Winter, 2014"Arthur's part in our plan is over…" Judith voiced out as she fixed her gaze on Morris. "If you want to get rid of a man like him, you have to catch him unawares, when he least expects it""Since you have said we don't have to kill him, what method do we use to get him out of here for good, without my personal board members following him?" Morris scratched his head, a confused look on his face.Judith smiled cynically "All you have to do is to put him in jail""What?" Morris snapped, glaring at her "What do you mean by that? We both know Arthur Reeves is a simple man, he would never commit a crime""Exactly…" Judith smirked and shifted closer to Morris "...Make him commit a crime. That's all you have to do"Understanding dawned on Morris as his eyes widened in shock. Glaring at Judith, he scowled at her "You want me to ruin the life of an innocent man by implicating him and throwing him in jail?""You've already started ruining Patricia's life slowly over the years, so wh
Rachel settled on the sofa beside George and watched as he ate from a plate of fried turkey. Her mind drifted over to when she first showed up here, she couldn't believe six months had passed by already. George had been good to her, so good to her and she loved him dearly."Why are you smiling and looking at me like that?" George asked, staring at her in wonder.Rachel blinked and laughed "Well, I didn't know you were so appealing. Even when you are eating, you look very enticing"George paused as he felt his cheeks become warm. He chuckled softly."Are you blushing, Mr George Scott?" Rachel said, her words slightly muffled by her laughter."Of course not…" George denied instantly even though he felt his cheeks get warmer. He laughed and looked away, focusing on his food instead. After a minute, he asked, curiosity getting him "Ho—how appealing do I look?"Rachel grinned and winked at him "Very very very appealing. 110%"George felt like his head would blow up. He leaned down and kiss
Rachel couldn't feel her toes. Her body felt stiff and she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. Droplets of sweat gathered around her forehead and her vision blurred…."Wh—what did you just say?" Rachel asked, her voice coming out like a 'gasp' instead of a whisper. She was sure she didn't hear well. She was probably hallucinating about everything. There was no way she heard him correctly."I said his nickname is 'The Jaguar'. That's what I have heard some people call him in the past" George answered, unaware of the shock Rachel was dealing with at the moment. Rachel closed her eyes, fighting back the sudden tears that tried to spill. She had to hold herself back, she had to be strong. She couldn't let him know the gravity of what he just revealed just yet. She didn't want to believe any of it. There was no way his father was the one who ruined her father's life, right? It couldn't be. Her father had told back then that Morris Scott was a good man. Her father had to be right. How
Rachel walked out of the villa and headed towards the house where she used to live. She had to see Sophia and her mother quickly unless she would lose her mind.She had finally recovered from the panic attack that hit her when George confirmed who his father really was. All thanks to Dr Andrew….She had been looking for an opportunity to see Sophia so she could confirm what the truth really was. Rachel wondered why Sophia suddenly refused to come over to the villa to see her. Instead, she had insisted that Rachel had to come over to see her. That was strange, it felt like Sophia was hiding from something or someone. Sighing, Rachel decided that she would ask her about it later….For now, the only thing on her mind was confirming if Morris was really the mastermind behind her father's downfall. Her heart still ached, but she had been trying really hard to control her emotions, her anger, her rage. Rachel felt so disgusted with herself. If all of this was true, it means she had married
Rachel rested backwards, relaxing on the sofa in the living room and stretched her legs. They ached a bit after folding them for so long. She reached for the book she was reading and flipped over to the next page.She could feel George's eyes on her, watching her as he sat quietly across the living room. Rachel knew she had been acting strange to him lately but she just couldn't help it. If not that she had promised Sophia that she would stay here till the end of 'everything', there was no way she would still be in George's villa.She hated herself right now. For falling in love with him. She hated herself for 'yearning' for him despite everything she had discovered. Why couldn't her body just cooperate with her at a time like this? Was it possible that he didn't know anything about what his father did in the past? Thinking about it now, why didn't he ever try to get her father out of jail all these years? Why did he wait until she married him before investigating her father's case? W
Patricia Anne Scott laid back on the three legged stool she sat on, a sad smile on her lips. Her right hand rested on the 'arm' of the chair, holding tightly to a glass cup with red wine.Her usually straight black hair was scattered around her head, completely disheveled. Traces of her mascara and eyeliner were smeared under her eyes and down her cheeks. She was a sight to behold for someone who 'seemed' to have everything she ever desired. Wealth, the position as a chairwoman of a multibillion dollar company, a son and a husband. She had it all….to any random person.But why did it feel like she had nothing at all? Why did she wake up every day, especially recently, feeling like her world was falling apart? Why did she feel 'used', like someone who has been taken advantage of?Patricia sighed, as her chest constricted in slight pain. Her mind was on the edge today, analyzing and assessing all the events of the past years before she even married Morris Scott. She didn't want to belie
