Back Better Than Before

[20] Adrianna's Progress

9 months later...

It took only 9 months for the scared, cowardly, poor Adrianna Montclair to become the strong, powerful, and rich Adrianna Hernandez. Adrianna Montclair let others walk over her without ever complaining. She was too gullible. That's why she had to go. In her replacement came Adrianna Hernandez. Yes, she legally changed her name from Montclair to Hernandez, her way of breaking apart from the Montclairs and accepting her real, biological family.

Her revenge was in motion. Adrianna found out from Adrian that the Montclairs were going into debt. Of course, she already knew that. After all, even walls have ears. The Montclairs thought they were smart trapping the Xander and Adrian to save themselves. They didn't know that Adrianna was the one controlling them from behind the scenes. The Montclairs were the owners of a jewelry store, one that used to get quite a lot of recognition. However, a few years back, their main store was shut down to create a mall. A mall that coincedently Stephen owned. Business was still running but without the main shop, sales slowed down. Michael Montclair was not a natural business man. (The reason why is a story for another day). He had no idea what to do to increase his sales. That's where Eleanor's sharp mind came into play. The Hernandez family business was creating and selling buildings. They were the ones who planned and created Stephen's malls.

Maria planned on getting Xavier and Adrian to build them their own new main store for a discount or maybe even for free if luck was on her side. But unfortunately, it was on Adrianna's side. This was all a game. The Montclairs were puppets and she the ring master.

Of course, she couldn't have become Adrianna Hernandez without Caroline. She spent almost every night with Adrianna teaching her how to be confident and fearless. Adrian and Stephen would watch, sometimes interrupting the lessons, as Caroline called them.

"What is the point of this?" Adrian had asked one day when Caroline was forcing Adrianna to walk with books stacked on her head, wearing high heels. "It feels more like something a princess would do in her school."

"You won't understand. You are too dense to know what this is for." Caroline had replied. "This isn't just for balancing in heels. It's to teach Adrianna that she has to keep her head up no matter whoever tries to push her down."

Lessons like that increased Adrianna's confidence as well as strengthening the bond between the two girls. Adrianna also attempted to mend her relationship with her parents. It wasn't easy because of the years that Adrianna blamed them for leaving her with the Montclairs. However, Maria and Xavier did everything they could to make Adrianna feel comfortable and a part of their family. They would have family dinners or lunches at least thrice a week. Stephen was also invited to make sure Adrianna was comfortable with the Hernandez family. Slowly, Adrianna was comfortable around her parents and would sometimes go visit them by herself. Of course, she had to be careful that no one saw her. The news of her disappearing had blown over but if the Montclairs even got a slight hint that Adrianna was alive and better than okay, her plan would be ruined.

The Hernandez had helped iron out her plan to the littlest detail. Maeve was going to be introduced to the world in less than a month. She had become a household name in the last few months ever since the success at Adrian's birthday party. She opened her own art gallery and hired a receptionist/representative there who sold the paintings while Adrianna painted them and checked up on the gallery once it closed whenever she got the chance. Myra, the receptionist, was a sweet young woman who was extremely helpful and trusted. She was one of the few strangers that knew about Maeve's real identity and kept it a secret. She helped with whatever she could that wasn't in her job description. Myra quickly became someone Adrianna could trust and confide in.

Her other confident was Stephen. Their bond became very strong over the few months that they have stayed together. They shared everything with each other and spent most of their free time together. Whether it was Stephen going to Adrianna's studio to watch or paint or Adrianna going to Stephen's office with lunch she made once she found out that Stephen rarely ate food from home and instead ordered from restaurants. At one point, they had been ambushed by the paparazzi walking out of his office. Luckily, Stephen's bodyguard managed to keep them back before Adrianna's hood or huge sunglasses fell off. However, the next day, media headlines were all about Stephen Collins' new mysterious girlfriend. Stephen never corrected them, instead he told Adrianna that it was better this way because it would give Adrianna more power over the Montclairs.

It would strengthen her revenge, and Adrianna would do anything for her revenge.  

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Hey, 

So it's been a really long time since I've updated so I just want to thank the readers that continued to read this story and leave positive messages. You guys are the reason why I updated. 

There are two reasons why I haven't updated in a while. I said that I will first write the finished draft and then publish the edited one but school has been extremely stressful and I haven't had the time to write. The second reason is that I have writer's block and I can't think of anything to write. 

So help me out, and give me a few suggestions to help continue the story. 

Thank you to everyone who is still reading and leaving positive messages because you guys are the reason I get hope when I have lost all hope. 

Raman.