“First of all, you know that you have a bad relationship with Lucien from day one so you shouldn’t be giving me a cold attitude for that.” Matthew replied, not understanding why she was throwing a fuse about that. “Lucien is my son and I should be able to have a proper conversation with him. He would be the future head of this family and he needs his mother’s advice but thanks to that crazy, nutcase daughter of yours, I can't do that. She and her mother have always been a hindrance to me and even after mother died your daughter keeps finding ways to kill me. Sometimes, I wish she would have died along with her mother! Plus, I don't know how news of my bad relationship gets the ear of my friends but they’ve been questioning about it,” Laura ranted angrily again. Of course, she knew Lucien might have to take over the Carter corporation someday and before then she needed a good relationship with him. And she alo hated the fact that her sour relationship with lucien was getting out as w
" You don't particularly have to tell her to stop since her husband's family would do the job of telling her to stop.” Laura replied with a sly smile on her face, making Matthew raise his brow at what she was saying. " What are you talking about?” He asked. "Are you forgetting that we set Eva up on two successful dates with Lucas Sander. During that time, I can tell that Lucas really likes her. How about we don't hook them up anymore and just get them married? It's because Eva isn't married or engaged that's why she has the freedom to come after Christine but if she is already married she would think twice about her decision. Besides, having Eva marry into the Sander family would be a great benefit to us.” Laura remarked. She knew that a family like the Sander family would want to have a perfect daughter-in-law and they would restrict some of Eva's movement if she successfully got her to marry Lucas. It would be a problem solver for her and she wouldn't have to be worried about her
Eva was speechless and didn’t know what to do. She looked over at Damien as she covered the mouthpiece on her phone and asked for his opinion, "Um….she is my manager and I apologize on her behalf just now. She just seems to have a misunderstanding regarding my sudden moving house. So...I need to pop out for a little while to explain to her." She gently told him as she looked at her calm and blank looking husband. She had to explain to him who Gwen was because she had heard of Damien's ruthlessness and didn't want him to go after her poor manager who had no clue who she was calling a bastard. "Do you trust her?" Damien suddenly asked. In actual fact, Damien had already investigated all of the people surrounding Eva currently and that included Gwen as well in private. She was passionate and professional - even though she was often simple-minded and her reputation as a top manager was something to not ignore. Despite her being simple-minded, she was very overprotective of Eva, loyal to
"Da-damien, stop messing around with me. I have something to do and I don't understand what you mean.” She replied, still refusing to show that she was flustered by him. "Then let's bathe together.” He didn't waste time and told her. This time, Eva raised her head up to look at him. She carefully looked into his eyes and saw how he had a teasing small smile on his face. “You brute! Take your shower yourself." Knowing that he was just teasing and playing with her, she raised her hand and gently pushed him away. She didn't wait for Damien before she stomped out of the bathroom, but she could hear the light chuckle that escaped from Damien's mouth. ‘How dare he tease me like that for his own fun.’ Eva thought after she closed the bathroom door. She knew being naked with Damien might not mean anything to him since they had both shared the night together before. However, she could barely remember that night at all because she wasn’t sane. …….. Meanwhile, Gwen was extremely frus
Gwen let out a "hmph", raised her head and glared at Eric before making her out of the apartment with Eric staring at her back figure before following behind her. This was the reason he had chosen not to get involved with women because of their dramatic ways. He led her towards the car and watched as she boarded the car with him. Throughout the entire journey, Gwen kept trying to test Eric by threatening him with all different methods, even mentioning Eva’s family background. All that was missing right now to fully make her threatening mission complete was a knife to his neck. Finally, as the car pulled up into the estate, Gwen who had been ranting nonstop in the car finally grew silent in shock. Dark Vale estate. This is one of the most popular estates in the city and she has heard that only one person was in possession of this estate. She couldn’t remember the name of the person she heard owns this place since it's not something most people talk about regularly but she knew that
“Tell me, what made you make this type of decision? I know I'm not in the right position to tell you who to marry but this is too hasty, Eva. Were you forced?" While Gwen was busy questioning Eva, Damien had just finished dealing with some business issues and walked out of his study room and headed downstairs to the living room where both Eva and Gwen were sitting. Upon hearing footsteps, Gwen turned around and to her surprise, she saw Damien who walked over behind the sofa, leaned over affectionately and whispered gently into Eva's ear. Gwen quietly stared as she watched Eva turn to face Damien and nodded obediently, "I know, I won’t take longer than half an hour." Damien nodded his head, pleased with her response. He observed Gwen for a moment and headed back upstairs. Everything that happened in this short moment was enough to make Gwen freeze in disbelief. “Gwen? Are you okay?” Eva called her manager who had just turned into a statue after Damien left. "Eva, quick, pinch
