DEVON
"Sir, your phone," one of my men brought my phone closer to my ears.
"Hello."
"Mr. Devon, it's me, Ken. I think Mr. Derek is into something big. I found him today selling white powders to the Crow groups," he reported.
"The Crows, the ones that I had dealt with in the past?" I asked.
"Exactly, sir. It's like they believed you had softened, or rather, you are no longer scary," Ken replied.
"It might indeed be the case. I've kept quiet for too long; maybe it's time for the New York underworld to hear my name again. And Lucas, he still thinks he's winning with the new product that is better than the stolen one. Even if he was the one who stole it, so what? It couldn't beat the new product. Now he wants to run the underground business with my men and revive the Crow. New York underground world doesn't belong to me, true, but the fact that he revived the Crow and even used Derek clearly shows that he wants to directly defy
KARENIn the evening, I met up with my friend Juliana, living in Pennsylvania. We grew up together and went to the same junior school."You look so pretty, Keran," she praised."Thank you," I replied."But you are not a good friend; you haven't asked about me, your best friend, for a long time. I was really missing you. And, oh yes, tell me, do you have a boyfriend or a fiancé now?" she asked."Non, but I am married," I answered."Oh my, how come? What about Wigan? You know he loves you," she exclaimed."What Wigan? That local thug. Don't mention him again," I scolded."But he really loves you; he is such a perfect man and comes from a wealthy family. I heard his family runs a diaper company, and they make lots of money every year. You should see how he changes cars," Juliana insisted.I was amused. Diaper company? That's bullshit. Anyone from Devon's company could buy all his family
DEVONI was satisfied with how things ended up. I was fatigued due to the day's events. I needed rest, so I went back to my mansion immediately and called Laura to come and meet me."Devon, I thought you were no longer interested in me now that you have a wife?" She seemed to be complaining, but I wasn't in the mood to listen."Enough with that nonsense. Just leave everything you are doing and hurry to my house," I said in a commanding voice. She paused for a few minutes before saying, "okay," and hung up. I nodded in satisfaction.The phone rang again, and I thought she was calling to give me an excuse. I was infuriated and prepared to tell her my mind when I saw it was her grandfather. He picked up the call."How are you doing, my lovely grandson?""Grandpa! How is your health?""I am great, son. I won't be dying anytime soon; these old bones of mine are stronger than they look. Devon, I have something for you. I wa
KARENI woke up to find myself in an unfamiliar room. My head was throbbing with a headache, and I tried to get up. I felt a strain in my hand, and when I looked down, I saw that I was tied.I tried to recall what happened last night. Wigan had been pestering me, and when I tried to leave, he became aggressive. I slapped him angrily, and he left in anger. Feeling constipated, I decided to go home immediately. I called Juliana and told her about Wigan's pestering, blaming her for bringing me to this party.She laughed and said I was feeling nervous, instructing me to go home. She would return in the morning. On my way home, my car was double-crossed on the road, and armed men in black masks forced me into their cars. A substance was forced inside my nose, and I became unconscious.That was all I remembered. These men must have brought me to this room. But why would they kidnap me, or rather, who asked them to kidnap me?Just as I wa
DEVONAs the conversation continued, Gregory kept mentioning or praising his granddaughter now and then."I was wondering, Devon, what do you think of my granddaughter?" he asked in the middle of our discussion."She is cool. I think she is a perfect girl," I answered with a lack of interest, but I didn't let it show on my face."So, you say she's perfect. What do you think about the two of you being together?" I choked on his words."You must be joking, Mr. Gregory.""No, I am serious. I think it will do well for both of our families, it will make us all one big family. Come on, I am sure your father will agree," he said with a smile.I was looking at the girl, hoping she would object, but instead, she blushed and bent her head while taking peaks towards me."Your suggestion is great, Mr. Gregory, but you see, the problem is that I'm married," I showed my wedding ring. Evelyn appeared disappointed when she saw
