Chapter 51: "Or… do you want me to be here for other reasons?""Warm milk and chocolate." Ruben nudged the glass up to the height of the bridge of his nose. Tess's ear piqued, she glanced at his reflection in the mirror, narrowing her eyes as if contemplating whether to fall for his seduction. A sexy muscular man with a glass of warm milk and chocolate bars, two smexy snacks. Her mouth watered. She grew embarrassed of her own thoughts and shook her head slightly. In her careless action, the hot iron of the dryer grazed her fingers, her skin burned red. "Ah" She flinched from pain, dropping the dryer. Ruben panicked, he dropped the tray containing the glass of milk and chocolate on a stool nearby, reaching forward to grab Tess's hurt hand.Tess shivered from his cold touch. Her moist eyes looked up to him. His face was scrunched up in worry. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Ruben asked frantically. Tess withdrew her hands shyly, "I'm fine." she muttered. Ruben wasn't convinced. He p
Chapter 52: " Tess, my inner child feels safe with you…don't leave me.""Err- what? No, get out." Tess's entire face turned tomato red. Ruben laughed at her reaction, teasing her was so much fun. This was what he envisioned a life with her would be like ten years ago. His mind drifted to that day when he heard Tess hated him so much she dumped the low quality gold chain he bought for her on her birthday which was the night Jullian left the country. He wanted to ask about that for so long but he held back. He wasn't one to be easily convinced but the person that told him Tess hated his poor background came with evidence, a voice recording of Tess admitting to hate people from poor backgrounds. That day, his heart sank to the bottom, like the depth of the ocean. Until he personally witnessed Tess disposing his gift like it was garbage. He picked the necklace he worked multiple part time jobs to buy from the trash and walked home, alone, with his heart bleeding, in the rain. Tess's 'pr
chapter 53: "Did you wear this for me?... You were expecting my arrival?"Tess fell into his arms, energy seeped out of her rapidly from her body reactions. Ruben lifted her off the ground in a strong grip, he made his way towards the bed in the inner corner of the room. He placed Tess on the bed, his hands worked its way to the ropes holding her robe together. He tugged at it in a single move and it came loose. Exposing her half naked body. As Tess had just taken a shower, her milk white skin shone, and her chest was bare without any cover. She had a red panty on, a flower shaped fabric covering her nether regions. A very seductive piece. "Did you wear this for me?... You were expecting my arrival?" Ruben asked. His foxy eyes glistened and a smirk lingered on his wild red lips. He looked extra alluring. Tess's face burned red. She turned her head to the other side, avoiding his provocative gaze. She bit her lips and nodded slowly, confirming Ruben's thoughts. "Luke that snitch -
chapter 54: "I've traveled to so many beautiful places around the world but no place compares to the space you exist in." Ruben and Tess fell asleep quickly in each other's arms, easily forgetting the twins. Luuk got whiff of the news of Ruben on Tess's room. He prepared dinner for hkmself and Luke but was grumpy throughout, blaming Luke for letting Ruben in. Of course, Luke avoided mentioning the part where Ruben bribed him. He couldn't ascertain he would be safe if Luuk learnt that part of the story. Luuk had recently busied himself. School was out of question as he held several college degrees in the US, collected out of boredom and Tess's persuasion. His uncanny intelligence was kept a top secret for security reasons though the big organizations knew of the emergence of the little genius and protected him, providing him with scholarly gifts to curry favor from him and to win him over to their sides.Luuk was unfazed towards the private or government organizations, he kept all of
Chapter 55: "The tooth fairy will visit me tonight, I will place it under my pillowcase. No, beside my pillow case." Ruben prepared a light toast and freshly squeezed fruit juice for Tess, bringing it up to her room. He walked in without knocking it, strolled into the bedroom and suddenly stopped in his steps. Luke and Luuk were on the bed with Tess. She was now wearing a silk night dress with a silk robe draped over her shoulders. Luke had his head on Tess's lap, his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the comfort of Tess's fingers caressing his hair. Ruben frowned in displeasure at the two intruders as he narrowed his eyes at them. Luuk returned Ruben's gaze with gloating eyes, his eyes conveyed the words– who is the boss now? "Oh? Father, come here" Luke sensed the awkward silence, he opened his eyes to see Ruben standing awkwardly in the middle of the wide room. Ruben grunted lowly, delivering the food to Tess's bedside. "Why are you here? It's 1am and you should be sleeping." H
Chapter 56: "One bang and you're gone."Luuk's Artificial intelligence prototype went viral when an employee posted a photo of it. The Netizen, especially the females, were very enthusiastic about it. They posted multiple comments on De Vries chat web page asking the official launching of the shopping assistant. "Sunny is about to be my bestie." "When is this feature coming onto my screen? I'll invest in my entire property." "Don't let the fashion influencers see this, we would suffer from oppression." "Sunny is such a befitting name, shedding light on our shopping dilemma." They demanded for the company to give them a reply soon. The Netizen were the only ones enthusiastic about sunny, the artificial intelligence shopping assistant, other business owners especially the shopping apps and rich conglomerates wanted it for themselves. Fashion influencers and celebrities took to their social media accounts to show their interest and support in the viral shopping assistant. De Vrie
