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LUCAS. “Are you ready for tonight?” I asked Sophia as we took a walk in the tangerine orchard in the backyard. It had already been three weeks and the day of my welcoming party had finally arrived. I had noticed Sophia was on edge, so I asked her to go for a walk with me to help her calm down. She looked at me, a small smile on her lips. “I am ready,” she replied before sighing. “What is it?” I asked, stopping and turning to face her. “There’s something on your mind and it’s weighing you down.”“It’s nothing,” she said in a low voice, averting my gaze. Oh, it definitely wasn’t nothing. I cupped her face. “Talk to me, Soph. What’s eating you up?” I asked. “If you’re not ready, you don’t have to attend tonight’s party. I can find a good day to introduce you to my father as my wife.” She shook her head, worry flitting through her eyes. “I’m ready for tonight… I can’t keep hiding anymore. It’s just that…” she sighed heavily, biting her lower lip. “What will your father say abou
ELIAS.Everything changed when he walked into the hall.Everyone who had been buttering me up changed sides quickly like a chameleon changes colours to match its environment.I coiled my hands into fists as all of my grandfather’s friends went to Lucas to chat with him.What was so special about him? I was a Hart too... why didn’t I get the same attention?“Elias, where’s my daughter-in-law?” Mom’s voice came.I looked at her. She looked nice in an elegant emerald green gown and her smile brightened up her face.But only I knew what hid behind that smile... being forced to arrange a party for my uncle must have been hard for her.I looked around, searching for Violet who was now my legal wife.“She said she got hungry,” I replied. “Maybe she’s gone to check out the buffet.”“How can you let her wander around alone? She’s carrying your child. What if something happened to her?” Mom scolded.“Mike is protecting her in the background, Mom. Don’t worry.”My phone suddenly buzzed in my pock
SOPHIA.“The necklace looks good on you, Mrs Hart. A necklace fit for a Queen,” Tracy, my personal stylist, complimented as she did my hair. I looked in the mirror, admiring the necklace that Lucas gave me. It had a white gold chain with a teardrop-shaped diamond at its center. Smaller diamonds surrounded the larger rock, adding more sparkle to it.“It was a gift from my husband,” I replied, my heart swelling with warmth. Lucas had not said anything about the necklace, but I had a feeling it meant a lot to him and for him to give it to me… did that mean…?No, I couldn’t jump to conclusions. He was yet to answer my question about the nature of our relationship and it was starting to make me anxious. “Your husband loves you a lot. I’ve never seen Mr Hart treat any other woman so well before,” Tracy remarked. She looked at me through the mirror, smiling. “How do you want your hair done?” “Put it up… I want the necklace to show,” I replied. He did say I should show it to everyone. Tr
SOPHIA. Gasps echoed around me. I turned to see none other than Ashley Kent, Elias’s cousin from Olivia’s side of the family. She was quite beautiful with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. However, behind all that beauty was a woman with a very bad personality. We had never seen eye to eye. “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you?” My words were curt and cold, my face devoid of any emotion. Ashley sneered, looking me over before crossing her arms across her chest. Her clique of friends flanked her sides, looking at me as if I was their worst enemy. They didn’t even know me on a personal level but they already hated me just because their friend did. “Everyone knows you’re not part of the Hart family anymore. So, what are you doing here? Elias came with his wife, are you here to disturb them?” Ashley taunted and her friends snickered. I rolled my eyes. After the divorce scandal, Elias had announced that Violet was pregnant with his child and that he did the right thing which was to make
SOPHIA. My heart skipped a beat and I turned, seeing Lucas walking towards us like he owned the place. His eyebrows were creased and he had one hand in his pocket as he looked at the scene before him. He stepped closer, his expression dark with fury. “What’s going on here?” “U-Uncle… I’ve been looking for you. Grandpa said you were in a meeting with some of his friends,” Elias immediately said, trying to distract him. However, Ashley suddenly smirked. “Mr Hart, you won’t believe it. This divorcee claimed you would fall for her!” She rolled her eyes. “I told her if you fall for her, I would cut off my pinky! What a joke… how dare she make such claims? She’s just an abandoned woman who doesn’t deserve your time!” The air around us suddenly turned cold and Elias’s face turned pale. “Uncle… let’s go back to the—”“She was so confident, Mr Hart!" Nicole cut in eagerly. "She even dared to place a bet on whether you would give her the time of day. Ha! I told her I would kneel and bark
SOPHIA. The hall fell into stunned silence. Everyone stared at us in shock, their jaws on the floor as Lucas’s words sank in. Elias let out a nervous chuckle. “U-Uncle Lucas, you’re joking, right?” He turned to me. “It’s not true, right? How can you marry someone else when you love me?” I rolled my eyes at his delusion. “So, the reason you cheated was because you believed I loved you so much and would tolerate any bullshit that you threw my way?” I questioned, letting go of Lucas to face the two traitors as anger and hatred bubbled up within me. Lucas took off his black jacket and draped it over my shoulders before rolling the sleeves of his black shirt until his elbows. He had worn an all-black suit for this event and it looked good on him, giving him mafia boss vibes. “M-Mr Hart, Elias is your nephew. I don’t think it’s right for you to side with an outsider and help her get back at him. You’re supposed to support your family,” Violet said, looking at Lucas with a longing gaz
SOPHIA. Ashley and her friends were visibly shaking now. Long gone were their complacent expressions. Their faces were crumpled like a deflated balloon as if someone had popped their pride with a pin. “M-Mr Hart, we are family, there’s no need for all this. We were just joking… it wasn’t that serious,” Ashley stammered, fear flitting through her eyes. “You were joking?" Lucas spat icily. "You mocked, bullied and insulted my wife and you say it wasn’t that serious? What the heck do you take me for?” “It was all Ashley, Mr Hart. She’s the one who told us to mock Sophia! We didn’t want to do it but she said she would give us a Hermes bag each!” Nicole yelled, pointing at Ashley. “If anyone should get punished, it’s her. Not us!”“That’s right!” Michelle uttered. “I didn’t want to do this in the first place.” Ashley’s eyes grew into saucers when her friends threw her under the bus. “No... it wasn’t me!” She denied it and turned to Violet before pointing a finger at her. “It was her!
