"Anabel, I’m trying to tell you this because I do care. Why won’t you just hear me out?" Desmond said. At this point, his frustration was beginning to show in his voice. "How on earth do you even think I will believe you? Listen, I don’t believe you. You never cared about me. You rejected me because you had what you think was a better option. Why should I trust you now?" "That’s not true." Desmond said. "You may not believe it, but everything I did was to try and do what I thought was best for me, which I was very wrong. I didn't do that because I hated you. The pressure was too much on me. I never hated you." "Thank God you said best for you." She shot back. "You divorced me, Desmond. You let me go like I didn’t matter. Someone who truly cared about me would never have done that. So you never even cared." "Anabel, I made mistakes. I won’t deny that. But this matter isn’t about our past. This is about what’s happening now. Sylvester isn’t who you think he is." "Enough, Mr. D
Bella was wandering through the bustling shopping mall, checking the sets of cooking gadgets. Her mother had sent her to buy a new blender. As she turned to the other side of the shopping mall, her eyes beheld a scene that stopped her dead in her tracks. She didn't believe what her eyes were seeing. There, laughing and chatting intimately near an expensive jewelry display, were Daniella and a man Bella didn’t recognize. She just wedded her brother a few days ago, and here she was, flirting with a guy. The guy was tall, well-dressed, and had his arm casually draped around Daniella’s shoulders as if they were lovers. Daniella leaned into him, her hand resting on his chest as she admired a sparkling diamond necklace in the glass case. The two looked far too comfortable, far too intimate, to be mistaken as mere acquaintances. Bella felt her heart boiling in anger. She knew that Daniella would not make a good wife, but it was too early to start. A pregnant wife, who should have bee
"What? That’s not possible. You guys just wed a few days ago. You are lying." "Oh, it’s very possible. I have served him with a divorce paper. Soon, we will meet in court, and he must sign." "Wait... I hope it's not what I'm thinking." "Maybe it's what you are thinking because I will be getting half of your brother's property. Yes, half of everything your dear Desmond owns. Isn’t it exciting?" She smiled at her. "You are lying. This can’t be true." At this moment, Bella's voice was barely above a whisper. Her heart began to race in fear. Daniella folded her arms and smirked. "Oh, it’s true, sweetheart. And you know what makes it even better? You helped me get here. You and your dear mother." She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial tone. "I couldn’t have done it without you." Bella blinked, completely lost. "What... what are you talking about?" Bella asked, and Daniella let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, sweet Bella. How soon we forget. Do you remember how
Bella stormed into the house with anger written all over her face. She could hardly wait to tell her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth, about her terrible encounter with her so-called daughter-in-law and her strange lover. "Mom! Mom! The worst has happened!" Bella called out as she kicked off her shoes and hurried into the living room.Her mother, who had been knitting in her favorite armchair, looked up in surprise. "Bella, what is it? Why are you yelling? Did you have a fight with someone?" Bella put the blender down on the floor and stood in front of her mother. "Mom, you won’t believe what I just saw today, not up to an hour ago." "What is that?" Her mom curiously asked as she stopped what she was doing. "I was going to buy the blender, and I saw Daniella." Bella answered. "Daniella? What happened? She got into a fight with you?" "No, not that. I saw her laughing and holding each other... it was so disgusting!" "What? What are you saying? Daniella... was with another man?" She asked.
