Alice decided to enjoy her time in the mansion as the wealthy daughter-in-law of madame Janet. It was going to be for three years and so she would make the most out of it. Madame Janet had already included her in receiving monthly allowance along side Kelvin. She had even given Alice her very first allowance for that month the day before her wedding. It was a huge sum of money that had shocked Alice. She was still in the dilemma of what to spend the money on. Her parents were not as wealthy as her in-laws and she had never seen such an amount of money before. She just sent her parents a little amount from it and kept the rest safe in her bank account, which, Madame Janet had opened for her immediately after her engagement to Kelvin.
Alice watched how Kelvin spent his own allowance in just the three days she had been there as well as the few times they spent together before their wedding. He would buy recklessly, anything that he wanted. And recently she saw how be lavished a handful of the money on his girlfriend, Anita. Alice would hear his phone conversation with her and would deduce that she had demanded for money in hundreds of thousands and Kelvin would instantly send her from his allowance. She would shake her head at his foolishness and wonder if living that extravagantly and carelessly would help him preserve his fortune after his grandmother would have willed everything to him. Well, she thought again, the wealth of grandma Janet was infinite. Alice was sure that Kelvin would never be able to finish it in his life time and that was why he had the laxity to spend recklessly.Alice had nothing to spend the money on, she was already eating fine in the house and she had a car given to her with a driver assigned. She was comfortable and so she just decided to keep the money safe in her account.****Soon, the need to use from the money came after Kelvin had given her the documents containing the agreement of giving her half of his inheritance. Alice was wise. She knew that Kelvin would never want her to get half of his money and he could fake the documents for her to sign them. She told him she would sign them later and give them to him which he agreed to with the thought that she would never understand the document's content.Alice had to confirm the contents of the agreement as she could not understand what she was reading. The next morning, she had her driver take her to one of the best law firms in the city. When she got there she requested to see an excellent lawyer who confirmed to her that the summary of the contents in the paper was that she would get nothing at the end of the day. Alice was not surprised. She simply asked the lawyer to draft another that would state that she gets half of Kelvin Sanders' inheritance and she paid him his fee. She got back to the mansion and found him in the balcony of their room, chatting online with a cup of tea and a plate of snacks on the table before him. Angrily, she walked to him and yanked the phone from his hand. He looked up at her instantly, irritated at her actions."You think you're smart, huh?" She asked him."What are you talking about? What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked her."You think you can fool me because I'm a villager, right? Well, you thought wrong. That fake papers you gave me to sign has been destroyed by me..." Kelvin was shocked to hear her call it fake. He was surprised and was at that moment dumbfounded.Alice continued, "I am having another document made and this time it is real. You will sign it when it's ready or you lose everything" she said and flung his phone on the floor, not minding if it got damaged and then she stormed out of the balcony.Kelvin was still surprised. He wondered how she got to know that the documents were not what she had asked for. He had thought, on his girlfriend, Anita's suggestion that she was an illiterate and would never be able to understand the content of the documents if the words were intelligently twisted and professionally written. Alice had once again proved to be indeed a smart woman and that had him wondering.He picked his phone from the floor where Alice had thrown it and dialled Anita's number. He wanted to tell her what had happened and to get advice on what next to do."Hey baby" Anita replied from the other end of the line."She found out" Kelvin quickly said."Who?" Anita asked."Alice of course. She found out that the documents were fake and she is having another document made as we speak. I don't know what to do babe. I can't hand over half of my inheritance to a villager. It's too much" He lamented."That bitch. How on earth did she find out?" Anita asked."I have no idea. She is a dumb villager that is not supposed to understand what was written in those papers." Kelvin sighed."Calm down babe. Can you come over? Let's think of what to do next" Anita said."Alright. I'll be with you soon" he said and hung up.Then hurriedly left the house for Anita's.Alice who was already on the bed watched him leave and knew exactly where he was going and she kissed her teeth.There was nothing he or his girlfriend would do to stop her. It was Kelvin's greatest mistake that he had to use her like that just because he thought her to be uneducated and a villager and naive. He would learn to never take advantage of someone's innocence ever again in his life.Having escaped Grandma Janet's wrath hours ago by the skin of her teeth, Anita knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Church service was looming, and if Grandma Janet so much as sensed her exhaustion or suspicion, it would all come crashing down. She couldn’t survive hours of hymns and sermons—not after a sleepless night of dancing and dodging. Every muscle in her body ached, and her eyes burned behind her lashes. So, she did what she had to do. A hint from Kelvin’s excuse the night before gave her the perfect idea. After scrubbing off the last traces of smeared makeup and trading her party dress for soft nightwear, Anita tucked herself into bed and wrapped the blankets tightly around her. She carefully tousled her hair into something messy enough to look like “cramp suffering” and took a few deep breaths to summon the right frail tone. Then she waited. The room was still dim, light just beginning to seep in through the curtains, when it came— Three soft knocks. Her heart
