Phoenix Reborn - Episode 18

 

The press had been having a field day at the Montero mansion. Most had only travelled to cover the funeral of philanthropist and trending entrepreneur Eduardo Montero but got even more when they met Olivia Michaels at the funeral. Most people were not aware of her relationship to the Montero's but between her kids and the rings on her finger and that of Alejandro, speculations were running high and they made it their mission to find out for sure.
Eduardó's wife Ireña was not pleased, she'd been in the family for five years and hadn't gotten as much attention from her in laws as Olivia had in a few days. What's more, she hated how her presence was taking all the focus from her husband's funeral . She however kept her calm and decided to give her a shot. It was clear her diabolical mother in law was at loggerheads with her new daughter in law. Plus, Olivia was not the kind of person to be pushed around, which their mother in law seemed to have a taste for. All her married life was dictated and planned out by her mother in law, down to the clothes her son Raphael wore. It was so annoying. So Olivia challenging the old h*g was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Maybe they could be friends some day, who knew. She wasn't bossy or entitled, her children were well behaved, plus, despite being filthy rich, the woman was so down to earth

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/phoenix-reborn

. She'd caught her helping out the workers a few times. Sometimes she caught her cooking, cleaning the house and stables, ironing, she even once found her helping Ýulia, to do the dishes. Her father in law had once asked her why she did what she did, if it was because she wasn't satisfied with the service rendered but she simply smiled and told him she was only helping because she's an African child who was brought up to clean up after herself. Besides," I was bored." She'd told him much to Fernanda's disdain.
It had taken all of Ireña's effort not to burst out laughing. Losing Eduardo had been difficult but with the drama cooking in the house, it was difficult staying down for long periods of time. Raphael seemed so close to his cousins too. Especially little Diana, though when he needed some guy time it was little Max he was seen hanging around. They seemed to take Raphael's mind from his father's death and she couldn't be mad at that.
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Leila Hussein is a modern breed muslim who has lived most of her life in a contemporary home. Unlike most other muslim women, she wasn't confirmed to the traditional laws. Her parents weren't as strict, they didn't mind her not wearing a hijab, they allowed her lots of freedom so long as she didn't disappoint them.
She was seventeen when she first ran into Olivia Michaels. They were roommates in that first year of the university. It was the best private university in the country and as a rule, all first years had to spend the first year in the school hostels, with a roommate. Of course this didn't go down well with most of the students who were all from wealthy homes and used to having their own rooms and flats. Some even owned their own apartments in major cities around the world. She was also bummed out until she walked into the room and met an equally bummed, rich and famous teen sensation Olivia Michaels in the room. She knew who she was from the moment she walked in because Olivia had already been featured in Forbes, Essence, and Teen Vogue. This made her stand out because unlike most of the students on campus who were wealthy curtsey of their parents, she was a self made millionaire. She made up her mind to become her friend there and then even if it killed her.
Soon they became the best of friends. It wasn't long before they knew each other like the palm of their hands. However it wasn't until she accompanied Olivia on that trip to the Egyptian desert, to the palace built out of site close to the Nile that she learnt who she really was.
Haditya Idrisi, head to the feared demon clan. The most lethal assassin's league to ever grace the free world. The top most league in the society creed. She had never really feared Olivia until that moment. Then again, in as much as she kept her safe, drew her in and made her her right hand, the fear still remained. Leila was turned into a cold blooded killer in the space of the three years they had left to graduation. Her sole objective being to have Olivia's back. A chore that Olivia didn't make simple considering her falling into drug abuse. She was required to report all her concerning activities to Omar Idrisi himself or face the punishment of death. She constantly had to remind herself that she was Olivia's best friend before she was her right hand. She'd tried severally to get her to quit but it only got worse with time. Olivia knew the danger her behaviour was putting Leila in but she still did it. In all fairness, she at least tried to keep it secret, she knew she would never find as loyal a friend as Leila.
Leila was there for her through thick and thin. From her struggle, to the birth of the twins. She was the only other person aside from Olivia and Alex who knew how they ended up married. This was because the general had wanted to know the whereabouts of Olivia but she didn't know as Alex and her had ditched her in the Cannes.

Read " Phoenix Reborn: My True Brother " by the same author ( Sylvia Maleko )

. She couldn't tell the general she had no idea because he would have killed her. So she went in search of them. She was actually the one that found them both passed out in that room in Vegas, a few days after they got married. Plus, considering she's the one that persuaded Olivia to go for that full medical exam and picked the results, she was the first one to know Olivia was pregnant. They'd tried to keep it secret but the hounds in journalism made that impossible. Eventually Omar found out, that was not a good week for Leila.
Olivia having great love for her friend pulled several strings to have her punished instead of killed. She knew if anyone found out just how much she cared for Leila, they would see her as a weakness and thus a threat, so she'd sentenced Leila to a week of hard labour in the dome. Where they kept all their slaves and enemies combatants. That was the most feared punishment because members of the league had it alot harder in those mines. It could only be compared to a cruel cop ending up in the same prison with inmates they used to manhandle. Olivia however knew Leila would survive, she personally trained her after all, and get more respect once she did.