MORGAN'S POV
When I got to my new in-laws house, I wasn't expecting to be welcomed by the sight of my wife being thrown out of the house.
As she stumbled onto the porch, I reached forward quickly and caught her arms, steadying her.
"What's going on?" I demanded, taking in her face.
Her face was flushed, her lips pursed, while her eyes were teary and red.
"Nothing"' she muttered, turning her face away from me and freeing herself from my grip.
"What are you doing here?", she inquired.
I looked towards the open door, where.Eve’s sister had been standing a few seconds ago. Turning around, I spotted Henry who was carrying several shopping bags.
"Henry, bring them into the house" I told him.
"Okay, boss" Henry agreed and walked past Eve and i into the house.
"What is that?" Eve asked as she looked closely at the bags Henry was carrying.
"Gifts for my new in-laws," I answered, and then reached for her hand.
"Come on, let's go inside!"
EVE'S POV
I was a bit hesitant to take his hand, but I later did. As I went back into the house in his company, I wasn't sure of what kind of reaction to expect. After all, I had just been kicked out of the family.
Morgana and Cindy were waiting in the living room, with Cindy already going through one of the bags the other guy had brought inside.
Jeffery was nowhere to be seen, and I figured he must have disappeared into his study.
"Hello, Mrs Luciano," Morgan greeted politely, letting go of my hand and shaking hands with Morgana.
I held my breath at the exchange. My fear was that Morgana, or Cindy, would say something insulting to Morgan. Or throw us out together. After all, they didn't think highly of him.
"Oh my God!" Cindy squealed, attracting everybody's attention.
She rushed to Morgana with a jewellery box in her hand, a tiered diamond necklace lying on the velvet interior.
"Mum! This is the necklace I wanted you to get me”.
My eyes widened as I gave another look at the bags the guy had brought in. They were all from luxury brands... Oh no.
Recalling the brooch Morgan had Worn to the wedding, I realised that they could all be fake. How else would he be able to afford such expensive gifts?
"Look at this scarf" Morgana said, reaching into another bag and retrieving a flowery silk scarf.
“It's so beautiful!" She added.
Clutching it to her chest, she turned to look at Morgan.
"Thank you so much, Morgan. These gifts are amazing. You're such a good son-in-law."
As mother and daughter cooed over the gifts. I rose to my toes and whispered in Morgan’s ear.
"They are fake, right?".
Before he could answer, Cindy hurried up to is with another jewellery box.
"How did you get this choker? It was a limited edition when it got out,and I didn't manage to get one... You're literally the best, Morgan. Thank you!”
I couldn't even focus on the irony of how Cindy was suddenly addressing Morgan after how she treated him at the wedding. Does she even remember offering him a job as a security guard? Or did she forget all of that the moment she saw the gifts?.
My stomach was suddenly queasy as a feeling of dread took over. What would happen if they found out the jewellery were fake?.
Rising back to my toes, I tugged Morgan by his jacket to whisper to him again.
"If they find out, you can say it was my idea”.
Suddenly, he looked down at me, his eyebrows coming together.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded.
"They are my family. I know how to deal with them."
What's the worst they could do to me anyway?. They had already kicked me out. They weren't going to pay for Sarah’s medication. So even if they found out, I could say that I fooled them with fake luxury goods to save my face for being married to a poor man.
They would probably ridicule and insult me some more, but it wasn't nothing they hadn't put me through already.
MORGAN'S POV
It was quite hard for me to contain my smile as she assured me of protection if her family found out that my gifts were counterfeit.
In truth, they weren't. But the thought that she was willing to take the blame if they were and me got busted… It made me feel warm all over.
Who knew my pretending wife would go so far to protect me even if we were just a nominal couple?
My attention was drawn from her when Morgana Luciano approached me, a flattering smile on her lips.
"Thank you so much for your gifts, Morgan. They must have cost a fortune. You didn't have to."
"Do you really like them?"
She nodded.
"Yes. And, they are all from my favourite brands. It's almost like you know what I love".
Her gaze shifted to Eve.
"I'm so happy to know that my daughter is in the hands of a capable husband"
I refrained from scoffing out loud. Not only had I seen Cindy pushing Eve through the door. Before that, I had heard Morgana's voice asking Eve to leave. It was obvious that she didn't treat Eve with love.
