Emily felt paralyzed. She blinked repeatedly at the sight before her,wishing it was all a figment of her imagination.
It wasn't. “Sophie” She managed to whisper. Her sister stared back at her with no remorse or shame. None of the cheaters looked shocked to have been discovered. Emily's mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts, trying to process everything. Never in a million did she imagine that Wesley could cheat on her and with no other person than her blood sister. She felt her heart ache from the betrayal. “How….how could you?” She mumbled,the words feeling heavy in her mouth. “Ermm….Emily,would you excuse us?We need to get dressed.” Wesley blurted out. Emily felt her mouth drop open in another wave of shock. “What?” Wesley repeated himself “Emily, don't make this harder than it needs to be. Go downstairs,we'll come meet you after dressing up.” Emily couldn't believe her ears. She caught them in bed and that was all he had to say. “Emily, please go downstairs. We'll talk about this when we come down.” Sophie added. Again, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. The cheaters were calm. Like they had done nothing wrong. Their relaxed expressions made it look like Emily was the outsider who had walked in on the couple's private time. Her body began to burn with rage. If she didn't leave, she was going to launch at both of them and plug out their eyes. Emily casted them one last look before quietly walking out of the room. Her world was spinning as she descended the stairs. The house that was once a safe haven to her suddenly became too stuffy. Afraid she was going to lose conscience if she stayed, Emily grabbed the car keys and bolted out of the house. Her hands trembled as she opened the car door. She needed to run as far away as she could from the betrayal. After everything they had gone through together, she couldn't fathom why he would do that to her. They had a good life, they were happy. Why would he throw that away? And with no other person than her sister. Her mind swirled with questions. How long had their affair been going on? Weeks,months, years? It all felt like a dream. She drove aimlessly for what felt like hours before she finally pulled up in front of her parents’ house. She broke down in tears. Years of love and commitment was down the drain. She gave up her dreams to make him happy. She built his career and this was how he chose to pay her back. After hours of crying, Emily finally left the comfort of the car and made her way inside. Immediately she saw her parents, she felt like breaking down again. Both of them had a curious look on seeing her swollen face. “Emily, what's wrong?” her mother asked in confusion. “I caught them.” the words slipped out of her lips. “Who?” John Park asked his daughter in confusion. She blurted out the heavy words. “Wesley is cheating on me with Sophie.” Instead of looking shocked, John and Susan Park gave each other a knowing look. At the same time, the doorbell rang. Susan went to get it while John asked Emily to sit down. Just when she began to wonder if her parents didn't believe her, Susan returned with Wesley, Sophie and Jane. Emily jumped to her feet as soon as she saw them. “What are they doing here?” She asked in a fit of rage. “Quit acting like a child and sit down.” her father commanded. She stared back at him in disbelief. “I'm acting like a child? I found my husband and sister together in bed. How should I act?” Susan snapped at her “Don't talk to your father that way. Sit down, let's talk about this like a family.” Emily was stunned by her parents’ words. Almost immediately, something seemed to click in her head. “You knew?” The reactions from her parents, sister, husband and mother-in-law was all the answer she needed. She fell back on the Sofa in shock. Her whole family knew about this affair. She had been betrayed by everyone. Susan shamelessly said; “Your sister and Wealey have fallen in love. Who are we to stop them? Love is natural and no one can choose who they fall in love with. The best thing you can do as a good sister is to support them.” If she wasn't still in shock from the multiple betrayals, she would have scoffed at her mother's words. Emily wondered why she was the only one who had to be a good sister. Her parents had always favored Sophie, but she couldn't believe they would in the situation. Emily let out a chuckle. What had she expected? Of course they would side with their favorite child. After all, they had Emily to save Sophie from cancer. She was their princess, the one they would do anything for while Emily was nothing