Chapter 4
A drop of tears slid down the corner of her cheek as she strolled down the road minutes later, but she quickly wiped it off. She was torn between running away from this toxic marriage and saving her family's business. She couldn't have neglected her mom and not done anything knowing Knox will indeed make their life miserable if she decided to really walk out of the marriage, right?
"What do I do?" She stopped and ran her fingers through her hair, trying hard not to burst into tears. She was frustrated and tired of everything, and as much as she wanted to give up, she knew she had to keep going for the sake of her unborn baby. She wanted to keep the baby away from Knox, she wanted to raise him alone and maybe lie to him in the future that he was fatherless, but her plans had already shattered, and there was nothing she could do at this point.
As she wallowed in thoughts and walked absentmindedly on the road, she almost jumped out of her skin when a black shiny call pulled over beside her, and if she had not taken a step back, maybe the car would've crushed her leg. It didn't look like the person did it intentionally, but she was just lost that she couldn't look where she was going.
She gulped down the lump that formed in her throat, she felt her legs shaking from the shock she was just starting to recover from, and just when she wanted to continue to walk aimlessly again, the car finally opened and a middle-aged man stepped out of the car. He was graced in a black suit, his thick black hair was curled on his head with some strands laying on his forehead, and his skin looked smooth even though the man looked like he was in his sixties. As he walked toward her, many thoughts ran through her mind. 'Was he probably someone close to Knoxville whom he has sent to get her back since he gave her forty-eight hours to make her decision earlier? Or was he just a random person that was going to ask her for directions?' she couldn't help but ask herself as she felt a pang of fear in her heart.
The man finally stopped in front of her, and this time, her fear was subdued when she saw the soft expression on the man's face which didn't depicts violence or gave her any reason to be scared of him.
"Excuse me, Miss. Can I see you for a moment?" His voice was slightly deep as he spoke to her.
"Is there any problem, Sir?" She asked, a bit skeptical about this, hoping it wasn't an attempt of abduction, but merely looking at the man, it already looked to her that he wasn't someone that'd abduct her, but then, those bad guys never really wrote it on their forehead that they were abductors.
"Not really... My name is Arnoldo Stewart. I have something to discuss with you," He replied to her, and she slowly nodded her head.
"What is it?" She further asked as she stared at him keenly, wondering what this man that looked extremely wealthy would want to discuss with a lowlife like herself that didn't have anything to survive on.
"Here is my card. I will send my driver to pick you up by 6pm to dine and smile restaurant. Let's talk later," He uttered as he handed her his business card, and now that she was looking at the card, she realized that the man standing in front of her was the famous CEO of Orange entertainment industry, a company that dealt in the production of movies, music, and they even own a radio and TV station too. She couldn't believe her eyes as she raised her gaze to look at the man again, her mouth hanging open in shock. She never thought she'd ever seen the CEO of such a successful company with her eyes, but here he was, standing in front of her and even demanding to see her.
"Alright..."
"Sorry, where do you live around here?" He cuts her off after he looked around the area.
"I will call you when it's time to pick me up," She replied to him instead, because there was no way she would tell her address to a stranger she barely knew about, even though he was the famous CEO of a successful company. What if he had an ulterior motive?
"Alright. Just call me when you are ready. I'll be looking forward to seeing you," He uttered before he finally turned and walked back to his car, but stopped and glanced at him one more time before he finally hopped in the back seat of the car, while she watched the car drive off.
How time flies, it was almost 6pm, and she got dressed before she called the number, and told him where he would pick her up. It was really crazy to go out with a man she barely knew, but since they were going to a public place, then her safety was guaranteed.
She finally left her room once it was 5:50pm, and the car came to pick her up just a few blocks from the hotel she lodged.
The drive to the five-star restaurant took more time than she expected, but they finally arrived after what seemed like forever, and once she stepped into the restaurant she has never been to before, she tried not to get lost in admiration for the beautiful and fancy big restaurant.
As she sat in front of him a few minutes later, she waited for the man to say why he had called her here, but he was just staring at her and rubbing his hands together, with a look on his face that depicts nervousness.
"How have you been, Aliya?" He finally broke the awkward silence, and she raised her eyebrows as she stared at him blankly. She didn't remember telling this man his name, so it was crazy how he just called her name like that.
"How did you know my name?" She asked curiously as she stared at him, her eyes demanding an answer.
"You are Aliya, nineteen years old girl and turning twenty in three months. Daughter of Felicia, and wife to Knoxville Daniel," Her heart dropped as she watched the man utter details about her, and fear gripped her. Her hands suddenly became sweaty, her heart hammered hard against his chest as different thoughts came conflicting in her mind. Who was he? How come he knew so much about her? How much more did he know about her? She asked herself as she stared back at the man, blaming herself for coming here in the first place.
"Ho...how did you know...that?" She tried not to show her nervousness to this mysterious man, but she couldn't as she ended up stuttering.
"Who are you?" She further asked, and the man sighed as he lean forward while having his hand on the table.
"How am I supposed not to know everything about my daughter, Aliya?" He uttered, and she stared at him blankly, trying to process what he just said.
"Wh...what did you say?" She asked confusingly.
"I am Arnaldo Stewart, your biological dad, Aliya," He uttered those words again, and this time, she froze in her seat as she stared at him, his words replaying in her head like she was dreaming...
