"Are you drunk young lady?!" Mrs Wale asked Ayo "Shouldn't you be happy ma? that wasn't the reaction I was hoping for yunno" Ayo said then hiccuped. "Why did you drink?! who gave it to you?" Mrs Wale asked in anger. "And you, why did you let her drink?! is this what you teach my daughter?!!" Mrs Wale scolded Chisom and Joy "No aun--" "Safe it! I don't want to hear your excuses!" she yelled at them. "No mom! don't yell at my friends!!" Ayo scolded her mom. Mrs Wale held her by her hand and took her to a quieter place where no guest or media personnel was. "What is wrong with you? why are you so hell bent on disgracing me Ayomide?!" Mrs Wale asked "Me? disgrace you? hahaha, you're embarrassing yourself and enough for the entire family! This..." Ayo pointed around "... this isn't for me, it's for you!" "Stop saying that" Mrs Wale said gripping Ayo's arms and squeezing them, "I did all these for you and you are so ungrateful to even say thank you!" Mrs Wale scolded Ayo laughed mockingly "Thank you?! for what exactly? throwing a party I don't even like, making it a Barbie themed party when I don't like pink, inviting YOUR friends to MY party or saying you made me the woman I am today when you didn't EVEN FUCKING RAISE ME?!" Ayo poured out her heart, she was furious.
CHAPTER 1: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE ONE
"Ayo! Ayo wake up or you'll be late for school again!" Nanny Ti yells from downstairs and the alarm clock in Ayomide's room is so tired of ringing.
"Ughh!" Ayo groans and with sleepy eyes, she reached for the alarm clock and swinged it to the wall, just then Nanny Ti entered Ayo's room and saw the scene of the damaged alarm clock.
Nanny Titilayo is a middle aged woman of 57 years old. She has been working as a nanny for the Wales for more than 30 years, from taking care of Ayo's mother, Simi, when she was a teen, to caring for Ayomide from birth.
"You have to learn to stop breaking things, child"
"I didn't mean to break it, Nanny"
"So you said about the last two you broke, this is the third alarm clock you broke in just a week" Nanny Ti replied pointing at the broken clock.
"What's the big deal when it can always be replaced, besides Mom and Dad wouldn't go broke if they replaced it"
"But that doesn't mean you can go around damaging things because your parents could always replace them"
"Ughh, Nanny leave me alone!" Ayo covered herself from head to toe trying hard to get rid of her nanny and maybe sleep a little longer.
Nanny Ti called for a maid to clean up the broken clock. After it was taken care of, she closes the door and approached Ayo who is already irritated by her, she looked at the bed which looked like no one is there because of the lavender blanket Ayo covered herself with.
"Child, it's 7:52 already, you don't want to be late for school, right?"
"Oh, I do" Ayo replied from under the duvet
"You don't mean that, now get up and get ready, when you're done come downstairs for breakfast, okay?"
"mhmm" Ayo moans in reply.
"And happy birthday little star"
Ayo appeared from under the blanket and smiled at her Nanny, and with excitement in her voice, "You remembered!?"
"Of course child, why would I forget your birthday?"
Ayo smiled this time with her teeth and hugged her nanny
"Thank you, Nanny"
Nanny Ti patted her back and smiled in response.
"Now, hurry up and get ready, I prepared a gift for you!"
"Oh Nanny, you shouldn't have"
"Nonsense! I'm glad I did" Nanny Ti waved her hands in the air.
"I'm glad you did too"
"That's my baby girl!"
"Oh, c'mon! I'm not a baby anymore.
I just turned sixteen so I'm basically an adult, a full-grown woman" Ayo replied with all manner of certainty.
They both laughed at Ayo's joke.
"Okay, hurry up now, it's already..." Nanny Ti peeped at her pocket watch which was a gift from Ayomide, "...past 8am! my goodness!"
"Okay okay, fine!" Ayo dashed out from the bed to the bathroom to freshen up.
Nanny Ti smiled to herself, she stood up and left Ayo's room.
***
Ayo's room was simple and moderate, for a teen her age one would think her room would be decorated with bright pink colors, posters of her favorite music band or her celebrity crush, but come to think of it, she was never a girlie girl neither was she a romp.
