Derek came out of the bathroom to see Kathleen standing by the door as if waiting for him to be out, droplets of water ran from his hair to his chest and for a moment she stood there drooling and Derek chuckled, "do you need something wife?" His tone held a double meaning and she looked away blushing.
"You can't stop me from being friends with Stefan" she finally recalled while she was waiting for him, Derek raised a brow at her, "what's it about him that you're so fired up to become his friend?" His blue eyes drilled hers."Because he's nice and is offering his friendship" she retorted"There are other nice ladies out there to be friends with," he said cooling, drawing out the ladies."So I'm not allowed to make male friends but you are allowed to keep female friends?" She fired at him and he looked at her, "I'm a playboy so it's allowed but you're not a Playgirl so it does not allow".Kathleen brow furrowed, "you take much pride in bearing playboy don't you?"DerKathleen was tensed and at the same time, filled with anticipation while waiting for Derek's arrival, it's been almost an hour since he left, she had just sat down for her lunch when the door opened and his frame filled the doorway, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him and she quickly faced her meal, pretending not to see him, his gaze searched her out and he took a purposeful stride towards her, he didn't say anything but just sat down opposite her and staring, she became nervous under his scrutiny but refused to lift her head, rushing her meal, she stared at him when she could no longer bear his stare and choked at what she saw in his eyes, he was looking at her with open lust, she coughed and he stood up, patting her back, she quickly drank some water as her eyes teared up, "eat slowly, no one is taking the food away from you"The servants rushed in to see what was going on and quickly pretended to avert their gazes when they saw their master's arms around her.
That week was the happiest for Kathleen, Derek spend as much time as possible with her, he always looked forward to coming back home from work, he always couldn't wait to be with her, they went out together to get ice cream, and on one occasion, she had a smear of ice cream on her nose and instead of Derek helping her to clean with his hand, he used his tongue to lick it off amidst the chuckles of passerby and Kathleen's face flamed. He seized every opportunity to touch her.On one of those occasions, they had gone out for a drink, holding each other's hands, they both sat down, the waiter ran towards them immediately to take their order, and they each sip their drinks in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company. "What a coincidence to have met these lovebirds here" someone suddenly spoke from their side and they both turned to see Stefan standing above them, Derek eyes suddenly darkened with displeasure at his unwanted intrusion but Kathleen's gaze brigh
Derek came back home and brought a cupcake with special mint inside, he had specifically informed the baker to bake it that exact way, he does that every year on this same date, it was his mother's birthday today and on her birthday she always prepare cupcake with special mint flavor, even after her death, on her birthday, he always baked the exact cake and sat in front of her picture as he eats the cake alone, he missed her so much, he always remembered her to be warm and welcoming, her warm smile always brightened his day, he had been devastated when she was diagnosed of failed liver and it had been too late to save her and she had passed away two days to her birthday. Derek had bought a birthday gift for her already, hoping she would get better soon, but unfortunately, he had not been able to give her that gift and would never be able to"What's that?" Kathleen asked as soon as he entered pointing at what he was holding and he chuckled, "you'll see" he placed the wra
Kathleen stared at herself in the mirror, she was feeling a lot better, she stared at her tummy, it was still flat, she ran her hands over it and smiled, she was going to become a mother, the thought of that filled her with so much warmth and Joy and her happiness was completed when she knew Derek felt the same, he was now over the moon about her pregnancy, she closed when she thought of how he treated her, more like a China doll, she wasn't supposed to do anything, all she had to do was be in bed but Kathleen was tired of staying in bed already, Derek had gone to work so she decided to do a little shopping," Where are you off to," Mary asked her wide-eyed when she saw Kathleen dressed like she was going out."I'm going out for a bit" Kathleen responded" But boss gave an instruction that you should only stay in bed" Mary looked round, other maids were also staring at Kathleen as if she had just grown horn, eyes frightened, they knew there would be a big issue if the
Kathleen looked up to see him striding towards her, his gaze furious, "I....i...just went out for a while", his gaze narrowed on her, " have you forgotten you're pregnant and supposed to be in bed?""I've not forgotten but going out for a while wouldn't hurt either, it won't make the baby disappear" she tried to sound convincing but her patience was running thin, his breathing was harsh as he struggled to rein in his anger, "and you didn't see it necessary to go with the driver?""I needed to breathe Derek, the driver will only end up following just your instructions anyways""It's for your well being Kath, don't make it sound like you're being suffocated""I know you're worried but I won't purposefully put my baby in harm's way either and I am not so fragile that I can't do anything for my self" she ran upstairs and Derek felt like punching something, he knew she wasn't fragile but he doesn't want to take a chance that anything should happen to her or the baby e
