How Does The Sour Grape End?

When my appendix bursts, my parents, my brother, and even my fiancé are all too busy celebrating my sister's birthday. I'm outside the operating room, frantically calling every family member I can think of to sign the consent form, but every call is either ignored or hung up on. After hanging up on me, my fiancé, Joel Graham, texts back. "Sophie, stop being dramatic. It's Yvette's 18th birthday today. Whatever it is can wait until after the party." I quietly set my phone down and sign the consent form myself. It's the ninety-ninth time they've chosen Yvette Norton, my sister, over me. This time, I choose not to care. I'll stop letting their favoritism hurt me. Instead, I'll do everything they ask of me without complaint. They'll all think I've finally learned to be obedient, and they'll never realize that I'm preparing to leave them for good.

When I was seven, my father brought home a beautiful lady who gave me a mango. That day, my mother watched me happily eating the mango while she signed her name on the divorce papers. After that, she jumped off the roof of our building. From then on, mangoes became the nightmare of my life. So on my wedding day, I told my husband, Alan Holt, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." Alan pulled me into his arms, quiet. From then on, mangoes became off-limits for him, too. On Christmas Eve of our fifth year of marriage, Alan's childhood sweetheart, Larissa Fennimore, left a mango on his desk at the office. The very same day, Alan announced he was cutting ties with Larissa and fired her from the company. That day, I truly believed he was the man I was meant to be with. Half a year later, I flew back from overseas, having just closed a partnership deal worth about 200 million dollars. At the celebration dinner, Alan handed me a drink. After I had finished half the glass, his so-called childhood sweetheart, the woman who had been kicked out of the company, stood behind me with a big grin and asked, "Does the mango juice taste good?" I stared at Alan in disbelief, and he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't be mad. Larissa insisted I played a little joke on you. I didn't actually give you a mango; I just gave you a bottle of mango juice. But I think she's right. The fact that you don't eat mangoes is a real problem. You were really enjoying that juice just now." My face went cold. I lifted my hand and threw the rest of the mango juice in his face, then turned around and walked away. Some things are never a joke. I wouldn't kid around with mangoes or divorce.

"No one, okay!...No one has ever had me,not like you Calla" A pause; I endured badly as she stood on the other side of the door. "You have your whole life, you wanna throw that away and for what?... We'd be tired of all this one day and you'd realize it's not what you wanted and we'd hate each other." she replied, her voice cold and distant. "I'd never hate you!" "you don't know that now!... I'm not going to be between you and you family." Calla Grayson's life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with lung cancer. Desperate for financial help, she's relieved when a French wine company calls her fashion brand for an interview for a lucrative contract. However, things become complicated when she meets James Renault, the company's heir, who is struggling with his own family demons. Their conflicting meet turns into a deal that helps her fashion brand secure the contract for a fashion and Wine show in Paris. As Calla and James navigate their feelings for each other, they must confront the dark secrets of their families' pasts. James's father is a ruthless and abusive man who will stop at nothing to maintain his power and wealth. Calla's Mum Passes leaving her helpless and alone. James also discovers his father secret of his murder of Calla's biological father, he is forced to choose between his loyalty to his family and his love for Calla. Ultimately, James and Calla find healing, forgiveness, and each other. They vow to spend their lives together and build a brighter future, free from the secrets and lies that haunted their families for so long.

My family owned Belgard Estate, a historic wine property that had recently gone viral after serving as the backdrop for a series of advertisements and product livestreams. On one occasion, my butler and I could not even enter the grounds. Influencers crowded the entrance, phones raised, security overwhelmed. My fiancée apologized. "The mayor wanted to borrow the estate, dear. I couldn't tell him no," she said. "Just bear with it for a while, okay? Once the trend dies down, I'll have them all cleared out. Trust me." I trusted her. I never raised the issue again. Some time later, my grandfather prepared to celebrate his 90th birthday. I returned to the estate to retrieve our finest vintage for the occasion, only to find myself nearly crushed by a shrieking crowd packed outside the gates. I slipped away and made my way to the back entrance after someone in the crowd called me a "free-riding bum." Bewildered, I was ready to present proof of ownership when a woman shouted over the noise, "Didn't you hear? Miss LePenn has already announced that Belgard Estate has been given to Jacques Martin! I don't care how big a fan you are of him. You still have to buy a ticket to see him like the rest of us!" I stood there, stunned. Jacques? The first man I had ever allowed to use this estate for a product livestream? It belonged to him now? And since when had Sylvia become the mistress of this place? Since when did she even have a boyfriend? Enough was enough. It was time to bring these people's business with Belgard Estate to an end.

When I was seven years old, my younger brother went into anaphylactic shock after sneaking a handful of peanuts. Outside the emergency room, my mother slammed my head against the wall over and over, her face twisted with rage. "If you had been watching him like you were supposed to be, this never would have happened! You should be the one with a ruptured stomach, not him!" After that, whenever my brother so much as caught a cold, my mother forced me to eat spoiled leftovers as punishment. I once prepared an elaborate feast. She flipped the entire table and made me crawl on the floor to lick it clean. When I said I wanted to study culinary arts, she poured hot oil over my hands. My father wanted to send me to vocational school to learn a trade, but my mother clutched my brother to her chest and wailed. "She destroyed her brother's health! She owes him a lifetime of service!" When I was fifteen, my brother's gluttony cost my father an important business deal. I took the blame without even being asked, and the furious client forced me to drink more than half a gallon of hard liquor. By the time I was sent home with a bleeding stomach, my father had already scolded my brother. My mother took out her anger on me instead, slapping me so hard my ears rang and my vision went dark at the edges. "You useless thing! You should’ve choked to death at that table! I get sick just looking at you!" I coughed up black blood. From my pocket, I pulled out a piece of sour candy that had gone soft and sticky. It was the only treat my mother had ever given me with a smile, back before my brother's allergic reaction. I put the candy in my mouth and swallowed it down with the taste of stomach acid. The candy was so sour it made my throat burn. Whatever came next, I just hoped I would not have to be my family’s garbage disposal again.

Rose was a loving child to her mother but didn't seem to exist to her father. Along the line in high school, she met a wolf in sheep's clothing called Prince who was born with a silver spoon. He won her heart with his charm and wealth because anyone who dated him was a queen. Prince and Rose's relationship was kept secret from their parents. Only their friends, colleagues, and some teachers knew about their affair. She lost her virginity to him and got pregnant afterward. She was scared of telling her parents and also being a subject of ridicule so she obliged with Prince's advice of aborting the pregnancy. She ended up aborting many pregnancies for him that the doctor warned her not to go ahead with the last abortion as it might terminate her womb. On Prince's birthday, he had his way with her and impregnated her. She was in a state of a dilemma but still adhered to Prince's advice on aborting the final pregnancy. She lost her womb and the true nature of Prince surfaced as he broke up with her and abandoned her. He cut contact with her but karma caught up with him. He lost peace and stopped attending lectures as he was afraid to face his parents who were aware of his crime. He decided to conceal his whereabouts. His new place was lodging in a remote hotel where he was caught and exposed. His parents who have been looking for him for a long time found him with the help of a hotel receptionist who dialed the police number to expose his whereabouts. He finally met his parents and was instructed to go and apologize to Rose's parents for their loss because she actually committed suicide when guilt and shame were overwhelming for her.