"Amber, please I can't." Leila tried to make her friend understand. Tears were dripping down her pale cheeks as she spoke. "Yes, you can." Amber replied, wiping the tears off Leila's face. "This is too much Amber, it's not like the senior school days." Leila pleaded with her friend to reconsider her decision. "Don't worry everything will be fine." Amber assured her best friend. Despite the difference in their families' social status, Amber and Leila had been best friends since senior school. They had always watched each other's back. Amber cannot marry Liam because she does not love him, she loves Andre. Amber wants to convince her friend Leila to take her place on the altar. Now Leila has agreed. Can she love Liam without feeling any guilt? Will Amber come back for her man?
'Why does Gerald give me short notice when he wants documents for an important meeting like this?" Leila complained underneath her breath. She was busy putting together documents for her boss. She was very efficient in her work and in matters of emergency, Gerald her boss, preferred her to the other two colleagues.
Her boss was going to meet recently acquired clients. Leila though complaining, knew what needed to be done. She loved doing what she did in the small firm and everyone liked her.
When she was about to send the documents to her boss, Leila's phone rang. She checked the ID and there was a broad smile on her face. It was none other than her best friend Amber calling.
"Hello stranger, where have you been hiding?" Leila asked when she answered the call.
Amber had not called for over a week. Leila had been busy too and had not called her dear friend as well. Leila now wanted to hear gossip from abroad as she called it. She got the gossip that she least expected.
"Guess what Leila, I'm engaged." Amber told her friend.
Amber loved pulling pranks on her friend. Leila did not take her friend seriously all the time. This time was no different.
"Stop..., silly..., I am not in the mood for your pranks." Leila calmly dismissed her best friend.
For Leila, there was no way Amber could get engaged without informing her best friend. This was such an important matter so to Leila this would be impossible.
Amber could tell that her friend was doubting so she switched the call to a video call.
"This time I am serious my friend." Still giggling, Amber tried to convince her friend.
Leila thought that there was something different about her friend, but still felt that this was one of her friend's pranks.
"Ok.... Amber, if you are truly engaged then show me the rock..., show me the rock now!" Leila demanded.
Amber waved her hand showing the big diamond ring on her finger. Leila's eyes widen and she suddenly started jumping up and down like a little girl. Her colleagues in the small office just watched in astonishment.
"Wait! Wait... Amber!" Leila paused a while and getting back to her senses she questioned her friend.
"Why am I hearing about it now? ...Hold on! Who... is this lucky guy that I don't know about?" Leila was curious.
"Where did you meet him and when did this happen?" Leila continued firing questions. She was really confused and did not even realise that she was not giving her friend time to respond.
"Which question should I answer first Leila?" Amber giggled.
"OK...! OK...!" Leila took a deep breath. "Just give me details Amber, details....... ", Leila was now being very impatient and of course, this was big news.
Amber did not want to disturb her best friend since she was still at work. The story was too long, and the phone call would take forever to finish. Both friends respected each other's workplace. They had both worked hard to be where they were now.
"Ok... babe! I will tell you everything tonight, I am leaving for the airport in a few minutes. I will arrive in a few hours' time." Amber informed her friend.
"Ok... then I'll see you tonight." Leila responded ending the video call.
The small office was now quiet, and Leila could feel four eyes staring at her. She thought about how she had been jumping up and down earlier on and felt a bit embarrassed.
Leila could not concentrate on her work. 'Amber engaged! This is interesting.' She thought to herself.
"Leila where are the documents for Lewes Corporation?" A voice came from behind. Leila kept staring at her computer. She was in deep thoughts.
"Leila, can... you hear me?" The voice said again. She realized that Gerald was calling her name.
"Oh... I'm sorry Gerald, they are right here." Leila handed over the documents to her boss. She turned her head back and continued staring at the computer screen.
Gerald was surprised with Leila's behavior. She was one person who would stay focused all the time.
"Are you ok Leila?" Gerald could tell that his employee was not her usual self.
Leila looked up. "Yes ... yes Gerald, I'm ok." She lied. She was not ok at all.
All she was thinking about was the news she got from her best friend. Her head was spinning with questions. The two friends had shared everything about each other all these years. She was now wondering why her best friend made this very important decision about her life without telling her.
Amber and Leila had been friends since high school. Everyone wanted to be Amber's friend because of her family background. Amber's father was a famous artist with his own exclusive gallery.
Leila and her sister Becky were just two ordinary girls whose father owned a bakery. Leila spent most her free time helping her father run the bakery. The bakery could not afford to hire more staff so it made sense that Leila and Becky could help during their free time.
Amber on the other hand did not need to do anything since money was not an issue in her family. In senior school, everyone wanted to be Amber's friend, but she chose Leila. She regarded the other girls as spoilt and immature. At first Leila did not understand why Amber wanted to be friends with her. People normally hang out with others from same social backgrounds. Leila had expected Amber to do the same.
Leila and Amber were both beautiful, but guys preferred dating Amber because of her family status. This never bothered Leila since she knew what she wanted in life.
Attending different universities, did not stop the two from remaining best friends. After graduation Amber spent most of her time travelling around the world. Leila did not have that luxury, the only thing on her mind was to help her father improve his small business.
Leila managed to secure a job in a small accounting firm. She wanted to gain as much experience as possible before she could try her luck in the big accounting firms.
'Why did Amber get engaged without telling me?' This is all what Leila kept on asking herself after receiving the call. Keeping a secret for three weeks was not something that Amber usually did. They had always shared everything even the tiniest details of their lives.
'Why now?' Leila wondered. The day proved to be a long one for Leila. She tried to understand as she eagerly waited for her best friend to tell her story.
