Cade was wondering if it was a bad idea if he did not agree to go meet his mom after he had discovered that she was the one. He was feeling an array of mixed emotions, and he did not know how to face the situation. Hr wanted to face his grandfather about it and scream at his mom for leaving him in such a cruel family to fend for himself and for up so quickly that it hurts."Mr. Vale," a choice from the room, brought him back to reality."Yes Sue?" Cade said, raising his head to meet the eyes of the woman standing in front of him. He had not even noticed when she had waltzed in and stood there."The chairman is coming in and his first stop is here.""Here?" he asked and she followed with a nod and a murmur of yes, sir. "Why?""I am not sure about it, sir but it seemed like it has to do with firing and rehiring of soem personnel members working with you." The news had gotten to Sue and even though she knew she would not be able to stay with Cade after this, she hoped that Charles would
"Harper? Grandfather, what is Harper doing here?" Cade stood up in awe. Why was his ex-girlfriend standing in those clothes and addressing him so formally in his office? "She would be resuming as your new assistant while Sue goes back to the general office and awaits reassignment," Charles said. Sue stood there; she felt rage course through her body; she could not believe that Charles got played so easily. How could he allow someone who he had removed from his grandson's life a while back to walk in on her own two feet back into his life, and this time she was giving him access? She wanted to slap this old man across the face and attack him, but there was nothing she could do about any of it. She was bound. Sue took a step forward and forced a smile on her face to stay professional. There was no way she was going down at all; she was going to rise to the top by all means. She did not stay loyal to the Vale family, only to be humiliated and included in their petty fight like this. "
Ophelia stood by the door with a huge smile on her face. While she rode the elevator up to his room, she forced herself to smile even though she was boiling inside so badly. While at work, she had received a message from Sue that she had been fired and Charles had reassigned Harper as Cade's new assistant.As much as she wanted to ignore the thought, she could not help but come to see for herself if any of it was true. As she opened the door, Harper was standing there at his desk, dressed in formal clothes. She kept chanting the words 'There is no way this is true' in her head as she began to walk to him, hoping that her face was not giving her away."Ophelia, what are you doing here?" Cade asked, standing up from his chair. He felt a bit exposed to having her there. He was going to tell her about Harper anyway; he just did not like that she had gotten to know about it this way."It is almost lunchtime," she said, going over to the other side of the desk so she could stand opposite Ha
"Care to explain what you plan to do with Harper?" Ophelia asked as they sat in the car. She had come in the car with her driver but had asked both their drivers to take the afternoon off and then take the car afterwards. They were going to spend the day together and then go home afterwards."I have no idea what to do.""So you are just going to let her be in your office?""Ophelia, I did not want any of this to happen. I mean, it is no secret that Harper is still not over me.""And that makes your heart tingle, doesn't it?" Ophelia asked. As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered to herself why she had thought of that and, more importantly, why she had said it out loud. The only thoughts that were now running rampant through her mind after the words left her mouth were what she would think of her saying that."I did not mean that," she began, trying to clear the air and play it off."No, it does not make my heart tingle," he said with a straight expression on his face."That
Cael invited Harper to dinner again that night so they could discuss the progress they had made so far. He had requested that his mother be there, but she said she had important meetings to attend to. She was picking apart all the boards of directors and meeting with them as soon as possible. She had to lay down the groundwork so that when they needed their help, they would need to start from the top."So where are we with the plan?" Cael asked as they sat down to dinner. They had just ordered their meals and were waiting for them to be brought out. Harper kept on munching on the breadsticks that were at the table."We are nowhere at all. Ophelia just barged in out of nowhere and took him for the entire day. I barely even had a moment with him all day. All I could say was say my name like a professional, and that was the end," Harper complained before thrusting the entire thing in her hand into her mouth with a gruff expression on her face."Did Ophelai come as if she knew what was go
Valerie walked into the police station with trembling She had waited for Cade to call and when he did not, she became nervous. There was no way she was going to spook him out yet again by sending a message the same way she had been doing before, so her plan was to wait it out, and she was over the moon when he set a meeting. The place was not her favourite place to meet, but she went with it because she would rather meet him here than not meet him at all."Hello, Ms White." A young officer welcomed her as she walked in. He was not supposed to know her because he had never worked her case, but somehow the gaze he left lingering on her skin showed that he learned a lot about it."Hello, young officer," she said with a short answer. He was probably eyeing her up and down, wondering what kind of old woman tries to stalk a young man through texts. "I am here to see Cade Vale," she added and he nodded."Of course you are, this way," he said, taking her through the back and then into one of
