A man who knows he's a catch. A sexy flawless billionaire. "For me, Sex is a way to relieve stress." A woman who has been broken by the ones she calls family. "I don't want to feel this much pain anymore." A sister who wants everything to herself. "The way to a man's heart is through sex." A mother who is nothing but evil. "A pushover like you can't be my daughter, I should have killed you when I had the chance." Zoey lives in a world where she could never be happy. And when she runs away, she made up her mind to kill herself but what happens when a sexy billionaire saves her life? Will he save her from the hell that is her reality? Would he turn out to be her sanctuary?
"Zoey!, Mom's calling you." Amy yelled as she barged into Zoey's room.
Zoey was used to it but she didn't really mind. It wasn't like she could complain either.
"Are you deaf?, can't you answer?" Amy said waiting for Zoey's reply.
"I've heard you, Amy." Zoey said and Amy hissed before leaving Zoey's room.
And Zoey followed behind her to her mother's room.
"Okay Zozo, you're going to wash the sheets, scrub the floors and go to the dry cleaners to get Amy's clothes." Eve said to which Zoey frowned.
"What's with the frown?" Eve asked and Zoey dared to say something.
"Why should I do all that when we have maids?"
"Besides, can't Amy go to the dry cleaners to get her own clothes?" Zoey asked and when she was done. Eve started laughing.
"What makes you think that you're better than the maids?"
"And why should my precious daughter do stressful chores?" Eve said laughing.
"But I'm your daughter too." Zoey mumbled but Eve heard it anyways. And she gave her a dirty slap to go with it.
"Don't ever compare yourself to my sweet Amy, you're nothing."
"Okay?"
"Nothing compared to my daughter. Now go do your chores." Eve said in a half yell before Zoey scrambled off.
"Sometimes, that girl needs a beating." Eve said as Zoey ran away.
Zoey sighed heavily as she began to do her chores.
For Zoey, living with the Daniel family was like a ray of light in her gloomy life.
She could remember the first day she came to live with them. She thought that day was the happiest day of her life but now she knows better.
If one knew how the future would turn out, would one still venture into that future?
For instance, would Pluto have stayed on the solar system if it knew it was going to kicked out in the far future?
Maybe, maybe not.
Because for Zoey, she doesn't think she would have refused to be adopted even if she knew it would turn out this way.
The orphanage wasn't running really well then and there was less to eat with more mouths to feed.
Eve had showed up in a black gown like she was mourning. She wore a scowl on her face and it looked as though she was disgusted by the number of unkempt children around her.
She was sweating profusely due to the orphanage's lack of enough ventilation or even an electric fan to fight the heat. And so Zoey had done her best to win her favour.
She went over there and offered her a glass of water, it wasn't cold or chilled but it was something.
Eve had looked at her with raised brows as she collected the glass of water from her and gulped the entire thing.
And the next thing she said made Zoey understand that she had scored.
"I'll take this one." Eve had said that day and Zoey could never be happier.
It was as though her prayers has been answered.
"Now you!" Eve said as she pointed at little Zoey.
"Go get your belongings and let's go." She had said. She looked like she didn't want to be there even for one more second.
"I don't have any stuff." Zoey had said and Eve scoffed before turning and walking back to her car with little Zoey trailing behind her.
Eve's secretary had done the adoption process and Zoey was legally adopted.
"Go with him." Eve had said to Zoey when her secretary returned from the office.
Zoey did as she was told and went in the other car with the secretary.
During the ride to the house, she had been briefed on what her status was in the house.
The Daniel family had only one daughter and she had no one to play with and so her Grandma Nina had suggested that they adopted a child to serve that purpose.
"Why couldn't they just give birth to another child?" Zoey had asked.
Ofcourse, it was a reasonable question and it wasn't like she wasn't happy that she was adopted.
Heck, if they had given birth to another child then she wouldn't be in this car driving to her new home.
The secretary had then told her the truth that Eve couldn't give birth to a child anymore and she couldn't tell her daughter that.
It didn't really matter the reason why they were adopting Zoey anyways. All that mattered was that they were.
And when Zoey had arrived at the house, she was taken somewhere where she took her bath and dressed up in good clothes and not the tattered ones she came in.
She felt refreshed for once in a while. The only time they were given new clothes at the orphanage was Christmas because those were the time where people came to donate the clothes that their children wasn't wearing anymore.
As Zoey walked to the main house to meet her new family, she was excited.
Would they like her?
She heard on the drive here that she was a year older than their daughter so does that mean that she'll be her older sister?
A lot of questions were running through Zoey's mind and she couldn't wait to meet this new people she would call family.
But the moment she stepped her foot into the house, she knew that she wasn't welcomed there.
"This would be your new home, Zoey."
"That's your mom -Eve, your father - James and your younger sister - Amy." The secretary had explained.
Zoey looked at this people and they didn't spare her a glance.
Well, Amy did but her glare wouldn't count.
James took one look at her and walked away. Eve asked her to find anywhere to sit and she did as she was told.
The secretary had left, leaving her in the hands of these people and suddenly Zoey wished that the person who adopted her was the secretary instead.