But now that I had shown up with expensive gifts, she was busy putting up an act in front of me.
I couldn't stand by and let these people continue mistreating my wife like that.
"Why did you throw her out of the house, then?" I demanded.
Morgana's eyes widened, as if she hadn't been expecting such a question. Crossing her arms across her chest, she stuttered,
"Wha..what are you talking about?"
"You threw my wife out just before l arrived" I reminded her.
She shook her head.
"No, I didn't! Why would l do that to my own daughter?"
Quickly, she turned to Eve.
"Did you tell him that I threw you out?"
"I heard it myself," I spoke up for Eve.
"Look, there must be a misunderstanding. Eve was...she was...she had an argument with her sister-"
"I know what I heard, Mrs Luciano", I cut her off.
"And since it appears you don't treat my wife well. I have to take away my gift”.
Morgana's mouth fell open while Cindy exclaimed,
"What?".
I ignored them and beckoned to Henry, who was standing near the entryway.
"Henry, put everything back into the bags and take it away!"
"You cant do that!", Cindy complained, her grip on the box she was holding tightly.
"Yes I can," I told her.
"I meant to appreciate my wife's family for bringing her up and giving me her hand in marriage, but it happens that you don't consider her a part of this family. There's nothing to thank you for:"
Morgana was beside herself as Henry gathered all the gifts and put them back into the bags.
Perhaps if only she had known that I would show up, she would never have asked Eve to leave.
She couldn't believe I was taking back all my gifts. To miss out on benefitting from a rich son-in-law just because of something she had said!
CINDY'S POV
Beside mom, I seethed as I took off the diamond necklace I had already worn around my neck.
This had to be a nightmare for me. Well I guess at this point, there was no doubt that Morgan was truly a wealthy man.
Only an extremely wealthy man could afford the kind of gifts he had brought. And they weren't even fake!
I almost shed tears as I realised the kind of life I had missed out on. If only I had married Morgan as intended...
I should have never trusted hearsay that he was poor and unreliable.
Now, instead of me, it was my wretched adoptive sister who was beside him.
EVE'S POVI was taking in the spectacle unfolding before me, when Morgan took my hand and led me towards the front door. Of all the ways I had expected Morgan's visit to go, this was definitely not one of them. I could still hear my mother and sister's grumbling as the door closed behind us.Morgan kept his hold on my hand all the way to the front of the house. When he let go, he came to a stop and regarded me. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to your parents' house?"I looked towards the door, half-expecting my mother to appear with more flattering words for Morgan. While I did, I jogged my brain for an excuse to give Morgan. It wasn't as if I could tell him that I came to collect the money that my parents had promised me, on the account that I married him…"Eve?" Morgan's voice urged.Looking away from the door, I faced him."I'm sorry about that. When I left the house, I got a call from my father asking me to come by immediately. I didn't have time to tell you."I remember
EVE'S POV After settling in my new home, I had one more thing to do, finding a job. The sooner, the better. I was no longer getting any money from my parents, and Morgan’s financial situation wasn't the best. So the sooner i got a job, the better it would be for all of us. Once I find a job, maybe I could look for a new apartment to rent. Although, the house we were living in wasn't exactly the worst, it was practical at best. Living with Morgan in the same room when we were only pretending to be a couple had its own share of challenges I wished to fix soon.With a good job, I could be able to afford to rent a good apartment where we could each, have our own rooms. Also, once I find a job, I would have fewer things to worry about and finally focus on finding ways to raise funds for Sandra's medical bill. I had high hopes of finding a job quickly. Just the other day, I had received a call for an interview from Edwards Group, a famous design company that was renowned in the fashion
ELLA'S POV "Yeah, please do tell us" the man sitting next to me encouraged.I crossed my arms across my chest and pursed my lips before speaking up."l just don't have a good feeling about her, that's all""That cannot be a good reason to not hire her" Someone pointed out. "It sounds as if you have a personal grudge against her. You need to give a good reason why you don't recommend her for the position""I do not have a personal grudge against her," I claimed firmly. "But yes, I know her from school. We were classmates. That's why I know she might not be the kind of person we want in this company”."What kind of student was she?"."The kind that cheats on exams," I said. "Look, I didn't want to bring this up because l'm not sure it's relevant now. But who knows, maybe she hasn't changed at all. Back then, she copied a classmates design and won an award with it. The other student was disqualified. I have no idea how she managed to convince the professor that she was the original d
