CASSIUS'S POV
I held onto Mary's hand as I prayed for her to wake up. I haven't gotten a single wink since yesterday. Why did Emelia choose to do this to me? Why didn't she tell me all this before coming to meet my family? I let out a small sigh as I got hit by a heavy headache, and just as I raised my head, I saw Mary with her eyes open. I quickly pressed the emergency button, and the doctor rushed in immediately.Checking her vitals and everything, I kept asking them if she's fine because she kept staring into an empty space without saying anything.“Tell him to leave,” Mary said, as the first words she spoke were for me to leave.Not wanting to make her condition any worse, I left the ward, and just then, her parents arrived, and I asked them to go in. Standing by the door, I watched as she wept in her mother's hands, and my heart sank.“This is all because of Emelia. If anything happens to Mary or she ruins my marriage, I’ll hunt you down,” I sneered as I closed the door and banged my fist against the wall.“Everything will be fine,” I suddenly heard Mary's father's voice, and I quickly turned around and bent my head in shame.“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” I apologized, despite knowing that he’s burning with anger as I had just complicated his family matter.But instead of him getting angry at me, he moved closer and gave me a light pat on my shoulder, and I wondered how he was fine with me when I had done something like this.“I have only one request from you: just make sure the promise you made to us to always stand by her, never fail,” he said, and I assured him that I wouldn't break my promise, and he went back inside. I let out a loud sigh of relief as i my mind drifted off to the past.I first met Emelia not long after I arrived back here. I thought she saw me as a friend, so I didn't make any move on her, and she took me to her home where I met her family, including Mary. Making a mistake with Mary, she told me she’s pregnant. I angrily asked her to abort it and called her different sorts of names, and she also went to abort it but ended up bleeding profusely, and we found out the doctor did a bad job, and her womb is damaged. Since then, I decided to take responsibility for my actions. I ruined her and I got to stand by her and protect her. Emelia was nothing but my past and Mary was now my present and my future.“She just checked out from the hotel,” Kingsley, my secretary, said as he approached.“Why? Don't tell me she’s planning to come to my home?” I screamed out, knowing Emelia might really decide to do that because she’s crazy right now.“Her fiancé is here,” he finally said, and I felt a bit relieved because she definitely had no intention of getting back with me.“But why exactly is she doing all this? Did someone offend her?” Many reasons for her return race through my mind as I couldn't come up with a single conclusion for her actions. But I was sure about one thing: she’s here to ruin me and get back at me for abandoning her.“Inform me of every action and step she takes and whoever she meet.” I ordered before rushing out of the hospital and went back to my parents' home, where I met my entire family seated.“Have a seat,” grandfather ordered with a commanding tone, and I took my seat next to my aunt, Camile.“I’m sorry, I really have no idea….”“You did a good job,” grandfather's voice cut in, and I didn't understand what he meant right now. “I don't think giving me grandkids is a bad thing, is it?” he asked as everyone agreed with him, and they all looked happy.“Are you for real right now? My marriage is at stake, and you are telling me that I did a good thing. I'm here to tell you that I'm not accepting those kids as mine, even if they are mine, and you have no say in this matter because this is my issue, and I will deal with it, alone.”“But I thought you said they aren't yours,” Kira, my kid sister, cuts in, leaving me speechless. Why are they all attacking me and not supporting me?“Did they all receive any bribe from Emelia to make them turn their back on me?” I thought as I couldn't find a single reason for why they’re doing this to me.After a long talk, Grandfather agreed to accept the kids despite my objections, and everyone supported him, including my mom, who always sided with me no matter what.“But have you all considered Mary's feelings? This is not the agreement I made with her, so please, you need to reconsider this, or I might really cut ties with this family,” I threatened, but I don't think that worked.“We know it’s your foolish mistake that Mary's womb is damaged, and we’re not aware of it when that happened, but only got to know when you remained adamant that you would marry her, and that’s why we accepted her into this family. And I want you to know that when you’re also banging…” Dad's words made the entire family laugh, “the younger sister, we’re also not aware, and now we’re going to accept that young lady and the kids. It’s not as if she’s here to marry you because I heard that she has a fiancé,” he said, finalizing his decision.“If you cut ties with this family, we’ll just have your son to succeed you,” grandfather threatened, and I grew even angrier. I stood up and stormed out of the mansion.“Okay, I can do this,” I whispered as the grand doors loomed before me.I felt butterflies in my stomach, and I was really nervous. I hoped I wouldn’t embarrass myself by falling because I was trembling.Do you know why? Because IT'S MY WEDDING DAY!!!The moment I had waited for and dreamed about for so long. The wishes and dreams of every woman, and now, mine was about to come true. Or maybe I should say it had already come true.But as I stood there all alone, the smile on my face faded as I remembered the reality; I would be walking down this aisle alone. With no father to guide me, no mother to whisper comforting words to me about marriage.Although Eunice did help with all of this as we spent three days talking about marriage, I still wished it was my own mother. I learned a lot from Eunice’s words, and her love for her husband was the perfect example of a wife’s love. Despite her husband's heart belonging to another, she stayed with him, even now, as she finally learned to accep
