Ashley gingerly sipped the cup of coffee in her hands. Her mind was occupied with her own thoughts. Just months ago, everything had been fine. No, it had been more than fine. It took a while but she had recuperated. The caregivers were more than helpful, her whole family had loved her through the scary period in her life. She was finally living her dream. Engaged to marry a real-life Prince charming with whom she was in love and who was absolutely smitten by her. Asher was a healthy baby boy, he too was happy. She could finally go back to her restaurant and do the one thing she loved the most. Henry had promised her the fairy tale wedding and she believed him. Only one more thing left for her to do and they would never have to worry about anything. Suddenly...”The doors to the restaurant opened up. She shuddered in fear.“If you are really this scared, maybe you should lock the doors...”She stood to her feet abruptly. “I really should.
“So who do I send these files to?”Olivia got lost in his hazel eyes. He had an imposing height as he stood in front of her. He looked fit in the suit he had on. His chestnut brown hair was combed into a sleek swirl on top of his head and he had a habit of running his fingers repeatedly through them.“Hello Olivia” he chuckled when he noticed she was staring at him. He waved a hand in front of her face. “Hello Olivia”She shuddered. “Emm...”“Jeremy,” he said flashing her a charming smile. “Of course Jeremy, I would never forget your name...” she froze.He bit down on his lips, staring at her in amusement.“I mean, I remember your name”He nodded, with a smile on his face. “Of course, that’s what you mean”She went through the documents. “Yes, you have to send these to HR, they will update it for...”Just then Henry walked in. “Hello Olivia”“Good morning Sir...”
Olivia was beaming with smiles as she twirled the chair around. Things were looking up for her. It had been a long time since she had been happy, about anything. Of course, she loved her job, Henry made it so easy to work for him. There were a lot of perks but she had fallen deep into the routine of organising Henry’s life she had almost forgotten hers. With Henry, there was always something that needed to be done and she was always one step ahead doing it. Now she was focusing on her and it was only because Jeremy had joined the company.Of course, she had found him attractive like everyone else, but a couple of weeks later she didn’t think his attention would be fixated only on her. Their first few weeks together were beclouded with doubts, doubts about his intention. Most of it comes from her low self-esteem. She had never considered herself pretty like the other girls who got all the boys. She patted her cheeks as if to conceal the blush that had crept up on them. Memories of the
The door to his office opened up and Angela sashayed towards him. His lips slowly curled into a smile as he watched her. The woman looked good in anything. She was clad in a white knee-length dress, hugging her slender figure and matching stilettos. A huge sunglass sat on her face. She removed it when she was standing in front of him. “You sent for me”His smile widened. “I have a surprise for you”She pulled out a chair and sat on it. “This surprise better be good enough to have me come to your office, concealed from the public eye under a pseudonym.”He shrugged. “It was such a big surprise, I couldn’t wait to see you”“It better be worth it then”He got to his feet. “Oh it is but first we have to celebrate” he walked up to the door and locked it. There was a shelf with a few books in it. He reach behind a book and pressed a button. The shelf split in half and opened up. Angela’s brows furrowed in confusion when she saw a fridge. He opened it up and brought out a bottle of champag
“This is good for us,” Ashley said. She reached out to his hand and squeezed. They were sitting at her favourite spot in the restaurant. It was just beside a large glass window.“I’d rather have a quiet dinner at home” he answered.She looked around the empty restaurant. “Technically, we are going to have a quiet dinner.”Henry exhaled. “Then why didn’t we just stay at home?”“I thought the drive here will do you good” She checked her phone.“I drive every day to work...”“Can you not make this harder than it is? Please?” her eyes pleaded with him. Just then one of the servers showed up with a wine bottle and a glass. “Thank you,” Ashley said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything else myself”“Goodnight” the lady responded.“Goodnight Lisa”Ashley poured them a glass. They sipped in silence for a while until she broke it. “You know you’re not alone right?”“Of course, I know that” he answered.“I think maybe you know that in theory but you don’t know that, this is not l
Ashley let out a sigh and leaned backwards on the headrest. “Are you okay mama?” Asher asked. She turned to look at him, flashing him a smile. “Yes of course I am” She smoothened his dark locks and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Thank you, my little prince” “Shall we go now miss?” the driver asked. “Yes please” He spoke muffled words on his radio. Security men rushed to the car door and opened it. It was one of the things Henry had done, double their security. In his words, he couldn’t risk Adrian’s bad decisions come biting them when they least expected. All her pleas to the contrary fell on deaf ears, just like everything she had told him the past month. Someone offered to pick up her basket. She smiled politely. “No thank you” She picked it up and held Asher’s hand firmly in the other hand. The group of men followed closely behind. She halted and turned around. “He is going to his grandparents, no harm can come to him there” her voice was barely above a whisper. “The boy wi
