Dana came to Steve’s place along with Lara for her consultation with Kim. Steve reported his account of Kim’s progress. To his surprise, Kim had progressed quite well without any signs of relapse in the last month since Dana reduced her consultancy frequency to once a week. His only complaint now was she neglected food and sleep to catch up on studying.
“You sure know how to complain…” Lara’s lips curled in disdain.
“Aren’t I worried?” Steve asked with a helpless look.
Tsk…. Tsk … parents…. they always think they are right; Whether the coin flips heads or tails.” Lara sneered as she sat cross legged on the sofa.
Dana smiled, she didn’t have any comments.
Kim came rushing down as she heard Lara’s voice. She knew Dana wouldn’t be far behind.
“You’re here” She pounced on both of them and squeezed between them acting like a spoil
Lara was sitting on a pile of dress that she had unloaded from Dana’s wardrobe with a frown. She didn’t like any.“Ding” “Diiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggg” The doorbell kept ringing impatiently.“Coming … coming…” Lara yelled in annoyance as she rushed to open the door.Lara opened and shut the door without thinking. There was two unfamiliar men at the door. Lara pressed the panic button on the bracelet and rushed to Dana’s room and pulled her into corner and shrank back hiding Dana behind her.“SCAR” Lara screamed at the top of lungs as the bell rang non-stop.“What happened?” Dana asked finally finding her voice after being scared silly by Lara.“Ding” “Diiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggg” The person at the door kept ringing.“Sshhhh…..you are not here… I swear I won't talk to ever if you come out without me coming ba
Atlantis hotel was decorated lavishly, no expense spared.The path from the entrance to the hall was decorated in red carpet style with the side lit up with heart shaped path lights. A huge flex of the loving couple who were going to be engaged was placed next to the door and inside the hallway to the Banquet Hall.The guards at the door carefully checked the invitation before letting the invitees in; this was a high-class event with celebrities and personalities from the elite walks of society.Ben as Andrew got off the limited-edition Benz and hooked his arm around Dana Aka Aziza’s waist.“Remember you are Aziza” Ben reminded with a teasing smile as she tried to wriggle out “My wife.” He whispered, gently nibbling her ears blatantly.Dana felt like she was electrocuted, a warm pink rushed up her cheeks.Ben chuckled and decided not to tease her anymore. He walked forward with her.Ed and Lara followed;
“Benjamin Adalase” An arrogant magnetic voice came from the other end.“Cousin, it’s me”“Are you enjoying yourself?”“Enjoying?? Heh… I wouldn’t have come as your representative if I knew you were trash in the eyes of these people.” Ben mocked, his voice menacingly sinister. The surrounding crowd was well aware of Mr Adalase’s ruthlessness. They sub-consciously distanced themselves from the couple.“Oh…. Someone seems to have provoked my dear cousin…” A sinister chuckle came from the other end. “Tell me, how can I make it up to you before you fly out tonight?”“I want them thrown out this instant.” Ben smiled.“Sure… who is the security in front of you?”Ben looked at the name tag of the security closest to him and read “Harman Leyland.”Ben voice domineering voice came from
“Let’s go” Ben stood up after what seemed like ages “The others will kill us otherwise.”“Others??”“Um… they are waiting on the next floor.”“Oh crap!” Dana stood up hurriedly.“Don’t worry… they must have only got there.”Dana knitted her brows and looked suspiciously at Ben. Ben feigned ignorance to her curious expression and walked forward.“Don’t forget the mask” Dana said as she tried to put hers on.“Don’t worry. There is no centralized surveillance on these two floors. These are Frank’s private area.”“Oh” Dana put the mask back and followed Ben out.------Lara and Ed had left the engagement party and drove straight to WestStar. Ed took Lara to his room on the 23rd floor and opened the room. Lara thought Dana was waiting her and followed. She looked around and asked, “Where’s Dana?”“How would I know? Was I not with you all this time?” Ed raised his eyebrows playfully.Lara picked her phone and dialed Dana.“Hello” Dana’s calm voice came from the other end.“Where are you?” L
Ed continued with his story.“We didn’t have many twists and turns compared to Frank and Sarah.” Ed shrugged “Gail and Samantha were Sarah’s roommates and would always accompany Sarah when she came to meet us. Samantha was madly pursing Ben and Gail would quietly accompany them. Now that I think about it, maybe she never really liked me.” Ed reflected.“Anyway, one thing led to the other…one day, we were all drunk. Ben dragged Frank and me away with his last bit of consciousness and went home. When we woke up in the morning, the girls were all lying naked next to us; Sarah was in Frank’s bed, Gail in mine and Samantha in Ben’s. Luckily Ben went home so Samantha was lying naked alone… None of us knew what happened.""The girls cried and said they couldn’t remember anything. We thought we brought them back in a drunken state; Ben swore to us when we told him what happened that he brought us back and left us in the room before going home. There was no one in our rooms when he left us. Sa
Wesley was wandering around Lara’s apartment. He felt that Lara would slip threw his net if he loosened his grip. He waited for 2 days and there was no sign of Lara. He thought of the man with Lara at the engagement party. He wondered if she had moved out with him.He decided to give her a call as he thought complacently that he knew how to get her to come back on all fours.Lara was having breakfast with Ed, Ben, Frank, Dana and Sarah at Frank’s place. Sarah had invited them over. Scar was responsible for bringing them without being spotted.Waiting for your call, I’m waiting for you... winter blooms or spring blossoms, I’m still waiting..Lara’s phone rang. Lu came running with her phone that was left on the lounge in the family room.“Auntie Lara, who is scum?”Ed’s face darkened. He snatched the phone and was about to answer when Dana extended her hand. She shook her head gesturing hgim not to answer. Ed grudgingly gave the phone to Dana.Ben watched with a doting gaze. He was cu
“I suppose you want a hacker next?” Ed smirked.“Bingo” Dana snapped and gesturing a gun at Ed.“How did you come up with such an elaborate script?” Ed asked half amused and half teasing.“I read a lot of detective novels and watch a lot of detective movies and serials… I work really hard in my free time.” Dana smiled proudly.Ed “”“Ha… Ha…. Ha…” Lara and Sarah laughed“The hacker can’t be anyone from your teams.” Dana spoke in a serious tone and lowered her voice “What I really want to do is release a virus into his personal drive. I want to avenge all the poor souls he’s been leeching.”“Your wish is my command.” Ben smiled charmingly. He had just thought of someone.“Really??”“Wait for me.” Ben walked out into the open area. He picked the unregistered phone and dialed an overseas number.“Who the fuck is tired of living?” A low growl came from the other end.“Bastard, are you tempting fate?” Ben teased.“Oh… you...” one could clearly hear the disdain “What do you want?”“I want y
The week progressed quietly for Lara and Dana, with nothing out the ordinary. Kim was progressing well. She had her first set of exams next week, other than being nervous nothing was worthy of note. Steve tried to comfort her “It doesn’t matter if we don’t clear this time. We can try again next year. Daddy will support you.”Kim rolled her eyes “Can you have a little more faith in me?”Steve “”---Wednesday afternoon, Ben was in the middle of holding an internal meeting when his phone lit up with an unfamiliar caller id-“Dring …dring…dring…”Ben hated interruption during meetings. He frowned as he cut the call and asked the staff who was about to report about the current projects to start.“Dring…. Dring…. Dring…” The person on the other end didn’t seem to get the message. Ben looked around the room contemplating before excusing himself to pick the call.“Hello” His voice was unusually cold but that didn’t seem to deter the caller’s enthusiasm.“Mr. Adalase, its me… meet me at my B
“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.