April and Ethan’s upcoming wedding had become the talk of South City.Mrs. Olivia saw to her word, and every media outlet was singing the praises of her son’s wedding to the outstanding daughter of the Rivera family.As a result of the press surrounding their upcoming wedding, even the Rivera family business was seeing good light. With everyone wanting to partner with the soon-to-be in-laws of the Lontoc Family, their share value increased.April, who lived her life as a director of the Rivera Jewelry stores, was not exempted from the uproar. Everywhere she went, she was treated with respect, and with Ethan accompanying her to places, they soon became a powerful duo other elites wanted to associate with.Today, Ethan was to introduce her to the board members of LT Constructions. They arrived at the powerful establishment on time and with smiles on their faces as they greeted the employees, who were happy to see the next madame and tried their best to curry favor.They went straight to
June stood in front of Rafael’s office with her phone in hand.Today was the day she left the house. She needed to look over spaces for her new company, but she didn’t know how Rafael would take to her finally leaving the house.It was no surprise that he didn’t like having her leave the house, especially when she was only fully recovering from the last attack. In consideration of her health, she had put off going out for the longest period of time.However, there was no way for her to move her plans forward without going out to sort out other things needed for the launch of her company.Over time, she had even brushed up on her skills, drawing out architectural designs just to pass time—designs she planned to use as models for the first set of projects she intended to carry out as soon as her company went live.Three knocks on the door, and June was asked into Rafael’s office.One look at her, and he shook his head. “No.”June’s shoulders sagged. “You can’t say no when you haven’t he
June sat at a table with a distraught Lucy seated before her.After meeting her former colleague in front of the restaurant, she expertly handled the situation, and they all made their way to another restaurant, where she took a separate table to discuss with her.“What happened?” June asked after they had been served. “How did you end up here?”The woman could barely speak with the amount of tears that dripped from her eyes. “I was fired from the company,” she managed to say between the tears.June’s heart broke at her words. “Why would he fire you? You are the best at what you do,” she spoke, confusion written on her face.The woman seated before her was one of the best closers she had ever encountered. She was the head of project management at her ex-husband’s firm, and for the three years she worked at LT Constructions, Lucy had won over clientele and projects that raked millions and billions into the company.Why the hell would she suddenly get fired?“I don’t know.” Lucy’s voice
Mrs. Olivia and her husband summoned Ethan to the family house upon hearing the recent changes in the board.“What the hell are you doing, son?” Olivia asked before her husband made an entry. “How could you make her a part of the board?!”Ethan wanted to speak, but the words were lodged in his throat. How could he tell his mother that their company was in the hands of his wife?How could he explain that April had gone out of his control and now secretly called the shots in their beloved company? Since the day he discovered his cunning wife’s ways, everything had gone downhill.“Lucy Garfield was betraying us,” he managed to say before his father stepped into the conversation.“And the best person to replace her was your pregnant wife?!” the elderly man roared. “Have you lost your brains? Have you gone mad, Ethan?!”Ethan’s mouth shook at the fury of his father. He fell to the floor. “April has more knowledge and experience than you give her credit for, Father!“She can handle the posi
Things were coming along slowly with the JL Architectures launch.June and Lucy worked hand in hand as they slowly arranged the office while June sought out clients in need of her architectural skills, as well as properties she could develop and make into something profitable.A large chunk of the money she had received had gone down with making the office a homey place, and she didn’t for one moment regret making the place into what she envisioned.The only problem was the incessant lack of customers and clients. All efforts to secure paying customers in need of her services had proved futile, and she was on the verge of losing her mind.One of the days, after going through the series of rejections from prospective clients she pitched for, she was ready to call it a day and headed downstairs in search of Luis.Perhaps he could get her out of the mood she felt at the moment.Unfortunately, Luis was still busy with his classes, and the last thing she wanted was to be the reason he was
The weekend comes, and June is yet to receive the invite to the said party. It was one of the most anticipated engagements in the history of South City.A large number of important elites of the community had publicly declared their attendance at the event, congratulating the couple as soon as they received their invites.June decided to focus on her work and invest more in recruiting more members of the team ahead of the launch. Her goal was to have the first company project kick off before the official opening of JL Architectures, so she had a lot on her plate.That evening, June sat at her table in the room, typing away on her computer as she replied to some work emails from Lucy, who was doing the most in projecting the firm to prospective clients.These days, they had a trickle of prospective customers, which was a clear distance from the silence it used to be. However, they still had a long way to go.Three knocks came from the door and grabbed June’s attention from her work. Th
