Liam Kingsley’s funeral ceremony was a private and intimate gathering, organized in one of the farmhouses located on a small hilltop on the Edencrest Estate itself. Since there were no remains to bury, there was a symbolic black casket placed in the center, covered in fine blue velvet drapings holding the Kingsley family's crest on one side. The venue had been prepared in a refined manner for the somber occasion, with cream and gray silk drapes covering the windows. In the hall, and especially around the casket, were clusters of Liam's favorite flowers— rare white orchids, Juliet roses and blue hydrangeas imported from the gardens of France. A framed photograph of Liam was placed beside the casket, taken just a few years ago. He was smiling in the picture, with incense sticks burning in front of the frame.Liam looked strikingly like his father, his square jawline mirroring Otis', while he had Viola's eyes and smile.The five remaining members of the main branch of the Kingsley fam
On hearing the mention of their business losses which was enveloped in the greeting, the Frosts exchanged a look, while Viola went on with her explanation, which was only making her initial taunts seem more cold and biting. “I mean it doesn't take long for the rumors to spread in the business community, and the news of your upcoming bankruptcy has already caught on…”She chuckled, bringing her hand to her lips to appear demure while spitting venom from her tongue.“And yet! You two still manage to show up here just to give your condolences to us, how wonderful! I should be really thankful for you, because right now, you also deserve our condolences.”Her venomous tone hit everyone's ears, but still, nobody could object to her words or claim directly that she was misbehaving with them.Even though every single word that was coming out of her mouth was dipped in the deadliest poison of the world, her voice was covered in a layer of sweetness that was overwhelming everyone's senses with
Noah's voice in the background made everyone present there feel a slight jolt of electricity in their spine, but due to different reasons.Viola and Otis felt a sudden shock of realization since they weren't aware about how long he had been standing there and how much he had heard from their mouths. While at the same time, Olivia and David felt this way because of their fear that now, he was definitely going to kick them out because of the behavior they had kept towards him.In fact, they weren't just fearing about it; they were indeed sure about this possibility. Viola was being rude to them just because they had almost gone bankrupt, but she was probably treating them the way they had treated her nephew.But Noah… Noah was always on the receiving end of their kicks and abuses, the one whom they had always treated as a scapegoat and a punching bag! Then could they even think that he was going to spare them? Probably, that's what karma is– it always strikes back.At one time, they u
Olivia and David were completely shocked on hearing Eliana's words and seeing her confidence level soaring with the highest clouds in the sky. She was confident enough while leaving the house with Noah, which was the shock of a lifetime for them; but in spite of everything, they had never imagined that she would become this bold, too.Noah's company had completely changed her… in fact, the Noah they had seen today was also completely different.He wasn't just dressed nicely in the perfect indicators of luxury, but he was looking like a completely new person.A person with perfection, with grace– he possessed everything that the men of this world would ever desire to have in their lives, and at the same time, he was the ideal man of every woman's dreams.Olivia wanted to say something in reply to Eliana's cutting remarks, but David gestured to her to stay quiet and looked at Eliana before opening his mouth.“Ellie! Do you really think that money is all we care about–”“Yes, I do. Beca
A few days had passed, and everything had finally started to fall back into place. Noah had taken the reins of the family business perfectly and smoothly into his hands. On the other side, Warner had started to enjoy the days of his retirement, finally deciding to quit the mourning period and pick up the hobbies he liked to keep himself busy with. Eliana had finally started going back to her office; now that her crisis with funding had been solved, things at Red Swan Entertainment were also coming back to their usual pace. Just when things had started to look peaceful around the house and everyone finally seemed to be forgetting the pain their family had gone through, Otis decided that it was time he reopened the wound.After all, things were starting to appear too good to be true, and Otis wanted to scratch the healing wound to make it bleed once again, making them feel the pain he had once gone through.He would make them suffer through the pain that he had suffered in the past,
“Yes! I guess it would be a good idea if you take her on some tour. Probably, it would help her see the more vibrant side of the world and find a way to overcome her grief! Don't worry about the arrangements, I will ask Stuart to arrange every single thing for you, just tell me the name of the places you want to visit first.”Warner replied as soon as Otis presented his thoughts about what he was going to do next, thinking that it would make Otis happy. Even though he had not transferred the entire empire under his name, he didn't always assume his step son to be unreliable. In fact, he did trust him; and as for the inheritance clause, it was just a condition that was being transferred for generations, and he himself wasn't able to break that tradition.That was why he had told everything to his wife and Otis’ mother before their wedding, and she was the one who had said that neither her, nor her son would have any problem with that.However, she had passed away years ago; and since
Before Eliana could say a word, Noah’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out, glancing at the screen, and a soft smile appeared on his face. It was a message from Warner: “I am back in Edinburgh and at the Edencrest Estate as well. Expecting to see you both for dinner tonight.”Typing a quick reply to his grandfather, Noah slipped the phone back into his pocket, then turned to Eliana with a playful grin. “Well, I think that my surprise is officially ruined. So now, you should definitely go ahead with whatever you were going to say!”His voice was teasing, but Eliana’s gaze dropped to the ground, her face warming with the flush of slight embarrassment. Noah, catching her reaction, chuckled softly and reached out, playfully poking her on the nose. "Come on, silly! What are you getting so worked up over, tell me?”The warmth of his smile was reassuring, urging her to speak. Eliana lifted her eyes hesitantly, meeting his. "Whatever it is, don’t worry. You know you can
Noah's POV:The moment I saw Eliana crumple to the ground like a doll, a scream left my mouth and I felt like my heart had suddenly stopped beating. For a moment, everything in front of my eyes went blank with panic, and I rushed towards her. Lifting her into my lap, I started to rub her hands, still coaxing her relentlessly. “Ellie! Ellie!! Wake up! Wake up!! Open your eyes.”And even though I was screaming at the top of my lungs, I had a feeling that my throat wasn't doing its best; otherwise, why was she not able to hear me yet?Panic started to short circuit the pathways in my brain and within seconds, I was not able to think anything at all!In all those months, I had learnt to deal with anything and everything, but fighting with fate when Eliana was unconscious… not opening her eyes and lying in my arms, was still capable of stealing all my senses at once.I checked her pulse and tried to assess her condition to find out if she might have fainted because of low blood sugar, bu