"You are good for nothing!"
"An uncultured and illiterate woman like you doesn't deserve to be my daughter-in-law."
"You bring nothing but shame to us. One day he will get sick of you and leave you in the streets from where he picked you up."
"Don't let me see your face ever again."
"You don't matter to me anymore.
"I'm sick and tired of you, Lily!
"I'm sorry we couldn't save..."
A woman jolted awake, her face etched with terror. She gasped for breath, her rapid breaths filling the quiet car. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she wiped it away with trembling hands. Anthea Morin sat in the passenger seat, her eyes darting around as her pulse gradually slowed. Beside her was Emilia, her cousin. She was driving the car while casting worried glances in her direction.
"What happened, Anthea? Are you alright?" She questioned worriedly while quickly parking the car on the empty sides of the street. Anthea raised her terrified baby blue eyes slightly to look at the woman in front of her. Her soft pink lips parted slightly as she tried to say something, but nothing came out. She could only manage to nod while reaching her hands into the car's drawer, fumbling to look for something.
"What are you looking for? Did you have a nightmare?" Emilia asked again, with concern evident in her voice. Anthea, on the other hand, found the water bottle before taking it out. Without answering Emilia's question, she opened the water bottle with her shaky hands before raising it up and then drinking a few gulps of water from it. Emilia helplessly watched her drink water with a worried expression on her face. One moment she was just sleeping peacefully, and the next moment she began shouting in her sleep while sweating profusely.
After Anthea was done drinking water, she clapped the bottle and put it back in its place. She then slowly leaned back on her seat before closing her eyes while beginning to take a few long breaths. Even though Emilia was anxious, she didn't interrupt Anthea and let her do whatever she was doing to calm herself. After a few painful minutes passed, Anthea finally opened her eyes and looked at Emilia, who was nervously watching her.
Anthea, after setting the bottle aside, took a few deep breaths. Finally, she found her voice. "I'm sorry, Emi. I just had a nightmare." She apologized, though she knew it wasn't necessary.
"No! No! Don't apologize to me, Anthea. Just tell me if you are fine or not. Do you want us to visit the hospital on our way?" Emilia's concern persisted.
"No. I'm fine. It was just a bad dream, Emi. Don't worry about it." Anthea's hand reached out to touch Emilia's lightly.
"Are you sure?" Emilia still looked reluctant.
"Yes, I'm sure. Let's go. We are getting late." Anthea attempted a smile to lighten the mood. Emilia hesitated but eventually nodded, restarting the car.
Anthea, on the other hand, heaved a sigh before turning around to look out of the window. Her eyes swept over the crowded streets of New York City while her mind drifted back to her nightmare. It wasn't the first time she had this nightmare. For five years, she had been having this same nightmare, which made her life a living hell. The nightmares, the harsh words, the betrayal, the heartbreak, and all the painful memories still pierced through her heart like a sharp knife. They cut her heart into pieces.
Every time she remembered them, her breathing would almost stop. Even after all those years, her wound was still as fresh as before. The continuous nightmares were proof of how badly she had suffered. How badly her life had been destroyed. How badly she was ruined by the man she devoted her whole life to. Those nightmares would leave her terrified every single time, igniting her thirst for revenge, which was why she was back here, in New York City, after five long years.
Anthea's face hardened as she stared at the familiar streets of New York, where she had roamed countless times. Even though it's been five years, she's still familiar with every corner of the streets, which brought back a lot of unwanted memories she kept buried for years.
"We are here," Emilia announced while finally stopping the car in front of a tall sky-blue skyscraper. Her words snapped Anthea back to reality. She quickly brushed her thoughts aside before glancing out of the window. Her soft blue eyes slowly scanned the tall building, which had CM Group written on it. She smiled at the writing before withdrawing her gaze.
"Let's go," Anthea announced softly while unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Yep." Emilia chipped while removing her seatbelt too. Anthea couldn't help smiling slightly at her enthusiasm.
Just as Anthea was about to open the car's door, someone else beat her into it before opening the door for her. It made her frown a little before she quickly glanced up. Her eyes met a pair of light brown eyes, which were looking at her with a warm smile. Even though Anthea didn't recognize the person, she nodded slightly at him before getting out of the car.
