Layla sighed heavily, switching her laptop off, she just remembered she had to visit the hospital today to see her father.
The doctor called the previous day to inform her that they found the donor for his kidney transplant.Her father, Markos, her joy and pride were one of the reasons she was still living, she had to live for him, and he was the only reason she was still in this house. She would have moved out the moment she finished college, but her father had pleaded with her to stay.Layla quickly changed into comfortable clothes as she dashed out of her room."Layla, where are you off to?" Her stepsister Scarlet asked as she alighted from the stairs."The hospital, the doctor called last night, he said they found a donor" Layla responded with joy in her heart as they both squealed happily."And what's the cause of all that noise?" Rosalie, her stepmother asked in annoyance, stepping out from the kitchen."Mother" Layla muttered softly, tucking her hair behind her ear, intimidated by Rosalie's presence, Rosalie was far from nice and her being her only spelled one thing, TROUBLE."Mom, you won't believe this, the doctor found a donor for Dad, dad can be saved Mom" Scarlett announced happily as she went to hug her mother."How did you find out?" Rosalie questioned throwing deadly glares at Layla who picked her fingers nervously."Layla told me so, the doctor called her" Scarlet replied."So the doctor called you, without reaching his wife first and you bastard didn't even tell us before rushing to the hospital, like a good daughter, oh wow" Rosalie snapped with heavy sarcasm."I…I didn't mean to, I was just." Layla began but was interrupted by Rosalie."Oh shut your trap, I…didn't mean to, I was just, you were just stupid" Rosalie mimicked with all the hatred she could muster."Am sorry" Layla tried apologizing so Rosalie could just stop with her taunting, today is a good day and she didn't want to ruin that."You're always sorry, that's why you'll never be successful in your miserable life, I've told your father countless times, to destroy that laptop of yours, you're always writing, but nothing to show for it." Rosalie spat shooting deadly glares at her."you're so useless Layla, look at you, you just finished college and have nothing to show for it, not even a job. All you do is sit your ass down lazing around and getting old in that room of yours""Mother…" Layla called in tears, everyday Rosalie always came up with new insults, how's she getting old, she's just twenty-one, Scarlet is twenty-two and the both of them are not working, so why does Rosalie find faults with her?"Am not your mother, how many times will I tell you, I'm not your mother, your useless mother is lying in the grave somewhere""Stop, please stop all this, I told you never to bring my mum into this" Layla yelled with tears in her eyes.She lost her mother when she was younger, and since then she had taken Rosalie as her own mother.But the same thing couldn't be said for Rosalie, who thought the little girl was nothing but an obstacle in her life."You're so rude, you know, now get inside, before you lose your teeth" Rosalie threatened as Layla shook her head, adamant about the idea to go inside.She wanted to meet her father so badly, at least he was the only one she could talk to."Mother…" Layla called softly."Am not your mother" Rosalie yelled as she moved to drag her hair."Mom please, let me go" Layla sobbed loudly as Rosalie dragged her upstairs, pulling her hair, all the while Scarlet just stood watching the drama unfold."Am not your mother!!" Rosalie exclaimed angrily, tightening her grip on Layla's hair."You won't leave here until I say so" Rosalie ordered, tossing roughly into the room, before slamming the door in her face."That was too harsh Mom" Scarlett yawned in sarcasm as Rosalie came downstairs."But you enjoyed it""Of course, certainly," Scarlett giggled."I'll pack some food, and take them to your father, you can also invite Mike to accompany you""Really?" Scarlett squealed in joy as her mom nodded affirmatively."Thanks, mom, you're the best, I'll freshen up and fix my makeup, besides Mike is coming too" Scarlett blushed, rushing to her room upstairs.*****Layla sat in her room quietly watching the clear night sky as tears flowed from her eyes freely.She was a little baby when she lost her mother, she lived with her aunt Stella for six years, before Markos came, claiming to be her father, saying he wanted to fulfill his fatherly duties and make it up to her mom.Rosalie has never been kind to her since the day she stepped foot in this house.She claimed she was the daughter of a mistress, a child that resulted from a stupid mistake, so Layla was also a mistake since she was never meant to be born at first.Layla always stood and relied on her father Markos who always stood for her and supported her but it only made Rosalie worse.That was how she grew up in hatred and in love, her sister Scarlett was also another pillar of support, who was also very kind to her.Her father was later diagnosed with a kidney stone and needed a transplant; they couldn't find a donor among any of the family members, so they opted to find one.The other important people in her life were her boyfriend Mike and best friend Aurora Lawrence. They also stood for her and supported her. The only problem was that Aurora moved away from the city a year ago with her brother to go settle in New York City, it's been so boring without her friend."I'll have to be strong and fight this" Layla encouraged herself, wiping off her tears, before walking up to her bed to sleep, hoping to leave the house tomorrow. If Rosalie doesn't let her out, she has no other option but to do things her own way.It's been two days now since Layla was locked up in her room. She even tried to escape through her window but Rosalie warned her sternly not to leave the house.She was obviously trying to get Scarlet in her father's good shoes and talk badly of her to him.This was Rosalie's perfect chance to do that because her father would be very devastated if she didn't come to visit and that was the last thing she would want to happen.So she plotted on how to escape regardless of what Rosalie would say to her.She would go to Mike's house and beg him for a ride, Mike would help her since he's always with her and supports her all the time.Layla skillfully dashed out of the window, before leaving the compound premises like a sneaky cat.Layla arrived at Mike's house as the guards around opened the gates to let her in, they already knew that she was Mike's girlfriend, so she was always welcomed.Mike came from a rich home, so he lived comfortably.Layla walked enthusiastically into the house only
