“I do.” Came Kiana’s soft voice as she finally tied the note with the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Her heart ached but she knew it was time to move on and concentrate on building a family with the man who stared at her lovingly. After all, she was having health problems and the only man she trusted was Daniel- Her now husband.
“I love you, Kiana.” Whispered Daniel’s voice.
Finally, they got married and fulfilled her dying mother’s wish. To see her married before she could inherit her company. “Oh, my sweet girl!” Came Her mother inlaw’s voice and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Such a poor girl, don’t worry you can now call me mum since you have no one to stand by you.” Angela smiled and pulled Daniel to the side. After signing the marriage papers, the couple went round and greeted all their guests who had been present.
“You must be ready to now take over the legacy?” One man said but before Kiana could respond, Daniel was suddenly by her side and responded instead.
“I think it’s too early. I should stand in while my wife rests at home and focuses on giving the company, healthy heirs!” Daniel laughed and the old man joined in.
Kiana hated it when Daniel made it seem like she was only capable of being a breeding machine but she didn’t want to start a fight with him and he could be right. She was on a clock so the best way was to get pregnant as soon as possible so she smiled. “That is true, I will sign over my position until I’m ready to take it back,” Kiana said which earned her a kiss from Daniel.
“Oh I see, so when will that be?” The man asked.
Kiana wondered if it was necessary to respond to such a serious question right away. But when she noticed that Daniel was equally quiet, she smiled her usual polite smile. “Tonight actually. Where is the lawyer, honey?” She turned to her husband Daniel who was beaming in excitement.
Kiana’s secretary Juliana stepped in, “I think maybe you should slow down. Enjoy the wedding and sign those papers a little later.” She suggested while eyeing Daniel suspiciously.
Daniel who had always hated Juliana ground his teeth as he forced a smile, “Your Secretary is right babe. I love you and I wouldn’t want anyone to paint me otherwise just because I want to help relieve the stress as fast as possible. People tend to misunderstand certain things you know.”
“I trust you and if I’m going to do it tomorrow, why not now? Besides, I just want to stay in bed tomorrow. You know how rough the past months have been.” Kiana sighed as Daniel pulled her hand and walked to where the table already had the papers. They had to rush the wedding because a few months back, Kiana kept fainting and the doctor gave her heartbreaking news!
The cancer in her stomach was spreading! It was a tough time for her but Daniel stood by her side and showed her even more affection than he previously did while they were dating despite her sickness and that won her over.
“If you insist babe, I’ll make sure to do my very best even though it will be hard to fit in your shoes,” Daniel said as he placed a kiss on top of her head.
Juliana who was watching him scoffed before she spoke, “That’s very convenient of you. Papers already printed out and all.”
“I asked him to print them out! Will you stop being disrespectful to my husband?” Kiana snapped as she turned to look at Juliana angrily. Juliana who had a feeling something was off tried to reach out to Kiana but she pulled back and held a hand to stop her. “That’s enough!”
Daniel who watched her reaction saw this as an opportunity to discredit Juliana. He rubbed Kiana’s back before speaking up, “Calm down babe. It’s still our wedding night and I wouldn’t want some personal grudges she has towards me to ruin your mood.” He whispered cooly which only angered Kiana even more.
Juliana’s Jaw dropped to the floor from shock. ‘Wow, this man deserves a reward for his great acting!’ She thought and tried to speak up to explain but Anabel stepped in.
Ana was Kiana’s best friend for four years. She was the only friend Kiana had and would speak to about everything. “I think Juliana you do overstep the line. Could it be that you are in love with Daniel?” She accused her.
Juliana’s eyes widened in shock but she kept her face straight when she responded, “I think-”
“Juliana! I said enough but you just don’t listen do you?! I think it’s better you leave before you ruin my night further.” Kiana said angrily. Firing her was at the tip of her tongue but Juliana was a great secretary and with her condition, she couldn’t possibly recruit someone new right away.
Juliana left and the three went back to celebrating the night of happiness and true love!
