If this information was correct, then it means the caller was Adrian's relative because of the “Sterling” surname.The person called the second time and I picked up.“Hello dear”. His voice came soft and welcoming.“Hello”. I managed to reply in stammers.“You are Genny right?” He asked, making me nervous.“Who are you please?” I asked, trying to clear my doubt. Since I got married to Adrian, no family member has come to visit, and Adrian never introduced me to any. How did he get my contact?“Please answer my question; you are Adrian's wife, right?” He pressed.“Yes”. I muttered.“And your name is Jenny right?” he asked again, stressing the “Jenny” word.“Yes, I am”. I replied visibly annoyed.“It's nice meeting you…….“Please who are you?” I asked with furrowed brows, interrupting him.“I am Julian Sterling by name, Adrian's cousin”. He explained.“Okay. How can I help you please?” I asked, trying to define the purpose of the call.“No dear, I'm the one who wants to help you”. He re
“Interesting”. Adrian replied with a smirk. “So if you knew you were able to use your damn legs after all, why did you write me a note?”I didn't know what to say so I remained silent.“Answer me!” He yelled at once, making shivers run down my spine.I just stood there mute and visibly shaken.“I think I know why”. He said, touching his jaw. “Because I consented to your fucking request with a note, that gave you the guts to do the same”.Now I realized this man was very insane. Why would he have any problem with me writing him a note?“I'm sorry if you're offended. But I need a response”. I replied slowly with my head bowed.“What exactly do you want”. He said, rolling his eyes as if he didn't get the message from the note.“I need some money to change my wardrobe”. I replied.I hated the fact that I was standing in front of a man asking for money. It was a bruise to my ego, never had I imagined that life would maltreat me to the point of relying on a man for my upkeep.“How much do y
“Who are they?” I asked with furrowed brows.“They said they are billionaire Adrian's……“Oh, I get it. Let them in”. I replied, interrupting the poor nurse.The nurse left my ward, and after a few seconds, the bouncers strode in. There were two, the same ones that brought me to the hospital last night. One of them leaned on the wall opposite my bed while the other strode in my direction.“How are you feeling today ma'am?” He asked with no atom of emotion in his voice.I nodded in reply.“Your husband wants you to be discharged; he said you would receive the rest of the treatment at home.” He announced.“But I have not fully recovered; why would he give such an order,” I asked at the top of my voice.“That's the same thing I said ma'am. The doctor will be coming to treat you at home”. He explained.“No!” I yelled, making the bouncers jerk. “I don't want to go home; I still need this hospital environment to facilitate my recovery.” I shrugged.Meanwhile, the bouncer who was leaning on t
Adrian's eyes widened in shock, he stood from where he sat and walked towards me. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest as I began developing cold feet.How on earth was I able to talk back to Adrian? How did I do it? As much as I know that he wasn't going to take it lightly with me, I do not regret it.He was close to me by now with his head high above mine. I fixed my gaze on the floor, looking at nothing in particular.“What did you say?” He asked slowly, I could feel his breath showering on my earlobe.“Nothing”. I replied in shutters. “I didn't say anything”.“Are you sure?”. He pressed further.“Yes”. I affirmed.“I thought as much”. He said and walked away.I heaved a loud sigh of relief and strode away silently. When I got to my room, I twisted the door knob clockwise and walked in. The first thing I did was to take off my clothes and walk under the shower. The stench of the hospital was glued to my body, and although I loved it, it had to go.After freshening up, I
“Ma'am, what I meant is that my boss, the owner of this boutique, has granted you free shopping today. This means you can pick as many items as possible without having to pay a dime”. The cashier explained, beaming with a smile.“Who's this boss of yours?” I asked with furrowed brows.“Julian Sterling, your brother-in-law”. She replied.“You know what, I will not be taking any of these items home. It's either you allow me to pay for them or I return them”. I said matter of factly.“No ma'am, please don't do that, you will be putting my job on the line”. The cashier replied with a pitiful voice.I heaved a sigh and stared at the lady intensely. Of course, I wouldn't do anything that would make her lose her job because I understand what it means to make money.Suddenly, as I was racking my brains for the next thing to do, a large crowd started to gather around me. I was scared to my marrow; the boutique securities tried to scare away the crowd, but it didn't work. They kept chanting “Mr
I resolved that I wasn't capable of telling Adrian about Julian yet, so I went ahead to narrate the incident with the crowd, skillfully excluding Julian's ordeal. When I was done, I remained mute, hoping he would just take my word for it and not bombard me with questions.However, he heaved a loud sigh and muttered.“Julian”.I wasn't sure I heard him well and I couldn't help but ask.“What did you say?”He stood up and mumbled, “Never mind”.He walked past me and headed to his room. I wasn't expecting any reply initially so I shoved it aside and went to my room. I tried so much to take my mind off Adrian's issue with Julian, but the more I tried, the more I became interested. Maybe I would have successfully shoved it aside if Julian didn't drag me into the picture.I curled up on my bed as usual hoping sleep would come knocking because it was just a few hours to midnight. I slept off a few minutes later but jumped off my bed and landed on the floor suddenly. I had a dream about Mom a