Layla strode into the open-air bar filled with lots of people that it was easy to get lost amongst the crowd of people.Layla walked to the bar stand where she ordered drinks.The bar attendant served her and immediately she gulped a glass down, she scrunched her face immediately the taste hit her throat.This was the first time she's tasted alcohol but Layla was hesitant as the memories of Mike and Scarlett kept surfacing in her mind.She looked around the bar and found ladies dressed in perfume clothes and body-revealing clothes chatting gingerlyAs they all enjoyed themselves and all looked like they were having fun.However none of this excitement mattered to Layla, she was already good as dead.She gulped down another shot, gasping heavily, why's life this cruel to her?"Hey there" a husky intimidating voice rang in her ears as she swayed her eyes toward the direction the voice came from."Hi," she waved in a melancholic voice, anyone who will see her in her current state now wou
Layla's eyes opened slowly as she was welcomed with a splitting headache, she looked around the room, before noticing the man from last night was still in the room.The man remained in tranquil as Layla screamed her lungs out.'What the hell am I doing here?' Layla gasped, covering her mouth in shock.He remained calm as he gazed at Layla, his Cold wicked eyes sending chills down her spine. only resulting in Layla screaming more, yet he didn't blink, he just kept staring at her with those icy Blue eyes."You ... how did we, how did I end up here? Layla stammered before biting her lips in regret, she clearly remembered all that happened the previous night, it was all her idea. She wanted to get back at Mike, so she chose to spend the night with a gorgeous man."Really!!" The man raised a brow at her, she obviously was the one who suggested a one-night stand after telling him one hell of an emotional life story."Oh sorry, then we are done here" Layla hurriedly said as she slid out of t
The whole place became damn quiet as Layla fumed In anger."How dare you…""Oh shut up you cheat, you spent a night with a man all night, when your father is sick and you when you're not even married. you're just as worthless as your mother" Scarlet yelled so loudly attracting other people in the hospital ward, Layla knew at once what she was trying to do, downgrade her of course."Father loved and protected you" Scarlet waved her hand yelling at the top of her voice, gesticulating how much her father loved her."I can't believe this came from you Scarlet '' Layla murmured to herself, unable to accept it."How could you do that to me, I cared for you," Mike asked, faking a sob."What the hell!!" Layla exclaimed, completely baffled by their pretense.Layla could not fathom what was going on, it felt as if her whole world came crashing on her all over again. She could not comprehend why her life would go wrong, why was she facing this kind of cursed fate?Layla couldn't help but sob re
"Where the hell is Regan? I swear I'm going to kill him once I get my hands on him," Aurora grunted angrily. Both she and Layla sat on one of the benches at the airport, supposedly waiting for Regan, who was meant to come pick them up."Why didn't you bring your car?" Layla asked. It would have been better that way, at least to save them some trouble."I would have done that if not for a certain someone who insisted on coming to pick you up," she said sarcastically as Layla chuckled."Maybe he's busy; I know it can never be his intention to keep me waiting.""Busy with what? Who in the world keeps women waiting?" she scoffed, picking up her phone to call her brother once again."No need, let's just wait a little longer," Layla said, putting Aurora's phone aside."I can't believe you told him already that I was coming.""I was so happy, Layla when I got your text. You need to see the way I ran to the airport like a mad woman," Aurora said as they both laughed."Thanks, Aurora.""You're
"So let's get this straight," Aurora began after listening to one hell of an explanation from Layla."You're pregnant, right?" She asked as Layla shook her head."But Mike is not the father?""How many times am I going to tell you that?" Layla pointed out."You caught Mike cheating with Scarlet, so because of that, you got yourself drunk and ended up having a one-night stand?""Precisely.""Now you have no idea about the father?""Yes, I've never met him before; we just met by accident," Layla responded."So you left home because you think Rosalie is a threat?""I don't think she is a threat, Aurora, she is," Layla said. She had experienced the most painful heartbreak; her boyfriend cheated on her with no other woman than her stepsister, who she always thought had her back but had no idea that she was a bitch."I might wake up one morning and see that she has drilled the baby out of me," Layla said in a single breath. Rosalie was very hostile and was capable of doing something like th
Regan pulled up in front of a tall and big company. According to what Aurora had told Layla, Raleigh company was located in different parts of the world, but the headquarters were right here in New York."Here we are, shortie," Regan said as Layla stared at the company."Thanks for everything," Layla appreciated, alighting from the car."You're welcome. Enjoy your first day at work," he waved as Layla closed the door shut."I will. Bye," she waved as she watched him drive away.Regan had told her everything she needed to know when they were driving here. She had been appointed as a secretary. According to him, she was very lucky she got the job."All right," Layla took in a deep breath, taking a look at herself."Here I come," she whispered to herself, walking towards the entrance of the company.Entering the company, she met a woman with blonde straight hair in the reception area. Beside her was another lady who was on the phone."Hi," Layla muttered nervously."Hi, how can I help yo
Everyone's eyes were directed at Layla, who stood frightened. They wondered curiously about what she might have done to the president in the past, or if they had ever crossed paths before, to make him this furious."Xander, who is she, and what is she doing here?" He asked again in a thunderous voice, his icy blue eyes cold as death itself."Nolan, this is your new secretary. Do you know her?" Xander questioned, facing Nolan, who took a step forward."Come with me," he said to Layla, dragging her away towards his office, not giving her any chance to speak."What are you doing here?" He asked immediately he banged the door behind him, pinning her to the wall with his hands around her neck."I…I ..I…." Layla coughed as she struggled with her breath. Never did she expect to meet him here or this way. But why the hell was he overreacting? Did she ever do anything to anger him?"Answer me!!!" He growled, and Layla felt her heart seize. If there was another word for scary, then it should be