From Grave to Glory

The Maybach was zooming down the road. Jackie would take a glance at me through the rear-view mirror, though there was only scorn for me in his eyes. All the love and care he showed me was an act.It was all so I would give him my family's wealth and catapult him from a nobody to a business owner. I must've been blind to buy into his so-called 'true love' story.My phone buzzed. An unknown number texted me. 'I heard you found out, Wisteria. When Jackie heard I was scared, he promised he'd come back to my place tonight. I hope your empty house isn't too icy for your taste.'I was going to text back, but Jackie saw the messages, and he slammed the brakes. "You're going that far for a show?" He tried to take my phone away again. "You have way too much time on your hands if you keep coming up with these!"I kept my hand around my phone tightly, and then he slapped me across the face. "Are you mad, Jackie?"Jackie sneered and tossed the phone out the window. "No, you're mad, you ungrat

A pair of bodyguards grabbed me by my arms and dragged me out, but I thrashed and squirmed and struggled. "Let me go! Do you have any idea who I am?"A bodyguard slapped my face, and the impact made me bleed from my mouth."Yeah, a mad housekeeper who stole her boss' clothes! You're nothing! Mr. Kissinger's orders. Try anything funny, and we break your legs! Don't get in the way if you know what's good for you! Now scram!"The bodyguard grabbed my hair and tossed me onto the asphalt outside the backdoor. For some reason, the chill of the ground sobered up my chaotic mind.I was the heiress of Oliviero International, not some poor woman any bastard could push around. I would make them pay right now. I didn't even want to wait for my dad.I leaned on the wall as I slowly got back up, then I went to the manager's office right beside the lobby. The manager noticed my disheveled look, and he frowned. "Who the hell are you, woman? This isn't a place for asylum inmates," he said impatien

His voice grew louder with every passing moment, and his drool spewed everywhere."You kept that secret on purpose! You wanted to see me beg and please you like a clown all for a morsel of resources! I was nothing but a toy to you!"Now he was twisting the story again. Pathetic. "I said nothing because I thought you loved me for who I was, not my family's money. You kept going after my family's money while spending it on your affair with Yvonne. Now, you're blaming me?""Bullshit!" Jackie charged ahead, trying to grab my wrist.My assistant stopped him. He struggled to get away, and his eyes were still filled with vicious hostility. "I had an affair with Yvonne because you're frigid! I'd never have started it if you'd just tell me you were the heiress and gave me the resources! It's all your fault! You made me do it!"He turned his attention to the other guests like they could save him. "Come on, say something! She's Oliviero International's heiress, but she said nothing to me a

He was begging so humbly. It took me back to those days ten years ago. His business failed, and he was crying on the roadside. I handed him a card and said, "It's alright. You can start over."His eyes shone. "I'll give you the best the world has to offer, Wisteria! I swear."The best the world had to offer? Now that I thought of it, he only wanted it for himself. Finally, I met his eyes. "Do you know what you did wrong?"He paused for a moment, stunned. Then, he answered, "I should never have lied to you. Should never have transferred the assets. Should never have had that affair. Should—""No," I cut him off. "Your biggest mistake was you never saw me as a person." I paused for a moment, watching his face freeze up. Then, I continued, "You married me for my family's resources. You set up the car crash that took my womb away just so you could marry Yvonne."You pretended to be a loving, loyal man for ten years and used me as a stepping stone. You treated my love for you as a joke