Lydia, who was too dumb to notice something was amiss, went on and on with her verbosity.Finally, a woman could not take it anymore and shouted at her.“Even if she did all those things, what right do you have to berate her?”Lydia, who had been waiting for this question, exclaimed.“Of course! I do. She used to be a servant at my home.” Lydia said. The smugness in her voice was hard to miss.That created an uproar.“How can the legendary founder of L&L Design be a servant?”“She said she was in Kings High. How can a servant be qualified to study in Kings High?”“Who is this woman spewing nonsense?”“She looks like a cheap woman, while Mrs. Liliana exudes the aura of nobility. One should at least make a believable lie.”“Yeah, she is a jealous bitch spewing nonsense.”“Oh, that’s Lydia Aprice. She has been trying to bang President Smith for years already. The Aprices sure are shameless.”“I had heard that she is President Aprice’s second wife’s daughter. Like mother, like daughter.”
The crowd burst into laughter. Mrs. Liliana was the queen of sarcasm. Lydia was about to vomit blood hearing Liliana’s words. That was what she had always hated about her - that sense of superiority and the aura. Even when they had forced her to act as the servant at the Aprice Mansion when she was a child, Liliana had quietly gone about her job like she owned the place. Lydia hated her to the core. She could not wait to tear her to pieces. “You bitch, how dare you?” She exclaimed and made her way towards Liliana. “Miss Aprice, stop it!” Terry Draw stopped Lydia in her tracks. Most people in business knew Terry as he was an elite employee hired by the Smith Group with generous rewards. After being appointed, he became the manager of the Central Mall in a few short years. He had achieved everything on his own merits without any background help. Big bosses admired him and wanted to poach him, but Terry had shown excellent strength of character and wisdom by depicting loyalty an
Terry walked up to Liliana and bowed deeply to her. His action stunned everyone into silence. Terry had a reputation for having a backbone. Otherwise, others would have poached him already. He straightened his back and did not wait for Liliana to speak as he continued. “I can personally attest to the character of Mrs. Liliana. She is my benefactor.” “She gave me her King's High scholarship because she was rich enough to pay for her tuition. She is also the one who gave me relevant materials to prepare for entrance to Kings High after I had passed her tests." The crowd was in an uproar. 'She got a scholarship in Kings High and gave it away.' Both things were inconceivable to everyone. Terry continued, ignoring the murmurs. "After I entered Kings High, she directed me to use the alumni network to secure a scholarship abroad which was extremely generous. Since Kings High is ultimately a high school, she suggested I aim for a scholarship until post-graduation to secure my future.
While everyone was sighing in admiration for Liliana, the two women were utterly embarrassed. Vivian could not have imagined she could get humiliated further after her fall and be isolated like she was. Not to mention the cuts hurt so much. People had always admired her and looked up to her for her academic qualifications - both for the Kings High alumnus and for her prestigious degree from abroad. But Liliana hogged all the attention away from her in one fell swoop. While Vivian had never even heard of the Kings High scholarship, Liliana had not only qualified for it throughout her time at Kings High but also sponsored other students using it. With one kick, she cemented her position as someone with both intelligence and money. Everyone was talking about how wonderful a person Liliana was, and they had thoroughly ignored Vivian. Even when they looked at her, it was a gaze full of pity or loathing. Similar to Vivian, Lydia also felt humiliated. That fatal blow was hard to accep
Terry smiled helplessly. Liliana had always been cheeky. “I knew it was the right number.” He teased her back. “You only give wrong numbers to your pursuers. I am not one of them.” Liliana rolled her eyes at him. He looked around and added, “I just wanted to make sure people don’t gossip behind your back that you just put on a show to make yourself look humble while secretly disdaining poor people like me.” Liliana chuckled, “As expected of the Kings High alumni, of course.” Terry smiled as he said, “I will excuse myself, Lil. Let me buy you some tender coconut water someday. It was my childhood dream which you ruined by talking sense into me.” Jennifer piped in, “Why would she ruin your dream?” Terry looked at her and answered truthfully. “I come from a very humble family. We barely managed our daily needs and had no money for insurance, education, or healthcare. I grew up thinking my dream of attending a school would be just that. When Lil made my dreams come true, I wanted
Liliana ignored everyone and tilted her head to look at the police officers who had just entered the venue. Vincent was whispering something to them.She guessed he was probably informing them that Aprices were not on the guest list.“Right on time!” She said softly.Lydia had come to her senses in the meantime and rushed to her to topple her to the ground.Just as Lydia was about to reach her, Liliana sidestepped in the nick of time.Jonathan held Liliana close as Lydia fell to the ground.The crowd burst into peals of laughter.Lydia was not reconciled and cried, “Daddy!”Lester Aprice had wanted to keep a low profile. But he could not leave his daughter in the dumps.He had doted on Lydia for so many years that giving her the best of everything and helping her out had become quite an instinct.“How dare you hurt my daughter?” He roared at Liliana, “You insolent brat! Kneel and apologize to Lydia now!”Liliana felt absolutely nothing. It was precisely how they had parted ways seven
