Chapter 3 The Betrayal and Its Aftermath

As Catherine sat behind the wheels with her hands gripping the steering wheels tightly, she felt a sense of numbness as though the world around her had lost its color and meaning. Catherine drove with no destination in mind, with the road ahead seeming endless, stretching out before her without purpose. Each passing mile brought a new wave of emotions like anger, sadness, confusion and despair washing over her like a tidal wave.

As she drove, she cried as Daniel's words echoed over and over again in her mind. She couldn't believe the man whom she had loved her whole life and was willing to do anything to make him hers, would betray her just like that and her best friend, Molie, with whom she had been sharing her pains and worries with, was actually the one behind the pain and the worries. The images of the betrayal she had gotten from her husband and her friend kept on replaying in her head, tormenting her.

Her journey seemed like an unending one and as she drove, her thoughts were somewhere else, lost in a flurry of emotions. As she drove, she tried focusing on the road and the approaching cars, but the images of her friend and her husband locked in an intimate embrace haunted her.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks, making her vision blurry. She tried to stop herself from crying, but the tears kept on coming uncontrollable.

Suddenly, she realized she had lost control over her car. The car strayed off course and swerved wildly. She tried to regain control of her car, to steer back onto the road but she didn't have the chance. The car skidded with its tires screeching and then, everything went black.

Catherine's life was lost in the car accident. She was announced dead on arrival on rushing her to the hospital. The news of the death of Catherine sent wave shock through her family, especially her mother whom upon hearing the news, fainted and became paralyzed.

As Catherine was being buried, Edward felt a deep sense of loss and confusion, as his mother who had always been there for him got taken away by death.

Daniel on the other hand, was feeling a mixed of emotion. He was glad that Catherine was gone, and he could finally be with Molie, while on the other hand, he had the guilt of his actions and betrayal contributing to the death of Catherine.

Edward was still finding it difficult to cope without his mother and living with his father who never cared about him. On the other hand, Catherine's father broke up his partnership with Jackson's company, making Jackson angry and finding a way to get back at Daniel.

Two months after the death of Catherine, Daniel and Molie decided to get married. Jackson was against the marriage and so also, Daniel's mom. Jackson gave Daniel two options – either to get married to Molie and give up his inheritance including the company or let Molie, and her son go, and continue overseeing the management of the company. Just like you had guessed, Daniel chose the latter. He couldn't stand the management of the company being passed down to his brother. He loved being in power and would do anything to keep being in power, even if it meant hurting the woman he had claimed he loved.

Molie who hadn't foreseen getting betrayed by a man who betrayed his wife just to be with her, could not bear the hurt that came from Daniel's decision and so, she vanished into the thin air with her 5 years old son, with no one including Daniel, knowing their whereabout.

Daniel did everything in his possible best, including committing different kinds of atrocities to keep being in control of the company. He paved his way to his father's heart, gaining his favor and becoming the chairman of the company after the death of his father. Although Daniel and Edward lived in the same house, they never had this father and son bond. Daniel never liked Edward, maybe because he looked just like his mother or for a reason better known to him. Edward knew this and always tried at any opportunity he had; to showcase his ability to his father but Daniel still never saw him as being good enough. Edward had always followed his father's instructions and had never defied him. Daniel later got married to a woman of his choice who bore him a baby girl, Khloe. All the attention Edward required from Daniel was all given to Khloe. What Daniel never knew was that his newfound love had some dirty secret only known to her and few people. Daniel also, kept on searching for the whereabout of Molie and their son, but he couldn't lay his hands on any lead. He had never thought of Edward being in any way helpful to the development of the company and so, he never had it in mind to hand-over the company to him. But a day came, when Daniel found a good use of Edward.

'You will be getting married to Sophia Porous, the daughter of the owners of Bloom Electronics in a month time', Daniel had told Edward in a commanding voice, which showed he wasn't asking for Edward's opinion and what he had said was final. For the first time in his entire life, Edward spoke back at his father.

'How can I get married to a woman I have never met before in a month time? Don't I have the right to choose my partner? Must you be the one doing everything for me? I can't marry someone I do not love, Dad', Edward said bluntly, with a tone of defiance.

'This is the only thing you can do to make me recognize you as my heir. I know you have been trying so hard to earn my recognition and trust you with the company's affairs. There are some certain things you need to do as a leader, to enhance the growth of the company. You getting married to Sophia although you do not love her is one of the sacrifices you have to make for the company, to become a good leader. Sophia's family partnership with us worth billions of dollars. This is a test I am putting you through for you to earn my recognition. The decision you take determines whether you will earn my recognition or not', Daniel had told Edward, walking away.

Edward, who would do anything to earn his father's recognition, agreed to walk down the aisle with a total stranger he had neither met before nor had feelings for. But he never knew his decision would bring about different kinds of events, which will hurt him and Ellie in the future.