(Julia’s POV)
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It has been almost a month since I last met Vincent. I called his number several times but he had rejected or ignored my calls since then. I had sent him dozens of messages with most asking him when he was coming home.
It was when I started receiving messages from an unknown number that I knew what was going on. “She is back”, the woman who had hurt Vincent to be the cold hearted man he came to be.
I could not understand why he loved her that much. “Was I not good enough for him? If only he knew who I really am” I wondered as I looked at my appearance in the mirror.
I was looking thinner since I got married. It was tiring to manage my fake job at the Hospital and keeping the house clean and tidy. Perhaps, I should have placed more efforts to look prettier and sexy like Rachel Brown.
Some more messages came into my handphone. It was not from Vincent. The messages were from her. I knew it.
One picture made me feel a pain in my chest seeing what an idiot I was thinking my husband would fall in love with me. The picture was a man seated on her bed with his bare top part of his body seen. I knew that was Vincent. He was smiling at the camera looking happy.
It was a look of a man in love. But, his love was not for me. It was for her.
More messages came in with pictures of them together. Rachel has been sending me messages asking me to leave Vincent as he was not in love with me. Rachel wanted me to leave him. At that moment, I realised she was not aware of the contract marriage that I have signed with Vincent.
I could not let her win.
A part of me still thinks she was not good for him. Rachel Brown was toxic for Vincent. She was going to destroy him with her lies.
With the thought of protecting Vincent, I made a decision to do something he hated me doing unless it was for a life and death emergency. I called his assistant, Flora.
“Flora. Hello, it’s me Julia. Vincent’s wife. I called to ask if Vincent is at the office. There is something urgent for me to tell him?” I held my breath and hoped that he was indeed in office.
“Hello, Mrs Verdi” Flora’s cheerful voice was the opposite of Vincent’s cold deep voice. I wondered how he was at office working with the likes of Flora. He must have scared her to death with his anger.
“Mister Verdi is not in office at the moment. He is at Nexus Hospital near the office, with a friend. Rachel Brown” Flora sounded as if nothing was wrong with Vincent at the hospital with his ex-girlfriend. Perhaps, she did not know who Rachel was.
“Oh yes, of course. I forgot about that” I lied. “Would you kindly tell me which room, Rachel Brown is staying?”
“Sure. Mister Verdi made sure Miss Brown stayed in the best suite the hospital has to offer. The deluxe presidential suite. Would you like me to arrange for the driver to send you there, Mrs Verdi?” Flora’s words made me clenched my fist into a ball. My husband sounded he still cared for that lying b*tch with the name Rachel.
“Please arrange for my transport there, Flora. Thank you so much” I ended the call and took a pillow on my bed. I placed it on my face and screamed as loud as I can on it.
I was not going to let her win, “Rachel Brown, I’m coming for you”
A moment later, I put on a blue dress and applied some makeup on my fair and pale looking face. My soft fake blonde curls was let loose with a gold hair clip placed on its side. After being satisfied on how I looked in the mirror, I walked out from the penthouse towards the limousine sent for me.
The car was moving at a safe speed. I stared outside the window of the moving car seeing how busy the street of Emerald City was at that time. It was a city with tall skyscrapers making humans look tiny from above. But, it was also a city I once love when things were easy before the death of my parents.
Their death with Vincent, who I believe, had the answer on what happened to them. I need to know.
I had spent months in getting the truth from him but he was being difficult to talk to. It was tiring. A part of me felt that it was useless. But, I had to try till the end of our one year marriage contract.
I remembered when he approached me for the deal offering me money. I agreed to it immediately. It was not all for money. It was for what I thought to be for love.
The love that was clearly one sided.
If only he knew marrying him was what I wished for since I was just a little girl, perhaps, he would be nicer to me. I did not marry him for his wealth and status. I married him because I wanted to. I had known a different version of Vincent. A younger and kinder version of him. Not the man I married.
When we reached Nexus Hospital, I felt a pain forming on my neck. It was something I would feel when something bad was going to happen. “No. You must be strong. You must not let Vincent fall for Rachel’s lies. She is going to hurt him, again”
The walk towards the luxurious hospital suite was not a pleasant experience. Some people who saw me knew who I was. The look I received from the nurses where not pleasing. They were whispering which I knew they knew why I was there. It looked like me walking to visit my husband’s mistress with a bouquet of flowers on my hand.
How stupid was that? Bringing a bouquet of flowers was something of Flora’s idea. I just played along like a fool. I then threw those flowers in a nearby bin.
As I reach the door to the room, I heard the sound of a woman laughing. I slipped into the room seeing a sexy brunette was talking on the phone. She was definitely not looking sick.
“Excuse me, are you Rachel Brown?” I asked innocently hoping so much that this beauty was not her.