She tried her best to fit in. She tried to play with Amy, after all, she was the reason for her adoption anyways but the look Amy sent her way had her going back to where she was seated.
And at dinner, Zoey knew that she wasn't family to this people. They didn't consider her that because when dinner was served, she was the only one eating a different meal.
"It's better than what you have at orphanage right?" That was what Eve had said to her.
Truly it was better but it surely didn't feel right.
Although the food in the orphanage wasn't that good, it was made with a lot of love and affection but this?
Not this.
And from that day forward, Zoey had known that she didn't belong here.
She had always felt like a thorn in a garden of beautiful roses and they hadn't failed to remind her of that.
"What are you doing?"
"Those sheets are expensive, how dare you wash them with the washing machine?" Eve yelled as soon as she came into the laundry room. And that jolted Zoey from her thoughts.
"I'm so sorry Mother." Zoey said immediately.
"Ofcourse you're sorry, what would possibly know about a designer bed spread?" Amy said as she came into the laundry room as well.
Eve was about to give her another slap when she decided against it and pushed her instead.
Zoey fell to the ground and injured her hands. She already had enough blisters as it is.
"Wash them with your hands, you stupid girl." Eve fussed before walking out of the room with Amy following behind her.
Zoey sighed heavily and took the sheets out of the washing machine. She put them into a big bucket and took them along with her to the bathroom.
She filled the bucket with soap and water and began to scrub.
"Wash it softly." She heard Eve yell and she answered her by saying -yes, Mother.
And as she washed it, her hands were stinging but she would bear it.
Because in a few hours, things would change.
She would bear this torture now because things were starting to look up for her.
Things were starting to change for good.
Her close friend Mike had asked her to be his wife and she had said yes.
She wasn't sure if she loved him but it was something she could learn to do when they get married.
It wasn't a big deal.
And this, was now her ray of light.
In the past, she thought getting adopted was her ray of light in her gloomy life but now getting married and leaving this house would be that.
And she couldn't wait.
"Zoey, hurry up, I have somewhere to be." Amy yelled at her.
Zoey quickly rinsed out the soap from the sheets and took them out to spread them.
After she did, she went straight to the dry cleaners to get Amy's clothes.
When she returned, Amy dragged the bag from her hands and went to try on the clothes.
Zoey sighed heavily before returning to her room. She had to get dressed now because if she didn't, she might not be well dressed when Mike would show up for dinner.
And so, she quickly put on one of her nice dresses. And as she was dressing up, a knock on her door made her pause.
Amy doesn't usually knock so it was kinda usually.
"Zoey." She could hear Amy call her name in a soft voice which was kind of unsettling.
She quickly wore her clothes and went to open the door.
"Mike is here." Amy said quietly and Zoey couldn't help but smile.
She would deal with Amy's unusual change in character later.
But for now, he was here.
Her ray of light was here.
And she couldn't wait to meet him.
She couldn't wait to see the only other person who has managed to love her after her grandma Nina.
She could take whatever Eve and Amy did to her because finally, she was important to someone.
Chapter 1 A ray of light.
19/06/2024
Chapter 2 How to cool off.
19/06/2024
Chapter 3 Not a fairytale.
19/06/2024
Chapter 4 Mother knows best.
19/06/2024
Chapter 5 Mission accomplished.
19/06/2024
Chapter 6 Unhappy.
19/06/2024
Chapter 7 Third is a charm.
19/06/2024
Chapter 8 Sometimes.
19/06/2024
Chapter 9 Not good enough.
19/06/2024
Chapter 10 Family meeting.
19/06/2024
Chapter 11 Kids.
20/06/2024
Chapter 12 Monsters.
20/06/2024
Chapter 13 Pain.
20/06/2024
Chapter 14 The ones she called family.
20/06/2024
Chapter 15 Comfort.
20/06/2024
Chapter 16 Story of her life.
20/06/2024
Chapter 17 Emergency meeting.
20/06/2024
Chapter 18 Evil intent.
20/06/2024
Chapter 19 Misunderstanding.
20/06/2024
Chapter 20 Quid pro quo.
20/06/2024
Chapter 21 Going home.
20/06/2024
Chapter 22 Comfort.
20/06/2024
Chapter 23 Worth the inconvenience.
21/06/2024
Chapter 24 Bistronomy.
21/06/2024
Chapter 25 Fun.
21/06/2024
Chapter 26 Not my girlfriend.
23/06/2024
Chapter 27 Caught in the act.
23/06/2024
Chapter 28 A glimpse of a celebrity's life.
23/06/2024
Chapter 29 Incorrigible.
23/06/2024
Chapter 30 Honeymoon
23/06/2024
Chapter 31 Getting to know each other.
23/06/2024
Chapter 32 Unexpected visitor.
26/06/2024
Chapter 33 Revenge.
26/06/2024
Chapter 34 Determination.
26/06/2024
Chapter 35 Attention.
26/06/2024
Chapter 36 Like an hormonal teenager.
26/06/2024
Chapter 37 Rain shower.
26/06/2024
Chapter 38 Simply platonic.
26/06/2024
Chapter 39 Problems.
26/06/2024
Chapter 40 Misunderstanding.
26/06/2024
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