“Genevieve?” Melissa gasped, her heart pounding so loud in her chest. “Who the hell let you in? Stop there. I'm talking to you.”
“Me?” “Who else am I speaking to? How dare you show your face here again and how dare you come here as an imposter?” She took steps to stand before the woman. “Goodness! To think that I was acting nice to you.” She flipped her hair backward in anger, her fake smile crumbling. Her voice was loud enough to gather attention and Eve watched as the crowd started looking in their direction one after the other. “What is going on, Melissa?” Mrs Hank rushed to the scene. “Mother, look who is here.” “You.” Mrs Hank followed Melissa’s gaze and her face paled. “How dare you show your face here after what you did? Have you no shame?” Eve stood tall, a smile spreading across her lips as she watched them panic at her arrival. “Come on, get out of here else I'll call the cops,” Melissa roared. “What?” “Don't dare me. Get out,” Melissa yelled and limped forward to Eve and harshly grabbed her arm, ready to throw her out of the mansion in front of everyone. A resounding slap and push was enough to get her staggering backward and if it wasn’t for her mother in law’s supportive hold on her body, she might have fallen flat on the floor in front of everyone. “Goodness.” Eve cleaned her hand with a handkerchief in disgust. “My poor hands,” she groaned. “So much disrespect for the esteemed guest. Bad manners I smell everywhere.” “Miss Gray, are you okay?” Her assistant rushed to her. “I am, Ella.” “Miss Gray?” Mrs Hank frowned. But Melissa gathered herself quickly and yelled.” “Mother, she's an impersonator. How dare she hit me. I’m sure Noah is going to teach her a lesson.” Hearing this from her soon to be daughter in law, Mrs Hank stepped forward to fully examine Eve’s face. She clenched her fist tightly as she found a mole at the right side of her brows, confirming her doubts. She chuckled. She knew so well how to handle the girl and make her bend to her rules. “Don’t you feel it's shameful coming to this place after everything? Everyone here knows our past and what you did to poor Melissa. Leave, this instant.” “We should just throw her out, mother.” Seeing that Eve didn't make a move to leave and only chuckled in amusement, Mrs Hank groaned angrily and stormed toward her. She grabbed Eve’s arms and pushed her hard. Eve gasped, her eyes widening. She’d been prepared for any insult that came her way but not a push. The sudden push caught her off guard, sending her stumbling backward. She closed her eyes to embrace the fall, to embrace the bit of embarrassment that she might feel. But instead of hitting the floor, a firm hand grasped hers pulling her forward. Her body colided with a solid chest, sending her heart racing. The familiar scent of his cologne assaulted her nose. She let out a gasp. It was a smell that she knew so well. One that she might never forget in this lifetime. Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet with Noah’s and as she did, memories she felt she’d buried resurfaced in her mind. Time seemed to stand still as they stood there, the wod becoming distant. “I must express how disappointing this is,” Ella stepped forward. Her words broke the spell between them and Eve pushed away from the man, clearing her throat afterward. “This is offending the whole Gray family. How dare you call our boss’s daughter an impersonator. If this continues, I'm afraid the deal will be called off.” “Oh cry me a river. Who is this that you hired to back you up, Genevieve?” Melissa retaliated. “If you think she's an impersonator, why don't you check the internet,” Ella fired. “Mr Gray just announced his daughter.” Gasps and murmurs echoed in the hall as everyone began checking the internet for the latest news, their murmurs continuing at the confirmation of Ella’s words. Indeed, Mr. Gray had uploaded a picture of himself and his daughter. It was no other person than Genevieve. Melissa rolled her eyes and hearing everyone’s gasps and murmurs, she too brought out her phone to check the latest news. Shock? Oh come on. That was too little of a word for what she felt when her eyes fell on the photos. There was no doubting it. Slowly, oh so slowly, she raised her face to stare at the smirking Genevieve and a shiver ran down her spine. She was so gone. “I wonder what I should do to you now?” Eve started rolling a strand of her hair with a finger as she walked to stand before Melissa. “What punishment fits your insolence. I ruin your family’s business or you instead? Tell me.” “I'm so sorry, Miss Gray. I s…swear I didn't mean to. Please forgive me and don't ruin my parent’s business. They have worked so ha…hard to be there. I'm sorry that we mistook you for someone else.” “Oh no, dear. You did not mistake me for anyone at all.” “What?” “Genevieve Brent Gray.”