Dana smiled and toasted.“Want to see them spewing fire?” Lara laughed mischievously; Dana nodded.“Ask you fiancé to cooperate with me.” Lara spoke with an insidious grin.Dana didn’t take much note of Lara’s tease, she turned to Ben who had his lips curled up in a smile. Although he was conversing with Ed and Frank, his ears were tuned into Dana’s side. He had heard Lara, but what made him happy was Dana did not refute.“Ben” Dana leaned close to Ben.“Um” Ben turned his head, leaning down towards her.“Lara wants to make mischief. Can you ….” Dana pursed her lips upwards; she couldn’t actually say the rest. ‘How awkward?’“Do you want me to?” Ben whispered. He was sure the candidates could not see his intimate action from the angle they were at.“Um”“Okay.”Dana looked at Lara and nodded giving her the ‘all okay.’Lara smiled seductively as she stood up and walked over to Ben “Mr Adalase, let me toast our friendship.”Dana had her head down, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.E
Sarah took Dana and Lara to their private room on the second floor.“What is going on?”“I am a dead duck…. Ben is going to kill me.” Lara muttered as she sank into the sofa.“Why should Ben kill you?” Dana asked in confusion.Sarah and Lara looked at Dana like they were looking at an idiot…. Then they looked at each other and burst out laughing…“What?” Dana pouted.“Nothing… my dear friend.” Lara hugged her affectionately.“YUCK…. Stay away from me … you’re smelly and sticky” Dana pushed Lara with a disdainful expression.“What? You despise me???” Lara put her hands on her hips with a threatening expression before chasing after Dana. Dana ran around hiding behind Sarah pulling her into the ruckus before dodging and running around with Lara tagging behind.Scar informed Ben that Dolce had left just as Sarah walked out; Ben, Frank and Ed left the room under the pretense of Shadow organizing the room for audition. Frank led them to their private room on the second floor.Dana ran aroun
“Thank you all for coming at such short notice. I will inform your managers if you are successful. Please feel free to stay back and enjoy our hospitality.” Shadow announced as the audition was completed.The participants wanted to curry favor with the big bosses; they circled their way around socializing. Ed sat with Dana in the corner, he hated the hypocrisy of these occasions. Lara came fluttering like a butterfly towards them. Ed watched Lara coming over as lively as spring’s first breeze, his lips curled up subconsciously only to be disappointed, he wasn’t the target of her attention. He looked at Dana with a slightly resentful gaze.“Bored??” Lara asked as she pulled a chair close to Dana.“Nope” Dana was still reading an article. Lara pulled her phone out with a pout “What are you looking at when you have such beautiful company?”“Puchi…” Dana pursed her lips into a lopsided grin “What’s that got to do with me? Here, perhaps you two can bicker.” She pulled Lara’s chair closer
Dana and Lara drove back soon after Lara found Dana in the restroom. Scar followed them in the dark.Lara found the bracelet and put it on as soon as she got home. Ed had told that it was water resistant and did not have to be taken off; She was never going to take it off. Although she pretended to be carefree, she was scared silly.“Dring… dring….dring…” Dana had just laid down to sleep when her phone lit up with ‘King of Pestering’.“Hello”“Baby, its me. Have you slept?”“Then wouldn't I be sleep talking?” Dana retorted with a playful smile on her face.Ben pursed his lips upwards; she wasn’t annoyed with him anymore.“That Putnam guy came looking for you.”“What’s that got to do with me?” Dana rolled her eyes although she knew he couldn’t see her.Ben snorted in displeasure and then changed the topic-“I heard Ed say that you were browsing for activities requiring high energy expenditure.”“Um”“I can think of one…shall I come over?” Ben’s face was bloomed with an evil smile.“No
The next 3 weeks were simple and tiring for Dana; She and Lara spent the evenings with Kim and Steve. Ben and Shadow would gate crash almost every day. Her sessions with Kim didn’t have the norms of standard counselling. She would explore her interests and divert them.Steve and Kim developed a more meaningful father-daughter relationship during this period. Away from her normal self-inflicted abusive triggers, Kim bloomed into a beautiful young flower. Her face regained its youthfulness and vitality.“Dad, would you be shocked if I told you I want to go to university?” Kim asked casually as they ate breakfast.“No.” Steve replied as he ate. He looked at Kim and responded in a serious tone “I would only be shocked if you wasted your talent.”“Then, I am going to university when the new session starts in 6 months.” Kim announced boldly. She had been thinking the past week. She wanted to be more outstanding than Dana, she wanted her dad, Dana and Lara to be proud of her. These three peo
Dolce on the other hand was anxiously staring at Ben, Frank and Ed. He was sure the disappearance of his men was related to them, but he didn’t have any leads. He purposefully caught up with Simon and Amelia. They didn’t even know about David’s death. He wanted to find something on them so that he could squeeze them into a corner and negotiate. He needed to get his men back. Strictly speaking, they were Tyson’s men. The only one he could think of was Sarah and the kids, but they were heavily guarded and had too much public exposure.Tyson called him yesterday to ask about Angus. Strangely, he said that he hadn’t heard from either of his half-brothers for more than 2 months. Angus was a world class hitman and would often disappear, but he would be in touch with the agent that supplies him drug. This time even the agent wasn’t contacted. Mr Tyson was sure his half-brother was no more and had called to check if Dolce knew his whereabouts, as he was in A country during their last contact.
