"Ouch..." As Maisie gradually regained her consciousness, all she could feel was her splitting headache and the throbbing pain all through her body, as if she had just been hit by a car. She furrowed her brows at the unease, but she could not find the strength to shrug it off. She could barely make out the silhouette of the man in the dark but could smell the unique fragrance of Gucci cologne, lightly wafting through the air. The man stayed silent the entire time while he pressed his body against her, kissing and nibbling her slender neck... As dawn crept up, the morning sun shone in. Maisie suddenly opened her eyes. She was astonished to find herself na*ed in bed with a stranger lying next to her. He had his back turned against her. Maisie's face turned pale as flashbacks of the night before suddenly came back rushing back to her. It was not a dream after all! How had she ended up here?
All Maisie could recall from last night was that she had been celebrating her birthday with Willow. After taking a few sips of the sangria Willow had brought to her, she passed out!
Could it be that her drink had been spiked!?
Maisie gnashed her teeth and walked out of bed. With every ounce of composure within her, she tried to remain as calm as she could. She swiftly slipped on her clothes from last night, tidied herself up, and fled. She needed to get home immediately so that she could talk to Willow and find out what had happened!
When Maisie reached home, she saw her father sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
Stephen asked with a calm expression, "Where were you last night?"
Maisie pursed her lips, thinking about the events of last night before finally replying, "l fell asleep in a friend's house."
'Bam!'
Slamming a picture on the table, he roared furiously,
"l know you spent the night with a man in a hotel room! How dare you lie to me?"
The sight of the photo made the blood drain from Maisie's face. It was a picture of a man she did not recognize, helping her into a hotel room.
Willow rushed down the stairs in her high heels. "Dad, calm down." As she continued to talk, she walked toward Maisie and pretended to nag at her.
"Zee, how could you embarrass the family like this? Even if you are in love with the man, you should know not to cross the line before getting married."
Maisie was completely startled. What did she mean by that?
She had clearly been unconscious at the time!
Just as she suspected, Willow would never be so kind as to celebrate her birthday for her. It had all been a set-up!
Maisie tried to explain herself, "Dad, listen, I was out celebrating my birthday with Willow. There was something in the drink that Willow gave to me-"
"That's enough!" Stephen stood up, pointed his finger at her, and growled,
"Willow is your big sister. Don't you dare blame her for your own actions!"
'Sister?'
Listening to her father's accusations, Maisie clenched both her fists tightly until they trembled. Her mother should have known that her father was an unfaithful man. He had been keeping a woman on the side from the very start.
Who could have guessed that within a year after her mother's passing, even before her ashes had turned cold, he would remarry so quickly with Leila Scott?
What had come as a greater surprise to Maisie was finding out that they had long given birth to a daughter of their own!
Maisie had always known that Willow was trying to win over their father for years now. She would act a certain way in front of their father and turn into something else behind him. Never did it ever occur to Maisie that Willow would try to sabotage her on her very own birthday!
"l was planning to pass on Vaenna Jewelry to you when you finally came of age, but y-you... I can't believe you pulled such a stunt to tarnish the family name!
I never want to see your face again! The Vanderbilt could do better without a shameless wretch like you for a daughter!"
Maisie stuttered, "Dad, a-are you... kicking me out?"
Stephen smashed the mug he was holding right at her feet. "Get the hell out of here!"
Trembling uncontrollably, Maisie lifted her head only to catch Willow sneering back at her along with her father's untrusting grimace. She could not help but feel a chill in her heart.
As Maisie was dragging her luggage out through the front yard, Willow came up to her. Pretending to be sweet, she reached out an arm and offered to help with the luggage. But instead, her reaching hand was slapped away by Maisie.
"Get lost."
Seeing Maisie's hostile attitude toward her, Willow finally showed her true colors.
"I'll be honest with you. I did add a little something into that drink last night. I'm guessing it must feel horrible to be tainted by a man."
With much dismay, Maisie chewed on her lips. "You and Leila got what you wanted by worming your way into our home. What more do you want?"
"What I want is your status!" Willow walked right up to her and stared fiercely into her eyes. "Why am I the illegitimate child when you get to be the crown jewel of the Vanderbilts? You were born noble and proud, weren't you? Well, now you're nothing but a used, torn-up shoe. By now, you should know where you
stand. So, why don't you just move along."
Willow waved her phone in front of Maisie's face with much delight.
"If you don't want this video leaked to the media and risk ruining your life forever, then hit the road.
"And don't ever come back!"
Maisie stared back blankly. She loosened her clenched fists. She hauled her luggage off the ground with a stiff look on her face and headed straight into her car without a second glance.
Willow watched as the car drove farther and farther away. A smug smile spread across her face. Not only did the Vaenna Jewelry now belong to her, but everything else under the Vanderbilt was hers for the taking!
Just as she was about to turn around, a Rolls-Royce stopped right at their front door. Four bodyguards in black got out of the car and stood in a line next to it.
With a long leg forward, a man stepped out. He was tall and had an athletic build.
He wore a black striped suit, elegant and simple, yet posh at the same time.
Willow was frozen in place, 'Isn't that... Nolan Goldmann, the successor of the Goldmann family from the royal capital of Bassburgh?'
The CEO of Blackgold Group, also known as the youngest king of business and commerce in the patriarch of Zlokova. Nolan Goldmann had a net worth of hundreds of millions. Not to mention, he was a very powerful man within the royal capital!
