Chapter 1

The alarm clock beeped twice in quick successions. 

Adam's hand reached out from under his canopy bed toward his bedside table. He turned it off. He stretched and sat up in bed.

7:00am.

Not a moment less.

He got off after mumbling a quick morning prayer and rushed to the bathroom to freshen up. He hurriedly got into the shower.

Today was the day.

At 36, which was his current age, he had become the richest CEO of the most famous oil company in the city.

Apart from that he had other businesses he established and had other people running for him, like his own glass factory for example. Wil-Hunt Enterprise.

He also owned countless of malls, boutiques, restaurants, hotels, event centers.... hey! He was a business person afterall.

His name was common on every tongue and his face plastered on all the trending magazines far and near. He was also displayed on the newspapers and he was always in one press conference or the other.

He had shaken hands with a lot of famous people; actors, engineers, doctors, scientists, other CEOs like himself, even with the mayor of their city.

Adam was giver of money too. He had donated lots of funds for charity; to orphanages, to a lot of helpless and defenseless people too. He had built great schools and lowered the tuition fee considerably for the students that attended. Their parents were mostly middle class people as they couldn't afford the costly education in the grand schools around.

Most of the pupils in his schools were on scholarships as they were bright and smart kids.

Adam also helped when they were doing the community service. Everyone had lent a hand to tidy up their environment but Adam's input was incredibly noticeable.

He supplied lots of materials for the job and hired the best construction workers to restructure some ancient buildings which had brought the town its past glory but was now lying in ruins.

He remodeled their theater and built a public park for all.

In fact, if he ran for mayor, he would get elected into office in a heartbeat. That's right, the people loved Adam Hunt. He was a role model for all. Kids wanted to be like him when they grew up.

The whole world wanted to be friends with him.

But even though he was extremely wealthy, Adam was wise enough to build his private villa in the country side, where the civilization had barely reached, in order to have his time of solitude when he was at home.

Adam was a private person. His house was some miles away from the big city to prevent frequent visiting from journalists, reporters or simply people who wanted money.

He also did not like the idea of having guards follow him wherever he went or being stationed around his house so he opted for the safer choice of simplicity.

Not a grand and flashy mansion in the heart of the city where he would be bugged constantly by the people each day and he would always have to be behind securities, but a nice and smaller quiet villa in his private estate, where no ounce of security was needed. The only securities around were placed at the entrance to the estate and they were no more than four or five.

Adam believed in calling the police in case of any emergencies like a normal civilian would.

Indeed, the only person that lived with him was his cook, who also doubled as his housekeeper, Mrs. Mann. She was more like a second motherly figure to him really.

There in his small country house, he could live in peace, far away from the hustle and bustle of the main city. No troublesome reporters or pestering people showing up at his doorstep every day.

Sure some people recognized him but the crowd rush was immensely lesser than what it would have been were he to live in the city.

Safe at home, he could watch his soccer match without the fear of being watched secretly with some hidden camera by some rather persistent and nosy journalist who was thirsty for a story update about his life.

He showed up in large gatherings in black shades and a different look most of the time to avoid the ubiquitous press.

He had just three vehicles, a jeep, a car and a motorbike. He had had the bike since he was a teenager in high school.

To him, keeping a whole fleet of unused cars parked in a garage in one’s house was a waste of hard-earned resources, which could be better invested. Besides, having two vehicles didn't make him any lesser than the other rich folks.

Adam came out and put on his deluxe lounge suit and slipped on his wristwatch. It was the latest product from Dee-Designs, a renowned watch making company. He oiled and styled his black hair, then he neatly combed it into a simple style.

After checking himself out in the grand mirror paved in shiny silver that hung in his bedroom, he grabbed his car keys and headed out of the room.

Half-way down the stairs, he could smell breakfast being cooked.

Mrs. Mann is at it again. He thought, extremely pleased as he hurried down the stairs, a smile on his lips. Adam, like most men, loved food a lot; good food.

Most times he overpaid the elderly cook that worked for him out of gratitude for her delicious meals.

Next to his mum's cooking hers topped the chart.

As he got to the last step, he got a call on his private number. That number was only given to his family members and closest friends. The other number was for his numerous businesses.

He glanced at the name.

Vanessa.

That was his fiancée.

"Morning, Nessie." She had always insisted he called her that, irrespective of how childish he thought it was.

Her voice came from the other end. "Babe!'' she gushed out hurriedly, her voice laced with excitement. ''Did you watch my show yesterday?!''

