Uptil the age of 9, Roselia had lived the life every child dreamed of, a loving father, mountains of toys and dollhouses and whatever else that she desired. But her world came crashing down when her father died all of a sudden. Then Roselia runs away from her home at the age of 12 for reasons that would haunt her forever. She gets on a train and travels to a different state which is when she is rescued by a man. Little does she know that the man, Derek Clifford, is the heir to the ‘Cliffords dynasty’, a billionaire family, known for masquerading their money source as a ‘family business’. But the biggest revelation awaits Roselia at the Clifford mansion… that the person responsible for her father’s ‘unexpected death’ might just be a very important member of the Clifford’s family. Just then, Derek leaves to go overseas. 6 years later What Roselia hadn’t expected was that her love for the man who saved her life 6 years ago might just get in the way of her exacting revenge as she stays in the Cliffords mansion in the guise of a chef. Derek Clifford had not ever dreamed that he would fall in love. Power was all he had ever desired. That is until his cold grey eyes latched onto the all-grown Roselia and his carefully-knit life comes falling apart. But deep down perhaps he had known that it wasn’t just moral obligation that had made him so fiercely protective of her back in the past. Unfortunately for Roselia, Derek has a dark side to him, a side he never wanted to reveal to her. Would she run or would she stand with him? Would Derek even let her go? Could he?
View MoreRoselia’s POV
Do you know that feeling of dread when something you’ve planned for years on end, scrutinising, memorising every little thing, paying excruciating attention to detail, withholding patience you don't have just so you could be as sure of it as was humanely possible and then it was all finally coming together but you just couldn't help but wonder that what if someone noticed something unusual and I was caught before the ball dropped. What if Edwin Clifford wasn't where he was supposed to be at the designated time, what if i messed up my part, erego destroying the whole bloody plan?
The dread coiled up in my stomach like a snake, it growing more rabid and venomous with my increasing nervousness and anxiety.
“Rose!!!”Romina, the Clifford mansion’s head chef yelled my name, snapping me out of my inner turmoil and almost making me slice a finger off along with the diced onions.
“Stop being useless over there and bring me the tortilla chips from the freezer, from the one downstairs. They need to be served with the dips and salsas NOW!!”
Romina turns away from the table I was working at with a huff to yell at the sous chef next.
I glared at the haphazardly diced onions for no specific reason. Sighing, I realised I had to set something up at the ground floor anyway.
I gladly walked down the stairs, happy to leave the kitchen and the ultrasonic yelling of chefs, metal pots and cookers. There were over 25 chefs working at 9 different tables in the really wide hallway-like kitchen.
I wiped my sauce-stained hands on my apron before I opened the freezer. Did the “thing” I was there to do and completely forgot about the tortilla chips.
********
“Everything is in place. There is nothing for you to worry about.”
There was just the faintest hint of white in Abram’s hair, making him look a lot older than he actually was.
Abram fiddled with his watch, then picked up the newspaper, set it down on the round coffee table and then picked it up again, then looked over at the clock. And then did it all over again. This was not a good sign. Abram was nervous.
“That's easy for you to say. You won't even be there when it happens. You'll already have crossed over to South Saudi for fuck’s sake!” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them. I did not want to blame Abram for leaving me alone in this, this what we’d planned for years. But this wasn’t his fight, it was mine. Abram might’ve helped me begin but I was going to be the one to end this.
He looked guilty, too guilty even but there was something else…….. was it regret that I saw? But why would there be regret?
“When it's done..” Abram says and glances again at the clock, hesitation and worry clouding his eyes. It was 10 a.m. He had to leave within the next hour. He had the perfect cover. He’d been staying at the Clifford’s guesthouse for the past week to sort out some paperwork with Mr Clifford and it was done, fax and everything. So he could leave without arousing any suspicion.
He startled me when he suddenly grasped my shoulders with his bony hands across the narrow table, sitting at the very edge of the black velvet sofa.
“You need to get out of the banquet hall as soon as it's done, don't wait for the poison to take effect. Don’t waste one second, not even one second, you hear me?! Not one second!!” Before I could get in a word or shake his hands off me, Abram stood up and paced from the small living room area to his bed for a while.
I thought it wise not to say anything to him. This was the end of our knowing each other and I did not want to say anything I would regret later. So I nodded in agreement with him.
