KATHERINE'S POV Furious was an understatement to describe what I was feeling as I walked out of the building.He was the same, still the same pompous and self-centered man I knew six years ago.What on earth was he thinking? That he could just waltz himself back into my life and everything would be back to how it was?The audacity! How could he call Franklin his son? Does he have any idea what I went through all those years without him? Was he aware of how I managed to raise him without a father? He wasn't there all those years! He lost the right to claim him as his son when he walked out on me with Astra that day. I tried to calm myself down as I walked towards the parking lot where my car was but I couldn't stop feeling angry.Hazel was right, maybe I wasn't ready to face Alexander. I thought I was but the minute I walked in and saw his face, the rage, the betrayal, the anger, the pain, everything came back.And yet he thinks that he could have a go at being a father? The car d
ALEXANDER'S POV It wasn’t difficult for me to wake up since I had barely slept.The sun peeped through the blinds, and I grabbed the pillow next to me, using it as shade.Last night was the most eventful night of my life...no, actually the entire day. Yesterday was the most eventful day of my life.It felt like a dream, a terrible one but as I grabbed my phone and stared at the notification I got from the board of directors about the contract being sent to Katherine, I knew that it wasn't a dream.It was reality. My reality.Astra's behavior after finding out about Katherine's return was not surprising, and so was the fact that she threatened to ruin her life.Astra was crazy, really crazy and if she makes a threat, especially considering something that she thinks belongs to her, she would definitely go through with it and that terrified me.Her reaction when she found out that Katherine was a client of RodaTech was exactly what I couldn't stop thinking about.When we got divorced, s
KATHERINE’S POVThe hotel room felt suffocating, the air thick with tension and the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders. My fingers gripped the phone so tightly that my knuckles turned white as I scrolled through the headlines. The media had wasted no time. Speculation about Franklin’s paternity was everywhere and just as I suspected, the frenzy was only growing. The paparazzi ate me like hungry vultures.My stomach churned as I read the bold, accusatory titles: “Alexander Blake, CEO of RodaTech has a Secret Love Child?”, “Katherine’s Return: A Scandal Revisited?”, “Who is the Love child?" Each headline felt like a dagger, twisting deeper into the life I had worked so hard to rebuild.Hazel paced the room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor with every step. Her frustration was palpable, her voice sharp as she broke the silence. “This has Alexander written all over it, Katherine. You know it does. He’s not the type to let something like this slide. He’s play
ALEXANDER'S POV A million thoughts ran through my head as I swirled around in my chair. The sound of the clock ticking did nothing more than increase my anxiety with each passing second.My anxious fingers drummed restlessly against the polished mahogany desk, the rhythmic tapping the only sound breaking the oppressive silence and bringing a little bit of calm to my head.My mind felt like it was having a hurricane attack, being a whirlwind of anticipation and doubt, each thought spiraling deeper into the abyss of uncertainty.I didn't know how long I had to wait. But that wasn't what bothered me more. It was the fact that everything I planned depended on Henry's success, and the success seemed unattainable.Katherine was no fool. She managed to fool me for six years, managed to hide the fact that she was pregnant from me, she can do it again.She was as smart as anything, at least that was what I just recently found out with the business contract that she got and all that. She defin
ALEX'S POV The sound of the slap resounded in my ears again as I stared at Astra, the question still hanging in my head. If she could go to the extent of hitting Henry, my personal assistant, directly in front of me without being bothered, then what would she do to Katherine behind me?For some reason it had me questioning her and the things she might have done in the past that I wasn't aware of.I thought I knew Astra well enough, her anger, her tantrums, everything but it turns out that I was wrong all along.I've never seen this side of her and as I watched her, I felt a gnawing feeling bite at me.Astra’s chest heaved with anger, her eyes blazing as she glared at Henry, who remained standing ,his expression unreadable, even to me. For a moment, no one moved. The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. It was still a shock and I could tell that Henry was still reeling from it.“Astra,” I finally said, my voice low but firm, “do you care to explain what
KATHERINE'S POV Ever since Henry left, the room felt heavier, as if his presence had left behind an invisible weight that pressed down on my chest. Hazel was pacing again, her heels clicking sharply against the floor, each step a punctuation mark to her growing frustration. She stopped abruptly, turning to face me with her arms crossed and her expression tight."That's it?" I stared at her, confused because we just had a conversation about Franklin and Alex trying to take him away from me."What?"She sighed loudly and shook her head as if in disbelief that I was asking her such a question."What? I don't know, Katherine, Maybe it is the fact that Alexander's personal assistant just walked out from our hotel room, an accommodation that was so private that no one, not even the press would be able to find out.""Hazel, we've talked about this, right? I thought I told you, he didn't look like he was here on Alex's command. He wouldn't come here to warn me if it was Alex who sent him wo
ALEXANDER'S POV The morning sun filtered through the tinted windows of the car, casting a muted glow across the leather interior which would have made it beautiful if I wasn't in a sour mood. I slumped into the backseat, my posture rigid, my gaze fixed on the passing cityscape as we drove past them.The silence in the car was interrupted by the rhythmic tapping of Henry’s fingers on the steering wheel, which only further grated on my nerves as it served as a constant reminder of the tension that had settled between us since the previous day.I knew that Henry was still slightly unhappy with the way Astra treated him despite the way he kept brushing it away like it was nothing.His reactions now were obviously another way of him acknowledging that he was indeed uncomfortable with the way he was treated.My suspicions were proven true the minute he cleared his throat, interrupting the tense silence in the car."We need to talk."Right. Sooner than later, we were bound to discuss her.