The woman ended her call and smirked at me. Her eyes were scanning me from head to toe like I was someone beneath her. She then raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly, “You must be Vince’s pathetic wife”
Vince? She called my husband Vince? Who the hell is she calling me pathetic?
(Laura’s POV).“You know. I thank you for letting Vince take care of me. He was so kind to me. Spending all these weeks by my side.. on my bed. I hope you don’t mind me returning that favour to him by giving him some good sex at night. He clearly was in need of that. Perhaps, his wife was lousy in bed” Rachel laughed loudly with a hand placed on her mouth.‘Sex? They had sex while I only kissed my husband passionately once on our very brief wedding day?’ I clenched my fist and was ready to hit that pretty face of hers.‘How could Vincent be by her side while she was obviously faking her illness? I was sick few months ago and he did not even care to ask if I got better. All my husband did was asking a doctor to visit me at the penthouse and disappeared from my sight for weeks!’ I exhaled few breaths as my face was turning red like a tomato.“Oh, the little puppet is angry at me” she pouted and fake a cry to mock me, “You do know that Vince will divorce you soon right? He said he loves
(Julia’s POV)Few hours later at Vincent’ penthouse, I wiped the tears flooding in my eyes. The memory of how Vincent pushed me to the ground was playing in my mind. It had hurt me much. The pain in my heart was still there even after hours since I left the Hospital.Seated on the bed with my packed suitcase, I felt like a fool believing that I could make him fall in love with me within one year. “What was I thinking?”“Stop crying. What happened to that tough sister of mine? Earth to Jules” the sound of my half-brother, Henry Moore, made me smile. I knew he would come despite him having a tight schedule as a surgeon at Emerald Hospital.“Henry, you came” I got up and wrapped my arms around his waist and cried on his shoulders like a baby.“Oh my god, Jules. What did Vincent do to you to make you weak like this? Don’t tell me you fell in love with him. You said this was just a way for you to get the truth about how our parents died” Henry whispered in my ears with one hand stroking my
(Vincent’s POV).I woke up the next day sleeping on the sofa placed next to Rachel. She was still sleeping and looking calm and well rested. Rachel was indeed beautiful in my eyes.But, my stepmother had once said I was lucky to have married Julia. In her eyes, Julia was gorgeous and kind. Someone that needed in my life.I wondered why I could not see that in Julia. All I ever wanted was to be with Rachel.How could I be with Julia who looked weak and came from a poor family? I’m Vincent Verdi, a CEO of a billion dollar worth of a group of companies. I needed a strong woman to marry and someone that would love me unconditionally. Not the Julia I married.The Doctor came in and mentioned to me that Rachel was going to get better and would soon be able to return home. But, I was warned not to put any hurtful thoughts in her mind. Not to stress her up.Her mind was not stable as she struggled to get better from a rare sickness which I did not quite understand what it was. I would leave
(Julia’s POV).Seated on the white sand beach while sipping my alcoholic juice, was blissful. It had been too long since I have this sort of vacation. Luxurious. Private. No disturbance. In the middle of nowhere.It was just me and my favourite brother, Henry. Of course, he had several hot looking women serving his needs. My brother, could not keep his dick in his pants. I guess he may be right. Love is dead.The sparsely populated island was a vacation I did not expect Henry wold bring me to. Under the shaded palm-fringed shorelines surrounded by crystal blue waters, made me feel that there was so much in life that I had not finish exploring. If only I had that much time and freedom, I would leave everything behind me and travel around the world with no expectation set in mind.But, the reality was not that simple.It was time for Laura Julianne Knight to come back to the world and take back what belonged to her. “Good bye, Julia Raine” I have been hiding for far too long and it was
(Vincent’s POV).“Aahh.. Vince. Baby, slow down” I heard Rachel’s voice moaning with pleasure while calling my name several time, as I thrust deep inside her core with increased speed. My body wanted to be with her but my mind was thinking about where the f*ck did Julia go.It has been three weeks since I last heard about her. She was ignoring my calls and messages. Then, it was dead silence. I could not even call her. Her phone went dead, I supposed. She was gone with me having a dozen of unanswered questions about her.I need to know the truth. I wanted to know who I was married to.“Vince.. please” Rachel was begging for me to slow down as I was slamming hard on her beautiful bottom. I had squeezed her butt cheeks not realising it had hurt her. I was losing my mind with my thoughts flowing back to Julia.“I’m sorry, I can’t do this” I pulled out from her and fell back on the bed with my eyes staring at the ceiling. The problem with Julia had definitely affected my sex life with Ra