“You came faster than I thought,” I said as I entered the Chinese restaurant room, seeing Jamez already sitting down.“I can’t believe you asked me to come here and still arrived late,” he replied.“I’m sorry, I had to pick someone up on my way.”“Hmm, I’ll be quick. Since I helped you last time with Desmond issues, so you should help me this time.”“Of course, we’re here to help each other. So what exactly do you need?”“I want to launder some money, but that fool has been keeping an eye on me.”“You mean your wife?”“Of course, who else? She’s always trying to act like the boss. Lately, she’s been nosy about everything happening in the company, keeping me in check. So I need to take everything I want before she tries anything stupid.”“I find that hard to believe. Don’t you both love each other?”“Love?” He scoffed. “If she hadn’t kept control of the company, I’d have divorced her a long time ago.”“But I thought she gave you all her property. Aren’t you in charge?”“That’s true, bu
ONE YEAR LATER“Good work, everyone,” I said, lifting up my hand and high-five with Kira.Kira was now working with me and in team B department. She’s also part of the reason why today's show was a success.“Wow, I can't believe we actually did it!” Betsy squealed in happiness.“But what happened to your hair? Why did you cut it? Are you going through a heartbreak?” Alexasked, and she rolled her eyes at him.“But, why did you only praise Team B? Is it because they're your favorite team?” Kathy's loud voice echoes through the room as she enters.I smiled at her words.“Of course not. I was just making my rounds and visiting all the teams,” I replied, and then she grabbed my hand and dragged me towards her team.As we were heading to her department, I suddenly felt the floor become slippery, but Kathy caught me and stopped me from falling.“Who is the monkey that did this terrible job here?” she yelled angrily, and all the cleaners quickly rushed towards us.“I’m very sorry, ma'am. It's
With my mouth agape, I looked at Mary, who still continued laughing."Is that true?" I turned to Mary."What if it is?” She answered without a hinto of guilt. “ Do you think if I hadn’t lied, you would have married me? Do you think you would have even given me a chance?" She asked Cassius "Is that why you did all this? Because you wanted him, knowing I loved him?" My voice quivered."Can you please shut up? You liked him? Then why didn’t you tell him? Why does everyone always like you and not me?""What are you talking about? Mary, everyone loved you, even your parents.""Look at her, acting clueless. Do you know why I broke up with all my boyfriends? Because they all said you were beautiful.‘Oh, Emelia is such a goddess.’‘Look at her glowing skin.’‘I wish I could be her friend.’‘Can you at least be like Emelia for once?’Those were their words. They admired you and always said you were every man's dream, while I was right there beside them.""Mary…" I called softly, realizing sh
EMELIA'S POVChecking the news, I saw both positive and negative comments. Some people were happy about the news, while others criticized me for being with Cassius after almost ruining his entire family.“Stop looking at this,” Cassius said as he shut the laptop.I heaved heavily, feeling frustrated and unsure of what to do.“Just give it a while; everything will sort out,” he said with a reassuring smile, and I nodded.I shouldn’t have let the kids go to school today. Who knows if those reporters went to their school? I picked up my phone to call their teacher, but David’s call came in.I bit my lip, feeling tense because I was sure it was about the news of Cassius acknowledging the kids.“Let me talk…”“No, I will,” I declined, standing up from my seat and picking up the call.“Hey, sweetie. Did you miss me a lot?”“Did I? I don’t really think I did, but I miss those troublesome big heads,” he joked, and a smile flashed across my face..David and I had a conversation, and I asked ab
MARY'S POVThe smell of hospital disinfectant filled my nose as I slowly opened my eyes. Looking around, I realized I was in a hospital room. The memories of everything that had happened came flooding back.“Cassius,” I muttered in anger as my hand tightened into a fist.I should never have trusted him or signed the divorce papers first. Now, everything I had worked for all these years was gone. I lost everything; my family, my marriage, my honor, and my prestige. There wasn’t a single thing I could claim as a gain from this marriage. Cassius had used me as a tool until Emelia returned to his arms.I laughed like a crazy person, and my laughter echoed across the room. The nurses exchanged worried glances before one of them rushed out. A short while later, she returned with Linda.“Are you okay now?” Linda asked as she walked to my side. I continued to stare into an empty spot.“Your husband brought you here and left immediately. I….”“He pushed me, and I hit my head heavily on the gro