7.
Author's POV Bianca clenched her fists. She knew Samantha was deliberately getting under her skin. Looking at Samantha now, the difference between the lady she slapped and the lady standing here was clear. The cloth she wore was even pricier than hers. If she knew the tables would turn like this, she would have minded her business, but now that things have changed, she could only face it head on. Nathan smiled and tried to touch Samantha, but she slapped his hand away. “Sam,” he rubbed the back of his head. “You didn't tell me you were this rich. You told me your parents were-” “In a remote village with no means of survival,” she completed his statement, and he took in his bottom lip while giving her a nod. Samantha chuckled. “Yeah. I lied to you.” she answered lazily, her eyes rolling. “Why would you lie to me?” he asked, happy within himself that he had found something to use against her. If he could blackmail her emotionally for lying, then it was all going to be alright for him. Samantha saw right through him and scoffed. “Did you think my parents were ready to accept you as their son-in-law?” she asked, her expression turning into a serious one. “I forsook my family to be with you, Nathan. I loved you so much and left everything behind just to get married to you behind their backs and without their blessings. So, I was practically with nothing then. I had the chance to return to my father when your family started mistreating me, but I didn't because I loved you,” she snickered at how foolish she had been. “I even begged you not to divorce me because to me, you were my only happiness. I endured everything your mother and brother did to me because of you, but you brought in another lady and chased me out despite my pleas. You thought I was going to suffer, right? News Flash: I'm the main event.” she chuckled at how stupid he was. Nathan realized he was the one who was actually at loss now. If he had treated her well, she would have looked for a way to help him. “Sam,” he called softly, but she didn't give him any response. “I'm sorry. I had no idea you were hurt by everything I and my family did to-” “Hush!” she silenced him. “I am not a robot without emotions. You're saying all these now because you lost.” “I haven't lost anything. You haven't signed your own part on the divorce papers. There is still something we can do.” “Nathan!” Bianca snapped at him, but he gave her a reassuring look. Samantha looked at the file in her hand. “I already signed the divorce papers, Nathan,” she slapped the document on his chest and he grabbed it. He quickly brought the documents out and gasped as he saw her signature neatly placed on its spot. Nathan couldn't believe she actually signed the papers. He thought she loved him so much and wouldn't sign it yet; he thought she was going to wait for him to take her back. How on earth did this happen? He glanced at her, his expression changing. “Samantha, I didn't expect you to sign it so soon.” “Why not? Do you want me to waste time so you can come back with an excuse later that it was a prank?” she huffed. “Even if all the things you did to me were a prank, the slap your bitchy girlfriend gave me and how she made her men rough handle me and throw me out of the house was not a prank,” she threw a glare Bianca's way, making a mental note to deal with her later. Nathan tried to explain, but she raised her hand to stop him. “I hope you have a nice life, ex-husband.” With that said, she didn't say anything else to him and walked away, leaving him to ponder on all she had told him. Bianca looked at him, and as if sensing his discomfort, she wrapped her hand around his arm. “Stop worrying about what she said, Nath. You can count on my father's company. I'll be announced as the CEO soon, and I will definitely make sure I bring your company back to life.” she assured him with a smile, but Nathan's mind was occupied with something else. How was it that he lived with Samantha for three years and wasn't able to even get a whiff of her true background? He was blinded by his company loss that he took out his frustration on her and blamed her for everything even though he knew that it wasn't her fault. He didn't even care to ask about her background or anything. He felt she was worthless since she told her parents lived in a remote area. That moment, he realized what he had just lost. “Shit!” he exclaimed as he looked at Samantha, who stood elegantly speaking with some businessmen and smiling brightly. He hadn't seen her smile so brightly before. He had ruined her life and taken her smile in their marriage. He recalled how she would work late into the night and still come home to take care of the family before going to bed, only to wake up very early the next morning for another work. He saw her struggling with her health numerous times and turned blind eyes to it, but she never complained. Despite the stress, she would always welcome him back from work with a smile, but he would yell at her to stay away from him and complain about things she hadn't done. He had been mean, and it seemed his actions were coming back to haunt him. “Nath!” Bianca shook him, and he turned to look at her. “What are you thinking about, huh? Forget about Samantha. She's gone, so let her be. Forget about her money as well. I already said I was going to revive your company.” she whined. Nathan sighed. “Let's get out of here.” he didn't wait for Bianca to say anything else before walking out while she rushed after him. Samantha saw them walking out and smirked. This was just a tip of the iceberg. She hadn't even started yet.136.LOS ANGELESSamantha stood in the company hall that they were going to use for the company dinner and Aiden's birthday celebration, showing the decorators where to hang done posters and stuff. Aiden leaned on the doorframe and watched her. He had asked her to not stress herself and let Linda, Mia and the rest handle it, but Samantha didn't just want to sit and watch.Aiden sighed and shook his head. When he saw that she was about to pick up her box, he quickly rushed to her and took it from her. “Hey, what did I say about carrying heavy stuff?” he asked with an eye roll.Samantha chuckled. “It's not heavy at all. They are just ribbons, okay? Now give it to me.”Aiden turned away from her. “Not gonna happen. You're supposed to be resting. I have no idea why you're obsessed with making it perfect.” he pouted.The employees who were present and helping with the decorations couldn't believe that their boss was actually acting like a baby right now. This was something they didn't see
