“Oh, hello, my dear cousin. I’m glad you made it.”
The beautiful woman, none other than Leah Dela Cruz, smiled charmingly as she approached Eunice.
However, her mom grabbed her by the elbow before Leah could extend her arms to hug Eunice.
“What is the meaning of this, Leah?” Miranda asked her daughter. It appears Leah knew Eunice was coming home.
Leah looked at her mom and winked.
Miranda was unhappy with what her daughter had done. She pulled her daughter into the corner to question her.
Leah smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. The facade of being the sweet lady she put on in front of her fiance had disappeared and was replaced with contempt.
“I asked Granny to invite my dear cousin to my wedding, and the crazy lady jumped in joy.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Miranda’s eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets. Hearing her daughter's reasoning almost caused her to pass out. It took them so long to kick Eunice out of the family, but her excellent daughter invited the bastard.
“Leah!” She stared at her daughter in shock, unable to utter another word. She loved her daughter very much, so she could not scold her.
“It’s okay, Mom.” Leah tapped her mother’s hand and said, “Trust me.”
Miranda was still unconvinced; hence, Leah reminded her mom what Eunice owed them.
Eunice is Mirasol’s favorite grandchild. Ever since their grandmother learned that her beloved daughter Eliza gave birth to a child out of wedlock, she still accepted it and loved her granddaughter more than her other grandchildren did.
Leah could still remember how her grandmother left during her 12th birthday party because Eunice had a fever and was on a drip.
There should be a family photo. But Eunice ruined what was supposed to be a merry birthday party.
~ FLASHBACK ~
“Mama, it’s Leah’s birthday. How dare you abandon your granddaughter’s party?”
“Miranda, your niece no longer has a mother and a father, so she needs us!”
“So what? Haven’t you paid someone to take care of her? Why do you still need to go, Ma?”
“Miranda!? How come you could say that to your niece? What if you were in her shoes and lost your parents and grandparents at such a young age? I am her grandmother. I will take care of her!”
“No! That bastard shouldn’t ever, ever step into this house!”
Mirasol was turned between her first and second children. How many times did she beg for them to understand? She doesn’t want to mistreat each of them. But she worked hard to meet their demands.
But her children are such heartless people for not letting her bring Eunice home.
Therefore, one day, Mirasol surprised everyone after she announced she had purchased a new house.
The house is not a simple residential one but a mansion with several expansive bedrooms and an infinity pool in the backyard.
“Grandma, are we truly moving into this house?” Leah couldn’t contain the delight resurfacing in her chest. Finally, she could flaunt to her classmates that her house was five times bigger than theirs.
Mirasol smiled at her granddaughter, praying everything would be alright from here. “Do you like it?”
“I do, Granny! Can you show me my bedroom?”
“Of course.”
Her grandmother brought her to a massive princess-style bedroom on the third floor. However, the bedroom is not empty. Someone has already occupied it.
“Hello.” A beautiful ten-year-old girl shyly greeted Leah. The latter didn’t return the greetings but shot a dagger look at her.
“Granny, what is the meaning of this? Why is she here in my bedroom?” Leah screamed. She couldn’t believe her grandma would betray her by letting her share a bedroom with a bastard.
Leah, two years older, didn’t hide her jealousy. She eyed Eunice with hate.
How come her cousin Eunice had already shown ethereal beauty at such a young age?
Eunice has fair and smooth skin. Her cheeks were naturally pinkish compared to hers, which looked dull and pale.
“Leah, I want you to be nice to Eunice. The two of you should think of each other like sisters… you—”
“No! I don’t like her!” Leah cut off her grandma halfway. She stomped her feet on the floor and cried. “Mommy! Mommy!”
“What happened?”
Touring the ground floor, Miranda dashed upstairs and hurried to her daughter’s side.
“Leah, why did you cry?” She comforted her daughter. Then she looked around and was shocked to see another child in the bedroom. “Mama, what is that bastard doing here?”
Miranda was screaming, which scared Eunice. She ran toward her grandmother and hid behind her.
Mirasol felt a pang in her chest to see the panic in Eunice’s eyes. She rubbed her back to console her, and then she glared at Miranda.
“Watch your mouth, Miranda. Look at your daughter. You didn’t discipline her, but let her inherit your foul mouth!”
“Mama, how could you insult the way I raised my daughter? Do you expect me only to watch you bully her?”
“What are you saying? When did I bully my granddaughter?” Mirasol was exasperated at her elder daughter’s accusation. She held her arm, placing her palm on her chest and casually kneading against it. “All I want is for her to have good manners! But she complained a lot like you!”
“Of course, Ma! It’s all because you are unfair to your grandchildren!”
