Sophia clicked her tongue, still trying to figure out a few things. She was making the finishing touches on her leaving plan. Chantelle seemed to be more excited than she was about moving to a totally different city. She put a call to Chantelle, it rang but there was no response.
This was the first time she was leaving the city. She couldn’t believe herself, running far away because of a man.Anytime the thought of her father crossed her mind, there was this subtle conviction to stay and fight for what she wanted. But Chantelle was another voice of conviction telling her otherwise. Sophia’s dad was a driver for a popular company in LA.Her mother worked as a pre-school teacher so they were doing well enough. Her father died on the day of her high school graduation while he was driving to go see her.Sophia recalled him complaining about the brakes on the car, claiming they were faulty. He had complained to his boss who refused to do anything about it. She blamed herself for her father’s death and wouldn’t stop until she got the justice she needed.When she brought the brake issue to the management’s notice, they tried to pay her off. She was relentless, taking the news to social media. This angered the company. It led to the company withdrawing their pay off offer and suing her family instead.They were left penniless and the school loans she had incurred didn’t quite help either.She went on to find a job at Noah’s company with Chantelle’s help, working tirelessly to pay off all the debt. Things were going smoothly till her mother fell terribly ill. Her hate for people of wealth increased tremendously, it made her furious. Working for the king of them all, Noah Milton was the crowning glory. She didn’t have much of a choice anyway.“Hello baby,” Ava’s voice had barged into Sophia’s concentration.“Yes mum?” Sophia asked in the most chirpy voice because she couldn’t let her mum know she was upset. She was upset and couldn’t shake off the fact that she had wasted two years of her life.“Let’s go,” she prompted, “we have to beat time.” Sophia decided to explore the city one last time. Being the abandonment of a billionaire had gotten her quite a lot of unwanted attention.Social media and online forums were already selling the news of her betrayal. Some say she cheated on the most eligible bachelor, others say she was only there for the money and left the young billionaire heartbroken.Only a few percentage of women used their brains and promoted a close enough narrative; the girl was used and dumped! Noah controlled most media houses so it was quite a shock for her to see her name being dragged through the mud. Maybe this was his way of getting back at her.“Soph,” Ava called, “what are you thinking about?” she motioned towards the traffic before them. Their Uber driver insisted on parking on the other side of the road. “Nothing, nothing,” she lied holding her mother’s hand and crossing to the other side of the road.They headed for the private cemetery tucked into the suburban part of LA. With a black dress and veil, she walked in trying to force back the tears in her eyes. This was a loss that she wouldn’t be able to get over for a while. Her heart sank into her feet.“Rest well Mr. George,” she whispered into the wind. Sophia put the flowers she had gotten earlier on to of his grave. She walked out of the cemetery making sure to give the guard a tip before leaving. Sophia stared at her phone vibrating in her hand, it was a call from Chantelle.The last thing she wanted was for people to know she visited George Milton’s grave. Who knew what narrative they would come up with next: abandoned wife murders father-in-law. A man who she loved so dearly. He gave her so much attention that his only daughter, Tanya started to get jealous.Tanya Milton hated Sophia so much, and had no intention of hiding it.She heaved a heavy sigh then exhaled. The road was completely deserted. She stared far into space and couldn’t see as much as a car pass. Sophia ordered another Uber, her final destination was the Milton group. It was stupid but she needed to tell him a final goodbye.She waited patiently for Noah. One look, just one look was all she needed to motivate herself. She had to move on, a new Sophia, a new life. “Ma’am, the cab price keeps rising,” the driver alerted her.“It’s fine,” she said, “just a little longer.” As she completed her sentence, she saw Noah’s car pulled up in front of his office. He walked out exuding confidence. That was one of the things she loved about him, his confidence. Another car parked directly behind his, the door opened and a girl alighted.Sophia’s heart sank into her chest. She watched as a woman with a familiar figure snaked her hand around Noah’s neck and planted a kiss on his lips. Sophia felt incredibly stupid for thinking goodbye to a man who didn’t care about her, a good idea.The man moved his head sensing someone watching him. The lady hooked her hand to Noah’s. Immediately she turned her face, Sophia felt her world crash her feet. It was Chantelle, she couldn’t believe it.She pulled up the window immediately and asked the driver to move. What Sophia saw shocked her, and the image