Cecily hummed silently on her way to the kitchen. Things weren’t the same anymore at the office. Henry wasn’t his usual bubbly self and everyone was walking on thin ice with him. Olivia had said it was a miracle that he was still showing up at work. The onslaught of the media was relentless, every day there was something new to talk about. They were losing investment, maybe not enough for them to go bankrupt but enough to make it to the news headlines. His whole family were having a field day with it. Just earlier, Sir Allen had granted an interview where he had said Henry was reaping the fruits of his bad deeds. She shook her head as she turned the doorknob, there was something eerie about the man...She froze on the spot, a look of horror on her face. A man was bent over her brewing coffee, his back to her. She couldn’t see what he was doing but she knew he was up to no good. Her hand went up to her mouth but not before she let out the squeak. He turned around to look at her. He had
Ashley tightened her fingers around the small bag on her shoulders. The cold night air caressed her skin. She rubbed her arms thoughtfully. She should have brought a jacket with her but she hadn’t made any plans to stop by the hospital or anywhere else for that matter, until...“Hello Ashley” Leonard called out to her. She had been waiting at the parking lot.He took in her appearance, she was wearing a ruched dress that hugged her slender figure. He forced his straying eyes to focus on her face but it was hard. Heck, it would still be hard if she showed up with ash on her face and a sack for a dress. He was taken absolutely by her. “Where’s your jacket?”She shrugged. He shook his head. “I can not believe you don’t have one on you.”“I planned to go home and crash till tomorrow.”It had taken a lot of convincing for her to come. Whatever was going on between her and Henry was taking a toll on her. He had offered to be her shoulder to cry on in an instant. Maybe a small part of him
A FEW WEEKS AGO... Leonard stared at Ashley. She was on the couch staring out the window lost in thought, he had only just managed to calm her down. The altercation with Henry had upset her more than he imagined it would. He wanted to help so bad, he wanted to make her forget everything about Henry, and then a thought occurred to him. “Hey Ash,” He walked up to her and sat beside her on the couch. She flashed him a wide smile. “Hey, Leonard.” “How are you feeling?” He asked. She shrugged. “I think I might have an idea of how to make you feel better.” Her eyes lit up and it caused his heart to swell in excitement. “It is going to be Christmas very soon and I will be going home for a family vacation. We do this thing where every member of the family comes back home and spends time together. It would be a lot of fun, I want you to come back home with me.” He explained. “Leonard...” “Don’t say anything.” He cut in. “You are going to love it there, my family is amazing and they ar
Adrian peeked into the rear seat of the police car. A look of triumph on his face. He held their gaze. “You should know this is only the beginning. I have more in store for you” The grin on his face was wide. He straightened up and walked up to Henry. “You did it!” “Man, it was too easy. How did you know they were going to show up?” Henry asked with a look of bewilderment on his face. Adrian shrugged, he was beaming with pride. “Common psychology I guess. I was sending subtle signals to them, to unsettle them. It was only a matter of time before they showed up. I predicted sooner but that was the time for uncertainties...” He noticed Henry’s shocked expression still. He explained. “The other day at the restaurant, I spotted the paparazzi and although Ashley was terrified I told her to smile and laugh for the cameras...” “What purpose would that serve?” “It was just the day after Ashley was attacked, of course, I knew it would set them off. The pictures of us played a role too, the
Henry rolled his eyes when he saw Adrian walk in. “What are you doing here?” “Olivia told me you’d be working late...” He checked his watch, “But this late...Henry...” “Adrian, why are you here?” Henry asked sternly. Adrian pulled out a chair and sat across from him, “I cracked the case, Henry” He furrowed his brows in confusion. “What case?” “The Mason case and what Eric and Angela are up to" Henry got to his feet and began packing his bag. “Adrian, I am not in the mood...” Adrian stood to his feet. “I promise you, this isn’t like other times, I finally have all the evidence I need against them.” “Frankly, I don’t care” Henry retorted. “None of this matters and Adrian please just leave me out of it...” “Henry, I promise you, you’re gonna want to hear it. They were lying! They were all bloody lying...” Henry rolled his eyes. “About what part exactly?” Adrian sighed. “That’s not important. Henry, forget whatever problems are there between us. This is beyond us! Mason is alive
