At the Stone's Residence.
Amelia sighed as she disembarked from the car. As much as she wanted to take over the family's business, there was nothing she dreaded more than coming back to this mansion.
The mansion held many more memories than she would have liked to have. The good ones and the bad ones too.
The mansion had no elevator, so she was forced to use the stairs. She wanted to be as quick as possible, avoiding contact and unnecessary discussions as much as possible.
She entered the mansion hurriedly, increasing her pace with every step that she took.
At this moment, Mr. Thomas, the chubby butler, ran over. “Amelia, you’re back! It's finally good to have you here after so long”
“Please Mr. Thomas, I'm not here to exchange any pleasantries. Where's my father?”
The butler’s gaze softened “This household has missed you so much, Amelia. Nothing was the same after you left.
“You're wrong Mr. Thomas, everything changed after that night. There's nothing here for me”
The butler quickly adjusted his gaze l, “Mr. Stone has been expecting your arrival. He's in his study”
Amelia climbed the stairs all the way to the study. She paused as she stood in front of the study. The man in the person of her father was one whom she needed to meet and at the same time wanted to avoid any conversation with.
“Come in. I can smell your perfume all the way from here”, a voice that she recognized to be her father's, spoke from inside.
As she entered the room, Amelia's gaze met her father's, his expression unreadable. The room was bathed in a soft radiant glow, the air was thick with the scent of books and cigar smoke.
She noticed a few changes; a new desk, a new shelf, and a painting on the wall that she recognized to be hers.
“Mr. Stone”, she said her voice cold, steady, and devoid of emotion.
His expression turned cold as he heard her style of address.
“Mr. Stone…. that's new. It seems that that aunt of yours has put ideas into your head”
“I've done as you asked, here is the marriage certificate. I want us to finalize the transfer as soon as possible. I would like to start working tomorrow”
“Always in a hurry, just like your late mother. I never did tell you what killed her, did I?”
“I don't need your explanation. I know enough. Let's not waste any more time” I said trying to keep my composure.
My mother's death was a very sensitive topic for me and I didn't like anyone talking about it at all.
Amelia's Father gestured her to the seat in the study.
“Sit”, he said with a stern expression that gave no room for objection.
Amelia's heart sank. She had wanted this meeting to be brief and business-like. Instead, she found herself being pulled to the past.
“I see you've done as I asked. Well done! Thomas will finalize the transfer of power. You can start working tomorrow”
“If I may ask, why is Edward not with you?”
“You know about Edward?”
“Haa”, he sneered. “You don't expect me not to keep tabs on my daughter. Why is he not here with you? Isn't that the customary thing to do as newlyweds?”
“You have no right to keep tabs on me. Save your energy for your other family.”
“I got married to Nathaniel Brooke, not Edward, and if that's all, I would like to leave”.
Amelia's Father paused deep in thought as he tried to remember where he had heard of that name. Realization dawning on him, his eyes widened as someone flashed in his mind.
“Nathaniel Brooke of Brooke Industry? You've really outdone yourself Amelia. That'll be all. You can go”.
She exhaled as she exited the study. Speaking with her father had been mentally draining. She hated the fact that she had to come here. But this was what she needed to do to take over the company.
Walking across the hall, she couldn't help but notice that all the pictures of her mother were gone. She was ok with it this way, as she wouldn't have to suffer while looking at it.
Getting to her room she went straight for the drawer where all her belongings were neatly kept. As she looked around the room, she found out that the room was just as how she left it.
All she needed to do now was to carry everything that was hers here. A feeling of nostalgia swept over her as the image of her mother putting her to bed cropped up in her mind.
A tear slid down her cheek as she reminisced all the good times she had in this room before that fateful night.
“This is your room, Amelia, you are always welcome here. You don't need to take all your belongings out”
Amelia turned back to see Mr. Thomas leaning against the door and dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.
Mr. Thomas may probably be the only person she would miss in this house. He had been there when she was growing up and had grown to be a part of her life that was still memorable.
“I would very much like to do the opposite, there's nothing for me in this house. I hope I don't come back here ever again”
Mr. Thomas sniffled “You've grown to be a fine young woman. I hope you end up being happy in your marital home”.
Not replying, Amelia turned to leave, her belongings in her hand. She only had a few things here. She had packed most of them when she left the house five years ago.
“Amelia”
“Yes?”
“Your father loves you, I hope you can see that before it's too late”
“Tell him to keep that love for his other family. I don't need it!”
With that, she turned around and left. Stepping out of the mansion, she turned around to take one last view. Suddenly her phone beeped and a message came in.
“Crescent Peak Villa, House 5. Make sure you get here before dawn.”
