The door opened, and the butler, Walter, stood there. He still looked the same to Esther. Even after twenty-three years, he still looked like the foul man she remembered, and the moment he opened his mouth, she realized she was not wrong."What are you doing here?" he asked coldly."It's funny how you use such a tone with someone who would have become your madam but for other reasons."Walter sneered and folded his arms,"But you didn't, did you? You ran off with that imbecile you claimed to be in love with, even though you were engaged to my boss.""I don't have time for your nonsense today, Walter. I want to see the master," Esther said."And for what? Haven't you hurt him enough? How did you even get in here?""The guards let me in."Walter looked at her with disbelief."You are lying," he said, "That's impossible. You are a total stranger!"Esther smirked and took another step on the sparkly marble stairs. Walter blocked her way."You are not welcome here. Not after all you did to
Ariel woke up in the morning on Dylan's chest. She got up and looked around. It was morning, but it was still dark. She looked at Dylan. He was sleeping. She pecked him and got off him, stretching. She left the room to check on Paul. To her surprise, he was awake and was in the sitting room, watching TV."Paul?""Mommy!"Paul ran to her and hugged her. Ariel lifted him into her hands and kissed his cheek. Paul giggled happily at her action."How did you get the TV to get on?" she asked."Uncle Tom on the TV!""Oh."Uncle Tom was one of Dylan's bodyguards he put in charge of protecting their son. His name was Thomas, but Paul called him Uncle Tom.Ariel carried Paul and sat on the couch. He was watching a baby cartoon where they taught vocabulary.Paul seemed to love the show. He kept pointing and talking throughout the show. The show ended an hour later, and Paul told her he was hungry."Really? So what do you want to eat?""Coco pops!""Coco pops?"Ariel got up, still with Paul in he
After that day, several attempts to kidnap Ariel were still made. Some were from Charity and Cole, and Dylan was unsure if the others were from Marcus or his grandfather. When he confronted them, they denied all of these allegations, and even the ones who confessed to being sent by that bitch, Charity had no way to link themselves to her other than their word. So Dylan could not report it to the police. Charity had scrubbed her tracks clean.But he did increase security around Ariel and Paul and kept an eye on them at all times.In the meantime, he wanted to finish the drug case in that slum to focus on his family.And that was what he was currently doing.Dylan sat in front of his FBI friend and partner, Rhodes, at a remote café in a remote town with a hat over his head and a fake beard to make himself unrecognizable."DYLAN! My boy! You've been scarce lately. Unlike before where,e you were like a raging bull trying to tear down all of these fuckers, you are now laxer than before. Is
Ariel woke up in the middle of the night. She looked beside her and felt empty. Yes, Dylan was not there, even though he'd slept by her side the night before. But that was at the beach house, where they didn't have separate rooms.Ariel pushed herself off the bed. She had gotten so used to having Dylan by her side when she woke up at the apartment and the boat house that she forgot they usually stayed in different rooms at the mansion, their main home.Yeah, they were back at the mansion, and everything was like before. It had been a week since they'd returned, and Dylan had suddenly gotten so busy she barely saw him. He told her he currently had some current business he needed to solve and that he would be busy for a long time. And for about a week, Dylan had been leaving very early for work before she even woke up. It hurt because even before, when they hadn't gotten together, Dylan used to see her every morning before going to work.She was not used to this new development, and tho
Dylan drove down the streets that night. He was more determined than ever. Just because he'd spent so much time on this case, he'd worried his wife and made her cry. He wanted to end this as soon as possible. Now, he knew his grandfather was a lead, but that was not all. He had discovered the organization also comprised four other billionaire families in the country. One of them was the Richard family. He was not surprised. He'd always known Cole and his associates were suspicious but never read much into it. All he had to do was get more evidence he could pin on them."A fundraising party is coming up. Three of the families involved in this will be present there. It's your chance," his partner, Rhodes, had told him.These words rang in his ears as he stepped out of his office, surrounded by bodyguards, his phone in hand. He was about to enter his car when he noticed two men in black standing at the tree close to the compound's entrance. They looked suspicious, dressed in black and bl
Ariel decided to visit her friends. She had been so busy with her marriage and work that she had not been able to see them like before. She invited both Maddie and Kira to Dylan's mansion. Kira had been here before so she was not awed but Maddie was so awed she just wouldn't sit down.She kept running up and down, looking everywhere, taking pictures of everywhere."Oh my God! Your husband is a freaking billionaire! Such luxury! Is he a vampire?!"The friends sat down to discuss. Ariel had introduced them to each other two years ago wishing they would be friends with each other too. They had been cool with each other but had not become friends. They only talked to each other when Ariel was there. Ariel didn't know whether it was because they were from different worlds or something.They all sat down and started to discuss.They talked about the happenings in their lives and tried to catch up on lost times. Maddie updated Ariel on the developments that had taken place at work. Ariel did