Theo walked in with Delvin in tow. He frowned as he saw a man hugging Dana. He rudely walked forward requesting access to pass through between them. Ben frowned, he wondered what Theo was up to, forgetting his current identity.Theo had no intention of walking forward, he stood between the two of them and introduced himself to Dana ignoring Ben. “Hello, I am Theodore Merek, the president of this chain.”“Hi” Dana smiled.“I came with Delvin to see how things were and to personally apologize for the incident a few months ago.”“Oh…no need. It was dealt with adequately.” Dana waved her hands. She did not hold a grudge, it was forgotten.Ella bought the invoice with a sweet smile as she saw Theo, the real boss.“Madam, your receipt.” Although she was talking to Dana, her eyes were glued to Theo; Delvin watched in disdain as he saw the look in her eyes.“Why are you bringing this? Where is the staff who served us?” Dana asked in a sharp tone.Ella’s smile froze. She didn’t expect this bit
Theo and Shadow bid farewell to the group and walked out. Shadow didn’t forget to change his identity to Vannes before he walked out with Theo. “Don’t tell me you felt guilty and called me out to feed me good food.” Ed teased Ben. “Me??” Ben shook his head and said with feigned modesty “Someone has a request for you. I am just the delivery boy.” Ed looked at Dana. “Why are you looking at my woman?” Ben grunted. Ed looked suspiciously at Lara before shaking his head and turning to Cyril “Do you need anything?” Cyril looked at Dana and Lara in confusion… As soon as she saw Lara’s dark face, she imagined that there was something between Ed and Lara. She regretted sitting in the middle… she couldn’t run away. “I… I … just remembered, I have to be somewhere.” Cyril stood up anxiously and tried to squeeze past Lara and then Dana. She looked pleadingly at Dana. “Move… let her go.” Dana looked at Ben. Cyril ran as soon as Dana and Ben moved out of the way. “Did I say something wrong?
“That is not up to you.” Marken, one of the high counsellors disdained. Adalases was not Ben’s to stake at will; There were other Adalases who could refute this stake.Sherman knew Marken’s ambition was no less than Herten, but he also knew that unlike Herten, Marken would never betray his country and was in a good mood for watching a show although he knew what decision he would ultimately make.“That is a fair point.” Sherman nodded thoughtfully before saying “If the entire Adalase can be staked on this man, then I agree.” Sherman chuckled “With resources greater than the reserve bank, it won’t be hard to rebuild our facilities even if we are compromised.”No one could refute this point.“The Weldons won’t shy away from responsibility either.” Frank didn’t know why the commander had changed his colors, but he stood shoulder to shoulder with his brother.Shadow didn’t have anything to offer, but he stood beside Ben. His expression unwavering.Tyrell slowly got up from his chair and wal
Lara delivered a baby girl as her heart’s desire. She only saw her bundle of joy for a minute before her vision blurred. She also saw the joy in her man’s eyes. These were the two things she remembered before she fainted. She didn’t know if she would wake up again or whether this was eternal sleep, but she was gratified.The Evans and Burton elders had just returned when Amy came out holding the bundle of joy. They didn’t have time to process everything before they were handed the little bundle.“She is so sweet.” Megan smiled as looked over Marjorie shoulders.“My daughter-in-law is indeed pretty.” Dana laughed. She knew the minds of the elders were not calm. She was trying to lighten their moods.No one knew when Ben, Frank and Shadow appeared behind their women.“How can it be so easy to snatch my granddaughter?” Marjorie retorted proudly.“Yes…. yes…yes...” Abigail laughed happily as she let the little one hold her finger tightly. Dana’s retort had pulled the elders mind back to th
Ben and Dana’s days were filled with love and tranquility. Ben felt like he was in a dream; his life was everything he dreamed of; his beloved woman was his wife; she would cook and wait for him; his house was filled with the laughter of the precious treasures his wife had given him. He was truly grateful to the heavens.Ed’s days were getting hectic. Between the challenges of his official duty and a pregnant wife, he was almost ready to retire. He wanted to spend more time with his wife and child. Seeing Ben’s cute little babies, he couldn’t wait to have his own little treasure.Frank and Sarah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; their little Lu would run almost every day to see his little wife, especially now that she was becoming prettier. The babies were becoming chubbier with fair skin and rosy cheeks. Their features were becoming more prominent and dashing, melting the hearts of everyone around them.Dan and Don were like a mother hen defending their younger siblings from everyo
