Thorns Of Betrayal

Violets for freedom: Savannah Carter has one dream and one dream only; to run her late mother's top architectural designing company! But when her scandalous stepfather teams up with her misogynistic company's board to try and force her into a marriage....Savannah only has one choice.... find her own suiter! And her pick....the callous and emotionless Darius Kyle one of the regions top Hotel and Resort moguls! Will Savannah be able to convince this usual cold Prince to enter this marriage with her?!

Chapter One: The Blueprint of Dreams.

Savannah Carter stood at the edge of her late mother's office, her gaze sweeping across the sunlit room that still smelled faintly of violets. The walls, adorned with framed blueprints and awards, whispered of the legacy she was determined to uphold. Carter & Associates, the architectural firm her late mother and father built from the ground up, was now under her stewardship…..and its future lay in her hands.

For the past three years, Savannah worked as the company’s top designer; leading to the board voting her in a president. A true prodigy, she’d inherited the gift of design from her mother. She’d also devoted her entire school career to architectural designing, business management and engineering. Determined to make sure this company fell into no one else hands.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

The knocking of her office door startled Savannah out of her deep thoughts. As she quickly turned around, her assistant Leeda Barton had just walked in with a stack of papers.

“Sorry for the intrusion ma’am. I have those contracts for the Bloomberg project that you requested.”

Savannah smiled lightly as she took the documents from Leeda. Scanning over them briefly, her smile grew wider.

“That’s quite alright Leeda. Did you look over these? I see Chester has agreed to our pricing.”

Leeda grinned with slight smugness.

“Of course he did. His assistant tried to play hardball but once I informed him that we were also being approached by his competitors that was willing to pay ANY amount we charged….they folded like a neatly pressed shirt.”

Savannah couldn’t help but laugh, one of the reasons she hired Leeda as her PA was because she was ruthless!

“Well….that should make the board happy. Send the documents up to legal. We’ll start the project the beginning of next month.”

Leeda smiled brightly at her boss as she bounced out of the office.

Though Savannah inherited her parents’ company, she always wanted to earn her place as president and eventually CEO. Throughout her entire school career she devoted herself to her academics earning her valedictorian and graduating both high school and college early. By the time she was 19, Savannah Carter had already achieved a double-master’s in international business and architectural designing & engineering. She worked hard at Carter & Associates, starting from the bottom as an intern before landing one of the company’s largest contracts when the Cedar Place Mall was built.

From that point on, she was a force to be reckoned with earning the top designer’s award two years in a row. With her accolades and accomplishments, one would think the company’s board would roll out the red carpet and honor her the title of CEO. But there was just one problem…..the board was filled with a bunch of misogynistic, backwoods thinking, overbearing assholes. As talented as Savannah was, the board was not thrilled about the idea of a young woman taking the crown as CEO. A fact her stepfather relished in.

Savannah’s father Zander Carter died when she was just two years old from a fatal car accident. For over four years, her mother Sonya worked tirelessly building the company they created to become one of the largest architectural firms in the four regions. Sonya told herself she would never love or marry again until one day, the board held a meeting.

“Sonya….please try to understand. We think you’re doing a wonderful job as president, but in the business world….men are typically the boarders of business.”

Sonya looked at her boardman Norman Connors with disdain. For the past several years she’d been busting her ass to secure contracts nearly tripling the company’s profits. In just three years the company’s networth was well into the billions. Now, as she made her petition for CEO, this board had the nerve to tell her “not without a husband.”

Boardman Robert Carroll spoke next.

“Sonya….none of us want you to ever replace Zander. We’re merely pointing out that a husband is a better look for the company. Think about Savannah….wouldn’t a nuclear household be more fitting for her?”

For a split second, Sonya imagined taking her clipboard and slapping Robert clear across the face! How dare he bring up her daughter! Above everything else, no matter how busy she was or how hard she worked, Sonya always made sure she put her daughter first! To suggest Savannah would be slighted simply because she didn't have a father was infuriating. To appease the board however, and be awarded CEO, Sonya agreed to get remarried.

She knew of Richard Hawkins through passes and events. His family wasn’t exactly low-class, but they weren’t prominent either. For Sonya, that was perfect. She didn’t need some high-minded overbearing cooperate mogul trying to take over the company she and her husband built. She knew the board wouldn’t think twice about putting a man in as CEO. Richard however, had no major connections, no real power, and lacked ambition……perfect.

