The Billionaire's Upstart Wife

It is doomsday and Sapphire knew that, she was dreaming and she really want to wake up so bad but it is like a force is keeping her down and letting her go though the torture all over again.

A scene flashed in front of her, it subsided and she saw her ex-fiance, Oliver Gray and herself.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter if we have been together for nine years, the point is that we are breaking up now, I have Heather with me, this is the wedding invitation card, she would really love it if you were there, after all you are her best friend, and we are getting rid of those bastards inside of you, whether you like it or not because Heather requested it," He said and the feeling of betrayal she felt that time came all over again in ten folds.

He said the words, different days at different times but her brain always found a way to patch it up and summarize it into a sentence, but one thing was constant when he said all those words, it was that she had a wedding dress on and a broken leg from wearing heels.

She wanted to tap herself and tell her to stand up and stop being such an idiot, she wanted to reach into the scene and punch the jerk squarely in the face, she wanted to shut his mouth up.

Another scene flashed and she was standing with her family. She also looked pathetic at that time, couldn't she have braced up and told them off.

"You are a disgrace to the family, we are sorry for the trouble Sapphire caused.

We already took measures and she is in rehabilitation now.

I disown you, you are no longer my daughter.

What? Do you want to stain Melissa's reputation by having her come over to visit you in prison?

Do as you are told and tell them that you did it.

Who knew that my niece is a bad girl, why don't you get a tattoo in order to complete the look."

Those were from different people she used to call family, a bunch of people who would do anything for their own selfish gain, the humiliation and sadness weighed her down but she willed herself to break free from the torment.

She was finally able to open her eyes as gasps fell from her lips, her face was wet with perspiration and her heart was heavy like a lid.

She sat up and cleaned the angry tears that had made their way to the corner of her eyes. She looked around her room before she stood up and walked to the room next door.

She stared at her kids for a long time before she moved to them. It must be because of her family's phone call that brought these memories back, the ones she wanted to forget so badly.

-------------------------

Sapphire arrived at the airport and stared around, she exhaled and held on tight to her cross bag, since she left there are many things she missed about New York but the things she didn't miss about the place are more than things she missed.

She walked towards the exit, mixing herself with the big crowd. She loves getting lost among people.

She stood out for such a long time and it brought her downfall, she was scorned, humiliated and wronged, she was so high on the pedestal before she was pushed down harshly.

She shook her head, no, she won't think of such gloomy thoughts. She came to New York just to hear whatever nonsense her family wants to say.

Her phone rang and she held her luggage with her left hand and removed her phone from her pocket. She checked the ID and saw that it was an unknown number, she hesitated before picking it up.

"Hello," she said.

"After all these years, I am finally able to hear your voice," The person on the other side said and the Sapphire freezed.

It has been two years since she heard her voice.

"Melissa.."

"I take it that you have arrived at the airport, the family summoned you and you came,"

Melissa is her younger sister, she was older than her by a year and she is the golden feather of the Conrad family, what she says goes.

Even though Sapphire was an idiot and had issues with Melissa, she didn't care that she had to ask for permission before she did anything in the house, whatever it is, spending money, getting out of the house, going to parties, everything.

Melissa still had a problem with her, so she set her up. Arranged every bad thing that happened to her, setting up her best friend with her fiance whom she was together with for seven years and engaged to for two years.

The sick part was that she succeeded and they broke her into a thousand pieces.

"What do you want from me, Melissa?" She asked with a bored tone, already developing a migraine.

"Maybe, you don't know but they are bringing you here in order to get you married to Mr. Alexander Aldine, the CEO of Triple A Group, an arranged marriage," Melissa said in a cheerful voice, she was obviously enjoying this.

"Maybe you don't know, but," she mimicked her. "Your damn family can't control me anymore, I left it behind, you are a bunch of shameless betrayal," she said and Melissa laughed but Sapphire could tell that it was a bit forced.

"Even if it will bring the freedom of your twin?" She asked. Sapphire just stared before she hung up.

She didn't want to deal with Melissa right now, they were forcing her hand, they were trying to trap her.

