~~~vroommm~~~ The black Ferrari came to a halt in front of the ice mansion and a beautiful lady alighted from it. From the way she was dressed, one could say she was very rich. Dressed in a limited edition maxi skirt and a white shirt which was neatly tucked away Into her skirt, Emma Chong clutched a limited edition Dior purse to herself and with a smile plastered across her face, she made her way into the Mansion. The ice mansion was one of the oldest but still the most beautiful buildings in the area having been built during the seventeenth century, it was old but still exquisite.

Gold and marble adorned the walls of the house, it was screaming extravagance. "Welcome home, young madam" the maid at the door greeted before throwing the huge gold coated doors open and soft music filtered into her ears. Of course, she didn't expect anything less. Today was her grandfather's birthday and she was here to pay homage to him. Elder Chong was eighty seven today and he was still alive unlike some people, he was also a strong man who served in the military years ago. As Emma sauntered into the house, she could see it was half filled with important dignitaries and she could see the workers going around and serving some assorted dishes. Rolling her eyes, she made her way towards where her grandfather was seated but hardly had she taken a step, her step mother hastened towards her with a huge grin on her face. Emma didn't even like her one bit. "You are late, Emma" she reprimanded, "your grandfather has been asking about you for a while now" "But I am here now, ain't I?" She couldn't hide the disdain in her voice, "I was caught up with a photo shoot for my next project and lost track of time" "You should have at least stayed off work today, this is your grandfather's big day" "Oh please" she rolled her eyes again, "the main point is that I am here, I even brought grandfather a gift. What more do you want from me?" Having an irritated look on her face, Emma excused herself and made her way towards her grandfather again. This time she made sure to grin more widely to avoid her mother from scolding her. Twenty four years old Emma Chong was one among the youngest daughters of the Chong family, one of the biggest and richest families in Singapore. Her grandfather was married to three wives which gave her uncles and aunties she was not really proud of and her own father was married to two. He got married to her mother when his first wife couldn't produce an heir but even her own mother was yet to give birth to a son. The Chong family consisted of her five aunties and four uncles who also had their own kids. Her step mother gave birth to three girls while her own mother gave birth to two making it a total of five children but Emma hated all of this. She just wanted to be in a family that was not as big and complicated and this but what could she do? She was stuck there forever. "Grandfather" she called out to him lovingly while sitting beside him, "happy birthday grandfather" The old man rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, even if she was his favorite he was not going to forgive her for not coming sooner. "Why are you just coming now?" "Oh grandfather, I was caught up with work okay? I told you about it yesterday" He clicked his teeth, "I told you to quit that work and come home Emma, you have everything you so desire and you still want to work? What will people say about me? She heaved a sigh, this was not the first time he was telling her this. Elder Chong doted on her and would not see her in any pain. Other members of the family worked in their big conglomerate but he just wanted her to stay at home and be taken care of. "She has to work, how will she survive in this brutal world if she keeps being lazy?" Her auntie, Olivia said while walking up to them, "you spoil her too much, father" she added and Emma rolled her eyes, she hated Olivia the most. "Here grandfather" she placed a bag in front of him while totally ignoring her aunt, "I brought you this Buddha statue, mother told me you loved things like this" "Of course" the old man was genuinely happy, "this must have cost a fortune" "Not at all" she replied and stood up, "I will check on my mother" as she made to go, her aunt held onto her hand and stood up, "You didn't even bother to ask about your husband?" At the mention of her husband, Emma froze for a moment. This was one topic she hated to discuss the most. It was a thing in their family for the daughters to get married immediately when they were twenty three and even if her grandfather doted on her, Emma was not exempted. "I don't think this concerns you, aunt Olivia" she hissed, "whether I ask about my husband or not does not matter to you now, does it?" "Of course not" the old lady flashed her a smile, "I was just wondering why you didn't ask of him even when you have not seen him for days now" "Just stay away from me" with that, the now angry Emma walked off. How she even got married to that man was still a mystery to her, he was everything but a husband material. He didn't even have any penny to his name, how did she end up with him? Her train of thought was interrupted when she bumped into someone who was holding a tray containing drinks and his lips curled into a smile when he saw her. But the moment she recognized who was in front of her, her anger resurfaced. "I thought you were not going to come for your grandfather's birthday party" he was genuinely happy to see her but the lady in front of him was disgusted. "So you will serve drinks now? Aren't you ashamed?" She hissed angrily while clutching her bag to herself, "who told you to do this?" "Uhmmm" he scratched his hair gently, "young madam Chong asked me to serve the drinks" Emma felt like collecting the tray from him and pouring the whole content on him. How did she even get married to this kind of man? "Just get out of my face, Andrian" with that, she pushed him off and walked away. He was one of the persons she hated the most after her aunt Olivia. Adrian watched her leave and heaved a sigh. This was the second year of their marriage and it felt like he wasn't married at all. He could remember when her grandfather chose him for her but it turned out she hated him more than any member of the family. Not like he even had the capacity to ask for a divorce at this point. "Hey nerd" a certain voice filtered into his ear and he jolted out of his reverie, it was Tristan. Olivia's son, "are you going to keep standing there or serve the drinks?" "On my way" he answered and set to work, it was not like he was not used to her cold attitude by now. Adrian was just twenty seven years old, he was three years older than his wife but it didn't change the fact that she looked down on him. Aside from his fine face and well built body, Adrian had nothing to show, elder Chong was the one who chose him for his granddaughter by the way. **** A soft knock resonated on the door and Emma gently pushed the door and entered. Her senior sister was seated on the bed talking to her mother while her mum was seated on her vanity table and putting some finishing touches to her makeup. "Mum" she called from the door and she ventured into the room. "And here I was thinking you were not going to come" violet, her sister spoke up, "you really go out of your way" "I was caught up with work" she said while lowering herself on the bed, "i almost didn't make it" "Why didn't you wear the dress I sent to you?" Her mother reprimanded, "I told you to dress up properly" "What exactly am I dressing up for, mother?" Emma was just irritated, "I am not going to stay long by the way, I have already seen grandfather and I will be leaving any minute now" Mrs Chong finished with her make and turned her attention to her two daughters, "I think it is time you come back home, Emma. What do you think?" "I don't want to, this house is too crowded and I don't want to be with Adrian all the time" "And who told you to be with that lowlife?" The fifty year old woman hissed, "I want you to come home because you should be home. Why will you leave your house for strangers? You should consider quitting your job and coming back" "What exactly would I be doing if I came back mum? I don't want to come home. I want to stay as far away from Adrian as possible, he disgusts me" "I have never seen a woman hate her husband the way you hate Adrian, Emma" Violet teased. "Ughhh" Emma gritted her teeth, "I don't hate him, violet. I detest him" she added and a soft knock reached their ears before Adrian pushed the door open and entered. "Ma'am, grandfather is looking for you" he announced while looking at his wife but she hissed and turned her face away. "Get out" Mrs Chong growled at him and he gently bowed and closed the door after him but the pain in his eyes did not go unnoticed by them.