THE RISE OF THE SECRET HEIR

CHAPTER 8

Claire batted her eyelashes in admiration of her new look. She stared down at her beautiful pink-colored manicured nails too. 

 

Then back at the mirror to stare at her half-made hair. She was beautiful and she knew it.

 

Her friend, Cecilia was sitting beside her too. She was getting a pedicure while Claire was having her hair done.

 

Cecilia was the one who introduced Claire to her new man, Mark Hendrick, the owner of the newest mine in town. Everyone considered him to be rich.

 

“Where is Arthur now?” Cecilia decided to bring the topic up to ruin Claire’s mood. To her, Claire was becoming too pompous and full of herself and Cecilia wanted to remind her of her place.

 

Claire scrunched her face up and in denial, muttered. “I don't know who the hell is that.”

 

Cecilia couldn't help but chuckle. She knew there would be no good insisting on talking about him with her. She decided to change the topic. “Mark would barely let you be with this new look of yours.”

 

That was the kind of topic Claire was interested in. Mark, her new man. The man who would give her all she had ever wanted; a big lifestyle, a big proposal and a lavish wedding.

 

She was on the stage of a big lifestyle and she wanted to live it to the best. She was done with Arthur and she would pretend not to know him no matter how.

 

“Yes, baby. You can say that again”, she said, followed by laughter.

 

The sound from the TV interrupted Cecilia from saying something else. She looked up just in time to see the new flash.

 

The dirge also made Claire gaze up. Realizing it was the announcement of someone’s death, she lost interest and continued staring at the mirror in admiration of her hair.

 

The stylist was almost done and she couldn't wait to get home to Mark. She was already imagining how he would look her up from head to toe and compliment her.

 

Mark wasn't Arthur. Mark was different from Arthur in every way.

 

Arthur had never given her a dime to make her hair. Whenever she goes to the salon, he doesn't even notice or compliment her hair.

 

But Mark did not only give her money to make her hair, he also gave her extra for a pedicure and manicure and even booked her an appointment for a massage. He was indeed taking care of her.

 

From the mirror, Claire noticed the stylist wasn't looking at what she was doing. Instead, she was staring up at the TV watching the news. Before Claire could warn her to concentrate, the lady pulled her hair a little bit tightly which got Claire screaming at her in a loud voice.

 

“Watch what you are doing, girl!” She shouted again, hitting the girl’s hand and attracting attention to her. Instead of feeling remorseful for her behaviour, she continued shouting.

 

That was what she wanted. What she liked. Attention.

 

Being the talk of the town. That was why she couldn't bear being Arthur’s wife. Nobody knew Arthur. Invariably, no one knew her either.

 

“Sorry, ma. I got carried away with the news”, the young lady apologized calmly before she continued the hair, trying so hard not to watch the news.

 

When Claire was calmer, she glanced up at the TV but before she could turn away from it like she did earlier, something caught her attention.

 

Someone familiar.

 

She stared hard at the figure.

 

It was a half picture of her ex-husband; the man she forced to divorce her just a few days ago. He was dressed in a two-piece suit. His curly hair had been styled backwards, making him look different. On his hand rests a Rolex wristwatch.

 

Claire’s jaws dropped open and she shifted in her seat before turning to Cecilia.

 

Cecilia also had a look of confusion on her face and they shared a knowing look before exclaiming simultaneously in total disbelief.

 

“Arthur?!”

 

“Arthur?!”

 

Claire shook her head. People were watching her but she didn't care. She could recognize Arthur from a far distance. She could even recognize him in the dark. She was sure it was him.

 

Quickly, she grabbed her things and rushed out of the salon without paying. That wasn't a problem. Her friend would have to pay for them both before leaving. She was going to sort her out when they met.

 

She dashed to her new car and dumped her bag in the passenger’s seat before igniting the car engine into action. 

 

She sped off.

 

Her mind was in turmoil. Her head was spinning with questions. The last thing she heard about him was the fact that he was in a hospital as a result of her revenge. She didn't want him dead, she just wanted to teach him a lesson which she was sure he must have learnt.

 

She had no more intentions to bother him again. 

 

But now she wasn't sure about anything again. If Arthur was hospitalized, how could he be on the TV displayed as the son of the Craigs? He was the son of the late Arthur Craig, the wealthiest man in the whole of America. He owes strings of business not only in America but also in Europe.

 

Something was definitely wrong somewhere. 

 

She had no idea what she was doing but she wanted to go home first, inform Mark and ask the men she sent on the last errand to Arthur if they were sure he was truly hospitalized.

 

Within minutes, she was home. She parked the car roughly and raced inside, almost bumping into Mark who was coming out.

 

“Are you ok?” He demanded quickly, grabbing her hands to stop her from falling.

 

She nodded quickly, breathing heavily. “Mark…Mark…Arthur.”

 

His eyes flashed. “What did he do?”

 

He thought Arthur was threatening her or something. To him, Arthur wasn't a threat at all. If Claire had given him the go-ahead right from the start, he would have gotten rid of him from the very first day he set his eyes on him.

 

But Claire specifically requested that he was spared. She just wanted his life to be miserable.

 

“Nothing”, she was still breathless as she answered. “I saw him on TV. He is rich. He is the son of the Craig's.”

 

Confusion clouded Mark’s expression.

 

First, it was unbelievable and secondly, he wasn't sure why she was even bothered about him in the first place.

 

“Why are you bothered about him?” He demanded instead, his voice laced with jealousy. 

 

Claire shook her head again. “He's rich”, she repeated, unsure of how to explain what she just saw.

 

Mark on the other hand misunderstood and shouted. “So what? What if he is rich? That stinky husband of yours? Wow, so you still care about him?”

 

“What? No! I'm just confused. You should see it for yourself. Didn't your men do as they were told? He is supposed to be hospitalized and not portrayed on the TV as Craig's secret heir.”

 

Mark fell silent.

 

The Craig’s secret heir? He knew the Craig's. His Father was an employee of Arthur Craig. They referred to him as the Great Arthur Craig of America. The man was versed, wealthy and humble.

 

Shrugging, he mentioned. “You must have seen the wrong person then.”

 

“No. I know him. I can recognize Arthur even in the dark”, she pointed out. She remembered how they attended a house party a year back. They were all blindfolded and asked to identify their partners just by a mere touch.

 

She was the only one who could recognize her partner, Arthur. That was because he gave her goosebumps with his touch. She couldn't deny that she loved him then. But she stopped loving him when Mark came into the picture. Just a month before their wedding, she became sceptical about going ahead with it since Mark was already in the picture.

 

Unable to break the word to Arthur, she went ahead with the wedding. 

 

Claire noticed Mark was silently glaring at her. “Go and find some work to do, women. Or sleep. When you are awake, you will be back to your senses!”

 

“What?!” She exclaimed as he made to pass her. She quickly blocked the way with her two arms stretched outward. “What did you just say, Mark? Did you just refer to me as senseless?”

 

“Yes'’, he gritted his teeth in anger. He was mad. Mad at her for bringing up her ex-husband’s topic. Mad at her for her obvious love for wealth.

 

He wondered why she was even bothered in the first place about him being rich. He wondered if she would go back to him if her news was true.

 

But he knew it wasn't real. Arthur was a lowlife and he would always be. Arthur wasn't worth a thing and he would never be worth it.

 

Arthur was poor. Miserable. And unfortunate and he would be like that till the very end.

 

She grabbed his hand violently when he tried to move past her again. That made his anger multiply so he yanked her hand away, and pushed her aside before storming off, leaving her on the floor with her mouth wide open in shock.