The Wheel of Fortune

Emma finally said what she had been so afraid and ashamed of telling her parents and couldn't dare to look at their reaction. She did not know how to face them.

"So, he used our daughter to protect his image and then discarded her when it was convenient?!" Gabriel's voice boomed loudly, his hands clenched into fists as he imagined himself beating Daniel to a pulp.

Rosa on the other hand was shocked. The poor woman just couldn't believe her ears.

She seemed to zone out of the room and her husband's angry words became a distant, indistinct murmur, like a fleeting whisper carried away by the gentle caress of a summer breeze.

The world around her dissolved and she was taken back to the time when Emma returned home really early looking dejected, her entire aura oozed with misery.

She had asked her daughter what happened back then but she locked herself in her room and never said a word. A few days later, Emma and Daniel appeared and said they both wanted to get married. 

It wasn't until her husband informed her of the real reason behind their marriage that she realized what truly happened.

So Rosa visited Emma in Daniel's home and asked her the exact details of what transpired that night.

The response she received from Emma that day was no less shocking than this.

'Mom, I was deflowered that night by Daniel.'

'Mom, Daniel accused me of planning that night and of infidelity.'

These words played over and over again in her mind.

A tear dropped from Rosa's eyes and she slowly closed her eyes in pain.

She sensed that Daniel didn't love her daughter but never in her wildest dreams did she think that he would stoop so low as to say anything just to shake Emma off his back!

Rosa knew the daughter she raised. 

Since Emma was young, she had instilled good morals in her so questioning her if what Daniel said was true or not was out of the question.

Rosa opened her eyes. 

The stormy waves of sadness in their blue depths cleared out and were replaced by the unfathomable tranquility of a calm, cerulean sea.

'If this is what Daniel wants to play at then fine! I, Rosalie Maria Moreau will prove to him that he has just lost a priceless jewel that can never be traded!'

She exhaled deeply and calmed her husband down with a look before they both went toward Emma who had hung her head in shame of the allegations used by her husband to send her out of his house and back to her father's house.

They both hugged Emma tightly. 

"My dear daughter, you deserve so much better than this. We are the ones who should cover our faces in shame for not protecting you. We failed you once but this time, we will definitely help you through this." Rosa voiced.

Gabriel nodded, his heart heavy with the burden of a father's love. 

"We'll do everything in our power to support you and ensure you find happiness once again Emma."

Emma felt a rush of gratitude for her parent's unwavering support. At that moment, she no longer felt alone in her struggle. "Thank you, Mom, and Dad. I don't know what I would do without you." She said as she reciprocated their hug, tears glistening in her eyes.

She would become stronger, for her parents and for herself.

In a place where Emma and Gabriel couldn't see, Rosa's eyes blazed transforming into a steely determination. Her intense stare cut through the expanse of their garden outside the window, a whirlwind of emotions churning within her as she silently made a vow.

'No one should treat my daughter this way and get away with it!'

'I promise you, Daniel, you'll regret ever doing this to my child!'

'I'll show you the true strength of a mother and make you bow before the very ground my daughter walks upon!'

'Mark my words, Daniel Kozlov!' 

As if to attest to her silent oath, there was a clap of thunder in the distant sky.

People outside gazed at the clear sky, which was flawlessly blue, devoid of any clouds. The sun's warm rays enveloped them, and everything seemed tranquil. 

They exchanged puzzled glances.

Those who took their umbrellas were relaxed as they gently clutched at its form in their bags while those who didn't, complained in their hearts about the weather forecast being wrong and hurried to work. 

Getting soaked from the rain would be terrible.

A mother's love is powerful, its unwavering and boundless love is capable of moving mountains, 

…and shaking high-rise buildings.

The sound of thunder rolled through the skies into the far distance and resonated in the ears of a group of people in the highest part of the building of the most sought-after conglomerate in the city.

In the boardroom, encased in glass, a mix of executives and high-ranking officers, sat in plush leather chairs arranged around a long, mahogany table.

"Yikes! Well, folks, it seems Mother Nature got our memo about the board meeting today, and she's not thrilled!" Jake joked and chuckled with a shake of his head as he glanced at his friend.

Nervous laughter rippled through the boardroom like a gentle breeze in the midst of a storm as the executives stole cautious glances at the man seated at the head of the table.

