Daughter-in-law Strikes Harder

Aria’s eyes trailed around every corner of the huge room, from the huge dangling chandeliers to the spots that were most best for a camera angle. It was kind of weird in her mind to think that Dalton would put cameras in his own room, but it wasn’t entirely implausible to imagine either.

Since he must have had the perfect plans in his mind that he would make her share his room, it was possible that there would be cameras in hidden places to watch her every move. And it was no doubt that he had really been curious about what she was up to.

That morning before Dalton left with his Alex for work, the assistant had passed her a small note and she wondered what it was all about. It was when she opened neatly folded paper and saw what it was all about, that elation swept her heart uncontrollably like a rumbling storm.

She could almost feel her eyes wet in tears as she read the letters in the paper over and over again, to be sure that she had not read delusions because of her expectations. It was something she least expected, and could agree that she had been beaten too.

Her hand straightened on the suit jacket that she was putting on over and over again, as she stared at her face in the mirror repeatedly. Her lips pulled in her thin line and stretched out to a bright smile, to reassure herself over and over again that everything would be fine.

A few minutes after she had breathed in and out, she grabbed her purse from the dresser chair, and picked the last piece of toast for breakfast that was placed in the tray that was on her dresser.

As she drove out of the underground parking lot to her destination, she forced the nicely baked treat into her mouth as her body trembled slightly behind the wheels throughout the entire drive. She was feeling really tired.

~`~~•~~`~

Her shoes clanked loudly against the surface of the tiled floor in the huge building of many floors, as she rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor of the third huge building. The route descriptions in the paper were quite complicated to understand, because Alex had scribbled it like he was writing some kind of outdated writing calligraphy.

It was easier with a nurse’s assistance at the counter after she confirmed a visitation with what Alex gave her, and was able to point out which hallway was which, in the confusingly numbered doors.

Aria made her way to the second hallway on the fifteenth floor, and stopped in front of the door of the last room on the row. Her eyes briefly caught the name of the patient written in bold letters, before she heaved a sigh of relief and took her first step into the room.

The sounds of beeping machines were not hard to miss in the gloomy atmosphere, which were connected to the lifeless body of a female on the bed with an oxygen mask around the nose. Though it was easy to see the face because of the heavy bandage wrapping, she knew that it was the only lady that she had a liking for in that house.

‘So she wasn’t dead yet. No wonder she was not told any information about her cremation, no matter how hard she tried to ask Alex.’

“This is really a relief, to know, that you are still alive, Martha,” Aria’s heavy voice dwelled deeply on her painful words, as she tried not to cry too hard in the state she was seeing the girl in. It was even more sad that she had no one to ask after her.

Her body lowered to the floor as she bent to the spot on her heels, and wept uncontrollably like it was her own family that was a victim. She cried so much that her eyes ached badly and her stomach sank, that made her body shudder nonstop in weakness.

It was hard to say exactly when the girl would wake up from her comatose state, or if she would even wake up soon with the present situation. Still, she was thankful that Dalton was taking responsibility for her bills, even if to them she was a nobody who didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

She made her way out of the hospital as she struggled to walk normally the way she had entered inside initially, because her body felt so tired and weak coupled with her head that ached so badly. Her walking steps were wobbly and her eyes were dizzy, as she tried to make it into the next elevator.

Her hand scattered through her bag and found the pills that she had not used that morning, and swallowed it immediately before the elevator stopped at the last floor. She came out looking already comported and relieved, as she made her way back to where her car was parked.

Fixing her make-up that had been smudged previously because of her tears, Aria checked her face in a small sized mirror to see if her look was perfect. She ran her hand across her pressed straight hair to give it a perfect touch, and adjusted her red lipstick with a slight touch of a peach color.

Her look was on point and her dress matched the vibes. No one would know that she had just bawled her eyes out minutes ago. For the departmental store that she had just acquired as her own as part alimony, she knew she had to make her first appearance as the new CEO.

Just when Aria was about to drive away from the hospital, she saw Alex standing right in the parking lot like he had been waiting for her. He walked closer to where she was and informed her that Dalton wanted her to leave in the car, that he pointed to which was with a chauffeur.

Aria was oblivious of the fact that the media had blown the takeover news out of proportion that morning, when the news got to the shareholders that the departmental store now had a new CEO.

She had to at least make an appearance that day as the new CEO, but Dalton had left her with enough time to do her own thing before he instructed Alex.

She didn’t even resist or say anything to displease the assistant, and just left in the car with so many thoughts in her heart. It was she who demanded such responsibility be given to her, solely because of her resentment and not because she really had an interest in company affairs.

However, it was a goal that she had climbed to by herself in just a few months that her marriage was about to end, which was not even enough to make up for everything that his heartless family had done.

‘And maybe it wasn’t even bad to rise to fame. She should work better on her desires and aim to become even better, by using the influence of the family that she was married into. It was just the best thing.’

The car pulled in front of the huge department store that she had probably not been to more, than twice in her life since their lovely facade matrimony. The shopping mall was a very huge one of a really high net worth, and she had surprisingly taken over it in just a few months.

‘Oh dear. You should be proud of yourself.’

Immediately Aria stepped out of the car in a grand manner to just enter and take a better view of it, the press that were all over the corners of the buildings ran up seeing her. The news had been published early that morning, and it was totally not difficult to recognize her.

“Mrs. Miller, are you truly the owner of the department store now?” Reporters asked to know.

“Is it true that your husband has granted the company as he promised months ago?” One of those who were present in the mansion the first time they were allowed to enter the Miller’s house inquired.

“Is it true that it is your alimony?” A female reporter asked loudly, as she shoved her huge microphone forward.

“Do you think you got to become CEO because of your husband’s affluence? What do you think the shareholders will say?” Another clamored.

“What do you have to say as the new owner?”

“Where is Mr. Miller? Are you both here?”

They all clamored and asked irritating and annoying questions at the same time, which almost made Aria lose her manners in public that she wanted to sneer at them.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

Some of Dalton’s best trained guards that were waiting around the company premises before came forward, and prevented the press from getting any closer to her, as she sauntered through the door gracefully.

‘So that is what it feels to be in the spotlight. What do we do about this? How can you make the best use of this?’ her mind questioned her.