But 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 who finds her on the streets, rifling through garbage. 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 laterWhat 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
“Please, Walter. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” It was hard to draw in air to my lungs, my mere existence becoming painful to bear.“Save your apologies for the funeral”, Walter coldly said, making my heart lurch up to my throat, almost stopping altogether.And before I knew it, he was out the door, closing it shut behind him before I could even react to his words. I made a dash for the door with the remaining energy left in me.“You’re lying, Walter. I know you’re lying. You have to be lying”, I banged my hands on the door, making them into fists and I kept banging until they turned from red to purple, hoping that he would hear me out and come back and tell me that what he said was a lie. That it was an utter lie. Derek was still alive.“He’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive”, I kept chanting it in my head, my voice being reduced from ear-shattering screams to nothing more than a ghostly whisper. My throat ached as I slid down the cold door, sitting huddled against it on the floor. The si
“My apologies, Sire. I spoke out of line”, the waiter spoke, eyeing him, following his action as his young boss absentmindedly poked at the free end of the bandage on his right arm where the doctor had injected the antidote.He heaved out a heavy sigh,” I don’t want to do this, Walter. But I don’t see another way out. You know how severe the punishment for carrying out a hit on a future mafia overlord can be. Death would be the easy way out for her, according to the rest of the people. We both know that. She will be tortured endlessly, beaten and God knows what my father will have his men do to her if I don’t handle this my way. Unthinkable things, Walter, unthinkable. And you know just how ruthless he can be.” “Your actions show the opposite, sire”, Walter quietly rebutted, not wanting to get his boss cross with him but also wanting to drive his point home. “I saw her, Derek”, his voice went weak, catching the heir’s attention. “She broke. She fucking broke when I told her you were
“Besides everything, that was an extremely well put-up performance in there, wasn’t it? You sounded quite convincing, Walter, you almost had me impressed”, Derek commented, knowing very well that blowing his old ‘less of an employee-more of a friend’s’ ego would play out well for him.“Was it though? Really?!”, the old man’s eye’s lit up in excitement, drinking in the praise and momentarily forgetting what the point of their conversation had initially been. Derek nodded at him, playing along.“You know, if I hadn’t been working for your father and then now working for you, I probably would have been in Hollywood. And I wouldn’t have been like a deadbeat actor with a couple of indie films under his belt. Neither would I have been one of those actors whose one movie grosses like a couple hundred million dollars and then they get catapulted into the limelight overnight, but then they get typecast for a couple of years and then they start giving all flops until they’re eventually thrown
I never doubted how much she cared for me. But the way she was avoiding eye contact with me at the dinner, looking unbearably sad by my existence, annoyed even, that sent me down a spiral of unparalleled confusion. But at least now I had some clue about her weird behaviour at the banquet. It all tied into my poisoning and the attempt at my life. But how was the unanswered question.There were cameras in the cell she was being kept in, the footage of her absolute horror on hearing the news of my demise had to some extent curbed my father’s anger. And bought me some well needed time. The others were not so convinced, most of them, especially my mother, claiming that Roselia was just faking it. That she was just acting for all it was worth so that she could save herself after her escape attempt failed. But thankfully for me, I had a very strong rebuttal, ‘Could anyone of them explain why she then told them where the antidote was? If her plan was to kill me.’ That shut them up real quick
But I would be lying if I said it didn’t make my heart happy as fuck when I realized that even the possibility of my being dead and no more in this world would make her that fucking sad, like she couldn’t even ever accept it for it would be too painful. Her cries for me broke and fixed me all at the same time.I never doubted how much she cared for me. But the way she was avoiding eye contact with me at the dinner, looking unbearably sad by my existence, annoyed even, that sent me down a spiral of unparalleled confusion. But at least now I had some clue about her weird behaviour at the banquet. It all tied into my poisoning and the attempt at my life. But how was the unanswered question.There were cameras in the cell she was being kept in, the footage of her absolute horror on hearing the news of my demise had to some extent curbed my father’s anger. And bought me some well needed time. The others were not so convinced, most of them, especially my mother, claiming that Roselia was ju
Derek’s POVIt wasn’t going to be easy. Hell, the last thing this was going to be was easy.Fuck! Lia, sweetie, what the fuck have you done?I kept replaying Walter’s words in my head, trying to find something, anything that could help me prove Lia’s innocence. God! None of this made any fucking sense.I rubbed at the throbbing pain in my head when Lia’s screams echoed in the back of my mind, not stopping anytime soon. I hated myself for making Walter tell her that I was dead. I hated hearing her yearn for me, her voice breaking from shock and sadness, painful denial writ in her voice.But I would be lying if I said it didn’t make my heart happy as fuck when I realized that even the possibility of my being dead and no more in this world would make her that fucking sad, like she couldn’t even ever accept it for it would be too painful. Her cries for me broke and fixed me all at the same time.I never doubted how much she cared for me. But the way she was avoiding eye contact with me at
She might not have been the one to add poison to the food but she certainly was doing a good job of acting like she did.I needed to get to the bottom of this.She needed to tell me what the fuck was going on. What worried me most was how stiff her whole body was as she anxiously looked everywhere but at me. Her gaze flew to the windows twice. She wanted to escape.“Get up”, I ordered her, keeping my voice gruff and uncaring. If, it physically hurt me to admit it - she was the one who poisoned me, it would be better to stay cautious and not lay out my heart in front of her only for her to break it apart in a million pieces.She didn’t budge, keeping her gaze down.At the end of my patience, I didn’t try to ask her again.
"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