"Uggh" Frances exclaimed as she threw the phone to the bed."What is it" Cael groaned as he turned to the side as he stirred from his sleep."How can you be sleeping so soundly when everything is going so wrong" she asked rushing to sit by his side."Because a pretty face does not just happen like that, I have to have my beauty sleep as well," Cade said. She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm not too hard for it to hurt."Your pretty face would not mean anything if you lose to Cade""Why would you bring him up now? It is too early in the morning for you to be talking about him""Is it?" Abigail asked walking into the room. "To win a fight you need to know your enemy" she added going to pull open the windows."Mom? Really? Are you supporting Frances over your son?""Yes, I have to support the most reasonable person in the room" Abigail replied. Sometimes she wondered if her son had gotten switched out at birth. She had even been so extra that she had a DNA test done and it was a perfe
"Did you have to bring me here?" Cade asked as they walked into the house for the party."I had to, and you had to be here""Why?" he whined. Ophelia stopped and turned to him holding the collar of his shirt."If my speculations are right I have a feeling that your brother and girlfriend are trying to play the family card on your grandfather to make him see reasons to leave the company to him""And why does that matter?" Cade asked to shrug. "Isn't it obvious that all those kinds of things barely move grandfather? He is looking at power and competency, not some silly love"Ophelia shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "There is no doubt about that but..." she trailed off her eyes catching the glimpse of someone coming towards them. "Someone is coming, time to act" she leaned in whispering before going back and smiling at him."You look too good, I can barely take my eyes off you" she said dusting off the imaginary dust from his shirt. "Do not allow any girl to look at you okay?" she
"What are you doing here?" Cade asked stepping back so that there could be space between them since it was clear that she had no respect for personal space."Ohhh, your brother's girlfriend called me up and invited me to your brother's party and I was so excited to hear from her because I knew that there was the possibility that I would get to see you here" Harper replied closing the gap that Cade had made."Go on then and enjoy the party" Cade said turning to leave."Is that all you are going to say?" she asked going to stand in his way.Ophelia rolled her eyes in annoyance. She could not believe the nerve of this girl, how dare she try to cling to her husband right in front of her."Hello," Ophelia said trying to catch her attention."Oh, hello," she said with a giggle before adding in an exaggerated high-pitched voice. "I am so sorry, I was just too far excited to see him that was why I did not say my hello before"'Of course, you are far too excited to see my husband that you are
The cake was cut and now they were sitting at tables to eat, Ophelia and Cade were invited by his grandfather to sit at the same table as he was sitting because they were family just as Frances claimed, Frances had earlier planned to remove them from their table but Charles had insisted that Frances knew it was pointless to argue with him about it."Why haven't you come with your wife to visit me one of these days?" Charles asked as they ate."We have both been so busy that we have not been able to squeeze out time""You scoundrels" Charles backed at them. "You should do better" he added."We are sorry about that and we shall soon come to say Hello, very soon," Cade said. He knew that his grandfather was still very traditional in his thinking and there was no separating them, there was nothing he could do about it too."You had better" Charles added."Oh Charles, you are busy going on and on about Cade when it is Cael's birthday today" Abigail said."Do you have to bring that up now?"
