A/N

It has come to my notice that Florence has been getting a lot of hate from different people. I acknowledge the fact that she makes stupid mistakes and will make more in future. But to those calling her 'dumb', "stupid" and other names, I will not tolerate that form of insult on her personality. Be realistic here and raise your hands if you haven't made mistakes in your life. If you raised your hands, I'm sorry, but you lie. If you stop reading because of this, it's in your interest and mine. If you'd love to see a perfect character with no flaws, no mistakes, create your own book, and tag me in it. I'd love to read your book.

'Destroying The Past'

MULTIPLE THOUGHTS RAN through my head as I left Dr. Michelle's office. While I continued pondering over how my mom was attacked, I asked myself who could have done that to her, and why. There was no one my mom held a grudge against or that held a grudge against her, so I thought.

Tamara was seated on a chair in the reception area with her chin cupped in her palm. I had never seen Tamara sad, not for a single day, she was always happy and there were many times I got jealous of her, although she could be serious when she wants to be and playful when she wants to be. According to her, 'life would be boring without me having fun'.

"Tam." I called softly and sank into a chair next to her. She turned to me and managed a smile.

"The person who did this to mom is a beast, If only I could lay my hands on whoever it is, I'll strangle them, I'll decapitate them, I'll chop-"

I placed a finger on her lips to silence her, I sensed strong hatred in those words that were emitted from her mouth and if they aren't restrained, they might just make her feel worse instead of better.

Mom always told us that the best way to deal with a negative situation is using positivity as your sole weapon.

"Shhhhh..." I rested my index finger on my lips to silence her. "Remember, mom always told us that the best way to deal with a negative situation is by using positivity as your sole weapon."

She nodded in comprehension and sighed deeply.

I heard footsteps running towards us and I lifted my gaze to Michael who had a distressed look on his face.

He went on his knees and whispered comforting words to his fiancee, stroking her knee as he spoke to her softly. She nodded slowly and took his hands in hers, I noticed the engagement ring enclosing one of her fingers and I wondered if their wedding will take place as scheduled. Inwardly, I pitied Tamara, she seemed so fragile and instantly I knew I had to be strong for the three of us.

"Florence." A hand perching on my shoulder drove away my thoughts. I shifted my gaze from the floor to Michael who's had a warm smile on his face, his knees weren't on the floor anymore, he had assumed a standing position.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." I gave him a smile to reassure him and he nodded.

"I've made a statement at the police station, they're on it, there's no need to worry anymore."

"I'm worried about mom lying unconscious back there."

He sighed and ruffled his hair, stealing a glance at Tamara who had spaced out of our conversation.

"I know you are, I am too, and your sister also. Come on, let's go home."

He extended an arm towards me and I utilized it in pushing myself off the chair. He gently dropped my hand and helped Tamara up too. He led us to his SUV parked outside the hospital. After we had climbed in, he drove us home.

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After Michael had dropped us off at the house, I carried the bags I had left in the living room, up to my room, Tamara silently entered her room and closed the door. She hadn't said anything to me in the car, not even when we arrived home.

All I gathered from Michael was that she had gone to the Mart to get some groceries and when she came back, she met mom lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of her blood. She called him and he rushed out from work to meet her. They invited the police over and that was where they took mom to the hospital.

Fresh thoughts assailed my head as I sat on my bed.

What will happen to my mom's fashion stores now?

Who'll be in charge of everything? I only agreed to assist mom in supervising a small section of her fashion stores, now that this happened, who's going to be in charge of 'Amanda's Empire' now?

In response to my thoughts, my phone rang and I saw an unknown number displayed on its screen.

"Hello, am I speaking to Miss Florence Steel?"

A male voice spoke immediately I tapped on the 'respond button'

"Can you come over to 'Florence' immediately?"

Odd as it seems, my mom named her fashion stores after Tam and I, generically they were known as Amanda's Empire.

"Why should I?"

I needed to be certain that it wasn't a trap.

"Amanda's Empire is in financial crisis, come over and we'll talk about it."

Before I could ask for his name, he hung up, leaving me at a crossroad.
I had an internal debate on what to do next.

Whether it's a trap or not, I'm going to find out. No more chickening out of any situation.

I hastily dived into my closet for suitable clothes (not heels and corporate stuff, just in case you're wondering). I grabbed my mom's car keys from the center table in the living room and drove her car parked in the garage, to 'Florence'.

After 30 minutes of driving, I arrived at the enormous, perfectly designed edifice.