She stared at the airport, maybe she should just run away to Gisborne, that is where she came from and it had been peaceful, no high class society, just her, her friends, her kids and her neighbors.

She ran away from New York and went there when she was humiliated and couldn't take it anymore and now that she is just healing they call her here to do what?

Get married to some Mr Alexander?

No, they can't do this to her, Ruby is her twin brother and part of the Conrad family, why do they have to pin it on her, they had other ladies, why did she have to be the sacrificial lamb.

She love Ruby, she honestly do, but this is like submitting to them all over again, those selfish family of hers.They failed her when they turned their back on her and suck up to Oliver's family when HE was the one that broke up with her, simply because the Grays were richer than the Conrads.

Someone bumped into someone, causing her to bump into someone, the person wrapped her hand around her waist to hold her, her luggage had fallen to the ground.

She raised her head and the first thing that her eyes stuck to was the beautiful gray eyes that stared back at her, they were so beautiful, it had a moderate level of intensity and softness.

She felt like he was staring straight into her soul, how can something look like it has thousands of secrets behind it and so expressive at the same time.

They were in a world of their own, they were the only ones that were in the airport. It has been a long time since her heart raced because of the sight of someone but looking at this man's extremely handsome face, she felt like she was seizing, skipping and beating hard.

All at once!

The song that blasted from her phone was what brought her out of her daydream, it had been vibrating but she didn't notice.

She cleared her throat and shook her head to clear up her muddled mind. She had to think with her brains, that's what she had it for.

She moved a bit and he released her, still staring at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she wondered why there was worry ringing his voice, they didn't know each other.

"I am so sorry, I wasn't looking, I bumped into you," she said and immediately crouched to pick up her luggage.

She raised up and he was still staring at her, a light blush appeared on her cheeks.

"It's okay," he said, staring into her eyes. "And it is going to be Alright for you, no matter what you are going through," He said and she paused. How did the man know that she is nervous, she had always been the best at hiding her emotions.

But nevertheless, she was comforted by his kind words, it was what she needed.

Her phone rang again and she stared at the ID, it was Melissa.

Of course, she had important things to deal with, but she is busy fantasizing about a man she didn't know even after swearing not to have anything to do with men.

"Mr. Alexander, we should go," she heard someone say behind her but was too muddled to process the words.

She picked up the call.

"So, what will you do?" Melissa asked, Sapphire looked around the place in irritation, the first thing she saw as soon as she was out irritated her even more.

There was a big banner and on it was a picture of Oliver and Heather, Oliver was tagged the best gentleman and Heather was the loyal woman.

They both had smiles on their faces as they were tagged a match made from heaven .

Sapphire scoffed, they couldn't have been more wrong, he is an ass hat, how on earth do they tag someone who seduced her friend's fiance loyal.

They were smiling even after everything they did, how unfair that the world can still go on normally after someone's heaven was turned to hell.

Luci once told her this, "whenever you see those who turned your world upside down smiling, smile too, so that all of you are smiling. They would wonder what psychotic thing you are up to,"

So she let out an evil smile, they don't know what is going to hit them,"

---------------------------

She stared around and came to a quick conclusion that it has not changed at all, at least, not any major changes.

The house was still the same way she left it, the sparkling white floor, chandeliers high in the ceiling yet hanging so low that you feel like you could touch it, the immaculate cream pillars, the chocolate colored door and the endless directions the spiral staircase led to look like the reminder of very bad nightmares, basically giving her the chills.

"Young miss, they are waiting in the private living room," A maid dressed in the perfect maid uniform according to the Conrads said while showing the way to the room with her hands, she nodded once.

"Let me show the way ma'am," The maid said, but she brushed her away with a wave of her hand.

The feeling of being her is like being autistic, everything blend into a big blur, her legs took her to the direction of the room, despite how much she wanted to forget about anything that has to do with the house, she couldn't help that her body does not agree with her, well, neither does her brain.

Her brain blocked out the good memories and kept the bad ones on replay, she can't remember clearly no matter how hard she tried and badly needed it.

