Important Announcement

The deafening silence greeted Phoebe as she entered the large estate where she spent two decades of her lonely life.

She went straight home after receiving the bad news from her father in hopes to uplift her mood and yet, the moment her feet stepped on the marbled floor, the nagging emptiness assaulted her senses, plunging her into the depths of despair.

Tears threatening to spill on her cheeks, she climbed up the winding stairs, and sprinted to the hallway before any of the servants caught a glimpse of the miserable look painted on her face.

The house seemed deserted at this hour with the servants deep into their work preparing for the patriarch's arrival. No one had seen Phoebe until she reached the safety of her room and locked the door behind her.

She collapsed on the bed like a withered plant, then stared at the pristine white ceiling as though it could give her the solution she was looking for to solve her dilemma.

Edward had made it clear over the phone that if she didn't marry Zach, she would be stripped off her inheritance. Not that she cared about the family fortune, she can survive on her own without it.

However, in case she'll be disowned, Sophie would legally inherit everything, and that includes the chain of hotels Phoebe's mother owned and managed when she was still alive.

The family business wasn't the only thing on the line once Sophie takes over the family fortune. The livelihood of employees dependent on them were also at stake.

God forbid, if something happens to Superia, hundreds and thousands of workers would lose their bread and butter.

Phoebe cared for their employees because the company would be nothing without them. Just like a pile of blocks without a steel to hold it together, it would fall apart without its foundation.

Of all competent people who could take over, why Sophie? She groaned, massaging her now throbbing temples.

True she was smart and beautiful. However, such endearing qualities won't come in handy when dealing with a huge empire such as the Superia and Reverie chain of hotels.

Her step-sister is a fashion designer, not a businesswoman. Unlike Phoebe who dedicated her whole life studying the ups and downs of the business industry, her step-sister had no idea about the complexity of business dealings.

Melinda worked hard for the company all her life. Phoebe won't allow an irresponsible, happy-go-lucky, spoiled brat to ruin it.

Sighing, she willed herself to abandon the comforting warmth of her bed and scrambled to her feet.

While putting her feathered slippers on she asked herself why Edward was so unfair. Phoebe couldn't help but wonder if she was really her father's daughter and not someone else'.

Valerie had shown her more warmth than her biological father did.

As her step-mother crossed her thoughts, Phoebe decided to pay her a visit and ask for advice.

Valerie was way softer than Edward.

Although she could be strict when it comes to discipline like any other mother, she had always been fair in judgment, and never once treated Phoebe like an outsider. Aside from that, she was more open-minded than Edward and would definitely understand her sentiments like she always did when listening to all her problems.

Val held so much power over her father and she might stand a chance in convincing Edward to revoke his decision for the company's sake.

That might work! She thought to herself with a hopeful smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Scrambling to the door, she traversed the expansive hallway in silence, desperately praying Valerie would lend her a hand. If she had to beg on her knees she would do so without second thoughts just to achieve her goals.

"Stop it! Someone might see us! Aaah."

Phoebe froze upon spotting a familiar figure of a woman pinned by a man against the wall.

What was Sophie doing here? She pondered, pulling into a sudden stop at the edge of the intersection just in time to keep herself hidden from view.

Sophie's way too early to be at home at this hour! Could she perhaps have gotten bored and decided to leave the office?

Melinda would go ape if she finds out about this and so Phoebe decided to keep it to herself.

"Be quick and get inside before anyone else does!"

As the guest room door opened, the two quickly went in. However, before it closes, Phoebe catches sight of the woman's face and realizes she made a huge mistake. That wasn't Sophie at all!

She covered her mouth to suppress the sound and leaned on to the wall for support.

Is there a chance she fell asleep and was having a nightmare? She thought, gasping for breath as though she just finished a marathon.

It was all too clear to be a dream and so she knew it wasn't just a mistake that it was Valerie she saw making out with another man.

It took Phoebe some time to recover. Finally, when she finally did, she collected her scattered wits in the air with her mind finally made up: She had to find out the truth.

Even though she'd seen enough, there was still insufficient evidence proving that Valerie had committed adultery. For all she knew, the woman could be Sophie since the mother and daughter looked so much alike. Both have chestnut brown curls, electric blue eyes, and pear-shaped body, making it difficult to distinguish them apart from afar.

