Eva's POVI look furious at the two people who were supposed to be my best friends. I cannot believe that I have betrayed myself for somebody like Norma. They always took my side. I was like a sister to him. Connor and I have been dating for a few years, and I thought we would get married. But then I decided I didn't want to get married. And that is why I broke up with Connor. I like to become something on my own. I like to show the world that I do not need a man to be happy. I can reach out and show everybody I am worthy of this bursary. I do not care that my parents gave me money, and I do not care that people think that I should give back the bursary for poorer people to use. Why should I? I have deserved it. I have worked hard for it, as I did not know if my parents would give me money to go and study further. Besides, who are they to judge me? Jimmy took his scholarship. We all know that Connor's mother and father would have paid Jimmy if he had not gotten a scholarship. "Well,
Connor's POVI want to find out what Norma's story is. Why is she working in the diner? And is Eva even telling us the truth? Eva has been very jealous of Norma ever since we started going to school. I think Eva did not care about Norma's parents, but she did not like that Norma won many beauty pageants. I know a lot of women are very jealous of women who are beautiful and when beauty pageants or become models or something like that. I constantly criticize those people who are attractive. I think it is human nature to be jealous of the most beautiful people around you. I always felt that Norma thought she was better than us. She never invited us to her birthday parties or her house. Now I wonder if it is because she was ashamed of her parents. Perhaps she didn't want us to see how her parents treated her. Maybe she didn't even like participating in beauty pageants. I remember that she always had to look like a doll when she was a little girl. When she was older, she always had to loo
Norma's POV"That guy cannot keep his eyes off you. Who is he? He looks very familiar, but I cannot place him," Cassie asks me. "Who are you talking about?" I ask. "The one who gave you that big tip," Cassie says. "Oh, that is Connor Stone. His mother is a lawyer, Belinda Stone, and his father is, Chase Stone. We went to school together," I say. I have not told anyone that I am the daughter of Mike and Rita Peterson. Everybody knows that my father is wealthy. My mother is a socialite who never worked a day in her life, and she blames me for ruining her body. "So you must have gone to a very prestigious school. What are you doing in a diner like this? Your parents must be very wealthy," Jennie says. She is also one of the servants but is not always friendly. "They are, but my mother is the most prominent socialite in town and wanted me to live her dream. Since I was a little girl, I had to participate in all the beauty pageants there. When I finished school, I decided not to parta
Connor's POVI have not talked to Norma like I wanted to. I didn't have a chance as she was busy all night. I will go every night until there is a slow night to sit down and talk to her. I want to know what happened between her and her parents. I know Norma does not usually talk about herself, but she has found a new freedom and is not shy anymore. Perhaps she was ashamed of her parents like we all thought. I never understood the situation in her house, as we never really cared. We were all worried about Eva because we felt she was being bullied. We never saw Eva's other side until later on. She would go out of her way to humiliate Norma. Even when Norma was sitting alone, Eva would ask her if she had no friends. It felt like Eva was enjoying every moment of Norma's misery. That is all in the past now. I am no longer friends with Eva because she made it clear that she has changed and does not need us anymore. I saw the disappointment on her face when Jimmy told her he decided to take
Connor's POVI don't know if I should be happy or scared to talk to Norma. She has changed a lot. I do not know if she will open up to me because I have always been nasty. But I hope she will open up and tell me why she is working here and not staying with her parents anymore. It seems like she can use all the friends that she can get. Her parents have always been strict with her, but I always thought they loved her. Why would they allow their daughter to work in a diner if they loved her? I know my mother has been friends with her mother, but they were not close. They just moved in the same circles. Her mother always tried to make friends with my mother, but my mother is not somebody who just made friends with anyone. She has to trust them before she makes friends. My mother is very funny in that way. She has a very few close friends. I know she had a lot of issues growing up with a father like hers. I've never met my grandfather, and I am not planning on meeting him. According to me
Connor's POVAs a week passes, we get busy at the university and work late at night as my father does not take it easy on Jimmy and me. It means we cannot go to the diner as often as I like. I cannot forget Norma. I do not know what it is about her that always reminds me of her. She has truly changed. She looks happy and smiles a lot. Something that she hardly did in school. Am I falling in love with her? Jimmy and Cassie have been seeing each other a lot lately. Cassie's real name is Cassandra. They are dating, and I am happy for Jimmy. I always thought he had a thing for Eva, but Eva was my girlfriend, and Jimmy would never do anything to hurt me. I do not know how to get Norma out of my mind because I do not know if we will be compatible. Jimmy thinks that I should give it a try."Do you think that Norma and I will make the perfect couple? What if she is just as evil as Eva, but she hides it better? You know, Eva has disappointed me a lot. I always thought we would be friends until
