"You were enjoying the attention, weren't you?" Ophelia asked. She did not want to make it a big deal, but she could not help herself; she had to know if he was enjoying the attention that came with talking to a girl who was throwing herself at him.
"What?"
"I mean, it must have been so long since a girl wanted you," she continued, coming down from the stools and turning her back to him so she could fiddle with the tangerines in the bowl in front of her.
"What the hell are you saying?" he asked, walking to her. She heard his steps get louder as they approached her, and she turned to him with a smile on her face.
"I mean, just think about it: since you got married to me and people think we are happily married, you have barely had women throw themselves at you, and I have not had men approach me either. We are both beautifully stunning people, so it must be difficult for them to keep to themselves."
"Mr. Vale, you have a call from the police station," Sue said, standing by the door."The station? Can you tell them that I would call them later?" Cade said he was feeling weird about it. He did not know what to expect from the police because today was the questioning."It is important," she said. "And then I would transfer it to you," she said before closing the door and returning to her desk.Cade looked down at the intercom with the blinking lights. He took a deep breath before taking out the phone and pressing it to his ears. "Hello?" he said with a squeaky voice."Mr. Vale, so sorry for disrupting your busy schedule, but we need you to come in.""Me? Come in?" Cade said like he had lost comprehension of what to say. His brain was a scattered mess because he did not know what to expect."Yes, the culprit is asking for you," he said before taking a deep b
"What?" Cade felt his mouth stay ajar and could not shut. He blinked multiple times, hoping that he would not hurt his eyes."I am..." Valerie stopped midway because the door opened and Ophelia stood there. "Is this your wife?" she asked, standing up and turning to Ophelia, who stood there. "It is so nice to meet you." Ophelia looked at the woman, nodded without saying anything, and diverted her eyes to Cade.Both of them were in awe at the sight they saw her. Ophelia had tin foil wraps against her hair that made her look like she came in from a cartoon; her nails were undone, and they looked strange. Cade looked at her from head to toe—the Ophelia he knew would not show up here looking like that. She would rather die than get caught looking like that outside."What are you doing?" Cade was standing slowly to his feet as the chair moved back with a strong screech to the back."Why did you not t
"I did not get this from anywhere; I have this because it is the only image I have with you before you up," Valerie said, taking up the picture that Ophelia forced out of Cade's hand and dropping it to the table."Then that means you do not mind doing a maternity test?" Ophelia asked, crossing her hand over her chest."Of course, what do you want from me? I would give it to you immediately," she said, going for her hair."Give it here," Ophelia stretched her hand, ready to take the hair from her. Cade was shocked at her reaction and held Ophelia's hand before she could take the hair. "Don't you want to know if she is really telling the truth?""Let us get a bag for that," Cade said, walking to the door and speaking to an officer he met outside. The man brought the bag, and they put the hair inside."Before going on and on talking about whether you ate his mom or not, I think we s
Cade dropped Ophelia off at the salon and then went on to drop off the specimen at the centre before going home. He had suggested coming to pick her up, but she told him she had her car and needed to take it home that night just to be safe. He agreed and told her that he would make dinner and be waiting for her. The people in the salon were touched by his gesture and would not stop going on and on about how sweet her husband was and that they were shocked that they had not been playing a show for the media and that they were actually interested in each other.Cade got home and decided to make some chicken soup and some noodles for her. He specifically asked that the staff steer from the kitchen; that was his tuff now. He wanted to impress her and that was why he was going all out. When she strolled through the door, she was drawn to the kitchen by the scent that hit her nostrils."What smells so heavenly in here?" she groaned as she came in.
