*****ASHLEY'S POV**** "No, don't carry that. We won’t be needing it,” I said, waving Hilda away from the box of shrimp. "Why not? Shrimps are…" "My dad's allergic to shrimp. Even smallest quantity of it can be fatal to him. So we have to avoid it," I explained, cutting her off with a shake of my head. “Oh! Got it.” She dropped it quickly and picked up a box of fresh vegetables instead. I carried the last box of ingredients from the car, lugging it toward the outdoor kitchen area which has been set up under the canopy of oak trees. As we walked towards there, a small smile play at my lips as I didn't see that bitch face around here. She would not be joining me in cooking and that brought nothing but satisfaction to me as I knew she was planning something under her sleeves which was why she approached Courtney earlier. Actually I saw her talking before Courtney suddenly called everyone and suggested this. Brittany was usually easygoing and has never for once taken such inter
I never believe that there's always a happy ending after a sad and bad begining but now ... .I do as I was now experiencing mine. I've decided to let all go…everything that hurt me, everything that made me cry, I’ve decided to it go and just seek my own happiness.Seeing Ashley in that condition last time, made me think rethink about what I was doing. I’ve been gradually turning into a monster all in the name of revenge. I couldn't believe that I tried to kill an innocent man because of the mistake of his daughter. And the way Ashley reacted when she was almost hit by her brother, clearly shows that she was once abused either by him or someone else.Deep down the dark heart of all monsters, there's always a reason for their evil act….or always someone that drove them to the path of evilness. Now I’ve decided to let them be..they are free to enjoy their marriage while I also live my own life…with my daughter.Standing in front of a mirror, I looked at my own reflection with a bright sm
The faint blue light of dawn seeped through the worn curtains, casting a soft glow over the cramped space. It's now morning. I let out a small yawn as I leaned back into my chair, stretching my neck and then my arms. I felt a little ache from the several hours I had spent hunched over my computer. Knowing that I didn't have much more time left, I resumed my job. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling slightly from fatigue. It's an all-nighter, again and the deadline for me was just in a few minutes. Life as a content editor isn't that easy especially if you had an inconsiderate client who gave you just a day to complete her job.If not because the pay was nice, I definitely wouldn't have accepted it….no, even if it wasn't, I think I needed to accept it because right now….I'm broke. And we need some cash for this month's feeding. So no matter how rude my clients are, I have no other options than to endure it all.A soft knock sounded, followed by the door creaking open. My ha
We both say it at the same time. Bella raised her gaze and looked at me feeling apologetic. “No, I'm the one that is wrong. I'm not supposed to raise my voice at you when you are confiding in me.” Gently touching her cheeks, “ I'm really sorry.”“ I'm also sorry. I shouldn't have talked about my dad.”“No no, sweetheart. It's good you talk about it. It's just that …you know your mom doesn't like talking about him? So that's why I was a bit worked up. I'm really sorry.” I apologize. “It's alright, Miss Ariel. I'm not angry at you.”“ Do you really want to see your father? why?” I asked She was hesitant a little, “ Not really. Just wanted to ask why he did that to us. Why he abandoned mom and I. I wanted to asked him that.”“ Bella…”“ But now I don't want to know again.” A smile tucked the corner of her lip. “ I'm alright with you two.” With that she went to the dinning but I knew that she wasn't alright but just trying to because of what I did.I sighed heavily as I knew that I real
“ You can't live like this…hiding away like a coward all your life.”I inhaled heavily, letting her words to sink in but no matter how much I tried to brace myself…..tried to stand up again.. I just can't. I'm scared.I swallowed, forcing myself to keep a neutral expression. “All what you are saying is nothing but my past, Sophia. This…” Referring to the life and home I was now living in, “ Is my present, now and I really don’t want any connection to that world again. It's scary and I don't think I can… survive it again.” I rose, desperate to end this conversation, but her voice stopped me in my tracks.“Don’t you care about your parents? About the empire they’ve been trying so hard to hand against you? But you let it all in the hand of another man who is bound to destroy it?”“My parents?” I spat, feeling the bitterness rising up. “Sophia…” My voice cracked as tears pooled in my eyes. “They’re one of the damn reasons I’m in this mess. Their greediness and selfishness are the same rea
*****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