The driver quickly alighted and beckoned me to come out of the car, I had to bulge, not as if I had a choice. I walked briskly to Adrian's car accompanied by his bouncers and bodyguards. Why exactly didn't he just ask me to use the other cars in his convoy?The backseat door was opened and I sat inside cautiously. I felt Adrian's gaze on me but I tried to avoid looking back at him.“My home is just a stone's throw from here; I can walk down there”. I muttered.“We are heading to the office; enough of this going home nonsense.” He replied firmly.“You can't do this to me. I really need to visit home, it's very important”. I cried.“Driver, move this car!” Adrian ordered ignoring my pleas.I sank back into the car seat frustrated. Why was he just so difficult? My tear glands were alerted and so on tears began trickling down my face. Adrian kept a straight face all through and refused to have a change of heart.Suddenly, our car pulled up again. When I sat up to find out what happened, w
Samuel was standing at the door with a medical attendant by his side. The look on his face told me that I was in trouble.“Why the hell are you doing here?” He asked, shouting at the top of his voice.I stood up abruptly and stammered.“I……. I came to see Mom”.“How dare you?” He yelled again, making me take a step backward.I remained mute as usual. I refused to regret my actions and applauded myself for a job well done.“Get out of here, back to where you came from this minute, and don't ever show yourself stupid self till further notice”.I picked up my bag from the floor, tucked my hair behind my ear, and walked out of the room. Sammie and the medical attendant proceeded into the room and started discussing in low tones, I stopped walking abruptly and came back curious to hear what they were saying.I peeped and saw the medical attendant trying to inject the same yellowish substance into Mom's drip bag. I don't know why something inside of me was feeling suspicious about it but I
JENNY POVContrary to what I vaguely recall about the trial, with little less than half a month to go, I walked my final tour of the evidence. I took a long walk up the stairs toward the safe box where all the documents and evidence were kept, my heart racing.When I opened the safe box, the second surprise awaited me; it was empty. All our evidence was missing! Panic swept over me, and I reached in to search frantically, hoping maybe I had mislaid the documents. But the truth was clear: everything was gone.Unbelievably so. Everything we had worked for and all our evidence had vanished. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me. How could this happen? Who took the evidence?Panicking, I called Adrian and the lawyer, stuttering. "It's gone," I said. "All of it."Adrian was calm. He reassured me: "We'll figure this out. We'll get to the bottom of it. Don't worry. We'll find a way to move forward."But I felt uneasy now. That meant our case was in trouble. Samuel's team would probably
JENNY POVWe had amassed all the evidence and, with Gabriel's expert counsel, we were quite confident of a solid case against Samuel. Upon consulting our lawyer, we scheduled an appointment to discuss the next steps and finalize the court date.There was a nervous energy fluttering around me as I followed Adrian into the lawyer's office. What would the lawyer say? After that, will it be possible for us to carry on with our case? Just the sight of Adrian's stoic demeanor reassured me, and I inhaled deeply again to control my nerves.Gabriel was inside the room, coffee in hand. He gave a little nod of acknowledgment as we settled in, while the lawyer began to go through the evidence.She finally said, after looking through the papers, "Let us go over the plan one last time. We will be bringing the lawsuit.” Then, we prepare for Samuel's team to respond, which will probably include trying to discredit you or the evidence."Adrian nodded, jaw tight with determination. "We are ready for th
JENNY POVWhen we broke away from each other after the hug, the memory of him really made me grateful for Adrian. Surely he was that support system I needed at this moment. "Thank you for being here for me," I said with quavering words.Adrian smiled at me, took my hand, and replied, "For always, I am here with you." "We'll face everything that comes."Rejuvenated, we took our seats one last time to review the evidence. The lawyer had told us that the case was strong, but we had to be prepared for every event. Adrian and I were going through the adaptations, underlining the crucial points, and exchanging views on strategies.As the day darkened, the tension in the room built up. Both of us were waiting for the return of this breath-holding event, wishing it would end soon so that we could all finally move on. But it was obvious that this required patience and tenacity.And then, just when we were seeming to take a break, the doorbell rang. Adrian went to answer it, and I could hear so
