An Alfa Romeo SUV stopped in front of a premium Myers clothing store. Two young women got out of the car, all wearing fashionable clothing and with thick makeup on their faces and more.
“You want to buy your wedding dress here?” Natasha’s elder sister, Skarlette, frowned straight away. “It’s too much for us. A single dress here might cost more than the wedding itself.”
Natasha, however, waved her father’s credit card and laughed.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Natasha assured. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I want everything to be posh and perfect.”
“But you don’t want to look too rich because Denver might think you’re trying to compete with him,” Skarlette suggested. “You don’t want to make your man think that.” Her sister hadn’t even introduced him to her yet, so she had little to no idea about him other than knowing how he looked and a few other things her sister had shared with her. Denver was also Natasha’s schoolmate, and his family grew to be much richer than Natasha’s family.
“I won’t give that chance to Denver because I’m going to buy his suit as well,” Natasha said.
“EHH?” Skarlette’s jaw dropped. She was shorter than Natasha and was a little chubby. “Dad’s gonna kill you afterward. I’m sure.”
“Everything he earns is for us, so why would he do that?”
“Y-You’ve got a point, but… anyway, let’s go,” Skarlette dragged her sister into the store. “By the way, I ordered a pizza this afternoon, and guess who showed up?”
“A pizza delivery guy?”
“Of course, but… he was so freaking handsome. I swear I drooled more from seeing his face than when eating the pizza. He’s of perfect height, you know; I can kiss him without making my toes work too much. And his butt… I only stole a few glances, but I wouldn’t mind looking at it all day. Don’t judge me, but I feel like breaking up with my boyfriend.”
“Huh?” Natasha softly slapped her sister’s head. “Don’t be silly. How can you break up with Henry for a pizza delivery guy?”
“Well, if you had seen him, you wouldn’t say I’m silly. You wouldn’t even think of marrying Denver, either.”
Natasha’s gaze turned sharp.
“Haha, I was joking, of course,” Skarlette pinched his younger sister’s cheek as they entered the store. “But seriously, I was shocked when you started dating Russell. I mean, he doesn’t come from a rich family like us, and he’s average-looking at best. And I heard you say he wasn’t good at studies. I haven’t spoken much with him, so I don’t know about his personality, either. I feared that you might even marry him, but after you rejected his marriage proposal the other day, I felt relieved. And because you rejected Russell, Denver came straight to our house and told our dad that he wants to marry you.”
Natasha thought about Russell a little and smiled. “You know why I picked Russell of all people?” she cheekily glanced at her sister.
Skarlette’s eyes turned round. “Don’t tell me… you wanted to make Denver envy you?”
“Haha,” Natasha laughed out loud. “It worked much better than I thought. I didn’t expect Denver to come to our house and talk to our dad like that.”
“Damn…” Skarlette exhaled audibly. “You are my little sister, but you're quite scary. You know that?”
“Thanks. I’m just securing my future, that’s all.”
“Mm, but you’ve gotta do a little investigation about Denver before proceeding. I mean, didn’t he tell our father he never dated any girl before?”
“Yeah, I didn’t see him date anyone until now.”
“Bullshit. Someone as rich as him can’t be so innocent and lovely. Besides, I’ve never seen a man that never lied,” Skarlette spoke from her own experience. “In fact, I lie, and you lie. We all lie to make our lives easier. That’s what makes us humans, which means Denver isn’t a human?”
“Haha, you’re really funny today,” Natasha pinched her sister’s nose. “I can’t give you any proof, but my time with him says he’s not like other men. He’s quite an honest guy.”
“Is that so? But most women think the same way about her latest boyfriend, don’t you think?”
“Will you stop doubting Denver or not?” Natasha raised her voice, clearly annoyed.
“Whoa, lower your voice,” Skarlette covered her sister’s mouth. “I’m not gonna say anything about your precious fiance, so let’s finish what we’re here for.”
At the same time, a red Alfa Wolfe sports car stopped by the Myers clothing store. Everybody outside couldn’t help but turn their heads toward this extremely lavish car.