(Author’s POV).The Knight Mansion was built on a large land surrounded by high walls, built to last for centuries. It was said to have been built to protect those who came to dwell in it during the war that had occurred in Bloom City about two hundred years ago. Nestled on the hill overlooking Bloom City, it signalled status and wealth.It had gone through many renovation and refurbishment to keep it looking splendour and magnificent. A touch of modern art sculptures were seen decorating the lawn, which was known to be the choice of Laura Julianne Knight. The only daughter of the late Lucas Knight, former president of Knight Corporation.No one had expected the throne of Knight Corporation to be handed over to Lionel Knight immediately after the death of his brother. No one had expected he would take control of the mansion just days after Lucas, his brother’s death.But, a day has come when Lionel’s family who was staying at the large mansion had to bid farewell to their ancestral h
(Laura’s POV).Few minutes later, I was standing at the door of my Uncle Leroy's office. Smiling I said, "Did you all miss me?"I had expected both my cousin Carla Knight and her father Uncle Lionel, would be there too.“L-Laura.. you are b-back. Where have you been?” my dear cousin was obviously terrified seeing me standing infront of her looking healthy and very much alive. I could not believe the cousin who I had accepted like a sister in my life tried to kill me.She was the one I had trusted with my secrets. My heart shattered into pieces remembering the moment when the men who tried to kill me confessed to have been paid by Carla Knight. Henry offered them three times the sum of money paid by Carla to get the truth out from them.“Carla. How have you been doing? Did you sleep well at night?” I asked in a calm tone but the veins on my throat was showing as I clenched my teeth to control my anger.“Yes, I did” Carla was obviously bad at acting with her fake smile flashing on her
(Laura’s POV).“So? How do you feel, Miss President?” my best friend, Marie Lee whispered in my ears and winked at me. I kept my serious face not giving a hint of a smile as we walked back to my new room.Everyone at the Board room was watching me as they praised me being named as the new President of Knight Corporation. “Welcome back, Miss President”Those words made me feel like a heavy weight being placed on my shoulders. At the same time, I was victorious.But, the game had only began. I was just getting started. My enemies were still out there waiting to take me down. And this time, I’m ready b*tches!I had mixed feelings as I was announced as the new President of Knight Corporation a while ago. I should be happy and proud of our hard work for the past several months, to convince the board members to vote for me as their new leader to drive the company to success.I hope my parents in heaven would be proud of me taking back what was rightfully mine.The look of defeat on my uncl
(Laura’s POV).Several years had gone by. I was happily married with Vincent keeping his wedding vow to love me and stay loyal to me as long as his heart was still beating.His wedding vow for me was what the press stated as something they never expected coming from a well known feared man would ever say to a woman. He poured his heart out to me in his vow. I recalled myself in tears, and of course with abundance of joy.The wedding was held at Tuscany with a garden theme filled with fresh flowers and nature. He kept to his words making it my dream wedding. I had to thank both my mother in laws who had helped me to prepare it. I loved them both and I was happy to have both of them to fill the void in my heart that was empty since my own mother passed away.Life was perfect and having three children with him made it more exciting.Three boys, who would have thought I could go through that at such a young age! This was not what I had planned in my life after the death of my parents.I
(Vincent’s POV).I was looking around. Mostly to find a way to exit the crowded little ice cream parlour filled with mostly people from Laura’s side. The look of her angry eyes at me after knowing I had read her diary was piercing my soul. Her beautiful blue eyes were on fire.I raised both of my hands in a surrender mode and said, “I can explain. You need to calm down. Not good for our babies that you are carrying. Your stress level needs to be managed”What the hell was I rambling about? It was not going to help me save myself from her wrath that was coming to me.“You did read my diary! How could you do such thing” She said before her face was turning red. She was blushing and for a moment I thought I was wrong. She was not angry, she was embarrassed.Then, I recalled on what I read in her diary. I was pretty embarrassing. She wroter things about me and how she adored me all those years. There was even a picture of my younger self kept in her pink shimmering diary.“I hate you!” L
(Laura’s POV).A month has passed. Time had moved so swiftly and my pregnant belly was starting to show.Vincent was true to his words, being by my side taking care of me and my constant need of attention. I blamed it on my pregnancy hormones. I was never like this, wanting him by my side most of the time.It had been a challenging process with me having nausea and sensitivity of things around me. I had even lost some weight as my body was rejecting some food, even those that I used to like to eat.“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Vincent said and lifted my chin to give me a brief kiss on my lips. We were walking towards the place where we first met. A little ice cream shop in Tuscany where I had first saved him from being hit by a motorcycle.The place where I fell in a nearby ditch, stuck for almost an hour until my brother, Henry came to the rescue. I smiled to that thought as he moved to caress my cheeks, smiling at me. “What’s so funny?”I laughed softly and pointed to the exa