Stefan drove Kathleen to a hospital and packed at the front, Kathleen looked at him, confused, "why are we here?" He stared ahead as if afraid to go inside, "I want to show you something"He got down, walked round to her side and opened her door, they both walked into the hospital, although, Kathleen doesn't know why he had brought her here, she knew it had everything to do with his mood earlier so she followed him.They walked into a room and a frail look woman looked up when the door opened, she smiled when she saw Stefan, "Stefan is that you?" Her voice shook as she tried to sit and she coughed, Stefan walked to her side, "yes mom, please lie still" he grabbed her shoulders to stop her from sitting up and she laid back, glancing at Kathleen, "have you brought your girlfriend? She's beautiful" Kathleen blushed at her words and Stefan quickly corrected her, " no mom, she's not my girlfriend but she's a friend and she's married already""Too bad she's married, you both look
Derek finished bathing and still without a word to her, went downstairs to have his dinner, Kathleen followed him, why was he ignoring her? She was trying to make peace here, she sat down opposite to him in the dining and watched as his food was dished out for him, when the maid left, he attempted to start eating but Kathleen suddenly grabbed the food from him, "what the...""Thank God you finally talked, I thought you've gone dumb" his gaze met hers, "what do you want me to say?" His voice sounded tight to her ears and she ignored the pang she felt."I want you to say you've forgiven me and that you're no longer mad at me" there was tensed silence as he regarded her, her heart beats faster in speculation, he crossed his arms, leaned his back against the chair he was sitting and narrowed his gaze on her,"What exactly am I to forgive you for?"Oh! He wasn't going to make this easy for her, well, she has started it and would have to finish it, "I
Kathleen heard a knock sounded on her door and a maid, what was her name? Herty, opened the door at her command, "you have a visitor ma'am" she informed Kathleen with her head bowed and Kathleen frowned, she wasn't expecting anyone, "who is it? She asked"He said he's a friend of yours, Stefan by the name" Kathleen's heart thudded, what was Stefan doing here? Derek would be back any moment from now and would think she went back on her promise, she glanced at the maid, "where is he?""In the living room," the maid frowned, "did I do something wrong, ma'am?" She asked unsure if she did the wrong thing by letting him in.Kathleen took a deep breath and shook her head, "it's okay, you can go".Kathleen got dressed and went downstairs, she had to tell him to leave and be firm about it, she doesn't want to offend Derek, in her haste, she almost ran into Marcella who was going towards her room from the kitchen with a glass of juice "watch out" Kathleen quickly apo
Derek was blindfolded by a man as soon as he got to the address and was led into the building, the blindfold was removed when he was inside and the sight that befell him made his heart sink, he, first of all, saw just the gun pointed at Kathleen's head, his eyes traveled the arms that held the gun and anger lit his eyes, "Dave? How dare you?" He whispered furiously and took a step towards him but he was kicked hard by the man who brought him in and he fell in his face, "this is no time for you to get angry son" Marcella's voice said from behind him a split secondbefore she came into view, "you're behind the kidnapping?" Derek whispered unable to believe what was before him, "how dare you" he gritted"I dare" she replied furiously, "and you must do everything I say if you want to keep her alive"What do you want?" He stared at Marcella angrily and she smiled, "now you're talking" she brought out some papers and threw at him, "it's simple, sign these documents st
It's been two days since Derek had returned from the hospital, he thought about the day Kathleen was abducted and his heart constricted painfully, he had lost three people so close to him in one day, his driver had died that day and Geoffrey, although still alive may never be able to walk again and Kathleen, God, she is now in an unknown destination, perhaps dead, but he doesn't want to think of her dead, she has to be alive, that's the only way he could live, without her, there's no life. He has been called from the rehab center to go and pick up his father, it would have been an I deed memorable and joyous day if only Kathleen was around but he felt hollow and empty inside, he was good for nothing because he wasn't able to protect her. the police were trying their best but he couldn't help but feel that they are wasting so much time in bringing his wife back to him, he has to do something, he has to find her but where could he start from? He was on his way to get his old man when
Derek struggled to open his eyes, there were buzzes and lots of noise, he opened his eyes and squinted against the daylight, he vaguely realized that he was moving and people were surrounding him, he was on a stretcher and soon he was placed inside an ambulance, someone must have informed the police, Kathleen, those men have taken her, he tried to sit up but fell back as his eyes shut, trying to withstand the pain he was feeling on his head, "please don't try to move, you're greatly injured" a medic tried to hold him down, "Kathleen.. " he tried to pronounce her name but his mouth was too heavy to obey him, he was drifting and he fought against the wave, he had to get to Kathleen, "find Kathleen" he rasped before the darkness dragged him under. "I told you not to do anything to Derek" Marcella's angry voice made the men shift on their feet with their heads bowed, she had met with them after they had taken Kathleen to where she had instructed them, she was furious, if a
