“What's wrong daughter, are you hurt anywhere?” The voice of her father who pampered her to death arose with concern for Sofia, none for Gift whoe face was twisted in pain and discomfort.
“Daddy,” she whined, “it was black coffees no milk or sugar. It was so bitter like poison,” she continued to out in her display while Zenith frowned at his messy office, boy a hint of surprise for Gift.
“Clean up this place!”
“While you're at it, get some coffee with plenty of milk and sugar for my daughter she's so said right now,” her father said as he patted her back to console her.
“Why didn't you tell me before hand, you did intentionally. Daddy, this witch wanted to poison me.”
“I'll take my leave now. I'll get the coffee and cleaning materials,” she said as she walked back wit
“Oh really, I saw him at the party and he's soo handsome, I like him too. Daddy, I'm coming with you,” she stubbornly declared and her father couldn't bring himself to convince her any further,no when she looked so cute that he anted to give her the world.“Okay,” he said as he looked at her with a serious tone, “but I need to warn you, he is the devil himself and nothing as kind as President Zenith,” he said as p2he glanced up Zenith's building.“It's fine, I have my charms,” she giggled as she got into the car with him, wile her father kept wondering to himself why Jackson had called him over when they had no business prior to that.At the hospital, Zenith and Trenor were in a hated argument outside Gifts room after being sent out by the doctor treating her.“Just what in the world is wrong with you. I've know you for twe
“I'll have to pass on that,” he said as the door was suddenly pushed open and a nurse came in.“Dad, the patient in room 3077 didn't take her drugs with her, and didn't finish her deip either. She's so stubborn,” she complained as she closed the door behind her.“I'll call back her colleagues to give it to her,” the doctor replied and she nodded.“Okay,” she said, “I really pity her though, she has such a sad life.” She hadn't noticed Zenith in the room as her eyes were almost closed from squeezing them in a frown.“Her situation is really critical but she can't even focus because of her guilt. Her situation is looking really similar to the former occupant of that room,” the nurse said emphatically as she opened the fridge and took a bottle of water.“Right, Stella, what ha
He frowned at the interaction, noting how slouched over Gift was as she talked and how closer she seemed to have gotten with Trenor.It bothered him for a while, but he shook it off, deciding it was better he ignored anything that had to do with her, but despite his convincing himself, he didn't leave the spot he was standing until he heard her shut the door to her room.Gift entered her room, set her meds aside, took her bath and found her dress for the next day.She felt exhausted as she laid on the bed, but sleep didn't come, so she stared right at the ceiling wondering what she had done wrong.“I wonder if he's acting strangely because did that,” she thought as she brought her fingertips up to her lower lip.Her cheeks warmed up but she shook her head and turned and tossed on her bed.Although she couldn't f
But that in itself made her want to stay some more. She did not want to imagine how unbearable it would be for Olivia to live with Sofia if things worked out with Zenith, so she decided to stay, as repayment for everything they had done for her until that point.She felt like she had nothing to lose even regardless of what part of her past was revealed as she was the victim little did she know that they had no plans of revealing the full truth.The Avergara duo had made sure to find means to come pay Zenith a visit every day at his office and they had successfully extended their meetings until the fourth day.On their fourth day, they came up to his office sharing a rumor that they had heard on their way up from his other staff members.“It's really concerning that you're letting someone like that ruin your reputation, he past is really dirty,” Sofia's father was f
Mr Kim upon hearing this finally understood that he had been cuckolded by Sofia and her father whom he suspected was behind the accident as well..While he made phone calls to investigate, the culprit was dead as wellas the other witness while the victim and final witness was going under the knife with a low chance of survival.“She has been suffering too much these past days, I just wished I had done better,” Trenor sighed as they paced the halls.“Why didn't you tell me?” Olivia lashed at him.“That was because she said not to, she-”“You should have told me, I promised to protect her and I failed. I let my brother get to her, it's all my fault,” she said as she went into another round of tears.And Joseph and to come in again, telling her all will be alr
“The surgery was successful,” the doctor came out of the operating room exactly twelve hours after she was wheeled in and not a single member of the Kim family or the other three with them mentioned leaving.As the doctor walked up to them and gave the announcement while peeling off his bloody gloves, they all let out a sigh of relief they didn't know that they were holding. Joseph's stepmother signed deeply as strength left her legs and she collapsed to the chair. “Thank goodness,” she sighed as she brought her palm to her face. She had a health condition that required her to have her eight hours of sleep and also use her medications promptly. For the sake of Joseph whom she couldn't leave behind, she had sacrificed that.But the relief she felt now made it worth it. Although she didn't know much about Gift, who she had only met a couple of times, it was safe to say that Gift was her only friend at this point. Olivia was in the same corner as her and Joseph as she did not want to
“It’s a whole lot different from the last time,” he muttered, barely audible for people farther away from him to hear with a small smile before retrieving it and replacing it with his professional look at the sight of the drama unfolding in front of him.Zenith caught his words but Olivia was pressing the issue.So as suggested, after Olivia shrugged Zenith off and went to comfort Joseph, they went in with the doctor who explained that Gift's case was a lot more critical and fragile and that she would need maximum attention from her guardian. “I understand that you all are busy, we have nurses and contracted caretakers who can take care of her while you work,” the doctor said after giving them a briefing of her situation and the other things that had happened in the operating room. “I can look after her,” Trenor offered, “I'm just the vice president and the president will be busy at the company while Mr Kim will have to look after Olivia.” “No!” Zenith strongly refused immediately.