Charity sat in front of her mansion, thinking deeply. She wanted Dylan. How could she get him? That bitch Ariel appeared from nowhere and took him from her. She picked up a glass of wine and took a sip."Shit!"She threw the glass of wine on the wall, causing it to shatter."Aargh! What do I do?! I've already sent so many people to her but all of them are incompetent fools! Or maybe it was because Dylan's security was top-notch. Forbes was not kidding when they said he had one of the best security in the world. They consisted of ex-high-ranking officials in the army and agents.She was still thinking when Marcus entered and came to meet her."My, you're a mess," he teased."Leave me alone Marcus.""What's got you so worked up? The bags under your eyes are more apparent these days.""Well, it's your brother. If you want to know!""You are bothered about his wife, right?" he asked."Yes, they both make me nuts! Daddy told me he will convince your grandfather to make them divorce but not
Dylan invited Ariel to a fundraising event to go with him. It was the fundraising event of his ex he'd met the other day and the same one Rhodes had made him attend the other day.This event was the main event, while the other one was just a preparatory round of the party. And he wanted his wife to be with him there.Ariel agreed to go with him and went up to her room. They still stayed in separate rooms and he promised to fix that when he was done with his business.If he wanted them to stay in the same room, he had to redesign and make it as palatable as possible. But Ariel had been sleeping in his room more often these days. Ariel returned from her room. Dylan gasped.She wore a radiant and stunning perfectly fitted red gown. Her red lipstick matched flawlessly with her outfit—she was simply breathtaking.He took her hand immediately after she reached him and kissed it."You look so ravishing tonight, Baby. I can't wait to tear it off you."Ariel moved closer to him and pulled his
Ariel stood at the door of the mansion watching Dylan button up his suits again, his bodyguards waiting patiently for him by my car.He came towards her."How do I look?" he asked, smiling.She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.He chuckled."I don't need you to say any words. Your actions have confirmed to me that you think I do look good."" Yes. Actions speak louder than words."He turned to leave to go, but Ariel held his arm and pulled him back. Then she wrapped her arms around his firm waist and pouted at him.He chuckled again."Baby, I know you don't want me to leave, but this trip is necessary. I have to close a deal with a multinational company. It is for the betterment of the company. I hope you will understand.""I know the trip is necessary, Yet I do not want to let you go."Ariel still held onto him."I don't want you to go. Must you go yourself? Can't you send someone else?""I can't," I said, gently removing her hands from my waist.Dylan took her fa
'I should have brought more,' Ariel thought when she saw how the things she brought were almost finished and how so many others had not collected any food or blankets.She immediately phoned her guards and ordered them to bring more food and clothing.She was also planning to get these homeless people a new building so they would not have to stay on the streets. Dylan on the other hand supported her in the way he could. He told her often that he was proud of her efforts and sometimes showed up at her fundraising events to make more people come and invest as well, given his popularity."Thank you so much!" the homeless people said to Ariel and Maggie.They were all so grateful.One older woman held her hand and prayed for her. Another homeless person, a young boy, gave her a flower she was sure he had seen at the side of the road."A beautiful flower for a beautiful woman," he said, looking at her with awe. He could not have been more than two years older than Paul."Awww. Thank you so
Ariel and Maggie were out in the streets together when she received Dylan's call.They had been in the streets to do some work.Earlier that day, Maggie had come into the house to pick Ariel up.Dylan on the other hand had left to go see his mother."Ariel! Where are you?! Must you be late everywhere?!" Maggie, cried one Wednesday Afternoon."Coming!"Maggie and Ariel had both attended the same high school and even college. Yet, they had never been friends and they had only become friends when they met again at work!The company where Ariel worked, after receiving a lot of investment from Ariel who now had access to her father's wealth, became more successful. Ariel had become a Director of a company. No one saw that coming.Ariel became a shareholder of the company and made her friend Maggie, a manager.The click-clack of Ariel's stiletto heels filled up the hallways as she walked. All the people in the hallways turned their heads to see who was making so much noise."Good morning Dir