Later that night, Kiana woke up from feeling thirsty and her throat feeling extremely drier than usual. “Honey?” She called for her husband Daniel but she couldn’t find him anywhere. They had settled to move into one of the penthouses that Kiana had received from her mother. She descended the stairs slowly but she still couldn’t find Daniel anywhere.
‘Is he working late?’ She thought as guilt tripped her. ‘Am I overloading too much on him?’ She kept thinking as she searched for him. She almost gave up when she heard a giggling sound that sounded far too familiar.
Why is Annabel still here? She checked her phone and realized that it was past 2 AM. With a frown on her face, she walked closer to the balcony but her feet froze halfway when she heard the voices.
“That was so sweet my love. Should we go for another round?” Daniel’s voice came. Kiana clamped her hands over her mouth as her eyes stung with tears. Before she could badge in, Annabel's voice responded.
“I can’t wait for that bitch to finally die so we can be together. I hate sneaking around.”
“Soon baby. Soon. I thought she’d be dead but the bitch is holding onto life longer than I anticipated. We should have tripled the shots to make her cancer spread faster.” Daniel laughed wickedly. Annabel joined in and they resumed kissing which was followed by loud moans.
Kiana who was still behind the curtain stood powerlessly. Her head felt like it was being hit and her heart clenched painfully as tears started to fall hot and fast as she regained her strength and angrily opened the glass door to the balcony. Her anger increased when she laid eyes on the two. With candles spread around the small mattress and both of them completely naked with Annabel on top of the man who is supposed to be her husband!
“How could you!” Kiana practically screamed.
“Why are you awake this time?” Daniel asked flatly and that angered Kiana even more. She balled her hands into fists as her breathing was full of rage and all she could see was red. She felt like pushing them both off the balcony!
“Are you kidding me? Anna how could you?!” She turned to her best friend in tears. But Anna turned Daniel’s face towards her and kissed him again as if to prove a point before turning to Kiana with a wicked smirk playing on her face.
“You didn’t really think he loved you did you?”
“How long has this been going on?” Kiana trembled as her legs gave out and she collapsed on the floor. Daniel grabbed his boxers and walked towards her and knelt before her before whispering. “I never loved you! You make my skin crawl and now that I have no use for you, there is no need for me to pretend.” He slowly started raising his voice while he grabbed a fistful of her hair pulling it hard and painfully. “Haha! She is delusional babe. Well, you were going to get the surprise sooner or later but since you decided to snoop around. Why don’t we gift you with a little something?” Annabel smirked and she pulled out her phone and threw it at Kiana. It was so sudden that it landed on her face making her face bleed from the impact as the pain stung her. "Ouch!" Kiana cried. “Pathetic! Look at her!” Daniel said sarcastically. Kiana touched her now bleeding face as she looked at Daniel who looked like a totally different person. It’s like she didn’t even know who the man standing befo
“ Miss Kiana?” Came Juliana’s voice. “Huh?” Kiana responded absent mindedly not understanding what was happening. It was only when Juliana stepped forward and whispered in a low voice. “Is something wrong? You have tears falling on your face.” That Kiana realized she was crying. Kiana who was still in shock looked at Juliana and enveloped her into a hug right in the middle of the office. Juliana softly pulled away blushing and in shock. ‘Is my boss in shock because of her mother’s recent death?’ “Should we cancel the meeting?” Juliana whispered which shocked Kiana even more because this day seemed familiar. ‘Is someone still being cruel to me? ‘ ‘Is this heaven? Where am I?’ Kiana looked around confused. When she finally realized it was the day from a year ago, her heart pounded very fast. It was a week after her mother died from cancer. The door suddenly burst open and Daniel ran in dramatically with Anna right behind him. She remembered this event too! ‘Have I come back t