Although she had her own theories, she did not want to speculate. She appreciated that Amber decided to tell her a few hours before she arrived. Now she could think of questions to ask.
For twenty six year old Harley Richmond, Edward Crane was just the rich kind godfather who sponsored her at the orphanage after the death of her parents when she was only ten. Now celebrating her daughter's fifth birthday, Hailey and Edward were confronted by Edward's son Casper who had followed his father when he said he was going on a business trip. "Casper the woman's daughter looks like you and she is definitely your father's mistress." His friend Justine had told him two years ago when he had seen Edward and Hailey together with her daughter Orla for the first time. Last year he had seen him again the same date as the previous year at the same hotel. This year Casper had decided to catch his father red handed. "So, dad this is what you have been up to, spending your time with this girl not even caring for your own dying wife.” "It's not what you think son. Hailey is not my mistress and Orla is not my daughter” "She surely looks like me dad…….and if she is not your daughter then whose daughter is she……? Could she be Casper's daughter but how……? If so, what is he going to do?......Will there be any more surprises…?
How could she refuse the graduation gift from her father's boss when her father's job depended on her actions? "You can come if you want." The response from Luke did not surprise Mia as she had seen the change in his attitude towards her. Luke's father handed Mia a plane ticket to travel to Paris to meet his son who was meant to be her future husband. Son of the employer and the daughter of the family driver and the family maid, Luke and Mia were inseparable growing up and were considered childhood sweethearts. First time on a plane, Mia was lucky to meet Naomi who was on her way to join her brother Eric as he celebrated his birthday at his holiday villa. "Gentleman the girl doesn't know you and her boyfriend is not in the country. She is my sister's friend and so she will come with us. Your friend can contact us when he is back." Eric stopped the men who were sent by Luke from taking Mia from the airport to their apartment. Was Eric just helping his sister's new friend or he had other plans?
What could go wrong when you have got a computer geek friend like Trevor who can fix everything? Candice was happy that her stepmother's plan to marry her off to an older rich man had failed. The marriage certificate she produced was proof of her marriage to her secret boyfriend. The husband according to Trevor was a gay man who would never dream of getting married. Everything was going to be deleted after a year and nobody would know even the husband. Now one evening a handsome stranger stood at Candice's door looking for Candice Stevens. "I'm sorry…. you have the wrong person I'm Candice Walters. "That was before you got married. I'm Clive Stevens your husband. Immediately Clive started playing the husband role without giving Candice a chance to explain herself. Is he going to let it go or does he have other plans for Candice?
Corinne devoted three years of her life to her boyfriend, only for it to all go to waste. He saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin and left her at the altar to be with his true love. After getting jilted, Corinne reclaimed her identity as the granddaughter of the town’s richest man, inherited a billion-dollar fortune, and ultimately rose to the top. But her success attracted the envy of others, and people constantly tried to bring her down. As she dealt with these troublemakers one by one, Mr. Hopkins, notorious for his ruthlessness, stood by and cheered her on. “Way to go, honey!”
Rose looked at the reports in her hand and was in shock... The reports said that she was one month pregnant, however, how can she get pregnant when she didn't have any man in her life... "Was it because of that dream? Could I get pregnant because I have sex in my dream?" She thought... She didn't have any mental problems, however, except for this she can't able to think about anything... However, she still didn't get out of her surprise when she met the man in her dream... Kevin Davis looked at the reports in her hand and asked, "Is this child mine?" However, Rose didn't answer but asked... "Was that night not a dream?" Kevin was angry because it was his first time and she thinks it was a dream... Kevin forced her to marry him however, Rose didn't want it... She wanted to abort the child but he didn't let her... In the end... Rose agreed to marry him... She looked at Kevin's blue eyes and said, "I will marry you, however, I had two conditions..." "First, after marriage, you can't control my freedom, I still had the right to do whatever I want. Don't worry I won't harm the child." "Second, if I ever found out that you had cheated behind my back then I will leave with my child and you can't stop me..." Both of them got married... However, after she falls in love with him... She found there are hidden secrets in his past...
Iris grew from an orphaned child to the adopted daughter of the Stewart family at age ten, finding warmth in her nominal uncle Vincent's kindness. Seven years later, she became his secret lover. When Vincent's engagement was announced, gossip spread about the notorious playboy CEO finally settling down. But only Iris knew the extent of his cold, two-faced nature. Iris fell for Vincent and, through tears, begged, "Marry me," only to be met with his frosty refusal. Defeated, she accepted a lawyer's proposal, sparking public excitement. Then, on her wedding day, Vincent pleaded desperately, "Don't marry him…"
Kallie, a mute who had been ignored by her husband for five years since their wedding, also suffered the loss of her pregnancy due to her cruel mother-in-law. After the divorce, she learned that her ex-husband had quickly gotten engaged to the woman he truly loved. Holding her slightly rounded belly, she realized that he had never really cared for her. Determined, she left him behind, treating him as a stranger. Yet, after she left, he scoured the globe in search of her. When their paths crossed once more, Kallie had already found new happiness. For the first time, he pleaded humbly, "Please don't leave me..." But Kallie's response was firm and dismissive, cutting through any lingering ties. "Get lost!"
"I heard you're going to marry Marcelo. Is this perhaps your revenge against me? It's very laughable, Renee. That man can barely function." Her foster family, her cheating ex, everyone thought Renee was going to live in pure hell after getting married to a disabled and cruel man. She didn't know if anything good would ever come out of it after all, she had always thought it would be hard for anyone to love her but this cruel man with dark secrets is never going to grant her a divorce because she makes him forget how to breathe.
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.