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Chapter 22
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2025-04-15 21:37:16
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My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 23
Cassie stood at the edge of the Turner-Langston rooftop garden, a soft breeze brushing her face as the sun dipped behind the skyline. The city lights began to flicker to life, just like the thoughts spinning in her head.Behind her, a celebration was in full swing one of the foundation’s largest events yet, raising millions for their global mentorship initiative. But for the first time in years, Cassie felt something shifting beneath the surface of her peace.Hope was now seventeen, leading youth projects around the country. Ethan, twelve and already coding his own mini apps, had just been invited to attend a tech conference for prodigies in Switzerland. And Damon… well, he was still her rock, always the calm in any storm.But Cassie couldn’t ignore the feeling building inside her.Something was calling her forward again beyond comfort. Beyond success.She heard footsteps behind her.“Thought I’d find you up here,” Damon said, stepping beside her with two glasses of wine.Cassie accep
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-16My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 24
The Turner home buzzed with energy. It was the night before Hope’s college send-off, and the living room looked like a cross between a travel agency, a bookstore, and an emotional battlefield.Suitcases sat open, clothes folded with military precision. Hope’s vision board leaned against the wall photos of international literacy events, poetry readings, and the UN logo in the center. On the kitchen island, boxes of Hope’s favorite snacks were stacked beside custom stationery and a framed photo of the entire family.Cassie watched from the hallway, her chest tight with pride and ache.“She’s really going,” she whispered.Damon came up beside her, resting a comforting hand on her back. “She’s not leaving us. She’s just beginning the next part of her story.”Cassie nodded, but her eyes lingered on her daughter.Hope stood in the center of it all, giving last-minute instructions to Ethan about taking care of her bookshelf while she was away. “And no touching my journals, Ethan. Seriously.”
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-16My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 25
The London rain tapped softly against the café windows, a rhythmic hush that seemed to slow the world outside. Cassie sat at a corner table in a warm sweater, a worn leather notebook in front of her, tea steaming gently beside her.She hadn’t planned this trip.Hope had called unexpectedly the week before, voice calm but urgent. “Mom,” she’d said, “there’s something I want to show you. But you need to see it in person.”Cassie didn’t ask questions. She booked her flight that night.Now, here she was watching through the misted window as Hope crossed the street, hair tucked into a bun, umbrella swinging casually by her side.“Still hate the rain?” Hope asked, grinning as she slid into the seat across from her.“Still pretending you like it,” Cassie teased back.Hope laughed, pulled a USB drive from her coat pocket, and placed it on the table.“What’s this?”“My next step,” Hope said. “Something big. Bigger than I’ve ever done. And I need your help.”Cassie raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-17My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 26
Cassie stepped into the new Turner Learning & Innovation Center in downtown Atlanta, and her breath caught in her throat.Sunlight spilled through tall glass windows, bouncing off colorful murals on the walls each one painted by local students, depicting dreams of flying books, coding robots, and future cityscapes powered by clean energy.This was it.Her next chapter.The center buzzed with the voices of volunteers preparing for the grand opening. Outside, reporters gathered, curious onlookers peered through the windows, and city officials arrived for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.Cassie adjusted the mic pinned to her blazer and took a slow breath.“You’re on in five,” said the event coordinator, handing her a program.Cassie nodded, turning to glance at the people gathering behind her: Hope, standing tall in a soft pink pantsuit, her UN badge clipped to her lapel. Ethan, now fourteen, in black jeans and a T-shirt that read “Built to Build.” Damon, of course, stood beside them, in his
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-17My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 27
The sun peeked over the horizon as Cassie stood on the balcony of their coastal home in Cape Town, South Africa, a place they had grown to love during her recent expansion of The Turning Point initiative. The ocean shimmered, the air smelled of salt and jasmine, and for a rare moment, the world was quiet.Inside, the house buzzed with subtle motion.Hope was visiting for a break from her latest project in the Middle East. Her documentary, Peace by Page, was in post-production and already generating media buzz. Ethan, now fifteen, was halfway through launching the second version of Sprout, and he’d brought along three international teen innovators to join him for the summer. The bright-eyed, passionate kids who reminded Cassie of her own children years ago.And Damon?Well, Damon had just returned from a panel on family enterprise building in Abu Dhabi, and he was currently in the kitchen cooking pancakes with a questionable jazz playlist humming in the background.Cassie smiled at her
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-18My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 28
It started with a letter.Cassie found it tucked between the pages of a book in her library, her own book, Unwritten Pages, the second edition. She flipped it open absentmindedly, expecting her own notes, but instead… there it was.A pale envelope, her name written in familiar, steady cursive: Cassandra.Her hands trembled slightly as she opened them.My dearest daughter,If you’re reading this, it means I’ve run out of time to say what I should have said long ago.There are things I never told you. Not out of pride. Out of fear. And that fear kept me from knowing you in the way you deserved.But the legacy you’re building? It’s everything I hoped mine could have been if I had chosen love sooner.This final gift isn’t just money. It’s space. It’s forgiveness. It’s a garden I never had the courage to plant, but one I hope you’ll walk through.I love you, Cassie. Always did. I was just too broken to say it.— Dad.Cassie read it twice, then folded it gently, pressing it into her chest.