From the moment she came to him with the proposal, he’d always known it was merely for appearances.

“Look Richard….I don’t expect you to give me your heart….that’s not why I’m doing this. I need a marriage for political reasons. So I won’t try and control you. All I ask is that you respect me. No outside children, no public affairs. You attend all major engagements with me, and we appear in love in front of the cameras…..deal?”

Richard could hardly believe his luck! He’d wanted to marry Sonya Carter for a while now. He knew that with her as his wife he would be able to move up the social ladder!

“Sonya….you’ve got yourself a deal!”

Sonya shook Richard’s hand. A pleased smile on her face. Now she could get back to what was important. Building her empire, and Savannah.

“Oh….Richard, just so you know….I won’t change either me or my daughter’s last name. Carter is what we will remain.”

Richard smiled in agreement.

“Zander Carter was a great man. I truly understand. Let’s make this marriage work!”

Richard secretly seethed, however. He knew it was a longshot, but he’d hope she would take his last name.

‘Shit! I’ll be living in that dead fucker’s shadow forever at this rate!’

And that was it! Sonya and Richard had a small ceremony, and on the surface, everything seemed fine. Richard was never out of place. He said all the right things, was the perfect gentleman and father figure. Slowly melting down the ice around Sonya's heart.

Over time, the three of them slowly became a real family. Richard doted on Savannah as if she were his own. He never demanded anything of Sonya, never complained that she worked too much. Everything was perfect…..too perfect. It all came to an end however shortly after Savanna turned 16. After ten years of marriage and the image of a perfect family, everything came to a violent halt when Sonya died in a tragic fall while on a camping trip with Richard.

Savannah would never forget that fateful day. She’d just got home from visiting her best friend and the cops were all at her house. Her heart instantly sank, knowing something was wrong. As she rushed in the house, her stepfather was speaking to the police. His eyes were bloodshot red as the tears continued to fall. Panicked, Savannah ran directly to him.

“Dad! Dad what happened!!! Where’s mom!”

Richard looked at Savannah, hurt and pain filled his face as the words felt stuck in his throat. In an instant, he grabbed Savannah into a hug

“Savie…..I…..I’m so sorry…..your mother she…..”

Savannah felt as if her world was tilting. Her best friend, her hero, the woman she aspired to be…..gone.

After the funeral, her mother wasn’t buried a week before Richard moved his new family in. A woman named Darma and her daughter Lacy. Savannah was furious!

“What the hell is going on! Mom hasn’t even been gone a week, and you move in your ready made family! Were you cheating on mom!!!”

Richard grabbed Savannah’s hand before she could back away.

“No! Savie! It’s not like that! I loved your mother very much! She was my best friend. But we had an understanding. She knew Darma was my true love just like your father was hers! Look….we’re all still family here okay?”

But Savannah didn’t see it that way. After that moment, she never looked at Richard the same. She stopped calling him father and remained suspicious about her mother’s death. Over the next several years, Savannah stayed out her stepfamily’s way. She’d learned very quickly what type of people Darma, and her daughter were. That fake type, always playing coy, always playing victim, always acting innocent in public while wretched in private. And it was painfully clear Richard chose them onver Savannah. She soon realized the only reason he remained her active stepfather was so he could continue to reap the Carter benefits.

Like a thief in the night, Lacy slowly tried to steal everything Savannah had, her clothes, her jewelry, even her friends and boyfriend. Savannah dated Kevin Alburn for over two years while in high school. They’d known each other since elementary school. However, as soon as he met Lacy, their relationship began to sour. Suddenly, everything was all about “poor Lacy”. When she got her early admissions into Cardow University and graduated high school early, that pretty much sealed their fate as they would no longer see each other through the academic year. By the beginning of the next school year, though they never confirmed a relationship, Kevin was practically glued to Lacy.

Now….it seemed her stepfamily was gunning for her parents’ company.. Savannah had known for a while that her stepfather was in cahoots with the board as they did not want her to become CEO. Taking a deep breath, she sipped her water and made her way to the conference room.

“Time to deal with this shit show.”