''Ooh...,'' she squealed, making him lower the phone a bit.

''Uh....,'' he racked his brain for a reply.

 Truth was he was so bummed out the previous day after work that he had slept off immediately he landed on the bed but Vanessa would not want to hear that at all. However, luckily for him, she was not waiting for his response.

''Imagine it! I was crowned 'Miss Ocean Ville'! And the French artist that won the award for painting three years in a row complemented my beauty and mentioned how he wishes to work with me! My manager's sorting out all the boring details now...,'' she gushed.

Adam frowned.

''What? I compliment your beauty every time.'' he said, sounding offended.

She laughed airily. ''Oh Adam, you don't get it...,'' Her voice waved him off.

''That's not all, the new Pop dé Fian magazine have decided to use me as the model for their front cover! Squee! I'm so excited!'' Vanessa went on and on, so lost in her own world.

Adam turned and gave Mrs. Mann a feathery kiss on her forehead as soon as he sighted her.

"Nessie I'm so proud of you, but I really don't have time on my side," he told her.

 "Aww..." He knew she pouted at the other end. "Call me later?" she asked.

"Un-un," he replied her rather absentmindedly.

"Love ya! Smoochies!" Vanessa made a big smooching sound that almost left him nauseated.

"Oh...yeah..." He hesitated slightly before finally adding, "smoochies."

He ended the call and sighed as he said down on a chair at the dining table.

Vanessa Cartwell.

Daughter of the best cardiologist in the country, Dr. James Cartwell, while her mother ran what Adam would call the company that produces gossip magazines about famous people.

They knew a bit too much about everyone and in as much as it bothered him whenever he saw his fiancée’s mother, Mrs. Clarissa Cartwell, he just let that uneasy feeling slide down.

He didn't like visiting with her parents that much.

Her dad was only interested in the amount of money rolling into Adam's various accounts on a daily basis because, according to him, his 'little Vanny' must not suffer.

It irritated Adam to no end, but then, there were a lot of things about his Vanessa and her family that he had learnt to overlook.

While her mum on the other hand, wanted to know everything about how he went about his daily life to the minutest detail. Sometimes she would bring some people over to question him and invite both him and Vanessa to programs that she aired on live TV.

It didn't help that they were always being questioned in the presence of over 3 million gossip fans in those programs.

Adam rarely showed up, always using his business as an excuse to be unavailable absent. He did that for a while but when he noticed how Vanessa got irritated with his behavior each time he was absent from such programs, he resigned himself to fate and started attending the shows just to make her happy.

Vanessa on her own was a model: She worked for the biggest modeling company in their city, Ocean Ville, and she was the star model there as well. She had also starred in some few films and had helped to advertise a lot of products; from the lush soaps that were made to velvet clothes and ruby jewelries.

"Breakfast is served," Mrs. Mann announced, bringing in a massive tray.

Adam stood up to help her set the table.

"Looks nice," he said once he was seated again.

 "Un-un. That's a good ol' pot roast. There's some chips and chili con queso, then we have beef jerky, grilled cheese and macaroni," Mrs. Mann reeled off the items on her 'menu'.

Adam flapped his napkin neatly and tucked it under his chin.

He helped himself to some pot roast.

Mrs. Mann also ate with him at the table. He would never have her eating anywhere else.

"Adam, you do remember to find a temporary replacement for me right?" she asked as he raised the beef to his mouth.

Adam lowered his fork.

"Um..." That was right. Mrs. Mann was to start her leave that day. She was going on a three months' leave.

"That would be sorted out, don't worry about it, Mrs. Mann," Adam smiled at her fondly and raised his fork to his mouth again.

That day was an exceptionally huge day for him.

He had an appointment with the board of directors of one of his companies. They were having a meeting with some other company's representatives that wanted to partner up with them.

Adam had been working on an inside project which he called 'The next big thing.'

It was a mystery which he wanted to unveil at the partnership meeting later that day.

The meeting was scheduled for 7:30am prompt.

He glanced at his watch again.

He had twenty minutes to spare. He grinned and swallowed a bite of his food. The journey to his workplace from his house was five minute tops; the traffic jam wasn't nearly as terrible as it would have been around 8:00am upwards. Besides he was never one known to be late.

In fact, the only time he had ever been late was when he was thirty-three and had been invited to speak in a large convention that would be filled with people of importance.

It was going to be a moment of importance and he had woken up late.

He chuckled at the memory and took another bite of his food.

In fact, that was where he had met Vanessa for the first time.

Three years ago...

