Chapter 2 Broken Bonds

A week later, Bibi got up that morning and walked across the exquisite mansion of her late father's house, dragging her feet lazily, as she found her way to the kitchen – another part of the house that looked like it was worth a million bucks.

It was another weekend – another weekend after her father was buried and another weekend without Rick Salomon in her life. She couldn't exactly say she had been in love with Rick, but in truth, he had always made her feel safe and sane. He had shown her the kind of love her father had withheld from her for many years.

Unlike Paul, one of her exes, who had nothing but his good looks, strong, and sexy figure, to offer, Rick Salomon was different; he was charming, handsome, and loving to her.

Well, maybe he was truly the one who got away after all. He had dodged a bullet because Bibi was a whole lot for any man to handle, and the men in her life weren't spared – just like her other exes, including Jonah Jones, the popular weatherman, Jack Heavens, the prominent actor, and now, Rick Salomon, who was her late father's Attorney.

Dating her was a huge chore; she was an unfulfilled young woman with a determination to live up to expectations and show her father, even though he was now late, that she could go through life without his acknowledgment and encouragements, which he had withheld from her for many years. It seemed like that was all she lived for.

But with Rick, she had let her guard down as he had been a pillar of support to her on days when she felt lost and downtrodden.

So, even when Rick had decided to keep their affair hidden to prevent her father's wrath from falling upon them, Bibi didn't object; she knew her father so well. Anything that gave her happiness and peace was simply an abomination before him. She was certain that Rick's position as her father's attorney was bound to be threatened if they were ever discovered.

But when her father had passed on following a cardiac arrest, she had expected Rick to finally consider making their affair public. Instead, he had called off the whole thing, stating that the media would certainly troll them all day and night over their affair if it was made known to the public.

"Bibiana Stone and her late father's Attorney, Rick Salomon, in a secret affair barely a few weeks after her father's death," the headlines would scream.

The outrage!

Maybe Rick was right, maybe it was better this way. But still, it hurt her badly. Initially, she had protested his decision to end things with her for the sake of their reputations, but thinking about it now, the thought of such captions making their way to headlines made her cringe so badly that she clumsily dropped the spoon she was using to stir her cup of coffee. It dropped on the kitchen floor with a bang, and she sighed as she proceeded to pick it up and dump it in the sink, leading to another noise as her mind trailed off back to her thoughts.

What was even worse was that it was no news that Rick was popularly known as the Attorney who misadvised her father, Steven Stones, leading to a series of bad choices that affected the company and its multimillion business, which started to crumble about a year ago, leading the old man to so much heartbreak, which gradually weakened his resilience and subsequently led to his untimely death.

The media blamed Rick, together with the members of the board, for being incapable of handling the business. Rick's reputation fell; he was considered pathetic by the media. For Steven's incapabilities, Rick was made to take the fall. He was as much a victim as Bibi was in the hands of Steven Stone, and this sense of familiarity had fueled Bibi's interest in him.

But that wasn't the truth, and not just Bibi and Rick knew this, but everyone who worked in the Eternal Enterprise too. Steven Stone had been incapable of running the company well; he had made horrible choices for the business over time, and that was what led to its downfall.

"Bibi?" she suddenly heard her name and turned back to reality. "Is that you, dear?"

"Yes, Mum, I'm in here," Bibi called back.

Her mother, Mrs. Silvia Stone, poked her head into the kitchen. "Oh, sweetheart, I was wondering who was up so early in the morning."

"I've been up for a while," Bibi sighed. "I couldn't sleep, so I came to grab a quick cup of coffee."

"Oh my! I also didn't sleep so well. Can you make one for me?" her mother asked as she gently strolled into the kitchen.

Bibi rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Mom! I believe you have maids for that? Besides, you should not be having caffeine; it's clearly not good for your health."

"Oh, come on, Bibi, it's just one cup of coffee," Silvia insisted.

"Well, then get it yourself, Mum!" Bibi snapped. "I'm sick and tired of everyone underplaying my role in this family. I'm only good enough to run errands and do chores for you all, but I'm never good enough to run Daddy's company as his heiress!"

Silvia was surprised at her daughter's sudden outburst. This had often been a bone of contention between her eldest daughter and her late husband. For some reason unknown to her, her late husband had vehemently refused to let Bibi participate in running the family business. Still, he had no problem with her younger sister, Vivian, handling the business. This had made Bibi unhappy and constantly angry at her family.

This act had also put a huge strain on Bibi and Vivian's already strained relationship as sisters. They never seemed to agree on anything. While Vivian was the prized daughter, Bibi was always considered by Steven as the problematic and radical one, and sadly, Vivian never failed to rub it in her elder sister's face that she was their father's favorite child.

Silvia spoke, "You know, Bibi, your father and sister love you as much as I do."

Bibi rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee as her mother went on, "They adore you as much as I do too. I know he's no more, but you need to understand that they both love you so dearly."

Bibi had had enough; she knew her mother knew the truth but chose to remain in denial all these years.