"What brings you to call me so early in the day?" Ophelia asked."I have news from the commissioner of police," Carter said over the phone."Already?" Ophelia was shocked at how fast they got to work because her dad asked them to. She wondered if the Vale family's power was not as much as theirs or if they were discriminating against him because he had not yet announced the chairman of the company."Get Cade to meet me at the police station; I will be going there too," Carter said."You too?" Ophelia was shocked. "Is it serious?" she asked because her father would not leave his busy day and go there for no reason."Why would it not be regarded as serious?" Carter asked like Ophelia was being ridiculous and asking that question. "This is the case of a stalker; of course it is serious," Ophelia blinked.She wondered if her father would have reacted this way if she had been the one who was a victim of the stalking. She wanted to hope that he would react in the same way and be genuinely c
They got to the police station a bit late because of traffic that they had not expected. Ophelia was shocked to see her dad still waiting for them, even though he hated those who came late for things."You are here," Carter said, trying to hold himself from grilling them about coming late."So sorry we are late; we were stuck in traffic for quite some time." Ophelia apologized immediately before her dad could make a big deal out of it. She had seen a lot of people lose out because they had been late to appointments with her dad. It was one of the things he never tolerated."It is fine; traffic can happen." Ophelia could not help the shock that climbed her face. Her father understood them? Was that possible?"Dad?" she asked, stepping forward so she could look at his face properly. "Are you sick?" she asked because that would be the only explanation that made sense; it had to be that he had been diagnosed with some kind of illness and it was making him change so much."What nonsense ar
"Let us go; I will treat you two to lunch," Carter said as they stepped out of the police station. Ophelia looked at her father; she moved closer to him and pressed her face forward. She was tempted to check his pulse as well as her temperature but stopped herself because of the eyes around them."You would treat us to lunch?" she asked, stepping back because of the glare that her father had on his face."That is just what I said," Carter said, and she nodded."Dad, if anything is going on, you need to tell me immediately or my mind will wander too far and I will think about things I should not," Ophelia said with a concerned look on her face."What is so strange about me treating my daughter and her husband to lunch?" Carter asked. Ophelia was overreacting; if anyone else heard her, they would think he had never bought her a meal in his life."You mean to tell me that you are taking at least an extra hour out of your busy Saturday to buy us a meal?" Ophelia followed. Cade tugged on h
"Dad!" Ophelia exclaimed, her cutlery falling from her hand to the plate in front of her."Can't I ask my son-in-law that?" Carter asked, turning to Cade and then to Ophelia with a shrug."Why would you ask him that?""Isn't that why he married you?" Carter asked. "To become the chairman, so I am wondering what is taking so long.""My grandfather had more...""Stop there," Ophelia said, cutting him off before he could say anything more. "You do not have to explain anything to him.""Ophelia, stay out of this," Carter said before gesturing to Cade to explain."My grandfather's first requirement for the position was that I get married.""Which was why you got together with my daughter?" Carter asked. Ophelia was shocked that it took her father this long to speak about it. He was not deceived by their petty tricks at all. He still knew that they were together, mostly for business benefits."Yes, sir, but recently, due to new policies, grandfather is saying that we need to have children b
"Why did you do that?" Cade asked Ophelia, who had been pacing the floor of the house for ten minutes since they arrived. "Do what?" she asked, pretending not to understand what he was talking about. "Do what is making you as worried as you are right now," Cade replied. "Worried?" she asked, coming to sit beside him. "I am not worried; why would I be?" she asked, tapping one leg to the ground as it shook violently. "Tell that to your violent, shaky legs and wrung-up fingers." His hands rested on her leg so gently that it stopped immediately.She turned to him, and as if she were smiling, she bent her head and ran her hand through her hair multiple times; it was all over her head. "Why did I do that?" she whispered. "Exactly why did you do that? I was okay with taking the heat. I guess with your promotion coming up I will have to answer the question more often than I thought.""Do you think so?" Ophelia raised her head to catch a glimpse of his face. The expression on his face was
"What are you doing?" Ophelia murmured softly as she slipped from underneath him and stood looking at him as he maintained the same posture from earlier."I am just trying to tell you that you should not open Pandora's box if you would not be able to handle it," he said and she shook her head."Wait, let me get this straight.""Get what straight?" he asked, straining his back and sitting like he was being invited. His legs together and his hands on them."The facts," she said, trying to keep her voice down. Luckily for them, the staff had left the house, and they were supposed to call them over if they needed their meal to be prepared. Ophelia was sure, however, that she was not going to go to call them just yet; she needed to clarify what was going on with them."What facts?""Just a minute, let me gather my thoughts," he nodded and rested in the chair, waiting for what she would say. "So you do not believe in love right?""I told you this from the beginning, I do not," he answered,
"Why did I not think about helping him?" Ophelia asked as she got to her room door. She decided to drop off the bag in the room and then get back to the kitchen to help him. She might not be able to tell him that she liked him or be in a relationship with him, but at least they could act like a couple for the public, and they could be friends too. "Let me help you, sir," she heard a voice come from the kitchen, and it was unfamiliar to her. She wondered who it was. "There is no need for that." Cade's voice was firm and off-putting. "But sir, you are doing our work as staff, and we feel bad because since we got here we barely have any work to do," the girl said. Ophelia wanted to burst into the room and make the flirting girl uncomfortable, but she was also curious as to how Cade was going to handle the situation. "And shouldn't you be happy about it?" Cade asked. It made sense that a person would feel okay with receiving pay without working, so why was she complaining? Did she nee
"You were enjoying the attention, weren't you?" Ophelia asked. She did not want to make it a big deal, but she could not help herself; she had to know if he was enjoying the attention that came with talking to a girl who was throwing herself at him."What?""I mean, it must have been so long since a girl wanted you," she continued, coming down from the stools and turning her back to him so she could fiddle with the tangerines in the bowl in front of her."What the hell are you saying?" he asked, walking to her. She heard his steps get louder as they approached her, and she turned to him with a smile on her face."I mean, just think about it: since you got married to me and people think we are happily married, you have barely had women throw themselves at you, and I have not had men approach me either. We are both beautifully stunning people, so it must be difficult for them to keep to themselves."
"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
Harper stared at her phone in hand; she could not believe that they were trying to discard her. She read the message over and over again, and she could not lie; it did not make any sense to her. What was she supposed to do? She had just boasted to her housemate about how well her plan was going, and now she had to abort the mission. And for what reason?Hello Harper, Abigail does not need your help with Cade anymore and she would like you to move out of the house within a month.-FrancesShe had closed her lease and moved into the house, and now they wanted her gone within a month? She was not going to allow them to bully her; she dialled the number once again and pressed the phone to her ears. The dial tone rang once and then beeped dead as if it were cut from the other end. She tried calling Abigail and Cael as well, but they were both not picking up.She could tell from her interaction today that Cade had finally realized his feelings for Ophelia and this was going to be the end fo
"Meeting with investors is tiring," Cael murmured, sitting in his chair, after the person they had been meeting with walked out. None of the members had said that they were giving them their support, and yet his mom seemed full of energy, as if the day had only started."You have been a good sport and on your best behaviour all day; just one more person and we can call it a day," Abigail replied, turning to him and tapping his thighs gently."Can't we just call it a day now?" He groaned, feeling tired. All he had done since lunch was sucking it up to different old bald men who did not seem interested in helping him anyway. He wondered how long he had to continue doing that with them."As I said, this is really important, and it took me so much to get to agree to see us under such short notice; the best you can do here is just do the right thing," Abigail murmured, losing her patience. After what had happened, she was not ready to allow all of these men to trample over her for no reaso