“You’re a disgrace to the Morgan family! Get out!”
Lisa stood in front of her father with her head bowed low as she listened to him rage.
She didn't say a word no matter how she was insulted. She wasn't a kid anymore and life had taught her patience. The young her, had been so arrogant, hot-headed and did things according to her belief but now…
“I wouldn't listen to a word she says! Ask her to leave my home!” Her father yelled, then turned around, “Guards!” He roared and in no time, the guards who had been positioned in hidden places rushed out to take orders.
Lisa looked at her father with a pale face, her fist clenched behind her dress, and her eyes glared at him, but she remained silent.
Her father, Reed, turned to look at her and sneered seeing her stubborn self, he pointed at her and commanded, “Throw her out of my house!”
The air in the room froze until the gentle woman who seemed like she was about to cry spread her arms in front of Lisa which surprised her.
This woman was the person she hated the most but she didn't think she would be the one to fight for her at her most helpless, but when she thought about it, her eyes flashed with mockery.
“Pretender!” she muttered under her breath but continued to watch the woman stop the guards from coming close to her.
Her father, Reed Morgan felt a headache as he looked at his wife, he gritted his teeth but when he saw the same indifferent look on Lisa’s face, he grew more determined to chase her out.
“Get away from that ungrateful girl, Lauren! She doesn't even appreciate you. Just look at her face! Look at her expression. She deserves to be treated wrongly by that poor man she ran away with, idiot!” He raged even more, then reached out to pull his wife away from Lisa, then signalled the guards to do their jobs.
“Let me go!” Lisa cried out as the guards pulled her.
“We’re sorry, young miss..” One of the guards apologised guiltily.
“What young Miss?! She is not my daughter! I disowned her long ago!” Her father roared again, then pulled Lauren who was still fighting and begging them to let Lisa go.
Lisa looked at her father as she was pulled out, she glared at him, then calmed down and said, “You’ll have no choice but to later let me in, Father.” then she didn't fight the guards anymore and allowed them drag her out.
Lisa knelt in front of the Morgans’ family's entrance.
She was determined to let her father let her go in. If he wouldn't accept it easily, then she would go hard on him. She knew her father so well and was very familiar with his pride and arrogance. He hated to see his reputation tarnished and that is what she was targeting.
She had purposely knelt in an obvious place where outsiders would see her. This mountain estate is a place for the most wealthy and powerful people in the country and in the whole mountain, only 10 families have houses here.
She knew her father wouldn't want the other family to see her kneeling on the floor as it would be a big embarrassment to him.
And Lisa was right.
At this moment, her father was seething with rage as he watched Lisa through the camera, he wished he could go down there to beat her up.
He gritted his teeth and glared at the figure that looked like it was about to break kneeling under the hot sun.
“Can you see her?! She did this on purpose, she’s trying to provoke me! Darn that girl!” He complained to his wife angrily and pointed at Lisa’s image on the screen.
Lauren on her own knew how stubborn both daughter and father were, and none of them would give in to each other if she didn't do something about it.
And true enough, Father Morgan hit the table with his palm, “If she thinks she would make me take her back by doing this, then I would prove her wrong!” He roared, then stood up and walked away leaving Lauren looking at his back with a sarcastic expression.
“Stubborn man!”
Lisa knelt on the ground stubbornly and no matter how the sun beat her and how hungry or tasty she was, she never stood up.
She could still remember the lawyer’s words.
“For the sake of your mother.”
She closed her eyes tightly, and when she opened her eyes, determination flashed through them.
She had made a decision to put her pride behind her and come back home after being persuaded by the wise reasons of Lawyer Simmy, and had come straight to the Morgan family when she dropped from the plane.
An hour later when Lisa was about to collapse, she felt someone hug her gently.
“Lets go in! Don't mind your father, he wouldn't dare do anything with me around.” A gentle voice whispered into Lisa's ears jolting her.
She raised her head to see that it was Lauren, her stepmother.
Her eyes flashed with surprise, but she clenched her fist to keep herself from pushing her away.
“What do you mean? Did my father allow me in?” Lisa asked in surprise but Lauren shook her head.
“Just follow me.” She said confidently then walked in with Lisa staggering behind her.
They both got into the house and paused seeing Reed sitting on the couch with a calm expression.
Lisa watched Lauren do her thing. Hugged and wiggled in his arms as she tried to placate him while Lisa watched with an indifferent expression which irked her father but he could do nothing.
After a while, her father looked at her and then burst out in laughter, “So…That poor boy cheated on you?”
Lina looked at her father in speechlessness. She gritted her teeth and glared at him for him to stop but he continued to taunt her about her wrong steps.
After a while, he turned serious, then looked at her with a cold expression which made the room turn dreadful.
“I can allow you back into the family, but…” He paused and stood up from the couch.
Lisa grew tense as she waited for him to make his demands.
“You have two options,” he said again, his face deadly serious.
Lisa’s heart skipped a beat and she swallowed nervously. “What do you want?!” She asked.
“Take over the company!” He said which startled Lisa. She parted her lips to say something, but he raised his hand to stop her.
“Don’t lie to me. I know that while you were studying that course, you were also taking business management with it and you have your certificate. You can't fool me!”
