“Welcome to my house again Miss Cameron”“Thank you, sir,” she said with a smile “Eric will show you to your room. Eric?” he signalled for the butler she met the other day. He came to help me with her bags and led her upstairs “This way Miss” Eric said as he led her up the stairs and to the room. She gasped in awe as she stared at the room, it was so enormous with a queen-sized bed with lots of pillows and the softest looking silk bedsheet in the centre of the room, there was a study table with a laptop on it and a chair in a corner, three beautiful lamps, a silver chandelier, silver curtains to cover the two huge windows.“Thank you, Eric”“You’re welcome, miss. Dinner is in two hours”“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind”He left and Angela crashed on the soft bed, the bed sunk with her in it as she closed her eyes while allowing the previous day's event to play in her head.**********“Are you gonna be okay?” Jane asked with a concerned look on her face. She had grown worried for her fr
Tristan sat with her under the gazebo in his garden and they started talking. She wasn't facing him directly, she just wrapped her arms around herself and looked away from him.“So, tell me about yourself miss Cameron”“Don't you already know everything about me?” she answered sarcastically. Tristan chuckled lightly and replied“I'm willing to know more”Angela sighed before responding “I didn't go to college”“I know” “And you already know why I didn't go to college” she said ruefully“What I really wanna know is things you don't tell anyone. Private things”“So you can use it to blackmail me again?” she replied bitterly and in that moment, he regretted his previous actions. He really wanted her to work for him but there were other ways he could have gone about it. He wondered if she'll ever trust him after that “I was desperate” he started as he raked his fingers through his hair “To get revenge?” “No! Not to get revenge…”“That's what you said”He knew he'll have to tell her so
She took one more look at herself in the mirror, she didn’t feel like herself tonight. It’s been one hell of a week for her and it’s starting to take it’s toll on her. She glumly made her way to the dining table where Tristan was already sitting and she let her mind wander.__________Ivy has re-emerged and has been threatening her mercilessly lately. She first bumped into her one evening when she went to get something. It was raining lightly and Tristan offered to send his driver to take her but she refused.She was all too aware of a black Porsche parked opposite the office. It started moving slowly when she came out of the office. She held her umbrella tightly and hastened her steps and so did the Porsche. Just when she considered running, the back window rolled down and she saw Ivy's beautiful face. She had on a pair of very dark sunglasses as usual “Hello Angela!” she said with an unusually calm tone as she stepped out with an umbrella Angela slowly backed away as Ivy walked t
She woke up with a headache and her body was as cold as ice. She stood up slowly, realizing she was still on the cold hard ground, she began to sneeze and shiver.She walked slowly to the bedside table and picked up her phone. Horrified at how late she had woken up and realizing the time, she swore under her breath. “Tristan’s gonna be pissed” she mumbled. Then she grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around herself and waddled downstairs to the living room where she met Tristan sitting on the sofa with his face buried in his laptop “Hi” she said in a hoarse voice, her voice was barely louder than a whisper. He looked up at her and frowned in concern.“Hi. Are you okay? You don’t look too good”“Aren’t we already late for work? You’re not ready?”He studied her for a moment before replying “it’s Sunday.”She mouthed a silent ‘oh’ “I have a cold. I think I’ll just go back to bed.” She turned to leave “Do you need anything? Like a hot chocolate or something?” “Yeah, hot chocolate would be
“You know what day it is right?” Tristan asked on their way to work The day of my doom she thought then she gave him a sweet smile “of course I know. How could I forget?” “Can’t wait. I’ve got a surprise planned out”“What is it?”“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?”“I guess that’s true” She scrolled through the iPad “There’s a staff meeting in less than an hour from now. And then there are a bunch of other cramped up stuff to do since I had to shift every appointment from four p.m to the time before. Are you sure we can’t just shift the date till another day?” She asked nervously “No, I want it to be today. Why do you want it shifted, do you have other plans?”“N—no, I don’t have other plans”“Good!” She began to chew her lower lip nervously, thinking of how she’ll get herself out of this situation.“Can I ask you a question?” She asked “Sure”“Okay” she paused, took a deep breath before asking “Ivy?”“What about her?”“Do you think you can, I don’t know,
