Over five years I’ve lived a bittersweet lie as David Hargrove’s kept woman, Maria Bell. David’s shown no interest in me beyond what he wants. Love’s a bitter pill to love when it's not returned. I'm bought and paid for. Kept in a gilded cage. David suspects nothing of the secrets I hold. Tonight, David announced he’s marrying my stepsister. He doesn’t know. The level of betrayal I’ve experienced is unbelievable. Everything becomes complicated as the lies surface. Leaving and facing it alone are my only choices. I’m living in fear as I pick up pieces of a life, I believed lost. Blackmail, sabotage, and intrigue dog my steps. I don’t know who I can trust or how to win. I won’t surrender without a fight this time. They don’t recognize me. They won’t see me coming. My name is David Hargrove, and someone is trying to destroy my family. I must marry my rival’s daughter. His stepdaughter signed the contract. Before we learned, she couldn’t deliver the Belgrave empire to me. She can help me secure my family’s empire as my fiancée. I need the ugly biological daughter, Maria Belgrave, who’s hiding. Things get confusing. Maria Belgrave sent two women to represent her. One is my Maria. My missing woman. The betrayal and conflict of interest still stand. I will say when our contract has ended. How can I work with her? I know nothing about her. She owes me answers and loyalty. Perhaps I’ll use this to my advantage. When David learns of Maria’s past life. Will he help her? Or use her and take over the business himself? It starts with an engagement and the death of a patriarch.
Lihat lebih banyak~ MARIA BELGRAVE ~ We sat there as Josy came back in with coffee and tea. She looked like she was about to explode with her emotions. Confusion, excitement, anger, and frustration all played over her face. She didn’t hide it from me, but she held it back. Josy noticed my control over the situation. “Fine Sabrina let’s sit down with some coffee and listen to this. Then we’ll talk about it, feel about it, and then what we’ll do about it. We knew she’d screwed me over, but surprise! When you hear what she’s done to you! Oh boy! Just listen.” “Just play it.” I couldn’t help it. I had to set up the situation for her. Sort of prepare her for what she should expect. Sabrina did not know what awaited her. Jake’s investigator had found an audio file Jacqueline was using to blackmail the arsonist with. [What about your daughter? Should I wait for her to leave before I start?] [No, I don’t care where she is.
~ MARIA BELGRAVE ~ We sat there as Josy came back in with coffee and tea. She looked like she was about to explode with her emotions. Confusion, excitement, anger, and frustration all played over her face. She didn’t hide it from me, but she held it back. Josy noticed my control over the situation. “Fine Sabrina let’s sit down with some coffee and listen to this. Then we’ll talk about it, feel about it, and then what we’ll do about it. We knew she’d screwed me over, but surprise! When you hear what she’s done to you! Oh boy! Just listen.” “Just play it.” I couldn’t help it. I had to set up the situation for her. Sort of prepare her for what she should expect. Sabrina did not know what awaited her. Jake’s investigator had found an audio file Jacqueline was using to blackmail the arsonist with. [What about your daughter? Should I wait for her to leave before I start?] [No, I don’t care where she is.
~ SABRINA VINES~ “No! That’s not true. I’m my mother’s heir! I’m her daughter.” “You’re nothing to her. She has no heir. Jacqueline doesn’t have a next generation of anything. Please. That’s a lie, she’s fed you and you know it. Just to keep you in line so you will do what she wants. Look at you right now. You’re here right now trying to pressure me to pressure the police to release her from jail. I’ve no involvement in that. Did you realize that? Besides being the person, she barged in on at the office. I’m not the one pressing the charges. You see it’s the company who’s pressing the charges on my behalf. I’m the witness, nothing more.” “That’s crazy. You own Belgrave Tech.” “Yes, I own controlling shares. But it acts as its own entity. Oh, Sabrina, dear. This is why Father took away your chances at controlling Belgrave Tech when he learned Jacqueline was buying your grades.” Maria had the nerve to roll her eyes.
