“Mbo?!” Emily stared blankly at the CEO.
She didn’t hear what she thought she heard. It was a hallucination.
“Pick… One.” Joel pronounced.
Looked like she heard what she thought she heard.
Her mouth opened agape, “Mbo?!”
Joel scowled, “See, you are dumb, and everyone knows that. But, have you also added being deaf to your traits?”
It was the first time he was repeating himself twice, and she wanted him to repeat himself for the third time? No way.
Emily gulped, ‘me? dumb…’
She balled up her fists.
Anyways, she wasn’t going to let the arrogant CEO spoil her good mood that morning.
“I… should pick one?” She asked, looking at him intently.
Joel rolled his eyes.
He called one of the guards, “Hey you,” and pointed to a car that looked exactly like his, “drive that black one out of here.”
His own was red, while the one he chose for Emily was black.
He shuffled Emily out of the garage.
In the same compound, there was an enormous duplex.
Whenever Joel was furious, he always locked himself in one of the rooms in the duplex, smoking and drinking his life away.
Only Danielle was always able to bring him out of the room and that was usually after so many days of pleading.
A part of the duplex was also a wardrobe, or better still, a closet.
Joel pulled Emily into the duplex, inputted his passcode, and dragged her in. He climbed up the stairs and headed to the closet.
Emily almost fainted at the sight of the closet, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”
The closet was thrice bigger than her father’s house.
Empire World’s designer shoes, bags, clothes, and pieces of jewelry filled up the whole place.
Like what the fvck! Emily gaped.
“You get to change your wardrobe every week and you’re moving upstairs with me, your room is not spacious enough.” Joel rapped.
“Point to the clothes you want for this week.” He stated, and signaled to the maids around, to come.
Emily couldn’t believe her ears, “Eynnnn?????”
Change of wardrobe… Every freaking week! Who ever said money wasn’t good!?
She licked a corner of her mouth thoughtfully.
He rolled his eyes-she was taking time, “Dummy…”
He ignored her and started pointed to so many clothes, shoes, bags, and pieces of jewelry that he felt were not bad since the dummy was too slow-witted to do that.
The maids picked up every piece the CEO pointed at and headed downstairs.
Joel dragged Emily out of the duplex. He took her into the villa and made her follow him upstairs-to the room next to his.
He swung the door open and dragged Emily inside.
“Huh!!!” Emily gaped.
In her sight, the room was just too big and gorgeous.
The design of the wallpaper was dope, the flooring, on point. The queen-size bed, the beautiful desk on a side of the room, the telephone on the bedside table… There was a duvet on the bed, a fvcking DUVET!
She was sure it was expensive.
“No, complain right?… Right.” Joel stated rhetorically.
He dragged Emily to the bathroom, and for a moment, she was dazed.
Heavens! She could lick the toilet seat with her tongue-it was sparkling clean.
She gaped at the jacuzzi-it was bigger than the one downstairs, in her room. She looked up, there was a shower too. Wow!
“No complain too.” Joel nodded his head and pulled her out of the bathroom, back to the room.
He pulled her to the far end of the room and pushed the ‘wall’ effortlessly-it moved.
“Uwa!!!!” Emily clapped her hands excitedly.
The villa itself was a mystery. So many mysterious things she didn’t know about it…
Joel took her hand and entered the walk-in closet.
“Here’s your closet.” Joel breathed out.
Emily scratched her head, “Huh…”
All the clothes the CEO picked back there were already in the closet. She couldn’t help but stare at the CEO in admiration.
“Kumawo.” Emily smiled as they walked down the stairs.
“I didn’t do any of these for you. We don’t want anyone knowing that the new anchor is a dummy.” Joel snickered and hastened his steps down the stairs.
Emily held the banister and sneered.
Couldn’t he have just pretended to be a nice man for the time being?… She pouted.
???
“Sir, there’s a new newscaster in EWEI,” Gabe announced as he stood calmly behind his boss.
Vincent arched one of his brows, “Huh? So?”
“She beat Stephanie.” Gabe’s mouth twitched a bit.
Vincent clapped his hands, laughing, “Fantastic.?”
Gabe placed the newspaper in his hand on his boss’s desk, “She made today’s papers.”
“…” Vincent furrowed his brow-the girl on the paper looked familiar.
He racked his brain and finally recollected who she was.
He smirked, “Ahhhh, Emily.”
Gabe flashed, “Sir, you know her?”
Vincent smiled, “Uhn. She’s my friend.”
“How come?…” Gabe stuttered.
Vincent chuckled, trying to picture the first time he met her-she was heartbroken.
He smiled, “So, she’s the new NC…”
Gabe bobbed his head, “Yes Sir.”
Vincent smiled again, “Hmn..”
“Hum, what about the stuff?..” He asked, arching his brows.
“On it, Sir.” Gabe bowed.