“I really hope you’ll be over a dozen water bodies and on another continent before tomorrow’s dawn because if you’re not…” Abram turns white as a sheet as he realises what he’s suggested. But there’s still the faintest tinge of regret in his eyes, regret for what I didn’t know.
Getting up, I collect his coffee cup and 2 more plates and walk over to the door, fully prepared to leave. But then turn back around.
“I do not want to consider that possibility, Abram. And it's not your job to do so either. You've done your part, you've done more than what was even supposed to be your part, the plan’s successful execution depends on me now. You can….. no, you have to go knowing that you did more than you could have.”
I gripped the door handle, not liking the heavy weight settling in my heart on the realisation that after today, I was going to be on my own, alone but free.
“Goodbye Abram.”
“Rose, I..” He starts but I turn away, even though I didn't want to.
I needed to focus, more than ever now if I had any hope of succeeding.
Whilst fixing my apron, I accidentally bump into a waiter in the hallway. “Ah, shit!” A steel tray dropped to the floor along with its contents but luckily, nothing I’d been holding fell. The waiter caught me before I fell too and I would’ve slapped his hands off from my waist but then I realised it was Jeremy, the little boy I’d befriended 6 years ago. But the little boy wasn’t so little anymore.
Jeremy gives me a lopsided grin as he lets go of me to pick up the fallen steel stuff. I am stupid enough to blush, but I quickly shake the red off, internally slapping myself into remembrance that all the guests had almost arrived and were settled in the humongous guesthouse. Edwin Clifford, the guest of “honour” would be here in the evening. I take a deep breath, a warm satisfaction alighting me for I knew that it would be Edwin Clifford’s dead body leaving this mansion.
“Rose, Rose….. Uhmm, Rose? Are you listening to me?” Jeremy looks worried as he tries to balance the huge tray with one hand. He looked funny, his huge, bulky frame was not meant for kitchen work or waitressing. He towered over me and I had to tilt my head up a bit to look at him. Damn me and my midget height.
“Uh, yea,” I reply, trying to tame my wild and greasy red hair but it was no use. My hair was and would remain a nest made of red twigs.
“Head chef wants every chef and waiter in the storage room. There need to be some more specials made and the preparations have been kicked up a bit since instead of one, two guests of honour will be arriving.” I fist my hands in my apron, not liking this one bit.
“What guest of honour? Who else is coming?”
“Derek Clifford.” Jeremy’s smile dims a bit, he’d never liked Derek. You’d think he’d let go of his stupid grudge against him(but then again, every poor man held an unspoken grudge against the rich). It’d been over 6 years since Derek or Edwin had stepped foot in the mansion.
I try not to look apprehensive, this change certainly wasn’t welcome.
Jeremy stares at me, clearly trying to measure my reaction to the fact that the boy who’d brought me here, practically saved me from dying on the streets, was returning. After a very, very long time.
If the circumstances weren’t what they were, I might’ve actually been excited or even a bit nervous about Derek’s return.
“Well, what’s one more Clifford right?” I knew the one I wanted to kill.
I try to laugh but it comes out as a very unpleasant cough.
“Don’t try to act so nonchalant, Rose. It makes sense if Derek’s coming back excites you. He’s a pretty, rich, white boy, now man I suppose, who was incredibly attentive to you for the short while you knew him. Of course you would want to see him, especially now. So now you have a reason to look forward to the banquet, eh?” Jeremy tried to sound light-hearted. But the careless shrug of his shoulders couldn’t fool me into thinking so.
Jeremy takes my silence as a cue to continue his mildly taunting charade.
“Remember when you used to follow him around like a puppy,” Jeremy lets out a malicious laugh. His hand clenched the tray in a death grip, his knuckles getting whiter by the minute. “Lord was it cute! I’m sure Derek was annoyed to have a 12 year old trailing him around 24/7 but I guess he didn’t have the heart to send away adorable-little-rose. He paid attention to you and you just lapped it up. All he had to do was glance once at you and it was enough to make you keep grinning for the whole day.”
I try to keep my composure, I really do. But still feel my cheeks heat up.”I was 12 for god's sake. Of course I liked Derek and his attention. He took me in, not on his own, but he must have had to go against his father. I'm sure Mr Clifford certainly wouldn’t have appreciated his son bringing in an orphaned beggar straight from the streets. This is a home after all, not a charity!” I fix Jeremy with a hard glare but a slight taunting grin stays on his unreasonably handsome face.
“I was just joking Rose, don’t take me this seriously!”