The elevator chimed and she bolted towards the front door. Sarah was not at her desk and she wondered where she went. Just as she got outside, Ivy's Porsche stopped in front of her. She was about to grab the handle when she heard her name from behind. It was Alan and he looked confused.“Miss Cameron?” he called out but she hurriedly got in afraid he'll try to stop her.“Drive!” Ivy ordered the driver and he sped off. Angela glanced back and saw Alan watching them, he stood for some seconds, then he brought out his phone probably to inform Tristan of what he just witnessed.She let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding since as they drove further away from the office then she turned to Ivy who was glaring at her.“What? I came didn't I?” she asked “You're fucking Tristan?” Ivy questioned.It was more of a statement awaiting confirmation than a question. Angela's knuckles turned white with rage“The only thing between us right now is that I fix your reputation. My per
“You're a badass!” Jane said as she opened the door for her. “Oh Jane” she whined as Jane pulled over into an embrace. She patted her back gently in small circular motions.“There there, come inside” she said as she pulled her in gently.Jane made her sit down and went to go get her a steaming cup of tea. She sipped it slowly.“I think I screwed up bad” she moaned “No you didn't. You handled it like a boss. I was just watching in amazement at how bold you were. How did you come up with everything you said”“Bold?” she chuckled bitterly and took a small sip of the tea.“I was as nervous as hell. The weather is cold but I was sweating like a sinner in a church”“You did a good job hiding it then, you sounded so confident. But I'm guessing Tristan isn't aware of that interview”Angela sighed “That's why I'm here. I can't go back and I know he'll be very furious.”“By the way, I've been calling you since, you're not answering”“I might need a new phone. That bratty girl threw my phon
“She's blackmailing me. She has the video”Tristan looked stunned “She has the video? How?”“I don't know but somehow she has it. She gave me a deadline to get her career back and to make her become your friend again or else she'll expose the video”“But why didn't you tell me this before? I could have helped” he asked softly.“I guess I didn't think towards that area at first but when I did, it was too late. If I had wasted any time explaining to you, she would have leaked the video” she answered wistfully.He took her hand and made her sit beside him, giving her palms a little squeeze as she did. A faint smile lit her face up as she spoke again.“Tell me you didn't already know about the interview before”“I knew. I also know she's been contacting you, threatening you. I knew about the whole getting back her career and my trust thing but I didn't know she was using the video to do that. I didn't even know she has the video. I guess I've been underestimating her recently.” he paused
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THREE MONTHS LATERShe stared at her reflection in the mirror, and a satisfied smile crept up her lips.Today was the most important day of her life. Her wedding day!She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the day Tristan proposed to her two months ago.***************It was another cold day, as usual. It was a work day, but instead of going to work, Tristan had insisted they go to the same restaurant they went on her first day of working with him, and that they bring Zoe.She didn't understand why Tristan would choose to go to a restaurant instead of work and what was even more strange was that he insisted that he wanted to drive. He usually lets his driver do the driving, so she found it strange.After making sure that Zoe was seated and buckled in with the seatbelt, she sat in the passengers seat in front and Tristan got behind the wheel. As he adjusted the rear-view mirror, he winked at Zoe, who giggled and bounced happily in the back, the entire ride.All efforts to calm
“I'm telling you, Tristan, it's that bad.”She said to Tristan over Facetime.He had called her by eight pm New Zealand Standard Time and she was telling him how things were with Zoe.She couldn't bring herself to sleep on the mattress, so, after tucking Zoe in and making sure she was asleep, she went to the living room and lay on the couch instead. “And get this, turns out she's been living here using my name.”“Are you serious?” He asked, the shock on his face mirroring hers.“I am. Her neighbour called me Angela, and I found these fake documents and ID's inside the kitchen closet. It all had my name. None of it has her name. It's creepy.”“So, her daughter doesn't know her real name either?”“She doesn't. Apparently, she's been living a lie for seven years. As crazy as it is, it did give me an idea.” She replied with a faraway look in her eyes.“What idea?” Tristan asked with raised eyebrows. She smiled at him as she answered, “You know how she told me not to ever let her daught
The twenty-one-hour flight took it’s toll on her. Even though there had been two stops along the way, she was exhausted and sick by the time she got to New Zealand. She had also bought some things for Zoe as a way to earn her trust.Tristan called to check on her three times, and he sounded better. At least that's an improvement.She stopped a taxi and gave the driver the address Annabelle gave her. It was almost an hour drive from the airport and along the way, she kept wondering what she would tell Zoe. Where would she say her mother was? And how would she explain that she was her aunt? Because she was pretty sure Annabelle never mentioned her to Zoe.She was so lost in thought, she didn't realize they were already at her destination. The driver had to honk the car horn to snap her out of her thoughts.“We're here.” He announced after getting her attention.“Oh. Thank you.” She answered as she paid him. He helped her offload her luggage and then, he drove off.Angela stared at the
