Vanessa Sterling found the good life she always dreamed of with Rodri Darnell, the lone heir of the Dolphin empire, whom she had a surrogate and boss relationship with. But her secrets might be the end of everything for her.
Vanessa's POV
I walked into the church in silence, my shoes clicking when they came in contact with the marble tile as I made my way to the confessional. The sacred and holy environment of the church felt foreign to me, as it was my first time stepping foot in a church.
Not to mention a confessional. But this was where life had pushed me to.
I was so scared, yet at the same time felt so empty inside of me and it felt like every piece of me was going to crumble with every step I took. My heart beat heavily against my rib cage and I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I got closer to the confessional.
I took a seat on the unforgiving wooden seat, placing my hand on my chest trying to calm my pounding heart.
I dragged in deep breaths after deep breaths until my heart rate slowed down to a near-normal pace.
I tried to speak once, but my voice failed me. I could almost feel the silent, looming presence of the priest on the other side of the demarcation. Mustering all the courage inside of me, my wet eyes squeezed shut as I whimpered, "Bless me, Father, for I shall sin."
Tears rolled down my cheeks in hot rivulets.
"Young Ms.?" The Father called from where he sat, with confusion evident in his tone. I raised my head and stared at the net that demarcated us. I could only hope he would not see my face.
"Father?" I answered weakly.
"A confession is meant for those who have already sinned, do you know that?"
"Yes, Father," I nodded, responding with a surprisingly stable voice.
"You have sinned, or you shall sin?" He asked, confused.
I sucked in a long breath and exhaled to calm my racing heart before answering him, "Father, immediately I leave here, I'll be going to have an abortion."
Those words felt like a grave sacrilege as they dropped out of my mouth, and his shocked reaction proved it. The priest gasped. "What? Do you know that God doesn't support the killing of an innocent baby?" He questioned. His voice still remained as calm as the sea before a storm.
I nodded to his question, not sure if he could even see it.
He asked next, "Then can you tell me the reason you want to do this?"
I bent my head again to stare blankly at the ground. "I don't think I am ready to care for a baby yet," I replied.
He released a deep and heavy sigh. "Killing is a sinful thing to do, and as a matter of fact, it's written in the Bible that, you shall not kill, and I hope you will have a change of mind. May the good Lord be with you," he said solemnly.
"Your penance is, helping a few random homeless people with alms. Do this while pondering on the mistake you made, and the one you are about to make, then, this grave sin of yours, shall be forgiven. Daughter, go and sin no more."
I nodded. "I really do need forgiveness. But I have to do this," I muttered, looking up at the image of Jesus on the wall.
I briefly wondered if all I really had to do was to help homeless people, then the sin I was about to commit would be completely wiped off. Just like that?
My mind felt crowded as I got up from the seat and walked away, hearing the muted words of prayer from the priest behind the demarcation. I really needed to talk to someone to get the burden off my chest, and I couldn't tell my mom or Estelle, my best friend and that was why I decided to tell the Reverend father. I even felt a bit relieved.
I was anxious to complete my penance, so despite the slowly darkening sky, I spent the last of the money in my purse on some street food. Then, I slowly distributed it to the homeless people in the alleys and corners. By the time I was done, I noticed the sky was very dark when I stood on the porch peering at my surroundings.
It had started to rain heavily, and I watched as people scurry around for shelter from the storm. The rain reminded me so much of how all of this mess started. I stretched my hands forward and smiled emptily as droplets of water from the rain fell gently on my skin.
I vividly remember how it all started, because it had rained non-stop till the next day. I remembered how all of these started and I wished it was never like this. I wished I had not made the bad decisions that led to this pregnancy.
I had just returned from one of my many job shifts, tired and stressed. That Night
I had pushed open the tiny gate and walked through the field heading toward our home. Most people found peace within their homes, but I was not one of them. I detested coming home a lot and I never wanted to come back to such a gloomy atmosphere. But what choice did I have?
I had stopped in my track when I heard sniffles and cries. I had prayed and hoped that my dad hadn't abused my mum again. He did that always and had been locked up before.