135.The man helped her to her feet and she tucked strands of hair behind her ears. “Th... Thanks for breaking my fall.” she said.The man smiled, showing cute dimples that almost got her lost in them. Darcel wondered why a total stranger was having this much effect on her. He had jet black hair that was neatly tousled, giving him a mysterious yet a bad boy look complemented by his angular jaw and cherry thin lips. “My pleasure,” he responded, his voice deep, causing Darcel's knee to wiggle. She thanked the Lord that she was wearing a coat.Darcel said nothing. The man smiled again and stretched out his hand for a handshake. “The name's Tristan,” he said and she took his hand with a polite smile. “Nice to finally meet you in person Darcel.”Darcel blinked. “Huh? You know me?” she asked.Tristan nodded. “Who doesn't? You're a very popular artist and you work with Jessi Arts, of course I'd know you.”Darcel's cheeks flushed. Who would have thought that she would have a fan who's so goo
134.“Oh, Darcel,” Russell rushed to her and embraced her, causing her eyes to widen in shock. Darcel didn't return the hug. She felt like she was dreaming. Her father hadn't hugged her with so much love in his eyes before. How did he even find her? Well, she was on television a few minutes ago.Russell pulled away from the hug when she didn't return it, his eyes turning glassy as he looked at her. She looked different and even more beautiful than the last time he saw her. He had searched for her and couldn't find her. The last time he saw her on television, she was in Los Angeles, but he couldn't get her exact location. His daughter has grown so much.Darcel looked at her father. The man looked stressed out. There were eyebags under his eyes, and he was aging so fast. She could swear he had lost a lot of weight too. What happened while she was away?“It's been a while, Dad.” she forced an awkward smile.“Indeed,” Russell replied. “I'm happy I finally got to see you again, Darcel. I'v
133.As they drove to the Callymore’s mansion, Samantha couldn't help but to suspect that something was fishy. This was the first time since Yasmeen and Reginald returned to the country that she was asking them to come have dinner with her. Could she be planning something sinister? What if the woman wanted to get rid of her baby?Aiden noticed the expression on her face and placed his hand on hers, causing her to turn to look at him. He smiled at her. “You shouldn't be worried, Sam. I know my mother can overreact sometimes but one thing I know is that she won't go as far as hurting you or the baby.”Samantha bit her lower lip and laughed awkwardly. “I never said she was going to hurt me or my baby.” she replied, trying to play it cool, but Aiden knew her better than anymore.“Sweetheart, you looked like a sheep about to be slaughtered. Even if I don't know how expressions like that work, I know what you're scared of that much, especially in your condition.” he placed his hand on her t
132.“Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?” Nathan yelled, throwing the things on the table to the ground.“Calm down. What do you expect? She is married, and it's only normal for a married woman to get pregnant!” Laylani snapped at Nathan, who was already feeling like going insane after seeing the news of Samantha's pregnancy. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that she didn't get pregnant even after they were married for years, and now that she was married to Aiden, it wasn't even up to a year, and she was already pregnant? He couldn't stand for it. He won't stand for that bullshit!“Mum you don't understand!” he yelled. “Samantha is my wife. She belongs to me.”“It's time you get over it! Sink it into your fucking head that she is not a property you can just claim. You lost her, okay? Accept that and move on. Stop acting like you're going crazy when all these was your fault to begin with. You divorced her.”Nathan couldn't believe what his mother was saying. “Mu
131.“Are you for real?” Samantha asked Ashlyn, who smiled and nodded at her. “Of course I’m for real,” she said with a sigh. “I have been in hiding for so long and I know he’s been looking for me. Even when he didn’t see me, he joined you to fight for me, and that’s something no one would ever do for anyone. I’m not saying he did it because he is my brother. He did it because he loved me, and I couldn’t bring myself to keep hiding from him this way. So I have summoned up courage and I will definitely show myself to him now.”Samantha was over the moon. This was the best news she’s heard in months. She could already imagine the look on Aiden’s face when he sees Ashlyn. But then, she wanted to make it even more special and dramatic.Smanatha leaned forward with a smile. “Aiden’s birthday is in a week, Ashlyn,” she said and Ashlyn nodded with a smile. “And we planned on celebrating his birthday with the company’s joint dinner. Don’t you think you coming to that dinner would be the best