[ Sophia ]With a determination to seek all my answers, I knocked at my old house's door and waited for my tormentors to open it.Each passing second felt like ages for me.Edward's words the black printed words kept replaying in my head.Finally after the wait of almost five minutes,the door creaked opened by Olivia.Her painted face immediately wore a disdainful look when she raked her eyes from my top to bottom."We never expect to see Mrs. Ashton at our doorstep.What purpose brought you here to meet your family Sophia?"She raised her hooded eyes at me but I kept quite,"I can't see much change in the ugly duckling who accidentally kissed a prince.Grow up Sophia and enjoy the life lavied upon you.God knows when this all will be robbed from you. "She said tome in a distasteful tone."Where are Mom and Dad?"I had no mood to waste my time encountering her bitchy behavior. She was least of my concern right then."Watch your mouth Sophia. You are not one of us anymore and this isn't your o
[ Daniel ]The smile on Sophia's face was the most precious reward I've ever received when she met her puppy,Cinderella.I felt contended when I saw the surprise reflected in her eyes and mostly importantly,our first hug.She embraced me on her own wish.I couldn't describe the feeling when our bodies collided.I never felt in this way before.No other women casted such effect on me.She refused to consider my suggestion of sending her in a hostel where she could live her life like she planned.I didn't want to be a hurdle for her nor I wished that she sees our marriage as a hindrance in her way to achieve her own goals.She accepted my house as our home and it was more than enough for my determination to win her trust sooner or later.I don't know what I felt for her then but I was sure that she would be the only one with whom I want to spend rest of my life.Sophia had been in my mind even when we weren't together. I couldn't work without getting distracted by her thoughts invading my mind
[ Daniel ] James looked between me and Sophia.With gritted teeth and red face in humiliation, he jerked his hand off my grip. "We had talked about this,hadn't we Mr. Ashton?"James tried to trap me in his schemes but I know such person very well. "We did not Mr. Stone. Whatever agreement you had,you signed it with my father without mine or Sophia's consent so think hundred times before disrespecting my wife.She is not under your protection anymore and I would not be lenient next time you try to hurt her,physically or mentally. I hope you and your family is wise enough to understand a simple warning."I said in my icy cold tone.He pulled the wrong string. He chucked mockingly.Surely,he and my father had an upper hand on me but they hadn't seen my worst side either. "I will not say a word to Mrs. Ashton,"He glanced over Sophia,I couldn't miss the sarcasm in his tone,"If you talk to your father and ask him to annual the contract and give me my promised amount.I have no intentions to hu
[ Sophia ]I wouldn't lie that James's shameless confession broke something inside me but the way Daniel stood for me,I felt I had someone to call my family who cares for me.He was ready to put his own life on stake just to save mine.I wasn't sure in my life more as his eyes reflected the honesty of his words.We drove back to the house in silence but my inner battle had taken a fierce shape.I didn't feel scared by Edward's threats like before as I knew, Daniel would never leave me alone in the amidst of this storm.He stopped the car in front of our gate.It made me frown as he didn't drive inside."Please go inside, I have an important work to attend. I'll be late so don't expect me at dinner."He said to me which confirmed my initial doubt. He was going to confront his father.I sighed and placed my hand over his tightened grip on the steering wheel,"Daniel you're not in a state of mind to talk with your father. It will create more rift between you and him.I do not want you to strain
[ Sophia ]My hunt for a perfect dress for my first date with Daniel ended on a champagne red mini dress which was too exposing in my opinion but an over excited Candance and Rose forced me to wear it,according to their theory Daniel would have a hard time to control himself from ripping it off from my body.It barely reached my mid thighs with single strap to hold it on my chest.It revealed little bit more of my cleavage.I always felt conscious of my breasts as Olivia remarked that they are too plain to catch a man's sight but I do not want men to ogle on my body except the one whom I love to happily give myself.Could it be Daniel?Their blunt remarks on my private life mushed my heart, I couldn't imagine myself doing the forbidden things with Daniel,who has every rights to do anything with me but I trusted him.He'd never cross our barriers without my permission.I left my soft curls open and complimented it with a set of thin pearl necklace and earrings.It screamed simplicity matche
[ Sophia ]I kept staring at him blankly, his words crippled my ability to process everything.Everything was happening in a blip,it felt like we were strangers avoiding each other as much as possible and now I want to be around him."Just look at your face ,Sophia. "I heard him laughing and it snapped me back in the moment.He was shaking his head while laughing his heart out.His changed behavior confused me."Wh..what do you mean?"I somehow asked."I was only joking but it evaporated all the colors from your face.Calm down Sophia and do not mind what I said."He blinked his eyes in reassurance but it had a reverse effect on me.I felt disappointed but why?Did I expect him to say those words to me?"We have reached at our destination,come on it's cold outside and I do not want you to fall sick."He tucked on my hand and led us inside the magnificent building from the private entry gates."Wow it's a beautiful place."I couldn't stop myself from admiring the interior of the hotel,if I wa