"I forget to tell you. She said that Desmond is not responsible for her pregnancy." "This can't be true! Desmond is the father. She got pregnant while dating him. I'm sure of that." "I'm serious. Her boyfriend is the father of the baby. They planned and put it on Desmond so she could easily get into our family." Bella said, and her mother felt a sharp pain in her chest. The pregnancy was the main reason she made him divorce Anabel to marry her. Now, it looked as if she had lost everything. Anabel was a perfect daughter-in-law. She respects and takes care of her like her mother even when she treats her bad. "I made him divorce Anabel because I thought Daniella was pregnant for him. All this time, she was playing us... playing my son. How could I have been so blind? How could I have let this happen? Desmond must be very mad at me now." "What do we do now, Mom?" Bella leaned back. "How do we fix this? Daniella is going to take half of everything Desmond owns." Bella said, and
Desmond remained on the couch, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone while waiting for the cleaning service agent to arrive. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. He stood up and walked over to the door to answer it."Who is that?" He asked while holding the door handle."Grace. I'm here for house cleaning." A feminine voice answered. When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a young lady, who was probably in her mid-twenties. Her long, dark hair was tied back into a neat ponytail. She looked like a university student who was working part-time for the agency.For a moment, Desmond noticed her stare. Her gaze was flicking between his face and his athletic build. She hadn’t expected the client to look like that. Most of the houses she cleaned belonged to older people."Good morning, sir," she greeted. "I’m from Sparkling Solutions Cleaning Agency. My name is Grace.""Alright. You can come in." Desmond replied, stepping aside to let he
"Come with me." Desmond said, and she followed him. When they got to the kitchen, she was surprised to see how beautiful and well furnished it looked. It was the most furnished kitchen she had ever seen. "Use what can find and prepare a delicious meal. Don't burn down my house." He said and left. After checking the kitchen out, she began to rummage through the cabinets and fridge. Though the fridge was a little sparse, she managed to find enough ingredients to whip up a nice meal. She was giving all she had so she may have a chance of getting hired again. She has never cooked in that kind of kitchen. There were some gadgets she couldn't use. There are some she couldn't even tell what they were used for. She went on to use the ones she could use. When the food was ready, she plated it carefully and set it on the dining table. "Here you go. I hope it’s to your liking." Desmond sat down, took a bite and nodded his head. "This is really good. Thank you." "You’re welcome," Grace r
"Uh, who’s this?" Bella asked in surprise. "And what is she doing here with you?" Desmond's mother looked at Grace and then at Desmond, waiting for an explanation. Desmond didn't say anything. He was wondering what they were even doing in his house. Grace stepped aside, clutching her washing equipment. "Nothing, I’m just a cleaner. Mr. Desmond hired me to clean the house. I'm leaving now. Thank you again, Mr. Desmond." She gave a polite nod to Bella and Mrs. Elizabeth before stepping out the door. Mrs. Elizabeth continued to stare at her from the back, as if trying to gauge whether there was more to the story. As soon as the door closed, Desmond spoke up. "And what are you guys doing in my house? I didn't remember inviting two of you. What the hell are both of you doing in my house!" "We....we came to see you. We heard what happened." His mother answered. "Now that you have seen me, can you leave my house now?" "Oh, son. It hadn't gotten to that. I know we have wronged y
Desmond took a step back and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I’m sorry. I didn't mean to stalk you." He said quickly with an apologetic voice. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just... I wanted to say hi and talk with you.""Talk about what?" Anabel shot back with a sharp and unyielding voice. "What could we possibly have to talk about? What business do we have?" She asked, and Desmond hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "I saw you are coming from antenatal. So I just wanted to ask... how our baby is doing." He said softly, but Anabel’s expression hardened, and she crossed her arms over her chest."Point of correction." She said coldly, "My baby, not our baby. Don’t you dare talk as if I’m carrying your child. It’s not yours, Desmond. I left your house a barren woman, remember?" She added, and Desmond flinched at her words. "I’m sorry," he said again. This time, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I didn’t mean to upset you. I just... I care about you, Anabe
As Desmond eased the Rolls Royce out of the courthouse parking lot, the atmosphere inside the car was heavy with a mix of relief and lingering tension. His mother was sitting in the passenger seat, as she had her hands folded neatly in her lap. Bella, who was sitting in the backseat, was less restrained. She was still fuming from the encounter with Daniella. “I can’t believe her nerve.” Bella muttered, breaking the silence. “She thought she could walk in there and walk out with everything. I know she has concluded that in her mind. What a joke.” Desmond's mother tilted her head slightly and added, “Some people think they can take shortcuts in life, Bella. But as we saw today, justice doesn’t favor schemes and greed. She will regret ever crossing us.” Desmond glanced in the rearview mirror at Bella. “Can we stop talking about her? Just let it go. It’s over now.” Desmond said, and Bella scoffed and crossed her arms. “I will let it go when I stop thinking about her smug little face
