“Why are you laughing? What’s so funny?” “You? A viral video? Who knows you, babe? You sure know how to crack me up.” “What do you mean by that? Are you underestimating me or?” “Do you think I’m pulling your legs right now?” “Why would someone like you even go viral? You are very shy? You don’t own a social media account. All you do is work, you hardly even go to parties!” “I admit that your reasons are valid! But that doesn’t mean you need to bully me by laughing that way. I could trend too. I’m not just too proud of this because I would rather trend for better reasons.” “I’m sorry. Been busy with work. Why were you trending?” “You know this dude? Daniel Debock Tucker?!” “Yeah, who doesn’t know that billionaire?” “He stopped by at the cafe, grabbed my ass and I slapped him.” Beatrice heard her Boo chuckle. “I don’t like how you are not taking me seriously on this?” “You need to start being serious with your words, Babe. What the hell is Daniel Debock doing in your cafe? T
Daniel felt relieved when he was done with his 4th meeting for the day. He shook hands with some partners after which he exited the conference room. “I took down notes as you requested. Should I come with you so we can go over them?” Sue, his secretary asked as she tried her best to keep up with his steps. “Forward them to my mail. I’ll have a look at them later.” Daniel mumbled, not even looking at her, making his way to his office. “Okay, Sir!” Sue answered, diverting her attention to her office. “The moment Daniel was all settled in his office, he reached for the stick on paper on his table which had two phone numbers written on them. He punched in the first set of digits on his phone and dialed it, waiting patiently for the person on the other end to answer the call. “Louis cafe, Good Morning, How can I help you?” The cheerful voice came through. It was not the voice he was expecting but he decided to go with the flow. “Two cups of coffee, please. Special delivery to Debock
The smirk she saw on his face as he stared down at her brought her out of her shocked state. “Fuck!” She cursed softly, trying to adjust her night dress. Apart from the fact that it revealed her cleavage, it was a see-through satin dress. It was almost as though he was seeing her naked. “You knew I was going to come here, hun? No doubt you are prepared for me.” Dan’s husky voice came through. She was almost shutting the door at him when he put his leg, preventing her from doing so. “Get the hell away from here?!” She glared at him, feeling really exposed by the way he was looking at her as though she was a piece of meat, ready to be devoured. “For someone who had hit me yesterday, you’re definitely not being nice to me.” “What the hell do you want? Haven’t you ruined my life enough?” She said with gritted teeth, glaring at him. “How do you even know where I live?” “Why did you turn off your phone? I was worried.” Beatrice chuckled in disbelief. “Wow!!! You must have so much tim
Beatrice stared at Daniel in disbelief. For a moment, She thought he was teasing her but looking him in the eye, she was surprised to see him with a straight face. “What?!” She finally voiced out. “You heard me!” “Have dinner with me, Please.” “Why?” “To apologize to you.” “It’s actually a very nice gesture but No, thanks.” “Why?” “Why are you refusing me?” “So you can humiliate me in public again? That’s never going to happen.” “In as much as your words hurt, I don’t blame you for feeling that way about me.” “You may find it hard to believe but I feel terrible about what I did.” Daniel sighed, tucking both hands in his pocket as he stared at her, most importantly her lips. A small part of him couldn’t help but wonder how they would taste. “I feel more terrible about your job. That’s why I came here myself. To apologize to you.” “And for me to believe that you’ve accepted my apology, I want you to have dinner with me.” “I’m going to be on my best behavior. If that’s goin
“What?” She mumbled, finally finding her voice. “Your man ever commented on your beautiful eyes?” “Yes!” She answered after a while not knowing what else to say. Daniel chuckled. “I hope he told you that you are also a very terrible liar.” She glared at him. “I can say the same about you. You probably say that to every female you meet.” Daniel shook his head. “I don’t get the time to compliment people so I would hold my words to heart if I were you.” “Why should I? You are just saying anything you feel like so I could come to dinner with you.” Daniel sighed, thinking of what else to say to convince her. “Why are you keen on making me go crazy?” “You’re the one that’s making a big deal out of nothing.” “If you had not come to the cafe to grab my ass, I wouldn’t have hit you, I wouldn’t have lost my job, I would be gone this hour and you wouldn’t even be here. My home looks way out of your league so just help yourself out.” “I’m sorry that my actions freak you out but I pro
“Oh, please, Rita! I’ve had enough trauma for today. The last thing I need is for you to add to it.” “I’m not pulling your legs, babe. It seems you don’t know how much Debock is worth. Do you think he would leave his work just to come see you if he’s got no valid reason? Wake up, Sis, this guy is into you.” Silence. “You still do not believe me?” “Okay, tell me anything you remember him saying to you. Word for word and better be sincere!” “He said my eyes are very beautiful and asked if Frank had ever told me that.” “He said he loved his women looking really gorgeous so I should look beautiful tonight at the dinner.” “He said he had never stressed like this over any woman.” “He kissed my forehead before leaving.” “He did what?!” Rita literally said at the top of her voice. “Calm down with your tone, Ri. My head hurts already.” “Sorry darling, but this guy is fucking into you.” “I don’t care, I don’t want him, I need a restraining order!” “Besides, I’ve got Frank!” She add