LUCAS. A few minutes earlier…I didn’t expect Dad to throw me into a spontaneous meeting with some of his old folks. When I arrived and they saw me talking to Mr Jones, a lot of them flocked towards me, wanting to have a word. So, Dad arranged for us to have a short meeting in his private lounge.I wondered what they wanted to talk about and not wanting to miss out on any business opportunity, I went along with the arrangement. However, to my surprise, Dad looked at his friends seriously. “So, I know you all have beautiful young women as daughters, nieces and granddaughters. You can tell my son about them, perhaps he might like one of them,” he said and I furrowed my eyebrows deeply.“Dad, come on. We talked about this,” I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. Dad nodded. “Yes, I know! I also remember telling you to find a woman you like but I’m tired of waiting, Lucas! I’m in my mid-seventies. Who knows when I'll kick the bucket?” He sighed dramatically. “Do you want me to d
SOPHIA. My eyes fluttered open when I felt Lucas placing soft kisses on my jaw. He kissed my nose gently, then my eyes, before pressing his lips to mine.After looking into my eyes briefly, he buried his face in the crook of my neck before sucking lightly. My eyes rolled to the back of my head, and an erotic sigh escaped my lips as tingles coursed through my body. "You're done with your business?" I asked, my breathing becoming laboured as he continued to suck on a sweet spot on my neck. "Yes, I'm done. Now I'm here for a snack," he murmured, his hand sliding into my pajamas. "We are still celebrating today's win, you know." I arched an eyebrow. "And this is how you want to celebrate?" My body trembled when he cupped my core, his finger teasing my clit lightly. "Yes... I'm addicted to the taste of a pregnant woman. And right now, I want my daily dose."Before I could tell what was happening, Lucas removed my pajamas. He was about to climb on top of me when I pushed him down on
LUCAS. “Did you see the look on Elias’s face?” Carla said, and Sophia laughed, throwing her head back. Her eyes gleamed as she laughed heartily, the sound echoing around us. “I’m sure he thought no one could ever cheat on him,” she uttered. "It felt so good to see him at a loss for words. That's what he gets for being a jerk to me. It's not like there's anyone out there who chooses to have difficulties with having children. But he never failed to remind me every day that I was a woman who couldn't bear children." My heart clenched at the reminder. Whatever Elias was going through after the revelation was not painful enough. He deserved the worst for how he treated Sopia. She's a woman I wanted to treat like a Queen for the rest of my life. Knowing she was once mistreated by a man she trusted always fills me with regret. I shouldn't have left the country back then...We had all gone to the restaurant in the hotel to have lunch and a few drinks as a way to celebrate our first win.
