"Uggh" Frances exclaimed as she threw the phone to the bed."What is it" Cael groaned as he turned to the side as he stirred from his sleep."How can you be sleeping so soundly when everything is going so wrong" she asked rushing to sit by his side."Because a pretty face does not just happen like that, I have to have my beauty sleep as well," Cade said. She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm not too hard for it to hurt."Your pretty face would not mean anything if you lose to Cade""Why would you bring him up now? It is too early in the morning for you to be talking about him""Is it?" Abigail asked walking into the room. "To win a fight you need to know your enemy" she added going to pull open the windows."Mom? Really? Are you supporting Frances over your son?""Yes, I have to support the most reasonable person in the room" Abigail replied. Sometimes she wondered if her son had gotten switched out at birth. She had even been so extra that she had a DNA test done and it was a perfe
"Did you have to bring me here?" Cade asked as they walked into the house for the party."I had to, and you had to be here""Why?" he whined. Ophelia stopped and turned to him holding the collar of his shirt."If my speculations are right I have a feeling that your brother and girlfriend are trying to play the family card on your grandfather to make him see reasons to leave the company to him""And why does that matter?" Cade asked to shrug. "Isn't it obvious that all those kinds of things barely move grandfather? He is looking at power and competency, not some silly love"Ophelia shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "There is no doubt about that but..." she trailed off her eyes catching the glimpse of someone coming towards them. "Someone is coming, time to act" she leaned in whispering before going back and smiling at him."You look too good, I can barely take my eyes off you" she said dusting off the imaginary dust from his shirt. "Do not allow any girl to look at you okay?" she
"What are you doing here?" Cade asked stepping back so that there could be space between them since it was clear that she had no respect for personal space."Ohhh, your brother's girlfriend called me up and invited me to your brother's party and I was so excited to hear from her because I knew that there was the possibility that I would get to see you here" Harper replied closing the gap that Cade had made."Go on then and enjoy the party" Cade said turning to leave."Is that all you are going to say?" she asked going to stand in his way.Ophelia rolled her eyes in annoyance. She could not believe the nerve of this girl, how dare she try to cling to her husband right in front of her."Hello," Ophelia said trying to catch her attention."Oh, hello," she said with a giggle before adding in an exaggerated high-pitched voice. "I am so sorry, I was just too far excited to see him that was why I did not say my hello before"'Of course, you are far too excited to see my husband that you are
The cake was cut and now they were sitting at tables to eat, Ophelia and Cade were invited by his grandfather to sit at the same table as he was sitting because they were family just as Frances claimed, Frances had earlier planned to remove them from their table but Charles had insisted that Frances knew it was pointless to argue with him about it."Why haven't you come with your wife to visit me one of these days?" Charles asked as they ate."We have both been so busy that we have not been able to squeeze out time""You scoundrels" Charles backed at them. "You should do better" he added."We are sorry about that and we shall soon come to say Hello, very soon," Cade said. He knew that his grandfather was still very traditional in his thinking and there was no separating them, there was nothing he could do about it too."You had better" Charles added."Oh Charles, you are busy going on and on about Cade when it is Cael's birthday today" Abigail said."Do you have to bring that up now?"
"Why did you not say anything about us staying here""Because I thought you were handling the conversation pretty well" Cade replied with his back to her.They had gotten to bed after all the guests had left. When they had first attempted to step away from the party, Frances had come up and held them down with the excuse that the night had just begun. It was not until almost everyone was unable to hold their liquor anymore that she announced that the party was over.Ophelia and Cade went to the room silent but mostly because both of them were tipsy. They stumbled into bed and were now lying side by side."Do you think your excuse makes sense?" Ophelia asked then followed by a hiccup."Why wouldn't it?" he followed up shutting his eyes because of the pain that surged through his body because of the excessive drinking spree he had involved himself in."Are you trying to annoy me?" she asked sitting up in bed abruptly almost screaming at him."Lay back down and keep your choice down, rem
Cade woke up to the vibration of his phone on the nightstand, he groaned as he struggled to pick up the phone. Living this long had taught him never to answer the phone without first checking the caller. He picked up the phone before closing his eyes."Come to the study immediately" the line cut dead. Cade stayed still for a few more seconds on the bed before he pushed himself off the bed into a sitting position. It was not a new thing to him for his grandfather to call him into the study sometimes to discuss a range of things."Where are you going?" Ophelia asked as she thought of the possibility that Harper was still in the house and they had agreed to meet up. She wondered if he would go running when she called. She also wondered what his family would say. Would they be glad that there was a loophole in their marriage and that Harper could help them wreck their marriage?"My grandfather called for me" Cade said before whispering "Did I wake you?""I have been awake for a while now"
Cade knocked on the door and waited to hear from Charles. "Come in" the gruffy voice from inside commanded. Cade opened the door and pushed himself in with Ophelia on his tail. Her goal there today was to charm him. He might seem like a closed-off man but she knew that since he was asking his grandchildren to start families to be entitled to the company then he was probably a softie at heart."What took you so long," Charles asked taking off his glasses from his face. He rolled his chair towards them and Ophelia titled her head in wonder. All the times she had met him he had been walking, she wondered why he was bound to a chair after seeing him walk last night."I came with him and I was the one who took his time" Ophelia's tone was different. She was like a child who was trying to get something from his parents. Cade was so taken aback by her tone that he almost asked her what had happened."You came with him?" Charles asked his eyes shifting to Ophelia who now left Cade's back and
"You scoundrel," Charles said in a warning tone. "Why are you screaming?""Because this was not what we agreed on""What did we agree on?" Charles asked turning his face to the side. Cade was right, he had changed his mind but not because he wanted to just change it for no reason."You told me that you were going to name me the heir as soon as I got married and now I have to earn it? and by what? A child?" he asked shifting to the edge of his seat as his legs shook violently."What can I do? I have to do all I can to protect my company. I worked hard to make it what it is today. I have to choose the right candidate" Charles said."But..." Cade trailed off because of the sudden warmth he felt from his trousers. He looked down at his legs and saw Ophelia's hands running slowly across the length of his legs."Grandpa" Opehla said slowly and silently causing his face to turn to her and soften. "You can not just change your mind" she added."I know that but I had to, and what is the big de
"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