A shop assistant came over to Natasha and Skarlette and helped them choose the dresses. No matter which dress they saw, they were all priced over 500,000 dollars, and Skarlette kept using one word: No. After receiving ten nos on a trot, the shop assistant took them to a different section where the prices were more affordable, ranging between 100 to 300 thousand dollars. Skarlette could finally smile and say yes to whatever the shop assistant tried to show to her sister. After a long forty minutes of trying many dresses, Natasha finally chose a jasmine-patterned wedding dress with a hooded see-through cape. “Oh my, Nattie!” Skarlette covered her mouth in joy and astonishment. “You look like a royal princess in this.” She quickly checked the price. “It’s 325K, but it’s worth it. I can’t believe I’m saying this.” “I’m happy that you liked it. Do you think Russell, I mean, Denver, will like it as well?” “If he doesn’t, there must be something wrong with his eyes!” “Haha,” Natasha lau
A minute ago.Russell was inside the changing room, staring at the price tag more than the pastel pink suit itself. “2.7 million dollars for a wedding suit…”Just what was in this suit that made it so pricey? No matter how much he worked his head over it, he couldn’t understand. He and his family could live happily ever after with this much money, after all.While he was buttoning up, he heard a voice talking with Kyra. It felt somewhat familiar, but he didn’t recognize it. That voice belonged to Skarlette. “Maybe she met with some old friend?” he thought.Russell looked at himself in the mirror. Though the suit made him look good, there wasn’t much glow in his eyes. He pressed his hand against his face in the mirror. “She rejected my face. She rejected my love. She rejected my honesty. She rejected my lifestyle. With one swing of her hand, she rejected my everything… and I thought she was my everything.”He remembered the moment when he had met her at the children’s amusement park, w
Natasha snorted and gave her credit card. The cashier swiped the card in the machine, but the swipe got declined.The cashier swiped again. The same thing happened.He looked at the sisters once, and Skarlette told him to do it again.The cashier tried again, and it didn’t work.“I’m sorry, the transaction has been declined. There must be an issue with the card.”“That’s impossible,” Natasha raised her voice. “Check again.”He checked again, but the same thing happened. He gave them the card but not the items. “Can you please move aside?”Skarlette was shell-shocked, whereas Natasha quivered with mortification and could not lift her head to look in Russell’s direction.Being told to move aside by a mere cashier… was there anything more humiliating?Seeing their pale expressions, Russell whispered to Kyra, “Can you pay for them?”Kyra didn’t expect that, so she couldn’t hide the look of surprise. “I can, but…” she answered in a low voice, “it might be taken in the wrong way.”“Skarlett
Laughing till their stomachs burst, Natasha and Skarlette came home to their 5000-square-foot bungalow their dad had bought for 700,000 dollars many years ago. It had a luxurious finishing with custom details, and their father, Frederick, made sure to get it painted every other year. So, the building looked pretty new even to this day. It was the biggest building in the neighborhood and would sell for at least 4 million dollars in the market today.The sisters were literally in tears from laughing, and their mother, Diana, felt happy from seeing them. Diana almost looked like them, even though she was twice as old as them. Even her brown hair was thick and long. Diet and exercise were her secrets, and she made sure to discipline her children in this regard, though she didn’t really care about the other things in their life, at least not until recently.“What’s so funny?” Diana asked.“Nothing, Mom,” Natasha gave the clothing bags to her mom and went to her father’s room along with her
“I will build a great monument for you, Natasha,” a manly voice kept giving promises to her over the mobile, and she couldn’t help but blush. “Our names will be etched in history as the greatest lovers the world has ever seen.” “Stop it, Denver. You’re exaggerating your love a bit too much.” “I’m actually understating it, dear,” Denver’s voice was rough yet tender. She could feel a comforting warmth in his voice, which she didn’t feel all that much in Russell’s voice. “If you cut open my heart, you will find yourself in it.” Natasha’s blush deepened. She missed getting praised like this. While Russell’s company wasn’t particularly bad, he wasn’t anywhere as romantic as Denver, and she had to actively kiss Russell to even get a kiss back from him. “I should have realized your love for me sooner, Denver.” “It’s alright. I’m glad you finally accepted my love. You’ll be my princess forever,” Denver blew a kiss that tickled her ears. “See you tonight.” “Tonight?” “Yeah, I’ll sneak int
“EHHH?” Russell’s heart shook when Viola said she was going to text Kyra Lynn. However, he immediately remembered that he didn’t have her contact number in his phone. “Wait, you can’t message her because I don’t have her number.”“But I’ve already memorized her number,” Viola quickly started typing the message and read the words she was typing, “Hi, I’m Russell Bennett, your fiance. I've been unable to sleep properly ever since meeting you.”“Oi, oi, oi,” Russell got up and wrestled with her for fifteen seconds before using his brute strength and bending her wrist, making her cry and let go of his mobile. He grabbed his mobile quickly and began checking IT. Luckily she didn’t send the message yet. “Whew.”“You pig!” Viola started beating him in anger. “I was helping you, and this is how you treat your sister?”“Aw, wait!” Russell caught her arms again, and she immediately started yelling, “Mom!”Russell instantly let go of her. “I’m sorry,” he apologized in a low voice.“Sorry isn’t e