Norma's POVI am very nervous about going out with Connor tonight. I have loved him for a long time, but I did not dare to tell him because he did not like me in school. I'm afraid this is just a setup, and he will try to make a fool of me. I am not the easiest person to get along with in school. I was unhappy at home, so I wanted to take it out on innocent people at school, and it was wrong of me. I never liked to be a bully. I never wanted anybody to think of me the way I thought of my mother. But I had to protect myself from people always wanting to hurt me. Sometimes, I pretended to look down on people, but it was not because I wanted to. It was because I was hurting so much insight that I couldn't help myself being nasty to other people. Besides, back then, I was only a child. The older I got, the more I understood that I could not vent my frustrations on others. The hurt I was feeling inside of me. I could not inflict on other people. I know it wasn't very good of me. What could
Connor's POVI am slightly nervous about tonight. I think I like Norma, and I would want us to become good friends. I first want to get to know her before entering a relationship. I like her more than just a friend. I am just casually in jeans and a T-shirt. She takes me to this little Italian place around the corner from where she works. I love pizzas, and I'm glad she knows that because I always order pizzas when I go to the diner. I cannot believe that somebody so beautiful does not have a boyfriend. She looks like a superstar or model, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Norma has a natural beauty. I don't know why her mother always thought she needed so much makeup and the hairdo did not fit her. We walked into the little pizza place, and I could see why she loved it. It is casual, and it is very Italian. The pizzas are Italian. The beats look delicious, but so do all the various pasta dishes. I am torn between the two. We did not know what to order, so we asked the server to bring us
Belinda's POVToday is the day of my children's wedding. I cannot believe my son and daughter are getting married on the same day. I am very proud of them, as they chose perfect partners that fit them. I could not be more proud of my children. My life has gone a full circle. I got my sweet revenge on the people that killed my mother. I gained his sister and a lovely husband. I have two wonderful children and could not ask for anything more. Well, maybe a grandchild or two. Chase will be walking in both brides since Norma does not want anything to do with her family. I cannot blame her. Besides, Norma has become like a second daughter to my husband and me. I cannot believe that time has gone by so fast. It felt like yesterday when Chase was discovered to Connor and me. I am glad that he did, though. I am pleased that he is my husband. He makes me very happy.Although we are older now, he is still a handsome man. Many younger women still look at him. He makes me proud. Our love for each
Baron's POVI am going to ask Bella to marry me. I wait until she is at her classes, then see her family. I am waiting until all of them are together. I want all of them to know that I like to marry Bella. And I'm going to ask all of them for their permission. I also like to tell Connor to be my best man. I know Bella would want Norma to be her maid of honor. I requested a meeting with all of them. Everybody is there when I get to Chase's office, even Norma. I have asked her also to be there. I do not want anybody to feel left out.I'm glad I did it because I can see that Norma also appreciates me taking her to a family meeting. But I was very nervous when I walked in. I know this is their only daughter, and I will have to promise him that I will never cheat on her and that I will look after her like she is my only princess. And I know she is. She's the woman I want to love for the rest of my life. I can never think about my life without her. I cannot believe I am the same man who tho
Baron's POVAfter we left the boardroom, I instructed my guards to remove my family. I don't want to see them again. I don't have any feelings towards them. We went to my office, and Bella took out the picnic basket. I do not know how she knew that I would need this today. However, I don't care about my family anymore. It was so hard for me. She's an angel in disguise. As the officer close behind me, I walk over to her, and I kiss her like I've never kissed her before. All the passion I feel for her is in my kiss. I thought you would push me away, but she kissed me back instead. Does it mean she feels the same way about me as I feel about her? I hope so because I have created all these feelings about her. I know that I love her. I can't believe that I fell in love with Bella Stone. I never believed in love, but now I do, all because of this little woman in my arms. "I love you, Bella. I mean it this time. I'm not saying it to impress anybody, but I'm telling you the truth. I do love