“You can only visit her one at a time, Overcrowding is not good for the patient,” a male nurse who was amongst those who wheeled her in said as he smacked gum and rested his side on the doorway.Zenith frowned his face and was about to call him out, visibly irritated by his unethical actions when Trenor stepped forward.“I’ll go in first,” Trenor said to everyone but zenith who was right beside him. Olivia and her slave were wavering between the adults to go visit Gift.“I’m the slave and you’re the master, but we can go in together, right? Addition of our ages is still less than a whole human,” Joseph said as he squeezed behind her and Olivia paused at the absurdity of his words, but it was a logic she was willing to test, because although she didn’t want to go in alone, she didn’t see herself asking her dad, brother or Trenor.He was ignoring his boss, but Zenith could be shameless.“Vice president, what are you doing here? I believe you have a lot of work as it is,” Zenith said as h
Gift's POV Today is the happiest day of my life, or rather each day has been getting happier for me ever since I met him, my boyfriend. We've had a lot of rocky days of course, but seeing him standing in that expensive suit, dressing to match my rhinestone dress which he had gotten for me to celebrate my matriculation just makes me feel even more happier and I have no doubt that he would find a way to make me happier woman by this time tomorrow. I can't help but smile at the thought of all the things he has put together and worked on for us to get here. He changed himself to fit me, a one of a kind man. “Gifty, where's my daughter?” I heard someone call from a distance as I looked around and saw Ruby Yu. She looked unlike how I'd ever seen her all the times we've met either physically or through video calls cos not once have I ever seen her in a pair of denim skirt and a white short sleeved button up shirt. I gasped as I walked up to hug her, “you look so stunning mom, I thought
“Who taught you how to make this” he asked with a voice so soft she had to be sure it was the same meanie talking to her. “No one. It's my first time making this,” she confessed.“How about your mother? She must have cooked this for you when you were younger, right?” He asked as if he was talking to a child, trying his best to be careful with his words“Uhn? I grew up in an orphanage,” She stuttered as she tried to form the words that failed to form. She wanted to tell him to stop acting nice as she had learned to be unrestrained and speak for herself over the months, however, there was a glistening in his eyes that made her stop. Something wasn't right. She watched as he set the chop sticks aside with shaky hands before rinsing a fork and grabbing a small ceramic plate for himself as he sat on a stool. After serving himself a small portion of everything which was a surprise for the young man who was around to assist in the supervision that he stood and watched with his mouth sligh
An hour down and the kitchen was left with just six of the original contestants; Gift, Beauty's mom, an Italian through and through, the lady with a fringe from earlier and two others who seemed to be sisters. “We can do this. Let's learn under Master Luca together,” the sisters cheered for themselves as they continued cooking, arranging the ingredients and trying their best to stay till the end. “It's a little too soon to address me as your master, don't you think?” Chef Luca said coldly and the ladies went silent, but that didn't diminish the brightness in their eyes. They were set and the determination was evident. Gift wasn't lacking behind either although she was with nobody to cheer for her beside her, she worked between sitting and standing while trying her best to remember and incorporate the basics that she had learnt over time. She only had her motivation and occasionally water and candy breaks to keep her company and that satisfied her. “And where do you think you're
“You tell me why you decided to choose this particular cucumber even though it's already starting to ripen?” He asked and the lady who had a fringe gulped and adjusted her expression before answering him. “This is a family dish and although people would not go for the ripe cucumber when buying in the market, I chose it so that that part could be served for the younger ones, l-like the child dish…,” she cleared her throat with a little stutter before continuing, “since the cucumber is not going to be steamed according to the recipe, this is the best way to make it easier for the child,” she said nervously, blinking up to ten times per second. Chef Luca had a straight face as he dropped the cucumber back in the ingredients plates before turning to look at Gift and saying with so much tenacity, “the competition can start, but I'll have you know that I won't hesitate to kick you out for the slightest of errors. Do your best if you want to prove yourself!” He said as the stuttering lady