“You need to be careful. We don’t want Joel suspecting a thing.” Vincent twitched up his lips.
“Yes Sir.” Gabe bowed and made to leave his boss’ office.
Vincent’s voice stopped him, “and hum…”
He turned back to face Vincent.
Vincent fluttered his eyes, “Emily, I need her info… Everything about her.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Gabe bobbed his head and walked, briskly, out of the office.
Chen’s Residence???
Rachel grinned as she walked into her mother’s room, “Omma!”
(A/N: omma means mum)
Her mum grinned, stood up on her feet, and hugged her, “Huh! Rachel.”
“Omma, can you imagine…” She pulled her mum down gently, and they sat on the cushions.
“Wae?… What’s wrong?” Hye Ri stared intently at her daughter.
“It’s that stupid bitch!” She spat out.
Hye Ri sneered irritably, “Nugu? Emily?, Her mum?”
She scowled, “Emily. She anchored the news, last night mum, can you imagine… I have never anchored -not even once.”
Hye Ri couldn’t believe her ears, “What!?”
“Yes, omma. She embarrassed me.”
Hye Ri grimaced in disgust, “Rubbish! How!? How did she even step her foot in Empire World?”
Rachel bit her lower lip in annoyance, “Omma, we need to act fast.”
They heard footsteps and quickly stopped footsteps.
Hye Ri knew whose footsteps they heard-her husband’s-she had been living in that house for years. She quickly signaled to her daughter, for them to put up an act.
“Mbo?!!! Emily did that?!!!” She yelled.
Rachel smirked, she knew what her mum was trying to do-she was trying to get her father’s attention.
She quickly grimaced wearily, masking her smirk underneath.
(A/N: unnie means elder sister.)
“Nde! Omma, I still can’t believe unni did it.”
Hye Ri withered, “Aishhh, so she slept around with men, just to be a newscaster at your workplace!? Aigoo…”
Rachel shook her head vigorously, “Omma, don’t say that. Even though that’s what everyone in the industry thinks, I refuse to believe it.”
She sighed, “But, the only that pained me, is that unnie stole my radio broadcast last night, despite knowing I was supposed to co-anchor it.”
Hye Ri sighed, disheartened, “Mbo!? That’s heartless!”
Rachel pouted, “But omma, you can’t tell appa, okay?”
(A/N: appa means dad)
“What did you say that impudent girl did?” They heard a masculine voice behind them and glanced over at the door as it slid open.
“Yeobo!” Hye Ri called.
(A/N: yeobo means honey)
Rachel feigned surprise, “Appa!”
The both of them hurried to their feet.
“That bastard! That insolent bastard!!” Mr. Chen thundered angrily.
He balled up his fists in annoyance, “She sleeps around now!? Aishhh!”
“Appa, no. That’s not true…” Rachel shook her head and darted to her stepdad.
Emily who just entered the compound rushed to her step mom’s room immediately she heard raised voices from the room.
“What happened?” She asked, rushing into the room.
Mr. Chen turned and gave her a resounding slap.
She gasped and quickly placed her left hand on her cheek, “Appa.”
“Do you have no shame at all!? Going after your sister’s spot and sleeping around with men!? Or didn’t you steal her radio broadcast last night!?” Mr. Chen breathed out heavily.
“I don’t ever want to see you in this house again! From this moment henceforth, I have disowned you! You are no longer my daughter!”
He scowled and walked out of the room.
Rachel and her mother secretly exchanged knowing looks.
“…” Emily gasped and fell on the floor.
Nothing she did pleased her father.
He always treated her badly, complaining about everything she did and other varieties.
And now, he’d disowned her. Just like that.
Rachel pouted and squatted by her sister’s side, “Unnie…”
Emily’s lips trembled.
She looks at her sister as tears streamed down her face.
Her heart throbbed uneasily, “Rachel, I didn’t know that broadcast was supposed to be done by you. If I had known, I wouldn’t have done that.”
Rachel pressed her lips in a thin line and hugged her, feigning pity, “Unnie, you don’t need to say anything, I believe you. I know you wish me no bad luck.”
She smirked discreetly.
She knew the kind of person her stepsister was. She knew Emily was going to go home that morning to break the good news to her parent.
That was why she, Rachel, arrived there before Emily did-to turn her achievement into a nightmare. Mission Accomplished.
Emily smiled amidst her sob, “Kumawo.”
She slowly disengaged from the hug and stood up on her feet.
Hye Ri and Rachel smiled discreetly at each other as they watched the poor girl leave the room.
Emily dragged her feet to her mum’s room, but her mum and younger brother were not at home.
She left a letter for them and dragged her feet out of her father’s house.
She walked to the bus stop and sat under the bus shed. She cried her heart out despite the people around her.
It was all thanks to her face cap, people didn’t recognize her as the anchor from the previous night.