“Adrian...” the waitress said with a look of bewilderment. “Yeah, I want to have a quiet dinner, I do not want to be bothered by anyone, not even the press. Can you do that?” he dipped his hand in his pockets and flashed her crisp dollar notes. “Can you do that?” She nodded silently. “Good” He handed her the notes and entered the enclosed dinner area. “Why didn’t we just have dinner at your place?” He shrugged, “Well my house in the city doesn’t quite look like a habitable place at the moment. I thought of going to a hotel but I can’t escape the press there either, I was making plans to leave the city until you called and said you needed my help” Ashley stared at him with sad eyes. “How are you holding up?” He cleared his throat. “Do you want the version of the story that ends with me bawling my eyes out pathetically or the one where I act smug and unbothered afterwards?” “Adrian...” He shook his head, “This isn’t about me Ashley, this is about you, don’t make it about me. You
Things had been looking up in Henry’s household. Ashley coming into their lives was the best thing that ever happened after Asher’s birth. Adam was grateful for her, he was grateful for the change in the atmosphere in the house, it radiated through everyone and in every part of their lives. Henry always had a radiant smile on his face when she was sitting across from him at the dinner table and talking about her day. He had a smile on his face when he was alone at breakfast. Asher was not left out, he loved Ashley like any boy loved their mother. He was a sweet child.Things were great and then they weren’t. The radiant energy dissipated quickly and was replaced by a dark looming cloud above their heads. Henry was hardly around but whenever he was, his awful mood could be felt from a mile away. Ashley was sad, he hated that she was but she was.He sighed deeply before knocking on the door and letting himself in. Henry reclined on the chair, he was lost in space, and he didn’t notice
Henry lay sprawled on the sofa in Club Dazzle. He owned the place so he had access to the exquisite suite, the walls were soundproof and padded so it drowned out the noise from the crowd. Soft music played in the background, he had an empty glass in his hand, and he beckoned to the bartender. He rushed towards him and filled his glass.Just then Adrian walked through the doors, no one stopped him at the entrance because they knew who he was. Adrian took a long look at him. Henry was spotting a stubble on his chin, his eyes were sunken and drowsy. His hair looked like he had run his hands through them a couple of times. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, and his tie hung loosely around his neck. He was sat in between two beautiful ladies, they were scantily dressed and dancing to the soft tunes of the song. They whispered something to each other oblivious of his presence. He could see Henry smile but it didn't reach his eyes. Adrian signalled to the DJ who turned off the music.
Angela was lost in her head. Victory was sweet, it left a lingering taste on your tongue, it makes you forget everything else, makes you blind to your enemy's counter-offensive response. Everyone else would be fooled by victory’s sweet lingering taste but not her. She had been a victim of it in the past, she had relished her victory so much that she was oblivious to her enemy's attack and her victory had been spoiled almost as soon as it got to her hand. So she had to learn, the hard way and learn she did. So while Eric was off to wherever he was celebrating his newfound victory in the small publication she had influenced she was still plotting. No, it didn’t matter that a man was writhing under her, his face contorted in what undeniably pleasure, it didn’t matter that she was riding him. Her small mind wandered, so far away.The man gasped under her, he pulled out and shuddered violently as he released. Angela watched him with a blank expression on her face.Beads of sweat formed on
Leonard’s head was in the clouds as he listened to her. He would be wicked if he admitted out loud to anyone that he enjoyed this but it was the truth, for Ashley he was willing to be wicked. If it meant that in the slightest chance, she would be his. He loved her, he had loved her from the moment he had laid his eyes on her and no he didn’t think she deserve to suffer all she was suffering with Henry. He could give her better and he would.It wasn’t about the money, it was about how she deserved to be loved, wholly, truly...She looked up at him from underneath her lashes. “Do you promise me you wouldn’t tell anybody about this?”He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, “Ashley, everything you tell me today will stay between us, this I promise you...” he noticed her slight resistance but he was patient and willing to wait. This was what he had waited for all along. At first, she had refused to even look at him, then she refused to speak with him. Yet he had persisted becau
Henry unlocked the doors to his house and walked in. He sighed when he spotted Adrian reclined on a sofa, his legs crossed. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Adrian shrugged. “I am here to see my friend.” Henry shot him a glare before sitting down opposite him. “I saw Ashley earlier.” His eyes lit up at the mention of her name. He frowned and looked away trying to conceal his desire. He had not laid eyes on her for a while, she was doing a thorough job of avoiding him, he couldn’t blame her though. He rubbed his palm on his face. “What are you doing to yourself, Henry?” Henry got up from his seat immediately, “I don’t have that time Adrian” “You’re hurting yourself, you’re pushing the people you love away, that’s not...” “Adrian, spare me whatever advice you think you have for me. I do not need it, I do not need anything from you. You do not care about anyone else but yourself, all you do is lie!” “Your family is behind all of this, they are trying to ruin you, they are tr