"Good morning, Ms. Morin. I'm Samuel Miller, your new assistant appointed by Mr. Morin. A man dressed neatly in a gray suit quickly introduced himself while extending his hand for a handshake. Anthea smiled at him before shaking her hand lightly with Samuel.
"Good morning, Mr. Miller. It's nice to meet you. She greeted him politely. He was around six feet tall with a nice, lean body. His hair was cut short on the sides and was swept neatly on the side of his head. He could be considered a handsome man. The next-door neighbor type Anthea quickly averted her eyes before she was caught staring.
"Likewise, and please call me Samuel." He spoke with a smile, showing his cute dimples. The man looked quite energetic early in the morning.
"Alright, Samuel. Is it your first day here?" Anthea nodded before inquiring slightly. Samuel shook his head negatively.
"Actually, I have been working here for three years now. I worked as Mr. Morin's assistant temporarily when he was here in the States, but after he left, I was appointed in the HR department." Samuel quickly explained, making Anthea nod as she processed his information. She didn’t bother with this before because she knew her brother would take care of it.
"Great. I hope we will be getting along quite well." Anthea regarded Samuel with a smile before glancing at the car from where she was supposed to come. It didn't take long for Emilia to appear before her.
"Of course." Samuel nodded, grabbing Anthea's attention back. She passed him another smile before she turned her attention to Emilia, who had reached where they were standing.
"Sorry, I was looking for some files, which now I'm sure I left in the apartment". Emilia sighed unhappily. Anthea also sighed.
"It's alright. Let's go inside first, then we can send someone to pick it up." She suggested calming Emilia and stopping her from worrying. It worked, as Emilia agreed with a nod.
"Hello, Samuel." Emilia turned to glance at Samuel, who was patiently standing by her side. He smiled at her before greeting her back.
"Hello, Ms. Morin." He greeted her back politely while straightening his body.
"Call me Emilia since there are two Ms. Morins here. You know, to avoid confusion." Emilia chuckled while saying the past part. It made Samuel chuckle too, as he nodded. Anthea, on the other hand, just smiled slightly before beginning to make her way inside the tall building.
"Alright, Emilia." She heard Samuel's words but didn't bother waiting for them.
On her way inside, Athea spotted a huge glass that showed her whole reflection, making her stop on her tracks. As she stood in front of the glass, she stared at her reflection without blinking. A beautiful woman with pale blue eyes was staring back at her. She was wearing a camel business suit with a white shirt tucked underneath. Her long hair, which she had dyed mushroom brown blonde a few days ago, shone brightly in the sunlight. She always stood out because of her striking appearance, which she inherited from her mother. Even though she had no memories of her mother. She had seen countless pictures of her. They practically looked like twins. Anthea smiled at her reflection before fixing her hair. She looked almost perfect with the suit and minimal make-up she had on. Her face was flawless even without makeup, except for the small cut under her chin, which she got from that horrible day. "Why are you standing here?" Anthea turned around to look at Emilia, who was frowning at her.
"What should I do with it, Mr. Allen?" The woman's soft voice snapped Rayan out of his thoughts. "Who sent it?" He asked in an icy tone while tearing his eyes away from the black flowers. "I have no idea. It didn't have a name on it. Someone came and delivered it a few minutes ago, saying it was ordered by your friend." His assistant cleared her throat before answering nervously. "I see. How many days has it been since you began to work here, Ms.Garcia?" Rayan's sudden question sent chills down the woman's bones. She nervously bit her lips while grasping the flower bouquet tightly. "Two weeks, sir!" She replied while stuttering because of the way Rayan's cold eyes were gazing at her. "And yet you still don't know how to handle things like this?" Rayan questioned her dryly while shooting her a sharp glare. Layla's whole body trembled before her eyes went wide with fear as she quickly apologised. "I'm sorry, sir. I will immediately throw this out and be careful next time." She said
Are you sure you want to go there? There will be a lot of people, including his whole family." Emilia asked the same question for the fourth time in the past hour. A sigh escaped Anthea's soft lips as she put down her iPad before looking up at Emilia. She was looking at her with a worried expression, making Anthea force a smile. "Emi, I will be fine; trust me. You know, I have been waiting for this exact moment for five years. Now it's finally here." Anthea tried her best to ease her cousin's worry while getting up from the sofa and walking towards where Emilia was standing. "I know, Thea. I trust you, but I don't trust that scumbag or his family. What if they do something to hurt you?" Emilia couldn't help but think about the worst possibilities. Her heart felt restless just thinking about the situation Anthea would be in if she really attended that damn New York City's elite society's party. Anthea had already suffered enough throughout her life; she didn't want her to suffer anymo