"Why did you not say anything about us staying here""Because I thought you were handling the conversation pretty well" Cade replied with his back to her.They had gotten to bed after all the guests had left. When they had first attempted to step away from the party, Frances had come up and held them down with the excuse that the night had just begun. It was not until almost everyone was unable to hold their liquor anymore that she announced that the party was over.Ophelia and Cade went to the room silent but mostly because both of them were tipsy. They stumbled into bed and were now lying side by side."Do you think your excuse makes sense?" Ophelia asked then followed by a hiccup."Why wouldn't it?" he followed up shutting his eyes because of the pain that surged through his body because of the excessive drinking spree he had involved himself in."Are you trying to annoy me?" she asked sitting up in bed abruptly almost screaming at him."Lay back down and keep your choice down, rem
Cade woke up to the vibration of his phone on the nightstand, he groaned as he struggled to pick up the phone. Living this long had taught him never to answer the phone without first checking the caller. He picked up the phone before closing his eyes."Come to the study immediately" the line cut dead. Cade stayed still for a few more seconds on the bed before he pushed himself off the bed into a sitting position. It was not a new thing to him for his grandfather to call him into the study sometimes to discuss a range of things."Where are you going?" Ophelia asked as she thought of the possibility that Harper was still in the house and they had agreed to meet up. She wondered if he would go running when she called. She also wondered what his family would say. Would they be glad that there was a loophole in their marriage and that Harper could help them wreck their marriage?"My grandfather called for me" Cade said before whispering "Did I wake you?""I have been awake for a while now"
Cade knocked on the door and waited to hear from Charles. "Come in" the gruffy voice from inside commanded. Cade opened the door and pushed himself in with Ophelia on his tail. Her goal there today was to charm him. He might seem like a closed-off man but she knew that since he was asking his grandchildren to start families to be entitled to the company then he was probably a softie at heart."What took you so long," Charles asked taking off his glasses from his face. He rolled his chair towards them and Ophelia titled her head in wonder. All the times she had met him he had been walking, she wondered why he was bound to a chair after seeing him walk last night."I came with him and I was the one who took his time" Ophelia's tone was different. She was like a child who was trying to get something from his parents. Cade was so taken aback by her tone that he almost asked her what had happened."You came with him?" Charles asked his eyes shifting to Ophelia who now left Cade's back and
"You scoundrel," Charles said in a warning tone. "Why are you screaming?""Because this was not what we agreed on""What did we agree on?" Charles asked turning his face to the side. Cade was right, he had changed his mind but not because he wanted to just change it for no reason."You told me that you were going to name me the heir as soon as I got married and now I have to earn it? and by what? A child?" he asked shifting to the edge of his seat as his legs shook violently."What can I do? I have to do all I can to protect my company. I worked hard to make it what it is today. I have to choose the right candidate" Charles said."But..." Cade trailed off because of the sudden warmth he felt from his trousers. He looked down at his legs and saw Ophelia's hands running slowly across the length of his legs."Grandpa" Opehla said slowly and silently causing his face to turn to her and soften. "You can not just change your mind" she added."I know that but I had to, and what is the big de
"Meeting with investors is tiring," Cael murmured, sitting in his chair, after the person they had been meeting with walked out. None of the members had said that they were giving them their support, and yet his mom seemed full of energy, as if the day had only started."You have been a good sport and on your best behaviour all day; just one more person and we can call it a day," Abigail replied, turning to him and tapping his thighs gently."Can't we just call it a day now?" He groaned, feeling tired. All he had done since lunch was sucking it up to different old bald men who did not seem interested in helping him anyway. He wondered how long he had to continue doing that with them."As I said, this is really important, and it took me so much to get to agree to see us under such short notice; the best you can do here is just do the right thing," Abigail murmured, losing her patience. After what had happened, she was not ready to allow all of these men to trample over her for no reaso
Frances was left alone; she had a lot to do, and she did not even know where to start. Abigail had told her that it was important that they kept it a secret from the entire family until the night before the wedding; that way, there was little to nothing they could do to stop it. If they knew of the plans they had to level up with Cade, she was sure that Charles would try his best to stop it in some way.She knew that with that she had to call a lawyer; all the vendors to be used would be mandated to sign off on an NDA; that way, no secret would be lost if they thought there was something to lose. She called her mom over the phone."My darling daughter that can not seem to settle down, you just left the house, and you are already calling me? How difficult is it for you to stay over at your in-law's place for a bit?" Mrs. Gates said over the phone. "If you screw this up, you would be doomed," she added under her breath.Frances rolled her eyes; it was as if her mom could get rid of her.
"Mom, you called for me?" Frances had waited till Abigail had finished her meal. From the way she fumes all the way from downstairs to her room, Frances could tell that she was very angry and that this meant serious business."I did, but first things first, can you fight?"Frances could not understand the question; it was not the kind that someone would ask you just randomly. "Fight?" she asked, causing Abigail to give her a questioning look."I mean are you willing to do what I want you to do?" Abihail clarified. "It is a dirty fight are you willing to go all in?" she added."Of course," Frances said, shifting till she was at the edge of her seat. "Why else would I stay with Cael like this until now?"Abigail beamed to herself; she was so glad that she had picked Frances. She made a good choice; at first, she was worried that she would be too calm, but she was also as power-driven as she was. It made sense for her to fight this much at the end of the day; she would enjoy it as well.
