Rachel stood up from her bed slowly, not sure she heard what Sophia just said clearly.George was here? For what exactly?Did he come to officially announce their divorce to her parents? Or was he here for another reason unknown to her?She wore her slippers and turned to head out to the sitting room. At the same time, George was walking into her room.Rachel paused when she saw him. The atmosphere in the room felt different all of a sudden. How could he even open his mouth to say he wanted a divorce only to look like this a week later?He was a reflection of her right now. It was obvious he was not eating well or sleeping well either. The bags under his eyes were enough proof. And was it just her eyes or was he slimmer than just a week ago?Her normal self would have shut him out in anger by now, telling him to go away for putting her through so much emotional torture in the past week but after hearing Sophia's advice, she felt like she could understand him now….He must have had a
Five months laterRachel wadded slowly across the sitting room, placing a hand on her round waist for support. Her legs felt slightly heavy and she felt like a big whale that was about to push out a whole nation.Yes, a nation! She was absolutely losing it at this point.She rubbed her rounded belly, a frustrated frown on her face. All the baby birth books she read so far said the normal gestation period for babies was nine months. What exactly was this baby still doing inside of her?The baby was already due, why wasn't her water breaking yet? At this point, she could faint from exhaustion.Thank goodness Sophia was coming over today. She needed someone to talk to before she lost it.Has it been just five months since they got married? Ugh! It felt like five years!Because of this pregnancy!After this round, she needed at least four years to get herself back to normal, before deciding if she wanted baby number two.Her favorite food disgusted her, the back aches were almost driving
Spring, 2015The smell of cookies and wine filled the air as maids moved around, preparing the feast for the event of the night. George Scott leaned against a window in his bedroom as he stared at the clouds, taking in the beauty of the sunset as the night drew near.Today was his twenty-first birthday. The day had finally come when he would take over from his father as the CEO of Imperial Hub Limited, a renowned skincare and beauty company. He was so nervous about his new role.From this moment, all eyes would be on him. The board of directors, the investors, everybody! They would nitpick every action he takes just to find a reason why he shouldn't be the one filling that role. They all knew his father – Morris Scott preferred his stepbrother to him, and they would do anything to be his father's favorite business associate. The things people do for more power and money. Turning around to get ready for the event, he came face to face with his mother – Patricia Anne Scott – as she wal
Summer, 2020Five years laterTwenty three years old Rachel Reeves moved slowly around the tiny kitchen in the small house where she and her mother had lived since her father was jailed. She could tell just by looking at the bright sky, that it was afternoon already. She had to hurry up if she wanted to see her father today, before the jail wardens stopped people from coming in. Rachel carefully packed two plates of delicious food, what she could make with the little money she had.She sighed in exhaustion, replaying the day in her mind. It was just early afternoon, yet she had shuffled two jobs early this morning – rushed to the market to do some shopping for her father's food – now, she had to go spend some time with him and come back for a night shift at a local restaurant. She wasn't complaining about going over to see her father, she would never complain about that. She really missed him.Bringing her hands to wipe away the tears that ran down her face, she couldn't help but thin
Morris Scott fumed in anger, his eyes glazing "What do you mean by that!... Out of all the options you have, you choose her?" Still sitting on his chair, He trembled in rage as he realized George had played him and taken advantage of his desperation. "Why would you want the daughter of a drug trafficker? Have you forgotten we were warned to stay away from them?" "She is not…!!" George yelled, his jaws clenching so hard from his growing irritation "I repeat, she is not the daughter of a drug trafficker!! That was five years ago. Besides, we all know Arthur was innocent." Morris stared in shock, George had never raised his voice at him – not even once. "Did you just yell at me?" "Yes I did, and I will do it again if I have to" "How dare you!!" Morris jumped to his feet, still refusing to believe that George was talking back at him "How dare you open your petty mouth to –" "Oh please…" George interrupted him, a look of disgust settling on his face. "...just stop it already! This is n
"What did I just hear from your father?" Patricia whispered, pacing around the hallway where she stood with her son, George. "Tell me I'm dreaming, I probably didn't hear correctly. Yo…you want to marry who?""It's true, I want to marry Arthur Reeves' daughter, Rachel" George answered firmly, his face showing no sign of remorse. His mind was made up.He had spent the last Twenty-six years listening to everything his parents wanted him to do. They made most of the choices for him, all he had to do was obey. His father especially, knowing that George was ever ready to please his mother would send her to him, so she could change his mind with her soft words and tearful eyes.And for years he had listened, he had obeyed. He had played along to their beat. He had laid down his interests to do what they wanted. But not anymore. Not today. From now on, he was going to do what he wanted for himself and not feel sorry for it."Are you hearing yourself?" Patricia quaked, the pitch of her voice
