Love & Revenge: The Heiress Returns

Joyce My eyes brighten, picking up the family portrait on the desk of my office. My mother, father, adoptive sister Aurelia, and I are in it. Cleaning it with a towel to remove imaginary dust. It has become a habit. "Hey babes. "I brought your black coffee as usual," Sophia, my pa and best friend, saunters in, dropping the mug on my desk. My phone rings out. Ring, ring. "Hello, I pick up waiting on the caller. "Is this Miss Joyce? Your parents are involved in an accident and are currently in a critical state and have been transferred to Branch Hospital. We found this number in the emergency line. My eyes widen, gripping the phone tight. I open my mouth, but no words till silence stretches and the family portrait drops from my hands. The call cuts. My heart pounds as I try to breathe but find it difficult. Tears well up in my eyes. "Babes, what's wrong? Why the tears?" Sophia ran to the other side of the desk where I sat, holding my phone that was about to slide off my hand. "Accident… critical," I murmur in despair. "What??? Calm down. I can't put your words together. Can you repeat ?" She patted my shoulder, cleaning my tears. "The phone…call…My parents...accidents...critical...hospital," I blabber. What hospital???? "You know what? I will call the line back," she assures, and within a few minutes she confirms. "Let's go." I pick up my phone and put it in my purse. Standing while hanging the strap on my shoulder, I mistakenly stepped on the broken portrait and felt nostalgia. My eyes linger, but Sophia holds my hands in a squish, reminding me what's more important, and we head out of the office. Standing outside the company, she ushers me into my car after getting the keys. "I think… I need to call Aurelia." I sniffle, my eyes red, fumbling in the purse for my phone and placing a call. "Here, drink some water to stay calm." Sophia offers from the driving seat. A bottle of water, I always reserve in my car. The car packed after a few minutes in front of the hospital, and I burst out of the car without waiting for her to come over as usual. She nods towards me, and we both walk inside. I stop a nurse explaining the call I received. "The doctor will attend to you shortly." The nurse assures, "In the meantime, take a seat." I nod, finally loosening my clutch in her hands to move to the vacant seats. Sophia joins me in waiting. "Hey Joyce, Sophia." Aurelia walks in breathless, her face pale as she hurries to sit beside me. "I… don't understand what you said, but I rush to the hospital." Aurelia stares at me, hoping maybe I have made a wrong call about her parents. I understand her tears, I'm trying to hold back from flowing. My parents were so loving and peaceful. As their only biological child, I was showered with love until I saw Aurelia doing a visit to the orphanage, and we immediately clicked, and I convinced my parents for adoption so that she could become my sibling because my mother can't have another child. "Our parents were involved in an accident and are in critical condition. The doctor hasn't stepped out to attend to us." My heart shattered all over again, but Aurelia drew me closer for a hug. Her tears falling on my shoulder and her snort rubbing on my clothes. I have done right by my parents since growing up, and they have brought both of us up with love and patience. Being an elder sister to a twenty-one-year-old at age twenty-three, my parents remind me of my rigorous training as an heiress to Herrindale Company and, alongside my arranged marriage to Cooper Mercer, heir of The Mercer Conglomerate, to carry on the family legacy, continuity, and reputation. We are doing good; more than an average company can thrive within California, unlike The Mercer Conglomerate, dominating more than half of California and spreading out to other countries. This is a good chance to level up, and I owe them that. But deep down I respect my parents' love and cooperation. Hoping I could one day build a loving family "Miss Joyce?" I disentangled from the hug, cleaning my tears as the doctor finally stood before me. "Yes, I'm the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herrindale, currently in critical condition and admitted to your hospital." I blunted "We're sorry, ma'am," the doctor, in his professional wear with a nurse by his side handing him a file, hesitantly replies. "Don't apologize to me. I just need to hear the condition of my parents. How far are you progressing? I rush, having a bad feeling from the doctor's careful stance and from the file the nurse handed over to him. "We couldn't save them. The detailed records are here with the time of death, but we can let you see them as the family of the deceased." The doctor communicates calmly, like he's reciting the weather forecast. "What's that supposed to mean? We were told their condition is critical, not death, and now you just want me to accept your words. " Aurelia blasts while I go mute. "Young miss, accept our deepest condolences." The doctor's sharp-edged voice of professionalism booms. My breath turns erratic, the white floor and ceilings of the hospital spinning, and the voices sound distant. The voice of the doctor in my head repeats. I sway, resting on Sophia for support as heat rises inside me. I tug the side of my suit gown. "Hey. You need to be strong. Aurelia is crashing out big." Sophia's panicking voice sounds as she tries to get me to calm down. "Young miss, I'm so sorry, but I need to attend to another patient, but you can claim the bodies in the mortuary. The nurse is here to guide." The doctor drops the final message before leaving. My eyes roll as the heat on my body rises from inside, breaking out in sweats. The banging headache made me clutch my head as I passed out, but not before hearing my sister's cries, Sophia's croaky voice, and the nurse's concerned tone. I woke up to a white ceiling, recalling what had happened. My guess is I was admitted to the hospital after passing out. My sister and Sophia are not in the ward. Sitting up and wearing my low heels, I thought of what to do. The tears refuse to fall, and the feeling of suffocation hasn't gone yet. I can't stay here; I need to leave to breathe. My eyes search for my purse because I will be needing it. Found it by the seat and hung the strap on my shoulder as I did earlier. I saunter outside my ward till I get to the long hallway to see the doctor discussing with my sister and Aurelia. I sneak off through the left route. Getting outside, I open the door to my car. Thankfully, Sophia tosses the key in my purse while waiting for the doc. Starting the car, the engine came to life as I drove out into the city. My head was messed up, and I could barely think straight. I didn't know where I was headed. I drove aimlessly through the cool evening. I had spent hours after passing out; the day flew by, and now staring into the dark night, my car drove to a club. The night wind hit me as I stepped out of the car, cussing at my suit gown standing out if I decided to go in, but thinking eluded me. Without wasting time, I head into the club, heels clicking against the pavement. After passing through security, I was ushered to the main area of the club. Inside the club was a whirlwind of music, lights, and luxury. The air was thick with perfume and alcohol, and the bass of the music thrums through my chest. Alcohol will make me forget my pain; with this sole aim, I headed to the bar section. "Give me your strongest drink." I said to the bartender; he nods and immediately mixes my drink. *Here you go." After a minute I took it from him. "f**k, that's strong." I cuss after gulping it down in one go, and the bartender smiles. "Give me another shot. My phone rings. Ring, ring. I check the caller; it's Aurelia. "Hello," I wait for her. "Joyce, where're you? Sophia and I got so worried when we couldn't find you back at the ward, only to see the car gone outside." Aurelia's voice had a hint of panic. My head lower to the next drink because I couldn't find an answer. "You… Where is that loud sound? Don't do anything reckless. You know you still have an arranged marriage to the Mercer heir. Send me your location. She shrilled for me to hear her voice over the loud sound.