001JOANA’S POV“I am indeed pregnant…” I whispered to myself as I stared at the two bold lines on each of the seven pregnancy test strips lying on the table. I decided to take a test this morning after struggling with incessant bouts of nausea and dizzy spells for the past three days.My heart leaped with joy as I scanned each of the strips for the umpteenth time this morning to make sure that I was seeing right. And that I wasn't having one of those dreams again. I couldn't help but imagine my husband’s reaction when he got to know I was finally carrying a treasure for him. My husband, Clinton Gates is a third-generation billionaire and the sole heir of Gates Group. Although he has been cold and indifferent to me, I have been fighting hard every day to fully win his heart. Despite his coldness towards me, never for once have I thought of giving up on our family. My hope for a change has been soaring even higher now that I was carrying his child. I couldn't help but let out
002JOANA’S POV “I need you to sign these…” He growled in a low tone as he hurled a stack of documents that he was holding at me.The cold and disgusted expression on his face made me even more nervous than I already was. I didn't have a good feeling at all. “Divorce papers?” I screeched, my voice high-pitched and unpleasant even to my ears as I read the content of the document. My heart suddenly started beating erratically as I felt lightheaded, my vision turned blurry. The pounding headache I felt made me wonder if I was about to experience a heart attack. “Sign them and leave the rest of the official processes for me to handle. I already signed my part.” Clinton coldly preseed, folding his hands across his chest as he leaned unbothered again at the kitchen counter.“What's wrong with you? Why will you ask for a divorce today of all days?” I shouted, my voice breaking midway as I felt a sharp pain in my belly. He stepped closer, his deadly gaze boring into mine. “And what's s
003JOANA’S POV“Welcome madam.” The valet at the hotel entrance greeted me as I entered the premises. Today was the official banquet of the Gates Group. They were celebrating their new milestone. “Mrs Gates, congratulations. You indeed made the right choice. Your husband is full of surprises.” A woman who was trying to make small talk said, rushing to me with a glass of wine. Her words which were aimed at flattery landed like Thor's hammer on my chest, making me feel suffocated. And I couldn't blame her for being ironic since everyone else thought that Clinton and I were still the perfect couple. I forced an insincere smile to my face and made my way into the party with the woman following behind me, her face filled with flattery. Soon, another woman joined. “Ah! Mrs Gates, you're glowing. Your husband is taking good care of you. You keep getting more beautiful by the day.”“Of course, Mr Clinton loves his wife the most. Can't you see how in love they are?”“You must be so proud
004JOANA’S POVI caught sight of the bone of contention and pushed her aside, stomping towards him. “Clinton! You asked me to keep our divorce a secret while you already…” I didn't finish my words before I heard Louisa's soft yelp. My hand which was holding his arm, as I tried to turn Clinton around, slipped off, and wine splashed all over my body, same time I lost my footing and crashed to the floor.I blinked in shock; my surprise overshadowed the pain I felt at colliding with the hard floor. Clinton had caught Louisa and was fervently wiping off the little smudge of wine from her gown, totally ignoring me. “Clinton,” I whispered, my voice filled with pain and disbelief. “You bitch! You can't wait a day without causing trouble, is that it? Apologize to Louisa immediately!” Clinton growled, giving me a deadly stare. I caught sight of Louisa's smug smile and immediately realized what happened. She noticed that I wanted to confront Clinton about the things she told me and rushed
005SIX YEARS LATERJOANA’S POV“Mom, this is where you grew up?” My son, Japheth, asked, making me smile. After the drama with Clinton, I decided to open a fashion company with my family's support. To my greatest surprise, Caleb decided to help me, and even became my partner, even though he had his own companies to manage. In the early years of serendipity fashion, Caleb and I encountered dating rumors due to the fact that he was always with me. Some people accused me of dating my brother-in-law while playing the victim to make my ex-husband get bashed. The jealous Clinton who once came to make a scene at the studio made it even worse. So, we decided to move the head office abroad and finally returned today. The kids recognize Caleb as their dad since he's the one who has been there from the beginning.I felt someone pulling at my sleeves, making my attention return to the present. “Mom, what do you think?” I immediately felt confused because I had not been listening to them. B
006 JOANA'S POV I felt cold, looking at the man in front of me. Ever since I was told that he was at this event, I have not been myself. " Come here." I took Mirabel from him. I was terrified that he was going to hurt her, and that was not what I wanted for my children. He stood there looking at it; there was a shock in his eyes, and then he turned around and looked at the place. " You are doing well for yourself," he said. It came out like he was shocked that I was doing well for myself, like he never expected me to be like this. " Of course," I said. It came out weak, I was trying so hard to control myself. I never wanted him to see me as someone weak, as someone who was going to go down on my knees for him. " And them?" He looked at my kids. " They are mine, and you have no business with them," I said. I was never going to let him have an opinion on my life. He looked at me for a while. " You should be more careful, or you get someone to
007 Clinton's POV I got home and met Louisa at my house. " Hey, I got something for you," She said. There was this anger I suddenly felt towards her, I brushed her aside and went into my room. I was surprised to see Joana that way. She changed so much after the divorce. She had to leave this city after the news of her being with Caleb. I could not believe that they were still very much together, and she was back like she never left. I fell on the bed; there was something about her; she looked different; she looked more beautiful than I ever knew she was. I got into the shower and then made my way to the dining room. The food that was brought to me did not look like the usual food I was used to. "What's this?" I asked. " I made it," Louisa jumped and answered. I felt upset. " You did what?" " I made it for you; you should taste it; you will love it," she said, smiling at me. I was in no mood to smile at her. " I never asked you to cook for me."
