60 - because I like you“What?” “I like you and he knows this. He found out that I liked you for a long time and wanted to put some distance between us. It's been very difficult for me and although I know that I shouldn't disobey my boss. But what can I do when my feelings are involved? i-” “Didn't you say that your mother was waiting in the hospital? You've been talking for way too long for someone who's sick mother is waiting in the hospital,” the aide stepped forward before any more damage could be done, but when she turned and saw Gift's frozen face, she knew the damage had already been done. No matter how soft and approachable Trenor looked, she couldn't help but feel a strong wrong vibe coming from him. “That's right,” Trenor chuckled as he got up, “it's like this everytime I think about you too. I lose track of time and get scolded at work.” The aide widened her eyes looking flabbergasted at his quick reaction, “you sure know how to turn the situation around in your favor,
61“I'm sorry, but I can't let you both go,” Mr Kim said as he spread his hands to block the two from exiting through the main entrance. “Dad,” Olivia called out as she was forced to come to an abrupt stop. Gift too looked up at the older man. The two ladies needed an explanation. “You need to get something to eat and do your assignments as well, plus it's almost evening time. I can't allow you to miss dinner, your brother will be really worried,” he said and Gift frowned. “Are you saying that Zenith is the one stopping us from going?” Gift frowned as she pointed it out and Mr Kim sighed. “He is just worried about you both.” “Us too, I'm really worried about Joseph who didn't come to school today,” Olivia said. “That's why he made me launch a proper investigation on them and also look into his Stepmom's background since she is the origin of all this,” he said, hoping to convince his stubborn daughter who took after him when it came to making decisions and sticking to it. “But-
62 - a kiss to know how you feel “Let's wait a bit to confirm if they'll be coming or not,” was what Olivia said to persuade Gift until the bell for the first period was rung and she had to go to class dejectedly. “Remember, you said that we would go to his house if he doesn't come to school today,” Olivia reminded before leaving for her class and when Gift remainef silent, she held unto her and pasted. “You can't change your words because you promised alright?” Olivia faltered in her voice and Gift nodded. “Of course, I'll keep my words, you'll see him. You make sure you focusin class else I'll tell him you didn't pay attention because of him,” Gift teased and Olivia smiled a little before turning her back and jogging to class. Her mood had worsened although she went to bed earlier the night before and because of that, she would have skipped breakfast if Gift hadn't intervened. Gift sighed as she watched her back. “Are you ready to go now?” Her aide who was seated by her side
63 - how to punish an unredeemable man“Greetings to your blessed soul,” the proprietor greeted as they entered into his office and the moment he raised his head from his Bible, Gift could see through his glasses lens how his eyes widened in recognition. “W..what brings you here?” Her aide was the most shocked by what was going on. Never would she have ever thought that Gift who was always soft both on the outside and inside could make an adult react like that. She gave Gift another look as she helped her seat before standing behind her. “Didn't you say the other parents were ready for their apologies? I came here to discuss the meeting place with you since you decided to keep us apart,” she said as she kept her eyes on him. The proprietor felt like a silent war was going on as he gulped hoping it wasn't loud enough to further irritate her. “Hehe, why don't we discuss this after your maid has left, she-” Gift looked between him and her aide and smiled, “come sit,” she said as if
“I'm sorry, but you'll have to talk outside of the car, the glass is tinted and I can't tell what's going on inside,” Gift's aide said as soon as she saw her face. “What are you worried about? I just want to have a little chat with my friend here and if you're so worried, we can turn the window down.”“Nothing, it's just…” “There's nothing to worry about, we won't be running off anywhere, look,” she pointed to the driver's seat, “the car is not automatic. It's just some catching up, no one would get hurt, I promise,” Gift said as she stared right at her aide as if to pass the message,”she wasn't blacklisted, just leave us.” While that was happening, Olivia who had reached the front of her class stared at the two empty seats that belonged to her and Joseph and turned around.She didn't see herself going through class with that space remaining empty in front of her, so she made her way to the library. Just like the previous times, she met the same librarian. “You came alone today,
Jaydens pov “I'm sorry,” I huffed, almost wheezing at the extremity of the exercise we just did. “For what? This has to be the best so far. I know you hate to hear this his name but Shawn…”“Then don't fucking say it or I might end up killing that bastard!” “Jayden please,” she said softly from under me and I could tell that she was just as breathless, so as much as I wanted to continue rubbing and fucking her from behind, our bodies needed the rest. “I wont forgive it next time,” I said as I bit the tip of her ear and kissed it. “But it's true though, this is the best and although he was rough, it felt like rape most of the time, but with you, I just want you to go harder so I can see how much higher I can get on you dick.” “No worries, he is definitely getting punished for his sins the way he deserves and about you wanting more. I promise you something more to get high on next time,” I said and rolled off her body with the thought of the toys I'd gotten for her. I couldn't wa
“What in the world is going on, everyone is really worried about you,” Gift said after successfully telling her aide off. “It's just a lot has been on my mind lately. But I'll resolve it. I'm really sorry for making you all worried about me,” Joseph's Stepmom lowered her head as she apologized but it still didn't feel right. It was obvious that she was hiding something from Gift, but even after hearing what Mr Kim told her after investigating her, she still wanted to hear more from the horse’s mouth, so she decided to go in directly. “Mr Kim was really concerned about your behavior and he believed that it would also affect Joseph's upbringing,” she said and Joseph's Stepmom looked at her with eyes full of shock. “So he told me to make sure that he stops being friends with Olivia,” she confessed. “No, don't do that please. Olivia is Joseph's only friend. What's going to happen if Joseph, who only trusts her, has no one to talk to?” She was genuinely frightened by the thought as she
Winifred told Gift everything about her former husband who her family sold her to marry after Joseph's father broke up their engagement. Her family considered her useless since she had the scar on her face and had to resign, so she didn't have any choice or money to refute, however, five years into the abusive marriage and Joseph's dad was back for her, divorced and with a son, wanting to right his wrongs. But at that point, she was dead inside. Haven spent five years with a man who violated her and starved her from time to time would do that to anyone, so she rejected him. She couldn't hate the man she was in love with, but she couldn't love him either and she had secretly rejected his proposal only to get home to a husband who already found out the details of her meeting with him.And forced a confession out of her, so she told him the truth and when she was expecting him to hit her for talking to a man without his permission, he had given her food and pampered her for the foll
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