Breakfast had just ended and the house staff of the Sanders mansion began clearing the breakfast table. Grandma Janet was the first to leave the dining room. Immediately she left, Anita could practically feel freedom stretch its arms beside her. She placed her napkin delicately on the table, then leaned back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other, slowly and purposefully. Kelvin was sipping the last of his coffee, dressed in a casual white shirt as it was a Saturday morning. He was scrolling through something on his phone. "Kelvin..." Anita's voice was a soft hum — teasing, playful. She reached across the table and ran a finger lightly over his wrist, just enough to make him glance up. "Hmm?" he murmured, raising an eyebrow, intrigued by her sudden sweetness. She gave him a slow smile, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I was thinking... maybe we could go out tonight. Just unwind a little. There’s a new lounge Valerie told me about. It’s exclusive, quiet, and n
Exactly three weeks after the divorce between Alice and Kelvin was finalized, Anita moved into the Sanders mansion. Her life was about to take a significant turn — one she had long fantasized about. As Grandma Janet had decreed, Anita was now to live under her strict supervision, not as a guest or a lover, but as a woman-in-training, being groomed to meet the family’s age-old standards. It was the beginning of what Grandma Janet referred to as “the transformation” — a process to strip away Anita’s carefree city lifestyle and instill in her the morality, modesty, and values that the Sanders family prided themselves on for generations. Anita, who had long awaited this moment, was almost giddy with anticipation. For years, she had imagined herself as Kelvin’s wife, mistress of the grand Sanders estate, and the elegant hostess of the family’s prestigious gatherings. The sprawling estate with its chandeliers, mahogany floors, and echoing hallways had always felt like a world she belonged
A few days later, Alice sat alone in Daniel’s quiet home, the late morning sunlight filtering gently through the curtains. The house — Daniel’s house — had become her sanctuary since the day she walked out of the Sanders’ mansion. It wasn’t grand or imposing like the mansion, but it was warm, lived-in, and filled with a calming peace she hadn’t realized she needed. Though Daniel was often out during the day, he had gone above and beyond to make her feel welcome. From preparing meals to redecorating the guest room for her comfort, his quiet gestures gradually helped dissolve the lingering tension that had clung to her after leaving Kelvin. She was beginning to breathe again, to move about without fear of being watched or judged. Slowly, she was adjusting to this new life. Still, the shadow of the Sanders loomed in the corners of her mind. No matter how much she tried to push it away, the incident haunted her. Every time the house fell into silence, her thoughts drifted back to Gran
After Alice’s quiet but heavy departure from the Sanders mansion, Kelvin wasted no time. As soon as he got into his bedroom, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Anita. “Alice is finally gone. Grandma's verdict was the annulment of our marriage and Alice has just left the mansion for good” It didn’t take long for Anita to respond. Seconds later, she called him, her voice bursting with barely-contained excitement. “She’s really gone?” “Yes,” Kelvin said flatly. “She just left.” On the other end, Anita let out a triumphant gasp. “Oh my God, Kelvin! Finally! I can’t believe it. She’s out of your life at last! Our of our lives.” Her joy echoed through the phone, but Kelvin didn’t return it. Still, he allowed her to speak. Anita was thrilled. That was the news she had long waited for. No more hiding. No more watching from the sidelines while Alice, the “nobody from nowhere,” walked beside Kelvin in public, bore his name, slept in his house. Now, the path was finally cle
The next morning, everyone was present in the Sanders mansion's grand living room. Grandma Janet, Kelvin, Alice and Daniel. Grandma Janet was seated poised in her favourite chair. Her silver hair was neatly pinned, her hands folded on her lap, her eyes cold, unreadable. Gone was the warmth, the soft grandmotherly glow. In its place sat a woman of steel — a matriarch prepared to deliver judgment. She had called for them urgently. And both Alice and Daniel had wondered what the urgent matter was, unlike Kelvin, who was fully aware of what was about to happen. Alice had no idea what awaited her. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she took in the brief silence in the room after everyone was seated. Grandma Janet’s expression had told her that something was very, very wrong. Grandma Janet didn't go through the long speech way. She instantly demanded for Kelvin's phone, and when he had given it to her, she raised the phone to both Alice and Daniel revealing the picture of both of