ELIAS. I stood at the altar, my heart rejoicing about how things were working in my favour so far. With Mr X coming to personally hand me a contract next week, my position in the family was as good as sealed. Today, I made sure all of the company’s shareholders had been invited to the wedding. My plan was to talk about my heir at the reception to impress the shareholders. The shareholders cared a lot about reputation, and a CEO who was a family man with good morals was their ideal type of leader. I could still hear Dad’s warning in my ears when we talked earlier today. “After today, don’t create any more scandals. We can’t afford to have any more stains if we are to chase Lucas out of the family. Don’t disappoint me.” It was the first time I saw a proud look on his face. Although he didn’t approve of Violet because of her background, he still tolerated her because she was carrying my heir. My child...Or so I thought. I didn’t expect her, of all people, to lie to me. When So
SOPHIA. It had been a few days since I opened Dad’s safe, and it took everything in me to hold back and not confront the culprits. Having them arrested immediately would be going too easy on them. Elias, especially, since he loved stabbing people who were good to him in the back, I wanted him to know how it felt to be betrayed. As the officiant was giving his speeches, Lucas grabbed my hand, squeezing it in assurance, and I looked up at him, giving him a small smile. I got this. Compared to what Elias and Violet did to me, this was nothing. "Since there's no objection. I will proceed with..."“I object!” I yelled, getting to my feet. Gasps echoed around the venue. I could feel all eyes turn toward me as I slowly walked towards the altar. Elias glanced at me with wide eyes while Violet’s face turned pale as if she had been drained of all blood. “May I ask who you are and why you object to this wedding?” The officiant asked, clearly shaken by the interruption. He must have been
VIOLET. “You look beautiful,” the makeup artist said after doing my makeup. A small smile crossed my lips. "Thank you. I've always wanted to be a bride."I glanced into the mirror, looking at the pretty face that looked back at me. Finally, the day of my wedding had arrived. Although Elias and I had already gotten married, this wedding was more of a confirmation of my position in the Hart family. As the first grandson of the chairman, Elias still had some sort of power in the Hart family. It’s the first heir who always inherits a family legacy anyway, so ninety percent of what Steven Hart owned would belong to Richard, and in the end, Elias would be the benefactor. I was having this wedding not to wait for the two old geezers to die, but for me to have an opportunity to get rid of all of them. What if I died first and ended up not getting anything? I needed to secure the future of my child. At least, he should have a different life from the one I had. As Mrs Hart and the mother
SOPHIA. “I came as soon as possible,” Lucas said as he entered my office. I had been stuck in my chair for close to an hour, replaying the video I had found over and over again after copying it to my laptop. I looked up from the laptop, my eyes blurry from the tears I had been shedding. “You were right,” I said, sniffling. "Elias was involved. Dad found out what they were up to, but he still failed to prevent his death.”Lucas approached me, worry flitting through his eyes. He grabbed my hand and helped me up before sitting on my chair and placing me on his lap. He then coiled his arm around my waist, looking down at me with a gentle gaze.“I’m going to make him pay. I’ll destroy him,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. My father was betrayed by his friend just because he couldn’t give him a job he wasn’t qualified for. That man worked with Elias to get rid of my father… They even had the guts to stick around and try to take over the company. Dad was good to Elias, but how c
SOPHIA. My heart pounded in my chest as I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. It seemed it was written a week before Dad and Mom had the accident that claimed their lives. My dear sweet little angel,My eyes stung, and I sniffled to hold back my tears when I read the first line. This was so Dad… still calling me his little angel when I was a grown woman. I guess to him, I was still that little girl he taught how to walk or ride a bike... I was daddy's little girl till the very end.My chest constricted with pain. I miss you, Dad…If you’re reading this, it only means I’m no longer in this world, and you’re now ready to take over the family legacy. Don’t feel bad if it took some time for you to take over, it’s never too late to find the right path. I know you must be married now. With me gone, I trust you made the right decision and married the right man for you… The one who makes your heart skip a beat. If he looks at you the way I looked at your mother, then you’re in
SOPHIA.I took a deep breath as I stood outside my late father’s lawyer, Abraham Marshall's, office. After Daniel Walter left my office earlier, I kept recalling how his gaze shifted to the bookshelf behind me when he thought I couldn’t notice. Since he was once my father's close friend, he must have known there was a hidden safe in the chairman's office. And from the way he was giving the shelf secret looks, he surely knew what was inside that safe. Perhaps that could be the reason he’s been hanging around the company a lot despite not having any position there. That was the reason I chose not to waste time and came to see my late father's lawyer.The sooner I found out about what was in the hidden safe, the better. I raised my hand and knocked on the door. Twice. And then three times. After a few seconds of silence, a deep voice echoed from inside the office. “Come in.” I opened the door and walked in, finding Abraham Marshall seated behind his desk. He was an elderly man i
SOPHIA.My heart ached. So all this while, I thought Elias saved me, but it turned out he had taken the credit when it wasn’t his to take in the first place. I know I was the one who mistook him for the man who saved me, but why didn’t he correct me? He just went along with me, pretending like he was the man I thought had come to my rescue. As it turned out, it was Lucas all along. “Why didn’t you tell me? I ended up falling in love with the wrong person,” I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe I had wasted my time, my emotions and my love on the wrong person. There were so many wasted years...Lucas was silent for a few seconds. He frowned, looking at me. “If someone else saved you today, would you fall in love with him?” I furrowed my eyebrows, shaking my head. “No, I wouldn’t. Why would I fall in love with just anyone because they saved me…” I trailed, realising why he asked that question.He arched an eyebrow. “You see? I don’t think you fell for Elias b