His grin suddenly drops. He frowns, looking at me intently with a foreign heat in his eyes. He leans toward me, I stay in place, raising an eyebrow at him.
His one hand reaches out to me and he very softly rubs something off my cheek with his index finger. I groaned when I noticed it was dough. Who knew for how long that had been there? I instinctively rub my free hand up and down both my cheeks, almost forgetting Jeremy was still standing there.
“Any more taunts you’d like to throw at me?” I sneer at him. It wasn’t that Jeremy was always like this, snarky and malicious.
To be honest, we rarely ever fought, we actually got along pretty well, he was in actuality, my only friend in this huge, luxurious but cold place. It was the mention of Derek that made him act like this, and the topic of Derek had arisen after a really long time. For what reason Derek’s mere mention made him behave like this, I would never know.
I gave him a pointed look. Both of us would get chewed out for gossiping during working hours if we were caught.
His gaze started trailing up and down my body, making me feel weird and uncomfortably conscious about my messy red hair tied up in a bun and my curveless body in the apron which was at least 3 sizes too loose for me.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind looking now.” He mumbles somewhat incoherently, giving me a small smile that fails to reach his eyes, then he turns around and walks away.
Leaving me to wonder what the hell was up with him.
"You don't want to stay here anymore, we can leave," Lucian suggested calmly as he walked ahead of Amelia. She didn't mean to refuse to help but she just couldn't stand Yolanda's arrogance anymore. "Amelia?" Jasper walked in from the outside. Ignoring everyone's staring, he grabbed Amelia's hand and said, "May I have a word with you?" All of a sudden, Jasper had grabbed her and before she could even break free, he was already pulling her away. "Mr. Jasper, don't you think we should be more careful about what we do and say in public?" Lucian said coolly as he maintained his grip on Amelia's other hand. Jasper looked a little embarrassed. He released Amelia's hand and bowed his head to apologize. "Sorry, Lucian. I forgot my manners. I was in a hurry." "If you're here to ask my wife to be your fiancée's bridesmaid, you'd better save your energy. I just don't want my wife to be aggrieved anymore." Lucian was acting as if it was his responsibility to protect Amelia. But the irony was
The party was still going on at the Mo mansion. The crowd gathered and everyone enjoyed the beat of the drums. The wedding cars were decorated with bright red roses and dolls hugging each other on the front. Amelia felt quite uncomfortable at the sight of the red roses. Soon, the main wedding car arrived and it pulled over in front of the Mo mansion. Jasper got off the car. He looked absolutely refreshed and joyous in his beige suit. He was laughing merrily. The word "groom" was written across his chest. Amelia stood behind the crowd and watched the man she had once loved accept congratulations for his marriage. Amelia was quite a vision in her red coat, with her long curly hair, and made-up face. Needless to say, she stood out amongst the crowd. As his eyes swept through the crowd, Jasper found Amelia standing in the distance. The smile on his face disappeared at once. He bowed apologetically to the people surrounding him before walking towards Amelia. "Amelia, thank you for comin
Are you hungry? I'm going to cook." Amelia was surprised when she heard herself say this. Lucian, who had just closed his eyes, opened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "You can cook?" "A bit. Of course, rich people like you don't really care for the home-cooked meals that I know how to make. That's OK. I cook for myself," Amelia hurriedly explained. She was easy to be softhearted and couldn't bear seeing someone exhausted in front of her. It was her instinct to take care of others. Lucian raised the corners of his mouth, not saying a word. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. After Amelia familiarized herself with the kitchen, she finally grabbed all the ingredients she needed and started preparing. Lucian was still in the living room. When he smelled the food Amelia was cooking, he felt as if his exhaustion had disappeared. He stared at the clock, lost in thought. He felt like he was in a time loop-like it was five years ago and he would stand by the kitchen door, hands in his
Amelia thought that she wouldn't be able to sleep well since it was her first time sleeping there. However, to her surprise, she had a pretty good sleep that night.It was a Monday so Amelia was just getting ready to go to work. When she headed downstairs, her phone started ringing it was a message from Courtney. She was worried because she didn't see Amelia at the bar that night. Amelia quickly texted back. When she raised her head, she found Lucian standing in front of her and staring at her.Amelia was a little stunned and her face flushed out of embarrassment. Lucian was wearing a nice, crisp suit. His other hand was clutching an expensive-looking leather briefcase while the other was shoved in the pocket of his pants. He looked quite handsome."I've made some arrangements. You don't need to go back to your old job anymore. From now on, you're going to be working at the Zhan Group with me," he said plainly. He then glanced at her from head to toe and added, "Your clothes are in th
