Spoiler alert: Prepare your tissues for the next couple of chapters.
There was brewing chaos that morning. It had been a few days since Damien and I saw each other but we spoke over the phone all the time. A much needed improvement in our relationship was well on its way but there was a sinking feeling in my heart for no reason that day. I planned to go meet him up in his office at lunch hopefully after the board meeting his assistant told me about was over. Drew, his assistant had a pensive look when he came to my office hours before lunchtime to break the news to me. "He what?!!" I screamed. I rushed downstairs to see that there was an ambulance waiting there and Damien was being carried in. "What happened?!" I yelled my way through the small crowd that had gathered outside. "Who are you ma'am?" "I'm his wife." I shoved my phone in his face and showed him my wallpaper. "You can get in." He said. I hopped into the van and sat close to Damien's lifeless form laid on the stretcher. He was out cold. "Oh Jesus please help me," The drive to the
It was early the next morning. I had hardly slept a wink that night, worrying about the outcome of the procedure in between prayers and filling myself with hope from words of the bible.I was half asleep on the couch in Damien's hospital room with Fiona's head on my thighs when a nurse came in and called me to the doctor's office. I was sure Mom and the others were on the way so a part of me wanted them to be here before going to hear the update, at least for moral support. I let the nurse know this.She nodded, "I understand ma'am. I'd let the doctor know.""Thank you."Pacing the room while I read the text from Aiden and another from Jesse, they were close to the hospital. That was a relief, though momentary. In a matter of minutes, they were here and we made the fearful walk down to the doctor's office.Getting there, we briefly exchanged pleasantries with the doctor and I got seated while the men stood behind me. "So doctor, how was it?" Jesse asked when I was reluctant to form t
"Dada," Ava said, pointing at Damien's photo behind me as I changed her diaper. "Yes, dada." I said back to her. "Dada, dadada," she repeated over and over getting up on her own to try and touch the framed picture that her little arms could not reach just yet. I stepped back and watched her, letting my eyes meet his in the picture as he stared into the camera with a slight smile while he held on to me who was nervous at our wedding. Pictures like these were all over the house and they often made me reminisce on all of our moments. Moving on to the huge framed photo from our vow renewal, the love was finally obvious with the way we grinned so wide in the frame. I was finally happy after staying in loveless marriage with all the chaos for as long as we did. If anyone asked about when we got married, I usually fought the urge to mention the vow renewal's date cause that was when it felt like I had actually gotten married for the first time. The wedding buzz I didn't feel the first tim
Hello fam. I hope we're all doing good.So, I have this to say: Writing is not an easy task 😭I'm a student (just finished my exams btw), I work as a freelance writer and I also run a business. I have several responsibilities in church too so writer's block tends to hit me a lot. I have a trip next week and I'm not even going with my laptop so I would not be able to update for the whole week, I'm so sorry guys😭😭😭I don't believe in writing just to update, I put my emotions into this thing and sometimes I'm too drained to put anything down because of how tasking it can be. I believe strongly in excellence.I love you guys but please I need you to understand how hard this is for me. I promise to give updates back to back after I'm settled in when this busy season is over.Thanks for understanding. I'd be updating soon after properly editing the next chapter 🥰
The news had hit like a storm. Kingston Corp had been taken over just two months after the founder's absence and by none other than his uncle, Gerald Kingston. The house was surrounded before I knew it throwing me off balance and scrambling around like a headless chicken as I tried to figure out how this was possible. The staff were gathered in the living room by the time I got downstairs. Speak of the devil and he appeared, the person behind all this chaos was seated right there doling orders to my staff. "Gerald?" I called just as the workers gave way for me to approach him. Mom was standing next to him, looking defeated. "Hello Ariana." He said with a mocking grin. "When did you get released from jail?" I asked, not there to exchange pleasantries. "Oh you mean after your husband threw me in without a trial?" "I have nothing to do with that." I stated calmly, eyes trained on his saggy face. "Right, of course. I've heard a lot about you both. My deepest condolences over his
My eyes burned from the brightness of the strange space I found myself in. Where was I? "Hello Damien." I turned around and was met with the sight of nothing, just plain white washed walls that seemed to never end. "Who called me?" I asked, taking a step forward as I viewed my surroundings. "I did." The authoritative voice that I first heard spoke up again, leaving a slight echo as I looked around for its owner. "Where are you? Show yourself!" I said, getting anxious at the oddness of the situation. "Walk forward." He said and with curious strides I ventured forward through what looked like a passageway to an unknown place. Somehow, I found myself in an opened field and when I turned back, there was no trace of the place I just walked through. Strange. When I turned back I was met with a calm middle aged man staring at me with a slight smile that threw me off balance. I managed to get on my feet after recovering from the shock. "Who are you? How did you get here? And where the