The door to Patricia's bedroom swung open as Nanny Juliet rushed in with the speed of lightning. Her eyes widened in shock as she caught Patricia standing with a knife close to her head"Mrs Patricia…" She yelled in fear, racing towards where Patricia stood. The nanny who happened to be in her early fifties, just a few years younger than Patricia, knelt down at Patricia's feet and held her legs tightly. "...What are you about to do?"Patricia stared down at her, still holding the knife in her hands. Her eyes seemed distant and sad. It was obvious she was trying hard not to just kill herself with the knife. She didn't want to see Morris's face ever again, but at the same time, she wanted to stay alive to get her revenge. She wanted to frustrate Morris as much as she could before dying.Patricia lifted the knife and with her other hand, she grabbed some strands of her hair and sliced it off, smiling delightfully as she watched the 'chopped' strands fall to the ground. She always loved h
"How have you been, father?" Rachel asked after Arthur Reeves came out of his prison cell to see her outside. Her mother, Amanda sat beside her, looking slightly pale and downcast. Her eyes were red from crying and under her eyes were a bit dark from lack of sleep.Her mother had decided that they had to tell Arthur everything that had happened so far. He deserved to know on time, so he would have enough time to process the shock and get prepared for 'justice'.The moment her father walked out and she took one look at him, she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to actually break such terrible news to him. After spending almost six years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, how was she supposed to tell him that the person behind his 'pain' was the man he used to call his 'dear friend'.Surely, it would break his heart. At his age, Rachel did not want the shock of this message to hurt him too badly and affect his health. Most elderly people experiencing 'shock' could have a stroke,
Five months laterRachel wadded slowly across the sitting room, placing a hand on her round waist for support. Her legs felt slightly heavy and she felt like a big whale that was about to push out a whole nation.Yes, a nation! She was absolutely losing it at this point.She rubbed her rounded belly, a frustrated frown on her face. All the baby birth books she read so far said the normal gestation period for babies was nine months. What exactly was this baby still doing inside of her?The baby was already due, why wasn't her water breaking yet? At this point, she could faint from exhaustion.Thank goodness Sophia was coming over today. She needed someone to talk to before she lost it.Has it been just five months since they got married? Ugh! It felt like five years!Because of this pregnancy!After this round, she needed at least four years to get herself back to normal, before deciding if she wanted baby number two.Her favorite food disgusted her, the back aches were almost driving
Rachel stood up from her bed slowly, not sure she heard what Sophia just said clearly.George was here? For what exactly?Did he come to officially announce their divorce to her parents? Or was he here for another reason unknown to her?She wore her slippers and turned to head out to the sitting room. At the same time, George was walking into her room.Rachel paused when she saw him. The atmosphere in the room felt different all of a sudden. How could he even open his mouth to say he wanted a divorce only to look like this a week later?He was a reflection of her right now. It was obvious he was not eating well or sleeping well either. The bags under his eyes were enough proof. And was it just her eyes or was he slimmer than just a week ago?Her normal self would have shut him out in anger by now, telling him to go away for putting her through so much emotional torture in the past week but after hearing Sophia's advice, she felt like she could understand him now….He must have had a
"Rachel told me everything that happened between the both of you…" Arthur Reeves voiced out to George sitting in front of him."Uhm…." George mumbled not knowing what to say in response.Arthur watched George fidgeting in his chair and rubbing his fingers together. George was nervous and uncomfortable around him….It was something he never thought would happen. George had been very close and dear to him in the past. For the most part, he had watched him grow from a lad into a young man. George used to talk to him comfortably more than he talked to his own father, Morris.Watching him sitting across, avoiding his gaze and mumbling words was strange to him.But he couldn't blame him….He could see that George felt guilty on his father's behalf. He felt that somehow he was linked to his father's nasty actions and had to pay a price too. That was why he was being hard on Rachel and cutting her off instantly.Because he believed she deserved a better husband from a 'clean' home….Arthur si