As a lesson from her drunkenness, Amelia decided she wasn't going to believe everything Lucian said which she thought was reasonable."Why are you staring at me? Just order the food." He stared at Amelia who seemed mad."Stop talking." Amelia sat down with her hand on her forehead. She was a mess right now as her head was still spinning from everything that happened this morning."All right. After dinner, I'll take you to the mall. If you don't want to go shopping, just tell me your sizes and I'll ask someone to buy some clothes for you." After the dishes were served on the table, Lucian took his chopsticks and began eating. 'My sizes?'Amelia hugged herself immediately and said warily, "I have my own clothes to wear. You don't need to worry about me!"Lucian looked up and said in a mocking tone, "No one would steal your clothes even if you threw them out in the trash. Since you're now my wife, you need to change your clothes. What you have right now is too shabby and people might tal
The car left the rich and noble villa district and drove off to Amelia's rented apartment.Amelia didn't really plan on going back to that place at all. Staying in that apartment, she would think of Jasper, which made her feel really sad. But she had no other choice. There was nowhere else for her to go.Upon pulling up in front of the apartment complex, Amelia acted completely snobbish towards Lucian. "Mr. Lucian, my home is just in front of you. You can drop me off here," she said.'We're only a couple by virtue of a contract. There's no need for him to actually pretend to be my husband and escort me all the way inside,' she thought.Lucian looked around and saw that there were no residential buildings around. "Our agreement says that I am your husband," he said to Amelia with a thoughtful smile on his face. "Perhaps, I should walk you to the door," he continued. Amelia shook her head. "It's true that we made an agreement, but we really don't have to keep up with this husband and wi
The bedroom was finally quiet, much to Amelia's relief. Her heart had started beating a mile a minute when she saw the cold look on Lucian's face. Her ivory-colored face flushed like a porcelain doll. Noticing that she clenched her fists tightly, Lucian figured she might have become way too nervous. So he put on a smile and said, "They've already left.""Uh..." Amelia answered softly. She opened her eyes wide and asked anxiously, "Where are the photos? Give them to me!"She reached out her tiny hand toward him, looking petite and small as if she was a doll. She had her eyebrows knitted together, which made her difficult to take seriously as she only looked like an angry child."I am very helpful and this is just the start. Plus, if you agree to become my wife, I'll keep these photos and I promise you that no one else is going to see them." Lucian looked at Amelia and flashed her a knowing smile."What did you just say?" Amelia collapsed and shouted. "You bastard! Stop trying to fool m
The next morning, the room was washed by the bright sunlight. The beautiful morning in the luxurious villa was awakened by a rush of footsteps."Mr. Lucian, Mr. Lucian, wake up!" The butler tried to wake up Lucian who was still in a deep slumber. After staying up late last night, Lucian struggled to open his eyes in the morning. Yet, eyes half-open, he could spot the middle-aged man sitting in the wheelchair with a solemn face. "Lucian, what are you doing?" A sharp female voice broke the silence of this morning and woke up Amelia who was still suffering from hangover."Oh my God! My head hurts." Amelia touched her head and sat upon the bed. Slowly she opened her eyes and was dumbfounded. Amelia looked around to explore the unfamiliar setting. She felt rather intimidated to be surrounded by a middle-aged man and woman. With much difficulties Amelia found her voice back and said, "Where am I? Why am I here?"Her words made all the heads in the room turn towards her. They looked more sur
Amelia was welcomed with harsh winter winds biting into her skin as soon as she stepped out of Jasper's villa. Suddenly, Amelia realized that she was wearing thin clothes. She clenched her hands, and her eyes were sore. Soon, a pearl of tear dropped from the corners of her eyes.Amelia didn't feel sad for Jasper's betrayal. Rather, she felt hurt as she thought about the cherished moments she spent with him in the past five years spent. What she had considered to be most precious turned out to be a mirage.After wandering aimlessly on the streets for a few hours, Amelia was about to go back to her rental house. But when she thought of the room full of memories of her and Jasper, her feet suddenly felt too heavy to move towards that direction. At that moment, she could only think of her friend, Courtney. Amelia then called her to share this bleak incident with her friend."Oh my God! Who is this, calling me on this special day? Haven't you gone out on a date with Jasper? How come you ar
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