Chapter 57: The top dogs. "Raise your fucking hands above your ears" The vicious looking intruder spoke in a ear-aching gruff tone. He had a frightening unique scar across his face, from his lower left cheek through the bridge of his nose to his upper right cheek just below his eyes. Even more weird and frightening was that everyone else that came with him had the same scar. Ruben raised his hands above his head slowly, conceding to the rough looking man's request. Inwardly, he had no intention to engage in a physical brawl, only thoughts to escape the hell hole. Reality hit when the rough looking man cocked his gun, moving closer at point blank range. Ruben stood stoic, his face devoid of warmth and any emotions. He looked calm as if he wouldn't be dead in an instant if the other party decided to pull the trigger. The scary scarred man shivered slightly, he had heard of how terrifying Ruben was and he had huge respect for him and his unruly ways but unexpectedly, their big boss
Chapter 58: "Do you still want to see my face?"As they were huge in number and up against only one prey, Ruben used it to his advantage, they couldn't attack him at once so they came in pairs. Growing up, he had followed military training to build strength and his martial arts skills so taking on three men at once wasn't so difficult. One scrawny guy and two heavily built men approached Ruben, waving their weapons at him. Ruben acted fast, he slammed his elbow on the scrawny guy's face, his hard rock muscle sending the latter a few steps back, to the ground, wincing in pain.In the same moment, one of them took the advantage to slice Ruben but he cut through thin air. Ruben had seen through his attack from the corner of his eyes. He shuffled two steps backward, evading the first enemy's attack and delivering a fatal blow to the second enemy's gut. He grabbed the metal bar from the fallen enemy and whacked the last standing burly man among the trios. Ruben was very versed with human
Author’s note.On this note, I announce to the fans of Double sided revenge that the book has come to an end.Thank you all for your support, patience and abundance of love.Every penny spent on reading the book is appreciated, your hearts reach me, every single one of my followers. This book is so precious to me, because it’s the first and only book I have ever completed since I started writing In 2019. It would only get better from now on. I have learnt to manage my time, work, strive hard to learn more about fiction writing while studying for a science degree and I pray, as you’ve helped me discover myself, I wish upon you the self love and confidence it takes to strive through the lowest periods of your life.Thank you. Xoxo
Chapter 143: Wedding ceremony.After dinner, Ruben and Tess resigned to their rooms, leaving the kids to watch their newly founded television show.“I want to be inside you.” Ruben whispered inside Tess' ears as they prepared to sleep.“Suddenly?”“Mmh, suddenly.”Tess adjusted herself in a comfortable position to bury her face in Ruben’s neck, basking in his masculine scent.“As a celebration for renewal of wedding vows?” Tess asked as she placed kisses around his neck.“Mmh, whatever you call it.” Tess chuckled. She loved to see the effect she had on him.“Let’s get married, again.” Tess proposed. “The kids would absolutely love to be our flower boys.”“Luuk would hold a grudge against you for months.”They burst out in laughter.“Oh God, I’m afraid I love you too much.” Ruben said out of the whim.“I’m afraid you have no choice.” Tess laughed. “Now serve me, knight.” She began to unfasten the belt that held her silk robe together.…Two weeks later,After attending to pending issu
Chapter 142: “Between us, words aren’t needed. Our hearts are in sync, I know your hearts.Tess and Ruben returned to the car, Ruben took a moment to ensure Tess was alright before they drove to the cemetery where her father was laid to rest.“Father, I’m here.” Tess dropped the flowers they brought along with, they bowed to him and sat by his grave, gazing at the skies.“He loved you.” Tess broke the peaceful silence.Ruben turned his head sideways. His veiny hands reached for Tess’s face and tucked her hair behind her ears to get a better view of her face. “He loved you just as much.”“No.” Tess turned to face him. “He loved me more.”They held eye contact for two seconds and burst out in laughter.The rest of the day was spent watching the sunset, cradled in each other’s arms for warmth.…“Luuk Luuk, look what I found.” Luke barged into Luuk’s room without knocking.Luuk: “…” *deadly glare*Luke dropped his head and exited the door while walking backwards. He closed the door gen