Life had been a rollercoaster. I was merely taking it one day at a time, carrying the burden of the blows it had dealt me with. It was a Saturday morning, some weeks since we moved in and I was doing routine cleanups when I peered outside the window and saw a truck approach and stop right in front of the gate. I came out to find out why they were trespassing on my property. I stood on the lawn and watched for a few minutes only to figure out it was a moving truck that carried stuff that seemed very familiar to me. It was then I spotted Amy. "How did you find this place?" I asked fiercely as I marched outside seeing that the movers were already getting to work after throwing greetings that I did not bother to respond to. "Ma Rosa told me about it. Can I come in?" She was so calm and seemed unremorseful. The blithefulness of her tone irked me. "No you can't." I bit out. "Ariana I'm not your enemy. I singlehandedly made sure all your stuff was brought to you even when Uncle Gerald di
"Water." He croaked out that morning as I woke up and met his eyes on me. I got up immediately and fought the urge to yell at him for taking off the mask that supported his breathing especially as his lungs had failed during the surgery. Was he trying to give me a heart attack?!Quickly, I pressed the button and a nurse came in."He's asking for water," I told her. "Is that okay?" My concern was obvious. What if I gave him water and he choked on it? What if he couldn't swallow? It was a never-ending trail of what ifs in my mind until the nurse spoke."I'll get the doctor." She said and scurried off before I could respond.They came back in and I had the go ahead to give him properly treated water. With his throat still in the process of recovery, it took a lot of patience for me to slowly feed him gulp after gulp. The look of relief on his face when his thirst had been quenched almost brought tears to my ears. He looked up at me again and wordlessly gave me an appreciative smile.I wa
There was something about weddings that always made Ariana fuzzy on the inside. The scent of flowers, topnotch catering, the cascading white decor or just the feel of love in the air. Love that she had experienced bountifully and was drunk with it. Looking back at the year before, she remembered how hard it was to settle back into their 1% of the 1% kind of life. In all honestly, she had missed the simplicity for the past year, ever since they had to move out from what Damien thought was a rich neighborhood but not for the wealthy which they were again. On the bright side, he had sold the old house where their journey started and all its memories - the sweet and bitter ones alike - were now things of the past that they would savor in their hearts for the rest of their lives. Her one worry had been how their relationship with their creator would be when Damien went back to his workaholic ways. Pleasantly surprised, she saw that the revelation of Christ had reverently dawned on him and
~~~~Damien~~~~~ It was a Sunday afternoon. We were back from church after the service turned into a celebration when Ariana and I went up to give our testimony - our story. Coming back home, my heart swelled with gratitude. Looking back, I never would have thought that life would take me through all that and I would come out strong. It was not until we got to our home and approached the gates that the smiles on the faces of my wife and I dropped. We had an unexpected visitor. "Congratulations." He said as we met eye to eye. "Thank you." I uttered, eyeing him surreptitiously. "Ariana." He nodded in her direction, courteously. "Aiden." She returned and breezed past us, taking the kids who were innocently excited to see him with her. "Can I come in?" He gestured towards the house and though I wanted to say no, I was in too much of a good mood to. "Come on in." I led the way into the living room, seeing as Ariana was on halfway up as the led the children to their room. "Have a
It came faster than lightning. One month passed like it had been just a week. We were back in the courtroom and even with the air condition that cooled the room, my hands were clammy with sweat as I held on Damien's hand. I was nervous, but strangely, he was so calm. Looking up at his chiseled face, I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder while he held me close. "It's going to be fine. We got this babe," He assured me in a whisper. I nodded, praying in my heart that this was the truth and that we would come out victorious.I sat up and saw Gerald and Damien's siblings walk in, some were courteous enough to say hi, which I responded to. I watched them sit on the other side while Gerald looked in our direction and sneered. Damien gave him a hard glare before looking away.The proceeding started and a different judge walked in. Instinctively, I turned to Damien and it seemed he was as surprised as I was. Gerald shifted in his seat uncomfortably.Soon, our lawyers were up, briefing t