The voices in his head just wouldn't stay quiet. George sighed heavily as he paced around the open space in his large bedroom, just a few steps away from the gigantic mirror that rested on the wall. Every few minutes, he would sneak a peek at the mirror, staring at himself. He was clearly losing it, his mind wouldn't stop creating negative scenarios of when he and Rachel would meet.Tomorrow….He couldn't believe they were to meet tomorrow. What had he been thinking to pick her in the first place? No woman in her right mind would want to be married to a man that looked like him.He was even more confused, why did she agree to the proposal? Why would Rachel agree to marry into a family she was told to stay away from? It didn't make any sense. She didn't even know him — it had been over five years. Why would she easily agree to marry a stranger? Was that normal?George was frustrated. He thought 'walking around' would help his mind stay focused, but the confusing thoughts flying around
She had heard about his accident five years ago. It had been all over the news, her mother had told her about it too. Rachel could remember that it happened the same day her father got arrested. The day her world came crashing down was the day his life flipped upside down. But even though she knew he would have some scars due to his accident, Rachel didn't expect it would be this bad.She stood there with her mouth open from shock, studying him, taking in his appearance. The scars covered his once beautiful face all the way down to his neck. It looked like it extended all the way down his muscular body that was hidden behind his black fitted suit. Rachel gulped. She couldn't help but wonder, How did he go through all of that….in a place like this?She had witnessed her fair share of ridicule from other elite people within the company, when her father was arrested for drug trafficking. She had suddenly become an outcast, no longer up to their taste and level. She remembered being calle
Five months laterRachel wadded slowly across the sitting room, placing a hand on her round waist for support. Her legs felt slightly heavy and she felt like a big whale that was about to push out a whole nation.Yes, a nation! She was absolutely losing it at this point.She rubbed her rounded belly, a frustrated frown on her face. All the baby birth books she read so far said the normal gestation period for babies was nine months. What exactly was this baby still doing inside of her?The baby was already due, why wasn't her water breaking yet? At this point, she could faint from exhaustion.Thank goodness Sophia was coming over today. She needed someone to talk to before she lost it.Has it been just five months since they got married? Ugh! It felt like five years!Because of this pregnancy!After this round, she needed at least four years to get herself back to normal, before deciding if she wanted baby number two.Her favorite food disgusted her, the back aches were almost driving
Rachel stood up from her bed slowly, not sure she heard what Sophia just said clearly.George was here? For what exactly?Did he come to officially announce their divorce to her parents? Or was he here for another reason unknown to her?She wore her slippers and turned to head out to the sitting room. At the same time, George was walking into her room.Rachel paused when she saw him. The atmosphere in the room felt different all of a sudden. How could he even open his mouth to say he wanted a divorce only to look like this a week later?He was a reflection of her right now. It was obvious he was not eating well or sleeping well either. The bags under his eyes were enough proof. And was it just her eyes or was he slimmer than just a week ago?Her normal self would have shut him out in anger by now, telling him to go away for putting her through so much emotional torture in the past week but after hearing Sophia's advice, she felt like she could understand him now….He must have had a
"Rachel told me everything that happened between the both of you…" Arthur Reeves voiced out to George sitting in front of him."Uhm…." George mumbled not knowing what to say in response.Arthur watched George fidgeting in his chair and rubbing his fingers together. George was nervous and uncomfortable around him….It was something he never thought would happen. George had been very close and dear to him in the past. For the most part, he had watched him grow from a lad into a young man. George used to talk to him comfortably more than he talked to his own father, Morris.Watching him sitting across, avoiding his gaze and mumbling words was strange to him.But he couldn't blame him….He could see that George felt guilty on his father's behalf. He felt that somehow he was linked to his father's nasty actions and had to pay a price too. That was why he was being hard on Rachel and cutting her off instantly.Because he believed she deserved a better husband from a 'clean' home….Arthur si