“If you’d brought her in any later than you did, we would be telling another story by now.” All six eyes peered keenly at the doctor as he began, their expressions filled with concern and worry. On both sides of Eve in the hospital room were Noah and Ella and they both shared the same look of worry on their faces. The middle-aged doctor continued. “For now, Mrs Hank and the baby are fine but you must watch and avoid situations that might put the baby in danger. Congratulations on your pregnancy once again.”Eve let out a loud sigh of relief once the doctor was done with his words, a smile spreading on her lips afterward as she glanced at Noah. They shared a smile, his hands caressing her hair gently.“We're going to have a baby, hubby.”“Fuck we are. I guess my hard work paid off then.” He leaned in and pecked her forehead before rising from the chair. “I'll go with the doctor and sort things out, okay? You'll be fine, right?”“En.”His eyes darted downward to her flat stomach and he
“Me…me…Melissa?” Tiala faked a gasp of surprise and stepped backward away from both girls. “I don't know what you're saying. I don't know who Melissa is.” She might get killed after this by Melissa but she still had a little faith that Melissa would put things into place and come to save her. Her boss, she knew, was the expert at scheming and drawing out plans. She prayed to the heavens that Melissa would be able to save her now.“You think Melissa will save you by hiding who she is? I told you we have a train of police officers outside and nothing you do will be able to stop them from taking you away.”“They can't take me away. I did nothing.”“Then lure Melissa here. Lure her here and you might receive lighter punishment from the court.”The girl’s body was trembling all over. Her legs were threatening to give away underneath her and she was holding herself so badly from peeing her pants from the fear that enveloped her. She never planned to return to prison after everything that s
FLASHBACKJust an hour after Eve got out of the Gray corporation, Tiala paced around the office, her perfectly manicured nails in between her teeth as she tried to think of Eve’s words. On one hand, she was happy that Eve would make her mission easier for her but on the other hand, she couldn’t bring herself to trust the girl fully and agree to the truce. But she had to. Mainly because she had barely two weeks to finalize everything and leave. A gasp escaped her lips when the door of her office flung open abruptly and closed with a bag, a slightly shorter slim woman stepping in. Tiala gasped when she realized who it was.“Wh…why are you doing here, Melissa?” She gasped. With annoyance, Melissa tore her scarf and glasses off her and threw them to one of the couches. Afterward, she walked closer until she stood before Tiala. “Why the fuck you didn’t ask that lowlife secretary of yours to let me in whenever I get here?”“I…I’m sorry, boss.” Her head lowered and she found her fingers cu
Eve’s anger burned over. The room suddenly became twice as cold as usual from the glare that the two parties passed each other. She slammed her hand on the table and rose, her eyes glaring daggers at the girl. “No, you didn’t get deceived. You deceived us and we’re here to have you pay for it.”“Wait.” Genevieve chuckled but there was no hint of amusement on her face. She had a panicked expression as she shook her head from side to side. “You mean that everything was a lie? That you’re not on the same page as me? Yesterday you told me.”“Yeah yeah, I deceived you. But that was little compared to the lie that you told. Unfortunately for you, you’ve been busted. Right there is the proof that you fixed your face to look like my father’s and of course, you have someone behind you, directing you and ordering you around like a fucking puppet.”“I’m not a puppet,” the girl screamed. “I told you I’m not a puppet and you’re lying. I’d never fix my face…”Ella cut her off. “I think it’s high ti