"Mom." I called out when I saw her sitting on the bare floor. She was sobbing in a way I had never seen before.
Something twisted painfully in my chest as I dropped my bag on the floor and knelt beside her, cradling her palm in mine. "Mom, what is wrong?" I asked softly.
She couldn't answer me, she just kept crying. I hugged her tightly, letting her cry on my shoulder.
"Can you tell me what is wrong now?" I asked her when she had finally stopped crying. She stared at me with red-rimmed eyes and placed a hand on my cheek.
"You are scaring me," I said to her, nervously. That was when I finally took my eyes off her and saw the state of the house. I gasped in horror, "What happened to the house?!"
Koko Magnus, an ugly and useless she-wolf decided to give her heart to her beautiful twin sister who was supposed to be the next Luna of the red moon pack, as a redemption for causing the death of her father, so as to gain her mother's love. She knew there was no way she'd enjoy the love in death, but what was the use of her life anyways? Alpha Niyol, who was yet to get over the pains of loosing his beloved mate, meets a second chance mate two years after, but she doesn't look anything close to his beloved late mate. How can he accept another woman that is not Erika? Will he even love her?
Loraine was a dutiful wife to Marco since they got married three years ago. However, he treated her like trash. Nothing she did softened his heart. One day, Loraine got fed up with it all. She asked him for a divorce and left him to enjoy with his mistress. The elites looked at her like she was deranged. "Are you out of your mind? Why are you so willing to divorce him?" "It's because I need to return home to get a billion-dollar fortune. Besides, I don't love him anymore," Loraine replied with a smile. They all laughed at her. Some believed that the divorce affected her mentally. It wasn't until the next day that they realized she wasn't fibbing. A woman was suddenly declared the world's youngest female billionaire. It turned out to be Loraine! Marco was shocked to the bone. When he met his ex-wife again, she was a changed person. A group of handsome young men surrounded her. She was smiling at them all. The sight made Marco's heart ache severely. Putting his pride aside, he tried to win her back. "Hello, love. I see that you are a billionaire now. You shouldn't be with suckers who just want your money. How about you come back to me? I'm a billionaire too. Together, we can build a strong empire. What do you say?" Loraine squinted at her ex-husband with her lips curled in disgust.
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
Janet was adopted when she was a kid -- a dream come true for orphans. However, her life was anything but happy. Her adoptive mother taunted and bullied her all her life. Janet got the love and affection of a parent from the old maid who raised her. Unfortunately, the old woman fell ill, and Janet had to marry a worthless man in place of her parents' biological daughter to meet the maid's medical expenses. Could this be a Cinderella's tale? But the man was far from a prince, except for his handsome appearance. Ethan was the illegitimate son of a wealthy family who lived a reckless life and barely made ends meet. He got married to fulfill his mother's last wish. However, on his wedding night, he had an inkling that his wife was different from what he had heard about her. Fate had united the two people with deep secrets. Was Ethan truly the man we thought he was? Surprisingly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the impenetrable wealthiest man in the city. Would he find out that Janet married him in place of her sister? Would their marriage be a romantic tale or an utter disaster? Read on to unravel Janet and Ethan's journey.
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
Due to the plight of her family, Phoebe had no choice but to embark on the path of selling herself. In an accident, she had a tangled night with Alexander. Everything began to derail, and even if she fled to the ends of the earth, she would still be found by him and entangled... *** Phoebe screamed in frustration, "What do you want from me?" What was this supposed to be? He raised an eyebrow wickedly. "What do I want? You'll find out soon enough." With that, he hoisted her up and carried her back into the office. The door slammed shut with a kick, and he cleared the desk with a sweep of his arm before laying her down on it, his body pinning hers in place, completely trapping her in his grasp. Every cell in his body was telling him he wanted her. He wanted to claim her again. This time, there would be no escape for her-he wouldn't let her slip away. Never again. If he had suffered for five years, then this woman wouldn't get off easily either!
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 rumorĀ 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.