recorded in her head. She met her best-friend hooked hand-in-hand with Noah, planting a kiss on his lips.It was unbelievable, her best friend. Chantelle was always so nice to her and treated her as equals. Noah had charmed every girl in the city but she didn’t expect her to be one of them.Chantelle and Sophia attended the same college and had been friends for a long time. Chantelle wasn’t the smartest in school but her beauty made up for it. Sophia on the other hand was a prodigy, she tutored Chantelle in every subject. The only difference between her and Sophia was that Chantelle came from wealth.She never expected the betrayal because Chantelle was always so nice to her. She knew that she was low on money and even helped her get a job at Noah’s company, the Milton group. Maybe that was the reason she wanted her gone so badly.Sophia stared out of the window forcing herself not to cry. She had to head to the airport in order not to miss her flight. No wonder Chantelle ignored her call the whole day, she was too busy with her ex-husband. Obviously, she wasn’t going to escort them to the airport either.A tear slid down her cheeks. Noah had taken everything from her, and now, her best friend. He just had to add salt to her already existing wound. Her heart broke as she incessantly replayed the kiss in her head. She wondered how long it had been going on. Was Noah cruel to be sleeping with her best friend?There was no way she could let this betrayal go, there had to be a retribution. Noah needed a taste of his own medicine. She swallowed the lump in her throat and promoted the driver to move faster.The place was already so dark, the only light they could see was the one from the airport.Chantelle had already booked a taxi to drive them into Florida. There was no way Sophia could book a hotel with the budget her and Ava were on. Their faces lit up with hope as they got the first look of their new home. Finally, a change.They walked into their new apartment, it was dark because the power was out. The electrician was supposed to come in before they arrived but it seemed as though he had forgotten. The apartment was just as dark as Sophia’s life.Whether she liked it or not she had Noah to thank for his miracle. If not for him, she wouldn’t have had the courage to move cities. “Noah,” she whispered into the air, wondering how he was and what he was doing. Sophia wondered whether she would truly be able to move on.Noah had finally summoned the courage to call Sophia but her phone had been switched off. ‘Where could she be? Did she already move on?’ He spent the whole day asking himself a lot of questions. He had his personal assistant, Sarah to go by her mother’s house only to the told that she wasn’t there. The neighbors said she had packed up and moved out. As if that wasn’t enough of a low blow, he had gone on social media and found various posts shaming Sophia. Immediately, Noah put a call to his PR manager. He needed the source of the posts to be found quickly. Imagining how Sophia would feel if she saw them made his heart sink deeper into his feet. “Hello sir,” Sarah knocked on the door of his office. “Come in,” he prompted, staing at his computer screen completely distracted. “Sir, the source of the post is from Wilson entertainment.” Sarah explained. Noah’s eyes widened a little bit. He lost focus for a second. “Wilson group? Are you sure?” he asked to clarify. Just then, his phon
“What on earth are you looking at? Drive!” Chantelle instructed her driver. ‘How could he humiliate me like that? In the presence of his low-life staff!’ She was in a fuming rage, recalling the words Noah had spoken to her. “Chantelle, there is no way on earth you can replace Sophia, you don’t come close in any aspect. I suggest you reevaluate yourself. Know your place.”‘Replace that wench?” she screamed, throwing a tantrum in her car. It was all because of Sophia Milton. Even with all the horrible things Chantelle had told Noah, he still liked Sophia. If Chantelle knew it was going to turn out the way it did, she would never had referred Sophia for the role of executive assistant. Chantelle had always had a crush on Noah ever since they were little. To the extent that her father almost suggested to George Milton that both of them get married at such a young age. Noah never saw her as anything more than a sister, and friend. She tried her best, year after year to impress Noah. Wi
The whole family shared worried glances. They never expected the final clause, 6 years, 25? Noah caught Jeffery smirking in his peripheral view. It didn’t seem to bother him quite much, even though he was the second choice. Jeffery had schemed a number of ways to frustrate Noah and make this clause favor him. “I assume we’re done here,” Jeffery sent a knowing look to Noah. Noah shrugged, “Do whatever you want,” he said with a subtle indifference. Jeffery scoffed, “Not an ounce of emotion, typical.” He turned on his heel and headed upstairs. Tanya and Harriet were still dumbfounded. After George had made Noah marry someone beneath him, he still didn’t leave it at that and had to torture him even further. Noah Milton never planned to have children after his ex-girlfriend’s unexpected betrayal. Maybe that was the reason he made Sophia get rid of her unborn child. Or the rage and overwhelming jealousy that clouded his judgement seeing Brad with her in that room on Tanya’s birthday. “…