but a spare part for her. “Do not laugh at us, Emily. We didn't mean to fall in love.” The sound of Sophie's pretentious voice ignited a flame of rage in her. “Shut up. You're nothing but a disgusting whore who slept with her sister's husband. You've always taken everything from me ,I guess you also had to have him.” Sophie began to shed crocodile tears while their parents began to scold her. “How dare you talk to your sister that way?Apologize at once.” John yelled at her. Emily stared back at him with nothing but coldness. All her life she had tried to please her parents so they could love her like they loved Sophie. She was done. All the love she had once had for them was gone. She rose to her feet. “You're disgusting parents. I don't want to ever see you again in my life.” She tried to walk away but was blocked by Sophie who grabbed her arm. “Please, Emily. Don't put your anger on Mom and Dad. Blame me instead, it is all my fault.” Emily could tell her sister was pretending. She yanked her arm free from her grip and Sophie immediately fell down. Before Emily could react, she felt a harsh sting on her cheeks. Wesley had slapped her. “How dare you be so cruel?” He yelled at her. Emily chuckled at the Irony. They had betrayed her but she was the cruel one. He rushed to join her parents who were already helping Sophie. Emily didn't know if she should laugh or cry. “You're a heartless monster. How dare you push a pregnant woman? I always knew Wesley married the wrong sister.” Jane yelled in her face. Sophie was pregnant. The words replayed in her head. “Leave, from now on you cease to be our child.” John said, his eyes burning with hatred. “Go and never come back.” All eyes were glaring at her like she was a witch. Emily ran out of the house with tears streaming down her face. She didn't know where she was going but she kept running. A bright light shone directly in her eyes. She had no time to react as the car slammed into her making fly in the air before landing hard on the ground. The last thing she saw was the silhouette of two men running towards her.“You're awake.” A strange man in white muttered to Emily with a smile. Emily frowned, wondering he was and where she was. As her vision and sense of environment became clearer, she realized she was in the hospital and the strange man was a doctor. She tried to sit up but was stopped by the doctor. “Please, you need all the rest you can get.” She frowned, looking around her and taking in the IV drip that was connected to her veins. Her memory was hazy. She sought answers from the doctor. “What happened?” “You were involved in an accident Miss. You've been unconscious for three days.” The memories came flooding back. She remembered walking in on her sister and husband. She remembered her parents disowning her and her running away before she was blinded by the car lights. Emily felt a chill down her spine as she recalled the painful accident. “I've been unconscious for three days?” “Yes,” the doctor replied,looking uncomfortable. Emily wondered. It took
Emily stared at the unknown number, wondering who the caller was. After a few minutes of hesitation, she picked up the call. “Hello,” a female voice came from the other end. Emily thought it sounded familiar as she said back an “Hello” “Is this Emily?” the voice asked. “Yes,” She answered, still wondering who her mysterious caller was. At once,the female voice that was filled with hesitation turned into a loud excited voice. “Oh my God!! Emily,it's me, Ava.” Recognition hit her at once. It really was Ava, her good friend from college who had traveled outside the country. “Ava” she whispered back in surprise. “Yes, it's me. I just flew back in yesterday. I've missed you so much. Where are you? How have you been? We have a lot of catching up to do.” Emily didn't know what to reply to the barrage of questions. How was she? With everything that had happened to her over the past few days,she didn't know how to respond to that. “I'm…Errm….I think I'm
Hasting Publishing house was one of the most successful companies in the world, known to publish only the best of the best. It had become a running joke in the book community that once they saw Hasting as the publishing house, they were immediately buying the book without knowing the name of the book or author. Many said the best thing about the company was the handsome bachelor billionaire who owned it. He was every woman's dream and even had many fan pages dedicated to him. Despite many women throwing themselves at him, Alexander remained single for unknown reasons. His rude and cold attitude was no secret to all but it didn't stop the ladies from fawning over him. Alex Hasting stepped out of the car into his company with his assistant right on his heels. He ignored all the unfortunate employees that respectfully greeted him and made his way to his private elevator. “Have you found her?” he asked his assistant, as soon as the doors close
