“Yes, I do now.” Ariel responded with a sigh as she wiggled her fingers together.“What happened that night after the both of you discovered your identities?”“He was furious and accused me of being a gold digger and a bad friend who was trying to snatch her friend’s boyfriend. Nothing I said that night to defend myself got in his head. He ended up throwing some wad of cash at me, and it was funny how it was the exact amount I needed for my mother’s surgery. No matter how much pride I had and the amount of humiliation it brought, I still bent and picked the money then I left. Hannah, who said she did not have money to lend me and that her bank was having issues, sent me money when I got to the hospital.”“You know that you wouldn’t have had to go through all of these if you had just given me a call, right?” Mariam still looked angry.“I already made the mistake, there is no way to go back in the past and correct it. I can only move on.”“So you found out that you were pregnant and we
With any more interruptions from Mariam, Ariella explained the remaining things to her, down to Kelvin coming home. She told her in detail about Kelvin going to meet her mother and then signing the contract and getting married, and how he was always accompanying her to every checkup.“I don’t know, but he sounds like a nice guy who was raised by a good woman. How did he end up with a devil like Hannah?” Mariam asked with a shake of her head.“They met when he was younger and Hannah is gorgeous so it’s not a surprise.”“Well, you are very beautiful yourself, so I think the both of you can go to war over him.”“No way. I’m not doing that. I’m leaving after I give birth to my child.” Kelvin may be nice but he does not want her, and she does not want him either. They both have an agreement to go their separate ways. No way was she going to let his mother and Mariam take her into staying. She could never stay or survive in a loveless marriage, and it would affect the baby too. What if he
The two friends quickly moved on to talking about other things, carefully avoiding the topic of Ariella’s pregnancy. Mariam could see that her friends were getting distressed from talking about it and her many questions. Even if she was not happy with the situation her friend finds herself in, it already happened and Ariella did what she did for her mother.She’s also done some bad things in the past because she needed to cater for her siblings. Things he could not talk about and was not brave enough to tell Ariella because she did not want to be judged. To Mariam, Ariella was brave for wanting to keep her child and she was glad that her friend was wise enough to get the baby’s father who was rich involved, not minding that he was Hannah’s boyfriend. Hannah caused everything anyway so it was not Ariella’s fault.Mariam was glad that the baby’s father was someone they could reach easily. What if she’s been some random man? What would her friends have done? It was hard enough to care
“Oh good lord, why today of all days.” Mariam groaned in a low tone for only Ariella to hear. Ariella did not even have the opportunity to react or recover from her surprise at seeing Hannah here when she began to talk.“Where have you been all these days, Ariella? I’ve been looking for you everywhere and your manager told me you left the modeling industry for good.” Her words sounded mocking to Ariella, but to other people it sounded like she was concerned about Ariella.“I was shocked and asked him why you decided to leave suddenly, and he said he has no answer to that. You did not tell me about it, Ariella, and I thought we were friends.” Now, Hannah sounded aggrieved, like she’s been wrong, it made anger begin to rise in Ariella’s heart. Why was Hannah pretending? “We always talk about everything, but you took such a big step without telling me. I even thought you got in trouble or something. Seems like I was worrying for nothing because you look absolutely fine to me and even ha
Mariam could not take it. Her eyes turned red with hot anger, “Stop being a bitch, Hannah. You and I both know the true story of why Ariel’s has been avoiding you. Good friend?” Mariam scoffed, “What good friend would send her friend to…”“Mariam!” Arielle yelled her friend's name with wide eyes, stopping Mariam from angrily spewing out what should be kept a secret.Mariam slammed her mouth shut and could only glare at Hannah who was now smelling at her knowing fully well that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. They could not possibly say the truth out in front of everyone. Not only would it paint Arielle in a bad light, everyone would know that she slept kelvin. Hannah could still turn the story in her favor anyway and deny it. Everyone would believe Hannah because they regarded her as their queen in the modeling industry.“What? Where did I send her to? Go one, tell us?” Hannah said as she stretched her hand wide, “I’ve always been good to Ariella. Helping her get jobs in
They ended up crashing at Mariam’s house because, according to Ariella, she’s been feeling suffocated in Kelvin’s big mansion and staying out for a long time would do her some good. What Ariella did not plan on was falling asleep on Mariam's couch while they were watching a movie at eight at night. Mariam could not carry her to bed and her couch was soft and comfortable enough, so she just covered Ariella with a thick blanket and went to her room. She joined Ariella in the dreamland as soon as her head hit her pillow. Ariella was feeling groggy and disoriented when she first opened her eyes at the first stroke of dawn. She’s gotten used to sleeping on the bed in her room at Kelvin’s house. It was softer and larger than this couch she was laying on, so she was quick to recognize that she was not at his house. She also wasn’t in the house she lived in with her mother before she got pregnant and had to move. What first came to her mind as she was still laying on the couch was that
Ariella’s eyes dropped to the mess she made in the sink with the tissue paper, but that was the least of her concern. Her breathing was coming out with difficulty, and she felt like she was soon going to have a heart attack. Why can’t her life go smoothly even if for once in her entire existence? Why must everything be fucked up? Hannah being angry at her and trying to take it out on her because of Kelvin’s abandonment only meant that she needed to go back to her former routine of staying indoors and only coming out to visit her mother at the hospital and when she needed to go for her checkups that Kelvin magically finds time to go for with her. Her hand moved to clutch her heart through her chest as she ironed her mouth, trying to take in gulps of air to open up her lungs since her nose was no longer working well. At first, it was still the same and her chest remained close up but as she kept repeating the process, things changed and at last she felt her lungs open up and fresh ai
Ariella brought her hand up to her forehead. Mariam noticed it and her distraught expression. She cocked her head to the side with a frown, “Are you alright?”Ariella shot her a look, “We left Kelvin’s driver outside last night. Do you think he waited until this morning?”“Eh?” Mariam looked confused for a minute before she finally caught up, “You asked him to leave last night, he refused. Him staying overnight has nothing to do with you.”“Stop acting heartless. He was only doing his job.” Ariella scolded.“Good thing you know that he was just doing his job. It’s a nice and big car, big enough to contain him. I’m sure he had a good sleep.”“You are impossible.” Ariella groaned before she turned to walk out of the kitchen while arranging her hair with her fingers. She moved to the door of the house, ignoring Mariam who was following behind her.“Where are you going?” Mariam asked Ariella when she began to move in the direction of the building’s elevator.“To check on him, stupid.” Ari
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