It was six months since Olima Adams lost her parents, and she had been living with her stepmother and stepsister since then.
Her stepmother turned her into a maid and also withdrew her from furthering her education.
Seventeen years ago, Mr. Leo Adams had married Mrs. Zoe Elliott, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with brown sparkling eyes named Olima Adams.
But after Olima was born, Mrs. Zoe had complications.
Mrs. Zoe cried that she wanted to give her husband more children, but her husband assured her that his love for her would not change.
Two years later, Mr. Leo spoke to his wife about his intention to marry a second wife who would bear a son for him, since Olima was a girl, so that his son could continue to bear his name and inherit his properties.
Mrs. Zoe became worried about another woman coming into her matrimonial home and turning her husband's heart against her, so she spoke to her best friend named Gina Edwards about agreeing to marry her husband.
Gina and Zoe had been childhood best friends, having attended the same college and grown up in the same town.
Mrs. Zoe was a light-skinned 25-year-old woman, and she spoke to her best friend, Gina Edwards, to agree to marry Mr. Leo.
She begged, "Please, Gina, can you accept and marry my husband? He needs a son to take over his properties and to bear his name after we leave."
Gina Edwards was also a 25-year-old light-skinned woman, and she wasted no time accepting to marry Mr. Leo Adams.
Mrs. Gina had been jealous of Mrs. Zoe's marriage, even though they were childhood best friends. She told Mrs. Zoe, "Yes, I will marry Mr. Leo."
Unbeknownst to Mrs. Zoe, Gina was jealous of her marriage, as she secretly admired Mr. Leo during her visits to Mrs. Zoe's home to see Olima.
After Mr. Leo officially married Mrs. Gina, Mrs. Gina finally arrived at the white villa to live with them, but Mrs. Gina changed on the first day of her arrival.
Mrs. Gina told Mr. Leo to send Mrs. Zoe away from the master's bedroom since she was the new wife and could give Mr. Leo more children, while Mrs. Zoe was unable to.
Olima was only two years old when her father officially married Mrs. Gina.
Mr. Leo became annoyed by Mrs. Gina's sudden change in attitude and told her, "How dare you move into my mansion today and dare to quarrel with your best friend Zoe?
I thought you and Zoe were best friends? Do you think that I agreed to marry you because I love you? If Zoe hadn't spoken to me about you, do you think I would want you?
Get ready to sign the divorce papers tomorrow and leave my house! Olima is still my daughter, and she will inherit all my properties, even if Olima grows up tomorrow and marries a man, thereby changing her surname to her husband's surname. Olima will still be my daughter."
Mrs. Gina frowned as she realized that Mr. Leo truly loved Mrs. Zoe more than she had thought.
She switched back to being the good friend she had been before to Mrs. Zoe. She went down on her knees and begged Mrs. Zoe to plead with their husband not to divorce her.
Mrs. Zoe was a kind woman and knew that it was all her fault, as she had begged Mrs. Gina to agree to marry Mr. Leo.
Mrs. Zoe finally spoke to Mr. Leo on Mrs. Gina's behalf and begged him not to send Mrs. Gina away, not after marrying her.
Mr. Leo calmed down and accepted that Mrs. Gina should continue living with them, but he took Mrs. Gina to a separate bedroom and told her not to cause any quarrels again. Otherwise, he wouldn't hesitate to throw her out.
Mrs. Gina realized that she couldn't claim Mr. Leo as she had thought; instead, Mr. Leo had rejected her.
Mrs. Gina stayed in the new room that was given to her, but Mr. Leo ruined her wedding night by not touching her that night and refusing to see her at all.
Days turned into weeks, and unable to bear the shame of being called a barren woman, Mrs. Gina finally went into Mrs. Zoe's bedroom one day.
She pleaded with Mrs. Zoe to ask their husband not to divorce her and to perform his conjugal rights with her as her husband too.
Mrs. Zoe knew that it was all her fault. She was scared of another woman coming into her home and turning her husband's heart against her. So she agreed to speak to Mr. Leo.
When Mr. Leo arrived that night after their dinner, Mrs. Zoe refused her husband from touching her and sent him to Mrs. Gina's bedroom.
She told him, "You cannot continue to avoid Mrs. Gina in this house. Please go to her room and perform your conjugal rights with her."
Mr. Leo could see the pain in Mrs. Zoe's eyes, as her words did not reach his heart, but he finally left for Mrs. Gina's bedroom and made love to Gina that night.
Mrs. Zoe cried alone on her bed and finally drifted to sleep, feeling helpless.