The next day, the Williamses landed and rushed to the hospital. Dana had rested well and regained most of her vigor.Ben was changing nappies while Dana was sleeping peacefully when they arrived.“She can still sleep?” Dana’s younger sister asked in surprise as Ben gestured for them to lower their volume. He handed one baby each to the stunned Mr and Mrs Williams and led all of them to the adjacent room.“Sorry… Dana has just rested.” Ben apologized sincerely for his rudeness.Mrs Williams shook head, her eyes were misty. She was truly grateful to the heavens for her daughter’s fortune to have met such a man. Even though he was rich and powerful, he loved and doted on her without bounds…. This was truly her fortune. It would be a lie to say that they were not worried. On the way back after the wedding they had met a lady who was crying pitifully. Mrs Williams didn’t feel comfortable and lend her a shoulder to lean on; She didn’t know who they were and told them that she was fleeing fro
Ben sat next to Dana urging her to wake up. He was scared out of his wits as he had seen the amount of blood that she lost during the delivery… he feared that she wouldn’t wake up and all his happiness would disappear in the blink of an eye even though Steve repeatedly reassured him that she was fine and just sleeping from exhaustion. He sat next to her telling her how much he missed her.He told her how he felt that a portion of him was missing without her by his side; He told her how much he loved her…. He begged her to wake up… He sat by her side never taking his eyes of her pale face… holding her hand … and begging her to wake up….He started to tell her their story from his perspective. He told her how she disturbed him from their first encounter. How he thought that she had approached him with a purpose, He told her how he shamelessly wanted to see her even if he knew that she had approached him with a purpose.He told her how he used to follow her like a shadow just to feel her
Ben was on edge now that Dana was full term. He kept following her nervously like a shadow. One evening just as they finished dinner and were heading upstairs to retire, Dana stood still on the stairs and called weakly “Ben….”“What is it?” Ben looked affectionately at his wife who had stopped walking and became stiff.“I…. my …. I think my water broke.” Dana barely managed to mumble as she held on tightly to Ben.“You…. you….” Ben froze.Alexa was the first to react. She ran downstairs to alert Shadow and Mrs Bentley before running back upstairs to get the baby bag that Dana had prepared beforehand.“CEO” Alexa called out helplessly as she saw a frozen Ben.“Huh?” Ben looked at the panic-stricken Dana and came to his senses. He carried her and ran downstairs carefully. Alexa informed him that Shadow was waiting downstairs with the car. Shadow had informed Steve as soon as Alexa came running downstairs. Everything at the hospital would be set by Steve.Shadow sped towards the hospital;
Shadow had been getting along fabulously with Ruth and decided that he wanted to get married watching Ben’s bliss. He had decided on Ruth, then what was the point in delaying… but the problem was he had no idea how to…. he was also worried if Ruth didn’t have the same intention… then wouldn’t he be making a fool of himself?Shadow walked around with a constipated expression. He would have asked Dana’s help if his boss wasn’t so petty…. But what could he do… his boss was!“What’s wrong?” Dana finally asked as she couldn’t bear to watch his miserable face.“I …” Shadow suddenly felt tongue tied. He was waiting for Dana to ask…. But when she did, he didn’t know how to vocalize his problem. He lowered his head with a frown on his lips.“He wants to propose to Ruth but doesn’t know how to.” Ben didn’t give Shadow any face when he mercilessly pierced through his wall.“Oh….” Dana nodded perceptively “You are worried that she doesn’t have that intention and she will reject?”Shadow nodded alt
The ladies went shopping happily without realizing that none of their actions were missed by their men.Dana wanted to see how Ruth was going so she decided to stop by her shop. However, she changed her mind when she got to Ruth’s shop and pulled the others and ran. Granger was at the store pestering Ruth. It was most certainly a crime to stop someone’s fortune and she didn’t want her husband to have another enemy…..hehe…hehe… she was quite clever!“What are you laughing like a fool for?” Lara asked looking at Dana’s silly smile.Dana shrugged keeping her silly smile but didn’t enlighten the two.“Sister-in-law...” A sweet sound called from behind as the ladies were immersed in their world of freedom.The three turned in unison but Dana’s face darkened as she saw Lizzie walking towards her smiling like a flower. She had almost forgotten her promise to Bertie.“When did I become your sister-in-law?” Dana folded her hands looking arrogantly at Lizzie.“Soon… soon we will be family.” Lizz
In a condemned cell in B country, Pigle read the news of embezzlement of 10 million in public funds from Pigle enterprises. He begged the prison guards to let him see his son one last time.Jefferson indulged him considering he had inadvertently helped Ben get closure to the mystery that was haunting him for more than 15 years.Pigle junior arrived promptly to see his father once he was granted visitation rights.“Son, this is all Mr Adalase’s doing. You have to become strong and hit him hard.” Charles eyes were red with anger.“Dad, I know all about the cause and effect of this incident.” Pigle junior lowered his head in shame. His father was his pride. He looked up to his father but now…. looking at all the shameful things his father had done, he didn’t want any part in it. He wanted to take his mother and run far from all this shame.“Son…” Charles called; his eyes widened as he lifted in eyebrows.Pigle junior showed the video that was sent to him soon after the incident broke out.