Cade knew that there was no escaping this; as much as he had tried to stop her from taking pictures on their way to this place, he could never control it because he was behind the wheel. "If you wanted to have a meal together, would you have to blackmail me to get it?" Cade asked. He knew very well that he had been blowing her off so frequently, but he still had to sound like he would have been a gentleman and done what she asked of him in the first place. "Would you have come if I asked?" Cade felt cornered; he knew that this was bad for him. A single image can cause so many problems for him."This is wrong," Cade murmured out of frustration."Is it?" she asked with a smile on her face. He nodded, and she pressed her lips together and nodded. "It would not have gotten to this if you had just given us an opportunity to be together," she added."Harper I am having this dinner, but this means nothing, and I hope you can understand that," he said angrily and got out of the car. He walk
All Cade could think about as they made their way back to the city was that he wanted to see Ophelia. Throughout his trip, they had not spoken except for the first night. He has tried to reach out to her, but she was not interested and screened out all of his calls and messages without a reply. As soon as he landed at the airport, he called Diana to find out where Ophelia was since she was not taking his call. His showing up at her workplace was a good thing for them. He needed to strengthen the fact that they were in love in case of anything. Harper has shown all kinds of behaviours for the rest of their stay during the trip. "You can go home," Cade said as they stood beside the car. A driver was here to take him home and he did not want Harper to be near him again. "But I am supposed to be close to you so I can assist you," she said, and he scrunched up his face before she added "Sir." "You must have had a long few days off, so just take the next four days off, and we will resu
Cade was ushered to Ophelia's office by Diana, who had been waiting to receive him; she had noticed the quick mood swings of Ophelia throughout the time that Cade had been away, and as much as they both wanted to deny their affection for each other, she could clearly see it through them. The only issue they had was that they had not yet found a way to nurture the love, so it was obvious to every other person."Does she know I am here?" Cade asked as he walked by, and the entire crowd stood in awe of him at the place. Someone was even making a video of him walking in, and he tried to convince himself that his plan worked."She does not; I kept it a secret like you asked me to," Diana said, and he nodded. She knocked and pushed the door open. "You have a guest," she said, causing Ophelia to lift her head to her from her desk."I have a visitor? I did not know I had a meeting now; send them in," Ophelia said, slipping into her shoes and walking down to the sofa. Diana left the door frame
Ophelia swallowed the pride that she had and followed him home. The staff at her office looked at them lovingly, and she even heard comments from some of them on how they wanted exactly what they had. She wished she could tell them to be careful about what they wished. To everyone, they were this loving power couple, but she exactly knew what they were to each other—two strangers who barely spiked with one another who just had a marriage certificate and lived together.The ride home was awfully quiet, and it made words float around in her brain as she tried to think of what he could want to talk about with her. She fumbled with the radio until she was able to put on a station that was not setting a mood for them. She turned out of the rambling from the radio as she began to think of how the trip was and what went down between Harper and him. She wanted to tell him what she had found about Green and how she had thought of bringing him down.They got home, and Cade walked to the kitchen
Ophelia blinked rapidly; her brain was trying to tell her to say something, but her mouth could not process what she was to say. She gulped and tried to close her mouth that had been left open, but nothing worked. It was as if her brain had gone frozen and her body was working without it."Ophelia?" Cade said, snapping his fingers in her face. She blinked and snapped back to reality."What did you say?" She murmured, almost chewing on her finger."I said I like you; that is what I want to say.""That's impossible," she said, beginning to pace the entire floor. "That cannot be," she added, and he shook his head."I do like you," he said as if to make sure that she heard what he was saying to her."You like me?" she said again, sitting back on the stool and then jumping off it and then pacing around again."You are going to bore a hole into the floor," he said when he did notice that she was pacing around more than someone should."I don't care," she muttered, stopping suddenly, turning
Ophelia paced around her room; she could not believe her ears. She wondered why she felt so angry and violated to hear him say that he liked her when that was what she wanted. It truly did not make sense, but that was how her mind decided it wanted to work at that time.She sat on her bed, pressed her forehead with her fingers, and closed her eyes tightly. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. She did not know how it was supposed to go, but this was not it.She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock on the door. "I know you do not want to talk to me," his voice rang through the door.She held in a breath inside her cheeks and stood up. "I know you are angry, but I do not know why, even though it seems like I should know why, and it is killing me not to know," he added.She began to walk to the door, trying to make sure her feet did not make too much sound as they touched the ground. "We can talk about this any time you are ready, but please do not take too lon
"You are going to hurt your back," Cade finally murmured after they had stayed in the bent position for a few more seconds. "And mine too," he added in a strained voice and let out a loud groan as he put her to her feet and held her waist to himself."Stand still I wanted to look at you more" she said. He stared into her eyes and it was like she was passed or something. He could not understand what she was saying. Her actions and words did not seem to match, she had been so angry and stormed out on him earlier but now she was back and asking him to stand still so she could stare at him."The food" he murmured. She placed a finger across his lips and made a shushing sound to him. "It would get burnt" he said, she felt his mouth move under her finger and cause a certain kind of vibration through her entire being."I am really holding myself back here," she said taking a step back. His hands that had been wrapped around her waist fell to his side."So am I" she said taking more steps unt
They sat there for a good moment discussing back and forth how she could be Toria and why she was confessing now. She told him that she had to tell him so he would know when the seed of liking him was sowed into her life. By the time they had concluded talking about it, it was already well into the evening."I was jealous" Ophelia murmured. Now they were sitting comfortably with her hand on his forearm. It was a better position than the upright position they had before."Jealous?" he asked, shocked that she would ever say that. Did he ever do anything to make her jealous?"Yes, how could you even think to leave me all alone here and go on a trip with your ex-girlfriend?""I did not go on a trip with my ex-girlfriend; I went on a trip, and my ex-girlfriend, who happens to be my assistant, accompanied me on the work trip, he said, trying to defend himself."You still went on one and if anyone ever hears this they would not be able to understand it" she replied."I had no choice" he trie
Abigail could not believe that instead of debunking the rumours that Cade was an illegitimate child, he was owning it like it was his identity. He was still facing so much backlash for keeping it a secret from the public that the people seemed not to like the idea behind the fact that he was not a full-bodied Cade.The girls who swooned over him before suddenly began to dislike him. Abigail was thrilled, but she knew that the battle was not easily over; there was no way that Charles would just let him go; she needed to do something that would make the board of directors and all of the people of the nation want him to leave the company. She had to make him unfit.She was glad that she always prepared for this; while she was busy siphoning money away, she was still actively preparing for someone else to take the blame in her stead, and now it meant that she could easily take all of the blame and dump it on him. She had called Frances into the room to share the news with her; she knew th
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