Love Marriage Hate and Revenge

"Pah!" A hard slap landed on the face of Herieth Jones Martin. The slap came from none other than her mother, better known as Mama Martin.

"You have let me down a lot. Your sister has had a hard time for over 20 years, now she is back and wants to get married. You shamelessly plan to take away her man. You have absolutely no shame!" Mama Martin told her daughter Herieth.

Covering the painful part of her face, Herieth looked at her mother in disbelief. "Mom, Zack is my boyfriend since I was in school. Everyone knows that. How can you be such ignorant people?" The words that lacked respect for her mother came out of Herieth with anger.

Firstly, Herieth arrived home after a study trip in the United States. She found her long-lost older sister, Julia Jones Martin, back. At that time she was sitting with her boyfriend Zack on the couch. Sitting on the other side of the couch were Zack's parents, Zackaria Lowe and Daughter of Maximus who seemed to be having an interesting conversation.

Zack was Herieth 's boyfriend. They had grown up together as neighbours but as they grew up they became much closer. It was when they were in secondary school where they studied in the same class that a romantic friendship blossomed between them. they fell in love and promised to marry each other. After graduating from college, Zack joined the family business as a manager for Lowe Enterprises. Herieth also worked for a short while at their family company, Martin Family Building Design Group, before going to increase her higher education in construction engineering at the University of New South Wales in the United States, sobs he could lead her family company well. For two years they were in contact only by phone.

Now after Julia's return, Herieth wonders how it happened again that Zack turned around and took her sister. She couldn't understand Because their phone calls had been going well between them. They still talked about the same plans and dreams that they had for each other. Nothing out of the ordinary ever raised or was ever spoken between them. Zack gave her no signals that he had moved on. Julia had only just returned home after a scary time she had but they had talked a little and she knew in her heart that Tina must have known about her and Zach. Why would she want to hurt her? They never had any misunderstandings as children, in fact, they used to be so close. What happens between them?

She couldn't help but go to Julia to ask her about it. However, she ended up being slapped in the face by her mother right there!

"Mom, please stop hitting Herieth ." With a worried look, Julia said. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have come back."

Zack quickly grabbed her shoulders. "No Julia, it's my fault. I always considered Herieth as my little sister and my friend. She may have confused something between love and friendship."

Something seemed to explode in Herieth 's head. The pain in her heart was so intense that she couldn't breathe. why would each say that? In front of their whole family? How much humiliation and betrayal could she take?

"Really, as Your sister? That is, today I have become your sister?" Herieth 's eyes widened in response to his words. "Why did you promise to marry me if you considered me as your sister?

Why did you always hug me so tightly and kiss me and sing me sweet words if you only considered me as your sister?"

"Herieth .." Julia wanted to say a word but was stopped by Herieth 's harsh rebuke.

"Shut up!" she found those words unbearable and filled him with disgust. how could these people hurt her like this? Her sister was the only sibling she had.

"You are the one who should keep your mouth shut. Is this how you are supposed to talk to your sister?" Mama Martin shouted at Herieth. "Can't you respect your sister? Considering she's had twenty years of hard life outside of this family?"

Shocked, Herieth relaxed a little. There had to be a tolerance limit, however. Why should she let her love get lost? She is also human, he has a beating heart.

At that time, the father of the family, Jones Martin stood up and told Herieth harshly as well. "Are you done? Zack has already said he is not your boyfriend. We still need to discuss Julia's engagement party now. If you can't keep quiet, you better leave. Don't make a fuss here."

Herieth shivered and looked at Zack who didn't care at all. Then he looked at Julia who was clinging to him. Suddenly, she felt like her heart was freezing with anger. These people were the ones she cared about the most, but each of them was leaning on Julia's side at that time. Tears seemed to flow from her. After wiping her tears, Herieth turned and left with her purse without looking back. Not knowing where to go, she stopped and called her close friend, Tina Jones.

"Tina, it's me Herieth, I'm back. Come and have a drink, today I want to get drunk until we wake up." Her voice sounded hoarse amidst her sobs.

Tina immediately agreed after hearing Herieths voice on the phone. "Sure. I'll be there shortly.

When Tina arrived at the famous Kempinski Hotel and restaurant, Herieth had already finished a whole bottle of red wine by herself!

"You have come at the right time my friend. I will order you whatever you want. You are not allowed to leave until you finish your drinks." Herieth poured Tina a 9th glass of wine.