“Kiana?” The deep voice spoke once he had picked up. Kiana froze at the mention of her name. Her breathing changed as her heart felt constricted like someone was squeezing it several times. The voice that spoke was a voice that she knew very well and it was none other than Arthur Reed! ‘How does he know it’s me?’ She thought but couldn’t bring herself to ask the question. Kiana felt like her tongue was frozen as so many thoughts ran inside her head. The feelings that she thought were long buried resurfaced like a volcano had suddenly erupted inside her chest. “Do you have something to say or you called to waste my time?” Arthur asked coldly. Kiana quickly recovered from the shock and cleared her throat. “Hi Arthur, I didn’t think this line would go through.” She began before Arthur cut her off. “You don’t say..” He responded sarcastically and made Kiana attempt to give him a piece of her mind but she needed his help so she kept quiet. She sighed before responding, “I know you’re
“What the hell Kiana!” Daniel fumed as he banged the door behind him. Despite being from a well-to-do family, Kiana used to stay in a simple apartment that didn’t cost a lot of money especially since she was trying to grow her mother’s company. “Daniel you’re scaring me.” Kiana pretended to be afraid like she always did in her past life only this time, she wasn’t really afraid but just angry and full of rage. ‘Why is he here?’ She thought as she fought the urge to show her true emotion. “I’m sorry babe.” Daniel softened as he held her by the shoulders. “I heard from Annabel that there was a strange expensive-looking car outside your apartment and I got angry. Am I not the only one who has driven you to wherever you went?” He reached for her face but Kiana flinched without realizing it making Daniel frown. 'He's right. In my past life, he would drive me everywhere but what I didn't know was that it wasn't out of love but he just wanted me to become highly dependent on him while he
“The board is talking and they’re not saying nice things.” Juliana said to Kiana. The two were in the office preparing for the meeting that was about to take place. Kiana knew there would be unrest because the board was interested in knowing where the company stood and rightfully so. But Kiana didn’t want anyone to know her mother’s will request yet. ‘No way in hell am I getting married and handing over control to that bastard!’ Kiana thought as she balled her hands into fists. ‘In my previous life, the board was concerned about the rumors that circulated because of Angela’s comments but Daniel stepped in and mentioned our engagement which satisfied them and they wished us well! Another mistake I made but this time I know better!’ Kiana thought as she looked up at her secretary who was slowly becoming her close friend. “We will fix it. Come.” Kiana said as she grabbed her phone and walked to the boardroom which awaited her. Every year, a new CEO was either appointed or voted in. It
“She was telling the truth, sir,” Tim said to Arthur who was staring outside the city from his huge office glass with his hands in his pockets. After Arthur had asked Kiana to leave, he had asked Tim to verify all the information he received and to check for any signs of her boyfriend cheating on her. Arthur was still in love with Kiana but refused to show her any sign of affection because of how she broke his heart and moved on like nothing happened. ‘For her to show up and ask for my help must mean she needs me.’ Arthur thought to himself as he turned to Tim and nodded. “Thanks, Tim.” “If it interests you, she will be having an investor's gala but it seems the gala will determine so many things in their company,” Tim said and that made Arthur’s brows crease. “Why would Kiana hold the gala? Has her mother retired?” Arthur asked and Tim looked down sadly and pushed his glasses forward before responding. “Sir, her mother died two weeks ago.” “What?!” Arthur asked in shock and
“Babe?” Daniel called Kiana who was deep in thought. Kiana was snapped back to reality as she looked at the man who she had to tolerate when she would rather strangle him to death! ‘Babe? Hearing him call me that makes me want to slap the word back into his mouth or worse, cut his tongue off!’ Kiana thought internally in rage but breathed in instead as she faked a smile. “Yes, dear?” “You’ve been absent-minded since the gala. It’s been a week but you barely give me any information and you drive yourself around. Annabel was complaining too.” Daniel reached over to touch Kiana who fought back the urge to move away but she knew she had to keep fooling him until she had solid evidence against him. “I haven’t been up to anything, the only thing I’ve done the whole week is shop for new clothes and change the face of my office. Did you need me to report that to you too?” Kiana looked at Daniel who was now looking down in shame. “I’m sorry, I just thought that maybe something was going o