Chapter 141: Retribution.After a filling breakfast, Regal drove Tess to the basement where Elaine was locked up.As she came down from the car, Tess took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to face Elaine. Although Ruben had tried to stop her from watching the video that exposed Elaine's crimes, Tess couldn’t resist. She had to watch it, to fuel her anger so she doesn’t go easy on Elaine and to discern if it was all real or the universe was playing with her head. It worked, she was ridiculed with unfathomable rage and her heart was ripped into shreds.Her father’s last moments were filled with pain and heartbreaks, some of which she contributed to. The guilt still ate at her heart. Tess was basked in guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders, Elaine was welcomed into their home because of her obvious longing and desire for maternal love even though her father tried his best in raising her.She thought, perhaps if she had handled things differently, her father wouldn’t have die
Chapter 140: “I am honored to be a part of your life, Tess.” Tess announced her second departure to the people of syzygy who were reluctant to let her go.News of her being the renowned Avis of the underworld hit the streets, causing the village of Syzygy to welcome more foreign guests than usual.The people of Syzygy were beyond elated, business was booming, cash was flowing, their children, parents and loved ones had returned home, they were free from the oppression of the Urchins and neighboring predators, and their standard of living shot through the roof.The people praised Tess endlessly and to appreciate her, Flower bouquets, letters, gift boxes, hand drawn portraits and framed photos were lined up at her doorstep, nearing a thousand. And at night, the streets were illuminated with red floating lanterns which represents good fortune in Chinese culture. In each lantern, the villagers included individual prayers and well wishes towards Tess and her family and suspended them to
Chapter 139: “You make me the happiest man on earth.”Tess, Ruben, the twins, Aiden, Regal and her other entourages hit the road to the village of syzygy.The trip took two days as they had frequent stops to shop for souvenirs for Tess and the twins. The men complied easily, their hearts devoid of anger or impatience. The kids were showered with as much adoration and respect as Tess.Eventually, they arrived at the village of syzygy. It was late at night, the twins were fast asleep in Aiden and Regal’s arms. “We will put the kids to sleep, you should go to bed now. The trip must have been exhausting.” Aiden’s words were full of concern and adoration. He had Ruben questioning if he was doing enough.Tess smacked Ruben from behind. She could easily tell his thoughts as it was written on the frown that crawled up his regal visage.After they left, Ruben cleared his throat and pulled Tess impatiently into the room. Before the door clicked shut, he wrapped her in his wide embrace and envel
Chapter 138: “Even death isn’t enough to atone for your crimes”Regal and Ruben stood in a distance from each other, staring at each other. Regal couldn’t utter a word, so did Ruben.“How ?” Regal finally said the words biting at his throat for so long.“I’ll explain later.” Tess held Luuk tighter. “Until then,” she faced Thomas. “You must pay for messing with my family.” Since Ruben was present, Tess had no reason to hold back anymore.“Tch, seems you weren’t listening at all, in here, I hold the ultimate power.”“Than the Avis?”“Than the Av- what?!” Thomas looked around in confusion. Finally, his eyes descended upon Alpha, wrapped in white clothings. “Ah-a that, that wasn’t what I meant,” He laughed uncomfortably, “ The Avis holds the ultimate power, saying otherwise would be slander. This is a personal iss-““Then why would you purposefully commit slander?” Alpha raised an eyebrow.“B-but I didn’t-““Haven’t you realized by now?” Alpha uncovered the white fabric covering the bo
Chapter 137: “Father! That uncle looks like you.”“What’s wrong?” Aiden said in concern.“T-that man, do you know him?”“Who? Oh Don? He is the leader of the Urchins. He surfaced in the underworld a few years ago and do you know the first thing he did? He got rid of all of his relatives and thereafter claimed the urchins. It was a bloodbath.”“Do you know his history?”“Quite a bit. He originated from a small village in the underworld, ridiculed with sudden famine and drought due to change in weather, people died like chickens. This led to an increase in crime rates. The government saw this as an opportunity to buy children from the underworld at cheap rates for experimental purposes. Families resorted to selling their children. Birth rate increased and the rate of emigration increased. The balance was thrown off. I heard he was one of the unfortunate children sold off.”Aiden paused and continued in a quiet voice. “Midway through the journey, an accident of unknown causes happened, it
Chapter 136: “ How could a person’s mind be so deep?”The magistrate looked just as old as Tess pictured. His saggy, unfriendly eyes and bent posture made him appear unsightly. Tess hated him instantly, especially that ugly frown on his face.“Who are you?” The magistrate asked, his voice sounded plummy to Tess’s ears, even Regal frowned.“The General of the village of Syzygy.” Regal stepped in to say.I The magistrate sized up Tess, his ugly eyes inspected every inch of her body.“Have you seen enough?” Tess asked with a crazed expression.“Oh, the criminal from yesterday.” The magistrate said in a pretentious attitude.Tess scoffed.“The General was arrested unjustly, we were provoked first by-““Murdering people in the core of the underworld is prohibited. She violated that rule and was arrested accordingly.” The magistrate interrupted.“So high and mighty. Then how do you explain poisoning my uncle?”“Uncle?” The magistrate asked in confusion and so was everyone in the room.They