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-19My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 29
The invitation came in a sleek white envelope embossed with gold, simple, elegant, powerful.Hope found it on her desk after returning from a field trip to Nairobi. She turned it over, instantly recognizing the crest on the wax seal.It was from the International Peace Assembly.Inside, a formal letter invited her to speak again not as a youth delegate, but as a featured keynote speaker. The theme?"Bridges Beyond Borders: Building Peace Through Story."But there was more.The event was to be held in Amman, Jordan. And it wasn’t just a speech they were requesting. They wanted her to lead a panel, mentor young leaders, and co-host a private dinner for global policymakers.Hope folded the letter carefully and sat back in her chair.She wasn’t nervous.She was ready.Back in Atlanta, Cassie was tending to her small garden in the courtyard, an intentional decision after years of travel and fast-paced legacy work. The garden had become her quiet space, the one place where things didn’t nee
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-19My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 30
The gentle scent of roses and jasmine filled the air as morning sunlight spilled over the cliffs of Tuscany, bathing the hilltop villa in a golden glow.Hope stood on the balcony of her bridal suite, staring at the view below. Olive trees swayed softly in the breeze, and guests-many of them peacebuilders, authors, educators, and global partners-were beginning to arrive. Everything was ready.Today was the day.She was getting married.Behind her, Cassie adjusted a delicate flower crown on her daughter’s head.“You look like your name,” she whispered. “Like hope.”Hope turned, her eyes glistening. “I used to imagine this day… but never like this.”Cassie smiled. “Neither did I. You’ve always surprised us.”Hope took her mother’s hands. “Thank you for making me believe love should be safe. That it could be a partnership, not a performance.”Cassie blinked back tears. “You made me believe it, too”. “Watching you… growing into the woman you are is my greatest joy.”There was a knock at th
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-19
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My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 39
The auditorium buzzed with quiet energy, the kind of stillness just before a storm of applause.Hope stood backstage, fingers wrapped tightly around a copy of her book. The Fire Within Her was embossed in copper across the black linen cover, the title catching light each time she shifted it in her hands.Tonight was the official launch.Her launch.Outside those velvet curtains sat over five hundred guests, authors, activists, educators, former Seed Center students, and friends from every corner of her journey. But Hope didn’t look for any of them.She looked for her family.Cassie and Damon sat in the front row, Grace between them with wide eyes and pink headphones for noise. Ayden stood just offstage with the twins, rocking them gently as music played over the speakers.Ethan and Liana had flown in that morning, hand-in-hand.Tonight wasn’t just a launch.It was a legacy echo.The host stepped forward to introduce her.“Please welcome the woman who taught a generation that peace is
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 38
The attic smelled like cedarwood and warm paper.Grace stood at the top of the steps, her small hand resting on the banister as she stared out over boxes stacked like time capsules and books that seemed older than the house itself.Cassie watched from behind as her granddaughter took in the quiet.“I used to come up here when I was your age,” she said softly. “Whenever I wanted to dream about things bigger than me.”Grace turned, her eyes wide. “Can I dream here too?”Cassie nodded. “That’s why I brought you.”It had started as a simple sleepover, Grace’s first solo weekend at Grandma and Grandpa’s without her sisters. But it had quickly turned into something more: a chance for the first-born girl of the next generation to discover her roots.Cassie reached for a dusty trunk and opened it.Inside were journals. Dozens of them.“Are these all yours?” Grace asked, peeking over the edge.Cassie smiled. “Mine. Your mom’s. Some of your uncle’s. Even letters from your great-grandfather.”Gr
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 37
The Turner estate was quiet in the soft light of late afternoon. A calm breeze drifted through the open windows, rustling the linen curtains and carrying the scent of rosemary and sunlight through the halls.Hope sat cross-legged on the library floor, a notebook open in her lap, pen hovering midair. Around her were scattered photographs candid shots of her childhood, scanned letters from her mother’s archives, quotes scribbled in the margins of Cassie’s old journals.She had begun to write.Not an article. Not a speech.A book.Her own.Cassie walked in quietly, holding two mugs of tea. She paused in the doorway, her eyes soft as she watched her daughter stare down at the blank page, the beginning of something personal, sacred.Hope glanced up and smiled. “Caught me in the act.”Cassie handed her a cup and lowered herself onto the carpet beside her.“Where are you starting?” she asked.Hope blew gently on the tea. “Not at the beginning. Not at the end either. Somewhere in the middle.