(Author’s POV).At the same time, seated in a rented car, Marie was looking out of the window not wanting to start any conversation with the man who was seated next to her. He was driving with his focus on the road.At times she knew, he was taking few glances at her, hoping that she would start the conversation.After a few minutes, the silence was getting weird.“Are you happy with him?” Henry wished he could take that questions back. His words slipped his tongue as they waited in the car being stuck in traffic.“It is none of your concern. Please focus on your driving” Marie said while pretending to look outside the window. There was nothing else to see except for the cars on the road stuck with them in the traffic.“Do you love him? Why.. him?” Henry exhaled his breath and gripped the sterring wheel hard while controlling his anger, “I don’t get it, Marie. At one point, you did not believe in marriage. Now, you are engaged with a man I know you are definitely not in love with”Hi
(Laura’s POV).I came out from the cold waters while pulling Vincent’s unconscious body with me. He was heavy and I struggled to pull him further.I needed to check on his breathing so I placed my ear next to Vincent’s mouth and nose. I smiled after feeling some air from his mouth warming my cheeks. “Vincent? Wake up” I said while caressing his cheeks.He did not respond to me calling him several times. I then placed my finger to check on his pulse. It was getting weaker. That made me panic for a moment.I felt his body getting cold and that frightened me further, “Vincent, please. Wake up”There was no response.I then whispered to his ears while placing my hand on his cheeks, “I know you can hear me. Please don’t leave me alone in this cold place. Please don’t leave us alone. I want our baby to grow up with a father. The father that I love very much”I then cried and rested my head on his shoulders as I let out my sadness and tiredness on his body. I was tired. I did not sleep well
(Author’s POV).Out from the busy current of Rivera river, Cherry managed to hold on to a large tree trunk and held on it with her trembling hands. She was panting out of air and was choking out water stuck in her throat.After a few minutes, she took one deep breath before climbing on the tree to get out from the cold waters. She knew if Vincent had arrived, it would mean he would have by then blocked her way out from Rivera. There would be no way out using the normal route.It was time for her to execute her contingency plan.But first, Cherry needed to locate an acquaintance who she knew could get her new identification card and passport to escape from the country. She knew Vincent was not going to make it easy for her. She knew she needed him to think that she was dead.Smiling to that thought, she was ready to fight him.As Cherry reached the shore, she walked slowly towards what looked like houses built near the river. They were local folks living in Rivera. A signage was seen
(Vincent’s POV).I was running fast leaving the rest behind. The woods were thick with many trees blocking my way.I heard her. And I knew that voice was her pleading for help. She was in trouble.Jumping over branches of trees and pushing aside any obstacle that was blocking my way, I felt no pain. All I had in mind was to save my Laura. I hope I was not going to be too late for that.I wanted to call her name and assured her everything was going to be fine. I was closeby and I knew all this drama would end soon. But, calling her name would alert the attacker. I needed to be careful.I knew who it was. The crazy woman who was obsessed with me, Cherry, was to be blamed for all that had happened to Laura. I was going to end it. Tonight, it would be over.Cherry would be placed behind bars.Standing behind a tree, I then saw her. My Laura.She was looking weak and shaken.Laura was standing too close to the edge of the cliff while Cherry was pointing a gun at her. They were arguing and
(Laura’s POV).I took steps slowly back as I saw Cherry coming closer to me. There was blood on her clothes which I thought most likely may not be hers. She looked fine, or was she pretending to look fine?I did not know her well. A deceiving woman who seemed to fight for what she believed in. And I knew all that she believed in was her being the daughter of Lucas Knight and my half-sister.“Do you realised we kind of look alike?” she said with a smile showing her perfectly shaped teeth. It was kind of scary with her eyes looking at me as if I was an object of her admiration.“We have the same eyes. Different colour though. And your hair, look” she touched her hair with one hand, “It is the same colour as mine. Do you think people would believe we are actually related?”Was she kidding me? I knew Cherry made herself look like me. She was obsessed to be me.I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off with her words, “Laura. You want to know the truth?” Cherry smiled and sang
(Vincent’s POV).I got up from a short nap that I took without even realising it. Pieces of papers were scattered on the chair I was seated on. A large map of Rivera was spread on the table where I had marked on the potential places that Laura could be at.Something was not right. I felt a pain inside my chest. Was it Laura? Was she in trouble?I got up from my chair and walked to the drinking cabinet in my room to get a drink. A strong one I hoped to find.I hoped I could find Laura soon. Calvin and Cherry had already arrived in Rivera and I knew it would not be long until they move Laura again. I needed to be fast.My men were following Cherry and two hours ago I was informed that they had lost track of Cherry who went into the dark woods of Rivera. One thing for sure, both Cherry and Calvin were still in town. I would make sure they will never leave Rivera until I found my Laura.I rubbed my temple and walked to the bathroom to do my business. Taking a glance at the mirror in the