"What's the problem?" Tina asked her worriedly. It was very rare for Tina to find Herieth drinking that much alcohol. she was very worried about Herieth. In addition, she did not know if she was happy or in trouble because it had been two years since they had seen each other to study in the United States, although they were communicating by phone and social networks. Now after returning home, what happened to her?

"Where is Zack, what did he do to you?" Tina felt that it might be her boyfriend, Zack, who had messed with her, not knowing that he was driving a hot nail into Herieth 's raw wound.

As soon as he mentioned Zack's name, Herieth felt as if a sharp knife was scratching her heart. "He left me, and now he is with Julia and they are planning engagement parties."

Tina laughed hysterically. She couldn't believe what she heard, she thought it was a joke. "Is this real or am I dreaming?"

Herieth briefly told him what happened that evening when she arrived at their home.

Tina felt a sense of disbelief. Zack and Herieth had been best friends since childhood and had been dating since high school. However, in about two years, Herieth was studying abroad while Zack was busy with work. That is the real reason that delayed them from the official date. But, both their parents knew about their relationship. They also gave their blessings to the future couple. Everyone in their circle of relatives and friends knew that Zack and Herieth would get married sooner or later.

Now, how did it happen that Zack had left Herieth and fallen for Julia? This confused Tina and made Herieth look like the freak of the year.

"Are your father and mother out of their minds?" Tina could not understand. "This is nonsense. You and Julia are both important to your parents."

Herieth held the glass of wine and spoke before she tipped it into her mouth. "Maybe they feel that Julia has suffered a lot where she was. Now that she is back, they just want to give her the best."

Tina was still in disbelief. "But you are their daughter too!"

Herieth forced a smile. "Hah. Now Julia is back, all they care about is Julia. Herieth took another bottle of wine and continued to speak, "From the beginning, they were the ones who wanted to marry me to Zack." Now that I take the matter seriously, they call me immature. Also, Zack promised to be with me forever, but he has changed his mind just like that. I hate him..." Herieth 's words had a hint of bitterness.

At the end of her sentence, Herieth started to cry. Holding the glass, she took several swigs of wine and let bitter tears fall from her eyes. At that time, she started to feel a little dizzy.

"Don't drink too much alcohol. You have a very light head. You will feel bad if you drink too much." Tina gave her attention. She grabbed Herieth 's wine glass to distract hers from it. After that, she looked around the bar. She never expected to see someone she knew. "Hey, look there!"

Tina pushed Herieth and pointed to the man who was sitting in the corner. Despite the dim light in that corner, the man looked good. He wore a suit that was not suitable for the environment. He wore a smart business suit. The man had closed his eyes and was leaning on the couch, emitting a beautiful glow as the light from the surrounding lamp repeatedly shone on him. he looked so attractive that his face was as beautiful as those statues that are dressed up in shops to advertise them to customers. After looking at him, Herieth averted her eyes from him. "No matter how beautiful he is, I'm not in the mood to enjoy anything pleasing to the eye right now."

"I'm trying to tell you that the man is Zack's uncle," Tina told her.

Herieth was stunned for a moment. "Are you sure?" Zack had previously told Herieth that he had a very rich uncle. However, his uncle was doing his business abroad, so Herieth never saw him.

"Yes, I'm sure it's him. My brother showed him to me when we attended a food event one day. I heard that he is only a young man and he has a lot of money. Even Zacks's father does not reach him with the wealth he has. A few days ago, I heard that he had returned to Bongo."

Herieth 's eyes lit up. Immediately she got an idea that came to her head. "Yes! What do you think will happen if I marry Zack's uncle?"

"Pff..." In shock, Tina swallowed the wine in her mouth. "Say that again?"

Herieth looked at the young man carefully again and explained her point to Tina. "Since I can't be the daughter-in-law of the Lowe family, I will only surprise Zack by marrying his uncle so that I can have a chance to stop Zack and his Julia !"

Tina was stunned for a while, then after thinking about Herieth 's point in detail, she saw that it was cool! She immediately gave Herieth a thumbs up.

"He is beautiful, very beautiful indeed. I'm on your side! Uncle Zack's appearance is perfect. Even Zack is not that handsome compared to him. His wealth and power also exceed that of the Lowe family. You will be very proud of yourself if you marry this young man" Tina continued to cheer her on.

"But how are you going to do it?"

Herieth became more excited by Tina's provocative words, her mind was obsessed with how to find that man.

"I need to remind you that you should find a good husband, educated, with money, or your position in the 'Martin Family Group' company will be inferior to Julia's. So I think this uncle of Zack is suitable for you!" Tina put it in her words.