June noticed Lucy's unusual quietness as they approached the hotel where Ethan and April’s party would be held.“We will get down here, Thomas. You can park the car and come right in afterward,” she said to Thomas, who hummed in response, doing as he was told.Judging from the card she received, the party had started three hours ago, and they were extremely late. Good thing that she wasn’t aiming to make an impression. Seeing as she never thought she would be attending the party, she had come here with zero plans.This meant that other than the fact she was about to set eyes on the woman who ruined her life, she had no idea what to do or how to approach the matter. Thankfully, she had always known how to wing things.The duo soon got out of the car and trudged into the place, turning in their invites at the gate. The security was tight, as there were a lot of important people at the said event.“Name,” the security official asked, looking at June with curious eyes.Lucy was afraid, bu
Evelyn Rivera didn’t care. Instead, she lashed out at her daughter. “How dare you?” she fumed, stepping closer. “How dare you accuse me in this manner?”Her husband tried to hold her back. The last thing he wanted was for his wife to do something she would regret. It seemed like she was close to hitting their eldest daughter in public.“Accuse you?” June was perplexed.It seemed like her mother had bought into the business of acting.“Why would I accuse my mother?” She blinked. “Am I still permitted to call you that, seeing as you want me dead?”Evelyn stilled at her daughter’s words. She could feel the gazes of people on her, looking curiously and waiting for an answer. If she didn’t clear this up, there would be trouble.Immediately, she fell to the ground and forced tears out of her eyes. “How can you accuse me unjustly? Why would I want to kill my own child?”June wasn’t moved, but April came to the rescue, falling to the ground by her mother as she put up her best act yet.“Mothe
Mrs Evelyn left the house a few hours after June left for work. It was past noon when she finally left the house with some money to aid her journey. She dressed in a black assemble and boarded a cab that headed to the Rivera family house. When she reached the neighbourhood, she put on her face mask and sneaked her way into the estate where her home stood in majesty. Her entry was swift and painless. The house seemed nearly deserted, and it was easy for her to manoeuvre her way into the place she had lived for most of her life. As soon as she got in, she headed right for her bedroom with her heart in her mouth. The last thing she wanted was to get caught in breaking into her own home, or worse, April finding out she was in the house. Evelyn was sure it wouldn’t end well if April met her in the house or got to know she had been anywhere near the parameters of the house. Nostalgic feelings attacked her upon entering her bedroom, and she was immediately reminded of who she had lost.
Rafael left the sitting room when Mrs Evelyn’s tears grew heavy. June’s heart broke at the sight of her mother looking so distraught and grieved. “Mother...” Her eyes glassed with unshed tears. “I don’t deserve your kindness,” Evelyn said and stood on your feet. “It's preposterous of me to accept anything from you after all I did to you.” “Mother..”“No.” Evelyn shook her head and wiped her tears. “What I did is unforgivable. I maltreated and let you suffer because I couldn’t deal with my grief.”Tears pooled June’s eyes as she listened to her mother. “All these years, I blamed you. I blamed you for getting lost as a child in that hospital. I blamed you for putting our family through tough times, I blamed you for my husband’s death. Anytime something evil came to me, I found a way to blame you for it.” “I hated the fact I lost you and couldn’t bear the guilt of losing you as a child in that hospital, so I decided to bring in someone who could replace you. I brought in the devil a
The entire house was silent as eyes turned to April with shock. “It’s a lie! She isn’t alright! The doctors are coming to pick her up! I already told you all she lost her mind! Why...why can’t you see it?” April cried but this time no one bought her facade. People who were once on her side, having pity and empathy for her suddenly stepped aside in shock as they watched her lie repeatedly. “Mother! Please, stop this.” April moved towards Evelyn who stepped back in fear. “Please! I know you are hurting from father’s death but I promise, things will be fine. I will take care of you and your doctor will soon be here.”“Just-”“Do not take one more step,” June said in a tone that brought goosebumps to the skin of her hearers. “One more step and I promise, you would be taken to the hospital yourself.” When April found that no one believed her act and everything was out in the open, she wiped her face clean and put a stern look on her face. “Enough, June. Congratulations! You found a mad