Baron's POVI knew I would hear from my family again. It did not take my sister-in-law long to find my office. I thought my brother, mother, or father would be the first to show up. But no, the first one to walk into my office is Sharon. She never had a good taste in clothes. I always thought that she was a little bit cheap. I don't know what she is doing in my office, but I do not want her here. I know Sharon is up to no good."Hello, stranger. It has been a long time since we have seen you. I do not know why you were hiding from us. Were you afraid that you still had feelings for me? I should have never married that useless brother of yours. He has heard me so often that I cannot even talk about it. My heart is broken. Your brother does not care about me. He only cares about the whore he sleeps with every night while I am all alone at home. My heart can't stand it anymore. I am heartbroken. Baron, I should have never left you. I know that you would never have been like him. Besides,
Rita Peterson's POVI look at my husband, Mike. I did not think that our child would get anywhere without us. He also seems like he cannot believe what he just heard. We have to keep up our appearances in front of our friends. So Norma made it big, and she did not even tell us. She would not have come anywhere if it weren't for me and her father. If I didn't push her to go to beauty contests and become a beauty queen, she would not have gone into fashion. She owes us, she owes us big time. I never thought that she was the owner of Myst. I felt she was only a waitress, so I never wanted to see her again. She threw away the career I was planning for her to become a waitress. I will go and see her tomorrow at her office. I know where the boutique is. I never went there because I could not afford their dresses. The least we can do is dress her mother.We pretended to be friendly all night and saw her and Connor Stone leaving before our party. After the party was over, my husband and I wen
Norma's POVI love Connor. I cannot believe I am so happy to have found him when I needed him the most. Good night. We are going to go out to a fancy restaurant. I have got my confidence back. I do not even care if we run into my parents. If that's something to say, I don't care. I am in love, and I am successful. It is more I can say about them. My mother is still the socialite, and my father has to work his ass off to stay with her expensive lifestyle. Since I am their only child, they don't have an heir. I don't care what is happening to them. I don't want the money. I want nothing of them. Connor is not happy about the fact that his sister is seeing Baron Maxwell. I told him to leave her alone because it was her choice. Perhaps his family should meet him. I have decided to wear a beautiful white dress tonight. I know that Connor loves me more in white. He loves it when I wear a white dress. And tonight we are going to go to the Hilton. It is a plain reason it doesn't look like a
Baron's POVWalking into the restaurant, I saw my family sitting at the table. I did not expect them to be there because I did not expect them to be at the expensive restaurant while they were in so much financial trouble. They have not seen me yet. We walked in and were taken to the table I had reserved. "Her parents and brother are here with his wife. Are you sure you want to eat here tonight, or should we go elsewhere? I know how you feel about your mother and, father and brother. I wouldn't say I like it to be an uncomfortable night for you. I understand how they treated you, and I do not believe they deserve to see you anymore. Besides, I feel they will come and look for trouble with you. I wait a second. I have a plan. I'm always wearing my great-grandmother's ring on my finger. I will put it on my engagement finger, so if they come and look for trouble with you, we will pretend that we are engaged. I know it is not ideal, but at least it will give them something else to think
Bella's POVSo Baron wants a fancy date. I can wear fancy dresses if I have to. I have a few in my closet. I do not know why I like to impress him so much. I am not even supposed to worry about what he thinks. I cannot allow myself to fall in love with a man who does not believe in love. In a way, I get into a beautiful blue dress. It fits my body perfectly. It also has a long slit on the one leg. I wonder where he is going to take me. Why couldn't he wait until our regular Friday night dates? Is he missing me as much as I miss him? What do I do? I know I look beautiful in a plain dress. I only put on silver accessories because I love silver more than gold. I am dressed to impress but not too much. I like to keep it plain and simple. I am not the one for shiny dresses. I am not like other girls. My dress is classy and slightly revealing, but not too much. I am not here to impress a man. I am here to show myself that I can withstand a man who thinks all women want him for his money. I
Baron's POVAm I in love? To be honest, I do not know. I only know that I miss Bella when I'm not with her. Her family doesn't like me very much because we are always competitive. A father and her brother are not in the same business as me, but they still want to buy prime properties. I do not think that I am welcome in their house. I guess I will be more popular now, building around the diner. It took my architecture and engineers a while to figure out how. I've come up with a solution, and I won't even ask what they are doing, as that is not my problem. I am a trained architect and engineer with plenty of time to study with my parents. Just keep me away from America as long as they can. So, I continued studying while running my new business in Europe. However, I am not into that part of the business anymore. In the beginning, I loved it. But now I want more time for myself. I like the business side of it, and I like to see how my family and their business are crumbling. I know I ca