prologue- four years ago

Prologue- four years ago.

Zoey:

I stared at the photos in my hand, shuffling through them with a smile on my face.

I looked elegant in the white dress that cascaded down my legs, matching the color of my white teeth as I grinned.

A bouquet was in my left hand with my other hand holding on my husband's shoulder. My bright gray eyes sparkled with joy as he grasped my perfectly carved waist.

I remembered the warmth I felt in his embrace that day and the butterflies that fluttered in my belly.

That day marked the end of my misery, having been stuck with my cruel mother in our penthouse all these years.

It's only been two months since I got married to Seth but it felt just like yesterday.

The thrill of freedom was out of this world.

That day, I said my vows with Seth, the most handsome man I have ever seen.

Seth, my husband, stood tall at 6’1 feet with amazing features and striking blue eyes that were my favorite color since the day I met him. He had dark brown hair that was always perfectly messy, defining his perfect smile that could make my day.

With a classic dressing sense, he favored Navy blues and crisp whites that complemented his eyes even more.

Despite the fact that he wasn't a millionaire, he dressed like one.

He owned a small jewelry shop and was proud of his business even though his father was a billionaire tycoon.

His father despised him and loved his little brother instead, just like my mother hijacked my father's company and crime empire from me and gave it to my little sister, forbidding me to ever get hold of a dime of both the empire and company's money.

I was the rightful Mafia Queen.

My attention was snapped away from the photos as my phone rang in my pocket.

I gently placed the photos down before fetching my phone from my pocket, staring at the screen.

‘MINE FOREVER’

It was Seth!

I pulled the green icon up, bringing the phone to my ear.

“Hey, babe.” I spoke first.

"Hello," a lady's voice rang from the other end.

My brows furrowed. With a low voice, I asked, "Is Seth there?".

“Are you Mr. Finn's wife? Zoey Willie or perhaps, Zoey Finn?",

"Yes, I am!” I responded, nodding vigorously as if she could see my head through the phone call.

“Miss, I'm calling from NV hospital and we require you to come over immediately as soon as you can!” She said almost nervously.

“What are you talking about?",

“Please come over as soon as possible, your husband was brought here and I hope you will show up immediately. Thank you for understanding,”.

The call went dead.

I swallowed, digesting her words before rising to my feet, scrambling for my flip-flops.

I stepped into them, dashing out of the house with my flip-flops slapping against the floor.

I hailed for a taxi. Barely did I let it park properly before going in, slamming the door shut.

As soon as I arrived at the hospital, I ran inside. Two ladies were at the back of the counter in the waiting room.

“Hi, how can we help you?" The blonde one asked, grinning at me.

A sweat trickled down my forehead as my chest heaved up and down, my heart pounding against my ribcage.

“I received a call from a lady and I was asked to come here. I'm Zoey Finn!”.

"Oh. Yeah, it's you. Please sit while I call the doctor,” She stretched her hand to a seat.

I shook my head, watching her punch some numbers in the telephone on the counter top before bringing the phone to her ear.

“Doctor, she's here. Miss Finn!" She said before pausing again. She then continued, “Yes. Alright then.".

She placed the telephone back to where it belonged as she raised her gaze to meet mine.

“Please step into the doctor's office. Right there." She pointed at a door right behind.

I turned, running towards the door. Without knocking, I slammed it open.

A man sat there with a desk before him. He was dressed in a white overcoat with a shirt underneath. His stethoscope curled around his neck.

I jammed the door behind me, entering the office to sit in the chair across from him.

“Zoey Finn right?" He asked, moving straight to the point.

I nodded, looking into his eyes and anticipating his next words.

“Well, I'm sorry to let you know this but your husband got involved in a car accident but on the good side, he survived but he actually sustained severe head injuries in the accident and that caused him to lose his cornea.” He explained.

My heart skipped a beat as tears stung the corner of my eyes, my lips trembling as I was unable to say a word.

The world spun around me and my head became light like an inflated balloon but my stomach dropped with the weight of shock.

“What?" I stuttered, squinting my eyes.

Tears stumbled down my face uncontrollably.

“Basically, he lost his eyesight and can only regain it back with a cornea transplant and he needs to buy one and from how severe the situation is, it'll cost about fifty thousand dollars to get a cornea while every other charges including hospital bill, surgical charges and meds will be fifteen thousand dollars.”.

My eyes widened. Sixty five thousand dollars?!

I didn't have a job! And Seth's jewelry shop was just starting out so they made barely two thousand in a month which was very little for a jewelry shop.

Our monthly upkeep money could be a bit more than that so all the money only went into our meals and nothing more.

The only money I had left was only sixteen thousand and I was only keeping it for tight urgencies.

Who would actually believe it if they were told that both our parents were billionaires, neglecting their own children.

“He'll be fine. The money is only needed. There's no need to cry." He comforted me.

I nodded, wiping my tears with the back of my hand before standing and walking out of the office.

I went out of the hospital, the cool evening air hitting my delicate skin, making me shiver slightly.

I pulled out my phone, reluctantly scrolling through my contact list to find Mom.

My finger danced above the screen as I had second thoughts about calling her for help.

I swallowed, mustering every ounce of courage I had before clicking it.

The call went dead after a few seconds of ringing. She was rejecting my call.

I tried again but she rejected it again.

I tried again and she finally answered. Before I could speak, she yelled.

“What?! I thought I blacklisted you!" She shouted.

“Mom, I need your help." My voice was barely above a whisper.

She didn't respond, waiting for me to speak.

“I need some money, please. Seth lost his eyesight from a car accident and to regain it, I need just sixty five thousand dollars.” I cried.

"Then work and make some money for yourself! If you both aren't lazy, you won't be here whining. You have the guts to come to me for money because he got into a car accident. Yet you aren't ashamed that he had an accident in a car that doesn't belong to him or perhaps, has he gotten a car?”.

My heart stung.

"Mom,” my voice broke.

"Don't call me your mother! Work for some money. Your sister, Mia, is working and she's obviously better than you are! You are only a liability to me! Yet you are four years older than Mia but she doesn't whine and she is hard-working, she makes me proud, and she even shares the money the company makes with the whole family except for you. You should be so disappointed, shouldn't you?”.

Yes, Mom. She's working, being the CEO of the company that rightfully belonged to me!

“Sort yourself out, this is none of my business, you brought this upon yourself by marrying a poor jerk. Don't disturb my phone with calls, I'm trying to do something productive here!”.

The call went dead.

I stared at the screen, tears blurring my vision as my grip tightened on the phone.

I sniffled, returning into the hospital as I wiped my tears.

Entering into the doctor's office again, I stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

“I'll donate my cornea instead of buying one. I'll pay fifteen thousand for the surgery," I whispered.