Arnold staggered. (I don’t get it. Why would Fredrick do such a thing?) “This must be some kind of a mistake,” he quickly said. “I’ll call him right now.” He dialed Fredrick’s number but couldn’t reach it. He tried a couple more times, but the same thing happened. He looked at Tyler and said, “I’m calling. I’ll talk to him.”“You have the IQ of a spoon, dude,” Tyler bluntly said. “He probably already blocked your number. Don’t you get that? Or are you trying my patience?”Arnold’s expression froze like a fly stuck in a web.“This is what happens when you stay at someone’s house for free,” Tyler indifferently stated.“T-That’s not true,” Arnold had worked his ass off for Fredrick and his businesses. His efforts would surely cover the rent for this house. He was never leeching off of Fredrick. He had his pride to keep, after all. Even the car given to him by Fredrick was not a new car but a used car, and it wasn’t worth much. Still, Arnold used that car mostly to do Fredrick’s work than
If there was one thing that Russell and his siblings learned that day, it was that nobody would hesitate to humiliate you and your family if you were poor and didn’t have much influence.Arnold definitely had some influence in the neighborhood, but none of that mattered once Fredrick stopped supporting him. Even those who Arnold knew outside of Fredrick’s influence weren’t willing to give their support to him now.The humiliation and heartbreak they had to face after walking out of the house was much more compared to what Tyler had put them through.Arnold wanted to move to the town where Jennifer’s parents lived, but Jennifer was utterly against leaving the city. Besides, Arnold already owned a small farm house, so why should she and her children leave the city? That made no sense to her.In the end, she forced Arnold to move all the luggage to the farm where Russell’s mom, Elora, was living.Russell felt so happy as he would be able to live with his mother, but the moment Jennifer e
THANK YOU:: The Secret Successor has found his family as well as his love! There’s no one more lucky in the world than one who has a family that loves them. They don’t say blood is thicker than water for no reason. But I’d say, love is even thicker than blood. So, Russell is lucky to have a loving mom, dad, grandfather, and a childhood girlfriend. How lucky are you in your life in terms of relationships? Do you have people who support you when you are down? I hope so. I started the novel with the thought of finishing it in 500 chapters, but it took this long. To all those who read every chapter and reached this page… you have my humble and grateful thanks. A big thanks to reader Oyewale Gabriel for your immense support. And then to Mickey Ritch for your votes as well as comment support. Next is Ricky, who is one of the earliest readers of this novel. Good to still see you around. To Charlie Mcmillen, who has a silent but strong presence, you have my Mcvery thanks. And then, we hav
A few weeks later.Charlotte was at her home, eating peanuts, which didn’t taste good on her tongue right now. It wasn’t the peanuts that had the issue, but her tongue and her mind.“Even the food isn’t going inside,” Charlotte pitifully said. She called Kyra’s mobile, but Kyra didn’t answer.Seconds later, Kyra sent a text message: Don’t bother me.“Tsk, she’s completely cut herself off,” Charlotte tossed the mobile away at the wall. “But she’s sticking with Liam and Russell when they’re not even related to her by blood. It doesn’t make any sense!”“Do you want me to kidnap her and bring her here?” William asked.“Do you want Liam to kill both of us?” Charlotte asked him back.“N-No.”“Forget about Liam…” Charlotte looked at the file in her hand. “This bastard Russell came up with such a clever contract. If I sign this, I’ll basically be giving up my shares in the company, but in return, I’ll earn in the billions.”“Since he’s going to trouble you anyway, he’s giving you a profitable
Jessica was never gifted so many chocolates by anybody before. She immediately hugged Russell with excitement. “You’re the best!”“Wait, they are not just for you,” Russell said. “You’ll be sharing these with everyone at the table.”“U-Uh, of course,” Jessica couldn’t smile as freely anymore because there weren’t multiples for some types of chocolates, and she didn’t want to give those away to others. “I-I will do it after we finish dinner,” she said. “I mean, if we eat chocolates before, then we won’t be able to eat the meal properly.”“You can just distribute them now,” Russell said.“U-Um,” Jessica reluctantly got up and began to distribute the chocolates to everyone at the table. But when she came to Russell, she didn’t put any chocolate on his plate.“Wait, you forgot me,” Russell said.She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Didn’t you say that I AM your chocolate?”Russell blushed. “Ahem,” he quickly controlled his expression. “I see.”Jessica sat down. The waiters began to se
A few nights later.At Tuna Waves restaurant.The entire top floor was booked by the Lynn family for the night.A large dining table was arranged in the center of the floor. Kyra was the first to attend, because she was the only one who arranged this dinner and invited the people she believed she should.As she waited a bit nervously, to her shock, Jessica was the first to arrive. She was dressed in her work attire and didn’t even have makeup on. Was she coming straight from work?Jessica sat down at a chair but didn’t speak to Kyra and just waited.There was an awkward atmosphere between these two.“I’m not going to eat you, so you can talk,” Kyra voiced her mind. “You came here early so that you can make sure nothing ‘strange’ happens, right?”“Well, I have to protect my guy,” Jessica replied, putting her mobile down, “so that I won’t lose him again.”“Don’t worry then. I think of Liam as my dad, so Russell becomes my brother now,” Kyra stated. “I can’t marry my brother now, can I?”