Emily's eyes widened at the time on her phone. She quickly threw the sheets aside and jumped out of bed. She dashed straight for the bathroom, not believing she had overslept on her first day of work. She dialed Ava's number before grabbing the toothbrush. Ava picked up on the first ring. “Ava, please promise you didn't leave without me.” Emily said in a panicked tone. Ava chuckled. “Relax Cupcake, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. You looked so peaceful in your sleep.” Emily paused the hard scrubs against her teeth. “Ava!! It's my first day at work. How can I be so late? I could get fired.” She could already imagine Ava rolling her eyes. “Ummh, did you wake up with partial amnesia? I'm your boss, who's gonna fire you?” Ava didn't give her the chance to utter a word before adding, “Just take your time and get to work when you can. I left you some cash for a cab-fare on the kitchen counter. Gotta go, Love you.” Without giving Emily the time to protes
“Such a jerk!!” Ava murmured with a scoff. Emily could do nothing but bite her lips in guilt. She had conveniently omitted the identity of the arrogant traffic man during her narration. Unaware of her brother's involvement, Ava continued. “He's lucky it wasn't me. I would have yelled back and showed his arrogant ass how bad a road rage can be.” Emily swallowed hard in guilt. She wondered how her friend would react if she knew her pompous brother was the asshole. “I'm just glad I'm finally here.” She said, hoping it would put an end to the conversation. It worked. Ava's brows dramatically tweaked up, “Ready for your first day huh?” she asked with a wide grin. Emily took in a shaky breath. “Yeah” Ava had her assistant take Emily to her new office. The open office had low-walled glass cubicles that demarcated working spaces. She scanned the faces who were all glued to her figure while the assistant made the introduction. It was brief
“Good evening Miss Byrce, I'm Branson Clark.” Emily took a step back while scanning the stranger before her with great alarm. He noticed her uneasiness right away and offered a slight smile. “I'm sorry for just barging on you. Like I said, I'm Brason Clark and I'm a lawyer.” He pulled out his business card and ID, stretching to her for confirmation. Emily's eyes scanned both cards, yet it did little to settle the uneasiness or questions in her mind. “I represent the man who was involved in your accident.” Before she could muster up a reaction, he quickly added. “Can we sit and discuss? There's a coffee shop round the corner.” The way he spoke and gazed at her made her feel he expected her to not object.Emily took in the short man again. His confident gaze, well-tailored suit and expensive Rolex gave away his high-end lawyer identity. A part of her wanted to walk away but the curious cat in her won the battle. Branson dove into business as soon as they
“She What?” Alex thundered at Chris. It was the same reaction Chris had anticipated which was why he took his sweet time in relaying the news. “She declined the settlement.” he reiterated. Alex's face crumbled into a deeper frown. “How much did you offer her?” he asked, not believing the greed of this woman. “It was a blank check.” For the first ever, Chris watched an expression other than a frown fall on his boss’s face. Alex was genuinely surprised. “Why?” the word slipped out before he realized it.. “She said she wants the whole matter to be forgotten and left in the past.” The answer only left him feeling more intrigued. From what Ava had told him, he knew she was freshly divorced and living with Ava. Why would someone so broke decline a life changing offer? His suspicion about Emily increased. “Did you dig into her background?” An alarm bell went off in Chris’ head. “No,” Alex shot him a dirty glare. “I want every inch of her background
