[Juliette’s POV]I didn’t think it’d be that easy. But why did Karl sound as though he was getting a death sentence? I must ask him when he calls back. There seems to be something going on in the background with Papa’s email account. Suddenly, motivation filled my veins. I feel one step closer to the truth—one step closer to proving Ralph’s innocence. Wait a sec. Am I saying that Ralph is innocent? Well, anyone’s innocent until proven guilty, I defended myself, feeling like an idiot and a liar at the same time. Do I want Ralph to be innocent? Maybe starting a family with him won’t be as bad as I thought. We may be enemies but he’s potentially a good father, like Papa. And Papa chose him when he was most desperate. Desperate. My eyes lit up as an idea sprouted inside my head. Papa was desperate! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen someone from the other side! Ralph said that he trusted the Luxes because we’d never talk to his family. Perhaps Papa was in the same situation! P
[Juliette’s POV] I ran out of the mansion, towards the Misty Hills. I need to get away from all this. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. All I feel is a jealous rage. Over that woman who’s held him today. I’m not stupid—for the scent to linger on someone’s clothes, she must’ve spent a considerable amount of time on him. I squeezed my eyes tight. Get out of my head! I don’t want to see it! I don’t want to see him with another woman! “Goddamn it, Juliette, come back here!” Ralph thundered after me. I continued running. I won’t stop until I’ve reached my destination. I need to find peace. The air shifted behind me. I could feel him getting close. With his long legs, even with walking he could keep up with me. I need to keep moving. “Juliette! Stop right there! I’m warning you! Goddamn it!” Finally, my grievances tore through my lips. “Leave me alone!” I should’ve focused on running—the second I uttered the three words, he had caught up with me and grabbed my upper arm to s
[Juliette’s POV] “I don’t want to hear it.” But I didn’t look away. Ralph pressed my palms harder into his cheeks. “I need to buy off her share of the family business. So I went to her.” I stopped struggling. Is he talking about his reformation plans? I listened with piqued interest. He pulled me closer and whispered harshly, “She was all over me. Tried to come down on me. But I pushed her away.” More dirty images filled my mind, and anger shot back into my eyes. “I don’t believe you. Everywhere smelled of her. YOU–smelled of her.” The Mafia King dropped my hands and stepped back. Holding my gaze, he unbuttoned his shirt. “This? You smell her on this?” Once it came undone, he yanked it off and flung it away like trash. “I’ll tell Thomas to burn it.” I swallowed hard at the sight of those fine abs. His chest heaved angrily. “What else?” His eyes fixed on mine, imploring for my trust. “This?” He unbuckled his pants and took them off while seizing my gaze, not letting me out
[Juliette's POV] The ground shook violently. I saw my hand, stretched out in sheer desperation at the Mafia King holding his gun at the merciless angle, its shiny barrel pressed on mother's forehead. I couldn't hear what they were saying. But I knew that mother was in peril. I need to get to her. "Mother!!!" My head screamed in panice terror. "Ralph, no!!!" The ground shook more violently. This time I heard the deep voice calling my name. "Juliette! Wake up!" I shook my head at Ralph who was now looking at me, an evil smirk on his handsome face. The face I've come to adore. He pulled the trigger. Mother's head did the jerk of death, and her body crumbled to the ground like a lifeless doll. NO!!!! "JULIETTE!!" The deep voice bellowed. "Goddamn it, wake up!!" Wake up? My eyes flew open and the same handsome face hovered above me, blocking out the lights. Gone was the evilness. Instead, a very concerned and angry face was in its place. "Jesus Christ, babe.
[Juliette’s POV] The following morning, at the office… I was staring at the final draft of the marketing campaign for HFE-10 on the computer screen, but my mind was on the meeting with the mart king, which would be happening in the afternoon. Ralph and I went for a stroll with Tommy last evening and we had a light-hearted chat about the mansion. Then, we made passionate love again and he whispered many things in my ears that still rang in the back of my mind. And this morning, I woke up feeling guilty thinking: I shouldn’t go behind Ralph’s back and gather evidence for his eviction. He doesn’t deserve such betrayal, not after the ones he’d suffered from his biological family. I should warn him about the company’s board. Ha! The voice in my head chided. You think you’re doing him a favour? Don’t be silly. Ralph will find out about your secret mission to have him removed as CEO, and guess what he’d feel when he does? I bit my thumb nervously. Moreover, it’s his job as the CE
[Ralph’s POV] “I still can’t believe she tried to have sex with you. You’re her son-in-law-to-be, for heaven’s sake!” “WERE.” I hastily corrected Ben. “It’s because I’m no longer her daughter’s fiancé, she finally made her move on me.” The voice in my ear sighed. “Yeah. Remember the way she looked at you and licked her lips whenever we met at the old man’s study…That old slut. We always thought that there was something going on between her and that demon.” I was only nineteen. And that woman was twice my age. I might be at an age of raging hormones, but cougars were never my cup of tea, especially the ones involved with that sick demon of my father. My stomach started to flip and a lump of disgust formed in my throat. “I gotta go. I have a meeting with old Clifford.” “Alright. I’ll keep you posted on Luke,” replied Ben and he hung up. I plonked onto the chair and bowed over, gripping the edge of the desk to steady myself as I inhaled swarms of air to cool my raging heart an
[Juliette’s POV] Thank goodness, Mr. Clifford was ten minutes late—fashionably. For a man of late fifties, he was still keeping up with the latest trend of suits and ties. It was amazing how Ralph could still focus without a trace of what we had done a few minutes ago; I was still in a slight daze after that glorious climax when he was presenting both proposals to the mart king. The presentation, of course, was flawless. I knew because old Clifford was hanging onto Ralph's every word, his smile kept growing until every tooth was out on display. And at the end, he was absolutely impressed. “I like this very much, junior.” The mart king gave a friendly slap on hulkish back. “You are a man of his words.” “Only if they are worth keeping,” replied Ralph. “Right, Juliette?” The sudden attention made me tongue-tied. Ralph glanced in my direction with a teasing twinkle in his eye. And, instantly, for some strange reason, my cheeks got caught in another flush. Damn it! I looke
[Juliette's POV] I glanced at the computer screen and then back at Luke, and a surge of joy came over me. I finally have someone to share this good news with! "Papa's email account! We managed to retrieve it!" I hopped closer to my childhood best friend. "Isn't it wonderful?" "Wonderful?" Those golden features fell into an expression of disgust. "How is that wonderful, J?" His words stung me. I swallowed to push down the lump of humiliation in my throat, but it wouldn't budge. "I-I don't understand…," I whispered in a small voice. I summoned a smile to try to salvage my pride. "I thought this was what we needed—what we wanted—to investigate Papa's accident." "This was what YOU wanted, J!" He grabbed my shoulders in agitation. "I was never part of the investigation even though you said you'll let me in!" "But you are!" I scanned around and hastily pulled him aside, to a blindspot of the CCTV. Then, I lowered my voice and defended, "I always see you as my partner in this