“It’s a bit complicated and I don't think I have the time to tell you all that now. Damien is just a backup plan for me in case I'm at my worst. I do not have plans to announce my relationship with Damien as of yet," Eva explained calmly. She gave off a confident and dazzling aura, “With the help of Damien, I know my career would advance in leaps and bounds, but other people would only acknowledge me as Damien's wife and not Evangeline the model. It was the same mistake I made when I listened to Mark and stopped being a model. I lost my title and when I was dumped, no one recognized me. Years ago, I managed to become the top model in Miami and top in the world ranking. Now, I am confident I can do it again with my own ability. I will retrieve what originally belongs to me." "Gwen, you should have already known what my intention was when I came back so if you are still willing to help me, then we are going into this together. If you don’t want to, I won’t pressure you. I will cancel
After their conversation, Eva asked Eric to escort Gwen back to the company. As expected she didn't see Damien in the room when she entered since he had gone to the company. Taking the time that she was less busy, Eva walked out of the room again and went to find Old Lee who was busy tending to the flowers she had planted in the garden when she first came here. “Grandpa Lee, you're too old to be doing stuff like this. You should have asked one of the maids to do it for you or even called me." Eva remarked as she walked over to Old Lee. “Young madam, I just wish to do it. It's nothing serious, I see you're done attending to your guest?” Old Lee replied with a smile on his face as Eva gently collected the watering can from him. " Yes, she's gone.” Eva nodded her head. " Grandpa Lee, I received permission from Damien to do anything I like at the mansion, so I came to meet you. I'm thinking of adding some little things to brighten up this place.” She added as she looked at Old Lee
“I... I’m starting to think Eva might be trying to sabotage me. You know, with the awards coming up, and her growing popularity... I just have this feeling she’s trying to push me out of the competition,” Christine said, her voice trembling slightly as if she was on the verge of breaking down. She knew Mark would respond to weakness, to vulnerability, just as he always had.Mark’s voice was low, filled with annoyance. “What do you mean, sabotage you? She’s already got the public on her side. What else does she want?”“I don’t know, Mark. But I can’t shake the feeling that she’s behind some of the things happening to me lately,” Christine continued, carefully planting the seed of doubt. “She’s been getting more endorsements, more media attention... She’s always one step ahead, and I feel like she’s using me to boost her own career. Maybe she’s trying to push me out of the spotlight, making sure I don’t have a chance to win.”Mark was silent for a moment, processing the information. Chr
Eva didn’t respond immediately. She could feel the seriousness in Everett’s words, and for a brief moment, the playful rivalry between them was pushed aside.Everett’s eyes softened slightly as she looked at Eva, a rare glimpse of concern flickering in her gaze. “What are you going to do about her? She’s the one who caused my accident but had that person lie he was a fan, right? Also with the recent things happening, I can tell she’s been pulling strings, trying to break you down.”Eva's expression hardened, her grip tightening on her wine glass. “I’m not sure yet. But Christine’s time is running out.” She gave a slight, bitter laugh. “I won’t let her destroy me.”Everett studied Eva for a moment, her face unreadable. “Be careful, Eva,” she said quietly, her tone more serious than Eva had ever heard. “Christine’s dangerous. And she’s got a way of making everyone believe her sweet little act.”Eva took a deep breath, looking away briefly as she processed Everett’s words. The concern wa
The day of the event arrived, and Christine was glowing with victory. Dressed in an elegant gown, she enjoyed the attention as she mingled with industry elites, knowing she was now the headlining speaker.With Eva out of the picture, this was her moment.Then the doors opened.Gasps rippled through the crowd as Eva walked in, effortlessly poised, wearing a breathtaking designer dress. The cameras instantly shifted toward her, flashing in rapid succession.Christine’s smile faltered. “What is she doing here?”Before she could react, the event host stepped onto the stage, microphone in hand.“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special surprise. While there were some scheduling changes, we’re honored to have Eva here tonight.”Christine stiffened. “What? That’s impossible!”Eva merely smiled, making her way toward the front.Kai had pulled the right strings behind the scenes. Even if she wasn’t an official speaker anymore, she was still one of the biggest names in the room—and the audience