MORGAN'S POV Eve looked up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She eyed the pamphlet in my hands and shrugged. "Yeah."Then she looked away again and focused on her laptop. But I didn't miss her tone, and how her face fell at my question."And?" I urged."I didn't get the job.""Oh" I mumbled, frowning. "Can I take a look at your resume?""Sure"I took her document and sat back on the sofa.The more I scrutinised the document, the deeper my frown grew. From what I was seeing, it didn't make sense that she wouldn't pass an interview at the Edwards Group.According to her resume, she was a top student at her college and even won a scholarship after winning a design contest. That aside, she had recently won a design championship. Both were enough proof that she was a brilliant upcoming designer."Why were you rejected ?", I asked after looking through her resume."Probably because I didn't pass the exam," She replied. EVE'S POV But even as I said that, I doubted it. I
EVE’S POVI walked into the kitchen to the sight of Morgan, standing over an overturned recycling bin, with several shattered beer bottles at his feet. He had a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other, still as he looked at the mess he had made.When I appeared, he looked from the mess to me and then back again. "l, uh..." he began, then went to rub the back of his neck, but realised that was impossible with the dustpan in his hand, so he dropped his hand and shrugged.I was relieved that he didn't seem to have hurt himself. But I couldn't help but be amused at how he looked standing there looking at the mess he had made, as if not sure how it had happened.He cleared his throat and looked at me. "I was sweeping and then. I hit the bin."Yeah, I had guessed as much. Stepping forward, I reached for his broom. "Let me clean it up.""No" he said, stepping back. "Careful" he added, looking down at the shattered glass. "Don't step on them".I stepped back from the fallen bin.“Ar
EVE'S POV When I got to the Edwards Group building, I headed up to the floor I had been on the previous day. However, when I emerged at the waiting room leading to the room, I had been interviewed in, a well-dressed lady approached me."Are you Eve Luciano?" she asked politely."Yes, that's me," I replied."Welcome to Edwards Group, Ms Eve. I'm Liliana, the vice president's assistant. Please come with me, the vice president is awaiting you."I blinked. "The vice president?""Yes. I'll show you the way."I went with the lady, surprised at the turn of events. I had expected to be led to an interview room. Why does the vice president want to see me?As we went, I noticed that many people stared at me. Do they know me?.The previous day, nobody had really paid me any attention. But then I thought of the apology email from the company. Maybe this people here knows about what had happened to my interview.Linda came to a stop in front of a door and pushed it open. Stepping aside, she ges
ELLA'S POV When I was asked to see the vice president first thing in the morning, I never could have imagined it would be concerning Eve's interview and her subsequent rejection. After having the panel reject her the previous day, I had slept like a baby, happy that I had finally executed my revenge. Keeping Eve out of the company almost made up for that time in college when I lost the scholarship to her. And, not only had I managed to cost her a job at the prestigious Edwards Group, but also I had tarnished her reputation at the same time. I had been certain that once the words spread in the industry, Eve would have a hard time finding a job elsewhere.With all the happy imaginations in my head, I hadn't foreseen what was currently happening, sitting opposite a righteous-looking Eve, under the strict scrutiny of the Edwards Group's, vice president.Why was Dickson paying so much attention to Eve's case, anyway? The man rejected hundreds of applicants daily and forgot about it. If
HENRY'S POV I shot a curious glance at my boss in the backseat and quickly looked away. I had just brought the luxury car to a stop outside the house that he frequented nowadays. I couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what he was up to. Especially as he removed his designer suit and pulled on a shabby jacket over his shirt.I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, wondering whether to ask the questions in my mind or not. I didn't want to cross any boundaries, but this was beyond astonishing, and I couldn't help the curiosity. Besides, I wasn't getting paid to stick my nose into my boss's personal business…In fact, sticking it where it wasn't wanted would be a sure way of losing my pay.After changing into the jacket, Morgan went ahead to remove his Italian leather dress shoes and replaced them with work boots.My attention went back to the neighborhood outside. Surely this car looks out of place in such a place, and especially outside the shabby home Morgan was using.“Come