Lester was enraged and was about to slap Liliana in the face and show her rightful place.But the police approached them, and he held back his impulse.It would not do well to create a scene in front of authorities and half of the upper class.Both Lester and Lydia were blissfully unaware that both the authorities and anyone worth something in the upper class had already pegged them for the uncultured aggressive opportunists that they were, and they would steer clear of them as much as possible.The police came, and Liliana answered their questions.The police then secured the perimeter, and Henry treated Vivian’s wounds after the police cleared her for the same.“You are that bitch’s friend. Who knows if you are working with her?” Vivian exclaimed.Her plan had not worked as expected, and she had a sinking feeling that she would get exposed. Hence she wanted to discredit people around Liliana to leave herself some room for maneuver.But plans made in desperation are never the wisest
When Henry was treating Vivian’s wounds, some police officers were busy checking all the surveillance cameras.They came and inspected the venue and called another team to gather fingerprints.After an arduous hour, the evidence was conclusive.“Miss Stone, please come with us to the police station.” The officer said.“Officer, since I am injured, can I file the lawsuit from here or send my lawyer for the same? Do I need to go there personally?” Vivian was smug about her victory.“Miss Stone, you are being apprehended as the prime suspect for sabotaging this event.” He explained to her clearly.Vivian was so shocked that she stood up abruptly and hurt her wounds.“Ah!” She exclaimed.Trying to regain her composure, she asked.“I am the victim here. I am the one who got hurt. How can you arrest me and not her? She is the organizer. She should be responsible. Or did she perhaps bribe you?” She asked, annoyed.Some people echoed her thoughts.“Yes, she is the victim here.”“Maybe the Smi
Liam finished his narrative and went close to Kyle.He knelt beside his half-brother and said, “Kyle, you are my brother by blood. But in my heart, you have always been my son.”“I will do anything and everything for you. Not because I feel obligated or you were a responsibility thrust onto me, or because my mother ruined your mother’s life. But because I love you from the bottom of my heart. If anything happens to you, I will lose my mind.”“What happened to previous generations is their karma and their lives. What we do defines our life and our karma.”“You are my son and will remain so until you return to P City Military as the Colonel. Until then, you mustn’t tell anyone about it.”“I never told you about your mother because I have immense respect and compassion for her. I did not want to lie to you or gloss over her story. I wanted to tell you when you are older, so you can appreciate her sacrifices.”“Nevertheless, you will always be my son and my highest priority. I love you so
Liam took a while before he braced himself for the next part.“My mother thought my father was cheating on her with Aunty Keira.”“My father kept everything about Aunty Keira a secret because he hadn’t identified all the people on the inside who worked for him. So for her safety, he dealt with everything directly. He had created a fake ID and passport for her for an emergency. If she ran into any trouble, or if he died, then she could flee and settle down abroad.”“My mother thought he was planning to elope with her. She went after him when he had sneaked out, and she took photos. The next day, she posted all those photos in the newspaper calling Aunty Keira a bad person for flirting with a married army man and ruining a military marriage.”“Naturally, everyone found out, and the bad people captured and bullied Aunt Keira.”“The plan was almost complete. As per military protocols, my father had to prioritize the mission. My father had the last bits of information in place. So he hasti
Liliana began when Liam stalled for time.“Kyle, your mother comes from a long line of military spies. You know what a spy is, right?”Kyle nodded.“Traditionally, only men are sent as spies because women are physically more vulnerable and comparatively more emotional. However, during your mother’s time, there was a very powerful mafia in Z city. He was extending his terror in P city. He had bribed and coerced many people at higher positions - so he would not get caught. Someone inside the Military betrayed us, and he found our spies.”Liam added, “He killed 25 of our most trained and skilled spies within a week. It left the P City Military in a very vulnerable position. My father was the Army Commander at that time. My Grandfather was in a higher position, and the mafia approached my grandfather for something. When he refused, he killed him.”“Among the 25 spies, three were from your mother’s family. Apart from them, almost 100 people from the force - Police and Military - lost their