A day later, Ella and Eve parked their car in the same spot that they did the previous day. They both had a veil and thick sunglasses on their eyes and their gazes were fixated on the entrance of the company. “How did you get in yesterday?” Ella couldn’t help but ask about the tight security of the company. “By using the pass father gave me.”“They’re not going to question our attire?”“They won’t. They wouldn’t dare question people sent by their boss. Come on, let’s leave. Is everything ready?”“Never been more ready. Although, yesterday, I almost lost the envelope.”Eve’s eyes widened and her head whipped to Ella. “What? Where is it now?”“Relax,” Ella laughed. “I found it at the bottom of Liam’s passenger’s seat after finding it for minutes. It’s a miracle.” If Liam hadn’t sighted the envelope under her chair and picked it up for her, she wondered what she’d have done considering that the success of the operation lies in it. Eve would’ve nagged her to death. Eve let out a breath
A few minutes later, the girls strode hand in hand into the top floor of Noah’s company. As they drew closer, Adam’s eyes rose from his desk and they widened when they fell on them. “Mrs Hank,” he greeted.“Adam. There is no need to give him a call. He knows.”“Sure, please go in.”As they stepped into the office, their eyes fell on Noah who had his back to them. His right hand was dipped into his pocket and the other held his phone to his ears as he stared down at the city from the floor-to-ceiling window. At the click of the door shutting close, he looked behind him and his lips stretched into a smile at the sight of Eve.“I’ll give you a call when the file is ready,” he spoke into the phone before retracting it from his ear and throwing it to the desk. He sidestepped the table and walked to stand before her. “How was it?” His words were followed with a kiss on her neck that rode up to her cheek and he acknowledged Ella with a nod. “Superb. I told you I’m going to be fine. We suc
“A truce. We’re done being enemies. Why don’t we be friends and work together?”In Genevieve’s moment of shock, Eve sidestepped her and walked to the table, leaning against it with her hands squeezing together under her breast. She picked up the new nameplate on the table and ran her hand through it. “Pink is quite pretty for you, you know.”Her words made the girl snap out of her daze. She stormed toward Eve and snatched the nameplate from her. “I’m quite particular about my belongings. I suggest that you don’t touch anything here.”“Don’t worry. I won’t steal anything. Like I said, I’m here for peace. I want us to reconcile.”“Reconcile? Don’t be daft. You offended me by stealing my identity. I can never be friends with you.”Eve clicked her tongue severally and pushed away from the table, her eyes on Genevieve. “You know, it’s the opposite. Look around you.” She stretched her hands around the office, Genevieve’s eyes following every move. “Just look around. Everything here is mine
Two hours later, their car stopped before the building of the Gray Corporation. Eve wore a face mask on her lower face with a scarf around her hair and turned to Ella who sat behind the wheel. “I’m ready,” she announced. “Great. I’ll be waiting here. You got what we practiced, right?”“One hundred percent.”Simultaneously, their lips curled into a smile and after clapping their hands together in a high-five motion, Eve stepped out of the car. “I’ll be back real quick.”“Good luck, babe.”Eve nodded and continued her journey into the company. As she was about to step into the main building, the security man at the door stood before her. He was way tall and huge and he was a new face in the company. “You are?” He eyed her suspiciously. “Me? Here.” She dipped her hand into her purse and handed him a card. It was a free pass that her father had gotten her to get into the company freely. “I’m Mr Gray’s messenger. I need to deliver something to the CEO.”At the sight of the card, the secu
The dim morning sun seeping from the windows assaulted Ella’s eyes and pulled her from sleep. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, a small yawn escaping her lips. She tried to raise her head from the slightly uncomfortable position that she was in only to find a strong force holding her down. She gasped when she fully woke from the daze of sleep, realizing that she was not laying her head on her pillow as she’d imagined but in fact, her head was on a hard surface. Liam’s shoulder. The smell of lavender and mint aftershave assaulted her nose and she felt her heart immediately skip a beat as always. She glanced back at his hand that was around her upper back, keeping her close to him with a blue blanket around them. Slowly and gently, she held his hand and pulled it away from herself before retracting her head off his shoulder. Ella grunted at the pounding headache that hit her when her eyes fell on the dozens of beer cans on the table and floor before them, the memories of the previou