Three knocks on the door startled Maia. Her eyelids felt heavy and nose stuffy.
A low moan vibrated on her back. Someone was hugging her!
The door opened before she could figure out what was going on.
"Good morning Sir, Ma'am."
Mrs. Marie rushed in and placed a tray of breakfast on the bedside table. Then she quickly opened the windows and took some clothes on the floor.
The oldest maid was as quick as lightning when she got out of the room. When she was about to turn from her side, she noticed a long arm wrapped around her waist.
"Don't get up yet. You have to rest. " stated the man in a white shirt and jeans.
"Dae-how did you get here?!" she moved his arms as if disgusted by it. The second he obeyed her ways, she felt cold.
Daemon walked to the windows and shut the curtains again. "You can't remember anything?" he asked with a serious tone.
"No."
She really don't know what happened.
The corner of his lips rose and he just walked to the door. "Farrah won't be with you today. 'Mr. Stone' will be announcing you to take care of the matters at the Stones Inc."
She wasn't surprised. This is what she was planning too. She looked down at the sheets and then to her wrists. She found red lines and they sting a little.
"Ok." then she got up and never talked to him anymore.
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"She will be the new CEO, Miss Maia Phillips."
The announcement caused a sensation on the screen where Mr. Stone was watching.
"There are no evidences regarding her being there on our wedding day. That girl is not Mrs. Stone." Vlad's remarks caused a glass to shatter on the wall beside him. He was sweating. He knew that the man sitting on the CEOs chair didn't like what he remarked just about at the moment.
"I will take the company from hereon." the booming voice commanded. Daemon strode out of Vlad's office. The scene on the television continued. Cameras flashed, reporters asked Maia's qualifications as a CEO when she had only been a secretary for almost two years.
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The press conference ended. She removed her thick-rimmed glasses to press her closed eyelids. She sat down at the sofa in the Stone's Villa. Moments later, Farrah entered and whispered to her ears while handing her a thick brown envelope.
Her eyes almost formed a thin line and her hands gripped the envelope tightly. "So he is taking over the Stones International."
"He claims that he is the real Mr. Stone, your husband who disappeared on your wedding day."
"My husband... " she laid back on the sofa and took deep breaths. "It wasn't me who got married that day. They only used my name." After a few minutes, she was sleeping soundly.
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The scorching heat from the sun seeped through her skin. Her clothes almost do not seem like they had been anything but decent. The rips and tears all over her shirts and pants would have disguised her well on the street as a beggar. But thinking of the streets made her tear up. It wasn't a safe place, the city has eyes and ears everywhere. It wasn't a place to escape to. It is what she should escape from.
She wiped the grime on her cheek where a tear flowed. This is not the time to feel anything sentimental. She looked hastily around and silently tied up her black hair in a bun. The moment the street was clear, she bursted out of the shadow of the building and dashed quickly to another.
She didn't make any sound. She didn't scream the pain on her soles burned by the baking pavement. One building to another, she lunged, rushed, and quietly ran.
But as she was about to reach the edge of the city buildings, a hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. The bun got loose and the all familiar pain in her scalp made her screech and claw out the hand holding her hair. She couldn't see the face clearly. Nor could she make out what the man was holding in his hand. She just felt the pain while he was hitting her back over and over again. Minutes passed and the screaming stopped. From where the girl stood awhile ago, gushes of blood was splashed here and there. Maia smelled her own blood.