{Lily}
The funeral hall went silent the moment the lawyer finished reading my father’s will.
The old man behind the podium adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat again. “As stated in the final testament of Mr. Draco Caddell, ownership of Caddell Group, including all controlling shares, properties, liquid assets, and executive authority, shall be transferred solely to his beloved daughter, Miss Cassandra Caddell.”
Cassandra sat in the front row in a fitted black dress that probably cost more than some people’s yearly salaries. Her lips curved in a smile she couldn't hide.
My stepmother dabbed fake tears from the corner of her eyes.
And just like that, I yelled. “What did you say?”
The lawyer hesitated. “Miss Lily, the will has already been certified and lega—”
“Read it again.”
“Lily,” Raymond whispered beside me.
“No.” I stood up so fast my chair scraped violently across the floor. “Read. It. Again.”
The guests had already begun murmuring among themselves at this point.
I could already feel the pity spreading through the room.
“Poor Lily.”
“...Worked herself to death for nothing.”
I walked toward the podium before the lawyer could speak again.
“You think this is funny?” I asked him.
“Miss Lily, please calm down.”
“Calm down?” I laughed. It sounded ugly even to me. “I built that company while Cassandra spent six years partying in Monaco and posting bikini pictures online.”
Cassandra crossed her legs lazily. “Still prettier than you.”
I ignored her.
“Lily,” Raymond warned softly.
I calmed myself a bit because Raymond had always been my safe place.
I met him six years ago when he worked behind a small bar counter downtown. Back then he had nothing except ambition. I helped him build his company from the ground up despite my dad constantly looking down on him.
The lawyer swallowed hard. “Your father made his intentions clear before his passing.”
“No, somebody made them clear for him.”
My eyes landed on my stepmother.
Selene Caddell continued with her crocodile tears. “Let's not do this here, Lily.”
“You forged it. Didn't you?” I pressed.
Gasps filled the hall.
Her expression hardened instantly. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I pointed at Cassandra. “Both of you forged the will.”
“Oh my God,” Cassandra muttered with a laugh. “She’s finally losing it.”
I moved before anybody could stop me.
The lawyer stumbled backward as I snatched the document from his hands. Pages scattered across the floor.
“Lily!”
Hands grabbed my arm.
Raymond too, trying to steady me.
Cassandra smiled coldly. “Dad hated you till the day he died. Why is this shocking?”
That stung more than it should have.
Maybe because it was true.
Father never looked at me without seeing my mother.
And he despised my mother.
Their marriage had been arranged by my grandfather. Father had loved Selene long before that. Everyone knew it. Even as children, Joshua and I knew it.
We were reminders of a life he never wanted.
Still, I had spent years believing hard work could fix that.
And after all that time… here I am. With nothing.
I thought one day he would finally look at me and say, ‘You did well, Lily.’
Instead, he buried me with him.
I looked around the room. From board members, to investors, executives and most others I had worked beside for years.
Not one person defended me. I couldn’t even blame them. I wasn’t the boss afterall.
Selene stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You should leave before you embarrass yourself further.”
Raymond pulled gently on my arm again. “Come on, Lily. Let’s go.”
The funeral hall blurred as we walked out. I could still hear Cassandra getting fake sympathy behind me.
Rain poured outside. I loved that it hid my own tears from the reporters that crowded the front steps, cameras flashing everywhere.
“Miss Lily!”
“How do you feel about the inheritance?”
“Did your father intentionally cut you out?”
“Is there conflict within the family?”
Raymond shielded me with his arm and hurried me into the car.
The second the door shut, the silence crushed me.
I stared ahead blankly while rainwater crawled down the windows.
Raymond started the engine but did not drive yet.
“Lily.”
I laughed weakly.
Then suddenly I was crying even more.
I knew I looked ugly and a mess, shaking with breathless sobs that made my chest ache.
“I did everything right,” I whispered.
Raymond’s face softened immediately. “I know.”
“I worked for him every single day.” Tears kept spilling faster.
Raymond reached for my hand.
I held onto him tightly.
“He never loved me,” I said quietly.
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true.” I wiped my face angrily. “Joshua… even though he's nowhere to be found… always said I should stop trying so hard, but I thought if I became useful enough, important enough...” My voice cracked again. “I thought eventually he’d see me.”
Raymond pulled me against his shoulder.
“He never deserved you.” He murmured.
“I feel pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic.”
“She gets everything… Maybe she’ll take you too.”
That earned a small chuckle from him.
“There she is,” he said softly. “My Lily.”
The drive continued quietly after that.
By the time we reached his apartment, my tears had dried into exhaustion.
“I’ll make you something,” he said after helping me inside.
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
I sat silently at the kitchen counter while he moved around cooking.
The familiar smell of creamy mushroom pasta slowly filled the apartment.
My favorite.
Before long, he placed the plate in front of me with a small smile. “Eat.”
I took a few bites because he kept watching me until I did.
“There,” he said. “Better already.”
“Debatable.”
He laughed lightly and sat across from me.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then his expression shifted.
Subtle, but enough for me to notice.
“You remember the investor meeting tomorrow?”
I blinked slowly. “Tomorrow?”
“With, uh, Mr. Harrison.”
My stomach twisted immediately.
Of course I remembered.
“The top investor, from New York, yes?”
I was the reason the man agreed to the meeting in the first place.
“I can’t do tomorrow,” I admitted quietly.
His brows furrowed. “What?”
“I can’t.” I pushed the plate away. “Come one, babe… We can push it.’
“It’s only a meeting.”
I stared at him. “Please, Ray… babe. Don't make me do this.”
Frustration flashed across his face.
“For God’s sake, Lily, can you stop thinking only about yourself for once?”
The words stunned me silent.
“Say that again?”
He stood up abruptly. “Do you know how hard I worked to secure that meeting?”
I laughed in disbelief. “You’re angry because I don’t want to discuss investments hours after losing everything?”
“You’re ditching me at the worst possible time.”
“Ditching you?” I stood too. “I spent years helping you build your company, babe. Stop.”
“Yes, and you never let me forget it!”
I froze. Already crying again.
His jaw tightened like he regretted saying it, but only for a second.
“You think helping me gives you the right to control everything.”
“You don't mean that.” I whispered.
“No, Lily, you are selfish. Everything is always about your pain, your sacrifices, your struggles. You keep acting like the world victimized you.”
I stared at him like I didn’t recognize the man in front of me.
“And maybe,” he continued coldly, “you deserved what your father did.”
That did it. Silence followed immediately.
Even the rain outside seemed quieter.
I looked at him for a long moment.
Then I picked up my bag.
“I’m leaving.”
“Lily.”
I walked toward the door.
He grabbed my wrist suddenly.
“Wait.”
“Let go of me.”
“I said wait!”
I tried pulling free, exhaustion and anger making my movements clumsy.
“Raymond, let go!”
Everything happened so fast. My heel caught the edge of the coffee table as I hit my leg.
One second I was standing upright. And the next? Everything went black.