CH004

Marshall Yugo sat in his dimly lit study, his mind drifting to the time long before the glitz and glamour that now surrounded him.

It's been twenty years, six months, a day and a handful of hours since the time he first set eyes on Jasmine Jaiswal, the marked calendar in front of him could tell.

The most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

The absolute bane of his existence.

He met her at grade 8 when he was a transfer student at the Elite Academy.

He lived with his single mother then and they were poorer than church rats

Being an intelligent student at such a young age, he was opportuned to have won numerous scholarships and that was how he had gotten picked as the transfer student who got taken to Elite Academy, the biggest and most expensive school in Qhezon City.

"Don't talk to him!!! He's so poor that his clothe can dirty the One thousand dollars pricey shoe your papa bought from Dubai!!"

" I heard he lives in the slums!!! No one should talk to him, why was he even brought to Elite Academy in the first place?!!"

" He's so poor he eats the leftover foods served at the school cafe area" another girl chirped in and the others laughed at him.

Everyday was a struggle, not just to survive but to endure the endless taunts of his classmates .

He had learned to keep his head down, to blend in the background and avoid drawing attention to himself .

He was already used to it, the pains, the torment from the pains, the tortures he endured at their hands.

It was expected, he was the only poor person in the school and this was evident in everything physical about him. His shabby clothes, his tattered shoes, his cologne that wasn't as expensive as that of the affluent children.

Everything about him screamed his not too affluent background and the students never ceased to make a mockery of him because of that.

Top of the list was Maya Jaiswal and Micheal Jaiswal. The two Jaiswal children.

The Jaiswal's were the richest families in Qhezon City then and everyone respected them and was at their beck and call, not wanting to go up against any of them and their tempers.

"Come here servant!! What are you still doing there? Can't you see that your master is passing by for you to come carry her belongings?" Maya had fired at him one day.

He knew there was no stopping to her bullying and he knew he had to obey her, lest her brother comes to her aid, and that meant his torture increasing.

Her brother who was a feared bully in the whole of the school, not just a rich man's child but an added bully as well.

"Come over here this Instant!!! "She commanded and Marshall had gotten himself ready to rush to her feet to bow and then take her bag when he was stopped by another girl..

The memories of the day had remained evergreen in his heart, it was the day everything had changed in his life. The day he felt less lonely.

"How many times has papa warned you to stop bullying people Maya? Don't you have hands to carry your bag by yourself? Must you be lazy to make other people do that for you all the time?"

That had been Jasmine Jaiswal, that had been his first encounter of her. She had stood her ground despite the sneers and snickers she got from the others from trying to defend him.

Marshall could still hear the sound of the slap that echoed through the waiting area as Micheal had slapt her for defying him.

It had been a hard and brutal sound but Jasmine didn't cry, she didn't even budge, she stood her ground, her chin lifted high with her small fists clenched by her sides to defend him against her siblings.

It was the first time someone defended him in the presence of the rich children, it was his very first and only time and that was why he always saw her, everywhere in the back of his mind.

Her actions stayed with him and had occupied a huge space in his heart since that day up to the extent that he hadn't cried like he always did whenever Micheal told him his favorite lines.

" You are a wretched, poverty striken church mouse who will never amount to anything. You should be lucky I picked interest in you because no one can ever look at you and pick an interest. People like you graduate from schools and become one of my drivers, or even land mowers if it so pleases me. So do not get ahead of yourself and think you're all it because you got the opportunity of being here. And never forget that my family's donation to the school in my name is the reason you're here"

" You'll never amount to anything, the highest you can be is get rewarded a drivers job by one of my father's companies" Maya had added after her brother.

He shaked his head and a smirk grew on his face. If only she knew the boy she had bullied back in grade school was the fiancee she was gearing up, so excitedly to get married to.

"Marshall Yugo" he muttered and looked up at the huge frame of his picture that hung on the wall.

"Marshall Yugo" he repeated and his memory drifted off again to when he became the owner of the name.

His Ma had just died and he was mourning her loss alone at the cemetery, with no father , no relatives or any friends to stand for him.

He had been crying his heart out, sad not just for his mother's death but the bleak future it entailed for him until a car had pulled up in his presence.

"Good day young master, I'm sorry it took me years to find you, but now that I've done so, I must return you to the chairman who has been waiting so desperately for you for years"

That had been his story. From hardships to grace because he had been the grandson of a billionaire who lost his son early. He became an instant millionaire immediately he was found and had for so long looked for Jasmine Jaiswal, the only girl who had been kind to him when he had nothing.

He found her but to his dismay, she was married -- married to a man who didn't deserve her, a man who mistreated her and took her for granted.

Marshall had kept his distance, knowing it wasn't his place to interfere but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was unhappy.

He had seen the sadness in her eyes, the way she forced a smile even when her husband, Arun publicly humiliated her.

Marshall had tried to offer subtle hints, small gestures for support but Jasmine had always brushed them off, insisting that everything was fine.

It was only when he saw the video of Maya and Arun making out together, the ultimate betrayal, that he realized just how wrong everything was.

Not just was Maya engaged to get married to him, but she was also the cause of Jasmine's ordeals, the cause of the tears in her eyes, the cause of her burning heart.

He had watched the video the first time he saw it with a sinking feeling knowing that Jasmine didn't deserve any of it.

And now as he sat back in his study, he felt a deep sense of regret.

He regretted not doing more to protect her when he found her three years ago, not finding her sooner, not saving her from the life that had brought her so much pain.

His mind snapped back to the present, to the video he had been watching just before his thoughts had drifted.

It was the same video he had seen a month ago-- Maya and Arun kissing and making out passionately, completely unaware that they were being recorded.

The sight of them filled him with a cold rage but it also solidified his resolve.

Jasmine deserved better and he was going to make sure she got it.

He turned off the video and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

He had waited years for this moment, years to finally have a chance to be with the woman he had admired for so long. And now that the opportunity was here, he wasn't going to let it slip away.

He had found her too late but this time, he wouldn't make the same mistake.

The time of waiting was over and now what was left to do was to take action, do whatever it took to make sure Jasmine had the life she deserved.

And he would start by making sure she knew she wasn't alone.

Not now, not ever again!!