"You received a package, sir." Mr. Stark's secretary, Erica, stood in front of his desk the next day clutching tightly to an envelope. Her boss had been particularly in a certain mood since morning, which was a lot coming from her, since she was used to her hard hearted grumpy boss already. "Drop it and be on your way." With shaky fingers, Erica obeyed his instructions and scrambled out of his office. Minutes later, Alessandro Stark contacted her via the intercom. "Summon the members of the PR and development department to the conference room in ten minutes. Anyone who is late will suffer the consequences." "Okay sir..." And the call went dead with such a force it startled Erica. The staff at the Stark Global headquarters were familiar with the repercussions in situations like this, and so in less than eight minutes, Erica dialled the Chairman again. "Sir, they are complete and waiting for you." *** Murmurs and confused eyes stared back at the CEO after his declaration s
The new Mrs. Stark wore a black turtle-neck top and a permanent glare directed at her husband, to Thanksgiving dinner.It was a long dinner table that managed to fit everyone as well as their ego comfortably at the back of the luxurious gigantic building where the reputable powerful Stark family lived.And tortured everyone with their judgemental disapproving stares.For instance, as soon as Eve arrived, the older Mrs. Stark turned down her lips and asked, "It isn't Halloween, dear. Why did you dress like the Grim Reaper?" Then the old but classy looking great-aunt questioned her on why Alessandro looked thinner.Thinner? The man was a package of muscles and yummy... Not that she was looking.And the older Mr. Stark actually scoffed and muttered, "She's only with him for the money, grand aunt." As if it were a normal statement and not in any way embarrassing.The gathering was stifling and suffocating with all the proper mannerism expected of everyone and the silence that reigned i
Eve didn't realise that there was an intercom in her bedroom until hours after they returned from the Stark Family Residence which could only be described as a castle.She had put baby Zoe to sleep and Sonia had retired to her own quarters when the intercom went off, startling her in her busy task of wearing her night lotion."Meet me in my study." Alessandro Stark muttered in that low bossy voice that compelled her to obey.Except that she already planned on embracing rebellion.Aww, had he assumed she was his P.A. by some chance?Eve Wilson-Stark applied the lotion in all parts of her body, taking her sweet time to wear her nightdress and turn on the TV.Fifteen minutes later, the door opened to an angry Alessandro Stark, his eyes fixated on his wife who was sprawled in bed, laughing at an episode of Friends."Do you get off on riling me up?" He muttered in that deep authoritative voice which was even hotter with the undertone of anger.Without looking away from the TV, Eve shrugged
"Her endorsements in other companies have all been cancelled. Our shareholders are demanding her removal as company model." The Stark Corporation head of PR who had rushed to the Stark residence sat before Alessandro in the great study, looking pensive. It was a grave issue, but Alessandro Stark looked as collected as ever. "Is that the only option?" Alessandro asked, drumming his fingers on the table. The older man cowered before his intimidating presence, perspiration rolling down his skin although the AC was fully functional. Alessandro didn't look like he had any plan of dropping his wife as the corporation ambassador, But the responsibility would fall on his own shoulders, not the young ruthless CEO. "Yes...but..." The head of PR started to say, but was suddenly interrupted. "There is no need, I already contacted my manger to terminate the contract." The two heads turned towards the young Mrs. Stark who was glowing as ever in a flowing white dress that made a pool on t
"What the hell was that? You just made everyone think...""That I had sex with my wife last night? Of course, that would be outrageous." Alessandro looked arrogant as ever as he casually shrugged off his jacket, revealing rippling muscles bulging from the shirt.Eve tore her eyes away for a second, and folded her arms over her chest, her eyes shooting daggers at him.They had just stepped into the mansion and were yet to go upstairs. Alessandro threw the jacket to the seat and took a step towards his wife, his cologne filling her senses. "The real question is, what were you doing with the attorney? Wasn't the shame you brought already enough? You couldn't even control yourself and had to go and f*ck him in broad daylight?" Eve was starting to get tired of all the accusations. In fact, her head was swirling with so many thoughts. If anything, stepping out and seeing her pictures...Ava's, had confirmed how serious the situation was.She wished she hadn't let her anger get the bette
Eve distracted herself by solving kids' puzzles with Zoe for the rest of the day, making efforts to avoid Alessandro. But despite all she did to keep her mind away from her troubles, she couldn't help but think of the expression in his eyes before Wendy had left. Why had he paid for the breach of contracts of different companies which cost millions of dollars? And now that she was indebted to him, what would he demand of her in return? Eve's only companion, baby Zoe, fell asleep after she had washed her up, and Eve watched the baby's soothing face as she slept in the crib, her tiny fingers gripping tightly to a toy. She sat in the nursery for an hour, avoiding the internet and playing silly games in her phone in a bid to pass time. By eleven, when she was sure that Alessandro would have retired for the night, Eve tiptoed out of the nursery, careful not to wake the baby. In a similar fashion of quiet steps, she padded her barefoot to the hallway and stopped in front of her roo
