THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 424: Better Late Than Never

6:00 a.m. three days later, Lauren stumbled out of bed, slammed shut the window against the din of birdsong and stumbled back to bed. The past two days had been hectic for her and she couldn’t turn in at Empress Brew, but thanks to Horatio, her able assistant, things were going on fine.

When she finally decided to wake up by 8am, she headed straight to the showers, had a quick breakfast before rushing off for the appointment.

She was scheduled for a meeting with Cheryl by 9am who couldn’t wait to finally send some miscreants behind bars.

She drove in through the gates of the number one law firm in the city and couldn’t help but wonder at the brainy beauty behind such huge achievements of Moore Chambers.

Passing through reception, she exchanged greetings with some of the staff who knew her not as a client but as their boss’s close friend.

"Good morning her Lordship," Lauren greeted as soon as she was ushered into Cheryl’s cozy office which looked nothing like a law chamber save for the volume of books with various legal headings and titles lined up on the shelf.

"Hey, Lauren, you’re here," Cheryl stood up to meet her halfway. "Do have a seat," she said motioning to one.

"What would you like to have?"

"I’m okay," Lauren waved dismissively.

"Alright, you may leave, Mary," Cheryl said to her secretary.

"You look great, and I think I know the secret for your radiant glow," she teased Lauren as soon as the door was closed after her secretary.

"Coming from my predecessor, I have nothing to say," Lauren taunted back.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten how enchanting you would always look each time Jason comes back from one of his long trips? So this girl here decided to follow in your footsteps. Not to talk of how you’d abandon our sweet sisterhood to hang out with him all day."

"I get it. But I’ve grown up, as you can see. You’re the one with the spark now."

"Thanks."

"That wasn’t meant to be a compliment, peacock."

"I know, but, thanks all the same."

"So let’s quickly see how we can get you to sparkle more, I guess you can’t wait for all these to be over with so you can start planning your wedding."

"Who’s waiting? The wedding is already settled. All that is remaining is to inform a priest about the venue."

"I see. I was with Benita a few days ago and she looked different"

"I also saw her some days back and I think I’ve forgiven her. Benita was just an ignorant victim used by a vicious person to achieve her aim. But she’s turned a new leaf," Lauren said.

"She even told me of a foundation she plans on setting up for hurting women."

Cheryl’s eyes narrowed in confusion. "What’s it about? Is she planning to gather all the heart broken women from unrequited love and proffer healing solutions to them?"

"Something close to that. From what Steffan said, it’s the first reasonable thing Benita has done in her life."

"How cruel of him. How can he say that about a woman who loved him for so long?" Cheryl asked.

"You don’t know this, but that’s close to the best... no, only compliment Steffan had given to her since I knew him. As a matter of fact, he always referred to her as the president of ’Idle Women Association.’

"That’s ludicrous," Cheryl said and burst out in laughter.

"I almost died of laughter the first time I heard him refer to her that way. But on closer examination, Steffan was not far from the truth. Now that she’s turned a new leaf, I’m sure even her parents will breathe a sigh of relief."

"Yeah, but it’s a pity that it took such a hard lesson for her to come to her senses. All the same, better late than never."

"Yeah, better late than never," echoed Lauren. "So about tomorrow, what’s the plan? I guess that’s why you asked me to come," Lauren asked.

"Yeah, with the evidence gathered, coupled with statements from witnesses, Dolly might end up becoming a grandmother in jail."

The truth was, she didn’t need to do much in this case as Killian had provided her with ninety percent of the evidence, all she needed to do was appear in court, recite some legal jargons and that’s it, but she wasn’t allowed to disclose this to Lauren on Killian’s special orders.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so all you need to do is, dress beautifully to create a lasting impression as you appear in court because your adversaries will all be under your feet by this time tomorrow."

"Aren’t you the real deal?"

"We all are," Cheryl said before her expression turned gravely serious.

"The second reason I asked you to see me is about the event Wyatt’s Corps is hosting in a few days."

"That means the whole family willl be coming back to plan for the big day?" Lauren asked excitedly. It’s been long she saw her friend and her children.

"I wish. Janice had eloped with her husband on an endless honeymoon but magnanimously promised to drop by on the day of the event."

"And my dear mother in-law has left everything to me, her excuse being that as the new hostess of the house, I’m to be in charge. When I asked for her assistance, she said she can’t assist because she now has a bigger responsibility of taking care of her grandchildren."

"So I’m practically on my own. Can you imagine? And it’s driving me nuts. I feel like winning a case against the devil is a piece of cake compared to this uphill task," Cheryl lamented.

Lauren’s mouth spasmed in a smile but she couldn’t help but sympathize with Cheryl who has always lived a carefree life, now suddenly ’abandoned’ by everyone.

"How about your parents, they should be able to help."

"Don’t even go there. You’d be shocked at the excuse they gave me... Grandparent’s responsibility," Cheryl bit out sarcastically.

This time around, Lauren really couldn’t hold back her laughter. "I really do envy those grandchildren, so much love from every side."

"At my own expense," Cheryl grunted.

"So, when is the event?"

"In a week’s time. Wait... don’t tell me you can’t help me because it coincided with your wedding date. You’re the only one I can turn to as it stands," Cheryl cried.

"No, my wedding is the week after. Besides, I’m not allowed to do anything about the wedding since it’s been hijacked by my two mothers. "All you have to do for us is be the most beautiful bride and appear beside your husband on the wedding day.’ Those were my mother’s words."

"Lucky you. But I’m also glad for that, at least you’d be free to help me from this dilemma."

"Okay, let me see," Lauren said with a thoughtful look.

"We will start by getting in touch with the manager at the Masters Place. Empress Brew should be able to handle the coffee aspects and I have some friends who can also come in with other exotic drinks.

"Candace’s cousin is into interior decoration. And we’ll also be needing Ariel, Kathleen’s assistant."