“The meeting is in twenty minutes, if you fail then we lose our only chance!” The message read as Daniel rushed to the car. Daniel had received a phone call from the lawyer threatening to expose his part in altering the will if he didn’t deposit the ten million dollars. In a panicked state, he rushed to his car and drove to the hotel where he was supposed to meet the investors secretly. Upon arrival, he found Annabel had already placed the projector and the presentation. Since they both worked for Clear Cosmetics, no one suspected or found it odd that they usually spent time together. “Good morning Mr. Williams.” Anna greeted seductively with a smile on her face. Daniel got instantly turned on and looked around before pulling Anna and kissing her hard. “Can’t wait to see you later.” He whispered on her lips as they pulled apart. Unknown to Kiana, the two had secretly called the investors from the gala and planned on getting them on his side so that he could gain support from the boa
Hello my lovely readers, I hope you are all okay. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for giving my book a chance.We've come.to the end of Joane and Nikolai's story and I hope you enjoyed their bumpy ride. I'd love to hear from you so please do drop me a review on the main page and a gem if you can. My next book will be dropping next month and I look forward to sharing with you that new journey with you once again. OTHER BOOKSPlease do check out my other works too.BILLIONAIRE'S SWEETHEARTMR.CEO, PLEASE LOVE OUR MUMMY OWNED BY THE MAFIA KING I love you all, take care and have a great week.
Five years later:“I think you just have a problem!” Julina said angrily.“How can I not when you keep finishing the food before it goes where it’s supposed to go?” Caspian shot back.“That's not true!” Juliana defended herself as she looked at Kiana who looked down, she looked at Joane who suddenly wanted to grab her phone.Juliana scoffed in disbelief as she watched her best friends look anywhere but her as if siding with her husband. “I think it’s true but Uncle Caspian doesn’t seem to mind, he loves you!” Natalia said as she grabbed the cookie jar that Juliana was holding onto.They were at Juliana and Caspian’s house where they were celebrating their daughter’s second birthday. Everyone had gotten so busy after Joane and Nikolai’s wedding that they rarely saw each other.When Juliana sent out invitations to reunite everyone after five years, they gladly showed up at their vacation home.Juliana had quit her job at Clear Cosmetics and decided to be a full-time house wife and help
Joane sat at the kitchen table, cradling a steaming mug of coffee in her hands. The aroma filled the room, but she hardly noticed it as her mind wandered. The weight of her sister's illness had been pressing down on her for weeks, making every moment feel like an eternity. She took a sip, as she searched for any donor on the website that Angela had told her about.Her phone buzzed on the table, jolting her out of her thoughts. She picked it up, seeing the name "Agness" flash on the screen. Her heart skipped a beat as she answered the call."Hello?" Joane's voice was shaky.For the past two weeks, that was the case with Natalie, she was getting worse and they were running out of time. Every time her phone rang and it showed “Agness” Joane would hold her breath in the hope that it wasn’t news of her sister’s death."Joane, it's Agness. You need to come to the hospital immediately. Natalia's condition has worsened, this might be her last few moments. You can come and say your goodbye.” S
Two weeks had passed and Nikolai had been taking Joane to see a psychologist to help her ease her trauma and that helped her get better.The guilt over John's death was still there but she felt better when his mother visited her and told her it wasn't her fault. She hugged her and they cried together that day. After Isabella’s arrest, Joane had visited her discreetly and injected her with slow poison, seeing Isabella in tears and begging for her life made her feel better about her child and John, someone she loved like family who were unjustly taken away from her. It somehow made her feel like they were avenged. Even though it would never feel the void, knowing justice was served made it easier to live with. *******Nikolai had decided to take Joane out for some air and they were on a yacht. It was just them and the captain and seeing her smile again put a smile on Nikolai's face too.It had taken some time for him to move on from the betrayal but he had eventually forgiven Micheal