"You can call me a selfish mother; of course, I am a selfish mother; otherwise, why would I take money? and agree to leave you alone for the rest of your life and then show up twenty-three years later trying to claim rights to you as my son," she broke down, sobbing loudly this time that she covered her face with her hand as her shoulders shook."You took money from the chairman?" Ophelia could not help but feel weird as to how this entire thing was going down. How could she take money to abandon him and then show up years later as a stalker seeking to bond with him? "Are you out of money? Is this an elaborate scheme from you just to make money?""What?!" Valerie asked, taking her face out of her hand. Her face was all covered in tears from all the ugly crying she was going through. "Are you saying I am trying to reconcile with my son because of money?""Yes, that is exactly what I am saying," Ophelia said, placing her elbow on the table and putting her chin on it as if she were in th
Cade walked into the house really angry, and anyone could see it from a mile away. He marched up to his room, and Ophelia followed behind him. Before he could slam the door shut, she put her foot between the gaps, and it jammed her foot."Ahh," she screamed loudly, startling him, who had not noticed that she was following him."Are you okay?" he asked, leaning down to check her foot."I am okay," she said, taking her foot away from the gap and pushing the door open. "I should be asking you that; are you okay?""Of course I am; I have never been better," he said, clearing his throat."Change your tone and the look on your face first and then try again," she said, walking into the room with him standing by the door with confusion on his face."I am fine, sincerely. I was a bit rattled earlier, but after driving home and thinking over it on the way here, I can tell you that I am fantastic," he said with a shrug. She turned to him with her hand on the waist."I know it stinks. I would als
Abigail could not believe that instead of debunking the rumours that Cade was an illegitimate child, he was owning it like it was his identity. He was still facing so much backlash for keeping it a secret from the public that the people seemed not to like the idea behind the fact that he was not a full-bodied Cade.The girls who swooned over him before suddenly began to dislike him. Abigail was thrilled, but she knew that the battle was not easily over; there was no way that Charles would just let him go; she needed to do something that would make the board of directors and all of the people of the nation want him to leave the company. She had to make him unfit.She was glad that she always prepared for this; while she was busy siphoning money away, she was still actively preparing for someone else to take the blame in her stead, and now it meant that she could easily take all of the blame and dump it on him. She had called Frances into the room to share the news with her; she knew th
Carl had come to meet his grandfather earlier. He was tired of his mother's games and how she kept trying to put him in the middle of it all. He knew he was incapable of being the good chairman the company needed, and amongst all the grandchildren, only Cade had been preparing for this moment his whole life.The rest of them sat with their hands folded because they believed that since they were affiliated with the Vale family, a responsibility was going to drop on their laps soon, and they could get on with their lives. Even without the jobs in the company, they could live good lives on the return on the shares they owned because they all owned a lot, and the company was always doing well."But Grandpa, if we do that, the prices of the shares?""See this," Charles said, showing an electronic tablet that had been resting on his lap since he came in. "This is supposed to go up tomorrow, so are you saying we should do nothing about it?"Cade took it up and read through it. His face chang
"I did not think that you would help me out," Harper said to Green with a smile on her face. She had called him about a week ago to tell him that Ophelia and Cade were now locked in. Green had been so angry about it. He waited years for Ophelia, only for her to end up Cade. He had expected that he could pull them apart, but now he was hearing that she was together with Cade and they loved each other now.When they kept telling the public that they were deeply locked in, he could tell that she was doing this just because her father asked her to do it. He waited, hoping that there would be a time when they went their separate ways and then he would swoop in to save the damsel in distress."I refuse to lose to Cade.""I like how you think," Harper said, and her phone began to ring. She took up her phone and stared at the screen. "Ophelia is calling me?" She murmured, looking at the screen, her eyes growing wide and wider."What are you waiting for? Pick it up," Green urged her."I should
