*****LANCE'S POV*****A heavy headache hit me hard as my eyes fluttered open. My mind was already heavy even before I woke up with this kind of headache that sat at the back of my skull and pulsed with every heartbeat. Squinting over at the bedside clock, its red digits glared back at me—11:04 a.m. I’d missed another morning.With a groan, I rolled over, reaching for my phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up, showing thsr Henry had called me for like 30 times.“ Did something happen?” I thought as I wondered but then I remembered Maya and wondered if he had found her because that's the only reason why he could have called my number urgently.I hit redial, pressing the phone to my ear, but it rang out—no answer. I tried again, and again, already feeling nervous at the news he's going to break to me.I had been searching for Maya all these months but just couldn't find any traces of her like before. I wondered why exactly she like disappearing without traces. I knew how she must hav
Maya’s voice softened as she continued, "Back then, I won’t lie..I knew about Lance and Ashley. I knew they had history since college days, but I personally witnessed how Ashley walked away when Lance proposed, saying marriage wasn’t in her plans right now.... she claimed she wanted to conquer the world first before thinking about marriage. And then she left..she left him alone and we never heard from her for years…not even after our marriage."Maya’s voice wavered for the first time, “ After we married, I faced rejection from his family. To his mother… his sister… I was always that ‘poor girl’ without a good background and nothing to contribute to the family. I was always mocked for my stature and even told that it's...shameful to them that their son married someone like me. I remembered how my sister-in-law even said she feel embarrassed to introduce me to her friends. I was never enough for their standards."As she said the last part, I heard a soft thud. Morgan had collapsed onto
“Oh, now you call me a monster?” Ashley sneered, crossing her arms. “Well, that's quite funny, because when I was paying for your trips, showering you with gifts, and even bought you a fucking car on your stupid birthday,” she turned to Mom, "and buying you designer bags, shoes, even jewelry…” Laughing bitterly, “You both didn’t seem to think I was such a monster. It’s only now, after everything, that you’ve decided I’m some kind of ‘demon in human form.’”Morgan didn’t back down. She fired back, “Did... did I ask you to do any of that? Hell no! You chose to do all of it because you wanted our support. You knew we’re never on your side, but we didn’t have a choice since you promised to save Lance’s company!”And just like that, they were off, trading barbs like they were each trying to land the final blow while mom tried to separate them. Ashley's video was already going viral. The video of the public, even her fans, turning against her and they were the reason why she came home loo
"But I'm curious about something, Mr. Wells.""What is it?""Well," she paused, letting the words lingers around. "You keep talking about a…child" She trailed off. "May I ask, which child are you referring to?"I sighed heavily, knowing exactly what she was hinting at. Yes, I knew that I had no right to ask and yet, here I was. “Maya, I know that I have no right to ask about her but..""Her?" she interrupted, her eyes widening in surprise, clearly realizing that I knew Bella was mine."Yes, her. Do you remember when we met at the beach last time? I clearly told you then… that ..that I saw a resemblance, something familiar about her. Damn, why didn’t I think deeper about it then? Why did I insist on my hunch?"Maya burst into laughter, a sharp, mocking sound that cut through the room. "Lance, what the hell are you talking about? There was no child…”“ What?”“ Yes, there's none and Bella isn’t yours. I already told you that day that she’s not yours so how could you even think that….” S
****ASHLEY'S POV****Sitting down on the floor of our bedroom, resting my back against the bed, I bit my finger nervously as scrolled through the endless sea of comments. My finger shook and my body trembled as each words…each comments just kept on searing itself into my mind like a burning brand;“ Omg! Can't even believe that I trust that slut and even wrote bad things against Ariel! I wish I can just rip her freaking lips apart for her lies!“ A home wrecker! She's such a despicable person and even go around playing victim.”“ From now on I'm no longer one of her fan. Infact, I'm now her anti-fan!”“ She better not let me see her face or else….” The comments on my pages just kept coming one after another. Through my years in being a celebrity, I had never for once had 2.5 millions comments on my page and now…I'm seeing something like that in which all of it are nothing but bad comments and even some laying curses.I will sue them all! I will make them rot in jail for cyber bullyin
Lance stood motionless for a while as he slowly turned to face me, his eyes narrowing. "What did you just say?""You heard me right," I spat back. "If you’re planning on throwing every single thing away; your company, your position, your pride — all because of some misplaced guilt over “her”... then I’m done. I want a divorce, Lance Wells. This..isn’t the kind of life I signed up for. I didn’t marry you to become the wife of your ex-wife’s lackey. Never!” I said in a determined voice as I would never be the wife of Ariel Rodrigo's personal Assistant.In their dreams.A dark, hollow chuckle escaped his lips, a sound that sent chills down my spine. He’s also mocking me. Now that I've got nothing else again, he's not treating me like trash.He stepped closer, his face inches from mine. "A divorce, huh?" He tilted his head, dripping sarcasm. "Did you just say you want a divorce?" I crossed my arms, looking away defiantly, and nodded."Then what happened to that same Ashley who sabotaged