"What?" Cade turned to her, and she could barely keep her eyes open as she kept falling in and out of sleep; she was drunk. He stretched over and took out the cu from her hand. He began clearing the table because he had to clean up and get her to bed so she could be up for tomorrow. He had not had the chance to tell her that he wanted to be at her event tomorrow, but he was sure that she would not disagree if he said he wanted to be there; it would be good for their image as well.She was no longer responding and there was no struggle from her to keep her eyes open. Cade cleared the table and put a kettle on the stove so he could have hot water. He needed to make something for her to drink so she could cure her hangover fast. He had given in to allow her to take alcohol because she said she was going to have only one glass, but at the end of the day, they had almost the entire bottle while he tried to stop her.He had his back to her for a m
Cade gulped, blinking rapidly as Seh began to close in. He could hear her thumping heart come so close to him; he wanted this so much, and at some point, he tried to stop her. If he was being honest, he was curious about what it would feel and taste like to kiss her again. She finally pressed her lips on his with her eyes closed, as if she were embarrassed by the situation.She removed her lips from his and threw her head back to see his face. "You do not like it?" she said in a question as she shook her head vigorously. "I will not do it again," she added with a hiccup.He did not know if this was the time for him to tell her that he wanted this more than anything. She was drunk and could easily dismiss it as a mistake the following morning. They could claim that none of them meant to do any of this, and he did not want to deceive himself anymore."Ophelia, you do not want to do anything you would regret," he said slowl
"Good morning," Ophelia forced herself to say. She could not peel her eyes away from him. She was sure that the female workers who worked with him would be delighted to see him every day. They could feed their eyes, and even though she very much knew before now that he was a good-looking one, she could not bring her mind to accept that he was that good-looking and going out of the house like that."Ophelia?" he said, snapping his fingers in her face.She jumped out of her thoughts startled and faced him. "Yeah?" she said, trying to play it off. She was just thinking about things and not about him. Why did he have to look so good? First thing on a Monday morning?"I was asking if you have any hangover symptoms.""Yeah, my head hurts a bit, but I am sure that when I get out into the sun I will feel much better," she said, taking a spoonful of the oats in front of her. She was going to eat to distract h
As Ophelia approached the headquarters, she could feel her stomach churn, even though she had angrily walked out of the house and told Cade not to follow her; she wished he was there now. She would hold his hands to stop her uneasy heart, and she would tell him that it was because she was trying to show the world that they were truly together and nothing more."You are a big girl," she whispered to herself as she sat in the car. The car stopped at the entrance of the company; she was supposed to walk in. She had no idea what her father was planning for her. Was there to be a welcome entrance for her by the staff at the lobby? Did they do those kinds of things for directors?"Maam?" the driver said, turning to her. He had stopped for almost five minutes and waited for her to get out of the car so he could go park the car."Oh yes," she cleared her throat, held the handle and then pushed the door open. She stepped out and
Carl had come to meet his grandfather earlier. He was tired of his mother's games and how she kept trying to put him in the middle of it all. He knew he was incapable of being the good chairman the company needed, and amongst all the grandchildren, only Cade had been preparing for this moment his whole life.The rest of them sat with their hands folded because they believed that since they were affiliated with the Vale family, a responsibility was going to drop on their laps soon, and they could get on with their lives. Even without the jobs in the company, they could live good lives on the return on the shares they owned because they all owned a lot, and the company was always doing well."But Grandpa, if we do that, the prices of the shares?""See this," Charles said, showing an electronic tablet that had been resting on his lap since he came in. "This is supposed to go up tomorrow, so are you saying we should do nothing about it?"Cade took it up and read through it. His face chang
"I did not think that you would help me out," Harper said to Green with a smile on her face. She had called him about a week ago to tell him that Ophelia and Cade were now locked in. Green had been so angry about it. He waited years for Ophelia, only for her to end up Cade. He had expected that he could pull them apart, but now he was hearing that she was together with Cade and they loved each other now.When they kept telling the public that they were deeply locked in, he could tell that she was doing this just because her father asked her to do it. He waited, hoping that there would be a time when they went their separate ways and then he would swoop in to save the damsel in distress."I refuse to lose to Cade.""I like how you think," Harper said, and her phone began to ring. She took up her phone and stared at the screen. "Ophelia is calling me?" She murmured, looking at the screen, her eyes growing wide and wider."What are you waiting for? Pick it up," Green urged her."I should
Frances was sitting in a coffee shop; she had gotten a message from Ophelia that they had to meet up. As much as she did not want to have to go out there to meet her, she was curious to see her face after reading the news. She had not thought to publish the news like that because she did not want to do anything that might affect Cael, be it directly or indirectly, because she still believed that they would be able to get together soon.She was however happy for whoever had taken that news and ran with it; the entire city was buzzing while waiting for a statement on the family. She felt that now that Cade was so put in the public eye, Charles might consider Cael as a better-suited candidate for the position."Did I keep you waiting for long?" Ophelia asked as she sat down.Frances swallowed as she saw how good she looked; she was tempted to almost comment on it; she did not look like she had seen the news. "No, I just sat down a minute ago," she said, and Ophelia nodded."Have you orde
