Chapter 1: Stepmother's hatred

Seventeen years ago, Mr. Leo Adams married Mrs. Zoe Elliott, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with brown, sparkling eyes named Olima Adams.

However, after Olima was born, Mrs. Zoe had complications.

Mrs. Zoe cried, wanting to give her husband more children, but her husband assured her that his love for her would not change.

Two years later, Mr. Leo spoke to his wife about his intention to marry a second wife who could bear him a son. Since Olima was a girl, he wanted a son to continue bearing his name and inherit his properties.

Mrs. Zoe became concerned about another woman coming into her matrimonial home and potentially turning her husband's heart against her. So, she spoke to her best friend, Gina Edwards, and asked her to marry her husband.

Gina and Zoe had been best friends since childhood, having attended the same college and grown up in the same town.

Mrs. Zoe, a light-skinned 25-year-old woman, pleaded with her best friend, Gina Edwards, to agree to marry Mr. Leo.

She begged, "Please Gina, can you please accept and marry my husband? He needs a son to take over his properties and to bear his name after we're gone.”

Gina Edwards, also a 25-year-old light-skinned woman, accepted the proposal without hesitation, agreeing to marry Mr. Leo Adams.

Unbeknown to Mrs. Zoe, Gina had always been jealous of her marriage and secretly admired Mr. Leo whenever she visited Mrs. Zoe's home to see Olima.

After Mr. Leo married Mrs. Gina, she immediately changed her behavior, demanding that Mr. Leo exile Mrs. Zoe from the master bedroom since she was the new wife and could bear him more children since Mrs. Zoe could not.

At this time, Olima was only two years old when her father officially married Mrs. Gina.

Mr. Leo was irritated by Mrs. Gina's sudden change in attitude and told her, "How dare you move into my mansion today and quarrel with your best friend, Zoe. Did you think I married you because I love you? If Zoe hadn't spoken to me about you, do you think I would have wanted you? Get ready to sign divorce papers tomorrow and leave my house! Olima is still my daughter and she will inherit all my properties, even if she grows up, marries, and changes her surname."

Mrs. Gina was taken aback, realizing that Mr. Leo loved Mrs. Zoe more than she had assumed. In an attempt to salvage the situation, she begged Mrs. Zoe to plead with their husband not to divorce her.

Mrs. Zoe, being a kind woman, admitted that it was all her fault. She had been the one to suggest Mrs. Gina marry Mr. Leo.

Mrs. Zoe spoke to Mr. Leo on Mrs. Gina's behalf, begging him not to send Mrs. Gina away.

Eventually, Mr. Leo calmed down and allowed Mrs. Gina to continue living with them. However, he moved her to a separate bedroom, warning her not to cause any further quarrels or else he would not hesitate to throw her out.

Mrs. Gina realized that she couldn't claim Mr. Leo as she had hoped. She had thought that Mr. Leo would abandon Zoe and accept her as his new wife. Instead, Mr. Leo distanced himself from her.

Mrs. Gina stayed in the new room that was given to her. However, Mr. Leo ruined her wedding night by refusing to be intimate with her.

Days turned into weeks, and Mrs. Gina, unable to bear the shame of being called a barren woman, finally went into Mrs. Zoe's bedroom one day and pleaded with her to convince their husband not to divorce her and to perform his marital duties with her.

Mrs. Zoe agreed to speak to Mr. Leo, despite her fear of another woman coming into her home and turning her husband's heart against her.

When Mr. Leo arrived home that night, after dinner, Mrs. Zoe sent him away to Mrs. Gina's bedroom, telling him, "You cannot continue to avoid Mrs. Gina in this house. Please go to her room and perform your marital duties with her."

Mr. Leo could see the pain in Mrs. Zoe's eyes. Despite her words not reaching her heart, he went to Mrs. Gina's bedroom and made love to her.

Mrs. Zoe cried herself to sleep alone.

After that night, Mrs. Gina wanted Mr. Leo to continue being intimate with her every other night. However, Mr. Leo refused, telling her, "I cannot be sleeping with you every night. One night is enough to get you pregnant."

