CELESTINE’s POVMrs. Maxwell and I went downstairs and quickly headed over to the dining room only to find a man who looked exactly like Arnold, seated at the head of the table. Only his hair was gray in color and the wrinkles on his forehead were now visible as he frowned, reading a newspaper.Seated on the right side of the table was Cynthia, Arnold’s sister, looking intently at us as we approached the table. ‘‘Come sit beside me, Leina…’’ Mrs. Maxwell said as she took a seat on Mr. Maxwell’s right side.I bit my lip as I obliged, sitting down beside her, with Cynthia opposite mine. Then my eyes shifted to the man who had just emerged from the kitchen, holding a mug.Arnold…He winked at me and my face flushed so much that I glared at him only to earn a snicker from him as he sat next to his sister.‘‘Leina… help yourself to whatever it is you want to eat. Feel free to make yourself at home…’’ Mrs. Maxwell remarked, patting my hand in a gentle manner. ‘‘And if there's something you
CELESTINE’s POVI didn't wait for the driver to open the door for me when the luxury car pulled up in front of Wheeler's mansion. Instead, I pulled it open and exited the car without saying anything to the person who was still inside, watching my every move.Before I pushed the door shut, I could still hear Arnold sighing deeply, and as soon as the car was out of my line of sight, I turned on my heels and walked into the house.I was ready to push on the main door when all of a sudden it opened, and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When I looked up, I noticed Leina descending the stairs still on her pajamas and casting a murderous gaze in my direction.I didn't take my eyes off of her and instead chose to make eye contact with her in order to convey the message that I was completely unafraid. It was out of the corner of my eye, but I could make out my loving father sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.And Ada was following close after her stepdaugh
CELESTINE’s POV‘‘Did you sleep with Arnold?’’ Leina continued to speak while her fingers remained entangled in my hair and she exerted a stronger pull on it. As a result, I felt another jab of pain in my scalp, which caused me to grimace.My attention was briefly drawn to my father, who appeared to be pretending not to notice anything while he was hugging his wife. Nadia could be seen giggling to herself as she stood hidden behind the door. She appeared to be enjoying watching us as if she was watching a play.My vision immediately became blurry, and I focused all of my might into striking Leina in the stomach with my elbow.‘‘Shit!’’ She let out a loud cry, releasing her grip on my hair, and then she stepped back from me while still standing there holding her stomach.‘‘Leina!’’ Ada's eyes widened, and just as Leina was about to lose her balance and fall over, Victor grabbed hold of her.I straightened up and glared at them as I scoffed. ‘‘You have to be nice to me if you want to fi
CELESTINE’s POVI thought they had already left for Mrs. Maxwell’s birthday party, so you can imagine my surprise when I found them still in the house, sitting at the dining table and eating breakfast.I spun on my heels and dashed towards the door, but just as I was about to open it, I heard Leina shout out my name. ‘‘Celestine!’’I stopped on my tracks, took a few deep breaths, and then closed my eyes when I heard her footsteps getting closer.‘‘What are you wearing?’’ she asked, undoubtedly looked at me with a disgusted expression on her face ‘‘Dad! Look at her! If she goes to school looking this moth-eaten, people might think that we’re giving her a hard time!’’I opened my eyes and forced a smile onto my face before I turned around to face them.‘‘Your sister gave you heaps of clothes, why aren’t you wearing them?’’ dad said, his eyes raking over my black overcoat.My eyebrow raised as I looked down at the clothes I was wearing before looking up at them. ‘‘It is still presentable
CELESTINE’s POV‘‘Your mother is such a silly woman...’’ Mr. Smith let out a hearty laugh. ‘‘She was aware that I had a disability. She absolutely could not bring herself to part with the money. I already told her that everything is good and that it would make me happy if she would use the money that I gave her. It’s my way of helping her---’’‘‘Mr. Smith… what’s your relationship with my mother?’’ I interrupted him since I was interested in finding out more about the man.After staring at me for a short period, he eventually broke into a smile and gestured with his hand toward me. ‘‘Don't think badly about us, Celestine…’’ he said. ‘‘We’re innocent--- I mean… it's just a one-sided love. You should know that your mother has never liked me...’’His confession didn't come as a surprise to me at all. If it weren't for love, a strange man wouldn't send four thousand dollars each year to my mom. And if he doesn’t love my mother, I will consider the man who is standing in front of me to be
AUTHOR’s P O VTwenty-one years ago...Orphaned all his life, Karl Smith could be found wandering aimlessly about the neighbourhood, searching for somewhere to take shelter and some food to eat. When Sandra Stewart came to his aid, he was on the verge of passing away from starvation. She brought him home, fed him, and provided him with everything he required; yet, he was unwilling to accept any of it.Sandra Stewart was born into a wealthy family in Connecticut, and grew up there. And because Karl never stopped following her before and after school, he was quickly in a position to rescue her from the bullies who were making fun of her.After that… Karl Smith was designated to be Sandra Stewart's personal bodyguard. And as time went on, he found himself falling in love with her… but he never had the courage to tell her how he felt because he was afraid that she would get angry and fire him.Simply seeing her, taking care of her, and spending his entire life with her was all he needed t