Still clinging to the thin-thread hope that it could be her step-sister, Phoebe pulled herself together. Forcing her frozen legs to creep through the empty hallway, she reached the door where the two disappeared behind and quietly twisted the knob.

Disappointment slammed through her like a ton of bricks as she discovered it was locked. That was expected though, considering the risk once they were found out, it was natural for them to take safety measures to keep anyone from ever finding out.

With one of her pins Phoebe tried to unlock the door but failed miserably since it was her first time doing so. Cursing under her breath, she finally gave up trying and instead diverted her energy in finding another way.

Phoebe thought if only she had the key, opening the door is a piece of cake. But unfortunately the Head servant who had the master key to all rooms was nowhere to be found so there was no way she could open it by any means.

Briefly considering the idea to look for the Head servant, Phoebe dismissed the thought as fast as it arrived. She has no extra time to spare to look around. With the large estate a huge hindrance, locating the Head servant is like trying to find a needle in the middle of a haystack.

Phoebe walked past the door with a brilliant idea running through her mind and made it further down the hallway until she reached the room next door, and twisted the knob without delay.

Her hazel green eyes twinkled like stars in a midnight sky when the Master's bedroom opened. She wasn't even surprised to find it empty as she hurriedly entered before a soul could spot her sneaking in.

Her stepmother should have been here. However, except for her phone left on top of the dresser, there was no other sign she was inside.

Perhaps she left the house to pick up Edward at the airport and forgot to bring her mobile phone with her.

Highly unlikely! Phoebe thought to herself as she abruptly dismissed the idea. Her father's plane is yet to arrive at seven pm. But since it was still five in the afternoon Valerie had no excuse to leave the house early without prior business appointments that Phoebe knew of.

However, there's one way to find out whether she left or not by checking the guest room if she was there.

Phoebe crept her way through the adjoining balcony connecting the guest room to the Master's bedroom and entered through the open door.

Without further delay, she peeked right through the guest room's glass window and all her hopes that the woman wasn't her step mom shattered to smithereens on the floor.

What she was looking at was no doubt Valerie, naked as a new-born baby, with her legs spread wide apart like eagle's wings while a much younger man jammed his hips in between her thighs.

The sight made Phoebe want to almost throw up and she hastily looked away with tears in her eyes. She couldn't fathom that the woman she once so adored possessed such a vehement sexual appetite.

Had Sophie done it, she would perhaps understand since her steps-sister was young, hot-blooded and unmarried. She could have sex with men as much as she liked without any restrictions blocking her freedom. On the contrary, Valerie was married to Edward and she had to follow the law by any means. Any sexual activity beyond her husband is considered an act of adultery.

Unable to take it anymore, Phoebe ran off from the balcony with her vision blurred with tears, thus, unintentionally knocking down the trash bin in haste when she returned to the Master's bedroom.

The contents spilled on the floor. She immediately crouched down to pick them up and returned them back inside the bin. Just as she was reaching upon the crumpled paper, Phoebe froze and went pale under her skin when she realized what she was looking at.

A sob tore from her throat when she spread the crumpled paper with trembling hands and confirmed that it was indeed an ultrasound result, stating Valerie Sheldon was pregnant.

This couldn't be happening!

She buried her face into her palms and cried her heart out.

Valerie was three months pregnant.

Edward has been in Europe for the past six months.

There's no way he was the child's father!

***

Edward Sheldon, the forty-five year old distinguished patriarch of the Sheldon family entered through the upscale door with an air of authority, plunging the lavish hall into a hush silence as he took his seat on the long table.

"Phoebe's getting married," He announced to everyone present, unable to hide the glee in his tone when he looked at his eldest daughter whose face remained like a paper-blank canvas.

"Again? Amanda Madison snorted with disdain. "Hope the groom won't turn tail and run away like the last time." She smirked, throwing a meaningful glance to Phoebe's direction.

The poor girl pretended she hadn't heard Valerie's older sister and ate in silence while Edward went on discussing her upcoming wedding as though she wasn't even there.

Phoebe listened but the details barely registered in her brain as her thoughts skittered miles away. No one around the table seemed to notice her silence, they had their eyes and ears attuned to Edward to even care.

Loneliness swept her in waves. So many people were present, yet not a soul had asked how she truly felt.

"It's going to be an extravagant church wedding with over five-hundred guests." The patriarch informed to everyone's delight.