Herieth was stunned for a second. What Tina said seemed to enter her mind. If Julia were to marry Zack and be supported by the Lowe family, then Herieth 's chance to become the heir of their family company Martin Family would be in jeopardy. So the trick was to overthrow her so that she would marry someone more wealthy than Zack so that she can earn back her respect.

"Okay, I'll steal his heart right now like a bandit!" Herieth encouraged herself when she snatched Tina's purse and then took out lipstick and foundation. She wore a little make-up and her face looked radiant.

Tina rolled her eyes. "Uh, are you sure you can face him right now?"

"How do you see me? first, I'm a beautiful girl and he's just a man, right? Haha!" Herieth boasted then swept her hair over one shoulder and poured half of the wine into the glass. With an attractive and charming face, she walked towards the young man with a smile. The closer she got to the man, the more his lovely face became clear. His clear eyes looked a little sad and the beautiful structure of his face looked more attractive.

"Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but can you tell me the time now?" Herieth tapped her finger on the man's shoulder twice.

When the man opened his drunken eyes under the dim light, the word 'Malaya' came to his mind. He saw Herieth as just a prostitute selling herself.

Herieth 's brain froze for a few seconds. After regaining consciousness, she smiled and said, "I think our first meeting here is the beginning of our happiness."

With a frown on his face, the man said softly, "I'm not a doctor, I don't treat crazy people."

"What?" Herieth asked.

"You're crazy, aren't you?" The man's lovely lips were very attractive, but the words that came out of his mouth were very dirty.

"Hmm!" Herieth grunted.

At that time, Herieth had to take out a mirror to look at herself carefully again if her appearance was not enough to attract the guy. Herieth didn't see any flaws in her face. However, she did not give up. It was impossible to understand men's thoughts otherwise Zack would not betray him.

"Indeed, I am insane and my insanity is for love." Herieth quickly calmed down and gave a shy smile. "And my infatuation got over me when I saw you for the first time here."

When the handsome young man raised his face, Herieth immediately took the opportunity to say, "They say one can't help but feel happy when she meets a man who can make her look crazy. That is the love of her life, and this is how I feel right now."

"Okay, I've heard your sweet love daughter bullshit, I'm entertained. Can you leave now?" The man averted his eyes from her in a disappointing manner. Everything that Herieth said seemed to be just a distraction to him.

Herieth was very hurt. She was attractively beautiful in the eyes of many men. Every day she faced many inconveniences from men who wanted her at any cost. On social networks, men went crazy every time she posted her pictures. But at that time it was different. The young man was not feeling her. Herieth wanted to turn and leave, but when she thought about the chance to be Zack's aunt, however, she found the courage to continue to persuade him again.

"Dear friend, can you tell me your WhatsApp number?" Silence!

"Good boy, can you give me your number?" Silence!

"Handsome boy, can you tell me your name?" Silence!

"Baby boy, you look so cute and attractive that a woman must be in awe just looking at you..."

At least she only noticed the guy's grunt. Annoyed by Herieth 's voice, who seemed completely shy, the man opened his eyes and asked in an irritated voice, "What do you want?"

"I want to marry you, I want to be your wife!" Herieth opened up straight away.

The man's mouth trembled in surprise! For a while, he remained silent looking at Herieth as if she were a mask. "Truly, you are not listening, but completely crazy. I have never seen a woman looking for a man to marry her, and a stranger."

Smiling, Herieth added, "To be honest, I plan to be your wife. Although what I said will show that I lack shame, or that I am a villain or a scumbag, whatever. But I have spoken my truth. I am 24 years old this year, and I graduated from the University of New South Wales in the United States. I am a woman capable of doing well at home and work. Besides, I will take care of my husband. I can earn money for myself too. I am healthy and have never done any bad behaviour. Above all, I am not a fickle lover." Herieth used her chance to bid well.

The man was speechless. He rubbed his eyes, then looked at her in surprise, yet his mouth refused to utter any words.

Herieth raised her hand. "I can swear that from now on, I will only treat you well and promise to carry out everything I said..."

"Shut up." Finally, the man got tired of his words and stood up.

When Herieth looked up, she realized that the man was tall. He was about six feet two inches high, and besides, he had a particularly broad manly frame.

"If you want to marry me, come tomorrow at four o'clock in the morning with your birth certificate at the office of the head of the Ilala district." The man looked at her as she stood, one hand emphasizing his words while the other hand was in his pocket.