It wasn't what Eve had expected when she heard that her sister had been found.The address Hannah sent ended up being the ICU of a private hospital, and Eve stared at the building for minutes, feeling numb, before she walked in and found her way to the ICU.The beeping of machines, doctors and nurses in white, visible through transparent glass doors, her mother weeping by the corner of the waiting hallway while her father consoled her...Eve stood in the middle of it all, her feet suddenly too heavy to bear her weight, her fingers trembling, her mouth unable to move."Prepare the OR for an emergency surgery and inform the Neurosurgery department to be on standby." "Yes doctor." The student doctor who had just been sent on an errand dashed out of the room, the brief moment she opened the door creating a little space for Eve to take a look at her sister.Ava was soaked in blood, oxygen mask attached to her nose, her legs wrapped in bandage."Oh God!" A gasp tore from Eve's throat, her
Alessandro Stark was pissed off, livid, and beyond annoyed.As soon as Eve stepped out of the bathroom where she had gone to dry off, a towel wrapped over her head with a bathrobe on her body, he started,"It's fucking midnight, Ava. Is there no limit to your irresponsibility?"Eve lifted her head from the task of securing the white robe on her waist. She had expected a confrontation and prepared herself in the bathroom for one.But being called irresponsible to her face was as far as she could take.It wasn't Alessandro's fault that he was ignorant to what she had gone through tonight, but she had returned wet and cold,And he didn't give two rats' shit about that!"Sorry, I wasn't aware of the time." She apologised instead of the many things in her head, wanting to put everything behind her and try to sleep without thinking of her sister lying in coma.Eve walked past him to the closet, or at least, she tried to, when firm fingers suddenly gripped hold of her arm and pulled her in
Seven Months Later An orchestra ensemble was playing softly in the most luxurious hall in the heart of New York. It was one of the properties Alessandro Stark had gifted his fiancée, Eve Wilson, when he proposed to her months ago. Their love life had swept the whole of America by storm, especially when the Ava Wilson that the whole world had known as Alessandro's wife exposed everything that had happened on TV. The months after Ava had surprised everyone by telling the truth for the first time in her life had been a rollercoaster. At first, fans were confused since they had just realised that the celebrity they loved all those months hadn't been Ava. It had been difficult for Eve who took to interviews with Alessandro by her side, apologising for deceiving the world. But finally, after series of hate comments and legal battles, the Johnson Corporation had returned to the hands of Eve Wilson, the original owner whom the late Mrs. Rebecca Johnson had handed the company to. Durin
It started out as a kiss, but soon went beyond a mere locking of lips.It was like having two souls merging together, hearts locking in an eternal bliss which completed them both, and made them whole.He tasted her tears which rolled down to her lips, his palm cradling her face like a babe as their eyes fluttered shut.His fingers glided down her arm and cupped her waist, slipping into the shirt and moving around to her toned stomach...Except that it wasn't flat anymore, and that unmistakable bulge had him stilling his movements.His fingers stopped moving, his lips wrenching from hers with a pop."Is this what I think it is? You're pregnant?" His eyes were wide open in bewilderment, his tone ladened with shock and delight.It reminded Eve of the drawer full of pregnancy kits, and she stepped away from him, breathing hard and walking towards a seat."Eve, why are you not answering my questions? When were you going to tell me that you are carrying our baby?" That rage was returning t
It was one thing to be a lover of kids all her life, but Eve soon realised that carrying one's own child wasn't as fun as she had imagined it to be.She had barely entered into the second month of her first trimester, and she already felt like she was carrying a trailer on her stomach.She was blotted and weak most of the time, and going to work had become a tedious task.For instance, being around so many daycare kids whom she had taken pride in being their teacher before, now gave her headache,And also filled her mind with fears of taking care of her own kid properly.She felt nauseous and heavy and everything simply had her overreacting.It was nights like this, when she returned to her apartment with take out that she missed Alessandro, terribly.The last time she checked, he was unaware of her existence and was gracing the covers of magazines with Ava by his side.Eve forced her feet to move, a bead of sweat rolling down her temple from climbing the stairs.The elevator had brok