ALEXANDER'S POV "Mr Blake, as much as I would love to help you.. and trust me, I really want to, it's impossible. We have to stick to the procedures and it has to be two days. It can't be done anything less than that."I glared at him, his words only further adding to my already irate temper.Two days? I came here personally, should he not have gotten a little hint of how important this was to me?Two days was too much."I don't think you understand what I just said," I said as I leaned closer and stared at him.He licked his lips, his eyes shaky as he tried to stare back at me."Mr..."I banged the table hard and clenched my other fist, I saw his eyes widen from the corner of my eyes."Oh, don't you dare... How much have I given to this hospital? How much?? I donate the highest amount among all your sponsors, I do the best job by promoting your hospital. The majority of your clients are from me, they are here because of me. I made you, it's time for you to pay me back. Give me the
ALEXANDER'S POV "Astra..." I managed to say as I stared at her in surprise. It wasn't what I expected. She didn't look disheveled but she looked like she had been crying for days and it was surprising.Why would she cry? Wasn't she the one behind everything?Mom didn't say a word..she didn't have to though, her face already said a thousand words as she glared at the sad face Astra was pulling and then Susan. She was looking weirdly disappointed to see her."What's going on?" I asked finally, taking another step toward her."Alex.. I'm so sorry. I couldn't. I couldn't do it."I frowned, confused."What? Do what?" She sniffed, tears falling off her face."I tried to, Alex, I promise you. I tried to kill myself because I deserve to die. I wanted to punish myself for you. To do what you would want to do to me but I couldn't. I can't. Alexander, please forgive me."I blinked, utterly confused at what was going on.So Astra really did try to commit suicide? Why?"You tried to kill yourse
KATHERINE'S POV I turned to look at who had the guts to land their hands on my face and all blood drained from my face as I stared at the one woman I hate.Elizabeth Shane.. my stepmother.I stared at her, unable to bring myself to say anything. Shock held my tongue captive as I stood transfixed in a spot, my hands still on my face."Mom! Thank goodness you are here. This bitch dared to step her foot inside the Shane company and I was just putting her in her place."I scoffed and shook my head, the shock finally leaving me."Shane company?" I repeated."How dare you come back here? I heard you were back in town, I heard everything you were doing, showing up at your ex-husband's company and causing chaos. I knew you would show up here next. Why can't you live a life free from chaos? I understand that you're obsessed with being on the camera but it shouldn't make you try to ruin our good reputation."I laughed, slowly at first, then more, then more again, my hands clutching my stomach
KATHERINE'S POV The hushed sounds around the room as I walked in were exactly what I expected. Of course, they wouldn't be all too happy to see me, not after they know what I'm about to do.Hazel walked in behind me and grabbed a chair for me at the center of the table before sitting next to me.The men cleared their throats and I watched as their representative stood up and looked around the room.It was time to start."Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of the board. I'm sure some of you are aware why we are gathered together today especially with a stranger in our midst. Well, for those of you who aren't aware, especially the ones who have no idea who's in our midst, I'll repeat myself."He kept silent for two seconds and took one glance at me before he continued. "This is Miss Katherine Bethany Luthers. Daughter of Mrs Agatha Katherine Luthers, the founder of this company. And we're here to discuss the ownership of this company."I watched as some of the men and women took in the new
ALEXANDER'S POV"She signed a contract with your company??" Mom asked, her voice raised with surprise.I had to force my face from Susan's ever-knowing glance and turned to stare at Mom."Yes, she did," for some weird reason, my tone was laced with pride and I felt my heart swell with pride as they both looked surprised that she was capable of signing a contract with a company as huge as mine."A contract? For what?""Mom, seriously?" Sue interrupted and rolled her eyes."What?""You're acting like you didn't know that she had that much potential in her. She's an artist mom. You just heard us talk about her exhibition.""And? What does an artist have to do with a tech company? Are you sure she's not just reaching out to you, Alexander? She's showing you that she's still interested."As much as I wanted to believe Mom's optimistic Statement, I knew more than anyone that it was impossible.If anything she was definitely showing off what she could do to me, that's if she was actually awa