Liliana walked up to them and hugged them.She checked them from head to toe, much to the boy’s embarrassment. When she was satisfied that they were unharmed, she spanked them.Li looked at his mother incredulously, but she glared back at him.“How dare you run away? Didn’t you know the address of your home? If you encounter something you can’t handle, you come to me. Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?”“Look at how filthy you have become! Is this how you plan to set an example for your siblings?”Kyle hugged her and sobbed, “I am sorry, Mommy.”Li did the same, and Liliana hugged the two children close.Liliana exclaimed, “Ah! It reminds me of when we had just returned to P city. Jo - that traitor, left me for her father. I had the two of you to hug.”She led them to the ensuite bathroom and asked them to clean up. She sat them down and asked them to drink water and eat the pies she had made that afternoon.After the kids were well-fed and hydrated, she sat on the couch with
One day after the divorce, Mariana took the twins to see grandma Preston.Kyle was supposed to leave with her but changed the plans last minute when Nathaniel called, saying he had something to discuss with Kyle.On the other hand, James had taken Jacob’s twins out with him.Jacob did not realize that Kyle and Nathaniel were at home.He turned on Netflix and beer and enjoyed the rare me-time.Liam unexpectedly came back, and upon gathering that they were alone at home, they locked the doors and windows and started making out.Their time together was always short. They had to act like they were just friends.It was tiring, and Liam always felt sorry for Jacob. The man had left everything and followed him to P City, but he kept him away like a dirty secret.Their noise had attracted the two kids who were deep in discussion in Kyle’s room. They thought it was a thief and tiptoed to find him.Unexpectedly, they witnessed something not appropriate for their age.They hid behind the curtain
Liliana, Jonathan, and all their friends lived a non-gossipy, uneventful life in the next few years.Jennifer got married to Junior Doctor Cox.Jacob’s company got listed.Leonardo stabilized his business and left to complete his studies.Vincent and Alice McDraw tied the knot.Henry had a whirlwind romance with a difficult patient, and they ended up in a shotgun wedding.Henry collaborated with his cousin Amelia to perform some of the miraculous medical feats which brought the Qazi family to the forefront of the Medical industry as they had been for generations. Terry Draw ended up with his assistant’s sister. Surprisingly, that was the most challenging match as his assistant accused him of betraying him. He took a long time to accept the truth.Terry completed the Green Field orphanage within the stipulated time. His achievements were widely renowned, and he ended up as the spokesperson for Green Living.He would go on to collaborate with several charities and manage most of the no
James remained unperturbed and laughed.He added when he had calmed down.“Jacob said he kissed Mariana and realized that he was gay.”Jonathan was speechless. He hadn’t expected that twist.James ignored his friend’s expressions and slurred, “He said they were best friends and sort of dating. But the vibe between them was closer to cousins than lovers. When they kissed, he realized how much he never wanted to kiss any girl in his life ever again.”Jonathan had to stifle his laugh.‘Good for Jacob!’‘Poor Mariana lost her first kiss like that. Tch! Tch!’James continued his ramble.“Then they became even closer. Which may have been why Mariana never dated anyone.”Jonathan thought about it and added, “Makes sense! She wouldn’t have needed to look for a relationship, and others would have assumed she wasn’t available.”James continued, “Jacob once took her horse riding. She fell and had a fracture. Her hymen tore when she fell. Then I slept with her and shouted at her for making a fuss
The next four months went by uneventfully, except for Liam being missing for that long and the Preston family members trying and failing to get any benefits from Mariana.Finally, a series of good news came one after the other.Liliana was pregnant. The couple had wanted to keep it a secret until the first trimester ended well. Then when the doctor confirmed everything was alright, they made the big announcement to their friends and family members.Liam came back after completing two different massive projects.He had ended Bronsson Mcclory’s illegal business completely and had apprehended him.Jeffery Cruise kept Mcclory in strict custody until the courts sentenced him to life imprisonment. Then he was sent to a high-security prison that held long-term inmates.Mcclory’s entire business, all networks, all partners and associates, clientele - the police had nabbed all of them.Consequently, Liam worked with several different authorities to arrest everyone from the criminal underground
Jonathan and Liliana stopped talking and embraced each other while lying quietly on the bed.Jonathan was about to drift asleep when Liliana spoke.“Do you still want to have another child?”He was stunned and sat up immediately.“What do you mean?”She turned around and asked, “Well, you never brought it up since we talked about it half a year ago.”He couldn’t understand what she was getting at. He asked, “So?”She mumbled, “I just think it is the right time, and maybe we should try. I will turn thirty soon, and it might cause complications.”He asked, “I still don’t know what you are trying to say.”She rolled her eyes and asked, “I want to know if you still want another child. It’s been half a year since we started living together. What do you think? Are you ready? Do you think having Li and Jo is enough?”He lay down and turned her towards him.“This half a year is the best half year of my life. I love you very much and would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Jo and Li