[ Daniel ]I tried to read the woman sitting opposite to me.I don't know from where she got the whiff of asking me a question I don't expect her to bring in light.It was something I really wanted to keep to myself ,except me,only Aaron knew which means he said something to her in my absence which made her ask me.Although she gave me the choice to avoid answering it but I wanted her to know me,real me so I could build a bridge to reach in her heart,to make a permanent place in her life.I feared her rejection.Because slowly but gradually I started falling for her."Leave it Daniel.I won't bother you again with this question, trust me."She said after a brief pause."I wanted to become a pianist,it was my dream since my childhood when I first heard a lady at a charity gala playing piano. I attended it with my grandmother. I lost myself in the melody she played that I didn't realise when I sat next to her and kept listening until she was done playing the note.I knew what gave me real ha
[ Sophia ]"He is coming here in five minutes."He thrusted his phone back in his phone's pocket and we again stood out of words staring at each other.I wasn't complaining but I liked when we talk because the silence and his intense stare were a deadly combination.Having no courage to bear his addictive presence,I turned to sit and wait for his friend to arrive."Sophia..."He called out my name and swirled me by grabbing my waist.I collided on his chest making my heartbeats to rocket up in the sky."Yes Daniel.."My voice ditched as our close proximity played havoc inside me.I placed my hands on his chest to support my jellied body to stand straight."May I kiss you?"He asked me.I felt butterflies erupting in my stomach and tingling sensation all over my body.He could have kissed me or had done more than that but he always respected our barriers.And it was the first time he wanted something very common for the other people but it was a huge step for us."Sorry I shouldn't ask you so
[ Sophia ]Love is an emotion that makes us feel so many things, it teaches us many things, good or bad, bright or dark, pain and joy. I found myself lucky to experience the ultimate depth of love.Love is a vague idea but I don't wish to go in its multiple layers as I was happy in what I learnt by loving Daniel Ashton, the man who taught me the undefine definition of love.Sometimes, I wonder what would I had become if Daniel wasn't in my life.I am happy in what I have today. It has been ten years since I walk down the aisle with so many uncertainties and fears of my own about the marriage but the man waiting for me at the end of the aisle proved me wrong and I felt thankful to my stars that I didn't turn down the proposal.I feel complete in my own little world with the most amazing husband and a little sunshine with her father's raven black hairs and charcoal black eyes, a unique feature on her beautiful round face. She's tucking on my dress which force me to look down at her. A h
[ Daniel ]The decision my grandfather made, it disturbed my mental peace. He was adamant to disown my parents which would lead to their worse days and it was the last thing I wished for them.I admit that they did horrible things to me and my brother, at a point, they were even ready to remove me from their way but despite their flaws, they were still my parents and seeing them suffering for rest of their lives, it didn't fit well with me.I couldn't enjoy the power and immense wealth when they live a life of adversity but my grandpa was one of a stubborn man. If he made his mind about something, it was impossible for anyone to move his determination."Daniel, what are you doing here at this hour?" Sophia's soft voice snapped me out of my deep thoughts. I looked around and found I spent the whole evening strolling by the lakeside and now, the temperature had fallen to a point when I felt my bone clattering with cold but the next moment, a blanket was being wrapped around my shoulders
[ Sophia ]"Shall we go in the living room now?" I asked craning my head a little to glance at Daniel who had his eyes closed."Can we stay here for five minutes more? I like us here, naked and in each other's arms." His grip on my waist tightened more, soft butterflies erupted in my belly but we had to get up."It's past eight, Daniel. You know your brother more than me. He has no filter in his vocabulary and he's definitely going to tease us." I said."Then let him. We're not doing anything wrong. We're doing what married couples do inside their bedroom and their guests has no right to poke their nose in their hosts' personal life." He replied nonchalantly."Hey, Aaron is your brother." I slapped his chest," And I need to use the bathroom or my bladder will burst in next two minutes." I protested and this time it worked. He loosened his grip on me and I chose the moment to slip out of the blankets."I like this view more than anything in this world." He smirked, his eyes raking on m