At Crescent Peak Villa.It was a top wealthy residential area in the city just like the word ‘peak’ in its name suggested. It spanned a huge area, but only five households occupied the place. Each household represented the five families at the peak of the business empires.When Amelia disembarked from the car, she was stunned. If she thought that her father's mansion was magnificent, then this villa was even better.She got to the gate and after showing them her I.D., she was handed a key to house 5 and given directions there.She had sent her luggage earlier, and as confirmed by the security guards, they were waiting for her in front of the house.She walked slowly to the house as she wanted to get familiar with her surroundings. She couldn't believe that she was now married and on top of that to a stranger.Bringing out her phone from her bag she decided to do a simple research on her husband. With the rollercoaster of emotions, she felt since yesterday, she hadn't been able to look
By the time Amelia woke up the next morning. Nathaniel had already left for work. She quickly had a shower and prepared for her first day at the office.She stood in front of her mirror, smoothing out her tailored black pantsuit. The crisp white blouse and pearl necklace added a touch of elegance. She chose this dress to give off the bossy vibe. She gazed at her reflection, her eyes burning with determination. The position in the company was more than just a job to her.Arriving at the company, she found out that a lot of directors and shareholders had yet to resume. She had asked Mr. Thomas to schedule a meeting with them today, so she was perplexed as to why many of them had not yet shown up.She made a mental note to address that in the meeting. She didn't have trouble locating her office, she had been to this place so many times as a child that the memory was etched into her brain.As she stepped into the office she found out that it was almost the same as she remembered it, save
Amelia was baffled. How was this happening on her first day of work? It seemed as if someone was trying to sabotage her. Well, she didn't get a PhD in Business management for nothing.But first, she needed to get the full story behind this. She started reading the news article and from it, she was able to know that Anna Lopez who was their brand's spokesperson was seen calling one of their products trash.For this model to have gotten the effrontery to do such and breach the contract, it is either she must have been paid by someone in the company to sabotage it, or she had been hypnotized into doing so. Her guess was the latter.Dialing the office line, she rang for Antoinette who had gone to bring the minutes of the meeting they had had today. She had planned on testing the capabilities of her secretary later but it seemed the future came too early than intended. Now she'll need to know if she could keep working with her or employ her own person.“How good are you Antoinette?” She as
Amelia studied the files that she had asked for from Ann. She didn't look even one bit worried about the current situation of the company. She knew that whoever did this would be forced to reveal their trump card soon. For now, she could only wait.After going through the files she decided to do something else. When she researched about her husband, she only looked at the information concerning his name and business. If they were to live together, she should at least have ample information about him.Surfing the web, she discovered that there was no personal information about him except that he was Nathaniel Brooke and a rich businessman. No family photos, friends, or friendly gatherings of any sort.Well, she was not surprised. A man of his nature would want to keep his personal information away from the public.Since she was done for the day, she decided to go shopping. She also remembered that she needed to redecorate her home now. Well, she could call the decor company after shopp
Amelia got home tired from her exchange with Edward. She had never met anyone as brazen as him. She made a note to ask Nathaniel later.Bringing out her phone from her bag. She decided to select a home decor style. She didn't want to wake up in such a creepy house. After browsing for a while, she finally found the one that was acceptable to her eyes and called the decor company to come set it up.The decor company was fast and efficient in doing their job, some hours later. The house was fitted to her taste. Feeling energetic from the bright colors in the room she decided to cook a meal. It wasn't stated in her contract, but she could at least do this for her husband.Nathaniel came home to the smell of homemade food. He was surprised as he never thought that Amelia could cook. He had this notion that businesswomen did not know how to handle housewife duties.He quietly entered the room and showered without alerting her. He came down to the dining room when he was done showering to me
Over the next few days. The company’s stocks continued to drop drastically. Even the press was not helping matters as the news article was voraciously published widely all over the country. It seemed that the person behind this was fanning the flames to force her to step down.The executives of the company had all requested to have a meeting with her over this situation but Amelia had rejected all of them. She remained unbothered as she knew that the person would soon be forced to make a move.Today, she was going to choose a new head for the design department. Out of the two candidates she had considered earlier, one of them showed more aptitude for leadership. And she had even found out that most of the designs in the company were actually his work that the credit had been taken over by the former head.Amelia arrived at the office at eight o'clock that morning and as usual her routine, she went to check on a department in the company. Unlike the other day when she had gone round the
Amelia's eyes narrowed on seeing the news. She had already done a background check on the company and she was sure that the designs for the jewelry did not infringe any copyright laws.The other executives quickly spoke up. “Hurry up and step down from the chairman position. Don't you see that the company is going to tear apart?Amelia gripped her hand on the mug until it had a dent in it. She would never allow the company her mother suffered to build to go down. Never!She shot a cold look across the executives and they all kept quiet as they were terrified. They wondered how a young lady could look so terrifying, but that would not stop them from achieving their aim.Amelia chuckled and said “So tell me now, how would stepping down from the chairman position help solve the current crisis that we are facing? Except one of you is responsible and is seeking to use this opportunity to take over the company?”“What are you saying?” They all chorused. “We are only trying to help you. Be q
After passing out from drinking too much at her bachelorette party, Amelia’s fiancé picked her up and brought her home to their apartment. After a long while, she forced open her eyes, holding back an excruciating headache. As her vision cleared she could make out the figure of a man and a woman kissing passionately in the dimly lit room.Amelia stifled a scream as she saw the scene before her. Her fiancé whom she was supposed to get married to tomorrow was in bed with her best friend Jenna.Like being struck by lightning, Amelia looked at the two in shock as they continued to kiss brazenly by her bedside. The anger inside her began to boil.“Jenny, let's take this somewhere else, Amelia only just fell asleep!" the man said as he pinned the woman down by her waist.“We've been together for the past three years, don't tell me you're afraid of your fiancé finding out about us now?" Jenna responded in an annoyed tone, "You are getting married tomorrow. Why don't you forget about everythi