Her face lit up with excitement. They say opportunity comes but once and she had every intention of making use of her opportunity. As she got into the elevator with Alex, she couldn't help but take peeks at his cold hard face. He was perfect in every aspect. A baby from him would be her ticket out of hard life and she was going for that ticket. The elevator door stopped at a small hallway with no one in sight. It was at the top of the building and had two exclusive bedrooms the club had reserved for him and Ezra. Although Ezra made use of his every night, it was the first time Alex was going to use his. He walked quietly while her heels noisily lagged behind him. He placed his hand on a pad beside the door. It scanned his fingerprints and the door automatically opened up. The room was dimly lit, spacious and consciously decorated in a way that was meant to stimulate sexual drive. She took in the luxurious room, smiling to herself at the feeling of the soft bed
“What?” The chorus came from Wesley and the two senior editors. With a smirk, Emily reiterated herself. “I'm sorry, this manuscript cannot be published. It's not good enough.” Wesley jumped to his feet, seething with anger. “Emily, are you crazy? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?” “Mr Wesley, please calm down. I'm sure there's been a mistake somewhere.” Jane–one of the editors said, trying to pacify him. The second editor, Kent, also jumped in. “Yes, there's got to be some sort of mistake. Emily, you know this is Wesley Sterling, one of the best authors out there. He has written so many bestsellers, how can you say his work is not good enough?” Emily stared into Wesley’s eyes with a mocking gaze. “I know Mr Wesley has written many bestsellers but this one doesn't cut it. I think he needs to write something else.” He flipped out. “How dare you insult me? Is this what they do at Hasting? I demand another editor. And I want her fired!” Everytime he
Emily's Pov I blinked at the two approaching figures.“It couldn't be.” I thought to myself. But as they came to a raging halt before me, I knew it was really them. “Why did you block us, Emily?” Susan’s eyes went over me with contempt. I considered ignoring their presence but decided against it. “I didn't block you. I changed my contact.” I replied calmly. “That's no way to talk to your mother.” My eyes landed on Jane's face— her signature horrendous makeup and silly words made me chuckle. “Mother? Has your old brain forgotten the night I was disowned?” Both of them gasped. Their faces mirrored a mix of horror and surprise. “How dare you talk to your family that way?” Susan said, pointing her finger to my face. I shoved her hand away with a scoff. “We cut ties that night” I eyed Jane's figure. “And I'm no longer married to your son. How are we family?” If they were shocked before, they were now completely horrified. “You…” Susan tried to point agai
Emily’s PovAva was right. Dinner was literally to die for. Whoever the magnificent chef was, he deserved what Mr Dark Heart was paying. After the death glare, he returned back to pouring his attention on his sister while Ezra and I continued to make small talks. I was grateful when dinner came to and. At least it meant I would be leaving the dark and gloomy mansion too. Like the weirdo he was, Alex stood up and walked out without another word. Ava and Ezra began to clear the table and when I tried to join in, they immediately stopped me. “You're a guest, Emily. Don't worry we've got this.” Said Ezra with a slight wink. I tried to protest but Ava stopped me. “C’mon Em, we've got this. Why don't you take a tour of the house! We’ll be back as soon as we run this by the washer.” Defeated, I muttered “Okay.” After they were gone, I decided to take Ava's advice and take a little tour of the house. Like the tables, plates and cutleries were, everything in the
Emily walked into the company with two paper cups of fresh hot coffee–One for her, the other for Ava. She stumbled but caught herself just in time before any of the coffee could spill. Unfortunately, she couldn't save her phone in time. She picked up the fallen phone with a sigh and began inspecting it for any damage. Distracted, she barely gave her surroundings a glance. The next moment, she felt herself bumping into a wall and down went the two cups. Emily watched in horror as the coffee spilled on the figure’s hand—down to his suit and Italian shoe. She yelped in horror, also expecting the victim of her carelessness to scream in pain but was met with silence. Her eyes sought the identity of this superhero while she began to ramble out an apology. “I am so…” the words froze mid air as her eyes settled on his face. She was fucked! Emily lost her tongue and a wave of cold nervousness drenched her. For a second he remained still, glaring at her with