The first time she met Rayan Allen was when she was only 19 years old. He was three years older than her, 22 at the time. Their first meeting was in the orphanage, where she used to volunteer. It was the same orphanage she grew up in before being adopted. Even after being adopted she frequently visited and volunteered there. Rayan was a freshly graduated student who moved from New York City to Quebec City. At first, he was just a cold, aloof, and introverted boy who occasionally volunteered alongside her and played music with orphan children. He didn't talk or interact with people much. Anthea heard from one of the sisters of the orphanage that his mother also grew up here before being adopted. However, as time went by, she started to get to know him more before ultimately falling for him. He was extremely handsome and smart while she was clumsy, dumb and talked too much. They were the total opposite of each other. She liked to talk, while he liked to listen. But they had a mutual int
She slowly discovered her mother-in-law's real face; her two sweet sister-in-laws began to mock her; her father-in-law began to treat her with nothing but indifference; and then she discovered another shocking thing. Aurelia Jones, the girl she was introduced to as Sarah's best friend, was actually Rayan's fiancee. Former fiancée, to be exact. They were engaged even before Rayan met her. Though the engagement was arranged by their families, Aurelia was in love with him. Anthea's illusions about the people around her slowly began to crumble. She began to see the people's real faces. Her kind mother-in-law did everything she could to humiliate her and break her. Her sweet sister-in-law mocked her and made crude remarks. Anthea's whole life changed once again as she was suddenly thrown into New York City's elite society, where she was nothing but a peasant. She was like meat thrown into a pool filled with hungry creatures. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't match up to their expe
"We have reached Ms Morin." Samuel's gentle words snapped Anthea out of her thoughts as she noticed the open elevator door. She nodded before following him out of the elevator and walking towards the gala room where the 56th birthday party of billionaire Alexander Moore was taking place. He was a famous hotel chain giant in the USA and besides being business partners with her brother Roman Morin, he also had a good relationship with him. But that's not how Anthea knew him. Before knowing him, she knew his wife Megan Moore and daughter Kendall Moore. Megan was one of the close friends of her ex-mother-in-law Camila. They attended a few parties thrown by the Allens. That's where Anthea had met them. Kendall Moore was however friends with her two sister-in-laws and often came to the Allen estate. Anthea wasn't allowed to move around the house whenever a guest came over. She was told to stay in her room by her Camilla or her sister-in-laws because they didn't want to be embarrassed becaus
"You are here. I was looking for you." Megan beamed at her husband as soon as their eyes met. Her eyes then swept over Anthea, who was standing there holding her husband's hand. "And who might this beautiful lady be?" She asked curiously while smiling at Anthea warmly, making her smile back. As expected, she didn't remember Anthea at all. Well, they only met twice in the past but didn't have face-to-face interaction ever. Camila made sure she never came into contact with any of their high-class guests or friend circle. Anthea now knew why. That's because she was already plotting to throw her out and marry Aurelia to Rayan, so she didn't want to taint their names with hers. She made sure no one knew about her existence in Rayan's life, so it would be easier for them in a future so-called perfect love story. "Let me introduce you," Alexander said while pointing at Anthea. "This is Anthea Morin. Do you remember Roman Morin?" Alexander proceeded to introduce Anthea. She could see all the
"This is Benjamin Allen, one of my close friends and business partners. Beside him are his wife, Camila Allen, and their daughter, Sarah Allen. They also have another daughter and a son who are not present at the moment." Alexander introduced the Allens, first making Anthea's eyes casually travel towards them. As their gazes collided, Anthea stared straight at Benjamin, refusing to look away. "Hello. It's nice you met you guys." Anthea greeted them with a sweet smile on her face, completely masking her real emotion. Her expression remained unfazed as Benjamin stared at her, trying to read her. When Anthea didn't back off from the staring contest, he gave up and looked away first. "Likewise, Ms. Morin." Benjamin, as usual, was quick to get a grip on his emotions before greeting her back like a professional. He was a businessman after all. His voice seemed to snap Camila and Sarah back to reality too. Camila put on a fake smile before opening her mouth. "It's nice to meet you too, Ms.