The following morning, Ida got dressed up in the white wedding dress that was given to her. A makeup artist came to help her get dressed. This is not the wedding Ida dreamed about. But this is the necessary evil. If the circumstances were different, then she would have appreciated the dress and the efforts of the makeup artists. They pulled her hair into a bun before putting on the veil on her head. But she is more anxious about how this day is going to go down and if they will be successful in what they planned. There is so much at stake here for them, that one wrong move and it would cost Sara her life. "Ida, let's go" Richard rushed inside her room looking anxious. Ida turned to look at him with a frown. It's not yet time for them to go. "Dad? Where are we going?" she asked with puzzlement.Richard pulled some clothes out of the bag he carried inside."Ida, hurry up. Change into these clothes. My friend Charles is waiting for us outside. Let's run away from here. I cannot bear
Selene stormed inside Tony's room with anger. She is seething. He was looking into the mirror when she walked in. "What the hell did you do now?" she snapped at him.He turned to face her. A gasp of shock left her mouth. He has lines and lines of dark angry-looking red marks covering almost his entire face. The marks ran in all directions. There is some white awful-looking outline to every scratch mark. In short, he looks hideous and scary. "Oh dear, what the hell happened to you?" she demanded.Just then, Clovia joined them. One look at Tony, she started screaming with fright. "Ghost...help" she all but ran out of the room. She bumped into a wall and a door twice in her haste to run away."Clovia, it's Tony" Selene snapped impatiently.Clovia stopped running and looked at the man closely."Oh my god, you are right. Did he forget that it's his wedding day and not Halloween?" she commented, keeping as much distance from him as she could.Tony is feeling awful, and her comment made h
"Surprised?" Leo mocked Tony, who is gradually succumbing to the effects of the drug that was just given to him. Tony took a step back and away from Leo, only to collide with his vanity. Leo and Sid chuckled at his reaction."Boss, how I always wanted to see this fear in his eyes? I hoped that Mr. Giovanni would put him in his place. But he was too old and lost in grief. I am glad that I finally saw fear in his arrogant eyes" Sid commented with a toothy grin.Tony glared at him, but when a hard slap landed on his cheek that was unexpected, he stumbled and fell backward. He broke the mirror in the process. The sound of glass breaking echoed around the room, mingled with the sounds of his pathetic screaming. On cue, loud music started playing outside, drowning the noise Tony was making."Please, don't hurt me" Tony begged. He is now lying sideways on the floor amidst the broken glass pieces. Leo smirked with anger brewing in the depths of his eyes."Leave you alone? This must be how
"Ida, it's time. Your groom is waiting for you on the altar" Selene announced and roughly nudged Richard forward."Now walk your daughter down the aisle. If you don't want to, then it's fine. I can do it myself" Selene said, mocking Richard. Richard glared at her but said nothing. He moved closer to Ida and gently kissed her on her head."You already did enough to ruin our lives. I will take over from here" he muttered. His words held deeper meaning than what he let out to be. But Selene did not understand that. So smirked with triumph, as if she won. Richard offered his elbow to Ida, who took it with a small smile. He walked her out of the mansion and down the aisle. At the end of the aisle, Leo is waiting for her, wearing a black mask that covers his face entirely. Even though she couldn't see his face, she could easily identify him from anywhere and she loved his cologne too. It's soothing and feels like home. Richard offered Ida's hand to Leo, who took it gracefully. His movemen
Leo and Ida's reception was postponed to another time after they were done dealing with Selene. Richard is so happy that he can't put his emotions into words. Everyone ignored Clovia, thinking that she was harmless without her mother supporting her. But little do they know that she is the snake that is now invading the safety of their home and trying to kill one of their own. She is just waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ida, Sara, Leo, Richard, and Sid were sitting in the living area, discussing their next move. "I know it must be someone from within the family. But I never thought that it would be Selene" Sara shared her shock of finding out that it was her sister who was trying to ruin her all along. "I found out about how vicious she is when she blackmailed me to marry her after your accident. I was locked so tightly in her clutches, that it was suffocating. I tried my best to protect Ida after finding out that we had a daughter. But somehow, Selene found out about her and
The same night, Ida woke up feeling lethargic and sick to her stomach. She turned to look at the man who was sleeping beside her. A slow smile spread across her lips with love. She sat up and leaned her back to the headboard. Her throat is feeling itchy and her mouth is feeling dry. She turned to the side and noticed that someone filled the empty water glass from which she had drunk water a couple of hours ago. She picked up the glass and took a sip to ease the itchy feeling in her throat. She took a few mouthfuls. Before she could drink more, her stomach started to churn with discomfort and she started to feel sick. Immediately she rushed inside the washroom and started to puke her stomach out. Once she emptied her stomach contents, she dry heaved a few times before her stomach settled down. She took a deep breath to ease her discomfort. She flushed the toilet and slowly stood up to her feet."Ida? Baby doll what happened?" Leo rushed to her side and gently caught her by her shoulder