"You are not my son anymore. Don't ever call yourself that again!….." Judith yelled through the transparent shield as she glared at James.James sat in front of the woman who was supposed to be a mother to him….But who had never been. Not even for once.You would think that locking her up in here would break her back but no! She was made of steel.Staring at her fuming angrily, he realized that he didn't have a lot of good memories of her. From a young age, she made his life miserable but he had to take it all because that's what children do, right?They take all the nonsense because they have nowhere else to go.He still remembered everything clearly….How she had frightened him as a child, threatening to kill George if she saw him playing with him again.He had been so afraid of losing his dear brother that he stayed away for so long until they were grown-up and there was no longer any bond between him and George.He remembered the countless slaps and beatings she would give him if
Rachel stood still and gasped in shock. It felt like a cold wind blew past her as she stared in surprise at the man who stood before her.Did she hear him correctly now or was she hallucinating? He wanted a divorce. George wanted to divorce her.If anyone had told her that the moment she came back from the villa this morning after spending some time with her father, she would hear a ridiculous statement like this, she would have just stayed back!Had he been drinking? What nonsense was he saying?Rachel was so shocked she didn't even notice the tears already trickling down her cheeks. As she stood in front of him with the divorce papers in her hand, what even annoyed her more than anything was the fact that he had already signed his part of the divorce papers.So quickly….Did he want to get rid of her so fast? She had already told her parents and Sophia that she was not putting an end to their marriage. She had also made it clear to George that she loved him….Why was he suddenly de
"Are you expecting me to apologize to you? Have you lost your mind, you crippled imbecile?"George rubbed his hands on his forehead as Judith hurled different words at his mother, Patricia who just stared at her.He despised this woman a lot. No, the word was 'hate'. He hated her….Ever since she got arrested five days ago, he had been replaying different scenes from the past in his mind, feeling different emotions….All the nasty things this woman had done to his mother for years and gotten away with. All the times she had made his mother cry behind closed doors. For the moments when she rubbed it in his face as a little boy that he meant nothing to his father and her son, James was loved more than him. For the moments when she never failed to remind his mother that she was an unloved wife….And many other things he didn't want to remember right now.He couldn't for the life of him understand how his mother accepted her into the villa in the first place! That was all the push she nee
5 Days LaterNothing would have prepared him for the way he felt the moment he entered the main villa of Imperial Hub Limited.What used to be Morris's villa….Arthur Reeves walked through the familiar pathway that led to where Morris used to stay. He used to go here to talk to Morris in his personal library. They would laugh, talk and joke around about different things.In the midst of their laughter and conversation, he never suspected for once that Morris despised him and was looking for a way to get rid of him.Till today, he still couldn't understand why Morris didn't just let him go….He knew that Morris felt uncomfortable about all the board members saying he was a better leader and businessman compared to Morris. He decided to leave because it made perfect sense to do so at that moment.He was already packing his things, making it known that he was resigning and would have nothing to do with the company anymore. Was that not enough?What else did Morris want? What else was he
Sophia held out a piece of tissue to Rachel and rubbed her back gently. They stood at an empty section of the toilet. The floor above them was the room where the final court case was to be held. "Everything is going fine. Why are you crying?"Rachel dabbed her face with the tissue and sniffed "Don't worry. They are not sad tears, I'm just so happy. I can't believe that the day I've been waiting for since the last six years is finally here…."Sophia smiled. "That's true. I still remember when you were leaving to get married to George. I thought you were crazy back then. I thought you would be harmed over here or that something huge would go wrong. I couldn't understand why you would choose to take this path but I'm glad that everything turned out for the best.""Yea…I'm so glad nobody died in this process unless it would have made things worse. It wouldn't really feel like a victory after all"Sophia switched on her phone and checked the time. "We have about an hour left before the cou
Rachel sat quietly at the dining table, eating her breakfast of waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. She peeked at George who was eating at the opposite end of the table.Something was off. Maybe he had a lot on his mind or maybe he just didn't feel like talking. It felt like he was keeping his distance from her, avoiding her.During this period, precisely since the evidence showed Morris was behind her father's case and when Morris also tried harming Sophia, George had been acting strange. He was distant.He didn't treat her poorly or anything like that but he wasn't himself like the way he was when they first got married. He answered all her questions whenever she asked any but he never really 'talked' to her.Most of their conversations so far were either about her father in prison, Mrs Patricia who was receiving treatment privately or Morris and Judith…..They hardly talked about 'each other' these days.Was it because they were in their twelfth month of marriage and they only had