Sophia’s fresh start was instantly ruined the moment she saw her best friend plant a kiss on her ex-husband’s lips. She thought that was all the heartbreak one person could experience in a lifetime, till her and her mother were kicked out of the apartment Chantelle had secured for them. No wonder she insisted they leave. After all these years, she was finally showing her true colour. Throwing her into the street when she least expected it. The landlord had a very compassionate look in his eyes, like if he could he wouldn’t be doing this. But it’s business, it was either her or himself, and he chose himself. “I’m sorry ma’am, it was orders from above.” He said watching the pair pull their suitcase out of the house. The neighbors who were outside kept their eyes on the pitiful scene, and the ones which were inside came outside to watch, making sure to murmur at regular intervals. ‘Did you see what she was wearing?’‘They don’t fit into this neighborhood, it’s a good thing
“Addison and Aiden Whyte, be good okay? Mummy’s off to work so your grandma’s going to take you to school.” Sophia summoned courage to tell her kids what to do when in reality, they chose what they wanted. She couldn’t believe it, they were four years old. It seemed like time had flown by so quickly, she would give anything to be able to hold them in her arms and sing lullabies again. Her son, Aiden, was the splitting image of his father. He had good looks. Every time she dropped the kids off at school, it was one compliment or the other. ‘Your son is so handsome, I’m sure he looks just like his father.’ Those words would sting each time but she tried her best to feign a smile but obviously her genius twins could see through the façade. ‘Mummy, why do you look so gloomy. Is it because of daddy?’ No matter how she tried to turn the conversation around, it wouldn’t work, unless she offered them ice cream. But there was only how far distracting her twins with sweets was going
The day he was told he couldn’t have kids was both the happiest, and saddest day of his life. Noah had been through an emotional rollercoaster. Just when he and Savannah had arrived in Florida, they were told Sophia and Ava had been kicked out of their house. Those insensitive neighbors had suddenly become so caring after realizing who was standing before them. It seemed like anytime Noah had a lead about Sophia’s whereabouts, it buried almost immediately. He was a mess. Everywhere he went, he say Sophia. Her silhouette, her red hair, freckles, beautiful blue eyes, it was like everything reminded him about her. If his morning coffee wasn’t made to perfection like Sophia did it, he would starve the whole day. Wondering where she would be, or who she was with made him almost go insane. He did what he knew best, channeled all that energy into work. In five years Noah had turned the whole system around, winning best businessman of the year for five years consecutively. All thes
“Savannah,” Noah whispered, “Am I seeing things?” “No, I can see her too.” “Sophia?” Noah stared at the woman in front of him. Her hair wasn’t red, and it was straighter than he remembered. She looked beautiful, in a way he couldn’t describe. His heart was filled with disbelief. He had searched for her, non-stop for five years, and here she was. His mouth stood agape as her watched her gracefully walk through the ethereal ball room where the venue was held. She looked like a princess as her blue eyes glistered in the warm lighting of the room. Noah stood in awe. She finally stopped walking after getting a glass. When he was about to get closer to her, she was ambushed by a group of overachievers. Noah’s chest tightened. All the guilt and angst that had built up for five years came in all at once. He felt stiff, he couldn’t move. Sophia was here now, he could tell her how much he missed he, and that he was sorry for all he did. He could say he was scared of falling for h
Noah observed how the nerves in Sophia's face had tightened up. She seemed uneasy. At least he knew he was one of the reasons why she was. She sat silently glancing at the small clock on her table. Maybe she had an appointment? “This place is coming together quite well,” he said to break the silence. She whipped her head around taking in her surroundings. “Yes, thank you. Do you by any chance need something?” She asked with a look that spoke millions. He casually strolled into her office after five years of divorce, all of a sudden he can't seem to remember anything he did to her. Noah's expression changed immediately. Before attempting to address anything else, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Tammy. The text was literally a plea. It was simple, “Get Addison home. A member of the staff is on the way here to drop her off. Intercept her, and take Addison home.”She began to panic when there was no response from Tammy. Tammy usually would answer within seconds. Was she b