THREE DAYS AFTER THE WEDDING TUESDAY MORNING "Honey" Ophelia sat by the side of the bed shaking Cade; his eyes opened slowly as he wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her in."Good morning, darling," he said and pouted, waiting for a kiss. She closed her eyes and bent down to kiss his lips. "That was so short," he said, his eyes opening wider. "Something is wrong; what is wrong?" he asked, his eyes catching a glimpse of the frown on her face. "What happened?" he asked, sitting in bed quickly."You might want to see this," she said, taking her phone and giving it to him. He took the phone from her hand and sat up straight. He read through the screen as his eyes widened with each statement he came across."What is this?""The number one trending news in the city this morning.""From what source?""Apparently it started as a rumour from a blog but when the reporters reached out to Abigail yesterday evening for an interview, she did not confirm or deny it so they are just carry
"My mom wanted you here, but I never did, so it is crazy that you are trying to force me to sleep with you," Cael scoffed as they sat on the bed in the room. They had been so preoccupied with other things that it was the night of the wedding that they all realized that they did not have a house, so they went back to the mansion.Charles had taunted them for their poor planning; Cael could not believe that his grandfather had not stepped up to do anything concerning the wedding even after he had leaked the secret to him. He was feeling overwhelmed by the situation and was now convinced that his grandfather was doing the right thing by not allowing him to be the next in line for succession. Even when he had leaked the secret of the wedding to Charles, he did not do anything about it.Even this evening, when they got back to the house after the wedding, Charles was not shocked to see them back at the mansion; he just nodded his head at them and retired to his room. He did not know why he
"You look so beautiful," Fiona gushed over her daughter as she entered the room."I do?" Frances asked, and her mother nodded."Like the star of the show that you are," she murmured, and Frances smiled.She had been so busy stressing and preparing for the wedding that she feared she might not look good in any of the images because of how stressed she was. She felt good to receive a compliment from her mother considering how shallow she was; she would be into complimenting something or else she found it appealing to the eyes."I hope you remember all I have been telling you." Fiona said, and Frances nodded.Her mother had basically turned it into an anthem that was engraved in her mind. She had told her to make sure to get pregnant between the first few weeks of pregnancy so she could have an edge over Ophelia, who was still yet to show any signs of having a baby. She also told her to make sure she sucked up to Charles, even though they all knew how almost impossible that might be."Do
THE FAY OF THE WEDDING Ophelia's eyes fluttered open as she turned to Cade sleeping beside her. She felt his hand that had been holding her head up all night. She snuggled into him and felt his hand pull her in closer."Are you awake?" she murmured, trying to look at his face from her position."No," he drew out, and she laughed."You are asleep yet talking?" she said, and he tried to nod but was failing badly because of the pillow."I talk in my sleep," he added, and she gave him a frown."Then sleep and talk some more. I want to go get myself a cup of tea," she said, trying to stand up from the bed, but his hand on her wrist pulled her back, and she dropped to his chest."What are you doing?" she asked, propping herself up with her hand on his chest."I think you forgot something," he said with a pout and his eyes closed.She traced his pouted lips with her fingertip. "And what can that be?" she asked, feigning ignorance."I know that you very well know what I am talking about," he
A FEW DAYS TO THE WEDDING"I have something to report," Paul said, coming into Charles's office. He had been working in the background to make sure that Aigail and Cael's plan did not work. He knew that they had been so busy with the board meeting, and he had to work too. He was not going to sit down and assume that since he was the chairman, everyone was supposed to be automatically loyal to him.He was meeting with all of the board members and directors while trying to know their stand on the matter; for most of them, they kept trying to play both sides and see which side would favour them. Charles lowered the glasses from his face and dropped them so they dangled by a rope on his neck.The entire company was so tense that even a child could tell that something was up. The staff were trying their best to be careful not to choose sides so they did not find themselves jobless after the board meeting. Everyone was walking on eggshells since the chairman was no longer working from home
Harper stared at her phone in hand; she could not believe that they were trying to discard her. She read the message over and over again, and she could not lie; it did not make any sense to her. What was she supposed to do? She had just boasted to her housemate about how well her plan was going, and now she had to abort the mission. And for what reason?Hello Harper, Abigail does not need your help with Cade anymore and she would like you to move out of the house within a month.-FrancesShe had closed her lease and moved into the house, and now they wanted her gone within a month? She was not going to allow them to bully her; she dialled the number once again and pressed the phone to her ears. The dial tone rang once and then beeped dead as if it were cut from the other end. She tried calling Abigail and Cael as well, but they were both not picking up.She could tell from her interaction today that Cade had finally realized his feelings for Ophelia and this was going to be the end fo