bruisedwillow

[bruisedwillow]

lauren willow limbrey

                                                  the prologue

A four month old pregnant Lauren had finally finished her paperwork for the day and was ready to go home. She walked out of the firm and waved goodbye to her coworkers before heading to her black range rover. “ bye guys see you tomorrow! “ 

She smiled and put her car in drive, heading to her apartment in downtown cambridge, massachusetts. it was a beautiful brick townhouse with white accents and vines that grew up the sides of it like something you’d see in new york—as she pulled up to the street and parked, she noticed the light upstairs that was connected to her room was turned on—her husband wasn’t supposed to be home from his business trip until wednesday and he had left two days prior.being excited that he was home she rushed inside , dropping her purse and trotting up the stairs—her excitement dulled though upon hearing another voice in the room with him. their room, carefully pressing her ear to the closed door, she heard moaning…that was when she swung the door open to find her newly wedded husband in bed with another woman. 

“ what the fuck ?! “ she exclaimed before running away and down the stairs, her spouse chasing after her. as he tried to grab her arm she turned and punched him—in the nose, completely shattering it. the woman he was with just behind him. 

“ are you fucking kidding me? No, I'm done. I'm packing my shit and leaving. “ she yelled at him and grabbed the girl's arm, shoving her out of the apartment. 

“ get the fuck out whore! “

That night she packed as much as she could and drove away from the place she called home for the past 5 years…crying in her car she seeked refuge at a friend's house a town over and she’d stay there for the remainder of her days…she started over.

                                                birth of an heiress

      Born on a rainy day in may , lauren willow limbrey was born to parents carla and elliot limbrey in Lawrence hospital in fallwell,  just outside of Salem, Massachusetts at 11:30 am. The hospital was a quiet one , never too much commotion and that could be said for the limbrey family at least for the first sixteen years of Lauren's life. 

     When she was a child, Lauren loved going out on small adventures at sea with her father who was an archeologist and grew a deep passion for it. She had a talent for singing and did the annual Lady of Salem pageant annually to showcase these talents, she was well known around town as the songbird of the town. her father always encouraged her to sing and to keep going on adventures and to never stop being herself. her mother on the other hand always wanted her to be on the straight and narrow and it caused some conflict between the two. 

      At the age of sixteen, Elliot limbrey was out on an expedition and never came back.after his passing, Lauren and her mother grew to resent each other and it only fueled her to leave right after highschool, and so she did…and she never ever looked back . . . 

                                           expect the unexpected 

During Lauren's time at college she fell for a man named logan—he had blonde hair and light eyes..a true dreamboat. They fell fast in love and were engaged a year into their relationship, set to marry a year later.—with lauren landing a job at a local firm and his career in tech it was more than easy to afford a wedding and the following year they eloped on the shores of california with close friends and family.—they spent their honeymoon’ house hunting, landing them in west cambridge, Massachusetts just a few miles from her new job. everything felt right where it needed to be. until one night she felt sick to her stomach —racing to the bathroom she puked into the toilet and then she knew…she didn’t tell her lover until she knew for sure so she took a trip to the late night gas station and picked up a test doing it that night. —she sat on the toilet and cried, she didn’t know what to do at that point. The next morning she told him and his reaction surprised her. He wanted to have the baby and that immediately had made her feel better about the situation at hand. sure it was unexpected—but she was excited for this new journey for them. they had some rocky patches a year prior but she felt that this would fix their relationship. . . she was wrong. 

( refer to prologue ) —after he was caught cheating on her and she had cleared their joint bank account and moved out. Five months later, she had the baby and signed divorce papers all in the same breath. It felt like her world was crumbling while at the same time starting over felt good. . .

                                          back to limbrey manor

       “ what?—okay…thank you. “ the blonde hung up her phone as she sat across the dining table looking up to her roommate. “ My grandmother passed away last night. They are having her funeral this weekend… '' her heart sank to her stomach and her head began to whirl. she knew she’d be seeing everyone she knew…including her mother. someone she hadn’t seen in four years—not even called or anything—she wanted nothing to do with her, or that town. 

        The next day she was on the next train out to Salem, Massachusetts  and made it there the day of, tired, dressed in all black she took an uber up to the place where they had her funeral and had arrived just before the ceremony before it started. she stood quietly in the small group as those who were super close to him were asked to say a few words—``Lauren? Would you like to say a few words? we know you two were close… “ It caught her off guard but she did nonetheless and walked up to the front, taking in a deep breath. 

          “ she was a good woman—she always supported my father and it extended to me as well…I wish I had come to see him more before she passed. “ she concluded before joining the group again…once the service was over and people walked back to their car it began to rain and a man with an envelope approached her. he handed her the paper with her name written on it and stamped with a wax seal with the letter L on it in cursive, before she could ask about it the man was gone. 

      she got in her black kia and opened the letter and it read:

       ‘ Miss Limbrey, 

             please be in attendance to 1414 

             Westmore drive tomorrow at noon.      

               ��   best regards and condolences, 𝓛 𝓜. ‘

“ LM— “ she thought to herself as she closed the letter and sighed before driving to her hotel for the evening to get some rest. 

        The next day , Lauren was found being picked up by a town car and taken to the destination described on the paper. as she sat in the back wearing black slacks , a white blouse and a black blazer with black pumps , one leg crossed over the other and hands placed in her lap as the car drove up a familiar driveway that led to an even more familiar house. it was her grandfather's estate, a place she had been to often when her parents were out of town. she sighed as she got out of the car and walked up to the door and opened it, stepping inside. 

        She heard voices coming from the direction of where her grandfather had his office. she walked down the hallway, her heels clicking on the wood floor as she approached the door—sticking an ear to it to listen. 

        “ This is impossible! “ a woman could be heard and the blonde rolled her eyes before walking in as if she hadn’t overheard. “ hello— is this the right room? “ she said softly, walking in and glancing at the other three people in the small room. it was her mother, and two other men. “ Ah Lauren, hi dear. Come sit. “ 

       The short blonde took a seat near the others, further away from her mother though. “ What am I doing here? “ she asked, giving a glare to her mother that could cut through a rock. ``We have your grandfather's will to go over with everyone. “ the man in her grandpa’s chair says. “Who the hell are you? '' she asked a little too frustratingly. “ his attorney. now— “ after we went over frivolous things they’d all been gifted—she thought it was the end until he called put those last words. 

      “ the heir of the limbrey fortune goes to elliot limbrey..if he cannot retrieve it or passes before i do than my fortune and home go to his first born—lauren.. “ with a few scoffs from the peanut gallery she rolled her eyes before widening them realizing what he said. 

“ me? why? “  she questioned, her face riddled with confusion..

“ she trusted you the most and knew you would do something good with it..”

“ with what exactly? “ 

“ the money and the estate, with all of its possessions-they are all yours miss limbrey. “

Lauren finally took a seat and swallowed the lump in her throat.

“ How much ? “ her voice low..

“ twenty million. Half in cash and half in a savings account..” her jaw dropped, what the hell was she to do with twenty million dollars? Her life was about to change...