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
"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
We turned in unison, and there she was—Ashley. Her radiant smile beamed as if she’d just won the lottery. She waved enthusiastically, her left hand high in the air, drawing every ounce of attention toward herself. My fists curled into tight balls at my sides, anger surging through me like a storm. And what the fuck is she doing here?In anger, I glared at Lance, who also looked a little bit surprised by her presence. He gave me that “I’m sorry” look, but that’s not what I wanted from him. I wanted him to tell me why she was here.Ashley rushed toward our side and then stormed into the midst of Lance and Henry, pushing Henry away from Lance. My stomach churned when she flashed him that annoying smile and looped her arm through Lance’s. My patience thinned. “What are you doing here?” Lance growled before I could say a word. His voice was low but sharp. Ashley tilted her head coyly. “Oh, honey, don’t be like that. Have you forgotten that I told you I would support you no matte
Standing in the corridor of the courtroom on the first floor of the tall building, I let out a soft sigh as I intertwined my fingers nervously. I was trying so hard to convince myself that I wouldn’t embarrass myself in court today especially since it looked like I would be appearing without my lawyer. "I’ve really underestimated my opponent. I should have foreseen this," I muttered under my breath as I was already feeling frustrated. Behind me, Lance paced back and forth with his phone totally glued to his ear. He had been trying to reach Henry for the past hours, but there was no answer. Many bad thought had already been playing on my head. Each time I heard the automatic response from the network provider, my frustration grew as I thought what I actually thought had happened. "Where the hell is he?" Lance growled, ending another failed call. I leaned against one of the stone pillars, watching the steady stream of people going in and out of the courthouse and deep down
I exhaled slowly. “I won’t forgive you,” I said and I could see a flicker of something like sadness—or was it disappointment? across his face. “At least, not yet. But if you win this case for us…” I let my words hang in the air, a faint smile tugging at my lips. Immediately he heard that, Henry’s head shot up. Relief washed over his face. “I’ll win it. You have my word,” he promised. “Bold of you to promise that,” Lance interjected with a teasing smirk. “You’ll be up against one of the biggest firms in America. Do you even stand a chance?” Henry straightened and said confidently. “I’ll take your doubt as fuel to prove you wrong man.” His tone was defiant, and the two men exchanged chuckles. Henry glanced up at Lance hesitantly. “You’re not angry with me?” Lance responded, looking at me. “Since she said she’d forgive you eventually…” He trailed off, mouthing a quiet ‘thank you’ in my direction. I cleared my throat as I quickly shifted my gaze away from him, clearly uncomfort
Sitting in the meeting room with Lance and Bryan seated across from me, I lightly tapped my fingers against the polished surface of the table. My gaze which was fixed on the stack of files before me, was now starting to blur. I’d been poring over documents since morning as we’re all desperately searching for legal precedents to block the rezoning of this building. My temples throbbed, and I sighed in exhaustion. Even, the words on the pages are beginning to dance, moving around on their own. My eyes were failing me. Who exactly would have thought this is what I’d be doing the moment I took over Lance’s company? If I’d known it would be like this, I swear I never as done it. Just as I was nearing the end of the document in front of me, the door creaked open, and Janet entered, pushing a cart that was stacked high with dusty files and documents. She wheeled it to the table and began to unload them right in front of me. “These are the last documents,” she announced as she placed
***KINGSLEY'S POV***The tension in the room was suffocating as Maya said she was here to talk about us. About us? Did she mean the same ‘us’ that she abandoned because she didn't trust me enough. She didn't believe that I could protect her and she left.Maya stood right in front of me, looking at me with those pleading eyes that once had the power to melt my resolve. But not anymore. Not after what she had done to me and the humiliation she had made me go through. I became a man that wasn't only lied to but was also abandoned; as my family had no idea that I was aware of everything about her. I was sure if not because she fainted that day, she would have run out of the hall, abandoning me on the altar.My jaw tightened as I looked at her but I held it all back in, and forced my gaze back to the files in my hand, pretending to be unbothered by her presence. “We have nothing left to talk about," I said flatly, flipping a page I wasn’t even reading, but just pretending to be busy. "No
Looking out of the car window, my gaze was fixed on the cityscape rushing by. I could feel my fingers tangling and twisting together in a restless dance on my lap.The memories of how I landed in the hospital on my wedding day, all rushed in. I remembered how I woke up, the faint beeping of the heart monitor rang in my ears and the nurse's soft voice, asked me if I was alright but my eyes just scanned through the room. There’s no one else in this room apart from her. Then she mentioned that Kingsley had stepped out to take a call and will be back soon. Immediately she left the room to get the doctor, I yanked the IV drip from my arm, the bright red dot of blood that bloomed on my skin and then… fled the hospital.Since that day…I haven't contacted him again, not even when I was back. I knew that he had the right to be angry at me…I knew that he must have felt betrayed when we both promised that we will stick through together but I only abandoned him, let him alone face the critics
Yes, I know I'm hot. “Wow… you look absolutely stunning” he mouthed.i Ignored him, tossing his coat at him.“Stop leaving your trash in my room,” I said, walking past him.Just as I reached the car, he stepped forward and draped his coat over my shoulders. “You can’t walk into the company dressed like this,” he said, his voice low while I arched my brow at him, “ I mean..the weather seems cold today. “ I stopped, glancing at the coat before pulling it off and tossing it back at him. I knew exactly what he was trying to say as I remembered he didn't like me wearing something exposing. But what about his wife that could even walk naked in the public? I bet he got nothing against that. “And who exactly are you to tell me what I can and can’t wear? Mr Lance Wells, I will be grateful if you can keep your concern to yourself.” I said, feeling angry that he was here pretending to be concerned about me while still planning on secretly taking Bella's hair for a DNA test. His jaw tig
"What the hell are you doing here?" My voice cracked, slicing through the morning silence like shattered glass. "No, seriously, how the hell did you get in here? Did you break into my house?" My brow arched, disbelief lacing my tone.Scrambling upright on the bed, I tugged at the hem of my nightgown as I was now suddenly hyper-aware of how exposed I was."Whoa, calm down, sweetheart," Lance drawled, his smirk as infuriating as ever. "You can't just jump to conclusions already? Relax. I’m not a thief.""Relax?" I gaped at him,. "You walk into my bedroom uninvited, and you think relax is the appropriate response? What if—what if you’re here to harm me? Especially after I took everything away from you because I'm pretty sure you are still angry about that but putting on a facades.”He raised his hands in mock surrender, the corners of his mouth twitching as though he found my panic amusing. "Harm you? Really? I thought we cleared the air, Maya. I clearly told you that I don't mind you ta
***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