I heaved and prepared myself for what's ahead. After stepping out of the car and making my way into the building. The receptionist, a lady who had a sweet smile on her face welcomed me when I got to her desk.

"Good afternoon, Miss Florence, Mr. Adam is expecting you, he's in the first office to your left, on the third floor."

"Thank you."

She didn't respond as she resumed typing into a computer in front of her.

While I made my way to my elevator, I looked around at the numerous glass enclosures around me. Some of mom's employees were clustered around a few mannequins proudly displaying differently coloured fabrics, all of them unique in diverse ways, I couldn't help but be enthralled by my mom's skillfully manipulated creations.

I shifted my gaze from the people around me, to the elevator which opened as I stepped directly in front of it.

When I got off the elevator at the third floor, and headed to Mr. Adam's office, I had a suspicion that he was the man I spoke to earlier, but I had to wait until my suspicions were confirmed.

I knocked and entered into the office as directed, after hearing a 'come in'.

The tension hanging in the office nearly killed me, but I took a deep breath as I walked in. Three other people, two men and a lady were seated in front of a man who had a peculiar air of authority around him.

"Come over and have a seat, Miss Florence." Mr. Air-of-authority waved me to a seat, and I took bold steps to a chair next to the red-haired lady who examined me.

Oh! Did I forget to add that they were all dressed in impeccable suits and ties, amazing!

"I'm glad you could make it. As I told you earlier over the phone, Amanda's Empire is crumbling as a result of Mrs Steel's current state of health-"

"Who's she?" Miss Red-hair interrupted Mr. Air-of-authority and gave me a cold look, at the same time narrowing her bulgy eyes at me.

"Ariel, this is Florence, Mrs Steel's daughter." He stated. Ariel glanced at me again in surprise. I smirked at her, forcing her to scowl at me.

"As I was saying, we need to remedy the situation, that's why I invited you over, seeing you recently bagged a degree from the prestigious Fashion Management School in London."

I blinked twice at him, while Ariel gaped at me in sheer shock.

Don't let the flies get in...

"Well, you see, your mom informed me about the reason behind your going to the Management School. Now that's she's temporarily unable to perform her duties, you are required to take charge over Amanda's Empire. We'll be meeting with our stakeholders tomorrow, and you're expected to be in attendance."

This has got to be a practical joke.

💭💭💭

That was it, that was how the management of Amanda Empire was shoved into my hands. Technically, I'm now in charge of over 30,000 people, thanks to the hideous animal that hurt my mom.

Great, just great.

As I drove through New York City, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, whilst humming the lyrics of my favorite song; Perfect by Ed Sheeran.

I manoeuvred mom's car past Star Bucks and I pulled over. I turned to glance briefly at the pedestrians beside me, some strolled into the doors of Star Bucks, others trooped out with smiles plastered all over their faces, which brought a little smile to mine.

A couple exchanging kisses grabbed my attention. Well, it's not surprising to see couples smooching all over the city even in broad daylight.

On a closer examination, shock waves travelled to every inch of my body when I recognized the couple to be Peter and Maya.

Unbelievable.

I fought back the tears threatening to fall from my eyes as I watched their shameless heated makeup session. Peter whispered some words into Maya's ear which caused her to smile, her hands were wrapped around his neck and his, around her waist.

Every part of my heart shattered as I watched them, my heart broke into tiny pieces and Peter continued stepping on them with each passionate kiss he gave her. I finally succumbed to my tears when I placed my head on the steering wheel and cried bitterly.

He said he would wait for me, did all the moments we shared mean nothing to him? Were all those sweet words he whispered into my ears blatant lies? Was he pretending to be deeply in love with me? How about the flowers? How about when he stood up for me back at Nicholas Corporation?

My questions didn't need me to answer them, the answers were displayed right in front of me and the answers ripped my heart, body and soul.

Easing my mom's car our of the space I had parked it in, I headed to Livingstone Hospital, to my mom, the only person I had to live for, apart from Tam.

I wiped my teary eyes and took one last look back at Peter, my past. Goodbye forever, my past.

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Don't hate me guys, I had to break her heart, oh no, it has nothing to do with me, it's Peter's fault, not mine.
Sorry for breaking the hearts of Peter and Florence's 'Shippers'

Anyways, thanks for all those votes, comments, even the ones that asked me to update frequently, I'm trying hard to do that, but as you know, I have a life outside Wattpad, I have places to be, school to catch up with. So don't hate me for the short chapters, it ain't easy at all. Thanks again everyone.

And erm... *cough* grammatical errors are bound to appear, just point them out politely.

Tris.
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