Other than Arnold, nobody was told that Liam was Russell’s biological father, as Elora and Liam just didn’t feel the need to do so.They believed that revealing that truth now would only bring unnecessary complications.Elora felt like a lot of burden had been lifted off her heart after she told Arnold the truth.Russell also felt happy that Viola was talking to him. Though James was still clouded by his anger, Russell didn’t feel bad about it as James was known for his impulsive behavior.Russell believed that James would understand with time.Liam and Elora went away in a different car, whereas Russell left in his Boyen Redemption. Driving with an injured hand wasn’t easy, but he somehow managed it and got home.Regan was talking with Gage’s dad and introduced him to Russell. “This is the man I trust the most in the world. He’s your friend Gage’s father. His name is Steven.”Russell saw that Steven’s eyes were completely white. “Nice to meet you, Steven?” he looked at Regan. “Is he b
“I don’t get it. Why do you want to marry her of all people?” Teresa asked quickly. “She’s been sick for decades, and no one knows when she might get sick again and die, not that I’m wishing for it, but I’m just stating the possibility. In addition to that, Russell is already your son-in-law, isn’t he? So, if you marry his mother now, what will the world think of it?”Liam smiled and asked her, “You think I didn’t consider all those things?”“U-Uh…” Teresa didn’t know what to say because he looked calm despite everything she had just said. She looked at Elora. “Are you not going to eat anything?”“No, I’m full,” Elora said, even though the real reason she refused was because she didn’t want to eat what was brought by Jennifer. Elora then glanced at Arnold. “Can we talk privately?”Arnold was not expecting that. Without even looking at Teresa or Jennifer, he said, “Sure. Why not?”Jennifer didn’t want them to talk, but all she could do was stand there and watch as Arnold and Elora walk
Charlotte left the hospital, but on her way home, she received pictures from one of her friends.And these were pictures of Liam and Elora eating at a restaurant.“Stop the car,” Charlotte said.William quickly pressed the brake. He looked back, and Charlotte was fuming.She felt like her body was set on fire. She wasn’t able to stand it.“How can he…”Seeing Liam hold some other woman’s hand, she wasn't able to digest it and pulled her hair with one hand. “Fuck! This isn’t happening. Fuck! Fuck!”“What’s wrong, ma’am?” William quickly asked.“He’s getting away from me,” she said angrily as well as sadly. “He’s really getting away from me.”One mistake cost her everything.Her husband, her daughter, and even her sister, all of them moved away from her.The only person that was still with her was William.“Why won’t you also leave my side?” she asked him.“Does a dog ever leave the side of its master?” he said. “They may be manipulative, abusive, but the dog still loves its master.”Ch
“Fuck off, bitch,” Natasha pressed the trigger.However, nothing happened.Jessica thought she died, but she didn’t. She quickly recovered from the mental shock and slapped Natasha’s hand, making the gun fall out of her hand. “That’s an autoloader. You should manually cock for the first shot for it to be fired.” She kicked Natasha in the gut as hard as she could.Jessica was a very powerful woman, and so her kick sent Natasha crashing back violently.Jessica then sat on Natasha and began to hit her.“W-Wait,” Natasha tried to speak. “That gun wasn’t loaded.”“You expect me to believe that?” Jessica began to punch her face repeatedly, making her lips rupture and bleed. Still, she didn’t stop and kept going.The other employees gathered around. One of them picked up the revolver and checked for the bullets. “Ma’am, this gun really is empty.”Jessica was a bit shocked to hear that. “What?”“I told you…you fucking bitch!” Natasha grabbed Jessica’s throat and squeezed it. “I’ll kill you fo
“Aww,” Elora crashed on the floor and cringed in pain. Liam rushed over to help her and tried to help her get up, but she got up on her own, saying, “I’m not that old yet.”“I never said you were,” Liam put forward the bouquet of lilies.“What the… too white and bright,” she blurted. “Your taste sucks.”Liam was shocked because it was Russell’s suggestion.Elora plucked just one lily from the bouquet and smelled it. “Anyway, what brought the great Liam Lynn here. There’s no child in this house, you know.”Liam’s expression suddenly hardened. Whether she was trying to mock him or was purposely trying to tease him, it felt like a joke that went too far. However, he saw not a ounce of negativity in Elora’s eyes. It was as if she was testing him to see how he’d react. “My child, no, our child is in this house, is he not?” Liam replied.Elora somewhat smiled. “Yeah, he is upstairs. You can go and talk to him.” She sat back on the couch. “If you move out of the way, I’ll watch the TV. The c