She stopped and stared long and hard at the dark door with a gold plate on which PLR was written boldly. She knows that whatever awaits her can't be good, simply because matters discussed in the private living room were never good, times told her that, loud and clear.

It is about time she faces them, they should have a taste of their own medicine while she is here, no mercy, no glory and definitely no pity.

Those bunch of selfish ninnies!

She pushed the door open and she remembered the last time she was here.

±±±±±±±

"What are you talking about, mom?" She asked with her lips wobbling, she could feel the tears gather at her eyes but she couldn't make them fall, maybe she heard wrong.

"The decision has been made, you heard me right," Her mother said with emotionless eyes, she stared hard at her eyes but there was nothing there, no soft emotion.

The light flowery curtains danced lightly to the side following the beat of the winds and the sun cast a glow on her mother.

She always thought that her mother looked like an angel when that happened but she can't help but feel like she was staring at the arch devil at the moment.

"But that decision does not pay me, not in the least, it's like you are dis.." The words felt tight in her throat, like a thousand stones were blocking it with a thick thread tied around her neck to add to the suffocating feeling, she couldn't just complete her words.

"Yes, I am. It is honestly the least I could do," Her mother said the words that broke her inside, staring at the beautiful painting of the families who grew in the countryside having fun with joy in their eyes like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

Her grandmother brought that on her thirty-fifth year anniversary, so her mother would have seen it for the most of her life.

"The least??" She asked incredulously through tears while her mouth laughed. "That was the fucking least?" She yelled but it was not a question.

Her headache was massive, she thought she was developing a migraine, her knees became weak, her eyes were blurred by the tears, a cold or perhaps fever came over her and dread settled comfortably in her stomach.

That was her last freaking hope.

Her mother walked away from her, her heels on the cream tiles creating a sound that sounded like the devil mistress was coming for her.

She was in hell.

She was a little bit wrong but she was massively wronged.

±±±±±±±

She snapped out of her nightmare when she heard a voice called her in awe and disbelief, before the body jumped on her and hugged her like a Koala.

"Maxwell," she called and everybody in the room snapped their heads when they heard that cold and soulless voice.

He was the only nice one in the family, too bad there was nothing he could do then cause he was too young.

The said guy raised his eyes and his hazel eyes stared into her blue ones which have iced over the years, and those sparkling hazel became clouded with tears.

She stared at everyone in the room and knew just how they found her.

The answer was sitting on the main singular chair in the form of her grandmother. Nevermind going into hiding again, she would be found.

"So why on earth did you all request my presence?" she asked staring at them with cold eyes

Everyone who declared a bad date for her was present. She walked to the chair that was the farthest from the rest and sat. She crossed her legs and stared at them all and they all stared back, not all of them, some glared at her.

The tension in the room was so thick that a knife could cut through it.

Everybody refused to speak.

She raised her eyebrow and gave them a questioning look but they didn't seem to get the hint. She rolled her eyes and stared at the expensive beautiful clock that was given to her grandmother as a birthday gift from her father.

5:20pm.

She intentionally came here late so as to avoid unnecessary chit-chat but it was like a cat got everyone's tongues.

"So, why am I here?" She asked, even though Melissa already told her, she wanted to hear it from them.

When nobody talked she rolled her eyes and her mother gave her the stink eye.

"Just because you went away to some countryside for a year doesn't mean you should lose your damn manners?" Her mother said glaring at her.

Her mother had always favored Melissa over her. It used to hurt her a lot in the past whenever they fought because she loved her a lot but she is not the same naive girl who always tries to bend to her mother's wishes in order to get her approval.

That girl who was hurt was from some years ago and she is dead now.

"And by manners you mean?" She asked once again, infuriating her mother.

"Haven't you heard of basic greetings?"

"Basic greetings," she said, pretending to think about it for a while with her hands under her chin.

"I think I heard about it for a while some time ago but I don't think we have that stuff in our countryside " she said rolling her eyes, everybody stared at her shocked because they didn't expect that kind of behavior from her.

"You have become even more rude, I expected much better from you, you ungrateful piece of---" Her mother snarled before she was stopped by her father.

