Ariana Vanderbilt loved Robert Stone despite knowing that he loved someone else. Her younger sister; Flora. Suddenly Flora dies a mysterious death and Robert is made to marry Ariana. Their marriage isn't a happy one, and they had issues until Ariana lost their unborn child. Now, Robert wants to make their marriage work but Ariana has lost interest. A certain doctor may have caught her eye… But Ariana must also confront a buried secret she has in her closet. Who killed Flora?
View MoreROBERT'S POVI hit the floor with a loud thump and banged my head on the stool I had been sitting on momentarily clearing my head. Damn! Damn!! Damn!!! I frantically searched for my phone in my pocket and speed dialed Rufus, sharing my location with him, then I blacked out.I woke up the next morning in my bed with a terrible hangover. I rushed to the bathroom and vomited twice, my head banging with unbearable migraine.I had made a complete fool of myself last night. I swore to myself that I would never touch another bottle again. My memory was foggy but I remembered clearly that I had thought Emily was Flora. Ugh! How had that managed to happen? But a light bulb suddenly went up in my head! Yes, I had mistaken Emily for Flora but in my drunken state, I had had the willpower to refuse Flora! That was a win.I quickly took a shower and popped two aspirins to make the headache go away. I needed to return to the country. So much for morning’s first light. I resolved to go back and make
ROBERT'S POVI was trying to make sense of all that was happening around me. It seemed we were becoming a family and very fast at that. I knew I should be happy but I was rather destabilized. I was still stuck where I was these past weeks. How do I reconcile my love for Flora and the happiness I was feeling with Ariana?The truth was that I had loved Flora more than life itself. She had been my reason for existing. I had never met a more down to earth person and someone willing to follow her dreams. Eager to escape the shadow of her sister's success in the business world, Flora had buried herself in literature. Her parents had supported her anyway. But it was not an easy feat.She had been kind the first day I met her and had talked with me like a normal person. Girls usually saw me as a trophy to be won but she had seen me differently.Now, I was seeing a different side to Ariana and realizing that underneath her facade of a cold person only concerned with business, she was a nice wo
ARIANA'S POVI felt a wash of shame just thinking about this and was moved to tears. I knew all these had happened when we were children and Flora probably didn't even remember this but how was I to know that all these had not motivated her to commit suicide?It was beginning to seem like I had been the villain in Flora's story. She had probably hated me while I was busy thinking she got everything from my parents.That was true anyway. My parents loved her more.My mom did not notice the change in my mood and went on talking about the good times we had all had and how I had tried to protect Flora so many times,
ARIANA'S POVI began to hyperventilate. I did not know what was going on but it felt like all the organs in my body were squeezing my heart together. I experienced a feeling of deja vu. This was what had happened to me in the hospital after my miscarriage.It felt like time had stopped. Blood rushed to my head and I could hear the sound of blood in my ears. Everything around me became muffled.Was Rob going to answer Nate and put an end to the bubble of happiness Nate and I had found in each other? This was my last thought before I slumped and fainted.When I opened my eyes, the smel
ROBERT'S POVAriana did not know that I was starting to remember all that had happened last night. I remembered how she had cared for me and walked me up the stairs when I was drunk and probably heavier than a bag of flour.I could remember the feel of her hand on my body in the shower and how caring she had been. Ariana who made rooms cold. Ariana. She had been awfully nice to me. Had I said something about a wedding?Well.Now, she was bugging me on what questions Nate was asking. Where do I begin? Margaret had not been very chatt
ARIANA’S POVI was taken aback by Rob's proposal. Doing it right would be a chance to wed Rob without Flora's love weighing heavily over us. It would be a chance for my wedding to not be ruined by my sister's death. But Rob was drunk. There was no knowing that he would even remember all of these by morning and it made me really sad. This should have been the ultimate conclusion of my day. Finally, happiness. But Robert Stone was under the influence of alcohol and I was going to take everything he said with a pinch of salt.How did he go from “stay away from my son” to “let's get married again”. No, no, I would be a fool to take him seriously.
ARIANA'S POVI was confused and turned to my mother. She was telling me with her eyes to say yes and Nate was looking at me with expectation in her eyes.“Yes”, I quipped. “Yes I am Nate's mother”.“You trained your son to punch people's children? To hurt other people's kids?” Ms. Williams was raising her voice, obviously very angry.The headmaster tried to pacify her but she was having none of it and it was then I noticed that the other kid had a swollen lip and had obviously been crying. But my mother was here so why was I called and introduced as Nate's mother.Nate was talking now. “He was bullying me and calling my mom old.”“Your mom's old”, the kid said without missing a beat.“I'm not old”, I protested.Nate giggled joyfully.“I work in the city so Nate is staying with my mom for the time being”, I explained. “It makes it easier for him, commuting from the city to this place everyday would take a toll on both of us”.I draped my arm lovingly around him and he leaned into me. W
ARIANA’S POVThe pictures had leaked. There was no other explanation. I began to tremble from head to toe. I had dreaded this moment and had been hoping against hope that those pictures would not leak out.Joshua and I had not even ended our conversation on a good note. I had been furious at his suggestion that I leave my husband for him and I had stomped away in rage. The bubbly act I had put up in front of Rob was only an act and now, this.“What do you mean?” I asked him, when I infact knew what he meant.“You know what bloody hell I mean Ariana!” He yelled at me.I was taken aback. Rob had never yelled at me and he looked so angry it scared me.“We just went out to dinner”, I said, my voice shaking.I could tell that Rob was trying to control himself. He was moving about the room restless and talking and talking so loud I felt my ear drum would crack.“Rob, Rob, please listen to me”, I begged.“Why do you keep hurting me Ariana? You are putting our family at stake by constantly h
ROBERT'S POVNate would not stop asking for Ariana and it was ruining everyone's holiday. Margaret had told me she was going to Chicago to get a restraining order against Ariana and we had argued for an entire night. I thought that was taking things too far. I was mad at Ariana and still could not forgive her. But a restraining order? Nate still didn't even know who we really were to him so it made no sense to just do that.Margaret was however adamant as always and I could not stop her.We had all agreed to leave the island a day after she got back and I was e
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