Sarah Lance was singing. She only sang when she was happy, and she had every reason to be happy. She had good news to tell her husband when he returned. She rubbed her belly slowly, and then she decided she could not wait for her husband's return. She had to tell him now! He would certainly be elated. She picked up her phone and called John, but two minutes and five rings later, her joy had suddenly changed into a mixture of tension and anxiety. John had not answered, and he always answered her calls. She banished the thought that the meeting between her father and her husband had gone awry. Her father had promised to give John a job. Her phone rang again, and she quickly picked it up and answered it, fully expecting that John had returned her calls and would first apologize for missing them, then go ahead to explain why he missed her calls. The coarse voice that greeted her ears informed her that her expectation would remain fantasies, at least for the time being. It was her brother.
"Hi Taylor, how are you?"
Taylor chuckled. "I am fine sister. You seem off, has poverty tweaked your voice?"
Sarah sighed. Her brother was the last person she wanted to talk to at the moment, and for so many reasons. Firstly, he was a brute. He had a somewhat negative reputation for always getting his way, no matter the cost. Sometimes she wondered if he would not delve into murder to have his way.
Secondly, her brother was the number one opposition to her marriage with John. He considered himself to be the heir, the future CEO of Lance Industries. He would do anything to ensure that the company stayed afloat. He had threatened away the poor suitors of their two other sisters, and had coerced them into marrying the multimillionaires they had ended up with. It was a win-win situation for them both.
The investments of his brothers in-law had helped keep the company afloat, although realistically it only helped delay the company's fall, and as he never failed to remind his married sisters, they ended up with millionaires. What more could they ask for? To be fair, Taylor did not need to apply so much pressure. His older sisters loved money, and would do anything short of killing to get it. Taylor had been elated when he discovered that Sarah was the object of affection from the son of a multi billionaire. He quickly contacted this 'prospect' and concluded 'negotiations'. After the meeting, he went to celebrate in a bar. The investment from this suitor would more than keep the company from falling, it would return the company back to the summit of the industry.
However, his dreams were dashed when Sarah married John, despite his many pleas and threats. Oliver McCarthy was the son of the billionaire in question, and he was infatuated with Sarah. He had met her at a dinner party graced by the wealthiest and most influential men in the country. Peter Lance never failed to take Taylor and Sarah with him. He needed Taylor's brains to negotiate with possible investors, and of course for networking purposes. Sarah however, was the tool for attracting investors.
Oliver McCarthy had been struck by Sarah's beauty, and they had danced together, much to the delight of Peter Lance and his son. What they did not know however, was that Sarah had actually liked him. He had seemed to be a kind gentleman. Over the next few weeks, they went on several dates together and Sarah found herself slowly falling for him.
One night, Oliver had told her he had a surprise for her. Two hours and an amazing rendition by an orchestra later, he proposed and she agreed to marry him. Peter Lance was overjoyed, and Taylor actually wore a smile. He was happy that he did not have to go through as much trouble as he had gone through with his other sisters. He had expected a bit of stubbornness from Sarah, but he had been quite pleased with the turn of events.
A text from an unknown number a few weeks later was the beginning of the end of their relationship. The sender claimed that she was just the next project for Oliver, and he would use her and dump her like he had done to her predecessors. She had confronted Oliver, but he dismissed it, calling the incident a sad attempt at revenge by his bitter ex. Sarah understood, urged him to be more careful and blocked the number.
However, she noticed that he seemed to be hiding something. He was always jumpy, especially whenever she wanted to use his phone. One night, she checked his phone and was both surprised and disappointed to see suggestive videos and pictures with him and other ladies, some of them dating to the previous night. She confronted him when he returned from the rest room, and it did not end well.
"Oliver, can you please explain what this is?" She said as she threw the phone at him.
Oliver peered into the phone and chuckled. "What do you want to know?"