Tristan, Taylor and Angela arrived at the hospital to find a panic-stricken, worn out Tessa, pacing around. Her arm was bandaged too.“What happened? Where's mum?” Tristan asked, trying to rush into the emergency ward, but was stopped by Tessa.“Tristan, you can't go in there yet. Please, calm down.”“What exactly happened, Tessa?” Angela asked.“Yeah, how did she get shot.” Taylor added.“She went to confront Amy and we were on our way back when our car was ambushed and some men wearing masks surrounded us. They killed the driver and shot mum in the chest through the windscreen. They shot at me too, but it missed narrowly, and my arm got hit instead. They took off immediately and that's when I called the ambulance.”“How is she? Will she make it?” Tristan asked with wide-eyes. Tessa looked dismayed as she averted her gaze. Tristan was about to say something when Tessa's husband Connor came rushing in.“Honey,” he exclaimed as he rushed towards her. He hugged her, then he examined he
The car came to a halt in front of the Perry's grand mansion. Marie stepped out first, not waiting for the driver to open the door for them.Her eyes was red and her complexion was pale. She stormed out of the car and marched furiously inside the house, ignoring her children completely.“Mum, are you okay? What happened?” Tessa asked, trying to block her path. But, one glare from Marie, made her move. She rushed towards Tristan, who was being helped out of the car by Angela and Alan.“What's wrong with mum? She looks ready to murder someone.” She asked Tristan, who exchanged a glance with Angela.“What does that look mean? What's happening?” She asked in alarm.“Is father home?” Tristan asked.“Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question. Why is mum so furious?” She asked again, visibly frustrated that no one was answering her question.“Where is he?” Tristan asked again.“In his study. For God's sake, why isn't anyone answering the damn question? What happened to mum?” she yelled.Just
She sat in front of a tiny glass window in a cubicle, tapping her fingers nervously on the table and lost in thought.It's been three days since she was discharged from the hospital and she had been putting off the idea of seeing her sister in prison till she couldn't anymore.She had to gather up all her courage to come here, concluding that Annabelle could not hurt her again as she was already behind bars.Now, sitting here, all that courage seemed to have faltered and she wondered if it was too late to leave. Just then, she looked up and her whole body tensed as she saw a haggard-looking Annabelle in cuffs, being escorted by a police officer. The officer removed the cuffs from her wrists and she slumped to the chair. Angela inhaled and tried to calm her nerves and her shaking hands as she picked up the phone in front of her. Annabelle did the same and for a few seconds, neither of them said a word to each other. They just stared, with the phone in their ears and different though
She remained silent, just staring blankly, throat dry, heart pounding until Tristan felt the need to speak.“Angela, please say something.”She finally focused her gaze on him, as the blank stare left her face. “Where is she?” she asked.“Detained,” Tristan answered.“Angie, she wants to see you,” Jane said, looking worried. Angela shifted her gaze to Jane as seven of the coldest words she had ever said, fell out of her mouth.“I have nothing to say to her!”“She's still your sister…” Tristan was saying, but she cut him short.“Was my sister! Now, I have no sister. I remember everything she did to me, including hiring those two men to beat me up. I was pregnant! And she knew it. You know what they said to me? They told me that she said they should get rid of it by any means necessary. She's the reason all this is happening. She could have killed you too, Tristan. And you say she's my sister? No, if she were my sister, she would never have done all that to me.”She yelled, angry tears
Her head was hurting so she once again thought she was hallucinating. Even though she just heard his voice, she couldn't bring herself to believe he was looking at her and talking to her. He was in a coma, so how was he doing any of that?“Are you okay?” he asked, startling her.“Y—you. You're awake?”“Surprised?” he asked with a smile.“I am. The doctor said it would probably take at least a month before you woke up.” Her face twisted in horror as she said, “Oh no, don't tell me I was unconscious for a month!” Tristan chuckled as he responded, “No, you weren't unconscious for a month, you were unconscious for a week.”“A week?” Angela asked as her face paled in horror. “Why? What happened?”“According to the doctor, when you fell, you hit your head pretty bad and since you already had a brain injury, it triggered something. But do you feel okay now? Did you forget anything?”She raked her brain, trying to figure out if she forgot anything, but she couldn't think of anything she mig