~ DAVID HARGROVE ~ With Jacqueline in jail, Sabrina kept leaving messages for me. I’d texted her and told her not to come to Belgrave Tech because it wouldn’t be appropriate. Security found her mother trespassing there, which led to her arrest. I’d avoided her so far. Now I have my family and businesses secured. It’s time to break it off with Sabrina. I would not confront Sabrina because she’s about as sharp as a butter knife. Just like Sabrina and Jacqueline, I, too, need years of games and gossip. Because if I didn’t, they would get what they desired, and I would become trapped. To prevent that, I know I’m forced to make this a public issue. Jacqueline and Sabrina will not go unscathed by this when I’m done. They won’t hold their position and status when I’m done with them. My first step. I have videos for specific individuals. Influencers, friends, family, and business associates have made videos for Jacqueline and Sabrina
~ DAVID HARGROVE ~ “I don’t care Richard. No. You are out. Gone. I won’t debate this. You can leave now.” My Uncle Richard stood before me sputtering and protesting for the better part of an hour. He refused to listen or learn anything new. He wouldn’t carry a phone, take a computer class, use a computer, or any type of modern technology beyond the early seventies. “I’m your uncle.” He believed his relation to the founder entitled him to sit and receive payment. My uncle didn’t believe he had to do anything beyond the bare minimum. “I don’t care. You haven’t maintained your education and kept up with technology. I can’t email you or text you. Which means you can’t function within the modern business environment without assistance and in this business that exposes us to an extra layer of unnecessary staff that can be corrupted, blackmailed, or infiltrated. You have had a successful run and it’s time for you to retire along with my fathe
~ DAVID HARGROVE ~ I observed the monitor displaying in the conference room, where everyone mingled and settled into their seats for the meeting and announcements. They weren’t happy with the CEO’s office sending out this unexpected announcement and meeting. No one knew what its purpose was about, and I’ll enjoy this meeting. I’ll make these moves he’s always wanted to. I’d planned every step with care to carve out the dead weight and those who’re holding me back. My family doesn’t present themselves to the world as united. They’re as vicious with each other as they are with perfect strangers. Sometimes they were worse. I had to address divided members before they caused more problems. I sent a text to Jake, and I felt still curious about Maria’s situation, and I did not intend to uncover any trouble there. [How is it going? Any difficulty?] [So far, so good.] I couldn’t help but smile.
~ MARIA BELGRAVE ~ “Maria, look at it and tell me it’s not what you want. Tell me that this doesn’t satisfy everything for everyone.” David pointed at the folder on the desk. “Read it again, Maria. I don’t intend to exploit you. Not this time.” Despite David’s lack of anger or annoyance, I felt grateful for his insistent demeanor. “David. I can see that. But I’m trying to understand why this is our plan when we never discussed it. It’s also more than business and marriage.” I returned to the documents and read a few additional pages. It’s all so overwhelming. Sitting here, I could feel his closeness while I looked at the documents proclaiming my deepest desires were in my hands. In my literal hands. I searched for a loophole to avoid this nightmare. Some twisted game to torture me. I couldn’t find that loophole, though. That’s what confused me and made me wonder what I had missed or if someone had given me a break. “Yes, Maria. I listened t
~ MARIA BELGRAVE ~ “Well then. Come here. I have something to show you.” David said. He turned and walked to his desk. I didn’t know if he felt angry. At least, he wasn’t yelling at me, odd. What did he want to show me? Curiosity and annoyance struck me. What was with his secretiveness? “David, I’m serious and I’m not going to accept a token offering.” This would not be a hand me a plane ticket to Paris with an unlimited credit card. A new condo option is now available. “Maria, sit here and look at this. Read it first before you say anymore. Please.” He sounded odd. A little too calm now. He’d taken a folder from a drawer, and I noticed his hand shook a little as he put the folder on the desk before me. David stood behind me and watched me read the document. “David. It’s disturbing and uncomfortable having you lingering over my shoulder. Why are you lingering there?” He made a grumbling sound. “I’m sorry. I’m i
~ MARIA BELGRAVE ~ David’s talking to me. I’m surprised. He’s not talking business, which is surprising. He’s talking about our relationship and how he treats me. David’s not shutting the conversation down. “Why am I supposed to accept everything and carry on? Take everything with a graceful smile and be grateful of the apology. I hope any promise is upheld by the person. I don’t even have a person witness it. No contracts and not signatures. Why is that, David?” I couldn’t look at David’s eyes anymore. I didn’t dare. He may burst with anger soon. When he caught onto what I wanted. David kept talking about wanting to marry me. But he said nothing about me being equal to him. Nothing about respect. No protections unless it’s on his terms. “Maria, am I so bad to you? Have you ever gone without? When you asked for something, have I not given it to you? My expectations of you were simple. Be there for me whenever and wherever I
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Komen