What was he doing here at the Vanderbilt manor?
Nolan Goldmann's unfeeling eyes swept over her. He uttered coldly, "Are you, Willow Vanderbilt?"
Her heart skipped a beat. He recognized her!
She nodded gleefully and chimed, "Yes, that's me."
"Were you the woman who spent the night with me in the Empyrean Hotel, Room 6228?' Willow pressed her lips together.
Empyrean Hotel, Room 6228!
The room she had purposely reserved for that shameless b*tch? Could it be that the man Maisie had slept with last night was not the old fart she had intended?
But rather, it was Nolan Goldmann! 'That darn b*tch! I can't believe she lucked out!
Maisie could have all the luck in the world, but so what? In the end, she was nothing more than just a stepping stone. Oh, Nolam Who in their right mind would ever pass up on the chance of becoming your lover?'
Willow nodded with a grin. "Why, indeed. I'm the woman you were with."
I stared out across the water watching the sunset as the sky puts on its final show for the day. Today was my only day off, and after I helped my parents at our cottage, they let me come to hang out at my favorite spot on the water for the last few hours of the day. The sound of the waves on the water is always a very soothing sound to me, and I need it. I hide out in a spot where I can't be seen unless you know where to look. I have been here hundreds of times and have seen some of the other teenagers from school, but I choose not to show myself. I have to deal with them enough during the school week, and I really don't want to associate with them anyway. My name is Gabrielle Emerson, and I live in the Red River pack in Fairview, CA. We live near the Shasta National Forest, off of Trinity Lake, and it is a beautiful area. Fairview sits at the bottom of Trinity Lake, and it is really nice to live by a body of water. I stay until the sun has completely set in the sky and all you can see is the darkness, pierced by the beautiful light from the stars and the moon high in the sky.
David Lidell vomited blood and passed out when he was enraged by his rival in love. When he woke up, he realized he had obtained a super lavish system, and it was asking him to spend a quadrillion dollars. After that, David embarked on the journey toward the pinnacle of his life.
In their three years of marriage, Chelsea had been a dutiful wife to Edmund. She used to think that her love and care would someday melt Edmund's cold heart, but she was wrong. Finally, she couldn't take the disappointment any longer and chose to end the marriage. Edmund had always thought that his wife was just boring and dull. So it was shocking when Chelsea suddenly threw divorce papers at his face in front of everyone at the Nelson Group's anniversary party. How humiliating! After that, everyone thought that the formerly-married couple would never see each other again, even Chelsea. Once again, she thought wrong. Sometime later, at an award ceremony, Chelsea went onstage to accept the award for best screenplay. Her ex-husband, Edmund, was the one presenting the award to her. As he handed her the trophy, he suddenly reached for her hand and pleaded humbly in front of the audience, "Chelsea, I'm sorry I didn't cherish you before. Could you please give me another chance?" Chelsea looked at him indifferently. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nelson. My only concern now is my business." Edmund's heart was shattered into a million pieces. "Chelsea, I really can't live without you." But his ex-wife just walked away. Wasn't it better for her to just concentrate on her career? Men would only distract her—especially her ex-husband.
When they were kids, Derek saved Norah's life. Years later, after Derek ended up in a vegetative state from a car crash, Norah married him without a second thought and even used her medical knowledge to heal him. For two years, Norah was devoted, seeking his affection and looking to settle her life-saving debt. But when Derek's first love returned, Norah, faced with divorce, didn't hesitate to sign. Despite being labeled as forsaken, few knew of her true talents. She was a race car driver, a famed designer, a genius hacker, and a renowned doctor. Regretting his decision, Derek begged for her forgiveness. Just then, a charming CEO intervened, embracing Norah and declaring, "Back off! She's my wife!" Taken aback, Norah blurted out, "What did you say?"
“You need a bride, I need a groom. Why don’t we get married?” Both abandoned at the altar, Elyse decided to tie the knot with the disabled stranger from the venue next door. Pitying his state, she vowed to spoil him once they were married. Little did she know that he was actually a powerful tycoon. Jayden thought Elyse only married him for his money, and planned to divorce her when she was no longer of use to him. But after becoming her husband, he was faced with a new dilemma. “She keeps asking for a divorce, but I don’t want that! What should I do?”
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!"
"Ms. Crawford, it’s time for you to divorce Mr. Larsen and come home. You're the only heiress the Master's waiting for.” ~•~ For the sake of love, Amara accepted the arranged marriage with Tobias William Larsen. She did everything to gain her husband’s heart but when his old love returned, she realized that all her effort was all for naught. Tobias demanded a divorce on the night of their wedding anniversary, even at the price of threatening her. Heartbroken, she finally dropped all her illusions about him and returned home to be the heiress. The next time she met Tobias, they were no longer couples but opponents. "Mr. Larsen, should I remind you again? We've divorced." "Amara, that's the stupidest mistake I've ever made. Please come back to me."
As a simple assistant, messaging the CEO in the dead of night to request shares of adult films was a bold move. Bethany, unsurprisingly, didn't receive any films. However, the CEO responded that, while he had no films to share, he could offer a live demonstration. After a night filled with passion, Bethany was certain she'd lose her job. But instead, her boss proposed, "Marry me. Please consider it." "Mr. Bates, you're kidding me, right?"