“When did I become unfair? Your children receive more allowance from me, whereas Eunice never complains if she doesn’t have many things! This house… I purchased it for everyone! If you don’t like the idea of Eunice living here, you are free to leave at this instant.”
“Are you kidding, Ma?” Miranda widened her eyes in shock. She shot an intense dagger look at Eunice, then firmly turned her gaze towards her mother.
She opposes not moving into the mansion because she has already shown it off, posting selfies of their new house on her social media.
If she left now, what face could she show the upper-class families?
She had already invited the socialite’s wives to a tea party!
“Alright! I’ll allow that bastard to live under the same roof as us. But Leah would not share this room with her! She must have her own room in the servant’s quarter!”
“Miranda!” Mirasol slapped her daughter.
Miranda glared at her mother with such contempt. Eventually, she couldn’t do anything but ensure she was transparent about her dislike of Eunice living with them.
She pitied her daughter Leah, who had to endure living in the mansion like Eunice, and Mirasol showed unfairness in treating the grandchildren.
She paid more attention to Eunice, pampering and spoiling her because she never met her father, and her mother, Eliza, died when she was eight.
So, this made Leah feel ironic about the unequal treatment because her parents were alive. Her grandmother couldn’t blame her for harboring hatred toward her and Eunice.
~END OF FLASHBACK~
“Leah, I need to know what you're planning. It's important that you share your plans with me so we can ensure everything is in order. I need to know what's going on!”
Leah returned to the present upon hearing her mom’s inquiry. She pursed her lips and said,
“Well, mom. I want to slap Eunice in the face and say that even though she had all Granny’s love, my life is much better than hers by marrying the man from the country’s most influential family, the Lopez Clan.”
Leah glanced at her fiance with such affection before her gaze moved to Eunice. She looked at her sternly.
Her face immediately darkened as she noticed Eunice’s tender gaze on Jullian.
“Eunice!”
Leah marched toward Eunice and pushed her by the shoulder, which almost caused the latter to tumble. She didn’t like the way Eunice stared at Jullian. Thus, she snapped.
Eunice didn’t like how Leah was so rude to her. She glared at her and posed a question. “What is your problem, Leah?”
“Why are you looking at my fiancé in such a manner? Are you planning to covet him like your mother had a relationship with a married man?”
Eunice’s fury burned after Leah accused her and insulted her deceased mother.
However, she didn’t let her emotions show on her face. Instead, she beamed and winked at Leah.
“What’s wrong if I stare at my soon-to-be cousin-in-law? He is gorgeous and so fine.”
Eunice took a long breath inwardly. Leah only misunderstood why she was in a trance, staring at Jullian upon meeting him for the first time. Leah always feared that every man would like Eunice more than hers. Thus, she secretly told others to spread nasty comments, and others would make fun of Eunice behind her back. Eunice has always tolerated Leah's slander, but her cousin is mistaken if she thinks that life will always go her way. "What's wrong if I stare at my soon-to-be cousin-in-law? He is gorgeous and so fine." Eunice knew it would infuriate Leah. "You!" Leah was irked at how shameless Eunice was. 'What happened to her? Why is she good at talking back now?' Miranda, on the other hand, almost had a heart attack at how Eunice spoke to her beloved daughter. Leah will soon become the country's princess after she marries a prince from the wealthiest clan. "You really are shameless! You were not disciplined properly!" she criticized her niece. Eunice curled her lips, tilting h
"No, sir," replied Jay Torres, Christian's head secretary and second in command after Paul Hernandez shook his head. He then continued with his reporting. "Anyway, sir. I wanted to make sure because Director Lopez wanted to discuss the progress of the Monterraz sales. I heard they sold more slots of land, so the construction of the villas should start immediately. Now sixty percent of the estate has been sold." "Hmm. Indeed, it is an excellent piece of news." Christian leans back in the chair with a smug smile on his face. "However, they still didn't surpass the number of slots our boss has sold." "Of course, sir! The lady boss was amazing! Who can exceed her influence? The lady's connections are worldwide. Her business partners couldn't have the heart to reject her proposals when the recommendations were just right." Jay shut his mouth when his boss gave him a side-eye. "Now the lady is in the country. I want you to ensure that neither Lopez nor Dela Cruz can get near her." "No
SHANGRI-LA HOTEL After she freshened up and put on some makeup, Eunice exited the bedroom wearing a black knee-length dress that hugged her body, paired with a hot pink stiletto and a diamond jewelry set."Paul?" She saw Paul lounging on the sofa, discussing something with Kyline."Good evening, milady." Paul got up from the couch and greeted her courteously."Why are you here? I've already chosen Kyle as my bodyguard. You don't need to follow me around."Paul smiled nervously. He replied, "Er, Mr. Meier wanted me to bring over some documents for Miss Kyline since you chose her as your assistant, milady.""Ah, I see. How thoughtful of him then." Eunice commented, nodding. "Is that all?""Not at all. I'm here to escort you, Milady. President Meier booked a VIP room at Claire's Secret Garden."Claire Secret Garden is a lavish restaurant on the rooftop of this hotel. It was a glamorous venue where the wealthy and famous held parties and special events like weddings."Great. Then, please