Christine was livid. Every attempt to ruin Eva had backfired, and now, the industry was beginning to suspect foul play.Her carefully crafted innocent image was slipping, and she refused to let that happen.Gripping her phone tightly, she dialed Tanya, her voice sharp the moment the call connected."Tanya, listen carefully. I don’t care what it takes—pull every string, bribe whoever you need to, but make sure Eva does not attend the upcoming fashion event. I want her out, completely.”Tanya hesitated. “Christine, are you sure about this? Maybe you should—”“Don’t question me!” Christine snapped, her frustration boiling over. “Do you think I have the luxury of waiting? Eva is already taking the spotlight. If this continues, I won’t even be considered for the Top Ten Models Award!”Tanya sighed. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do. But Christine, be careful. You’re playing a dangerous game. If this backfires, it could cost you everything.”Christine scoffed. “Please. Eva won’t be able to prov
Christine sat alone in the dimly lit hotel, her fingers lightly tapping against the side of her untouched wine glass. The usually confident and composed woman looked lost in thought, her expression unreadable as she stared at the city skyline beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.Everything she had planned against Eva had backfired spectacularly. Instead of destroying Eva’s reputation, she had only fueled the public’s admiration for her. The industry was turning against Christine, and the narrative was slipping out of her control.A soft click of heels echoed through the room, breaking Christine from her thoughts.“Christine?”She turned her head slightly, finding Tanya standing near the entrance, a curious look on her face.Tanya was one of the few people Christine trusted—or rather, tolerated—because she was useful. Smart, cunning, and always willing to play dirty, Tanya had been by Christine’s side long enough to know exactly how far she was willing to go to get what she wanted.“Wh
A few days after Mark successfully cleared his name from the Harper Luxuries scandal, Christine sat alone in her dressing room, her perfectly manicured fingers tapping impatiently against the vanity table.She had tried everything—sabotage, whispers in the right ears, carefully placed rumors—yet Eva always came out unscathed. Every plan Christine devised had crumbled before her eyes, and it was beginning to drive her insane.If indirect tactics didn’t work, she had to change her approach. This time, she wouldn’t hide behind shadows. She wouldn’t need to.Instead, she would manipulate the situation so well that Eva would ruin herself.All she needed was the perfect stage.---An exclusive fashion gala was set to take place, attended by top designers, influencers, and media elites. Both Eva and Christine had been invited as brand ambassadors for their respective labels.Christine smirked to herself. This was it. The perfect opportunity.She had carefully arranged for the media’s attenti
The dim candlelight cast a golden glow over the elegantly set dining table. A soft melody played in the background, filling the room with warmth. Christine had spent hours preparing this—his favorite dishes, the finest wine. Tonight had to be perfect.She glanced at the clock anxiously. Mark would be home soon. And she had to fix this.The front door finally opened, and Mark stepped inside. His face was tired, his eyes dark with frustration. He didn’t even glance at the romantic dinner she had prepared. Instead, he sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.“Christine, what is this?” His voice was cold.Christine swallowed and stepped toward him. “A dinner. For us.”Mark scoffed, shaking his head. “A dinner? Christine, do you have any idea what I’ve been dealing with? My father’s furious. Investors are backing out after the Harper Luxuries. I've lost of funds.” His voice grew sharper, filled with exhaustion. “And do you know what people are whispering? That my own fiancée might
The silence between them was thick with unspoken thoughts, but Damien wasn’t one to leave things unresolved. He turned slightly, his piercing gaze fixed on her.“Why didn’t you ask for my help?” His voice was calm but held an edge of something deeper—something close to frustration.Eva, who had been absentmindedly tracing the rim of her wine glass, glanced at him. A small smirk curled her lips, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.“Because it was something I could handle,” she said simply. “Like always.”Damien’s expression remained unreadable, but his fingers curled slightly against his knee. “And if you couldn’t?”Eva shrugged. “Then I would have asked. But it wasn’t time for that yet.”That answer didn’t satisfy him. He exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple. “Eva—”“I know what you’re going to say,” she interrupted, meeting his gaze head-on. “You think I should have let you take care of it. But Damien, I don’t always need you to fight my battles. Sometimes, I want to win them on my own
Eva sat on the couch, feeling bored. The scandal had caused too much noise, and going home—where the paparazzi were undoubtedly lurking—was out of the question.With a sigh, Eva reached for her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Her finger hovered over Damien for a moment before she pressed the call button.The phone rang twice before his deep, smooth voice came through. “Eva.”Just her name. Nothing more. But there was something in the way he said it—low, controlled, yet sharp with attention—that made her exhale slowly.“Hey,” she murmured, leaning against the plush headboard.Silence. Then, “What’s wrong?”She almost smiled. He always saw through her.“I can’t go home,” she admitted, rubbing her temple. “The reporters are camped outside. And after today’s interview… they’ll only get worse.”Damien didn’t answer immediately. She could hear the faint rustling of papers, the click of a pen, before he finally spoke. “Where are you?”“Penthouse suite at the Grand Royale,” she repli