“What nonsense!” Ava yelled in anger. Coming back from her trip to hear the buzzing lies about Emily was not something she could have ever imagined. Her body vibrated with anger.“I'm going to fish out whoever started this trend of lies.” Emily sighed from her seat. “You can't, it's anonymous. That's the basic purpose of the gossip site.” Ava scoffed loudly, “Oh Please, it's nothing a hacker can't dig out. I'll teach the idiot a lesson.” “Please don't, it will only make things worse.” Ava softened at her friend's words. “But I can't just let them bully you and get away with it. I need to make an example out of someone.” Emily let out a small smile. “I can take care of myself.” Ava scoffed, “Fine but I'll be releasing a statement.” It was lunchtime when Ava's statement was released. Before then, Lydia felt high on the success of her little scheme. She gloated in satisfaction watching the whole canteen talk about Emily. Many people from other dep
“There she is, that's her.” Emily's brows furrowed in confusion as she watched the young ladies scurry off with whispers.Were they talking about her? “No, it can't be.” She thought to herself.From the elevator ride to the hallways, it kept feeling like people were giving her stares and whispers. As soon as she stepped into the office, it went dead silent with all eyes fixated on her. Emily's heart felt heavy and her steps became hard. What had she done? The whispers began. “She has the guts to show her face here.” “It knew there was something incredibly off about her.” “There's no way she's not getting fired. So many people have lodged complaints about her.” Just as she took her seat, Sean rushed to her. “Is it true?” he asked with eager eyes and alarmed ears. “What are you talking about?” Emily asked in genuine confusion. Sean handed her his phone. Emily's hands trembled as she stared at the screen. It was the company's anonymous gossip forum and some
“The company has decided to sign Wesley. I just wanted to give you a heads up.” “That's a little too late.” Emily thought to herself while staring at the sight before her. “Hello, Emily are you there?” Ava's worried voice boomed over the phone. “Let me call you back.” Emily replied in a soft tone before stepping into the dreadful elevator ride, ignoring the surprise on their faces. She had barely taken a breath before the drama began. “Emily, what are you doing here?” Sophie asked, still shocked by the sight of her. Emily treated her words like air. Wesley, also recovering from his shock, mouthed. “Your sister's talking to you Emily. What are you doing here?” His eyes went over her smart outfit, noting how good she looked. Sophie did not miss the look of admiration. Her eyes darkened but she maintained her facade. She tried to hug Emily but the latter moved away. Sophie feigned a heartbroken face. Wesley immediately grabbed her, sending a glare to Em
“OMG!! He's trending again!!” “Who?” “Mr Hasting. Everyone check your phones.” The commotion was enough to momentarily pull Emily away from work. She glanced at her chatty coworkers and decided it was probably them fawning over Alex again. She had barely refocused on work when Sean ran to her with the juicy news. “Have you seen it?” Before she could mutter a response, he cut her off. “Forget it. Judging by the look on your face, you haven't seen it. Here.” he spoke, placing his phone in her hands. She was left with no choice than to watch the so-called trending video. A first glance at it, and she couldn't help but cringe at the sight of Alex kicking someone away. “Why does he always have to be horrible?” she thought to herself in disgust and disbelief. The camera zoomed in on the woman's face and Emily's brain lit up in recognition. It was Kelly Riggs, the same author that had just been dropped by the company. Kelly had been dropped after a vi
Her face lit up with excitement. They say opportunity comes but once and she had every intention of making use of her opportunity. As she got into the elevator with Alex, she couldn't help but take peeks at his cold hard face. He was perfect in every aspect. A baby from him would be her ticket out of hard life and she was going for that ticket. The elevator door stopped at a small hallway with no one in sight. It was at the top of the building and had two exclusive bedrooms the club had reserved for him and Ezra. Although Ezra made use of his every night, it was the first time Alex was going to use his. He walked quietly while her heels noisily lagged behind him. He placed his hand on a pad beside the door. It scanned his fingerprints and the door automatically opened up. The room was dimly lit, spacious and consciously decorated in a way that was meant to stimulate sexual drive. She took in the luxurious room, smiling to herself at the feeling of the soft bed