Herieth was stunned, she couldn't believe what she heard even though it was what she wanted, she found herself stuttering, "u..uu..u serious?"

"If you want to, come. if you want to leave, it's up to you." The man answered her rudely and curtly and then turned and left.

At the same time, a Bentley Mulsanne car slowly moved towards the entrance of the bar. When the door of the car opened, a man from the bar got inside and sat in the back seat. He unbuttoned the two buttons of his shirt above his chest to get some air as he lazily leaned back on the leather chair.

"Didn't I tell you that I want to look low class this time, why did you come to me with such an expensive car?" The man asked his driver.

Hans, who was the work assistant of the handsome guy answered gently. "I'm sorry sir, but Sam said this is the least expensive car in the Harry family right now."

"Tomorrow buys a Harrier, I don't want to attract people's attention." The man frowned slightly. "Who else knows I'm here in Dar?"

"If you leave Sam Harry, there is no one else but Mrs Frank," Hans replied.

The man thought again of the girl he had just talked to in the bar and entrusted Hans with the task of spying on her profile. "Find out who this woman is. I want to know about her before dawn." Hans was handed pictures of Herieth that he had taken skillfully while she was talking to him in the bar.

•••

Herieth 's plan went so fast that she suspected she was too drunk. Although she wanted to get her point across, she didn't expect the man to accept it so easily. Herieth felt like such a joke.

That thought remained in her mind until Tina came to shock her by tapping her on the shoulder, and said to her with compassion,

"Don't be so angry. It is not easy to capture the heart of a handsome, rich and famous man like this. Keep trying like that-"

"No, he has agreed!" Herieth expressed concern as she looked dazed. "He told me to meet him at the gate of the district head's office tomorrow at four in the morning. so I'm thinking, does he mean this or is he just making fun of me?"

"Wee!" Tina was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Congratulations on being amazing Herieth"

Herieth asked, "Do you believe that he was telling the truth?"

Tina tightly squeezed Herieth 's soft face. "Why not? With your pure and natural appearance, no man can reject you. If I were a man, I would love you the first time I saw you. Let's go and have a drink to celebrate your marriage."

Herieth wondered how much Tina had drunk after leaving her for that short time. When she looked blankly at the table, she understood what was on her mind.

However, Herieth began to feel very drunk after drinking too much alcohol. She felt her head heavy...

The morning sun shone through the curtains. Herieth was fast asleep when she was woken up by noises outside. As soon as he opened her eyes, she saw Zack opening the door and entering his room.

Tina, who followed him into the room, growled. "This is my house! You're not supposed to come in without my permission!"

"Sure, but I'm sorry. I have a problem with Herieth and I know she's here." Zack looked carefully at Herieth whose eyes were red and her hair was a little messy. Herieth was awake at the time, her eyes showing sadness.

Tina looked at the two and told them. "Zack and Heriet, you should have a good talk. It wasn't easy to break up like this after being together for so many years." After thinking for a moment, Tina turned and left, closing the door behind her.

The room was silent. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Zack reached out to touch Herieth 's hair. With a look of disdain, Herieth avoided his hand and asked him a question. "Julia knows you're here?"

Zack's handsome face froze, and then he clenched his fists and spoke emphatically. "Herieth. maybe you don't know that the Martin family has decided to give Julia 80 per cent of the shares of your company, Martin Family Group."

Herieth was so shocked that her lips changed colour. "That is impossible."

"It's true. Your father said it himself." Zack assured her.

Herieth seemed to grasp everything within minutes. She raised her head and looked at her school sweetheart who she was in love with those days. Tears began to flow from he4. "That's why you left me and chose Julia, right? Because Julia is the heir!"

Zack took her hands and told her, This is just my temporary method. I am engaged to Julia, but I will not marry her. This is just the pressure of my parents, they want me to marry Julia because she is the heir of your family. As you know, my father has an illegitimate child. If I don't do this I won't even be able to compete with him for the inheritance. Herieth, I just want to give you a good future!"

"Bullsh*t." Herieth snatched her hand from him and threw insults at him. "You're only 26 years old. Even if you don't have any inheritance from your family, you can fight to start your own business. You're so stupid. Get out of here!"

Zack slowly stood up, hiding his emotions in his eyes. He said softly, "It is not in my power to choose what to do due to the nature of our clan. So I just have to do what I was told to do."

Herieth seemed to cool down without uttering a word because she saw no point.

Amidst the silence, Zack sighed softly. "Give me three years Herieth. You are still young. You can afford to wait."