"I wonder why we've been forced to sit with this classless family of cheats and gold-diggers. I can't believe we all fell for your stupid pretense!"Anastasia Stark was clearly enraged where she sat across the Wilson family in Alessandro's spacious living room, her long legs crossed in front of her.Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were in their best clothes, dressed like they were being hosted by the president of the country.They ignored the angry Stark girl and turned away from the entire Stark family, staring at the television, clearly unbothered.It was only a matter of time before all their plans fell into place.In fact, based on the good news they had received from their star daughter, Ava, the one who had always brought money home, not the other self righteous Eve, it was only a matter of minutes.Soon, Alessandro would come down with Ava by his side and make a grand announcement, and they couldn't possibly imagine what it would be.But knowing how wealthy he was, he was probably going to
The door to Alessandro's study opened stealthily, and a teary eyed Ava came into view and leaned against the wall, her lips pouted cutely.Alessandro looked up from the screen of his laptop and reclined into his seat, pulling off his glasses."Hey baby, you know your cousin is lying right?" She employed that sweet tone capable of melting ice as she sashayed into the study.Alessandro who sat cross-legged in the executive seat rolled it to her direction and beckoned her to sit on his thighs.Ava smiled softly and perched on his powerful thighs, wrapping her arms around his neck."Daniella is lying, she's been trying to get me to have a threesome with them but I refused, then she ganged up with Anna and decided to set me up. You know I would never do that to you, right?"She was unbuttoning his shirt as she spoke, batting her baby blues at him. Alessandro slipped his fingers in between hers, halting her activity."Yes, I know that the woman I married would never do that." Ava smiled
One Month LaterWinter in the U.K. was one thing that Eve hadn't missed during her stay in America.It was extremely colder this year, and she had to stuff herself in large sweats and jeans, paired with scarves around her neck and head warmer.But the only advantage the clothes had was that Eve wasn't mistaken for Ava on the streets, which had been happening a lot these days.Apparently, she had underestimated how popular her twin's name and image had become when she was living as her.But now, as she walked the streets of London, she kept her head low, aware of Ava's image and ad videos on the billboards surrounding her.Some of them were of her twin with Alessandro, covering the pages of magazines and headlining events together.It hurt to say that they looked good together, as though there was no difference between them.Eve halted at a bus stop just in time for a bus to pull over, and she stepped into it, conscious of the curious eyes alternating between staring at her and looking
Morning came with unbearable pain, as reality crashed down on her.How much did it hurt waking up to the man she loved who had just declared that he was also in love with her, knowing she had to be on her way out of his life soon?Eve struggled with so many emotions, tempted even to ditch her sister for once.It was even more painful when she noticed that Alessandro had been awake for a while, staring at her with his head propped against his palm."Morning, beautiful." He muttered softly, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, his eyes glinting more brightly than the morning sun."Hey" Eve said in response, and he took her hand, bringing her palm to his lips and leaving a soft kiss.Her heart fluttered, butterflies dancing in her stomach.Alessandro made a face, playfully, "Well, I was expecting more than a hey from my wife who just declared her undying feelings for me last night. You feel like bursting with all the love you have for me, right?" The shameless narcissist!Eve pushed
Lies lies lies. Eve was determined not to fall bait to whatever her sister was planning, and pushed herself upwards to her feet, dragging her wet clothes with her and walking past her delusional twin. Ava was either cooking up something or just hallucinating, and Eve wasn't going to be her pawn. First she had accused Alessandro, and now Leonardo? She almost made it to the door when a voice halted her in her steps. 'I am sorry for sending those messages to the douchebag, but Eve wouldn't divorce him despite that I promised to help her! I only thought that he would be forced to leave her and show her his true colours if he found out the truth, that's the only reason I agreed to work with Bella.' It was clearly the voice of Leonardo, and Eve turned slowly, stunned to her bones. Ava was holding up her phone where those damning words were coming from. "Wh.. What?" Eve stuttered. Ava sucked in a deep breath and came close to her, taking her hands and leading her to the bed again.
Months ago, Eve had prayed for this moment when Ava would return and she could go back to her normal life.But now, her head was swirling and her heart aching as reality crashed down on her.Her lips hung open, but no words could come out of it.She was still thinking of what to say when footsteps padded on the grand stairs, shattering the block in her train of thoughts.It could be anyone who would walk in and see her with her sister.Eve started to panic, her fingers trembling and tightening around the door knob, but she soon felt herself pulled into the room, the door shut quietly,Leaving her alone with her sister, whose expression proved that Eve wasn't hallucinating as she had hoped."I...um, you are...back?" Eve stuttered, her brain barely able to function amidst all the thoughts and anxiety blocking its passage.Ava smiled and took her hands, pulling her into a hug."Thanks so much for standing in for me, sister. I will take it from here."Thanks for standing in? She could tak