"I would be honored to assist the bride in selecting a wedding gown!" Valerie's electric blue eyes lit up like fireworks on the night of fourth of July.

"Great! That would be wonderful, sweetheart!" Edward replied, taking his wife's dainty fingers and laying soft feathery kisses on the back of her palm, making her cheeks flush as she met his gaze with love in her eyes.

With an inward grimace, Phoebe looked away. She would have believed Valerie was so in love with her father if she hadn't just witnessed a man screwing her in the guestroom a few hours ago. Watching them all lovey-dovey made her shudder in disgust, knowing the perfect relationship she had believed to be true, even adored, was just an act.

"The wedding will be two weeks from now." Edward announced, snatching Phoebe's attention who immediately snapped out of the trance.

Her thoughts burst Into the air like tiny bubbles as she raised a pair of horrified eyes. She opened her mouth to object but before she could say a word someone else did.

"Two weeks?" Melinda repeated, raising a disapproving brow. The startled look on her face mirrored Phoebe's. "Isn't that too early for a wedding?"

"Zach insisted they marry right away, Mother."

"But we have to prepare." The older woman argued. "Two weeks is not enough time to prepare a lavish wedding,"

"I totally agree with grandma," For the first time since she entered the hall, Phoebe spoke thinking it would be best to convince Edward to give more preparation time so she could find a way to escape the earl's clutches. "It would be best if we have at least a month to prepare considering there's a lot of things to take care of."

"Two weeks." Edward stress with finality. "That's the given time the Earl of Angelstone and I agreed upon. We have to grab the opportunity before he changes his mind." He added without so much as batting an eye as if he was casually discussing the weather and not his daughter's life.

Phoebe nearly lost it. Only her unyielding hold on her self-control stopped her from lashing out at her own father.

She considered walking out of the banquet hall had the situation been different but her dear grandmother was watching and she couldn't just turn her back on her out of respect.

"The Earl of Angelstone has connections." He was beaming with pride as he talked about Zach as though he wasn'the same man who shamed his daughter by leaving her at the altar.

"He can pull some strings to speed up the preparations along with acquiring legal papers required for the wedding so there's nothing to worry about."

"B-but father! I-I still haven't agreed to the wedding!" Phoebe blurted the words aloud before she could stop herself.

Edward looked at his daughter with scorn. His lips pressed into a thin, tight line while he eyed her like the lowest scum of the earth. "Ungrateful wrench! You should be thankful Zach wanted to marry you!"

She turned beet red.

Clenching her fists on her lap until her knuckles turned white, Phoebe looked down on the floor and wished the ground would open and make her existence disappear forever.

However, the heavens failed to grant her pleas, leaving her to suffer the pain and humiliation in silence along with the pitying and judging eyes.

Edward waited for her to apologize but Phoebe couldn't bring herself to. She had done nothing wrong so she won't!

He was infuriated by her silence. "You have no choice but to marry him, after two broken engagement, and one scandalous wedding no one would want you, Phoebe! You're nothing but a leftover woman now! You're utterly useless, you can't even have a child."

She fought back the urge to cry and lifted her chin up high. Phoebe reminded herself there's nothing she should be ashamed of.

A woman's worth does not lie alone on her ability to have a child!

"Don't be harsh on Phoebe, Papa." Sophie spoke, raising her serene exquisite countenance. "You know it's not her fault." She added which made everyone at the table look at her with admiration and pride.

Edward softened and spoke calmly while looking at Sophie. "Stop defending your sister. She must know her place."

"Your father's right, honey." Valerie cut in. "Phoebe will remain a failure if we keep tolerating her all the time."

"I'm sorry… I just want you to be kind to her." Sophie bowed her head. She just won the hearts of everyone at the table. As for Phoebe, she just officially became the black sheep of the family.

Melinda decided now's the time to interfere.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please lend me your ears for I have a very important announcement." She clapped her hands until she had all the attention to herself.

"This might sound surprising but my granddaughter Phoebe had in fact received two marriage offers today."

A sudden hush fell into the room followed by an outpouring startled reaction.

"Interesting!"

"There was a second man?"

"Who could that be?"

"The man's probably after her fortune."

And so the dismissive remarks went on…

Melinda waited until the trail of curious whispers subsided and then she continued. "As the eldest member of the family, I also have the right to decide for my granddaughter's future. Therefore tonight, I announce whoever wins the bidding shall marry Phoebe!"