[ Sophia ]"Daniel, let's go inside. Aaron and Daisy must be up by now." I said to Daniel in whose arms I was cuddling for last couple of hours.The morning sunrays falling over our faces forced us to go back inside the house."Can we just stay here for a little while? I mean I prefer you being in my arms than anything else. I missed your body against mine, your vibrant smile and your sweet voice." He said in my ear and nuzzled his neck in the hollow of my neck."Your arms are my heaven, Daniel but we have been sitting here for last two hours. Don't you want to have a hearty breakfast with all of us?" I asked him while trying to control myself from moaning."I need you, Soph." He whispered in a hushed voice and slowly crawled his hand under my sweater. I shuddered as soon as his cold fingers came in contact with my warm skin."But..we're..not..alone in this..house."I tried to surpress my moan as his hand moved upward and stopped just below my breasts while his other hand slipped under
[ Sophia ]I had no words or strength to calculate the hours I spent staring out of the window of my room at the vast sky. The aching numbness in my heart was something I couldn't control. My Daniel looked happy when he annouced his elopement with a beautiful woman whom the Goddess Venus had created with Her own hands. She looked perfect in his arms, they looked perfect which made me realise a very harsh and cruel truth that I was nothing but a poor girl coming from the shitty gutters compared to their life.But my Daniel.He never let our socio-economic differences wedge a rift between us since the beginning of our marriage. He always treated me as his better half. I fell too hard for my husband that it felt impossible for me to breathe a single moment without him.I rubbed my burning eyes when they begun to rebel against my solo mourning over my broken heart. The sky had slowly turning a bright shade of gray. The dawn was marking it's presence in the horizon. I looked at my wrist wa
[ Daniel ]"This is unacceptable, Edward." Morrison slammed his hands on the wooden table making the ladies flinch by surprise. His face was radiating fury and my father had a timid cloak on."We have no other options, Mr. Morrison. My father stabbed me on the back by transferring his property on that poor girl. I am sure it's her trick. She manipulated my father by her innocent acting. All I am asking you to give us some time or accept Daniel's conditions." My father casted a disappointed look at my direction. For the first time, the man was defeated by someone ,not someone but his own blood.Morrison looked dead in my eyes. He would kill me with a single shot if he was given an opportunity. I surely put him in a big dilemma."You're going to pay for this, Daniel Ashton so your lover." He tried to threaten me but I was unphased by his hollow threats."I am not afraid but you're, Mr. Morrison. Like I said before, I fucking don't care and Sophia is far from your reach. Think twice befo
[ Daniel ]"The agreement is bound to happen in this marriage, Daniel because I do not trust you with my daughter and more importantly our business. You and your little wife has already put a daint on Ashton's image. People ridicule the Ashton family in every way possible." Morrison mocked at my face. It was a direct attack on my family but I didn't care what he thought about the latter."Alright, I heard your reasons, Mr. Morrison now it's my turn, if I am allowed to speak." I spared a glance at my parents whose faces were red with the humiliation but they couldn't say a word to Morrison as he was the biggest alliance who was going to help us spread our roots in the gulf countries."You will tie the knot with Emma after two weeks so you have all rights to put forward your opinions as long as they don't hurt our sentiments." He made it very clear that he wouldn't take any insult in return but I had no care in the world for what he thought or how he tamed my ambitious parents so easily
[ Daniel ]I felt like I was stabbed multiple times by the sharpest dagger and yet my soul wasn't ready to leave my body. I was played by the cruel game of fate or I say my very own family."Daniel, you're here. I have been looking for you in the whole mansion." My mother's regal voice echoed in the air, she put extra efforts to sound annoyed but she or my father were the last person on the earth whom I wanted to be around me at the moment.I gripped the railing bar tightly in order to restrain myself from leashing out on her and ruin everything for me."What do you want now, mother." I didn't try to hide the distaste in my tone."Daniel, do not behave like a brat that your ex-wife turned you into. Emma is the right choice for you. Jesus! She was always on the top of my priority list among those girls I want you to marry. Thanks to your grandfather who brought the little piece of rag in our family but I don't care as she isn't a part of our life anymore and I'll make sure she would ne
[ Sophia ]To say I was cool, would be a plain lie. My heart had not been at peace since Daniel left me to work on his plan to bring us out of this web of conspiracies. I mean why do his family can't let us live as we want us to be.They have problem with me and they found me unfit as their daughter in law just because I do not belong to elite rich class or my parents didn't hold a high place in the society.Is it necessary to possess wealth to get the approval of society or the virtues only embrace the people with wealth coming from all the sources.I find it total blasphemous. I mean the elite class is the one who lacks most of the human virtues, their empire is built on the sweat and blood of the poor working class or what the events from history tell us."Hey, cupcake." Aaron's always chirpy voice snapped me out of my platonic thoughts."Hey..sorry I was just..you know."I dismissed my negative thoughts from conjuring my sane state of mind."It's okay, dear sister in law. I know it