Chapter 5 The world seemed to be frozen for seconds as she sat in front of him, trying to process what the man said to her. Was he saying the truth? "What...what are you saying? Did you bring me here to tell me that and think that I will believe you?" She scoffed, convincing herself that this was a lie. She had her father, and the man was staying at home with her mom. What the hell was this man saying to her and expecting her to believe him? "I'm sorry for not coming for you all this while. I had no idea you were my daughter until the last six months, and I have been trying to find you since then, up until..." "And you think that I will believe you because you said that?" She scoffed. "I and your mother had a thing together back in college, during our last two months before graduation. We fell in love and dated for three years, but we broke up two weeks after our graduation, because I had to go out of the country to pursue my dream..." He paused and bit his li
Chapter 6 Everything happened so fast, but one thing Aliya was still finding difficult to comprehend, was how it happened. From being in a toxic marriage with her worst nightmare to become a multi-billionaire's only daughter and the Heiress of orange entertainment overnight. As she sat on the edge of her bed, her phone suddenly started ringing, and as she saw the number displayed on the screen to her mom's, she felt her heart wrenched, not in pain, but in anger. She felt sparks of anger, knowing that this woman betrayed her and kept a secret from her all this while. "Hey, mom," She tried to sound like she always does every other way. There was no point telling her that she found her dad already, so she was just going to do everything secretly until she was ready for drama. She still had a lot to learn, which included fitting into the life of an heiress, and all that. "Aliya... Knoxville only gave us forty-eight hours. What should we do?" As she heard the woman's he
Chapter 7 "Oh, you're here?" Knox uttered as he stood up to his feet and adjusted his trouser up to his feet, which he already had below his butt. It didn't seem to him that this was a big deal, he was rather excited she found him like this. "Were you expecting me?" The corner of her lips twitched into a smirk as she sat on the couch, before glaring hard at Nina, who was just sitting there like the whore she was. She felt a pang in her heart, but there was no way she was going to show how angry she was in front of them, never! "Yes, let's say that I was expecting you. Have you thought about it? I guess you didn't have any choice but to come back to me," He chuckled softly with an aura of confidence surrounding him as he sat on the couch, swinging his leg over the other. "I told you, Aliya. You shouldn't have made that decision. We both know you couldn't have ever do without me. You know what I'm capable of, and I was going to show you the other side of Knoxville,"
Chapter 8 The next day at the partyAs Aliya sat in a corner, she fed her eyes with the prestigious men and women that kept trooping into the hall, and she felt nervous. It was her first time being in such a place, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. She knew she should meet the people and introduce herself, but she felt inferior to them. What if they looked at her and thought she was not worth it or up to the standard? She thought to herself, forgetting who she was for some seconds. "Did you manage to see a man that changed your life overnight?" She heard the voice she could've never failed to recognize even though she was in a deep sleep. It was Nina. She felt a sting in her heart, and slowly, she clenched her fingers tightly around the purse she was holding. Memories of the past came haunting her. How this girl hurled insults at her over the phone, how she was oppressed by her, and just the thought of it made her heart hurt, and she felt like bursting into tears
Chapter 9 "She said you should let go of her. Aren't you going to?" She heard a strange masculine voice behind her, causing silence in the atmosphere. She slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice, and there was her savior. A young tall man graced in a black suit. Thick black hair, piercing blue eyes with a pinch of pale pinkish, pointed nose, glowing skin, chiseled face, and small heart-shaped lips. "And who the hell are you to tell me that?" Knox scoffed as he shoved Aliya behind him. He didn't even care about the people that were busy taking videos and pictures of him. He was too angry to think about that. He has never felt this humiliated all his life, and it's crazy how his wife suddenly denied knowing him. Was she trying to make him look like a fool in the presence of everyone or what? "You wouldn't want to know, Knoxville Daniel," The man, whose face was hard as he glared at Knox, uttered with confidence. Just looking at him, he looked like someone fr
Chapter 10 As they arrived at the terrace of the hotel a few minutes later, Aliya felt relieved as she inhaled the cool breeze that welcomed her. As she lean over the rail, she stared up at the sky, many thoughts came flooding her mind. The thought of Knoxville, her new identity, and how she was going to cope with living like this for the rest of her life, especially when she realized that she would eventually have to tell her new dad what happened in her past, and how she ended up with Knoxville. Won't he feel disappointed when she told her dad later that she was pregnant at this age? She was just nineteen years, and turning twenty soon, but on second thought, she wasn't going to let anything negative cross her mind. "What are you thinking about?" She tilted her head in the direction of the voice, to find Tate standing beside her, and she sighed briefly. He was just a stranger that she couldn't have brought herself to tell her secret, right? That was the last thing on her
Chapter 11 "Ugh!" Knoxville groaned tiredly as he tossed on the bed. He tried to force his eyes open, but the excruciating pain in his head forced them close, and he sighed briefly. Seconds ticked into a few minutes before he was finally able to open his eyes, and the blurry ceiling welcomed him. "Where am I?" He groaned for the second time as he finally managed to sit up on the bed, and just then, his vision finally became clear, and realization dawned on him that he was sitting on his bed, in his spacious room, but how he ended up here was what he couldn't still wrap his head around. 'Excuse me? Do I know you?' those words rang in his head, and now, he could remember everything that happened last night. How his supposed ex-wife denied knowing him in front of everyone and humiliated him. Wow! That was the craziest thing that has ever happened to him in his years of existence. After the incident yesterday, he left the party and drove to the nearest club, where he had a
Chapter 12 Aliyah and Tate finally arrived at the mansion after about an hour's journey, since they were stuck in a traffic jam for some minutes before they got here. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she stepped out of the car and stared around the magnificent compound she was in. The compound was big, with cars parked in the garage, and there was a swimming pool somewhere around the other end, which also had a waterfall. Was she really going to live here as the owner of the house? Wow! This was what she never dreamt of. "Let's go in," Tate's voice pulled her out of her trance, and she turned to see that he already had her suitcases with him. "Oh, alright," And just like that, they headed toward the entrance door of the building. She watched as Tate inputted the password of the house before he pushed the door open. "How much does he know about the house?" She asked herself before she trailed behind him into the house, and she was more amazed at the inte