"You are not my son anymore. Don't ever call yourself that again!….." Judith yelled through the transparent shield as she glared at James.James sat in front of the woman who was supposed to be a mother to him….But who had never been. Not even for once.You would think that locking her up in here would break her back but no! She was made of steel.Staring at her fuming angrily, he realized that he didn't have a lot of good memories of her. From a young age, she made his life miserable but he had to take it all because that's what children do, right?They take all the nonsense because they have nowhere else to go.He still remembered everything clearly….How she had frightened him as a child, threatening to kill George if she saw him playing with him again.He had been so afraid of losing his dear brother that he stayed away for so long until they were grown-up and there was no longer any bond between him and George.He remembered the countless slaps and beatings she would give him if
Rachel stood still and gasped in shock. It felt like a cold wind blew past her as she stared in surprise at the man who stood before her.Did she hear him correctly now or was she hallucinating? He wanted a divorce. George wanted to divorce her.If anyone had told her that the moment she came back from the villa this morning after spending some time with her father, she would hear a ridiculous statement like this, she would have just stayed back!Had he been drinking? What nonsense was he saying?Rachel was so shocked she didn't even notice the tears already trickling down her cheeks. As she stood in front of him with the divorce papers in her hand, what even annoyed her more than anything was the fact that he had already signed his part of the divorce papers.So quickly….Did he want to get rid of her so fast? She had already told her parents and Sophia that she was not putting an end to their marriage. She had also made it clear to George that she loved him….Why was he suddenly de
"Are you expecting me to apologize to you? Have you lost your mind, you crippled imbecile?"George rubbed his hands on his forehead as Judith hurled different words at his mother, Patricia who just stared at her.He despised this woman a lot. No, the word was 'hate'. He hated her….Ever since she got arrested five days ago, he had been replaying different scenes from the past in his mind, feeling different emotions….All the nasty things this woman had done to his mother for years and gotten away with. All the times she had made his mother cry behind closed doors. For the moments when she rubbed it in his face as a little boy that he meant nothing to his father and her son, James was loved more than him. For the moments when she never failed to remind his mother that she was an unloved wife….And many other things he didn't want to remember right now.He couldn't for the life of him understand how his mother accepted her into the villa in the first place! That was all the push she nee
5 Days LaterNothing would have prepared him for the way he felt the moment he entered the main villa of Imperial Hub Limited.What used to be Morris's villa….Arthur Reeves walked through the familiar pathway that led to where Morris used to stay. He used to go here to talk to Morris in his personal library. They would laugh, talk and joke around about different things.In the midst of their laughter and conversation, he never suspected for once that Morris despised him and was looking for a way to get rid of him.Till today, he still couldn't understand why Morris didn't just let him go….He knew that Morris felt uncomfortable about all the board members saying he was a better leader and businessman compared to Morris. He decided to leave because it made perfect sense to do so at that moment.He was already packing his things, making it known that he was resigning and would have nothing to do with the company anymore. Was that not enough?What else did Morris want? What else was he
Sophia held out a piece of tissue to Rachel and rubbed her back gently. They stood at an empty section of the toilet. The floor above them was the room where the final court case was to be held. "Everything is going fine. Why are you crying?"Rachel dabbed her face with the tissue and sniffed "Don't worry. They are not sad tears, I'm just so happy. I can't believe that the day I've been waiting for since the last six years is finally here…."Sophia smiled. "That's true. I still remember when you were leaving to get married to George. I thought you were crazy back then. I thought you would be harmed over here or that something huge would go wrong. I couldn't understand why you would choose to take this path but I'm glad that everything turned out for the best.""Yea…I'm so glad nobody died in this process unless it would have made things worse. It wouldn't really feel like a victory after all"Sophia switched on her phone and checked the time. "We have about an hour left before the cou
Rachel sat quietly at the dining table, eating her breakfast of waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. She peeked at George who was eating at the opposite end of the table.Something was off. Maybe he had a lot on his mind or maybe he just didn't feel like talking. It felt like he was keeping his distance from her, avoiding her.During this period, precisely since the evidence showed Morris was behind her father's case and when Morris also tried harming Sophia, George had been acting strange. He was distant.He didn't treat her poorly or anything like that but he wasn't himself like the way he was when they first got married. He answered all her questions whenever she asked any but he never really 'talked' to her.Most of their conversations so far were either about her father in prison, Mrs Patricia who was receiving treatment privately or Morris and Judith…..They hardly talked about 'each other' these days.Was it because they were in their twelfth month of marriage and they only had