Kathleen was happy that she would soon be home, the doctor had told her that she would be discharged later in the day, she had missed Derek and although he was never scarce in the hospital, she had missed cuddling up with him at night and waking up in his arms, Derek had told her the previous day that his father has improved a great deal and would be home anytime soon, she smiled when she thought about her father-in-law coming back home, he had been unstable and immobile since she got married to Derek, she was happy she would finally meet him in good state of mind. Her thoughts wandered to Marcella and Dave and her face darkened, as far as they are in that house, they'll always pose a threat but she doesn't think Michael Deloux would let Marcella off the hook that easily this time around, Nicole had been sent to prison and she believed very soon Marcella would join her there, they deserved to pay for all their crimes.The man in the room besides Kathleen watched as she was pi
Derek dashed down the stairs, taking it two at a time, he ran into Mary who was carrying drinks to the sitting room, spilling it all over him, she would have fallen if he hadn't held her by the shoulders to steady her, "I'm sorry" he quickly apologized. She observed him for a second, "is everything okay Sir? You look pale" Derek shook his head, his head pounding furiously in his chest, "I just got a call that my wife is in city memorial hospital, she's been shot""What!" She gasped, completely dropping the tray holding the glasses of juice and tears immediately brimming in her eyesWithout waiting for Mary's response, he dashed off and heard her vaguely saying to him to change his clothes and also Marcella running towards her and asking her what happened, without beckoning to his driver, he got into the driver's seat and drove away.He wasn't allowed to go into Kathleen's room when he got to the hospital as she has been prepared for surgery, he watched Kathleen throug
Kathleen had gone to visit Michael Deloux, the old man seemed sober and she decided to ask him who gave him the dose back there in the other facility and his description of the culprit only confirmed her thoughts, it was Nicole, she was behind this, why would she do that? She decided on a whim to pay Nicole a visit, she had to find out her motive for doing such. Nicole was still staying in the house that was gifted to Kyle by Derek, she opened the door just as Kathleen was about to knock, "well, well, look who is here" she smirked as soon as she opened the door and saw Kathleen, her eyes going cold, she stared at Kathleen with so much hate that Kathleen shivered, " what are you doing here?" She hissed at Kathleen, ignoring her, Kathleen pushed her way in, " I am here to know what you will gain if Derek's father relapsed""I don't understand what you mean by that, please, leave my house"Of cause, you know what I'm talking about and I'm not leaving here until I get an answe
Kàthleen went downstairs the next morning for breakfast to see only Dave seated on the table, she immediately turned to go back in but before she could take two steps, he was fast to go round the table and stood in front of her, blocking her exit."Get out of my way" she gritted"Or else what? He smirked taking two steps towards her and she unconsciously moved backward, he kept coming on to her and she kept moving until her back touched the table, "what the hell do you think you're doing Dave?"What does it seem like?" He asked bringing his head closer to her, she placed her palms on his chest and pushed, fuming in anger, she docks and slide out from beneath him and had almost made her escape but his hand quickly snaked out and dragged her back, forcefully placing his lips on hers, Kathleen bit down on it so hard that she drew blood, he yelped in pain as he pushed her away, Kathleen spat out the blood, heaving furiously and she stared at him through narrowed ey
Kàthleen couldn't have heard it wrong, could she? His wife? So he had gone ahead and married her once best friend, she felt pain in her heart as old wounds were opened, ever since she had run away on her wedding day, she hadn't allowed herself to think about it and hadn't asked about anyone from her past, so she had absolutely no idea that Tasha was married to Dave but in just a matter of days, ghosts from her past kept popping up, first it was her parents, then Dave and now Tasha. seeing Dave was enough to shake her but seeing Tasha, her once best friend who betrayed her was like a bitter pill she just couldn't swallow, she had trusted her and confided in her, she had seen Tasha like the sister she never had and had loved her but all she got for her trouble was a stab on her back, she watched as Tasha slowly sat close to Dave, tears unbiddenly welled in her eyes, she just couldn't take the pain, it was too much for her to bear, these shocks she had gotten, all in one day fin
Kathleen felt like she was sitting on a Ferris wheel as her head spun, "what are you doing here? She managed to gasp out and he looked at her mockingly, "visiting my family" she looked confused and stared at Derek who was also staring at her, his expression confused also, "you two know each other" they asked at the same time and Dave laughed out loud, amused at the situation, "well I can do the honor of clearing the confused air" he turned to Kathleen and smiled, "Derek Deloux here is my lovely bro and to you sweet brother, this lady here is my bride" he said simply and Kathleen flinched at his reference to her as his bride, "we didn't get married" she murmured and Dave laughed evilly, clearly enjoying the scene"He's not my brother either and can never be one" Derek gritted out and Dave chuckled some more, wrapping his arms around Derek, "my mother is your father's wife, we're family" Derek shoved him away and Dave snarled " do you think you can keep my mom locked up forever?"