Sid is sitting with his grandma early the next morning. No one was awake yet, but it became a habit for Nancy to sleep late and wake up early. So she was awake ahead of everyone. When Sid saw his grandma sitting alone in the kitchen, he joined her."I thought you left us because you had enough of Mom and Dad fighting over every simple thing" he spoke, showing her his vulnerable side.Nancy patted him on his head. Her wrinkled face split up into a gentle smile. "No, my boy. Your mom and dad used to make me upset with their constant disagreements, but you used to be my everything. You still are. When Sara requested my help, I thought of taking you with me, but at that time, we didn't know what kind of uncertainties and dangers we might have to walk into. I don't want to risk your life. I thought you would be safe here. That's why I left you here under your parent's care. I couldn't ignore Sara's distress. We owe the Giovanni family our lives. Mr. Walter Giovanni offered a job to me whe
'Strange, water does not leave a trail like that ' he thought as his gut began to sink with suspicion.He stood up from the bed and rounded the corner to scan the water glass closely. He leaned down to pick up the glass, but before he could touch the glass, Ida's pain-filled moan caught his attention. Belatedly he noticed that she was paler than last night and by the look on her face, he could understand that she was in pain. He ignored the glass and immediately attended to his wife."Baby doll? What happened?" he patted her cheek to wake her up. But she folded into a fetal position by clutching her abdomen with her hands."Ida? What happened?" he inquired with panic. She moaned again, this time it came out as a half moan and a half sob."Leo, my stomach, it's hurting everywhere" she whispered as tears started streaming down from her closed lids."Sid" Leo yelled as panic settled in his gut looking at her in so much pain. He knows that their family doctor might not be able to attend
"Leo, I am fine" Ida complained. But Leo refused to listen to her. He is always insisting on carrying her everywhere these days. She is thirty-seven weeks pregnant now and she gained a lot of weight. All thanks to Leo, Grace, Sara, and Walter. They kept pampering her to the point that Leo refused to walk on her own these days. He insists on carrying her everywhere."Who said you are not? I like carrying both of you in my arms. Why do only you get to carry our daughter? Why can't I carry her?" he asked with a playful wink.Ida groaned and gave up arguing with him. She knows that he will not listen to her, so she lets him do as he pleases."Oh Ida, you woke up? Here, drink this milk. Grace found this recipe somewhere. And it is said to be good for both the mother and the baby" Sara explained while placing a huge glass of milk in front of her.Ida sighed heavily. Her day usually begins like this from the moment she and Leo announce her pregnancy. Sara and Grace dismissed the cook and th
After two months... In one of the private beaches in the Bahamas, Rose is lying on the beach on top of one of the beach chairs with her eyes covered with shades. She is dolled up in a black two-piece bikini. Her sun-kissed tan skin is looking good on her. She gained a few much-needed pounds, which gave her curves that went on for days. She is looking peaceful and content. "Baby doll, here, drink this juice" Leo handed her a glass of cranberry juice, which is tangy, and she happened to crave the tangy taste these days. "Thank you" she replied with a small smile and sipped the cool refreshing drink. She hummed with approval as the taste of the juice made her tastebuds come alive. It's been two months since that fateful day. And two months two weeks from the day she lost her baby. And a year from the time when she first met Leo. At the beginning of the year, she doesn't know that her life is going to change so much. She was still under the wrong belief that she would be marrying Kevi
The next morning, everyone gathered in the graveyard to attend Selene's funeral. Walter was not interested in giving a proper burial to the person whom he treated as a daughter but she almost destroyed his family. He wanted to burn her body in the inferno and get rid of her. But Sara insisted that they needed a proper burial. So hence he arranged this small arrangement. Clovia was brought from the center to attend her mother's last rights. Ida was discharged from the hospital. Leo is standing beside Ida and is looking as interested as Walter.The priest started the procedure. "I request you to speak about the diseased" the priest requested. It is customary to speak well about the dead person. But no one came forward to speak good things about Selene. Because she never did anything good to anyone. "Let's skip the speech and proceed to the last step. Let's drop her coffin into her grave" Walter muttered impatiently. Apart from Sara who seemed a bit sad about Selene's death, no one i