Herieth almost went crazy. "You take me for a fool, don't you? You have chosen to marry Julia for the desire of inheritance. Who knows if you won't marry her three years later? Please get out of my face. I don't want to see you again!"

"Time will show my love for you. You can be angry with me, but don't go out and channel your anger into alcohol. It's not good for your health." Since Herieth didn't understand what he said to her, he just advised her before turning and leaving.

When she heard the door close, Herieth angrily threw the pillow against the wall, her eyes red and she paused for a few seconds. After that, she angrily put on her shirt and went out.

"Where are you going? Zack left you, what's the point of following him?" Tina quickly stopped her.

Herieth took a deep breath and then reminded Tina. "I'm not following Zack. I agreed to meet his uncle at four in the morning at the house so we can get married."

Tina asked in surprise, "Do you believe him?"

"Didn't you say you believed him last night, or was it the alcohol?" Herieth surprised her.

Tina replied shyly, "I don't remember anything I said, that was just a joke."

"What if he's serious about it?" Herieth pushed her and ran outside. "Let me go."

Herieth drove straight to their house. At the time her father, Jones Martin, had already gone to work. she ran upstairs to get her birth certificate. When she got to the living room, she saw Julia coming out of the library room with a big stack of documents in her hand. Julia seemed calm and without any worries.

"Finally you are back my little one. I was still worried about what happened yesterday." A hypocritical look spread across Julia's face. "It's that Zack is not interested in you. You can't force someone who doesn't love you to love you."

Herieth gave Julia angry eyes. "That's enough. You can stop talking about Zack now because I don't have a deal with him anymore. I've underestimated you, my sister. You didn't see another man until you found Zack?"

"Don't do this to me, my little one." Julia bit her lip, fake and true tears falling from her. "I'll get you whatever you want Herieth okay? I won't get involved in company-related matters. I'll give you these documents." As she spoke, she placed the documents in Herieth 's hands. Herieth found it strange and stretched out her hands to push the documents away. As a result, all the documents were scattered on the floor.

"What are you guys doing?" Suddenly, Mama Martin came down the stairs and saw Julia's face with tears and scattered documents. "Aren't these the company documents that your father gave you to review? Why are they scattered here?"

"Don't be angry with her, Mother. It's my fault." With a forced sad face, Julia quickly explained, "Herieth asked me to stop getting involved in the company's affairs and hand over these documents to her. I was planning to give her the documents, but she's probably not happy about Zack's matter, so- "

"You are a fool-" Herieth scolded her sister but was suddenly interrupted by a harsh rebuke from her mother.

"Shut up!" Mama Martin glared at her. "Who gave you the right to have a command in the affairs of the company? It was your father and I who gave those documents to Julia. Julia will officially become the manager of the company next week. You better know this early."

Herieth was stunned. "Talking about education and experience, I have more qualifications than her. Despite joining the company a year earlier than her, I am not a manager yet. What gives her the right to jump to such a position?"

"Mom, I'd rather not be a manager. I don't want to destroy my relationship with Herieth," Julia said once while crying.

Mama Martin's heart hurt a lot. "Look at how Julia cares about you. But what about you? You are narrow-minded and full of selfishness. You don't even deserve to be a manager. No wonder Zack chose Julia instead of you."

When Herieth heard her mother's cruel words, she felt as if she was being hit with a stick in the heart. Julia and Herieth were her daughters. However, Mama Martin was so partial to Julia that she believed everything she said and was ready to freeze Herieth for her sake. Herieth was by her mother's side since childhood. Did Mama Martin not know her behaviour? No one comforted Heriet since Julia returned. Everything that happened was taken as a matter of fact.

As anger was taking over her body like never before, Herieth took two steps back. "Okay. Since I'm so bad, I'll leave, okay?" she went to her room immediately after she finished speaking. She took a bag and then put her clothes in it.

Julia's voice came from the door. "Mom, Herieth is crazy. We have to talk to her so he doesn't leave."

"Don't bother with her. That's how she is. We have advised her too much, just let her go and she will come back two days later. Let's go and buy some clothes because you will be engaged soon." Soon, the voices slowly faded as the two took off.

With large teardrops falling down the back of her hand, Herieth carried her bag down the steps of the stairs and out. After that, she drove her car and disappeared completely. She left feeling sad that she seemed to have lost everything in a day. Why did everyone treat her like that when she did nothing wrong? She grabbed the steering wheel as her eyes lit up in disbelief at what was happening.