I lowered the phone slowly, feeling a little but scared as I knew that my father must be angry with everything going on about me but I know how to calm him down. I drove in, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. Stepping into the house, I saw my father sitting in the middle of the room, his head bowed, both hands resting heavily on his cane. My two older brothers were there too. One lounged in a chair, watching me with a smirk, while the other stood rigidly by our father’s side like a guard dog. I'm sure they must have say something bad about me. Those two had always resented me, my sister and my mother since the first day we step out feet into this house. They were my father’s first wife’s sons, and they blamed us for their mother's death. They claimed their mother died when she found out that her husband had a mistress with a child outside their marriage. And the worst part of it was that it wasn't even up to a month after her death that my mother had moved in
***MAYA'S POV***The night air was cool as I stood on the terrace, counting the stars that scattered across the big sky. Raising up my hand, I let my fingers trace patterns in the air, a small attempt to distract myself from the thoughts weaving through my mind.It had been a long day…A soft breeze ruffled my hair, and I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply, as though inhaling something sweet and calming. And then… there it was—a warm hand slipping around my waist. My heart skipped a beat as his familiar scent, woodsy and rich, filled my senses."Lance," I whispered breathlessly as his lips pressed softly against my neck.How could I not recognize his touch, his scent?He chuckled softly, pulling me closer, murmuring, “I’m back, love.” The warmth of his breath sent a shiver down my spine.I turned slowly to face him, drinking in his features—those familiar eyes and his smile that was bright. Before I could say a word, he leaned in and caught my lips in a deep, hungry kiss, his mouth e
~~~~MAYA’S POV~~~“Are you certain it’s what you want?” His tone was soft, there was also a certain eagerness making his breath come in raspy — an indication he wanted this as well.“Yes.” I nodded, already reaching for his full mat of hair, slithering my fingers through the strands.My body was on edge — waiting for his touch and the submission that came with it. My mouth was slightly open — a silent invitation for him to take control.Without further questions, he reached for my seatbelt, unbuckled it and in a fluid, expert move, had me sitting on his lap. My chest already heaving with feral lust, I neared his face, our soft, needy breaths growing in soft pants as his lips captured mine.A soft moan escaped me, enjoying the feel of his mouth on mine. His tongue slipped into my mouth in quiet dominance, clashing with my tongue and bringing it to surrender as he plundered and caused flame alongside. I didn’t care we were inside his car, I didn’t care it was a tad bit uncomfortable.
“What?!” My mind couldn’t process it. “No—maybe she was just following her dad’s orders.”But Maya just laughed again, that same bitter, empty laugh. “No, she wasn’t. She was the one behind it all and I was blind, Lance. I thought she was the kindest out of all of them. I actually believed she was helping me. But that bitch… she was just using me.”She turned to me, tears running down her face. “She used me to save her father from going to jail. No wonder why she knew that you were after someone when Bella got into an accident. I should have thought harder back then.”“I don’t get it.”“It’s simple and I was just too dumb to see it earlier. Back when I left everything and went to Ohio, If her father had taken over and me and my dad were kicked out, Carlos would have been the one arrested for the crime they blamed my father for. Sophia planned everything. She only did all that to protect her father, not to stop him from ruining the empire.”I exhaled sharply, trying to make sense of i
~~~LANCE'S POV~~~I hold Maya close as her sobs slowly die down but she still grips my shirt like she’s scared I’ll disappear. Every tear soaking through my skin felt like a knife straight to my heart.I should’ve been faster. No—I should’ve followed her the moment she rushed out of the boardroom. But I was too busy pretending like there was nothing between us just so I could keep earning Carlos’ trust.I had no idea he was cruel enough to do this. I’ve seen different sides of him, sides I didn’t even know existed, and I kept thinking maybe we were wrong. That maybe he wasn’t the one behind this. Apart from his obsession with taking over Maya’s father’s empire, I never saw him do anything truly awful.But now, I know he’s just been hiding it all along.And I swear, he’s not getting away with this. He’s going to pay.When Maya finally calms down, I help her sit on the bench. Her eyes stay locked on the unconscious kidnapper like she wants to rip him apart, but mine stay on her, trying