Sighing, Bea took the phone away from her ear and tried to check the device for messages or voice note notifications. She was hoping to get at least one of those from Frank but not to her surprise, she didn’t see any. She brought herself to dial his number again and see if he was going to pick up. Just when she was giving up, he finally answered. “Hi, baby?!” Beatrice scoffed. She couldn’t help herself. His voice came through as though they were on good terms. “Really?!” She glared at him over the phone even though they couldn't see each other. “What do you mean? Is anything the matter?” “Come on, Frank, you really need to step up your game. Are you saying you are not aware of where we left off last night? You really can do better” “What do you mean? You hung up on me, how is that my fault?” “Wait, do you even love me or you are just messing around with me?” “There you go again, saying all these words!” “You cut the call and I assumed you wanted some space, that’s why I d
Beatrice groaned, slowly changing her sleeping position. “It’s on days like this that I regret that you own a key to my apartment.” “Wake up, Bea! You’re going to be late for your date. It’s already past 4 pm.” “I’m not going anywhere.” She mumbled, with her eyes still closed. “No, that’s not possible! Not when I’m here already. Get your ass up!” She removed the duvet from her body. “Why are you like this, Ri?” She mumbled, slowly sitting up. “You’ve got a date to prepare for. Why are you still on your bed?” “I don’t want to go on any date.” “Stop being a pussy! Go take a shower and let’s start getting ready.” “Stop using vile words to me.” “No! Because you are really being a pussy right now!” Beatrice glared at her bestie who stood just right across her bed with a skimpy gown and with her hands on her hip. “I’m really not in the best mood right now and the last thing I need from you is to bully me.” “If I have to bully you to make you go on that date, then consider it don
"Dan! What the hell? I've been on my feet trying to explain this to you. Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Henry slammed the piece of paper against the table and slumped into the visitor's chair that was opposite Daniel's desk. "Sorry, my thoughts are elsewhere." He mumbled, massaging his temple. "What's going on? This is so unlike you!" Henry asked, concerned. "Beatrice is mad at me and it's really messing with my head." "What did you do?" Daniel could swear that he could almost see Henry glaring at him."Why are you assuming I'm the one at fault?" "Well, we all know that Bea can do no wrong. It's gotta be you who has ruined things. Now open up to me. Tell me, what did you do to upset the Queen?" "I got home last night with a lipstick stain on my shirt." "Holy shit, Dan. Don't tell me you are cheating. I swear I'm going to kill you with my bare hands right now.""Of course not. I'm not the one at fault. After all that I've endured and suffered to build, you think I'
FIVE YEARS LATER“Mommy!!!!” Ryan Lee Debock shrugged out of his nanny’s arms and ran as fast as his legs could carry him when he saw his mom walk in through the door.Beatrice smiled as this was the best part of her daily routine that she looked up to: getting all loved up in her baby boy’s embrace.She placed her handbag on the floor, crouched down to her knees, and stretched out her arms, just in time for her son to run into her. Bea showered his face with kisses the moment she had Ryan in her arms.He giggled “I miss you, mommy.”“I missed you too, my love.” She placed a deep kiss on his forehead, wondering how it was so possible for her to love a tiny human this much.“How was school today? Did you take your food and vitamins?”The little boy nodded, smiling, that Bea couldn’t resist kissing his cheek again. Her Son was so adorable and needless to say, he looked so much like Daniel.“Good evening ma’am.” Aliyah, the nanny greeted. She was a young lady in her early twenties.“Hi d
EPILOGUEFOUR MONTHS LATER“Babe.” Bea heard that very familiar voice, followed by a soft kiss on her neck.“Hmmmm.” She whispered with her eyes closed.“I really don’t want to wake you but we have thirty minutes till our appointment.”“Already? But we literally just slept.” She said with a drowsy voice.“You want us to postpone?”“No. I really wanna know today.”“Me too. How about we take a joint bath?”She nodded against the pillow.Daniel chuckled, “I knew you wouldn’t be able to refuse that.”He helped Beatrice down from the bed after which they made their way to the bathroom. They ended up having a quickie and then rinsed their bodies.Beatrice was styling her hair when Daniel walked out of the closet. He came to a halt in front of her, holding a jewelry box.Bea sighed. “Babe, we agreed that we were done with gifts.”“No.” Daniel shook his head. “You should have figured out that I was lying.”“You promised no more gifts."Dan feigned innocence. “Well, I don’t remember that.”Bea