CELESTINE’s P O VAfter hearing all that happened years ago from Mr. Smith, I am unable to adequately express how I was feeling. I experienced a wide range of feelings, including anguish… wrath… sympathy, and love. I felt pain, sadness, and love for my mother even more for loving me in spite of all she went through with Victor's hands. And a deep-seated hatred for him. A resentment that will never go away toward my father.Now I understood why Victor despised me so much, to the point that his beatings came dangerously close to taking my life. He didn't have much affection for my mom at all. He didn't love her. And the ache in my heart for her only grew more. My mother gave up much more than her life for me and for Leina… but why did they even treat her like that?For Victor Wheeler… getting married was merely a strategy to get more wealth. He now controlled all of the Stewart family's riches and had only kept Leina around as a means of covering his tracks. What a cruel and callous per
ARNOLD’s POVToday is the celebration of my mom’s birthday. Everyone was excited, and despite the fact that the venue was already packed with hundreds of wealthy guests… they were still waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive.I stood tall in front of the full-length mirror as I dressed for the evening by donning a white dress shirt that had been brought to me by the servant. I heaved a sigh as I reached for the black tie and began to put it around my neck when all of a sudden, I felt someone hugging me from behind.‘’Hey…’’ As I turned to face her, a grin spread across my face. She was dressed up like a princess, and although she appeared sweet and lovely… I knew that behind that lovely face was a cruel devil.She greeted me timidly with ‘‘Hi…’’ and I wanted to roll my eyes at the fake behavior she was displaying. ‘‘According to what your mother told me, you just got off of your flight at four o'clock this morning and haven't slept for even a few hours since you got here. Don't
JULIAN’s P O VAunt Olivia insisted that Cynthia must first complete her education, and give birth to our child before she allowed us to get married. And I felt worried about Cynthia because I was aware that she was waiting for this moment. Even though she wasn’t voicing it out, I could sense that she was expecting me to propose to her, for us to build our own family, but Auntie asked me not to let Cynthia know about our agreement.After seven months, Cynthia gave birth to a healthy baby boy who she gave the name Mark Julian. And while I was occupied with the expansion of the business that Arnold had requested me to handle, Cynthia continued her studies.Finally, Cynthia graduated and I’ve never been so proud of her. I believed that as a result of all of the things she went through, she got more matured. She never complained about the fact that I did not offer her marriage.When it was time for Cynthia to get her graduation present from me---it’s not exactly a graduation present, but
CYNTHIA's P O VAt this moment, tears were beginning to run down my face. I couldn’t keep them at bay. Now that it was almost certain that I’m losing this baby.I may not know a lot about pregnancy, but I knew that bleeding was a bad sign.As soon as we entered the emergency room, an array of questions and answers ensued, and I answered them to the best of my ability, while my parents and Julian were listening attentively. Julian refused to let go of my hand even when I was wheeled back toward a room and directed to strip for an ultrasound.The nurse stopped Julian when he was about to enter the changing room, insisting that he wanted to help me change into a hospital gown. ‘‘I can help her, Sir. Just stay with her parents outside…’’Julian did not immediately follow the nurse after initially hesitating, but he did so eventually. Soon after, he began to loosen his grip on my hand before leaving completely.My parents sat in a chair along the far right wall, and Julian stood a few feet
CYNTHIA's P O VTWO MONTHS LATERI groaned as I sat up in bed and stretched my arms. A quick look at the clock that was sitting on my nightstand revealed to me that nightfall would arrive sooner. How long have I been dozing off?These past few days, my normal pattern of sleeping has been thrown off. Simply put, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point where I lost track of time because of it. Even though my parents, Arnold, and Celestine regularly checked on me every once in a while, one of the harmful things I'd been doing was spending most of my time alone in my room. This was another habit I'd gotten into.They have been monitoring the media, calling people and giving them orders, as well as discussing the situation with the authorities. They would act wary every time I descended the stairs, as if they didn't want me to hear about those fucked up news again.I never heard from Julian again after that day. I was aware that his wedding took place last month, but none of