Lisa froze at her father's words, she looked at him in shock, then turned calm again.
“Okay!” She said firmly.
“Leave the family or you have to marry the fiancé chosen for you, Joseph Bronson!”
The next morning, breakfast was quiet – forks clinking, no words spoken. Lisa pushed back her chair, ready to leave for work. Just as she passed him, Joseph's hand shot out, firm around her wrist."It's too short, go change", he said in that commanding tone that left no room for debate. His gaze swept over her dress like a verdict.Her breath hitched, her body betraying her with a rush of heat she despised. She hated how authoritative he was – hated even more how it made her pulse quicken.She tore her hand free and walked out without a word.****The car barely pulled up to the company gates when her phone buzzed. A new message from the same unknown number"Enjoy the headlines. It's only the beginning".Her chest tightened.Stepping inside the building, she left it instantly – eyes on her, whispers trailing in her wake.Employees didn't even try to hide their smirks.Some clutched folded tabloids; others scrolled their phones, shaking their heads as though the proof of her shame was
That night, after the words she overheard from Joseph's study, Lisa lay stiff on her bed, the coat still abandoned on the chair. Sleep wouldn't come – only the echo of his voice, sharp as glass.Keep an eye on Lauren.He's still in love with her. My stepmother.Her throat tightened but no tears fell. She had wasted enough on a man whose heart was never hers.Slowly, she sat up, her green eyes hardening in the dim glow of the lamp. "No more", she whispered into the silence. If Joseph Bronson wanted to chain himself to the ghost of Lauren, let him.She had her own war to fight. Her father's company, her name, her worth – they would use her strength, whether they liked it or not.Lisa lay back down, the decision burning steadily in her chest. Tomorrow, she wouldn't think of Joseph.Tomorrow, she would begin again.Reaching for her phone she made a single phone call. Her voice was steady, stripped of hesitation."There should be a board meeting tomorrow. Email me the necessary paperwork b
The echoes of the gala still haunted Lisa the next morning – the flash of cameras, Dane's sneer, and Joseph's commanding voice that had silenced an entire hall.Now she sat in the mansion's sunlit study, the grand windows doing nothing to warm the chill settling in her chest.Joseph stood across from her, arms folded, his tone clipped and businesslike."There are rules to this arrangement", he said."Our marriage exists for appearances. You'll maintain your role when necessary, nothing more".Lisa's lips parted slightly, but she didn't interrupt."Public events, we attend together. In private life, we remain separate. No questions about my business. No wandering into restricted parts of this house. And above all – keep your emotions out of this. That was our agreement".Lisa lowered her gaze, her hands knotting in her lap.But her thoughts betrayed her.The way he shielded me… the way he told everyone I was his wife. Was that just part of this contract? Or was there something more?He
Lisa trailed her fingers along the edge of her gown as she stepped into the house, the satin folds heavy against her arms.The wedding did not bother her but tonight felt worse – her first appearance as Joseph Bronson's wife.She dropped onto the velvet chair in her dressing room, staring at her reflection.Her green eyes carried exhaustion, but it was the storm behind them that frightened her.For a fleeting moment, her thoughts drifted backward—back to the vows she had once made with Dane, the promises whispered in soft tones, the lies she believed.Had divorce truly freed her or had it only bound her to a colder fate?The name Joseph Brown carried power, yes, but what good was power if the man she owned was merciless?What if he were worse than Dane?The silence in the room pressed against her ears, thick and suffocating.She shut her eyes, forcing the spiraling thoughts away.But fear lingered.___Across the hall, Joseph sat alone in his room, the glow of a single lamp casting sh
Lisa stood in front of the luxurious restaurant where she would be having her date with her so-called fiancé whom she had never met. She had only heard of him once when her father had rejected her marriage to Dane. He had told her she had a fiancé from a young age and it was the son of his best friend. According to him, they had both made a promise to marry their children to each other. She had found it ridiculous then, and had resisted with all her heart and it's also one of the reasons she was so decisive in leaving as she had believed her father had sold her. Now, standing in front of the restaurant about to meet the fiancée, Joseph Bronson, she felt nothing other than calmness. She had agreed to her father after some quick thought. What is the difference between staying single and marrying someone in her state? At this stage, she doesn't care who she marries because it will be the same. Her heart had grown cold and tired. She inhaled deeply, then walked into the restaurant i
“You’re a disgrace to the Morgan family! Get out!” Lisa stood in front of her father with her head bowed low as she listened to him rage. She didn't say a word no matter how she was insulted. She wasn't a kid anymore and life had taught her patience. The young her, had been so arrogant, hot-headed and did things according to her belief but now… “I wouldn't listen to a word she says! Ask her to leave my home!” Her father yelled, then turned around, “Guards!” He roared and in no time, the guards who had been positioned in hidden places rushed out to take orders.Lisa looked at her father with a pale face, her fist clenched behind her dress, and her eyes glared at him, but she remained silent. Her father, Reed, turned to look at her and sneered seeing her stubborn self, he pointed at her and commanded, “Throw her out of my house!” The air in the room froze until the gentle woman who seemed like she was about to cry spread her arms in front of Lisa which surprised her. This woman w