JENNY POVThen she turned to us with a playfulness glinting in her eyes and said, "I have a question for you two." Adrian and I exchanged curious looks, and I asked, "What is it's, Mom?" She fixed her gaze upon us, darting between Adrian and me, before eventually saying, "When should I expect my grandchildren, please?" The question hung expectantly between us, twinkling as a little playful tip made both of us smile and ponder on how to answer it.Adrian stared at me, a sly smile spreading across his face as if he was daring me to respond to my mom's query regarding grandchildren. "Soon, Ma," he said, his voice teasingly mischievous as he tried to deflect her curiosity. My mom's eyes sparkled with mischief while teasing me: "I know Jenny won't say anything." Her words hung in the air, humorous but full of innuendo, and made me laugh loud, feeling my cheeks burning.The night pressed on: the ambiance of darkness shielded us, and we were slowly traveling back to our rooms, slowly paying
JENNY POVThe days morphed gradually into weeks, while weeks would gradually morph into months, and my mom was really okay after that. "Thank you so much, Jenny," she said to me, holding my hand. Her voice was much better now, and we were chatting well. She didn't get sick anymore, and the doctor visits were not frequent by now since the workers kept caring about her with kindness and compassion.Adrian and I used to go and visit the hospital together to bring her favorite food and flowers. We sat down to watch movies or even play games, but even though it was at a slow pace, she was getting back. The hospital room of care was now much brighter with laughter than it had ever been used to and filled with sadness and concern.It was like any other day; we were just chit chatting when suddenly, a glittering tear glistened in Mom's eye. "I'm very grateful to you, Jenny," she said with a shaking voice. "You have been my stronghold during this journey." A warm hug followed from me, elated a
JENNY POVIn the course of her recovery, I fleeted back home to refresh myself often. The workers would live with her, looking after her needs, and updated me about her conditions through regular phone calls, sometimes giving me a good laugh or two while hearing stories on her improvements.We began to develop a bond through these talks, and soon I would be on the edge of my seat waiting for their calls. They told me all about the jokes she told, her smiles, and how determined she was to recover. I laughed and appreciated their kindness.One day, I asked them all over for breakfast in appreciation of the small things they did for my mom. They came with huge, toothy grins and gifts of sunshine-dripped fruit and fragrant flowers. Here we were around the table, sharing together in a hearty meal.Mrs. Jenkins said, "We're so proud of your mom's progress, Jenny. She's a fighter." I smiled, feeling all the more blessed to have them with me. "Thanks to you all, she's getting a little better
JENNY POVAt first, the workers got busy setting up my mother for the transport to the hospital. I watched as they transported her into a stretcher, their faces serious."We'll get her the help she needs," Adrian said, his voice reassuring. "We'll make sure she's okay."I nodded, and hope washed over me. Maybe, just maybe, we could get my mom back on her feet. Maybe we could undo the damage that Samuel had done.But for some reason, all along the way that took us out of the house into the open, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the opening act--the warm-up--for a longer and tougher journey ahead.As the workers placed my mom in a car, an entire jigsaw puzzle of emotions filled the air: relief because actions were finally being taken; then apprehension of what could come to pass in future. The workers whose eyes had been somber just a few moments ago suddenly spoke."Pleeeeeeease, Jenny, let us help,” Mrs. Jenkins said, her voice being a little shaky. "We'll assure that y
JENNY POVAdrian took my hand and squeezed it gently."Let's go," he was saying in a steady voice. We walked together toward the little house, hearts heavy with concern for the ahead.I carefully entered the house with a pounding heart and a twisty stomach for anticipation and nervousness. Workers followed close behind, looking concerned. Adrian stayed near me, offering supporting comfort.A piece of cloth had been laid over something on the floor as we entered the room. My instinct told me it was my mother, but that thought was unbearable. "Where is she?" I managed to whisper to the men working.Mrs. Jenkins paused, speaking with a trembling voice, "Look at her here," extending her hands toward the cloth.My throat constricted as Mrs. Jenkins pulled back the cloth. I almost choked. My mom was lying on the floor with her eyes closed. I screamed, "Jezzzzz!"All hell broke loose in my mind. I staggered backward, feeling lost and disoriented. I never thought I could see such a thing: My
JENNY POVThe moment I stepped into the house, some feeling of discomfort seemed to wash over both me and Adrian. The staff had welcomed us with uneasy gestures, and one could almost taste the tension. Mrs. Jenkins, the housekeeper, came towards us smiling uneasily."Jenny, dear, we need to talk to you about something," she said in whispers.I exchanged the same puzzled glance with Adrian and followed Mrs. Jenkins into the living room. The others had entered, too, and their expressions were serious."What are we talking about?" I asked with an authority in my voice, betraying hardly any nerves.Mrs. Jenkins took a deep breath. "We have been looking after your mother for a while now, and...and there is something about which we have been doing...that we should not."I had felt that my intuition might be right: a knot was tightening painfully inside my stomach. "What do you mean by that?” I demanded, trying to add firmness to my tone while being cautious.The staff exchanged anxious look