Frances was sitting in a coffee shop; she had gotten a message from Ophelia that they had to meet up. As much as she did not want to have to go out there to meet her, she was curious to see her face after reading the news. She had not thought to publish the news like that because she did not want to do anything that might affect Cael, be it directly or indirectly, because she still believed that they would be able to get together soon.She was however happy for whoever had taken that news and ran with it; the entire city was buzzing while waiting for a statement on the family. She felt that now that Cade was so put in the public eye, Charles might consider Cael as a better-suited candidate for the position."Did I keep you waiting for long?" Ophelia asked as she sat down.Frances swallowed as she saw how good she looked; she was tempted to almost comment on it; she did not look like she had seen the news. "No, I just sat down a minute ago," she said, and Ophelia nodded."Have you orde
THREE DAYS AFTER THE WEDDING TUESDAY MORNING "Honey" Ophelia sat by the side of the bed shaking Cade; his eyes opened slowly as he wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her in."Good morning, darling," he said and pouted, waiting for a kiss. She closed her eyes and bent down to kiss his lips. "That was so short," he said, his eyes opening wider. "Something is wrong; what is wrong?" he asked, his eyes catching a glimpse of the frown on her face. "What happened?" he asked, sitting in bed quickly."You might want to see this," she said, taking her phone and giving it to him. He took the phone from her hand and sat up straight. He read through the screen as his eyes widened with each statement he came across."What is this?""The number one trending news in the city this morning.""From what source?""Apparently it started as a rumour from a blog but when the reporters reached out to Abigail yesterday evening for an interview, she did not confirm or deny it so they are just carry
"My mom wanted you here, but I never did, so it is crazy that you are trying to force me to sleep with you," Cael scoffed as they sat on the bed in the room. They had been so preoccupied with other things that it was the night of the wedding that they all realized that they did not have a house, so they went back to the mansion.Charles had taunted them for their poor planning; Cael could not believe that his grandfather had not stepped up to do anything concerning the wedding even after he had leaked the secret to him. He was feeling overwhelmed by the situation and was now convinced that his grandfather was doing the right thing by not allowing him to be the next in line for succession. Even when he had leaked the secret of the wedding to Charles, he did not do anything about it.Even this evening, when they got back to the house after the wedding, Charles was not shocked to see them back at the mansion; he just nodded his head at them and retired to his room. He did not know why he
"You look so beautiful," Fiona gushed over her daughter as she entered the room."I do?" Frances asked, and her mother nodded."Like the star of the show that you are," she murmured, and Frances smiled.She had been so busy stressing and preparing for the wedding that she feared she might not look good in any of the images because of how stressed she was. She felt good to receive a compliment from her mother considering how shallow she was; she would be into complimenting something or else she found it appealing to the eyes."I hope you remember all I have been telling you." Fiona said, and Frances nodded.Her mother had basically turned it into an anthem that was engraved in her mind. She had told her to make sure to get pregnant between the first few weeks of pregnancy so she could have an edge over Ophelia, who was still yet to show any signs of having a baby. She also told her to make sure she sucked up to Charles, even though they all knew how almost impossible that might be."Do
THE FAY OF THE WEDDING Ophelia's eyes fluttered open as she turned to Cade sleeping beside her. She felt his hand that had been holding her head up all night. She snuggled into him and felt his hand pull her in closer."Are you awake?" she murmured, trying to look at his face from her position."No," he drew out, and she laughed."You are asleep yet talking?" she said, and he tried to nod but was failing badly because of the pillow."I talk in my sleep," he added, and she gave him a frown."Then sleep and talk some more. I want to go get myself a cup of tea," she said, trying to stand up from the bed, but his hand on her wrist pulled her back, and she dropped to his chest."What are you doing?" she asked, propping herself up with her hand on his chest."I think you forgot something," he said with a pout and his eyes closed.She traced his pouted lips with her fingertip. "And what can that be?" she asked, feigning ignorance."I know that you very well know what I am talking about," he
A FEW DAYS TO THE WEDDING"I have something to report," Paul said, coming into Charles's office. He had been working in the background to make sure that Aigail and Cael's plan did not work. He knew that they had been so busy with the board meeting, and he had to work too. He was not going to sit down and assume that since he was the chairman, everyone was supposed to be automatically loyal to him.He was meeting with all of the board members and directors while trying to know their stand on the matter; for most of them, they kept trying to play both sides and see which side would favour them. Charles lowered the glasses from his face and dropped them so they dangled by a rope on his neck.The entire company was so tense that even a child could tell that something was up. The staff were trying their best to be careful not to choose sides so they did not find themselves jobless after the board meeting. Everyone was walking on eggshells since the chairman was no longer working from home