Debbie nodded shyly.“Okay, what else don’t I know?”“Debock has met you and he literally didn’t say anything to me?”“I’m sorry if you feel furious about this but Frank said a lot of nasty things that I can’t even begin to mention now. My heart wasn’t at peace. I had to make sure I knew Daniel’s intention.”“How did you meet him? He’s so busy.”“Rita said he usually comes over to her workplace.”“Good, You all are making plans behind me.”“That’s not it, my love. I promise you that we all had your interest at heart. I just had to make sure the billionaire dude wasn’t messing with my daughter. He came over and we discussed.”“He gave me his word about wanting you genuinely. And he also promised that he was going to take care of you. That was after he apologized about the cafe scene.”“Your siblings were here when he came over. They recognized him and he was kind enough to take them to the mall for a treat. They got clothes, shoes, new phones and laptops, as well as groceries for the h
THE NEXT DAY“Here comes the heartbeat.” The Doctor said and almost immediately, the room was filled with the most beautiful sound Beatrice and Daniel had ever heard.With their eyes glued to the monitor, the duo had tears in their eyes.As they got familiar with the baby’s heartbeat, the doctor went ahead to print out some ultrasound pictures for them.“Congratulations to you both for raising a healthy baby so far. Everything is fine and in a couple of weeks, we would be able to find out the gender; of course, that’s if you don’t want to wait till its birth.”Dan and Beatrice stared at each other, smiling.“I commend you both for the good work done so far. I believe if you continue to abide by the instructions given, the birth of your baby will be a smooth one.” She said, then turned her attention to Daniel. “Your woman needs you now more than ever. This is the best time to shower her with so much love and support.”“There’s nothing to worry about, Doc. You can count on me.” Dan sai
“You have experience working in cafes and restaurants. What if you own your own business.”Beatrice said nothing so he continued speaking.“It’s okay if you want to start really small with a cafe or wanna dive straight into the restaurant idea. I will support you with whatever you choose.”“I will fund the whole project. We will get you a good space, furnish it, employ the necessary staff and you just need to deal with managing the place.”“I can help you out with the business plan or if you don’t want me to be too involved, I can connect you with Amarie to help you out.”“You can also enroll in some online classes on management if you think you are not confident enough in running your own place but I’m sure you will do just fine.”“Should in case you don’t want a cafe or a restaurant, there’s always a boutique business, owning your own fashion brand and all.”“You need not worry about customers. I’ve got sisters with huge social media presence who I know would be happy to help and I
She glared at him, “Really? That’s what you could take out from everything that I said?”“I understand all that you said but that was what stood out for me the most. I know you’ve been through so much, Bea, but I promised you that it hasn’t been easier for me too. The times that you weren’t happy, I wasn’t happy too. I may have indirectly inflicted pain on you but I promise you that I felt pain too.”“I don’t know what you want in the man of your dreams but I promise you that I can be that man and I will live up to your expectations.”“I like you so much, Bea. So much that I know I would go insane if you are not mine and seeing you so sad or mad at me makes me feel terrible.”“Knowing you definitely birthed a new personality for me. I would do whatever it takes to make you happy.”“There you go again. Knowing what to say to me.”“I don’t want to lose you.”She sighed. “You make things so hard for me.”“So does that mean that I’m forgiven?”Beatrice said nothing, looking away from him.
Daniel seemed to have slept for a very short time but he didn’t mind because he woke up the happiest man in the world to a very wonderful woman by his side. He smiled seeing that she still had her head buried in his chest as she slept peacefully.Daniel removed some of the hair that fell across her cheek and placed a soft kiss on it after which he gently tore himself away from her and got out of bed. He proceeded to the bathroom to get ready for his meeting with Nora and one of their business partners.“Jeez, did you even sleep at all?” He smiled, sighting his Grandmother on the couch.“Thank goodness you are here. I was contemplating if I should come bang on the door but I wouldn’t want to ruin anything that was happening between you both.”Daniel laughed out loud. “Good morning, Grandma.”“Oh, Good Morning, and Happy Birthday to you my lovely Grandson.” She rose to her feet, pulling him into a warm hug. “May this new age bring you abundant happiness. I love you so much, Daniel, and
“I just want to cuddle you.”“I don’t want you to.” Bea was saying when he placed her head on his chest and she was surprised at the warmth she felt due to the closeness of their bodies. They were in a spooning position and for the first time she felt really protected.“You win because I’m tired and I don’t have the strength to argue with you.”“Anything that makes you sleep at night.” Daniel smiled, kissing the side of her forehead.Beatrice felt her eyes start getting itchy but she tried her best to push back the tears. It was evident that she and Daniel started on a very terrible path but if she was being sincere, no man had ever made her feel loved; not even Frank.“Are you an early riser?” He asked, caressing her hair.“It depends. Why do you ask?”“I need to be up early. Grandma and I have a meeting with someone. It’s business related but we will be done before noon."“Then we have the rest of the day to explore this city before we head back home.”“It’s fine. You don’t need to