The breakfast table was very lively. Ophelia did not know if Charles had always been like this; she would have thought that he was just a stuck-up old man who liked to get rich and play matchmaker; however, that morning he was the one making all the jokes and talking at every chance that he got.After breakfast, Charles invited them to his study to sit and have tea with him. "I know you are going to work, but there are some days that you have to take it easy," he said to Ophelia.She had said that she was going to work when she had gotten there earlier, even though she was not. At lunchtime, they were going to meet her father, and then they said that they were going to spend the rest of the day together. Ophelia had asked countless times what they were going to be doing, but Cade had said it was a secret. She wondered what secret or surprise he had planned and when he had the time to plan it.Cade had called Harper; he was going to use this opportunity to pass on to her a very firm me
Ophelia had woken up early and she was ready to go to work. She stood in front of Cade's door, wondering if he was enjoying his break. She had expected to see him come to her room and even stalled all morning, but he did not show up at all, which was a bit of a concern for her. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, it flew open with him standing there, a huge smile plastered across his face."Ophelia," he said, excited to see her since he was going to her room to meet her."You are dressed," she murmured, looking at him from head to toe. She had been expecting to meet him still dressed in his pyjamas. "You are dressed," she said again, raising her head to hum, wondering if he did not hear her the first."Yes, I am," he nodded, and she took a step back to inspect his clothes."Are you going to work?" she asked, and he shook his head. "Then?" she needed answers, and he seemed to be taking his sweet time with responding."We are going to see my grandfather and your father," he said
Frances got to the house at the crack of dawn. She had gotten a message from Cael that his mom wanted to see her, and it was urgent. Frances was happy that Abigail called for her, which was a very rare thing for a woman to do. It was always as if she was independent and did not rely on anybody, but seeing that she was the one to reach out first, she was ready to do what she could do for it to work out. She made her way to Cael's room. She was no stranger there, as she had spent many nights with him. The staff who saw her did not bother to stop her from asking questions. It was like she blended right in. She stood and knocked on the door; when she did not get any response, she let herself in and sat on the bed. It was only when she was inside the room that she noticed he was in the shower. She wondered the reason he was getting up so early. He always stayed in bed till the last minute and spent the day on his winning terms. He never allowed the things happening around him to influenc
"Mom, I heard what had happened," Cael said, going into his mother's room. The staff were already gossiping that a strange woman had come home and had lunch with Charles. They did not know the true tale, and no one could say what it was but Abigail's screaming and throwing of things, who seemed to be enraged."What did you hear? Did you hear the full story or did you hear the gossip from the staff?" Abigail screamed as he got into the room and closed the door. She knew that her energy should have been directed toward someone else, but she could not help the way she felt at that time."I heard what the staff said," Cael said in a careful voice. He had seen his mom get range a few times, even with the way Charles treated her sometimes. All she did was take it with good faith. It was the first time she had made bad gossip on the lips of the staff, and it was bad. Usually, the sons and cousins were the topic of discussion amongst the staff."Okay then, that means you do not know what happ
"I will make dinner for you," Ophelia murmured. She felt bad that he had waited to eat with her only for her to come home with a full stomach."You will cook for me?" he asked, staring at her."Of course," she said, trying to wiggle her way out of his arms that were now firmly wrapped around her. "Let me go; I would love to make a meal for my husband.""I like the sound of that." Cade's voice had suddenly gone down from the tone he had and was now sounding deeper than usual."That I am going to make you dinner?" She asked confused. It was not the first time she cooked for him, so what was so fascinating about it?"Not that," he whispered, shifting closer to her with his arms still wrapped around her."Then what?" She said her face scrunched up as she replayed the conversation in her mind. "Husband?" she asked, realizing that maybe that was what he meant, even though she hoped it was not."Yes," he said, trying to nod his head in that position."This is not the first time I have called
Cade got into the house, his mind thinking of how chaotic the day had been. The drama and how his grandfather handled the situation were very foreign to him. His grandfather had never reacted so childishly ever. He was a bit afraid of what his teacher could do. After all, she had the advantage of being publically declared the madam of the Vale family.He was going to make dinner for Ophelia since she was so busy they could not go out for dinner, but it seemed as if the events of the day drained him so much that he decided to lie down in the living room for a moment, and somehow he fell asleep on the spot.Ophelia felt so drained as she walked in through the door; she had been on her feet all day and had barely had any time to sit down and rest. It was so bad that she had gone from one meeting to another without fail. She was working so hard to show her dad that aside from giving him an heir to take over his company, she was more capable of taking care of it herself as well.She walked