Mrs. Gina was angry and after Mr. Leo left for work that day, she quarreled with Mrs. Zoe, accusing her of being a bad friend and preventing Mr. Leo from loving her.

Mrs. Zoe later informed Mr. Leo about the quarrel when he arrived home, and he became angry. The following day, he brought home divorce papers and ordered Mrs. Gina to sign them and leave his house.

However, Mrs. Gina refused and told Mr. Leo, "I am pregnant."

Knowing that he couldn't send Mrs. Gina away with his child growing in her womb, he allowed her to continue living with them.

Eight months later, Mrs. Gina gave birth to a baby girl, crushing Mr. Leo's hopes of having a son.

Despite the disappointment, Mrs. Gina was happy to be a mother and named her daughter Mia Adams.

Mrs. Gina hoped that Mr. Leo would be intimate with her again and get her pregnant, but he continued to avoid her and sent her to live in the guesthouse.

Fourteen years passed, and Mr. Leo never touched Mrs. Gina again.

Mrs. Gina knew that she couldn't cheat on Mr. Leo to get pregnant by another man, so she decided to murder Mr. Leo and his wife and seize all of Mr. Leo's wealth and oil company.

Tired of seeing Mr. Leo and Mrs. Zoe acting so lovingly towards each other, as Mr. Leo continued to avoid her and reject her gifts, she arranged for a truck driver to ram into Mr. Leo and Mrs. Zoe's car.

She knew that they were going to Lemon Hill High School for Olima and Mia's graduation ceremony. She was also going to the school for her own daughter's graduation. Mia was moving to senior class while Olima was graduating as the best in her class.

Mrs. Gina attended the graduation ceremony alone, taking several photos with her daughter, while Olima waited in vain for her parents to arrive.

Later in the evening, when Olima finally got home, she was shocked to receive the news of her parents' absence. She cried, knowing that her stepmother despised her.

She wanted to leave the house too, but there was nowhere she could go.

Olima patiently waited for her uncles to arrive. When they arrived, they were more interested in the oil company, other documents, and the mansion than in Olima's wellbeing.

Only three months after her parents' funeral, Mrs. Gina had all her in-laws arrested.

She accused them of murdering Mr. Leo and his wife so they could claim all of Mr. Leo's wealth.

Mr. Leo's two brothers were forced to sign an agreement never to disturb Mrs. Gina again, and they left and never returned.

No one asked about Olima again, and Mrs. Gina moved into the main mansion from which Mr. Leo had previously exiled her. She discarded all of Mrs. Zoe's belongings.

She burned them outside, unable to bear seeing all the beautiful portraits and images of the late Mrs. Zoe on the living room walls.

She replaced the empty spaces with her own photos, leaving Mr. Leo's images on the wall.

Mrs. Gina sacked all the five housemaids, including the cook, and turned Olima into a housemaid.

She told Olima, "I think you saw how your late father treated me and Mia when he was alive. Well, there is no money for you to further your education. So you will have to remain as my maid, to help in taking care of this house that your parents left behind. We cannot sell it to sponsor you through school. That would be very evil of you to sell the only property we live in without acquiring another house..."

Olima couldn't do anything. Her stepmother withdrew her from her tutorial classes and turned her into a maid.

She was forced to learn how to cook, wash dishes, and wake up early in the morning to tidy up the house. She had to take care of the garden, her mother's farm, and trim the flowers too.

Olima cried, but her tears weren't enough to resolve the issue. As she watched Mia resume going to school, even after her stepmother had told her there was no money for her to return to school.

Mrs. Gina later invited the family lawyer to discuss the late Mr. Leo's will.

When the lawyer arrived, he told Mrs. Gina that the will could not be changed. The will stated that the oil company left behind by Mr. Leo Adams should be given to Olima Adams when she turned 24 years old.

Mrs. Gina was annoyed and sent the lawyer away, plotting to take over the oil company and all other companies that belonged to the late Mr. Leo Adams.