All Chapters of Beneath the Façade: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secret awaits.CHAPTER 1Emily's POVI knelt in front of my father sobbing loudly, as tears streamed down my eyes and mucus from my nostrils. “Father you can't do this to me, there has to be another way out. You can't sell me off like some sort of property. I'm human, your only daughter at that. I have emotions, I'm entitled to my life. You promised to always make me happy ever since mom died”. I sobbed loudly, my face swollen as I had been crying for a long time. I had lost my mom at a very tender age of five, that was many years ago but I recall the events that unfolded on the day she died vividly, as my dad had always told the story. It was a black Thursday, the 20th of December,1990, a few days to Christmas when my mum died after hours of child labor. My mum had suffered several miscarriages and my father rejoiced when she had carried her last one to term, but my joy and that of my father was only short lived.

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secret awaits.CHAPTER 3Emily's POV“Good day Mr Ethan,” my father greeted politely, as he saw him sip champagne from a glass. I watched him as I stood behind my father “Good to see you again, Mr Caleb.” Have your seat. “You're behind time, we both agreed to a certain time. You're thirty minutes late.” He said, staring at me intently. “I'm a wealthy man you know, I don't have any extra time to spare. Time, they say, is money”. He continued.“Your daughter I suppose? You’ve got a pretty daughter, I must commend you”. He said as he returned his gaze to my father. “I apologize for my lateness sir. It was not intentio-”. I heard my father say, bowing his head.“Let's get to work. Let me take a look at the document and sign where necessary. She moves in by next weekend.” Billionaire Ethan interjected.All along I sat, glued to the chair still watching him. How would I be able to live with this horrible creature? A man

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Emily's POV:“What deal?” he asked“You know what I'm talking about”, I retorted as I cleaned up the mess he had created on the floor, fresh memories from the early hours of this morning replaying in my head.***The previous night, after tossing and tossing, not able to get any sleep, I decided to snack on anything my hands could lay on.I was on my way to the kitchen when I noticed, a ray of light coming from the room my father had set aside for his official duties, which was opposite the kitchen. Curious to know what he was still doing by 3:00a.m or if it was the same reason why I wasn't finding sleep. I made for the door, and held the handle ready to open it, when I heard something that had caught my attention. My eyes widened as I stood frozen behind the door, eavesdropping on my father's conversation. His words had pierced through me like a knife and my head was about to explode with the shockin

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.Emily's POV: I wondered what the message from Ethan would be about. I wondered if my father had reported the incident of earlier that day to him. On my father's part, it was already past an hour since I left the house, yet he hadn't called me. The message from Ethan read:“My week is occupied. I won't be able to get your wedding dress, you get the chance to do it yourself. Make a stop at No 9, Lakeman Town. The name of the store is Beautiful Pieces.”My eyes shone with delight and ecstasy when I read the last part of the message…”the name of the store is beautiful pieces.”“Girl beautiful pieces”, we echoed excitedly as we clapped our hands up in the air.“If only I was getting married to the man of my dreams”,I whispered under my breath but loud enough for Nyla to hear.“My Emily”,she said pulling me into a tight hug. Beautiful pieces was a multimillionaire store and one of the biggest in California

BENEATH THE FACADEBehind the façade of wealth and power, a web of secrets awaits.CHAPTER 9Emily’s POV: “Emily at least pick it up to know what he wants”,Nyla said as she began straightening her hair. As I stood in front of the mirror, the soft folds of my sleeveless brown organza wrap-up dress rustling around me, I struggled to tie the delicate knot at my waist. My eyes scanned the array of lipsticks on my dresser, my fingers hovering over the shades as I deliberated which one would fit with my dress. “Nyla, do you mind helping me with my knot?”My phone buzzed again, it's insistent ringing disturbing the morning serenity. I sighed, my gaze darting between the phone and the lipsticks, my attention torn between getting ready for work and answering the call.Nyla's eyes narrowed as she stopped halfway with her hair straightener, her gaze piercing mine in the mirror. She slipped into a green sleeveless blazer, the vibrant color accentuating her radiant complexion. The fitted whi