cheeky smile as she walked past them and headed for the running table.Gladys gave her a wide smile in return and both mother and son kept on watching as Ariella walked away from them.As Kelvin watched Ariella drop on a chair with a carefree expression, he did not know when he said, “She’s changed,”Gladys looked at him with questions in her eyes, “Changed? How so?”“She is no longer the shy girl I used to know. She is now very free,” “It is a good thing right?” “It is, but I keep wondering how long it will last,” Kelvin mused. “Don’t worry, with time everything will be fine,” “I hope so,”***“I’m really sorry about the Hannah stuff,” Ariella started when they were in the middle
Sophia’s POVThey did not know. I could see it in their eyes as they looked at one another and as they whispered. I knew that my mother and father could hear everything they were saying but these people seem to have forgotten as they continued to talk in hushed tones among themselves.It's been three days since my mother walked into my room and found me looking like I was well over thirty five years. She had immediately raised alarm and called my father into the room. He was just as shocked as we were when he saw my appearance. He stopped at the door as his jaw dropped open in shock before he rushed over to me and grabbed my face in his hands, his eyes wide in alarm as he turned my face left and right the same way mother did. Three days later, I looked like I was over forty five to fifty years old. The first day, we kept it a secret among the family as they tried to analyze the situation and check if I was using something that was making my face look old but nothing I had was harmful
Joanne's POVThe sun shone through my window early the next morning, throwing the light across my room. I woke up feeling refreshed but also aware of the chaos from the night before. My head was still buzzing with thoughts about Poppy and Collins. "I need to blend in today," I told myself as I got out of bed.After getting ready, I decided to keep things simple. I pulled on a comfortable outfit and tied my hair back. “Just a quiet day,” I said, nodding at my reflection. “Nothing too dramatic.”I made my way through the halls of the hotel, trying to avoid any unnecessary attention. As I walked, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see Mia catching up.“Joanne!” she called out, her face a mix of concern and fear. “I’m so glad I found you! I wanted to talk about what happened last night.”“Hey, Mia!” I replied, forcing a smile. “Don’t worry about it! I’m fine.”“No, I really need to apologize,” she insisted, her hands waving in front of her. “I should have immediately when you saw al
Joanne's POV As the night wore on, I felt energy pulsating around me. The music, the laughter—all of it made me want to keep going. But I noticed Mia and Lila starting to sway a bit on their feet.“Hey, you two,” I said, waving them over. “Are you alright?”Mia yawned dramatically. “I think it’s time for us to call it a night,” she said, stifling another yawn. “I’m so tired!”“Yeah, I’m with you,” Lila agreed, rubbing her eyes. “Tonight was fun, but I can’t keep my eyes open.”“Alright, get some rest!” I replied, grinning. “You both deserve it after a long night of dancing!”Mia smiled back. “Thanks, Joanne. You did amazing tonight!” “Yeah, you really showed Poppy! I can’t wait to hear about all the chaos you plan to cause!” Lila laughed, throwing her arms around me for a quick hug.“Trust me, I have plans for the next two weeks,” I said with a smirk. “Poppy’s going to know exactly who she’s dealing with.”“Good luck with that!” Mia joked. “Just don’t let her drive you crazy!”“Neve
Joanne's POVI sat in the garden, tears pouring down my cheeks. The news about the tournament cancellation hit me hard, and I felt lost. After everything I had hoped for, this moment seemed unbearable. I tried to wipe my eyes, but every thought about the tournament made my heart sink deeper.“Joanne!” I heard Silver call from a distance. I looked up and saw her rushing toward me, worry etched on her face.“What’s wrong?” she asked, kneeling next to me. “You look devastated!”“I am,” I admitted, sniffing. “They canceled the tournament! Everything I prepared for is gone!”“Hey, hey! Don’t cry!” Silver said, her tone soothing. “Wipe those tears away. We need you calm down and see poor Cassian, he is a blubbering mess!”“I don’t even know how to feel,” I said, my voice shaky. “It was everything I wanted. Now it’s all up in flames!”“Maybe it’s not over yet!” Silver said. “You don’t know what might happen next.”“I can’t believe this,” I whispered, struggling to calm down. Silver put her
