LOGINThe sound of a phone buzzing made Lydia open her eyes with a soft groan. Out of instinct, her eyes went to the other side of the bed, and without meaning to, she let out a soft sigh of relief when she saw her husband, Austin Myres, still on the bed.In that quiet moment, it felt like everything was perfect as it used to. Lydia didn’t know when it all started to fall apart.The phone buzzed again, pulling her attention from her husband to the device vibrating on the nightstand.She sat up, pushing her hair back and grabbed the device before sliding it to answer when she saw her mother’s name glowing on the screen.“Mom, it’s very early." She groaned into the phone.“Early?” Alisa’s bitter voice startled her and had her straightening. “Autumn didn’t think it was too early before she ruined our mood today. Do you even know what that woman’s people did to your mother?”Lydia was already swinging her legs off the bed. “What happened?”Austin rolled over as soon as he heard his mother-in-la
Alisa Grant climbed down the stairs with a wicked glint in her eyes. She had been awake for hours, unable to sleep. Her thoughts were constantly filled with Autumn’s new attitude.Alisa had always prided herself on her ability to control her home, especially Autumn, so now that she seemed to be slipping from her grasp, she couldn’t handle it.Her phone chimed in her hand with a message from the jeweler, reminding her that the custom-made set she ordered had arrived.Alisa could have decided on having it delivered to the house like she did sometimes, but she didn’t.After all, what were daughters-in-law for if they couldn’t go to the other part of town to fetch their mothers-in-law's custom orders and make sure they arrived in perfect condition?Alisa met a maid cleaning the living room. She eyed the dining area where Autumn should be having breakfast and frowned when she noticed that nobody was there.“Where is Autumn?” she demanded with a harsh voice, making the maid jump.“I haven’t
“Mrs Grant?” Autumn groaned, trying to turn to her side. She felt hot and uncomfortable. Sweat stuck her clothes to her skin and her eyes felt too heavy to open.“Sofia, please let me sleep. I’m tired” she pleaded with a groggy voice and the alarm in Sofia’s expression heightened.“I’m sorry but I can’t do that. You need to go to a hospital right now” Sofia helped her up to a sitting position even though she was still sleeping. “You have a very high fever” Autumn couldn’t tell if her body was hot but she knew she didn’t feel good. Nausea hit her harder than she had ever felt and a bucket was held to her face as she threw up her last night’s dinner.Sofia rubbed her back gently. “Let it all out” she urged. “Should I make her soup?” Irene asked with a worried frown from where she stood by the door. Sofia handed her the bucket when Autumn was done and shook her head. “No need. I already arranged for a driver to take us to the hospital. This can’t wait” Irene discarded the vomit whi
Autumn had been cooped up in her room all morning, so when lunch was ready, Sofia suggested that she go downstairs for lunch, and she agreed.Her fever had come down and she wasn’t feeling any headaches, but her body felt weak.Sofia walked behind her as she came down the stairs. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? I think it’s better you go." She suggested, but Autumn shook her head.“I already feel better than yesterday. I’ll be fully recovered by tomorrow, so there’s no need to go to the hospital."The smell of food drifted from the kitchen to her nose as they entered the dining room. Irene had been busy in the kitchen since morning making sure Autumn got the best meal on her plate.Sofia walked forward and pulled out a chair for Autumn. “Mrs Grant” She gestured. The gesture surprised Autumn, but she was slowly learning how Sofia worked.The woman didn’t wait to be told to do something because she took action. She knew what to do and when, so Autumn had stopped quest
The sound of movement in her room woke Autumn up. For a split second, she waited for someone to come into her room and tell her that Alisa had summoned her for the pending confrontation that had yet to happen.After Zara left last night, Autumn expected Alisa and Lydia to barge into her room to confront her about what happened with Zara, but it didn’t happen. She tried to push the matter to the back of her mind, but it plagued her even when asleep.Autumn wasn’t scared of the confrontation. She just wanted to avoid it.Another movement in the room made her open her eyes fully, and for a minute, she wondered who the person opening her curtains was.“Who…” She started to ask, but the words died in her mouth when the woman turned and she realized it was Sofia.She had also forgotten about the new staff for a brief second.“Good morning, Mrs Grant” Sofia greeted her before continuing with her task. “How do you feel? Would you like me to call a doctor?” she asked."No." Autumn shook her he
Everyone turned to Ethan as he walked into the room. His mouth was pressed in a thin line as his eyes scanned the room.“What’s going on here?” he demanded.Naomi was the first one to act.She hurried to his side with a frightened expression on her face. “I’m not sure, but Miss Autumn wants to employ her own staff," she explained with a timid voice, and Ethan’s eyes narrowed.“What is she saying?” Ethan looked at Autumn, who was seated calmly.Zara stepped in front of Autumn again, blocking her from Ethan’s gaze.“That woman brought in her mad friend to insult us." Alisa recovered and stormed to Ethan’s side. “Can you believe she almost hit me in my own house?” Alisa screamed.Lydia also spoke. “She wants to bring in a new chef and caretaker. What would people say?”“The truth” Zara answered with a nonchalant shrug. “Have you not been maltreating Autumn? Look at her. Was she like this before she married into your cursed family? You evil people have ripped happiness from my friend”Eth
By the time the gala was over, Naomi didn’t dare make a move to ride with Ethan.“Did something happen at the gala? Your mood has been sour since we got into the car” Lydia asked with a frown. She had been busy catching up with her friends so she didn’t have time to be with Naomi.Naomi smiled inwa
Ethan stormed out of the house with a lot on his mind. He thought that Autumn had changed so much in the last few days.Was she so upset about the dinner? It wasn’t like they were in love or something for her to get hurt that he didn’t show up. He didn’t want to judge her based on her upbringing,
Autumn and Zara talked for a while before Zara had to get back to work. Autumn picked herself from the bed and went to the bathroom.The sight of the wound on her shoulder ignited the anger she felt earlier and she felt the strong need to go back and deliver a hard slap across Lydia’s face.“They
Ethan’s eyes moved from Autumn’s hand around Lydia’s top to the bruise starting to form on her cheeks.His jaw tightened as he turned to Autumn. “Let her go” he ordered coldly. Behind him, Naomi peeked around his shoulders and gasped dramatically when she saw Lydia. “Lydia, what happened to you?”