"I told you." Bella said when she walked closer. "You thought you played the game well. Who is celebrating now and who is regretting? I'm sure you didn't see this coming." "You thought you could walk away with everything my son worked for, didn’t you?" Mrs. Elizabeth’s voice rang out sharply, her words cutting through the thick air like a blade. She fixed her cold gaze on Daniella, who stood with her hands clenched into fists. "You thought you could manipulate my son and take his properties and company. But look at you now. You are going with nothing. Nothing but a trash of your useless self." "Very useless thing. And she wasn't even as smart as I thought. Imagine signing a paper without knowing what it means." She leered at Daniella. "You think you can play games, but look at you now. A dumb person is even better than you. Even a ten-year-old is smarter than you will ever be. Someone like you can sign her death without knowing." She added, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "What sur
The judge called Desmond up and handed the divorce paper to him. "You can now sign the divorce paper." Daniella stared at Desmond as he took the paper to sign. Her chest was heaving, her mind grasping for anything. Anything that could salvage this unexpected situation, but there was nothing she could do. Desmond took out his pen and signed the paper. He wasn't signing any of his properties out, but rather, he was signing Daniella out of his life forever. Desmond finished and returned back to his seat. His silence was a stark contrast to Daniella’s spiraling emotions. He had played his game perfectly, and now he watched as the woman who had tried to take everything from him was left with nothing. For the first time that day, Daniella felt a cold, creeping fear. She wasn’t just losing the fight—she was losing everything. And there was nothing she could do to stop it. Daniella’s world seemed to collapse around her. The weight of the verdict was sinking into her consciousness li
"I know you will come up with something to deny me my right. How...how did this happen? How did you get this, and how did you have my signature there?"Desmond didn’t respond, fueling Daniella’s growing sense of dread with silence. She turned to Leonard, who sat beside her with a stunned expression. He also didn't't see that coming. He was still confused on whether she really signed the pape, or if it was a fake one."Mrs. Daniella." The judge continued, "If you would like to contest this document further, you may do so. However, all the evidence points to its authenticity. It bears your signature, and it has been verified by the appropriate authorities."Daniella shook her head, never ready to back down. "I didn’t sign anything! I can swear with my life. This must be a mistake. It has to be fake!"Her lawyer, who had remained silent up until now, finally rose up to speak. "Your Honor," she began, "if I may, my client insists she did not sign this document. While I can see the evidenc
"Then how come we have a prenuptial agreement here if you didn't sign it?" The judge asked. "I don't know, I swear. I won't have to sue him if I sign a prenuptial agreement. That paperwork must be fake. They have brought a fake prenuptial agreement to deny me what belongs to me." "That paperwork is not fake." Desmond spoke up. "It's legit. She signed it willingly by herself. I can still remember how she was smiling while signing it." "That's a lie." Daniella said and turned to Desmond. "You are a terrible liar. And you see this?..…this cheap drama... It won't save you. The judge will identify it's fake, no matter how original it looks." "Mrs. Daniella," the judge called, tapping on the paper. "I have reviewed this prenuptial agreement. Upon comparison, it matches your other signatures on record, which makes it valid and legally binding. Furthermore, it was signed at the Bureau of Civil Affairs, making it an official and enforceable document." Daniella felt the blood drain fr
The judge entered the room, a middle-aged woman with a commanding presence. Everyone rose briefly before sitting back down as the proceedings began. The judge’s eyes moved across the room, first landing on Daniella and her barrister, then shifting to Desmond, who sat by his mother and younger sister."Mr. Desmond." The judge spoke up, "Where is your legal representation?"Desmond rose slowly and adjusted the cuffs of his suit, then said clearly, "I don’t have one, Your Honor. I don’t need it."The judge raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by the casual confidence in Desmond’s voice. He nodded and gestured for him to sit. Daniella, however, couldn’t resist the opportunity to mock."Of course you don’t." Daniella said. "You know nothing can help you, Desmond. Even you know that hiring a lawyer would be a waste of money."Desmond didn’t look at her. He remained seated, looking away and totally ignoring her. The judge frowned and turned to Daniella. "Mrs. Daniella, please keep quiet.
"I believed in you. I rooted for you. I thought you were the one who would make Desmond happy by giving him a child, who would build a future with him. I treated you like my own daughter. But you. You had nothing but greed and deceit in your heart. You planned all of this. You wanted to ruin this family and take everything my son worked so hard for." Mrs. Elizabeth said, and Daniella gave a nonchalant shrug. "You don't have to keep wasting your energy ranting. It won't change anything. Let’s just say I knew how to play my cards. Life is a game, Mrs. Elizabeth. I played, and I played well." At this point, Bella stepped forward. "You think you played well? Wait until the end of today, Daniella. You will find out who played better. Spoiler alert: it won’t be you. You will leave this building with nothing but tears." She said, and Daniella threw her head back and laughed. "You are delusional! The law is on my side. You can’t cheat your way out of this if that is what you people are pl
At the entrance of the court building, Leonard was making a call while Daniella was waiting for him so they could go in together. When he finished, just as they were about to walk in, Daniella heard a familiar rumbling purr of an engine. It wasn’t just any car. She knew that sound anywhere. The sound of the Rolls Royce Desmond bought for her. She turned to look, and sure enough, the sleek, glimmering vehicle pulled up to the curb and came to a smooth halt. Her lips curled into a small smile. It was as if Desmond brought it back for her. In her mind, she will be driving it home by the end of the day. "He must have brought it to make me jealous." Daniella said smugly. "Only if he knew that he’s practically bringing my car right to me. How convenient. He just made it easy for me." Leonard laughed along with her. "It’s like he’s rolling out the red carpet for you. What a gentleman he is." Daniella’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she kept watching the car, waiting for them