“You are only standing here because you're lucky I will do anything for my godmother,” The moment chef Luca returned to the kitchen, he glared at her and Gift knew that he wasn't lying about that one, so she nodded and offered a small smile which he didn't bother to appreciate.but the moment he turned away from her, she let out a sigh of relief but she knew how much he valued ruby Yu from the way he personalized ‘godmother’. At this moment, Gift and Winifred had already set their ingredients on the table and were having mini talks until the next phase of the cooking competition would start when there was suddenly a noise coming from the storage area where they went to pick their ingredients.As they turned their head to the side, they saw the pompous lady from earlier who was bragging about her servants run out if the storage room with tears in her eyes. “You just wait until my I tell my husband about this,” she cleared her throat and sniffled before pausing to raise her head up so
“I like puppies more than cats,” Beauty said as she carried the furry car that had two long white stripes running from the back of its two ears to the tail where they joined as one, making the fail complete white on the top and black underneath. “Them leave my cat alone, you aren't even being true to yourself,” Olivia scoffed as she took a sit beside her and started to pet the other two kittens that had run to her laps. “The cat's for your mother, plus you named this very beautiful cat after me. How could I not pet it when we sure the same name?” Beauty argued back as she hugged the cat closer, her hand still brushing it's fur on the back. “I wish she gave Jonold my full name too, but instead she made me share with this fatty,” Arnold lamented as he kissed the face of the cat on his laps. All four of them were seated on a cushion with Beauty,Jornold and two other cats whose owners they didn't know. “Are you blind or do you need me to remind you that I basically can't gain too much
She had some friends who supported her this time, unlike those who considered her as competition back at the orphanage. This time around, her distraction was the genuine love she recieved from her family and not from someone who wanted to bring her down. She was genuinely supported, however, unlike those times when those exam papers were marked without a care for who owned them, those times when they grades were given fairly and without partiality, Gift felt a heavy dose of partiality weigh on her. Winifred squeezed her hand to support her,but they both decided to let it go. “I'll just raise my hand next time,” Gift muttered tl herself and hoped that was really the case. “Now you all will move on to picking out the ingredients as described in the recipes. Just twenty minutes for this stage and there is just enough for everyone.” The Italian in white said and they all nodded stiff for a moment. Him saying just enough for everyone sounded like a declaration of scarcity for Gift and
“These recipe is so strange, I never even knew that such a combination could exist,” Gift muttered to herself as she picked up the small pamphlet that was handed to all thirty of the contestants. While every single one of them was each given the same meal to cook, it was still all strange to them as Winifred and Gift showed eachother their pamphlet and they were able to.confurm it when others started murmuring. Just one dish written in Italian and English, Luca Bellucci family meal, but even those who claimed to have cooking certificates have the little pamphlet the same confusing look as Gift. It was safe to say that they were about to cook a meal based in written steps and no idea of how to go about it or how it should even taste beforehand. Some of them had never even heard of it before.Gift who didn't have the luxury to eat many foreign food due to her financial status before had spent the past two months watching YouTube videos, because she had gotten another helpful tip fro
“Please cooperate,” he was past being stubborn and had to lower himself to make Gift concede. There was still the issue with the cats and the children which included Joseph, Beauty and Olivia as it so turned out that Beauty's mom had connections enough to let her know about the competition and what better way to form a good relationship than cooking together. However, she had gone in ahead while leaving beauty with Olivia and Joseph after begging and confirming that there would be no traces of Scarlet or any friends with a gun. “The kids, but not Zenith. He can't go to somewhere like that, it'll stress him,” Gift said as she remembered how Zenith had to be rushed to the hospital at midnight of the night the cat's were first adopted. He had tried to force himself to adapt to the pets by hugging them through the night but there was only little his body could take then. However he didn't give up the two months that followed, training himself and diligently following the doctor's presc