"Lucas is the most qualified person in this room," I continue. "And consider this: by supporting Lucas, we're setting a precedent. For the first time since the establishment of this empire, we're saying that the leadership of this company isn’t limited to only the Roderigo family. This means that any one of you here could potentially lead this empire one day, based on merit rather than bloodline."It was as if I had dropped a lottery card as the atmosphere in the room shifted immediately. I could see people coming to their senses, their expressions changing. Happiness filled their eyes as the realization of possibility, the potential and for some, the greed of leading this empire one day all came crashing onto them."So instead of helping others climb up, why not pave the way for your own future?"Carlos must see that the directors are now wavering in their decision. His face turned even darker."You can't—" he begins, but Aunt Melissa cuts him off."Maya is right. There is no legal b
It's finally the day of the board meeting. I have gotten more courage than I should have. Lance and I still haven't met each other, other than communicating on the phone. He's with Carlos twenty-four seven, meeting with other board members, trying to win them over to his side.Lance already told me that most of the directors were now on Carlos' side and that winning them over to my side would be a little difficult, especially within the short amount of time.This was exactly why we have come to make another decision, and I have already gotten permission from my father to do this.But the mystery part that we have been trying to solve and investigate was how the cops found the ledger that Lance presented the other day in my father's office.I clearly checked every single place in his office when he was arrested, leaving no stone unturned. So how did it miraculously get in there? The surprising part was that a week ago, when Mom was hospitalized and I was in the hospital with her, two h
As everyone settled into their seats and Mr. Williams opened his mouth to speak those words I already knew he wanted to say but I cut him off and stood up."It is with my deepest pain that I inform you all of the predicament of the leader of this great empire.""Now she informs us after a lot of damage has already been done," Alexander said mockingly.I remembered that they weren’t even supposed to be here. They had already promised not to set foot here again unless summoned.But now was not the time to address that.I continued, "My father, the leader of this great empire, has fallen into a trap set by his enemies—the same enemies he made while trying to protect this empire and drive it forward.My father has been leading this empire for a solid thirty-five years, ever since it was handed to him when he was just twenty-two years old. Despite his young age back then, he led us well—well enough for us to become number one across the globe.He’s not the kind of man who gives up on his p
~~~MAYA'S POV~~~I picked up a pair of red high heels from the shoe rack, slipping them on carefully. Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, I smoothed down my sleek black dress, the fabric hugging my figure in all the right places. But something still felt incomplete.Then my gaze shifted to my reflection and landed on my loose waves cascading over my shoulders. I suddenly didn’t feel like letting my hair fall freely this morning. So I gathered it up and twisted the strands into a smooth, doughnut bun.Now satisfied with my look, I grabbed my phone and then grabbed my bag before heading outside my room. As I climbed down the stairs with my heels clicking harder, my eyes glued to my phone. My hand hovered on the chain on my neck as I read Lance's two-old message for the hundredth time:"I love you, Maya. Remember that. I would never do anything to hurt you."He had sent this message to me and also sent the necklace. Those two things has been something that has been cheering me
~~~LANCE'S POV~~~It's been like four days now since Maya's father was arrested, and everything has spiraled into chaos faster than I could have imagined.For days now, Maya's family has been turned upside down. The reporters are even chasing her around, asking if she was aware of her father's activities.The media circus isn't helping either. Every time I turn on the TV or check my phone, there's another headline about A&R and Maya's father. The company's stock is in freefall and Maya's mother... God, she couldn't handle it all. She's in this same hospital now, three floors below and her body was giving in to the stress of watching her world crumble.No matter what anyone says, Maya still solely believes that her father is innocent. Unfortunately, belief alone cannot save him. They need more evidence which we still didn't have.My heart aches every time I think about Maya. She's been practically living at the police station, working tirelessly with their lawyers to secure her father'
"Dad!" I ran toward him.But one of the cops stepped in front of me, blocking me from getting in contact with my father. "Ma’am, please stay back.""Step aside this right now!" I shouted, my fury boiling over. "Do you have any idea of what you’re doing!""We have a warrant for his arrest and any interference on your part could be considered as an obstruction of justice. So I will advise you to step aside, ma'am.” the cop stated firmly but I didn’t care.I still tried to move past him. "This is ridiculous! Show me the evidence that he actually did all these!" But the officer blocked my path again.Then another cop who seemed to be in a higher rank than those in front of me, approached me. He introduced himself as Thomas and gave me a paper.I glared at him angrily before snatching the paper from his grip. My hand trembled as I scanned the accusations written in it. I just couldn't believe any of it. My father would do no such.I shook my head.” This is all bullshit. He’ll not do some