008 JOANA'S POV Life has returned to normal. I was able to control the way I felt whenever I saw Clinton. It has not been easy for me, but I have been able to pull through. I made sure I talked to the school and asked them to protect my kids; I would not take it lightly with them if anything happened to my kids. They promised they were going to do that for me. My business was going well, I had everything I wanted for my life. For some time now, I have not seen Clinton close to me or tried to see what I was doing with my life. Maybe I was the one who was not seeing him; he was trying so hard to make me not see him, which was the best. I did not want to stumble upon him any day. " Are you okay?" Caleb brought me back. I was lost in thoughts. " Of course, I'm okay," I said. It was getting dark, and I had a lot of work to do. There was still so much. I got up and went to the other side of the building. I wanted to check the dresses that were made newly. " I love t
116JOANA'S POVThe phone shot against the wall, and the bang of the glass against the wall greeted my ear; my ear filled with the chaos of my chest. I watched the broken pieces, and my hands trembled with rage and rage, swelling inside me like a violent storm. Everything about this felt wrong. It didn’t make sense. Anita—trying to take her own life? Why now? Why after everything?My door swung open with a thud. Caleb entered first, closely followed by Clinton, both of them visibly shaken. They must have already heard."Joana—" Clinton's voice was low, cautious.I didn’t answer. I simply walked to the window, wrapping my arms around myself as though they could shield me from this madness.Caleb spoke up, his voice more urgent. “We heard. It’s true, right?”I gave a small nod, still facing the window. “She tried to end her life. They found her unconscious in her cell. They rushed her to the hospital.”The room fell into a heavy silence. The kind that suffocates you slowly.Clinton fina
115JOANA'S POVCaleb didn’t speak much during the drive back. He must have known that I was trying to hang onto that last hint of calm I had. There was a soft hum of the engine, a sparse chirp of birds, and a gentle rustle of the wind in the trees between us, and we sat in a peaceful silence marked by this fragile truce.My cheek turned to the warm sun of the late afternoon leaning my head against the window. I was not ready to go home. Not really. I was also not ready to be anywhere else. All I had to do was breathe and again remind myself that even if the world was crumbling under my heels, the ground was yet to give way.The open window filled the car with the sound of laughter as Caleb pulled into the driveway. A laughter that brought me out of my thoughts right away.Caleb glanced at me, "they sound happy," he said quietly.I tried to smile. It came crooked, though, "they don’t know half of what’s going on."I opened the door and stepped out of the car. I stood there for a secon
114JOANA'S POVThe meeting room was colder than usual.Maybe it was just me. Perhaps it was the weight of the tonnage on my shoulders. I stepped inside, my heels clicking on the marble floor in an attempt to wear the mask of composure I had practised for years. Mr. Stone was already seated next to his legal advisor, and I could tell his smug grin meant he was up to something.I hated dealing with people like this, but I honestly had no choice."Good morning, Joana," Mr. Stone greeted, voice as smooth as his tailored suit."Mr. Stone," I replied curtly, taking my seat across from him.The Blue Heart jewellery redesign presentation was neatly set up on the screen behind him. The sketches looked impressive, and I had to give credit to the design team. It was meant to be a re-launch, a symbol of rebirth after the chaos, and it had to be perfect. But something about Mr Stone’s too-relaxed demeanour made my instincts scream."We’ve all seen the mock-ups and the numbers," he started, claspi
113JOANA’S POVMy words brought smiles to his face, and he suddenly became calm. “Thank you,” it softly escaped his lips, “you won't regret it.”“You better don't,” I muttered under my breath, returning back to work when a soft ding erupted the soothing silence.“The court hearing has been scheduled for the 20th.”The whole world stopped. It felt like the walls were compressing as my eyes widened and my fingers trembled at the sight of the text.I squeezed the paper underneath my fingertips, closed the phone screen, and ran my fingers through my hair.Clinton had noticed it, “what's wrong?” He asked calmly.“The kids' birthday celebration will have to be moved.”He furrowed his brows, obviously confused, “what are you talking about? There's no way we are shifting the celebration.”“The court hearing is fixed for that day, and there's nothing we can do about it.”It felt like the world came crashing down for him. His expression immediately changed.“We can always celebrate it the nex