Let us just say that he is a male doll who always listens to his wife, he always had no objections and always sided with her.

"You have changed so much," Maxwell said, staring at her with sad eyes.

"It couldn't be helped, Max," She said with a gentler tone and he nodded. It pained him that the enthusiasm she used to speak with once upon a time was gone, any trace of who she used to be was gone with the misfortune that happened three years ago.

"So we called you here to inform you about a decision that has been made before you came here--," Her father said after clearing her throat.

She rolled her eyes, what's with this family and Making a decision about her in her absence, she scoffed.

"We thought that it's high time you become useful to the family," He continued as if he wasn't just interrupted by his daughter.

"Just as Melissa had also been useless, we are the same pairs,"

"Don't compare my daughter to you lowly self," Her mother snarled.

"You are getting married to Mr. Alexander Aldine, the CEO of Triple A Group '' He said and she paused, she already heard it from Melissa but some part of her wished that it is not true and that they will listen to her choice but they already made the decision behind her.

"Are fucking kidding me right now?, I went away and you tracked me down, made me came here only to tell me bullshits about getting married?, you must be joking right now," she asked when her brain come to terms with her ears.

"No we're not kidding you,"

"I thought you have this beautiful goddess that is your daughter she will never do no wrong, the bundle of good behavior is surely enough for the damn man, isn't she?" She said sarcastically and everybody exchanged a look.

They probably didn't expect her to disagree with them, she should be willing to do anything to be accepted back into the family.

The naive girl that was chased out of the family would have been willing to do anything to get back into the family month to three months after she was chased.

Brielle stared at her amused, to say that her niece had changed is an understatement, the niece she knew won't dare to stare at all, not to talk of staring with disinterest.

Brielle stared at her niece and walked out wondering what changed, but whatever attitude she has is not going to stop the marriage.

The door opened and Arielle entered, she went to sit on a chair and buried herself in her phone.

Arielle is the daughter of her late uncle, she wasn't sorry that the asshole died, she wished him and a lot of people here a thousand deaths.

"Since Melissa had been kept under a hole somewhere, why don't you let her get married?" Sapphire gestured to Arielle which made the lady sit up to face her.

"Don't get me involved in your nonsense Sapphire, Ruby is your twin," Arielle quickly defended herself.

"And he is your cousin, do me a favor and keep shut when I am not talking to you," Sapphire said, condescendingly, which made Arielle snap her mouth shut.

"You are going to do it," Her uncle said and she whipped her head in his direction.

"And who the hell do you think you are to tell me that?" She snapped, her eyes taking a fiery hue promising to burn anyone that overstep their boundary.

"Don't talk to me like that, young woman,"

"I am just letting you know that you have got no right to mind my business, you've got no fucking right, Mr. Felix," she said, staring at him and they glared at each other.

"Alright, everybody should get out, I have to talk to her in private," The matriarch said calmly and quietly but everyone heard her clearly.

The door closed and Emiliana turned to her granddaughter, she assessed her before her eyes softened.

She was nothing like the girl she knew from two years ago, even though she used to be a cute spoilt, rude and naive young mistress of the Conrad family, most can't deny the fact that she was so intelligent and smart, when it comes to business she was so calculative and avoid impulse but the same can't be said about her life outside business.

She believes that one shouldn't try to calculate their every step because they wouldn't enjoy the life they would live and that made her to make many wrong choices, part of which included Oliver Gray and Heather Smith, Emiliana promised herself that she would make sure to right all those wrong.

"How have you been, Sapphire?" Her grandmother asked and she realized that she was the only person that bothered to ask how she had been.

She stared at her granny and her eyes said everything the older woman needed to know.

"But why me and not ..... and not the others, there is Melissa, the golden feather, Arielle, the model business woman, Venita, the super hot model, not them all? Why do you have to choose Sapphire, the family's horror? Why did you choose me?" She said her eyes were so cold, that once a year ago sparkling blue eyes resembled ice blue and threatened to freeze anyone that wanted to force her to go against her will.

None excluded.