The moment that Nikolai packed his car, he saw Isabella from his rearview mirror and informed Arthur to be on stand-by. When he stepped out and she asked him to throw the phone in the water, he pressed the SOS button to inform Arthur of how serious the situation had turned out to be.Arthur took the signal and with the help of Kayden’s great hacking ability, he was able to find Isabella’s car through every street camera. When they drove to their destination, Cade tagged along to help Arthur because he too had been searching for Isabella over the crimes she had done with Annabel.Nikolai’s pulse raced as the sound of sirens grew louder, the distant wail piercing through the tense atmosphere. Isabella's eyes darted around in a mix of panic and fury. Her henchmen exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of their next move.“Damn it,” Isabella hissed again, her grip on the gun tightening. “We need to move. Now!”But when she noticed they were surrounded, she got Confused and was unsure of where
Nikolai’s head throbbed as he slowly regained consciousness. The dull ache intensified with each heartbeat, and he groaned, attempting to move but finding himself restrained. As his vision cleared, he realized he was tied to a chair in a dimly lit warehouse. The air was thick with the smell of dust and oil, and a single, flickering overhead light cast long shadows on the concrete floor.Panic surged through him as he remembered the last thing he heard—Joane’s scream. He struggled against his bindings, feeling the rough ropes cutting into his wrists. Every fiber of his being ached to find her, to ensure she was safe.A soft whimper caught his attention, and his eyes darted around the room. He saw her in the corner, barely illuminated by the weak light. Joane was lying on the cold floor, her hands and feet bound, her face pale and streaked with tears. Anger and fear surged through him, giving him a boost of energy to fight against his restraints.“Joane!” he called out, his voice hoars
“It’s good to see you,” Leo said as Nikolai walked in.He found his mother sitting silently and wondered what made her extra low. Even after what had happened, Marjory wasn't the type not to jump when she saw her son so something felt off and he was going to speak to her,After talking to Leo.“I don’t have much time, so let’s get to the point,” Nikolai said.Leo cleared his throat as he eyed his son. Isabella had not told him what she had done with Joane but only told him to force Nikolai to marry her and because he wanted to be with Katherine, he gladly accepted to do so.“I’ve set the date for you and Isabella. You didn’t break off the engagement publicly as planned so they still think you’re together. This is your chance to make things right.” Leo said but didn’t get a chance to say the next words as Nikolai’s fist met with his cheek and made him stumble backward while grabbing his side of the face in pain.“What the hell!” He shouted.“Nik!” Marjory stood but didn’t even bother t
Nikolai paced the length of his office, his phone pressed to his ear. He had been trying to reach Joane for hours, but all his calls had gone unanswered. Worry gnawed at him, each unanswered ring heightening his anxiety.“Does she hate me that much?” He mumbled under his breath.Nikolai didn’t want to call Arthur because he felt like he was already putting his friend in an awkward situation by making him the middleman. He tried to deal with their problem on his own.After trying again, he decided to first reach out to Micheal in case he knew something. Who picked up on the second ring.“Hi.” He answered, “Do you need me for anything?”Nikolai froze for a few seconds. He had been thinking about what he had said to him and a part of him felt guilty because Micheal may not have told him he was his father, but he stood by him through it all, including in moments that he was too ashamed of talking about. Nikolai had a great relationship with Leo but it got stained after the day he caught h
Joane's brow furrowed in confusion. "What plan?"Isabella rolled her eyes, her expression turning cold and irritation evident on her face "Oh, you don’t know anything do you?” But she didn’t wait for a response when she continued while she paced around, "You see, my dear, this all started long before you came into the picture. My father was supposed to take over the Cooper Group. It was his birthright, and my birthright was to Marry Nikolai so we could be reunited as a family. Then you came along and ruined everything!"Joane struggled against her bindings, trying to understand what she had just heard but it wasn’t making any sense to her, having slept in a chair didn't help her body ache either but she remained focused on getting the confession out of Isabella, "Your father? What does he have to do with this? And how is marriage a birthright?" She half laughed at how ridiculous Isabella sounded. "Leo Cooper is my father. You dumb ass, and Nikolai is my soulmate. His purpose is t