The Billionaire Bride's Diary

Episode Four

Raymonde, with a consoling voice, told Oliva. "We will make it work, don't you worry, Lady Olivia." It was certainly reassuring to hear those words, but she was frightened to death about taking on such a heavy responsibility. She wasn't in the proper headspace to raise a child. Olivia knew she had to re-evaluate her priorities quickly.

Diary Entry # 460

Today I received a message from the grave. It was an inheritance, a gift from my beloved friend's womb, the cherished fruit of her belly, that will now become my reward. Therefore, I bow my head and pray, dear God, help me put away from myself every kind of malicious bitterness, anger, wrath, screaming, and abusive speech, as well as everything harmful, become kind, tenderly compassionate.

******

Chaos at the reading of the Will:

Saturday morning has arrived. It's the first time everyone was on the same page for once in their lives. They were all dressed and ready to head to Russells and Roussel's law firm to hear the reading of the Will. Each one anticipates what their baby sister had left for them—the previous night before the Will reading. The family was arguing about who would be in the best position to raise Deja. Tempers were still flaring as family members thought about the money that could come along with having the responsibility to care for the child. But little did they know they were all going to be in for the shock of their lives!

In the conference room, everyone took a seat around the table. Michael Roussel introduces himself and gives his condolences to the family. He went over all the legal terms of the document first and what they meant. He also made it clear to the family what the definition of a will is and that it is a legal and binding document.

"A Will goes into effect after a person or persons has died. In this case, Pamela and Leonard Crush have passed away." The lawyer states.

"Oh, my baby, my, my poor baby girl is gone! I still can't believe it." After uttering those words aloud, the mother of Pamela burst into tears.

"Shhh….mama! It's going to be alright. Let the man finish his speech." Lisa says, cuddling her mother agitatedly.

The lawyer tells everyone in the room. "The lovely couple came to me when they found out a child was on the way, their most precious daughter Deja Crush. That was six years ago when they had this Will drawn up with my law firm, and as their legal representative, I agreed to conduct the reading of the Will for them on that date/month/1984.

The legal document expresses Pamela and Leonard Crush's explicit directions as to who will receive what of any property, material items, and funds and if any underage children are involved. In this case, they have appointed me as their legal representative to carry out all their wishes recorded here in this document regarding their only child, Deja Crush."

Pamela's mother: She wants you to have her jewelry and this check for $10,000.

Pamela's sister Lisa: She wants you to have all her clothes, shoes, purses worth the value of $30,0000.

Pamela's Brother Sydney (Pee-Wee): She wants you to have her car. Worth in value $25,000. Here are the keys and title.

Pamela's oldest Brother, Jason. She and Leonard want you to have the SUV Truck. Worth in value of $40,0000. Here are the keys and title.

Leonard's mother(Ms. Ethel Crush): Your son Leonard wants you to have his stocks worth $ 50,000. cash value.

"Wow!!!!" Pee-Wee utters out loud. "They left her a lot of money."

"Shut up, boy!" Lisa tells him.

The rest of the estate, worth a quarter of a million dollars, will be put on the market and sold. The proceeds are to be kept in a trust fund. $150,000. It is to be given to Deja Crush when she turns twenty-one. The other $100,000 will be awarded to Deja Crush Guardian. Miss Olivia Dubois of Paris, France.

"This concludes the reading of the Will," The Lawyer states.

"Wait! Wait a minute! What do you mean that concludes the reading of the Will? There must be some mistake!" Lisa stated, standing up and expressing herself.

"That's it, ma'am. That is the end of the Will and the expressed wishes of your family members." The lawyer repeats.

"That French woman is not going to get my niece and all my sister's money!" Lisa exclaims.

"That is your sister's wish. It's here in writing, and it's in a legally binding document, and your copy is on the table." The Lawyer tells her.

Everyone opens up their envelopes and reads the Will for themselves.

"I object! I object! Over my living or dead body! I object! That French woman isn't taking my sister's money!" Pee- Wee shouts!

"Sir, your sister has spoken her last words. How many times must I state it is the Crush's final decision?" The Lawyer explains.

"Pammie must have lost her mind! All she left us was a car and truck, Bruh! That's not right!" Pee-wee tells Jason, his older brother.