JOANNE The maids went on to assign us to rooms as they read from their tablets our names and the room we were to be in. “I'm still quite surprised that you followed me all the way here,” I whispered to Amara who stood beside me. “ You make it look like I haven't been here since,” she replied. “ You know, you don't have to accompany me,” I said, genuinely not wanting to burden her. Since this was a contest to select the bride for the Lycan King, we'd be staying at the palace until the contest is over. “ It's a little too much to be saying accompany, though you're not wrong,” she nodded her head not wanting to admit that she was worried. “You make me wonder if I'm weak,” I mumbled. “I heard you by the way and you know that's not the case,” she folded her arms. “I simply need to ensure that you are safe and I mean, knowing how unsociable you are, it would be a lot easier for you if you had your best friend with you,” she gave me a thumbs up and
As Ariella moved from boutique to boutique, buying both the things she wanted and the things she needed, swiping Kelvin’s card here and there, it almost felt like the burden she’s been carrying inside of her was lessening. It was the same as when people cut themselves to bleed out so that they could feel better.Her driver for today was not the one she was familiar with. Anytime she picked something, his eyes would widen but she did not care. She did not know if he was surprised because of the multiple things she was buying or the prices of these things. She was trying hard not to look at the price herself because anytime her eyes went to the price, she could feel her heart beating faster than normal in her chest. He was following her so closely like he was her bodyguard. Maybe Kelvin did care about his child after all. She’s never seen this man before so he might as well be a bodyguard disguised as her driver. This made her relax a whole lot and enjoy her shopping. She ignored Mar
Joanne's POV Silver had already left the room and I was as exhausted as fuck. I wanted to take a walk to clear my head After spending some time in the garden and then at the party, I finally made my way back to my room for probably the 100th time today. I slumped onto my bed, feeling a mix of exhaustion and lingering tension. The events of the day swirled in my mind, and I needed a moment to regroup.“Ugh, what a day,” I muttered to myself, staring up at the ceiling. I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “Maybe talking to Nathan will help me clear my head.”I dialed his number and waited. It rang a couple of times before I heard his familiar voice. “Hey, Joanne! What’s up?”“Nathan! Just checking in,” I said, smiling a little. “How's everything back at home?”“Busy as usual,” he replied, sounding cheerful. “Dad is still buried in those pack reports, you know how he is. But Mom misses you! She keeps asking when you’ll be back.”“I miss her too! I can’t wait to see h
The people around them let out loud gasps of surprise at the same time Kyra did.Her hand slowly lifted to touch her burning cheek as she winced in disbelief. “How dare you suggest that we find a way to clean up my dress? We? Clean? Do you know how much I got this dressed? It was tailored just for me to wear to this party, yet you ruined it by walking around like a blind bat!” The lady yelled, her face creasing with angry lines.Kyra was still dumbfounded by the slap that she just kept on staring at the lady without a word making its way past her lips. “What? Cat got your tongue now?” The lady continued to yell as if oblivious to the fact that all attention was on them or that Anton was now walking down to where she and Kyra were standing. “Just a few days ago you were sold off like a slave because you shamelessly went to get yourself pregnant with Tristan’s child, and today you think you are a princess again because Alpha Anton bought you and brought you to this party? Better think
Ariella fidgeted nervously and wiggled her hands together. She had received a call from the hospital five hours ago that her mother collapsed. Her mother's surgery that was scheduled for five weeks later has been brought forward because of this. The doctor was demanding money for the surgery, and she also had outstanding debt for the drugs her mother's doctor was kind enough to give to her on credit. After her father's death, Ariella's mother fell ill, so she had to drop out of college and look for a job. In the process of looking for a job, she met an agent, who helped her secure a position to become a model. Since Ariella was beautiful and had a good shape for modeling, she was able to get a spot in the company, but she could never go far. She had no connection, she was not willing to sell her body. Most of her resources were snatched by the other models. Even after two years in the modeling industry, she was not making enough money to take care of her mother's medical bills