"Sara? Are you alright?" Richard asked with worry.Sara nodded mutely. Her gaze is still fixed on Selene's dead body. She recollected her sweet moments with Selene. Her eyes watered with sadness. There was a time when she used to share everything with Selene. But she failed to recognize how and when Selene started to harbor this much hatred for her. She suppressed her sadness and blinked her eyes to clear her gaze."Call my father. He needs to know this" she muttered before locking herself inside the bathroom to wash away Selene's blood from her body along with her memories.Richard dialed Walter and told them everything that happened in the mansion. "What? I am coming now" Walter promised before disconnecting the call.When Sara stepped out of the bathroom after a long shower and freshly changed into another set of clothes, she saw that her room was spotless again. Someone cleaned everything. Broken vase, droplets of blood, and the dead body. It was as if nothing happened. If her bo
Goosebumps erupted on Sara's skin. Selene looks scary and pure evil when she is laughing like this."You were cherished by Richard and by your father. They were treating me like a princess while I was ignored and my importance in the Giovanni household was minimal. I wanted to ruin you too. I want to take everything you had. So I did. I used Tony and planned that accident to kill you. But somehow, you escaped. After you were out of the picture, I married your dearest Richard and made his life miserable. I raised my daughter like a princess, while you and your daughter were living out there miserably. I lived your life after replacing you in the Giovanni mansion and you were forced to turn into a pauper. You had everything but still living like an orphan. And your daughter? She was kicked and pushed from one orphanage to another. But I found out that your daughter is alive. So I tried to kill her. But she escaped. No, Leo Hamilton saved her every time. The same man whom my daughter is
'Sara, I will kill you today ' Selene thought venemously.In her room, Sara couldn't fall asleep after her talk with Richard. There was a time when she was too young she used to feel that marrying him would be enough for her in this life. But now, so many years have passed and she is not the same. She still likes him, but she doesn't know if she wants to marry him or not. Ida no longer needs them to take care of her. She is blessed with Leo now. After struggling for so long, all she wants in this life is peace. 'I don't even remember most of what happened in these two decades. I was in a coma after giving birth to Ida. It was Nancy who took care of me like a mother. I can never repay her kindness. She is the person who saved my life. I will talk to Dad and ask him to give some properties to Nancy so that at least she can live in peace during her old age ' she thought.Sara is standing near the window, facing away from her room entrance. She was standing there from the moment Richard
"It was not what it looked like" he muttered.Sara could sense bitterness and resentment in his tone. She understood that his relationship with Selene was not good."I know Selene might not have been a good wife. But what about Clovia? What do you think she would do if you married me leaving her mother? How are you planning to explain it to her?" she inquired.Richard looked at Sara. "I have only one daughter, and that is our daughter Ida. Clovia is not my daughter. I never shared a room with Selene after I married her. She became pregnant before marriage. So I was blackmailed into marrying her so that she can give a decent father to Clovia" he explained.Sara is stunned. "I..." she is at a loss for words.He understood her dilemma. "Sara, please, think about what I suggested. Don't you think we both deserve our happily ever after? Do you think that it's fair for us to end up alone in our old age? Don't you think we need someone when we get old and our daughter becomes busy with he
In the rehabilitation center where Clovia was admitted, the doctors are giving her electric treatment often to help her recover. The frequency of the electric shocks to Clovia made her head feel hazy and heavy. She is taking a little longer to identify the objects she is looking at, and she even forgets about why she got there. It took her a good five minutes to remember everything. Leo, his marriage to Ida everything Clovia did to Ida, and how she was stuck in this torture chamber."No, I have to get away from here as soon as possible. If they keep giving me electric treatments like this, I might completely lose my mind. If that happened, then I would lose my Leo forever. I have to escape" she decided to herself.So this time, even though she was awake, she didn't make any noise to alert the nurse or the doctor. Her ears perked up and she strained to hear for any movement outside her room door. When she heard nothing, she slowly sat up from the bed. She made her way towards the door
In the rehabilitation center, when Clovia gained her conscience, she found herself gagged and bound to a stretcher. White hospital walls and beeping machines greeted her in the otherwise quiet room. Slowly when she remembered what happened to her a few hours ago, she started to panic. She frantically started tugging at her binds and screamed behind her gag. She planned to kill Ida and even hospitalized her. But she never expected to find herself in a place like this. "Ahhh...lt m g..." she said something, but her words came incoherent and muffled. She looked angry and would have killed the doctor and the nurse who gave her the electric treatment, but she was tied down to a stretcher and she couldn't move.As her anger started building, her heart rate and blood pressure began to rise as well. This made the machines start beeping loudly, alerting the nurse station outside. Immediately a couple of nurses rushed inside and looked at how Clovia was tugging at her binds almost with too mu