CHAPTER 69Joyful chatters filled the entire wedding space as the soft music began to play. It was the day of the wedding. The day everyone has been waiting for. Valerie's private island was transformed into a beautiful flowery wonderland, a medium-sized podium stood at the forefront of the gathering, bathed in flowers and beautiful starlights.The guest section was separated into two. One part for the groom's family, and the other for the bride. That was what was originally agreed until Gianna begged Valerie and Gideon to allow her to invite friends from church to be on the bride's side since the bride only had three family representatives. What neither of them expected was that her friends from church would surpass forty people.A total of a hundred seats were prepared for the occasion. Fifty on one side, and fifty on the other. Gianna invited everyone from her large family, some of them weren't able to sit on the groom's side due to lack of space, and so they were transferred to
CHAPTER 70"You may now kiss the bride," the priest said to Gideon, closing the bible that he held. Everyone in the venue cheered as Gideon swept Valerie up from her feet and kissed her passionately.Alan, dressed in a black suit, stepped on the podium steadily, holding a megaphone, "May I have your attention, everyone!" He belted, and his eyes scanned everyone as their loud cheers slowly came to a mute.The security guards present at the scene began to rush over to where Alan was, but Gordon put his hands up to stop them.Gideon placed Valerie on her feet and held her wrists to lead her to the sofa on the other side of the podium but she resisted and stood there, glaring daggers at Alan.Alan opened the briefcase he held in his hands and brought out a stack of papers before turning to face a red-faced Valerie. "You thought you could get rid of me so easily, but you were wrong. When I am determined to get something, I will get it. And there is no one on this earth that can stop me," H
CHAPTER 71Judge Juliet's square-framed pair of glasses settled on her nose as she sat down on her chair. She picked up a stack of papers, looked at them, and placed them on her desk, before raising her eyes to meet everyone in the courtroom.Her hands moved to pick up the gavel and the whole courtroom went silent as she struck it against the sounding block on her desk.The court clerk cleared his throat and clutched the file in his hands tightly, "Case 112, Mr. Alan Carson vs. Mrs. Valerie McCarthy and Gideon McCarthy, a custody dispute regarding their minor child, Mayté Diaz,"Beads of sweat gathered around Valerie's forehead as her eyes met Maria's. Sensing Valerie's distress, Maria leaned into her cousin to whisper in her ear, "We will win. We always have, chin up. Tell them the truth and we will testify if called to," Valerie nodded and pressed her lips together, observing Alan's lawyer, Tilly Carson, his famous cousin, as she walked up to stand before the judge.Judge Juliet cl
CHAPTER 72ONE YEAR LATERValerie stirred up from her deep sleep as she felt the ray of sunlight hit her back. She tried to move but she found herself nestled on Gideon's chest, with his arm and leg wrapped around her. She slowly removed his arm and settled on the bed.Her thoughts drifted off to the events of last night. The mind-blowing hot bath sex recommended to them by a marriage therapist.It has been a year since the court dispute with Alan and a few months later, Maria recommended a counselor in Carriacou to them. Only because she believed that Valerie hadn't fully gotten over Alan, and even after Valerie had convinced her not to because Alan was behind bars, she still went ahead with it.A few months after the court case, life for Valerie was peaceful and amazing. Spending time with her husband and her child was what she had always hoped for, and soon her happiness started to get filled with worry when the phone calls started.Five months ago, Valerie started to receive multi
CHAPTER ONE: PROLOGUE"Why wouldn't you go back to London!" Alex roared at Alan"Why is it such a big problem for you? I have my manager and the board of directors handling things for me in London. Why are you so threatened by my presence here?" He yelled back"Because you are ruining things for me Alan, you are making everything difficult for me! ""You are making things difficult for yourself Alex, I did not want to have to report you to Father but I think that would be the best decision now since you have decided that embezzling company funds will be your metier now, "Alex looked at him, resentment evident in his expression as he moved to come for Alan. Valerie, who was seated on the bed, sprang up to come in between them before things got more heated. Facing Alex and backing and holding Alan's hands, the expression on her face was one of worry and warning. Alex looked irritated at the sight before him, he shoved her aside making her stagger, and hold on to the vanity mirror for
CHAPTER TWO: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! Every year since Valerie married into the Carson family all the responsibility for organizing Christmas has been transferred to her. Nothing changed except that the Christmas preparation is usually more hectic than the last, and her husband- Alex even made it more unbearable for her. Valerie worshipped her husband and the ground he walked on because he saved her father from going to prison. Valerie's father- Toby Diaz was a well-known gambler and fraudster. He usually borrowed money from Alex- his boss and then gambled it all away. In the end, Toby had no means to pay Alex back and that was the first time Alex had ever seen Valerie. Valerie was 17, she rushed into the living room because she heard people yelling. When she entered the living room, she found out that they were yelling at her father, she looked confused and couldn't place her finger on why they'd be screaming at her father. All the heads in the room turned toward her, including Al
CHAPTER 3: SNEAKY LINKS? When Mini heard Valerie's voice, she quickly hung up. Just then, Valerie heard Alex coming. She immediately dropped his phone, left the room, and turned her back to the door, her chest heaving. Rushing to where Fareeda was, Valerie tried to compose herself. Fareeda was busy directing people to get the decorations done in time for the Christmas party. She pulled Fareeda by the arm and led her to a corner. Fareeda and Valerie had a close relationship as they were best friends. Their friendship began when Alex married Valerie, and Fareeda was a new maid in the house. Even though Fareeda was two years older than Valerie. When Valerie felt lonely and sad, Fareeda was always there for her. When the former head maid passed away, Valerie insisted that Fareeda take her place. Even though the other maids were envious of Fareeda's promotion, neither Valerie nor Fareeda let it bother them. Anyone who dared to challenge Fareeda's authority would be severely punished. V
CHAPTER FOUR: Valerie walked down the stairs gracefully, her heart heavy but she wore a smile on her face. Fareeda followed closely behind her. "Dining room Val, " Fareeda said, as she escorted her to the entrance of the dining room and left to organize tomorrow's event. The tension in the room was palpable, as she walked into the room, she couldn't help but notice the gloom on Mr and Mrs Carson's faces and the brothers looked like they wanted to kill each other. The Carson brothers have never gotten along for some reason unknown to her, they always fight like children now and then. Crazy how Alan hasn't managed to kill Alex yet. Good riddance to bad rubbish. A smile appeared on Mr. and Mrs. Carson's faces as they saw Valerie. Mrs. Carson stood up, her arms wide open, and Valerie embraced her happily. Mrs. Carson's fingers intertwined in Valerie's hair, massaging her scalp as they hugged. "My Valerie, how are you? " she asked, cupping Valerie's face"What has happened to you? y