After that night, Mrs. Gina still wanted Mr. Leo to touch her every other night, but Mr. Leo refused and told Mrs. Gina, "I cannot sleep with you every night. Only one night is enough to get you pregnant."
Mrs. Gina became annoyed. After Mr. Leo left for work that day, she quarreled with Mrs. Zoe, calling her a wicked woman.
She accused Mrs. Zoe of being a bad friend and told Zoe that she was depriving Mr. Leo of loving her too.
Mrs. Zoe later informed Mr. Leo about the quarrel when he arrived. Mr. Leo became annoyed and brought the divorce papers home the following day, ordering Mrs. Gina to sign them and leave his house.
But Mrs. Gina refused and told Mr. Leo, "I am pregnant."
Mr. Leo knew that he couldn't send Mrs. Gina away with his child growing in her womb, so he allowed Mrs. Gina to continue living with them.
After eight months of carrying the baby in her womb, Mrs. Gina finally welcomed a baby girl, and Mr. Leo's hopes were shattered as he had expected the baby to be a boy.
Mrs. Gina was happy to be a mother and named her daughter, "Mia Adams."
Mrs. Gina hoped that Mr. Leo would touch her again and get her pregnant, but Mr. Leo still avoided her, having sent her to live in the guesthouse.
Time flew by, and after 14 years, Mr. Leo still did not touch Mrs. Gina again.
Mrs. Gina knew that she couldn't go outside to cheat on Mr. Leo to get pregnant with another man's child, so she made up her mind to kill Mr. Leo and his wife and seize all of Mr. Leo's wealth and oil company for herself.
Mrs. Gina was tired of seeing Mr. Leo and Mrs. Zoe acting so lovingly, as Mr. Leo avoided her and never accepted any gifts from her.
With each passing day that Mrs. Gina yearned for Mr. Leo's love, she knew that he would never love her. So she arranged for a truck driver to ram into late Mr. Leo and Mrs. Zoe's car.
She knew that they were going to Lemon Hill High School for Olima and Mia's graduation ceremony.
She was also going to the school for her own daughter's graduation, as Mia was moving into a senior class while Olima was graduating as the best in her class.
Mrs. Gina attended the graduation ceremony alone and snapped several photos with her daughter, while Olima waited in vain for her parents to arrive.
Later in the evening, when Olima finally got home, she was shocked to receive the news of her parents' absence. She cried, knowing that her stepmother hated her the most.
She wanted to leave the house too, but there was nowhere for her to go.
Olima patiently waited for her uncles to arrive. When her uncles arrived, they were asking Mrs. Gina about the oil company, other documents, and the mansion.
It was only three months after her parents' burial ceremony ended, and Mrs. Gina wasted no time in arresting all her in-laws.
She accused them of killing Mr. Leo and his wife so they could claim all Mr. Leo's wealth.
Mr. Leo's two brothers had to sign an agreement never to disturb Mrs. Gina again, and they left without returning.
No one asked about Olima again, and Mrs. Gina moved into the main mansion that Mr. Leo had previously chased her away from. She threw all of Mrs. Zoe's possessions away.
She burned them outside, as she couldn't bear to see all the beautiful portraits and images of late Mrs. Zoe on the living room walls.
She replaced the empty walls with her own photos, leaving Mr. Leo's images up on the wall.
Mrs. Gina sacked all five housemaids, including the cook, and turned Olima into her housemaid.
She told Olima, "I think you saw how your late father treated me and Mia when he was alive. Well, there is no money for you to further your education, so you will have to remain my maid, helping to take care of this house that your parents left behind.
We cannot sell it to sponsor you through school. That would be very selfish of you, to sell the only property we live in when we haven't seen the will or acquired another house."
Olima couldn't do anything, as her stepmother withdrew her from her tutorial classes and turned her into a maid.
She was forced to learn how to cook, wash dirty dishes, and wake up very early in the morning to tidy up the house.
She had to take care of the garden, her mother's farm, and trim the flowers too.
Olima cried, but her tears weren't enough to resolve the issue as she watched Mia resume going to school, even though her stepmother had already told her that there was no money for her to resume.
Mrs. Gina later invited the family lawyer to understand about late Mr. Leo's will.
When the lawyer arrived, he told Mrs. Gina that the will could not be changed, and the will regarding the company stated that the oil company left behind by Mr. Leo Adams should be given to Olima Adams, but only when Olima turned 24 years old.
Mrs. Gina became annoyed and sent the lawyer away, thinking about how she would turn the oil company and all other companies that belonged to late Mr. Leo Adams into her own.