Her room was deep purple with a little touch of forest green from her wallpaper. Her bed was small with just the right amount of space for only her or maybe one more and on it laid her lavender bedsheet and blanket.
Ayo quickly, brushed her teeth, showered, wore her school uniform and went downstairs for breakfast.
The maids, cook, gardener, gatekeeper and butler were all on standby to sing the happy birthday song for her and they were lead by Nanny Ti who was holding a newly baked cake, it was a two layers cake of lavender color which was Ayo's favorite color and it had the figure 16 at the top.
"Suprise!!!", they all chorused as Ayo came down the stairs all clad in her school uniform and a beautiful bright smile plastered on her face.
"Wha... what is this!?" Ayo exclaimed.
"All these for me? woah... this is crazzyyy". she couldn't believe her eyes neither could she hide her excitement.
The four sitters dining table was occupied with various dishes, from jollof rice, egg sandwich, fresh fish pepper soup, fried plantain, to puff puff and samosas and many more.
"Of course child, who else's birthday is today? it's all yours, now come come", Nanny Ti gestured for her to come down the stairs and they all started singing...
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday happy birthday, happy birthday to you!"
"HIP HIP HIP, HURRAY!"
The workers sang and all clapped for her as she was all smiles and thanking them for their kind gesture and she walked towards Nanny Ti.
"Happy birthday Miss Ayo", the head maid wished her, followed suit by others,
"Happy birthday Miss Ayo, you're looking lovely today".
"Oh, that's so nice of you guys, thank you so so much", Ayo appreciated.
"May you age gracefully Miss Ayo and live a very wonderful life", The Butler who is in his late 60s wished her a happy birthday. He has served the Wales for more than 35 years and he watched Ayo grow to a mature and responsible teenager and one could tell that he's proud of her.
"Thank you Sir Ade, it's really nice to hear such words from you" Ayo smiled and responded with a grateful heart. She looked around trying to spot her parents but couldn't she them, Nanny Ti noticed that she was looking for her parents, she quickly beckoned on her...
"Now hurry up and blow the candle or you'll surely be late for school!" Nanny Ti ordered, Ayo smiled, she closed her eyes for 3 seconds and blew the candles and they all clapped for her. Nanny Ti sets the cake down on the dining table and hugged Ayo while praying briefly for her.
Ayo looked around and asked, "Where is mom and dad?", the they all went silent.
The workers stared at her not knowing what to say, She turned to Nanny Ti and asked for the whereabouts of her parents that supposed to be present on the morning of her birthday.
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"I stood at the edge of my heart and watched him choose her. In the end, I was not the one he needed. I was simply the one he settled for." - Noelle ~~~~~~~ I thought I was the one he loved. But a few days before our wedding, I saw him in a way I never had before. His eyes softened as he spoke to her. His first love, and the very woman who had left him in pieces. Heartbreak was something I knew too well. And as I watched the love he still held for her in his eyes, I realized what I had to do. I couldn't marry a man who wasn't truly mine. With no means to cancel the wedding and lacking the courage to confront him, I made a desperate choice to leave. I painfully gave his first love my treasured engagement ring thinking it was for the best and the only way to free myself. But when he saw that ring on her finger, the fragile world I had tried to escape began to shatter. His obsession to find me and bring me back ignited a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Liesl McGrath is an up-and-coming artist but for eight years she focuses on her husband as a devoted partner, adjusting her life and her career around him achieving his goal of becoming CEO by the age of thirty. Her life is perfect until her glass castle crashes down. Her husband admits to infidelity with none other than her own sister and there is a child coming. Liesl decides the best way to mend her shattered heart is by destroying the one thing he holds more important than anything else: his career. Isaias Machado is a billionaire first generation American he knows the value of hard work and doing what it takes to survive. His entire life has been geared to the moment he can take the McGrath company away from the corrupted men who once left his family homeless. When Liesl McGrath approaches the billionaire to bribe him with information set to ruin her ex-husband, Isaias Machado is chomping at the bit to take everything the McGrath’s prize including Liesl. A story of love, revenge and healing needs to start somewhere and Liesl’s pain is the catalyst to the wildest rollercoaster ride of her life. Let the bribery begin.
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."
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.