DEVONAs the conversation continued, Gregory kept mentioning or praising his granddaughter now and then."I was wondering, Devon, what do you think of my granddaughter?" he asked in the middle of our discussion."She is cool. I think she is a perfect girl," I answered with a lack of interest, but I didn't let it show on my face."So, you say she's perfect. What do you think about the two of you being together?" I choked on his words."You must be joking, Mr. Gregory.""No, I am serious. I think it will do well for both of our families, it will make us all one big family. Come on, I am sure your father will agree," he said with a smile.I was looking at the girl, hoping she would object, but instead, she blushed and bent her head while taking peaks towards me."Your suggestion is great, Mr. Gregory, but you see, the problem is that I'm married," I showed my wedding ring. Evelyn appeared disappointed when she saw it. Mr. Gregory was also disappointed."It's really unfortunate. I never k
KARENThe sky was getting dark, and the sun slowly made a retreat. I guess it was already evening. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I had imagined Devon breaking in to save me. With time passing, I learned how naive it was for me to think like that instead of finding a way to escape.The door opened, revealing Wigan in a black wedding suit. A smile appeared on his face. Two young girls were standing beside him, holding a wedding gown."This is the gown I got for you. It's beautiful, right? Wear it now; the priest is waiting for us." He signaled the two girls and watched gleefully as they got rid of my old clothes and helped me wear the white gown."You demon, you will regret this," I cursed bitterly. I hadn't yet lost hope; Wigan would never expect that somebody within his rank would help me, and that was my greatest trump card.The girls escorted me out of the room after dressing me. We walked down the long corridor and arrived in a wide garden. The garden had been decorated
KAREN"What were you thinking about going to a party by yourself and leaving at that time?" Derek scolded."I am sorry, I didn't expect this would happen. I just felt uncomfortable at the party and decided to leave," I tried to explain.Devon looked at me and didn't know what to say. He sighed and clutched his injured arm."Does it hurt too much?"He glared at me. "Try to get shot by a bullet; you can tell how much it hurts if you do so.""Why are you always like this, Devon? Can't you be a bit softer sometimes?""Don't think that because I saved you, I have started loving you. In short, I hate you more than before. I am just doing this because of the possibility of you carrying my child."I was hurt by his words but didn't try to show it. Soon, our car pulled over at the hospital."Will the doctors agree to admit you considering it was a gunshot wound?" I asked worriedly."My people must have already contacted them beforehand. With my connections, everything must have already been so
KAREN "What were you thinking about going to a party by yourself and leaving at that time?" Derek scolded."I am sorry, I didn't expect this would happen. I just felt uncomfortable at the party and decided to leave," I tried to explain.Devon looked at me and didn't know what to say. He sighed and clutched his injured arm."Does it hurt too much?"He glared at me. "Try to get shot by a bullet; you can tell how much it hurts if you do so.""Why are you always like this, Devon? Can't you be a bit softer sometimes?""Don't think that because I saved you, I have started loving you. In short, I hate you more than before. I am just doing this because of the possibility of you carrying my child."I was hurt by his words but didn't try to show it. Soon, our car pulled over at the hospital."Will the doctors agree to admit you considering it was a gunshot wound?" I asked worriedly."My people must have already contacted them beforehand. With my connections, everything must have already been s
KAREN“Yeah, my mom told me that during her time, she craved chocolate so much that she ate so much chocolate. Really,” I said to Alice.“Really?” she asked. I nodded.“Well, I’m glad to hear he is good with you. I hope everything would be best for you,” Alice said with a smile.“Alice, thank you for always being there,” I thanked Alice.“Ma’am, your order,” when our order came, we started having our lunch together.After lunch, we went to Alice’s car.“I am dropping you home. Get rest, don’t worry for the salon. I would check again there in the evening,” Alice said, and she drove me home while she went to her salon.After walking into home, I went directly to the room. After taking a shower, I decided to take a nap.I lay on the bed. After some time, I drifted into deep sleep.
