CHAPTER 2

At that moment Abigail lips set in a straight line.

If it was going to charity, she would have considered letting it slide.

But one of the companies was heading to her family.

That—she would not let occur.

Without needing to be told she knew that her grandmother had realized exactly what she was doing by adding those terms.

Abigail did not have to guess—it was intentional.

Her mother had erred. An costly error.

She married her stepdad, a fellow who never had a job the day in and day out that he lived, a fellow who was nothing short of a rat who had been spoiled.

He had nothing upon marriage. No achievements, no drive, no vision. Her mother, though, had been different. Brilliant, sharp-tongued, and ambitious, she was.

Her mother seized his father family's failing business and built it into an empire. She made them wealthy, respected, powerful. She made their name something people looked up to.

And what did he do? He sat back and let her enjoy it all.

Then her mother got ill.

It did not arrive suddenly. The illness progressed slowly, weakening her day by day. Abigail could still remember how her mother smiled, even when she was in pain, still concerned about the business, still making sure that her stepfather did not ruin all that she had created.

But still, she died. And there she was, with her stepfather in charge.

Abigail had prayed—hoped—that he would at least attempt to continue what her mother started. But men like him never changed.

It wasn't long before he was back to his old ways.

He gambled. He drank. He spent money as if it had no limit.

And worst of all—he cheated.

While the world was still grieving her mother, while Abigail was still grieving, he was sleeping with another woman.

A woman with three children already.

And then the final blow.

The woman was reportedly pregnant.

It was a scandal. The business world gossiped about it, newspapers speculated, and the reputation of the company was at risk. If it got out, investors would pull out. Their shares would collapse. The company her mother worked so hard to establish would collapse.

To avoid complete disaster, he had to marry her.

The second the grieving time was over, her stepfather didn't lose any time.

He wed the woman immediately.

Then She was treated like a slave by her stepmother, no way she would allow them to gain money from what her grandmother had given her.

At this moment Abigail emerged out of the shock.

her presence was full of rage Pure, raw rage.

"How could you do such a thing,"

She said her voice starting shaking.

She could not help but be embarrassed of all the love she has for owen, she was being embarrassed like this.

the worst of the whole thing was he was carrying on with not just anyone but Megan.

"you disgust me," she snarled, her voice cutting through the air like ice.

Owen and her step-sister stood there, with white-faced, unmoved.

"Abigail—" Owen began to stutter, attempting to fetch his clothes.

But she had no interest in his apologies.

"You will pay for this," she said, her voice firm, cold, and menacing.

And she was not kidding.

Abigail whirled to leave, her body trembling with anger, but before she had taken another step—

"BAM!"

A searing, burning agony erupted at the base of her head.

Immediately her eyes blurred as the room whirled, her knees giving out beneath her.

Then she collapsed onto the floor.

The cool of the marble against her cheek, and for a moment she was unable to move.

Then, the laughter.

A disgustingly familiar one from Megan.

Then Abigail's eyes snapped open, her breath harsh as she struggled upwards.

"Surprised?"

her step-sister's voice thick with contempt. "You should be. You actually thought you were in charge, didn't you?"

At that moment her eye open a little, She was shocked, but the searing pain in her head diverted her attention.

Then Owen's voice cut through the air before she was able to respond.

"Don't trouble yourself to get up, Abby," he said, with a mockery look on his face.

Then she rotated her head just enough to see him standing there, buttoning his shirt, looking unruffled. As if none of this mattered to him.

Then Abigail clenched her teeth. She wanted to fight, wanted to yell—but her body was too weak from the punch.

"You see," Megan continued, kneeling down next to her, "all of this was a setup. Every single thing."

Abigail's breathing even more caught.

"What…?" she whispered.

At that moment Megan smiled.

"We sent you those pictures on purpose," she said.

"We needed you to arrive here. And you did, like the idiot you are."

Owen leaned against the dresser, smiling at her shock.

"Yeah."

"That whole accident I had? It was a setup."

Abigail's blood turned to ice.

Owen smiled at her shock.

"We set up the whole thing with the hospital," he continued.

"Faked a breakdown after a set-up accident. The doctors, the nurses—all of them were in on it."

Then Abigail's gut twisted.

Three years.

She had waited three years for him to recover, guilt-stricken, helpless.

And it had all been a lie.

Her step-sister emitted a satisfied little breath.

"You were about to inherit it all, Abigail," she rose.

"Now? You're stuck. Just like we planned."

At that moment Owen sank down into a crouch, his tone dropping.

"We just had to hold you up until you reached the last day of being twenty-four," he panted, his breath inches from her ear.