Joshua heard a knock on the door, he pulled the phone slightly away from his ears to confirm if he actually heard the knock."Who is there?" he asked. He heard a foot shuffle before another knock followed."Hold on Aletta, someone's at my door" "Call me later then," she said cutting off the call before he could say a word. He was going to call her right after he confirmed who was at the door.The door creaked open and Jessica was standing there with a small tray in one hand and a bright smile on her face."Mom?" he said opening the door wider so she could come in."I thought you had slept already, can I come in?" "Sure," he said. She walked in and placed the tray in hand on the table. Joshua closed the door and followed her in."How are you holding up?" she asked turning to face him. When she saw the expression on his face she knew that her question was somewhat invalid. How could he be fine when he was also facing some kind of backlash? She had thought the news would fizzle out wi
Joshua pulled away from his mother's firm grip on him. "I'm not a child you know that right?" he said blinking to send away the tears threatening to break from his eyes."You will always be my child" Jessica said peering into his eyes. A knock on the door made both of them turn to the door. "Who is it?" she asked and he shrugged."No idea," he said standing up and walking to the door to see who it could be."Hello brother" Jeanne said leaning into the door frame."Jeanne?" he was shocked to see her there. "Are you just getting home now?" he asked when it dawned on him that she was still in her work clothes and shoes."Yeah," she drew out as her eyes darted around."We closed from work five hours ago" Joshua exclaimed in surprise."I was on a date with Thiago" Jeanne responded a blush creeping up her face."Little lady, don't you think you spent way too much time outside?" Joshua asked.Jeanne's eyebrows went up in a questioning manner. Why was he acting like a concerned older brother?
"You were worried about me? That's so cute" Joshua called after Jeanne as she kept walking."You are so annoying" Jeanne shouted as she increased her speed."Why are you teasing her so much," Jessica asked slipping out of the room."Because it's fun," Joshua said slipping out with her. "Are you leaving?" "Your dad must be waiting for me," Jessica said with a smile. "I had to slip away for a split second" she added."Speak of the devil" Joshua said and Jessica turned around to face her husband."There you are" Xavier said walking up to her, he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently."You could not wait thirty minutes?" Jessica asked pulling herself away from his grip."It's been thirty-one minutes already" Xavier replied. Jessica rolled her eyes at him as she hit him slightly on the arm. "I spend all day with you can't I spend a little time with my son?" she asked as he shook his head. "You don't spend the entire day with me, you go to work and leave me all alone" "Before you
Anette did not know if she should be happy about the situation at hand. At first, she was mad that Joshua was the one to release the news before she and Richard could do so but she soon got better when she noticed that others bashed Aletta with her.She had created a fake account to rain down insults on Aletta, that was the best she could do. There was no way she could do that with her personal account and not get cancelled by her fans.Her group of friends that comprised of Giselle, Beverly, Harriet, Penelope and Irene had given her all the backup she needed. They had money and their family had power so they were least concerned about the cancel culture of the city. They all believed that the person who should end up with Joshua should come from one of them and so they were unrelenting in sharing their opinions about the matter on the internet."Do you guys want to meet up?" Irene asked.Since the news came out, the six of them have stuck closer together than ever before. They had v
"Why did you want to meet up at such a fancy place?" Anette asked as Richard pulled out a seat for her."Fancy? I had to tone it down so you don't feel too pressured by it" Richard said.Anette slipped into the chair and he pushed a little before making his way to the other side and getting into his chair."Is their food here good?" Anette asked pretending like she had never been there before."You've been here before" Rochard said as she reached for the menu, her hands recoiled and she pursed a short smile across her face."Yes I have, but how do you know that?" "Your socials" he said without sparing her a glance."Oh" she said with a nod of the head. "It's not like I wanted to eat here, it was kind of a paid advert" she informed him."I know, you are very effective. This place has been popular since you ate here, maybe some more pictures would put this place on a lockdown" he said and she looked at him.His face finally came up from the menu to look into her eyes. She hated the way
"You are drunk" Richard said eyeing Anette up and down. She had refused to eat anything much claiming that she was on a diet and she did not need to add any extra weight.She drank the champagne an unhealthy amount of it and now she was drunkenly telling the waiter that she wanted another glass of wine."We would not be needing that glass" Richard said dismissing the waiter. The waiter bowed his head before leaving their table to go check on other people's table."Why did you ask him to leave?" Anette slurred at him. "I wanted to celebrate more" she added taking up her cup and gasping at the empty cup in her hands. "It's empty," she said with a hiccup."Yes, it is" Richard reached across the table to pry out the glass from her hands."Stop it" she said slapping his hands away from hers with her empty hand. "Why are you so against my celebration" "I am not against it" Richard explained. The entire situation left a funny feeling in his gut but he did not want her to think he was not ha
Richard knew that with the rate at which Anette was going, she might end up with Joshua. He was going to relive his fantasy with her but he knew that was not going to be enough for him. He needed her to be associated with him. If the world saw them go into a hotel room together they would naturally assume that they were together. He was going to use petty bloggers who wanted to write about anything and everything. He was a media guru who else could use the media like him? He had planted different people at the restaurant too who had taken so many images of them and posted them online. He was happy his plan was piecing together. He was going to use a series of dates to lure her out and take many more images but she helped him kill it at once.She had been drinking so excessively in the name of celebrating so she was now drunk and it was easy for them to go there. His heart leapt for joy when she suggested a private hotel room.Richard asked that they be given a suite, the bigger the
Anette's head pounded as she opened her eyes. She shut them immediately so the light rays from the large windows don't hurt her eyes.'Wait large windows?' her mind said immediately. She did not own any large windows in her house. 'Where am I?' her eyes flew open and she sat up straight. The blanket over her body slid down to expose her naked upper chest. She hurriedly took up the blanket and held it down using her armpits. She turned around the room and she could recognise the structure since she had visited there many times because of brand deals. "It's Arlington Hotel" she murmured to herself. "How did I get here?" she asked as she looked around to scattered clothes on the ground.She recognised some as the ones she wore yesterday which included her underwear but she was certain the rest belonged to a man. Did she pick up a gigolo after she left Richard? Was she that sex deprived that she had to get it done with a strange man? She heard the shower stop and it was at that moment