KARENRelief washed over me as Alice confirmed what we had thought. The lady who had complained about her facial treatment looked shocked.“I… I had no idea. I’m sorry for causing a scene earlier,” she said in a low tone.“It’s okay. We’re just glad that now you know about this, so you should not use this cream again,” I replied to her.“Now that everything’s fine, can we go back to the salon?” Alice asked from behind.“Yeah, let’s go,” I said to Alice with a smile.The lab technician handed us the test results, and we thanked him before leaving the lab. While Alice and I went in her car, the lady said she would go by cab and left from the lab.As we reached the salon, Linda and Diana were walking in, waiting for the results. Seeing Alice and me coming into the salon, they came towards us.“You’re back! What were th
KARENBut she wasn’t having it. “I don’t care about your investigations!” she said, her face filled with frustration. “If you don’t fix this right now, I’ll make sure everyone knows about the terrible service at this salon. I’ll leave the worst review of your salon!” she said angrily.“Ma’am, please have a seat. Please, calm yourself,” Diana said to her, trying to soothe her anger.However, she was too agitated to listen, her anger boiling over as she threatened to leave a bad review of the salon.Listening to her words, I felt anxiety. Negative reviews could be damaging to our reputation, and I knew I had to find a way to make things in our favor and also make her calm down.As I attempted to understand her complaint, the door swung open again.I looked at the direction of the door and saw Alice there.“Hello, everyone!&
KAREN“Devon, thank you for taking me out for ice cream,” I said, my voice filled with happiness.He glanced at me briefly, then nodded.“It doesn’t mean you can have ice cream instead of a meal every time,” he said in a rude voice.“Yeah, I know,” I replied.I was so into enjoying my ice cream that I didn’t even notice a bit of it had dripped onto the side of my mouth. When I looked at Devon, I could see he was smiling a bit.“There’s a little ice cream on your lip,” he said, pointing to his own mouth.I got confused and tried to wipe it off myself, but Devon shook his head, still smiling. “No, not there,” he said, leaning closer.Before I could say anything, Devon’s hand gently wiped the ice cream off the corner of my mouth. It felt nice when he did that, and I blushed a little, feeling shy.He sat on his
DEVON“That’s why she became unconscious?" I asked the doctor.“Yeah, she will be back to her senses after some minutes. Don’t worry,” the doctor reassured me before leaving the room.When I entered the room, I saw Karen was already awake. She looked at me, confused, and asked, “What am I doing home? I was at the salon. What happened?” She seemed disoriented and weak.“I brought you home. You fainted at the salon,” I explained gently, feeling bad for causing her trouble.“I’m sorry, Devon. I suddenly felt dizzy,” Karen said, embarrassed.As I looked at her feet, I noticed they were red and burned from the spilled coffee. I knew I had to do something. I sat up and went to the cupboard, taking the first aid kit. I sat beside her and took out the ointment from the box.“Let me apply some ointment on your feet,” I suggested g
KARENThe next day, I woke up when the sun’s rays hit my face, causing me to struggle in the pillows. I decided to wake up, and upon opening my eyes, I was greeted with the best view in front of me: my husband’s face.I gazed at him for a while, his words from the previous night still echoing in my mind. His apology had meant so much to me, bringing happiness to my heart.I got up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. After taking a refreshing shower, I headed downstairs to make breakfast for us.As I descended the stairs, I noticed the maids already at work in the kitchen, preparing for the day ahead. Their presence reminded me of the privilege and comfort that surrounded us, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful for all that we had.I went to the kitchen.“Ma’am, do you need anything?” the maid asked.“Yes, please. Could you get me some fresh eggs from
DEVONAfter arriving at the office, I tried to focus on my work, but thoughts of Karen lingered in my mind, disturbing me. Her teary eyes kept haunting me, making me feel like I was in the wrong. I decided to investigate further and made a call.After a few rings, he picked up the call. “Yes, sir?” he replied from the other end.“I need CCTV footage of Karen’s salon and her street from today,” I said to the person on the phone.“Okay, sir. You will have it by evening,” he replied.After the call, I opened my laptop and started reading my emails. Once my work was done, I decided to visit Laura.I went to her home and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she opened it.“Well, well, well, look who decided to show up,” Laura teased me, leaning against the doorframe.I chuckled, stepping inside. “Couldn’t stay away, could I?” I replied.
KARENHe looked at me, and I went to him and sat beside his chair.“Get him here,” the police commissioner said to the policeman who was standing beside him. He went inside and came back with a man, his face covered with a black mask.“Here he is,” the policeman said to Devon.“And here are your things,” the commissioner said to Devon, while placing my handbag and mobile phone on the table from his drawer.I looked at my things with shocked eyes.“This can’t be true,” I thought to myself.“Check if anything is missing,” the police commissioner said, while pointing at my things.I looked at Devon, seeing him already smirking at me.I took my purse from the table and started looking into it. There was everything inside my bag that the thief took tomorrow.“What should we do with him?” the commissioner asked Devon.&
KAREN“By the way, I’m Jack,” he said, extending his hand in greeting.I shook his hand, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Jack. I’m Karen,” I replied.“And what’s your name?” he asked, directing his attention to her.“Linda,” she replied with a smile.“So, Karen,” he began, turning to me, “when did you start this salon? I don’t remember seeing it here before.”“I started working here a few months ago,” I replied.He nodded and looked at Linda again; she was already looking at him.“So, Linda,” he began, “how long have you been working here?” he asked, directing his attention to her.Linda looked surprised by the sudden attention, but she smiled and answered his questions, starting a conversation with him. As they talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there