He increased the speed of his car and moaned after checking his wristwatch again.

He was fifteen minutes late and counting.

He bit his lower lip as he arrived at the venue.

He went behind the security lines, away from the press and screaming girls.

His manager and some members of his staff quickly found him.

"You're late!" his manager hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Adam pushed his cousin aside. "Did you manage to stall them?" he asked as they all started to make their way to the podium.

"I didn't think you'd make it so other solutions were cooked up," Tyson, his cousin-come-manager answered nervously.

"What?!" Adam turned to him in shock.

"You weren't answering my calls or texts! Your phone was switched off! I was in a dilemma here!" Tyson said defensively.

Adam turned away from him, rather annoyed. "Gosh, I really should get a new manager," he muttered under his breath.

"Mr. Adam...?" He turned to look at his employee.

"What?!" he couldn't help snapping at the lady.

"This way to your seat if you please," she said graciously as she led way to a seat in the front row that was unoccupied. His cousin sat next to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen if you would please turn your attention here." A man stood up and said, hitting his fork on his glass cup.

All eyes turned to him.

"Unfortunately," he continued. "Mr. Adam couldn't make it in time so here we have Miss Vanessa Cartwell to end up her speech on Kids. Don't forget the voice might be different but the words are Mr. Adam's," he added.

"What utter nonsense!" Adam turned to his cousin angrily. He hadn't written anything of the sort. He attempted to stand and protest but Tyson pulled him back discreetly to his seat.

"C'mon Adam, trust me. I know what I'm doing," he coaxed his enraged cousin.

Adam snorted.

The audience cheered loudly as a well-dresser, beautiful lady gracefully stood up. She wore an exquisite long flowing peach gown of the latest design and had on rain drop earrings with a matching diamond chain necklace, both pink in color.

Her blonde hair was pinned up in the most decorative and outstanding way possible. Her rosy pink lips took in a deep breath and her emerald eyes made a quick glance around the audience before resting on Adam.

She gave him a quick, almost apologetic smile but he scoffed back instead.

"The cheek of hers!" He had thought angrily. "Stealing my spot, feeling smug and smiling about it."

Adam huffed. Now people would think he was in league with whatever she was saying.

There was just one small secret Adam held from the world. The reason he hadn't married yet was....

"Good day ladies and gentlemen." Her soft, melodious voice could be heard round the four corners of the building.

"Nice weather isn't it?"

Some people murmured in agreement. She was blinded by the lights from the cameras of several journalists.

For a while, Adam was thankful it wasn't him up there, but the lady didn't seem to mind.

She laughed. "Kids. I just want to add to my previous sayings that though I don't hate kids, I sure don't want them in my marriage."

Adam turned to her sharply.

Her green eyes remained steady on his black ones.

That statement caused a lot of fuss and raised questions from eager journalists.

"Is this also Mr. Adam's view?" one of the reporters asked.

"Why did you say that Miss Vanessa?" another reporter asked her.

"How do you view adoption?" one reporter shouted from the back, causing a few stares to be thrown his way.

"What should the kids who see you as a role model think?" the second reporter asked again.

"No questions, thank you," Her manager had steered her out of the rapid, bombarding questions from the reporters.

Adam also got up and left.

That was some bombshell.

But...

Truth was,

He looked at her limousine as it drove away.

He didn't want kids either.

Adam took another bite of his beef.

He and Vanessa had met up after that talk and had gone out on numerous dates after finding that they had a lot of things in common. They had later started courting.

"Dear me! I forgot to mention that your mother called earlier," Mrs. Mann exclaimed suddenly as she turned to Adam. "She said you should drop by this morning before heading out to work, that there's a family emergency of some sort."

Mrs. Mann dropped her drink of water as she looked at Adam worriedly.

"'I do hope that all is well because she sounded really worried," Mrs. Mann finished.

Adam's fork dropped from his hand.

"What?!"

He shrieked as he looked briefly at Mrs. Mann.

He glanced at the clock. It was 7:15am by then.

"Oh my gosh!" He hurriedly stood up, left his almost untouched meal at the table and grabbed his car keys.

"Bye Mrs. Mann!" he yelled as he rushed out through the door, leaving it ajar in his rush to leave.

He could still manage to reach his mother's place and take a U-turn to get to his meeting in time. Afterall, she did not live too far away from him.

He got into his car and sped off.

"Good gracious me!" Mrs. Mann exclaimed in astonishment as she hastened to close the door gently after peeping at the retreating car as Adam drove speedily out of the estate.