"She must hate us!" Pee-Wee moans out.

"Shut up! I'm going to fight this Will stuff!" Lisa says.

"Ms. Ethel Crush, is Deja staying with you right now?" Then, the Lawyer turns his attention to the husband's mother and Deja's grandmother.

"Yes, Sir,"

"We will contact you when we are ready to pick the child up and take her to France."

"Is my grandbaby going to live in France?" Ms. Crush asks the lawyer.

"Yes, ma'am."

"No, no. We can't let Deja move away to France. We will never see her again." Pamela's mother said.

Half-heartedly, the lawyer smiles as he exits the room, shaking his head. Both grandmothers begin to cry hysterically. At the same time, Lisa tries to console them both while in tears herself. The two brothers stood shaking their heads in disbelief at what was happening.

"I guess we should be thankful she left us cars, bruh." Jason, in a quiet tone, utters.

**********

The family referred to Olivia Dubois as the wealthy lady they spotted at the funeral, hugging and talking to Deja. She was the one who Pamela chose to raise her daughter, taking Deja away from her family. But, of course, no one knew or cared enough to find out when that day would happen or if it would ever take place. So, instead of spending time with Deja, the family spent their energy on getting Deja's parents' material possessions, taking as much as their hands could grab.

The items in Crush's home, the family, devoured those things quickly. The grandmother took all the jewelry, Deja's dad's belongings, her uncles took all their clothes and jewelry, and anything of value. Aunt Lisa took the rest of her sister's expensive clothes and gowns out of the walk-in closet. She took all the name-brand purses and shoes alike. They even took the furnishings in the home, practically stripping the house bare.

But no one took care of little Deja. Instead, the child is tossed from one family member to another. Her relatives treated her like a rag doll and made the child feel like a burden. No one looked after her the way her mother and father had done. Not only did they not take proper care of her, no one was interested in raising the little girl.

They were all seeking their selfish longings and desires. A week turned into a few weeks. Little Deja, during that month, was with Mrs. Crush, her grandmother, who kept her for a while before falling ill. So Deja was sent back to her mother's side of the family. Deja was surprisingly taken back to live in the home she grew up in and knew well. Taken back to her parent's house, this is now where her uncle Jason was living until they sold the property.

Deja was glad to be back home. But, of course, it was not like the home she remembers with her parents. The house looked different. It looked ramshackle. Most of the furniture was gone, and it wasn't clean anymore the way her mother kept it. But in the little girl's mind, it was home. When she entered the house, immediately, her uncle Lewis ushered her to the bedroom, telling Deja not to come out. That evening, when Deja peeped out the door, she saw that he had invited many unsightly people to the house. Deja climbed back into bed, afraid, crying herself to sleep.

When Deja woke up the following day, her uncle was gone. By nightfall, he still hadn't returned. Days had gone by, and the child only had water but nothing to eat. Deja searched through the refrigerator, and it was empty. Taking her tiny little body, she climbed on top of the kitchen countertop and began looking in all the cabinets, finding nothing. Finally, Deja saw a brown paper bag in the top cupboard. She opened it.

Deja opened it and saw half a pack of beans and some crackers. The hard part was trying to figure out how to cook beans. She grabbed a large pot, and she stood on a chair to fill the pot with water, then she poured the beans inside.

She went over to the stove, remembering her mother telling her never to play with fire. So she turns the oven on and puts the pot of beans inside. Six-year-old Deja let them cook for a while. Some hours later, she could smell the aroma of the beans cooking.

Assuming the smell meant they were ready to be eaten. The child took the hot pot of beans out of the oven. She scooped some beans into the bowl, took a spoon, ate them with crackers. Deja had two large glasses of water to help fill her tummy.

The beans were delicious to a hungry little girl, even though they were crunchy, but she ate them all until she was full.

During the day, she would play alone. Then, right before bed, she ate some beans. Deja waited for her uncle to come home, but he never did, which meant she would have to spend another scary night all alone. The house settling stirred Deja's six-year-old mind into a frenzy. Therefore, she would pull her blanket over her head. She stared through the hole in her blanket until she fell asleep.