CYNTHIA's P O VNothing could have prepared me for the crushing agony I experienced when my mom told me that Julian had departed without even alerting me, or even bidding farewell to me before he flew back to France. Nor could anything have prepared me for the profound sense of loss that caused my heart to tighten, leading me to believe that it was going to cease beating altogether.Even though I was aware, on some level, that he was meant to return and marry her, the fact that he did still hurt. How could he? How, after making love to me? After I had already given him everything? After stroking my hair until I fell asleep? After spending so much time gazing at me with that breathtaking smile? How could he love her and marry her still?There was a painful lump that was lodged in my throat, and it was making it difficult for me to even breathe. In addition to this, I had to fight against my tear ducts in order to keep from crying in front of my family because of him. In total honesty,
CYNTHIA's P O VThe moment the door to the Maxwell villa opened, I was met with a resounding slap across the face from my irate mother.‘‘Aunt Olivia…’’ When she raised her hand to slap me again, Julian attempted to stop her, but she instead hit Julian which caused my eyes to widen in shock.‘‘Don't address me like that, you have no connection to any of us anymore!’’ she said through gritted teeth, a threatening tone was used as she glared at him.It appeared as though everything around me had come to a stop. I blinked back the tears that was on the verge of falling down my cheek. ‘‘Mom…’’Did Arnold tell her about us?‘‘What are your intentions with regard to my daughter?’’ She asked Julian while completely ignoring me. ‘‘Do you intend to take him as your mistress?’’‘‘No, I…’’‘‘There is no future for the two of you, and even if you leave the woman who will soon become your wife, I won't let you have my daughter!’’ And she smacked his face once more, which prompted me to push her aw
CYNTHIA’s P O VJulian grabbed the shower head, turning on the water. He pointed it at me and he made sure to let it pour all over my body, until every inch of me was soaked. ‘‘I’ll take it that it will make you behave…’’‘‘Uhmmm…’’ I agreed mindlessly, not really listening to a single word he uttered, for I was too busy gawking at his dripping wet physique. I could feel my lids becoming heavy, my veins burning under my skin as pure sexual desire course through them.Unwittingly, without even noticing it, I kneeled in front of him, coming face to face with his semi-hard shaft, but before I could even touch it, he grabbed my shoulders firmly. ‘‘Get up before I fuck you again…’’‘‘But I want you to fuck me again…’’ I protested with a pout, still resting on my knees.He chuckled amusedly, lightly shaking his head. ‘‘Come on, Cynthia, we’ve got to go…’’But I didn’t listen, I remained still.Julian decided to bring his arm under my armpits and pick me up against my will, laying small kiss
CYNTHIA’s P O V‘‘Do you think that somebody was listening to us?’’ I inquired anxiously as fear began to course through my veins.Julian gave a dismissive shake of his head before rising to his feet and reaching for the bathrobe that was still hanging on the door of the bathroom. ‘‘No, the rooms are soundproofed. You stay here...’’ he covered himself and left the room.But I couldn’t mind my business in a situation like this. I rolled out of bed and took a fluffy bath towel, wrapping it around my body before following him towards the living area.From the other side of the slightly open door, I could hear a feminine voice. ‘‘Uhmm, Hi… I mean, good morning. I was wondering if you saw Cynthia---’’I rudely pushed Julian out of the way and came face to face with Stef, who let out a sigh of relief upon seeing me.‘‘Oh, Cynthia… I was worried about you!’’I smiled at her and placed a kiss on her cheek. ‘‘Well, as you can see, I’m good…’’ I then stepped closer to her so that she would be a
CYNTHIA’s P O VI completely let myself go, carelessly giving up on trying to hold myself up and completely leaning against his tall, manly frame. ‘‘Oh, fuck…’’ I moaned as I gripped his hair and pulled on it, moving his head and craning my neck so that our lips would touch. I immediately opened my mouth, allowing his tongue to slip inside.Julian added a second finger into my tight canal, starting to thrust harder. ‘‘You’re such a sexy little thing, aren’t you...?’’ he pulled his hand away and brought his fingers which were coated in my juices, to his mouth, sucking them clean before he picked me up and walked back to the bedroom, letting me fall onto the bed, and then followed me immediately.I pushed him down onto the sheets and got on top of him, hovering over his rock hard member. ‘‘Do you want me…?’’ I inquired in a hushed tone as I took both of his hands in mine and placed them on my waist.He nodded with his mouth agape, looking up at me with full of desire and appreciation.‘
JULIAN’s P O VThere was something unbelievably intimate about waking up next to someone, especially when that someone was the one you love.Strips of golden sunlight shone into the room and Cynthia managed to wrap herself around most of my thin sheets.I woke up with my arm lay across her stomach and her head was tucked into my bare chest. We hadn’t bothered dressing ourselves after last night’s events, as we had already seen every inch of each other.Also we were exhausted, that we had drifted to sleep after another heated kiss.Cynthia stirred slightly, which brought me back from recalling what brought us here, and buried her head further into my chest while placing a hand onto my torso.But all of this felt so wrong, since everyone around see us as cousins, and in addition to that, I am already getting married.But then, why did last night feel so right? And why did her touch alone light my body on fire?I knew that my old self would think otherwise, but Cynthia and I couldn’t hap