Chapter 1: Her return

The driver stared at his watch and he sighed for the umpteenth time, while cursing his luck for being the one sent to pick up the girl. Her plane had landed over thirty minutes ago, and she had still not come out of the airport.

As if on cue, the lady he had been waiting for, stepped out of the airport. "Miss Mabel, over here, ma'am," said Rufus, the driver who had been assigned the responsibility of picking her up from the airport.

He had been sent hours before her flight even took off, as her family wanted to make sure she wouldn’t try to pull a fast one on them. Mabel’s family guards had also been scattered inside the airport to make sure she didn’t run away.

If they didn’t manage to bring her home then he wouldn’t live to see another day in his job as her father wouldn’t have spared him if he didn’t bring his daughter back.

As soon as he informed them that Mabel had come out, they left them alone as their job had been done. All that concerned them was making sure that Mabel came out of the airport, and not making sure she got home safely.

"Good evening, Rufus," Mabel greeted with a forced smile on her face. "How have you been?" she asked out of politeness.

"I have been fine, Miss Mabel,” Rufus answered as he opened the door for her. “We should leave, so we can get home, so your father won’t complain,” he said to her.

“Let me guess, he made you come here before my flight took off so his property wouldn’t run off again?” Mabel scoffed, as she knew her father.

"Yes, he did make me come here early but not because he sees you as his property but because he misses you and cares for your safety, Miss Mabel." Rufus lied and she scoffed once more as she didn’t believe a word he said.

“You’ve been gone for five years, I’m sure he misses you,” Rufus persisted in reassuring the girl.

“I may be only twenty-three but I’m not stupid, Rufus,” Mabel said and she entered the car. Rufus closed the door behind her and he entered the driver’s seat. After making sure she had her seatbelt on, he started the car and left.

Mabel rested her head on the door and she sighed as she was returning to the place she dreaded. The home that had more terrible memories than good ones. Was there even any good one? She wondered.

Her name was Mabel Deville and she was the youngest child of one of the most powerful and rich families in the world. Many dreamed of a life she had, but she hated it as it was a terrible life.

Her mother was the first wife of her father, Anthony Deville. However, she was unable to conceive and her father, wanting to continue his family legacy, went and got married to the biggest devil in her life, her stepmother.

Somehow, her step-mother conceived two months after she got married to her father and gave birth to a son and two years later, her stepmother gave birth to her sister.

Mabel didn’t quite understand what happened after that but according to her father, whom she refused to believe, her mother came crying back to him and he decided to give her one last chance to prove herself. That last chance led to her being born.

One would think that he would finally love her mother but he didn’t. Instead, her step-mother managed to convince her father that she wasn’t his daughter, and the old man didn’t waste any time in exiling her and her mother.

She was just a month old when it happened, and her father kept the news of his first wife conceiving and taking in a secret.

He only brought her back after her mom died. She was just eight and that was where all her troubles started. Her step-mom and siblings didn’t hesitate to make her life a living hell and well, her father didn’t care about her and so, he turned a blind eye to whatever was happening to her.

"Rufus,” she called the driver.

“Yes, Miss Mabel,” he answered.

“What has home been like after my dad sent me out of the country?” she inquired. Due to her father not accepting her, he kept her existence hidden from the whole world. No one except a handful of helpers, guards and drivers knew the Deville’s had another daughter.

He sent her to boarding school in order to keep her identity hidden and as soon as she graduated, he sent her out of the country to complete her degree as punishment.

It was when he sent her out of the country that she had attempted to flee but who knew her father was keeping tabs on her as his men dragged her back to her college where she was punished severely for running away.

“They missed you,” Rufus answered, and she chuckled.

“Rufus, why do you like to lie to me?” she asked.

“So I won’t have to hurt you more,” Rufus sighed bitterly.

“I think if you hurt me more, I’ll come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be loved by anyone, especially my family,” Mabel retorted and she closed her eyes once more.

She opened it a few minutes later, and she stared out the window. She noticed a car which was parked upfront with the trunk open. Standing beside the car were two men and they looked agitated.

Her car passed by them and Mabel looked back. “Stop!” she said to Rufus, who immediately stepped on the brakes. “What happened?” he asked her worriedly.

“Two men are stranded,” Mabel answered as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

“Miss Mabel, we are already late, your father will be mad,” Rufus tried to stop her, but she didn’t listen as she walked up to the stranded men.

‘This girl will be the end of me,’ Rufus muttered to himself as he stepped out of the car to follow her.

The two men turned to face Mabel when they heard footsteps approaching them. She studied the two men and she was immediately able to make out who the employee was and who the boss was. One had a cold look on his face and the other was busy with the car.

It was obvious from the car that the man was rich. She observed him from head to toe. He was wearing a black suit and Mabel observed that he had beautiful features; blue eyes as deep as the ocean and jet black hair with a stubble and sharp jawline as well as full lips and high cheekbones. He emitted a cold aura and had an icy gaze.

“Do you need any help?” she asked. She didn’t even realize she was mesmerized by the cold looking man until he spoke.

“No!” the cold man answered rudely, which shocked Mabel. “Now turn back and get the hell out of my sight!”

Was this really how he was going to treat someone who offered to help him?