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 36
The Turner Estate shimmered with late summer light as the family prepared for something they’d never done before: a full multi-generational leadership summit.It was Hope’s idea.“We’ve spent years changing the world outside,” she’d said over dinner. “But it’s time we make sure we’re strengthening what’s inside, our family.”Cassie had smiled at the suggestion. “A summit sounds so formal.”“Because it is,” Hope replied, adjusting Grace’s napkin like a miniature blazer. “We’re not just a family anymore. We’re a living legacy.”Damon had clinked his glass. “Then let’s give the future something to build with.”The invitations went out to every branch of their family tree, cousins running nonprofits, in-laws leading classrooms, adopted mentees from Seed and Sprout, honorary aunties and uncles who’d shaped their journeys.They called it:“The We Build Summit.”Tagline: Where Legacy Becomes Community.Ethan designed the digital invites, embedding a custom map showing each attendee’s connect
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 35
The grand opening of The Turner Forge arrived on a crisp autumn morning, with golden leaves swirling across the Brooklyn skyline and a slow sunrise casting a warm glow on the city.Cassie stood outside the new campus building, a five-story structure of glass, reclaimed wood, and solar panels, watching the world arrive.Young leaders from fifty countries. Activists. Teachers. Parents. Journalists. Dreamers.And at the heart of it all… Ethan.Her son.Her legacy.Inside, everything buzzed with life.The lobby featured a timeline of the Turner family’s journey, from Cassie’s first journal entries to Hope’s Seed Center blueprints, to Damon’s strategy lectures, to Sprout’s first-ever code.The final wall featured a quote by Cassie:“Legacy is not a monument. It’s the fire we pass on.”Below the quote, an animated mural lit up as visitors walked past scenes of students coding, debating, creating, and leading.Cassie felt a hand slip into hers.Damon.“You okay?” he asked.She nodded, voice
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 34
The lakehouse was quiet.Set along the edge of Lake Oconee, the Turner family’s private retreat was a place they rarely visited, but always treasured. It had become a sanctuary for major family transitions, a place to reflect, reset, and reconnect.This weekend was one of those times.Cassie stood on the dock, her hands tucked into the pockets of her cream shawl as the breeze lifted her curls. Behind her, the house glowed with warm light and the quiet chatter of her grandchildren echoing through the windows.She smiled.Hope had brought the twins, now six months old and giggling at everything. Grace, now three, had already claimed a favorite reading nook by the window. Ayden was inside making tea. And Ethan, fresh from his eighteenth birthday and months of world travel, had asked for this weekend himself.He had something to share.Cassie watched as his silhouette appeared beside her, hoodie pulled over his head, his hands tucked deep into his jacket pockets.“You always find me out h
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 33
Rain whispered against the windows of the Turner family estate in Atlanta, a soft rhythm that echoed the warmth inside.Cassie sat curled on the couch, sipping ginger tea as she stared down at a tiny pair of baby booties, ivory with golden thread woven into the cuffs.She couldn’t stop smiling.Hope was pregnant again.And this time, she was having twins.It had been five months since the Rome ceremony, and life had moved like a dream, Grace growing fast and talking in full sentences, Ethan wrapping up his sabbatical with four more youth centers opened across Africa and Southeast Asia, and Cassie and Damon’s Legacy Institute gaining global traction after just one launch.Now, another new chapter was beginning.Hope had flown into Atlanta the night before for a routine appointment and decided to stay for a few weeks, nesting in her childhood home with Ayden and Grace.Cassie loved every second of it.“You’re glowing,” she told Hope that morning in the kitchen as she flipped pancakes.“
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 32
The early morning air in Nairobi was crisp and buzzing with energy.Ethan stepped out of the shuttle and onto the red soil of a refugee innovation hub, one of the first stops on his year-long sabbatical. At just seventeen, most kids were figuring out who they wanted to be.Ethan?He was building opportunities for people who didn’t even know his name, and that was exactly how he liked it.As he walked toward the learning pavilion, rows of young students looked up from their screens. Some were coding. Others design clean water solutions. Most were interacting with a custom interface he and his team had created: Sprout Light, a low-bandwidth, solar-powered platform that taught innovation through storytelling.A little girl ran up to him, grinning. “Are you the one who made the machine talk in Somali?”Ethan smiled. “I helped. But you’re the one making it do magic.”She giggled and dashed off.That moment, right there, was why he did it.Back in Atlanta, Cassie sat at her kitchen table, s
My Father's Rival Is My Lover Chapter 31
Cassie stood in the quiet of the nursery, her fingers gently brushing over the edge of the hand-carved crib. The walls were painted a soft olive green, and golden sunlight filtered through linen curtains. A mobile spun lazily overhead, tiny wooden doves fluttering in the soft breeze from the window.She could still hear Hope’s voice in her head.“Just a few more weeks, Mom. I’m feeling good. Nervous, but good.”Cassie had flown to Cape Town the moment Hope entered her third trimester. She wanted to be there, not as the global leader or bestselling author, but as a mother. And soon, a grandmother.She sat in the rocker beside the crib, soaking in the quiet.It wasn’t long before Damon appeared in the doorway, holding a cup of tea.“You’re already claiming the chair, huh?” he teased.Cassie smiled. “I’m preparing. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.”Damon handed her the tea and knelt in front of her. “You’ve already done all those things to everyone. Now it’s your time to receive.”She