Dylan and his mom had coffee together, where they discussed many things."I have breast cancer."The moment she said that his heart burst into pieces.'No, no, I just got her back.'"Are you saying you have cancer, Mom?" Dylan asked.Denise started to cry again."Yes, my son. I have cancer, and the doctor told me I have only a few months to live."His chest felt tight, and he suddenly could not breathe."So why are you here? You should be receiving treatment in the hospital!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand.She smiled so sweetly at him his heart melted."Dylan, I want to spend my last days with you. That is why I'm here. I don't want to die without at least spending my last months with my son."Tears rose in his eyes. His dad was dead. He could not let his mom die as well."Don't cry, son. Such is life.""Mom, if there's anything I can do. Is there anything that I can do at all? Isn't there any?""Yes, there is something you can do. You can borrow me some money to begin the treatment
The weekend was over, and Dylan was back to work. So it meant double work and more extended hours in the office.Because of the issues with his brother and Charity, he has been away from work for a long time. Now that he was back, he had so much to do.The uproar that the public had had as a result of their discovering the truth about his grandfather and other families involved in the drug trade had begun to die down. Yet it still caused a bit of negative press towards the company. Many partners had even pulled out from the company so as not to be associated with a corporation his grandfather had used to traffic drugs and launder money.Dylan sighed heavily as he realized he had to do it all himself.None of his family members who were even still mad at him for exposing their grandfather helped in running the company.Another thing that was being talked about the most was that Dylan was now the real face of the Grey family. With his grandfather in jail and his brother dead, he was now
Dylan was enraged."I can kill you here and now!" he threatened.Charity laughed in his face."You and I know you can't try it. If you do, you will never see your beloved wench again. So tread carefully."Dylan let her go after that."Goodbye, my love," Charity said mockingly and got into a cab she had flagged down.Dylan watched her drive away, clenching his jaw.When the car was out of sight, Dylan brought out the tracking app his tech friends had installed on his phone. He had attacked Charity simply to put a GPS tracker on her.He watched Charity's location move to a site on the outskirts of town. It seemed that was where she was hiding Ariel. He brought out his second cell phone and called his men."Hello, boys. It's been a long, but I have a job for you."Ariel woke up in a dark place, her throat parched.She sat up, unable to fathom what was going on. It felt like she was in an enclosed space, and she did not know how to get out."How did I get here?" she asked herself.She cou
But if you keep your mouth shut and act like nothing happened, your secret is safe with me. At least for now. Do we have a deal?"Charity nodded. Ariel laughed.Then she pushed Charity back to the floor and left the apartment. Charity sobbed as she left, hoping she would not return. She didn't know Ariel was this crazy.Ariel laughed as she walked out of the house. Charity is stupid enough to think she would just let her go after killing her mother. That is very funny of her.This was just the beginning. She was going to get her revenge on all of them. They made her and her son and husband miserable and she was no longer going to sit back and watch them continue to take. She held out the card Cole had given her and wondered what to do with it.Dylan and Rhodes finally found Marcus. He was hiding in an old office in another city while the police were looking all over for him."I can't believe this fucker is still hiding in the country. Where did he get that many resources to hide so pe
Ariel recalled the sound of her mother's laughter, like a melody that could lift even the heaviest hearts. She described her love for nature, recounting memoriesThe room was filled with tears and bittersweet smiles - a tapestry of emotions woven together by memories of a woman who had touched many lives.As Ariel finished speaking, she looked at the mournful faces before her, each person united in their grief and love for Mom. She saw her mother's friends and a few relatives she had kept in touch with, their tears flowing freely as they nodded in understanding. She noticed her husband's family's slumped shoulders and sad looks, and she was a bit confused about whether they were sincere or just fake.Through it all, she felt the support and presence of the community that had rallied around them throughout their long goodbye.As the memorial service drew to a close, Ariel invited anyone who wished to share their memories of Mom to come forward. One by one, family members and friends st
Not even when Ariel's closest friends- Kira and Maggie wanted to talk did she agree to discuss Mom.Kira encouraged her to speak about her."It will help you in your grief," she said.But Ariel said nothing. It was as if speaking about her dying was admitting that her mother had truly died. That she was truly gone. She could not accept that she'd never see her again.So she said nothing.It was only one rainy morning that she finally spoke of Mom.She was in her kitchen trying to make some breakfast for myself- an omelet.She was cooking the egg with too much force, and it fell to the floor. She hurried to pick it up, but it had some dirt smeared.The omelet falling on the floor reminded her of a scene from years ago when she had wanted to learn how to make an omelet.After making the omelet, Ariel rushed to her mom to show her but slipped and fell. The omelet fell to the ground."Sorry about this," Ariel apologized about the egg."Oh…It is okay," Mom replied, "I don't think you can s