Each of them had been tasked with bringing forth next-level strategic ideas to enhance the company's reach in the market that was getting increasingly competitive and unpredictable. 

They had all presented their ideas and waited for the verdict but they'd been sitting for over thirty minutes and the CEO hadn't said a word. 

The tension was so great that they felt their butts sweating in their office pants that had equally shrunk in fright. It was thanks to the rumbling sound of thunder that they were able to alleviate the situation or at least that's what they thought. 

Daniel who had been sitting in silence with his head resting on his fist froze as he felt his heart skip a beat.

He had never been afraid of thunder since he was young no matter how sudden it roared. 

But today what started as a low, distant rumble, a growl from the depths of the heavens, gradually swelled in volume and intensity, echoing through the chambers of his heart. 

Sitting there, he couldn't help but wonder why this particular clap of thunder felt different. It was as though the very essence was sending a message, one that resonated in his chest with an uncanny power.

"Meeting dismissed." He said after a long time eliciting relieved sighs and grateful smiles from the executives around him who quickly slid out of the room.

Jake watched all the executives leave as if they were running from a plague and he frowned. 

He could have sworn that their pants were damp.

Eyeing the chairs previously occupied by the men in disdain, he took out his phone and sent a text to his secretary. 

[Buy a new set of chairs for Daniel's boardroom.]

He quickly received a reply.

[Okay sir. But what about the chairs that are there already?]

When Jake saw the text, he thought for a second and sent,

[Burn it!]

[...]

Looking quite satisfied, Jake dropped his phone on the sleek mahogany table with a soft thud, its screen illuminating the boardroom. 

His gaze drifted to Daniel only to see him standing before the towering glass-to-ceiling window that offered an unobstructed panorama of the world outside with his hands casually tucked in his pocket.

"Yo! Daniel. A penny for your thoughts?" Jake's voice, lighthearted and tinged with a mischievous grin, cut through the tranquil ambiance of the room.

Daniel whose gaze was on the clear blue sky that stretched like a limitless ocean above the expanse of the city sprawled below him came back to from his thoughts. 

"Being the first son of the one and only Rodrigo Montero, you're quite stingy," Daniel responded his voice a melodic baritone that resonated with a mix of humor and thoughts he kept hidden in the depths of his heart.

His back remained turned to the room behind him, his silhouette a stark contrast against the luminous panorama.

Jake pondered on his friend's words for a moment before doubling over in laughter as realization washed over him.

"Haha!"

Amidst Jake's laughter, Daniel finally turned to face his friend, a glint flashing across his eyes as he rested languidly on the edge of the table.

"You got me there. I thought the thunder struck you into place and you've joined the ranks of timeless statues. I wanted to get a penny and throw it at you to fulfill my innermost wishes." Jake said as he wiped the tears that fell from his eyes still imagining his friend as a monumental statue.

Daniel ignored Jake's silly jokes, shrugged his shoulders, and straightened up from his casual lean.

"Speaking of thunder," he began, his voice taking on a contemplative tone, "Have you ever noticed how it can be fierce and tumultuous one moment, yet bring forth the most breathtaking serenity the next?"

Jake regarded Daniel with curiosity, the mischievousness in his eyes dancing with humor.

"What are you getting at, my 'philosophical' friend?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and his gaze returned to the sprawling cityscape beyond the window,

"I guess I'm saying that sometimes life's storms, much like thunder, can be daunting and chaotic. But within them lies the promise of something beautiful, something we might never have experienced otherwise."

Jake stared at Daniel and at the window, then back at Daniel.

He didn't understand a thing he just said.

'It seems the thunder really shook Daniel to the core.' He mused as he searched his friend's body with his eyes.

'There aren't any burn marks either. I'd have thought maybe a bolt of lightning had also burnt his brain.'

"Well, I don't know about any of that. But what I do know is that I want to grab breakfast. Let's go."

Jake said as he got up from his seat and grabbed Daniel's arm, dragging him out of the boardroom while subtly avoiding the seats the executives sat on earlier.

Daniel, helpless at his friend's antics sighed deeply. 

Life is ever-changing, and every circumstance is part of a grand design, urging us to embrace its rhythm as it carries us through life's cycles- rises, falls, and new beginnings.

And a nagging feeling remained deep down in Daniel's heart as a voice seemed to whisper that the wheel of fortune had turned and maybe, just maybe the roar of that thunder was going to be the beginning of his troubles.