“Sister! Why are you so bent on slandering me? Why are you so-” April fell to the floor, tears streaming down her eyes. “The past few days have been hell for me since father’s untimely death, and mother’s insanity.”“I tried calling you for the longest time but you refused to pick my calls.” She wept, “Now you show up here and try to pin this on me? Why do you hate me so much, sister? What did I ever do?” The visitors were moved by compassion for April and scorn for her sister. “That woman is such a wicked person!” One said in anger.“She doesn’t care for her mother! She is just here to cause a scene!” Another said, “Why are they letting crap like her come into this house? Mrs Evelyn had already told us about this daughter of hers before she lost her mind. She should not be allowed to come into this house!”“Such a shameless woman! Bullying her younger sister for trying to carry the family name while she whores about! Despicable!”Soon enough, the entire house turned against June w
The news of Anthonio’s death spread like wildfire and soon, the Rivera family was the talk of the town. According to the news, Anthonio had returned from a vacation and slipped from the stairs of the Rivera mansion. An accident that led to his untimely demise. Condolences poured from various parts of South City as the Rivera family experienced the loss of yet another family member. Things had gone out of hand and some netizens went as far as pointing out the alarming rate of deaths and misfortunes that seemed to visit the Rivera family and their inlaws. When June heard the news, she was in her office. Things strained around the house after the tiff with her mother-in-law, especially her relationship with Rafael. She knew that most of the strain was because she felt guilty about her unsettled case with his mother but she planned to do everything she could to make things work. April was in the Rivera family house with Colton when her mother attacked her in tears. “You killed him! Y
“Sir! The young miss has been involved in an accident at the site!”Rafael was in his office when his assistant told him the distressing news. His face froze, and he abandoned everything he had at hand. “Cancel the meetings and ready the car. We leave immediately!” Rafael hit the road to a private hospital where his wife was held. He couldn’t understand why she wasn’t taken to the South City Hospital where Carson could take proper care of his wife but when he found that his mother was around at the time of the accident, he let himself relax a bit. Meanwhile, June had undergone all sorts of tests which she deemed useless as not a single hair on her head needed to be put in the right place. She felt like it was all a waste of time seeing she was not hurt but to avoid upsetting her dear mother-in-law, she submitted herself to the process.Mrs Beatrice sat in the doctor’s office while June sat on her hospital bed, waiting for her mother-in-law’s verdict. “What did you find? Does she ha
June returned home from a long day of work at the site. The building project was on course after her designs were approved. Joel Patel and some men were assigned to ensure the building was a physical representation of the design while she handled the job of ensuring everything was under control. “There you are!” June jolted at the sound of her mother-in-law who approached her with a smile. “How are you doing?”“Mother!” She greeted me with a smile. “I’ve missed you!” “Oh dear, I missed you too. You and my sweet boys.” She cooed. “Have you eaten? I brought some food from home. Let’s have an early dinner. Just the two of us.” Mrs Beatrice had left the house a week ago to attend to pressing needs in the Ambrose family home. She didn’t specify how long she would stay but June was happy to have her. “Sure!” June took to her room, freshened up and joined her mother-in-law for an early dinner. The atmosphere was light as they spoke on light topics until Mrs Beatrice said, “I know my so
“You’ve got to be joking,” Evelyn said with a small smile but was met with bone-serious looks from her daughter and her strange man. When she saw that this was not a joke, she lost it. “Are you crazy? Have you gone mad?! Do not for one moment think you can intimidate me into giving away my company because you will be in for a rude awakening.”“Read my lips. I am not Ethan. Neither am I any of his godforsaken parents, if you try to mess with me, I will bring you down without a moment's thought.”April and Colton shared gazes and burst into a round of mocking laughter together. “You didn’t tell me she was this feisty, darling,” Colton said and kissed the space between her neck and body. “Oh pay her no mind. She is all bark and no bite.” April said, closing her eyes as she leaned into the kiss. “I have her on leech.” Evelyn's eyes reddened and she shook with anger. “Just try me. I beg you. Test me this time and see if I don’t bite you. I am done playing your silly games, child.”She s
June and her team were seated in one of Ambrose Corporation's meeting rooms, where they were set to present the final design of the new office project. While they waited for Rafael, June felt her nerves twist. She wanted her husband to like this design. With every project she embarked on, she aimed for perfection but with her husband in the picture, she was reaching for the stars. The last thing she wanted was to get this deal solely because she was his wife. Hence, when Rafael delayed to show up, her nerves twisted all over the place. Soon enough, Rafael came into the meeting, and they all stood up to welcome him. “I am sorry for my lateness.” He said with his eyes fixated on June. Lucy and Joel smiled awkwardly. They could wait a lifetime if it meant meeting with such a royalty-personified human! They must have done something right in their former lives to be blessed with such an opportunity! “It’s no problem,” June said and they all had their seats. Throughout the viewing, Ra