ALEXANDER'S POV I don't know what hurt the most, having evidence that Franklin was my son but still not being able to hold him or the fact that Katherine didn't believe that Astra was the one behind the Scandal that nearly destroyed her life.It was weird and while I understand her point, I could not also believe that she would think that low of me.What did I do to make her think that way?The DNA results stared back at me, mocking me for the failed attempt to get my son back even with concrete evidence and I turned my face away back to the door.It's been almost 48 hours and there was still no trace of Astra yet, Henry came back with nothing, Not even a link to where she might have gone.A part of me was worried because her disappearance might mean further mischief on her part but at the same time, it felt relieving to finally have an apartment free from tantrums, giggling over new bags, and the usual social media chatter she does every night at dinner.I smiled as my gaze fell on
KATHERINE'S POV "What??" Hazel asked and I could tell that the news stunned the daylights out of her.I nodded."Yes. Astra was the one who made me go out of the industry six years ago, she was the one who caused that scandal."Her brows furrowed and she frowned."But how? She doesn't have any connection to the media or anything. She also couldn't have been able to edit a photo of yours without your actual picture, right?"That got me thinking and I stared at her, the wheels in my head spinning as I realized what she was trying to point out.She was right—it was strange how she got access to my photos. But then again, she was with Alexander. Maybe she took his phone… or something.Still, how would my pictures even be on Alex’s phone? Of course, he could have them, but… I don’t know.“I don’t think so,” I said, “but according to Alexander, Astra was in contact with a gossip monger—a paparazzo known for spreading rumors. She gave him my photos to leak online.”Hazel's brow raised."Ac
KATHERINE'S POV Alexander stood up, his once proud shoulder bent as he walked towards the door. I stared at him feeling everything and nothing at the same time.It could all be a pretense. He was fond of that—trying to play me until he got what he wanted, which was none other than my son, Franklin.If he thinks he could just waltz into our life like he didn't ruin mine some years ago, then he has no idea who he was messing with."Katherine," he called, his hands still on the door. I stared at him, my breath paused for some reason."What is it?""Can you just think about what I said? I seriously just want what's best for Franklin."I laughed, a short snort that was meant to provoke him and as I saw his jaw clenched, I knew immediately that he was pissed."Alex, you seriously shouldn't say something like that. One would think that you're actually his father," I said, mocking him.He stared at me, a shadow falling on his already unreadable expression and he frowned."You saw the DNA tes
ALEXANDER'S POV I wasn't thinking, ever since the meeting with Hazel, I couldn't think straight. Since the day I saw Katherine again at my office, I had always assumed that she was back to get revenge on me for leaving her back then but after what Hazel said, it got me thinking twice.Maybe Katherine really didn't know that I was the CEO of RodaTech, maybe she actually met me by chance.While I can't get over the fact that Hazel threatened me to stay away from Katherine, I still feel like she was right in doing that.After all I broke Katherine's heart and left her all alone for six years.But it was all based on a misunderstanding, the least Katherine could do for me was to grant me access to our son and that was something she swore to never do.But she'll change her mind, she has to. The DNA results were out already, it was already confirmed no matter how long she denies it, Franklin is my son.I stared at the report again for the twentieth time since I got it and smiled.My son.I
KATHERINE'S POVIt's been two days...two days since the blatant embarrassment Alexander caused me when he walked into the exhibition, asking for Franklin.He should be grateful that I didn't have him arrested for his behavior but of course, he wouldn't. He's Alexander Blake after all.I should have sensed that something like that would have happened, I had a gnawing feeling about it that day but like Hazel said, I shook it away.Why? Because it was literally unexpected.I sighed and leaned further on the swing chair I sat on, overlooking the pool. my hands ran through my hair and I closed my eyes, allowing myself to enjoy the moment, rather than focus on what happened in the past.But deep down, I knew why I was focusing on the past, what happened two days ago. It was because I didn't want to face what was right in front of me.I opened my eyes and stared at, the brown envelope I got this morning, the only significant thing that made all of these look like child's play.Six years...si