"Jullian, you were so generous in helping my cousin. But I don't think she is qualified to be your secretary." Leah hurried to reason it out. Despite how annoyed she was that Jullian showed interest in Eunice, she pursed her lips with a smile. He had only met her once, but Eunice seemed to bewitch him already. 'She's really a witch! But if she thinks she can snatch Jullian from me, she is wrong! There's no way I will allow her to get close to my fiancé. Jullian is mine!' Since joining the school Leah attended, Eunice has been stealing everyone's attention. Even the boys she had a crush on confessed to Eunice, which is why Leah hated her so much. "Jullian, what are you thinking about?" Jullian did not reply but remained silent. It was the first time he had stared at her this long, and she could not hide her blushing cheeks. 'Perhaps my effort finally bore fruit!' She had regular appointments with the best dermatologist in the city to maintain a flawless look. Most of the time, J
“So? What are you going to do next? You succeeded in making Eunice Tsui return to the country. All the pieces are in place as you imagined them. Will you maintain your charade as the fiance of that woman?”Larry had a broad smile as he teased. As usual, Jullian shot him a dagger look, his way of reprimanding him. But he is used to his threatening look; thus, he'll only ignore him."Oopsie, you were the only one who knew it was a fake engagement," he added, causing Jullian to sharpen his gaze.Most of the time, he hates how Larry's mouth runs. He seems to never be out of breath, as he never ceases blabbing every second.If it weren't for his talent as a computer genius, he would never put up with how noisy and nosy the guy was. Hence, Jullian stayed calm and ignored his taunt."Now that we speculate that Meier is protecting Eunice Tsui, I have no other way to get near her but through the Dela Cruz family." After a long silence, Julian spoke."Ho, ho… The wedding is just less than two m
Most of the people in the elevator scowled in response to her boldness. One is daring to retort. "Miss Leah, we can share a ride since we will head to the same floor." The person who spoke is one of the secretaries assigned to the president's office. Hearing her excuse, Leah scolded her. "Who are you to disobey me? I am the future wife of your boss, the owner of this building! It means I have the authority to order you whatever I want! You had no say when I said I would ride this elevator alone!" The secretary and other employees from another company renting out the Lopez Tower felt annoyed at how bossy she was, even before she officially became Mrs. Lopez. The secretary, Laila, is now planning to draft her resignation letter and hand it over to the boss the day before his wedding. 'I would rather sell fish in the market than work with this woman!' If Leah were to become the boss's wife, Laila could already imagine how she would punish her and the rest of the Lopez employees if
Eunice walked up in front of me. Now, I had a better view of her entire appearance. Doing some math in my head, I swallowed as my eyes feasted on her physique, scanning her from the head down to her Louboutin stiletto adorned with genuine gemstones. My eyes then traveled upward to her white dress, which perfectly hugged every curve of her body with a blue sapphire chain belt around her waist. Wearing a pastel blazer does little to conceal her hourglass figure. After having had enough of her clothes, I stared at the jewelry set made of blue sapphire. The sizes were just perfect—not large or small. They were appropriate for her attire. With my observation, I realized that there was a more significant difference between Eunice and Leah. Leah loved wearing large stone jewelry in her daily outfit, which is why I didn't enjoy staring at her. Yet, Eunice exudes a unique charm, and anything would look good on her. And the purse she clutched was from a known brand and ornamented with ge
I sat up and then stood on my feet. Dusting my bottom and smoothing my suit, I coughed to clear out my lungs, covering my embarrassment. Pretending that nothing had happened, I stretched my arm with a grin. "Good morning, President Meier. I'm sorry if I haven't sent out a notice that I will make a personal inspection today. I am particular about maintaining a safe and comfortable space for my occupants; thus, I want to ensure there won't be any mishap because of my negligence." "Even the floor, then?" Christian teased. I chuckled awkwardly when he ignored my hand for a handshake. I am aware that my explanation made me look absolutely ridiculous, and I was tempted to rip Christian's teasing grin off his face. It was apparent that he would continue taunting me. Indeed, his following words annoyed me. "How grateful we are to have such a thoughtful landlord. However, you were never this concerned about doing the inspection personally; you used to send out your men to do the job. Don't