a coincidence

His Trophy Wife, The Apex Predator

Eydie Pfefferle

My husband of three years, Arthur Vanderbilt, came home smelling of his mistress's perfume and threw divorce papers on our marble kitchen island. He demanded I sign away all rights to our assets for a five-million-dollar "severance," calling me a leech his family picked up from the suburbs to solve a temporary PR crisis. When I refused and demanded my four percent equity in the Vanderbilt Group, he and his mistress, Serena, launched a vicious smear campaign. They planted false stories on Wall Street forums, accusing me of laundering money for an Eastern European crime syndicate. They tried to force my hand with a check for five hundred million, which I tore up and threw in his face. To them, I was just a trophy wife they could easily discard. They had no idea that the "leech" they so despised was the anonymous investor who had secretly bailed out their entire company three years ago, saving them from bankruptcy. Their final move was to hire an actress to publicly accuse me of fraud in the lobby of the most powerful law firm in Manhattan. They didn't realize I was there to retain the firm's most ruthless lawyer. After security threw them out, I looked my replacement in the eye and made her a promise. "Prepare for an FBI probe into perjury and corporate defamation."

Modern Revenge

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Chris stepped into the classroom, greeting Mrs. Oladapo, the biology teacher, with a warm smile. "Good afternoon, ma."

As he approached his friends, his eyes widened in surprise. Enoch, his best friend, and Iyiola were engrossed in an intense conversation. Chris's curiosity piqued, he walked towards them, holding a bag of snacks.

Iyiola paused, stood up, and hugged Chris tightly. Enoch bowed his head, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, Chris," Iyiola whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm so sorry for what I did."

Chris's expression softened. "It's okay, Iyiola. We'll talk about it later."

Amaka, their classmate, approached the group. "What's going on?" she asked, concern etched on her face.

Enoch shook his head. "Nothing, Amaka."

Chris intervened. "Let's discuss it after school, okay?"

Amaka nodded. "How about we meet at Amaka's place and have a group reading session?"

Enoch's face lit up. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Mrs. Oladapo entered the classroom, her signature phrase ringing out: "Organize yourselves!" The students chuckled, familiar with her quirks.

"Your WAEC examination is approaching, just three months away," Mrs. Oladapo reminded them. "Form study groups to review past questions from 2010 to 2013."

The students murmured in agreement.

As the class dispersed, Chris, Amaka, Enoch, and Iyiola made plans to meet at Amaka's place at 4 pm.

*****

"Mummy! Mummy!! Mummy!!!", Amaka shouted.

Mrs. Johnson, Amaka's mother, walked out of her room and gently made her way down the stairs to the sitting room.

"My darling!" Mrs. Johnson greeted warmly. "How's your health, Mum?" Amaka asked, concern etched on her face.

"I feel better now," Mrs. Johnson replied with a gentle smile.

"I can see you didn't use your medication, Mum," Amaka observed, her brow furrowed with worry.

"I don't think there's any need for that, dear," Mrs. Johnson said reassuringly.

"Mum, you know I've always wanted to become a medical practitioner," Amaka said, a mischievous glint in her eye. "So, please, can you use your medication? I want my future patients to respect me."

Mrs. Johnson chuckled. "Doctor Amaka, don't worry, your patients will obey and respect you. I'll take my medication after dinner."

Amaka nodded, satisfied. "Mum, I want to go upstairs and freshen up. My friends will be coming over to study at 4 pm."

"No problem, dear," Mrs. Johnson replied.

Amaka climbed the stairs to her room. A few minutes later, she walked to Emmanuel's house, her neighbor. She knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Emmanuel asked, opening the door with a smile.

"Me," Amaka replied, smiling back at him.

Emmanuel's eyes lingered on Amaka's face, and he felt his heart skip a beat. He had always had feelings for Amaka, but he had never mustered the courage to tell her.

"Is your mom at home?" Amaka asked, oblivious to Emmanuel's gaze.

"Yes... no... she's not around," Emmanuel stammered, his eyes still locked on Amaka's face.

"What happened?" Amaka asked, noticing Emmanuel's distraction.

"Nothing," Emmanuel replied quickly. "I was just looking at an angel right in front of me."

Amaka laughed. "You're not serious."

Emmanuel couldn't help but stare at Amaka. He felt drawn to her kindness and beauty.

"Wait a bit, please," Amaka said, glancing at her watch. "What's the time?"

Emmanuel glanced at the clock on the wall. "4:17."

Amaka's eyes widened in alarm. "Ahh! I'm late!" She turned and ran back to her house.

Amaka burst through the front door, out of breath. "Where have you been?" Chris asked, looking up from a book.

"I'm sorry, I nearly forgot I was late," Amaka replied, still catching her breath.

"You will surely forget," Iyiola teased, grinning.