Chapter 2: The Refusal

One day, Gina went into Zoe's room, and she pleaded with Zoe to allow their husband to spend a night with her, since that was why Leo married her too.

Zoe waited for Leo to arrive home that night, and she spoke to Leo to spend his night with Gina in her bedroom, and to see if Gina would birth him a son, as to the reason why he married Gina.

Leo refused, as he was avoiding Gina and didn't want to have anything to do with her, since he regretted marrying her.

But after Zoe sent him away, Leo had no other option than to spend his night in Gina's bedroom, and he made love to her.

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One month later, Gina was still jealous, and she continued hating on Zoe after seeing that Leo loved Zoe very much more than her.

She had thought probably Leo would love only her and ditch Zoe away for her inability to birth him more children.

But Leo rather ditched Gina away, as he refused to eat her food, and he avoided her room, too.

Gina then quarreled with Zoe again, and that made Leo annoyed, as he finally brought a divorce paper home.

Leo ordered Gina to sign the divorce paper and leave, but Gina refused, as she told her husband, "I'm pregnant."

Leo couldn't send Gina away with his child growing in her womb, and he allowed Gina to stay in his mansion with them, but on one condition that Gina would start living in the boys' quarters apartment and away from the white mansion, and Gina would not quarrel with Zoe again.

Gina accepted, as she had no other option, and she didn't want to leave the house too.

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Eight months later, Gina gave birth to a baby girl, and named her, Mia Adams. However, Leo never came to Gina again to see if they could still birth more children, and most importantly a son.

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14 years later, Gina's hatred for Leo and Zoe grew worse. As it was only once in her 14 years of marriage that Leo dared to touch her and make love to her, as he claimed that he regretted marrying her.

Gina knew that she couldn't leave Leo's house again to go out and remarry, as their townspeople already mocked her for accepting to marry her best friend's husband, and her parents weren't in support of her marrying Leo at first.

But Gina had thought that Leo would love her, but he didn't love her and rather avoided her.

Gina knew that if she went out and got pregnant to see if she could birth a son for Leo, he would know that the son wasn't his baby, as he only accepted Mia to live in the main mansion with them whenever Mia wanted, simply because Mia was his biological daughter, and Olima also wanted a younger sister to play with.

Gina's heart turned cold, and she contacted a truck driver to ram into Leo and his first wife's car, as she knew that they were going to Lemon Hills high school for the graduation ceremony—Olima was graduating from college, while Mia was going into a senior class.

Subsequently, Gina later confirmed from the driver about his successful job, and she killed him too, to hide her secret for life.

----

Three months after the burial ceremony ended, Gina first moved back into the main mansion that her late husband and his admirable wife had sent her away from. She sacked the two housemaids and turned Olima into her servant, with Olima's withdrawal from her tutorial class.

All their family members who had been silent started visiting the main mansion to know who would take over the late Mr. Leo's wealth and oil company, but Gina was a brutal woman. She arrested her three in-laws and accused them of being the ones that killed her late husband and his admirable wife.

The three arrested in-laws had to bail themselves, and they signed an undertaking note never to disturb Mrs. Gina Adams and her family again.

Gina then contacted Mr. Leo's lawyer to know about his will, as she remembered that he had told her that Olima would inherit all his properties.

Gina could have killed Olima, but she didn't want her only daughter Mia to be alone in the big house and without a sister.

So Gina decided not to kill Olima, as she turned Olima into her lifetime maid, knowing that no one would come to her rescue.

When the lawyer arrived, he told Gina, "I'm sorry, Madam. My late client, Mr. Leo's will cannot be changed. As the will about the company stated that the oil company should be given to Olima Adams, but when she turns 24 years old."

Gina got annoyed and thought of how she would change the will to become her own and her daughter's property alone.

(Flashback ends.)

****

"Mom... It's okay," Mia said with an adorable smile curved on her pretty dark face.

Gina stared at her daughter and groaned. Mia also resembled her father, but only that Mia was still her daughter.

Gina sighed and walked to the dining room to take her seat too.

"It can never be okay with that stupid witch being in this house with us. Ugh." She grimaced as she walked to the golden dining seat to sit.

She subtly remembered how her late husband used to sit at the dining table right across from her presence, and he would feed Zoe to her lips.

Gina's face twisted in irritation at the remembrance.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Mia asked her mother once more, as she sat on the left seat across from her mother at the dining table.

Gina replied, "Nothing, my dear. What is taking Olima so long to serve out the noodles, or does she want me to storm into that kitchen?"

Olima quickly walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of hot noodles in her hands, in a smaller plate on the tray, with fried eggs placed on top of the noodles.

The aroma made Mia smile as she sat up properly and collected the tray of noodles from Olima's hand. Mia didn't know how to cook, but Olima was forced to learn how to cook by Gina, shortly after she took over the mansion.

"Get out, or what do you still stand there staring at?" Gina questioned Olima angrily, as she glared at her.

Olima shuddered away. She knew that her stepmother hated her, but the hatred grew thrice much, making her feel more guilty for her late parents' dismissal.

Olima wished her parents never drove in the same car to her school to witness her graduation from high school as the best in her science department. And now her stepmother had plainly refused her from furthering her education with the excuse that there was no money, but Mia was going back to school after the school had resumed from its long-term holiday.

Mia was in second term already, while Olima was still at home.

Olima then walked a bit and stopped at the kitchen door as she thought to speak to her stepmother again—that she needed to write the university entrance examination, and she would apply for a government institution instead of a private institution.

Olima walked back toward the dining room again while Mia ate the delicious noodles and fried eggs.

Olima stopped with a trembling body as she spoke, "Ma..."

Gina turned and glared at Olima, meeting her gaze, and questioned, "What do you want? I thought I asked you to leave here?"

Gina shifted her dining seat backward and stood up, while Mia continued to eat her meal silently.

Olima spoke in a shaky voice, "Ma... it's about my university entrance examination, that I..."

"And I told you that you're not going to any stupid school, Olima. Don't you understand simple English? How did you graduate as the best in your class when you don't understand simple English at home? Get out of my sight!" Gina yelled, and Olima swiftly ran away to the kitchen door and stopped.