Forced Marriage To The Billionaire (Book 1)

Chapter 28: The Remembrance

Her day started the same way every other day did. Her mother looked down on her with her unique smile, which deepened her dimples. Her hazel eyes reflected love. Her soft hands stroked her hair gently. Her sonorous voice hums a song repeatedly. On that day, something was slightly different. Her mother's voice had sadness to it. She was only a child, so how could she have sensed it? But looking back through the lens of an adult's eye, she could tell. You can almost guess the exact period even the strongest person you know gives up. It could be the way their eyes shine brighter than usual. It could be them telling joke after joke. The way their mood switches when they think they're alone. Everyone has a breaking point, and that day was her mother's.

She lost the only parental love that came from a real place, and not because of greed that day. She would never know what it felt like to embrace the womb your life sprung from again. The day her mother died was the day Lorena Cicero's destiny became tremendous uncertainty.

"Alonso, I don't have time for this madness. Why is it not out yet?" She said, trying to adjust the phone in her ears. The little movement pushed the mascara she was applying, spilling all over her dress.

"Shit!" She cussed silently, fetching a wipe from her dressing table to clean up the mess.

"Why are you so irritated this evening?" Alonso asked from the other end of the line. It wasn't every time you heard a prim and proper ladylike Lorena cuss, but she was doing it quite often recently.

"I just had my mascara spill all over my white dress. Forgive me for not being meek about it." She rolled her eyes and pushed the phone away from her ears. Placing it on the table, she sat in on the loudspeaker and took the dress off. She couldn't believe she hadn't spent two years recreating this dress, only to be ruined in mere seconds.

"Okay, diva, just wear something else. It's not like you don't have a million clothes."

"This was the sequin dress, you idiot." She snarled, going through her bags like a crazy person. She had still not unpacked her bags yet, and at this point, she couldn't explain why.

Maybe she still didn't think of this place as her home, or perhaps it was just textbook laziness. Regardless of the facts, she needed a new dress. Preferably one that looked like this dress.

She felt her eyes water, and she paused slightly to calm her nerves.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't know..." His voice trailed. He suddenly felt horrible for disregarding her feelings for a mere bitchy attitude. He knew how much energy and time they had spent looking for someone to recreate that dress. He brought his phone to his face and saw the date on it.

"Shit!" He cussed inwardly. It was her mother's death anniversary.

"It's okay. I'll get something else that looks like it. I don't think the stains will come out.": She said, bursting into tears.

"My lady?" She heard a knock on her door before it pushed open, with a frightened Tanika running in.

"Is everything okay, my lady?" She was quickly by her side with worry written all over her face.

"It's nothing, Tanika. I needed to wear that dress today, and now it's all ruined." She said through her tears.

"That dress?" Tanika walked to the bed and picked up the white dress.

"Yes." Lorena nodded and sniffed.

"I can fix this. Give me thirty minutes, and it will be good as new." She said, examining the dress to see the extent of the damage. Stains were nothing for her. She had grown up in a family that had nothing, which made them prone to the clumsiest mistakes. One had to learn all the tricks to deal with situations like this. And judging from her lady's grim expression, this dress was vital to her.