The court proceedings had begun. Damien had gone all out to get the best lawyer he could find for this case. There was no backing down on his part and the media was ready to feast on this frenzy with its juicy details. I followed each and every headline, every blog post and read through comments back to back. I had people messaging me to ask if the news was true but I decided to keep mute until it was all done and over with.As I sat in that courtroom, silently watching as they battled for justice, I could not help but feel a sense of trepidation in spite of how I was supposed to hold on to hope and faith that things were going to turn in our favor.The sneer on the judge's face when the plaintiff spoke was worse when Damien got into the box for questioning. Gerald was relaxed and even had a cocky stance as he watched with a smirk anytime my eyes trailed over to him. I smelled a rat. I would not put it past him to have bribed the judge."This case is hereby adjourned until the 20th o
"She's what?!!!" I dropped my phone in reflex when I heard him yell from the balcony. Quickly, I got on my feet and rushed to meet him over the phone looking like he had seen a ghost. "What happened?" I asked as he limply dropped the phone. It took him a while to respond to me. "My mom is dead." "What?!" I screamed, clasping my palms over my mouth. "What happened to her?" I managed to ask as the tears started to stream down my face. "Aleena says she was found dead in her room. I smell foul play." He frowned deeply. In the next instant, he rushed out of the room and I followed him closely. "Carina?" She looked up from the boys who seemed to have fallen in love with her personality ever since she began living with us. "I need you to check the CCTV footage thoroughly. I think Gerald killed my mom." "Jeez!" She exclaimed, getting up to head to the room where the computers were while I ushered the children upstairs so they would not have to hear any of this. I came back down a
She looked different. Very different from the last time I saw her over seven years ago. "Damien," she walked over and hugged me, I limply returned it. "It's so nice to see you. Thank you for gracing my invitation, I thought you wouldn't even respond to me." She said, more excited to see me than I was to see her. I nodded slowly, "Well, here I am.""You're not going to ask how I'm doing. You're still mad at me?" She gasped."I'm not mad at you, just suspicious that you would reach out to me for the first time in years and now of all times." I said honestly."I heard everything that happened and I'm so sorry." "How did you hear?" I asked."Your mother.""You're still in contact with her." That was a statement."I saw her at an event a couple of weeks ago when I came back to LA.""Hmmm."Aleena sighed sadly and her face stiff with lots of plastic surgery hardly moved. "She's very unhappy Damien," "Serves her right." I muttered."Gerald treats her like trash.""She deserves it." I said
"You got a cake?" I asked, swabbing a piece of icing with my index finger as he set the white colored buttercream cake with cherry toppings on the kitchen island."Oooh yummy." I moaned, savoring the taste. "What's the occasion?" I asked, going into his arms as he pulled me close. "Kiss me first," he placed me on the island and placed his lips on mine before I could respond. "It's a peace offering." He finally answered my question when he let me go. "Peace offering? What did you do?" I asked, squinting my eyes in suspicion as he looked away in guilt, muttering something under his breath. "Babe, speak up." I said, tapping on his strong arms that held me in place in case I wanted to walk out. He definitely had done something that would really upset me. "I invited Claire over," He managed to say after a while of probing.I was shocked. "You did what? I thought you were just going to speak to her and that's it?""I want to see her when she works.""So she's going to stay here?" Now I
"You had one job, both of you! And all you can say is that they were good to you?!" She sighed in exasperation. "Dad, they were good to us. Why would we want to do that to them?" "You let Gerald win!" "At least now you're not caught up in their mess. It's now a family issue." "You made me lose out on a lot of money." "Aren't you wealthy enough? You framed my husband and put him in jail just for me to destroy someone who has never done any wrong to you!" She screamed in annoyance. "Shut up!" He said and coughed loudly. Cheryl wished he would just die already. "I regret having you as my daughter," he said to spite her. "Trust me, I wish I had died as a baby." She said and hung up. "That was so brave of you." Leon said, hugging her from behind. "I wish I had done this earlier." She sighed. For too long, she had hidden in the fear of losing her father's support but now she had learnt to be content with her husband's earnings. "We need to do something to help Damien and Ariana." S
I dabbed the blending foam over my cheeks one more time, staring at the finished look in the mirror with as satisfied smile on my face. I was still good at this makeup thing despite doing without it after so long. Damien went out of his way to stock up on my makeup products. I was so shocked that he got the shades right. It was such a pleasant surprise. Things were coming together. With the help of someone in church, through Pastor Anderson, he was able to secure a remote job in a tech startup that paid quite a sum. We had carved out a home office for him in what used to be our guest room and whenever he was in there, he was not to be disturbed. I shut my eyes as I sprayed the setting spray over my face, completing the look and waiting for it to marinate as I set up the tripod and camera I was going to use for my video. "Oh my goodness Mama Mia," Damien came in just then and I blushed as he showered me with compliments. "You are delectably gorgeous. The most beautiful woman to wa