112JOANA’S POVI left the station with solely one thought in my mind: how do I make sure that Jason doesn't serve too much jail time?He didn't deserve it; I know that the sergeant was working on it, but honestly, I knew it was far from being possible.I got cut from my trance when my phone started ringing. It was Caleb.“Hello…” I picked up.“Where are you?” He tried his best to sound as calm as possible, but it didn't work well.“I'm at the station heading to the office to do one or two things.”“Why were you at the station? Don't tell me you went to see Anita?”I walked to my car, “technically I didn't.”“Joana…”I rolled my eyes, “Fine I went to see her, but I didn't spite her up, but a little though,”“She's not in jail yet, but she's still very dangerous, and I can't risk anything.”“Caleb, you need to calm down, I just wanted to see her current situation and also check up on Jason.”“I should calm down? Have you forgotten the way that girl thinks? She's like a ticking bomb and
111JOANA'S POVThe soft ding of my phone got my attention. It was text.“Mission complete.”I stared blankly at the screen. Who was this person? My mind quickly went to Jason.“Jason…”Caleb and Clinton both turned to me, “What are you talking about?” Caleb finally spoke out.“The person behind the shadows was Jason,” I let out a small laugh.“How? He's in jail!” Caleb pointed out.I strode to sit on the couch, a victorious grin on my face, “Yeah, he is, but remember the secret agency he's in.”“The same agency that tried to kill him for exposing Anita…” he scoffed, “I highly doubt, maybe it's someone that also wants Anita gone.”I darted my gaze slowly to him, “apart from me, who else wants her gone? Trust me, my guts tell me that Jason did this.”The two men shook their heads and headed into their rooms.Playing with the tip of the pen, I pointed to the huge clock, “tick-tock Anita… this time, your time is up.”__The car ride was silent, a soothing silence enjoying the cool breeze
110JOANA'S POVThey had no shame.The confrontation had been explosive. Mr. Gates hadn’t denied it. He’d simply claimed that family should protect family—and Anita had sat smugly beside him, like a queen regaining her throne.She barely looked my way, but I felt her satisfaction and tasted it in the air like poison.Clinton finally turned from the desk. “You used your influence to override hard evidence. You know what she did. You saw the recordings. Heard the confession.”Mr. Gates didn’t flinch. “Evidence can be manipulated, Clinton. I don’t trust the words of men like Jason.”“You don’t trust facts,” Caleb spat. “You trust whatever keeps your family name clean. What kind of legacy are you trying to protect when it’s rotting from the inside?”Mr. Gates rose from his chair slowly, placing both hands on his cane. “You may not understand it now, Caleb. But one day, when you have your own family to lead, you’ll realize that loyalty matters more than any public trial.”I had enough. “Lo
109JOANA'S POVSunlight from the arched windows entered the mansion and formed wide bands across the marble floors. I took my place on the living room sofa with a straight posture and crossed legs while I touched my tablet in silence. Instead of reading the screen, my eyes focused on distant mental work. The house stood at peace before violence broke out.The front doors opened.Footsteps echoed.Clinton and Caleb walked in together, dressed in work suits, loosened ties around their necks, carrying the usual exhaustion of a day at the office. But the moment they saw me, they stopped.I didn’t rise to greet them. Didn’t even look up."Joana?" Clinton said, his voice tinged with caution.I slowly looked up. My eyes were expressionless. Not angry. Not hurt. Not welcoming. Just... still. Stone still.Caleb moved forward first. "Is everything okay? Where are the kids?""Asleep. Upstairs. Safe," I replied, my tone flat.Clinton moved towards me from the couch to reach my position, where he
108JOANA'S POVThe mansion stood as an unspoken silent question without any reaction. As soon as Jason parked the car, he sped the tyres toward the garage, and before the engine idled, I bolted from my side to rush through the mansion's main entrance.I directed the security staff posted at the gate to inspect the area thoroughly. “Check the east and west wings—every single room. I want the kids found. Now.”The main door flew open under my hand as I stormed inside. “Where are they? Where are my children?”The maids inside froze at the sound of my voice, but one of them stepped forward immediately, wide-eyed. “We—We don’t know, ma’am. We thought they were in the greenhouse—”“Check the gardens, the poolside, the library, everywhere!” I snapped. My voice was cracking under the weight of my panic. “Clinton? Caleb?”One of the male workers appeared at the top of the staircase. “Mr. Clinton left early this morning. He said he had to meet a supplier downtown. And Mr. Caleb hasn’t returned