LISTOWEL’S POVHer blood shot eyes snapped at me as soon as the last word flew out my my mouth. Her eyes were red and it mirrored something in them. Something vulnerable, more like she's been hurt. My chest churned in regret at as I stared at those pitiful eyes. I instantly regretted my actions. “Gosh, I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have embarrassed her like that I front of all those people,” I thought to myself.Oh how stupid I am, I'm supposed to warm her heart but here I am, causing her pain instead. My hands instinctively reached out to touch hers, to console her, to somehow explain that I really didn't mean to hurt her. But her expression instantly turned into disgust as soon my hands felt hers. Her soft pitiful face instantly vanished, replaced with a feist expression. Her brows furrowed in annoyance and before I could utter a word she yanked my hands away from hers. “Is it really fun? Do you despise me that much to the extent of ruining my first presentation here
My surroundings seemed to close in on me as I sat in my office, my gaze intently focused on the laptop before me. I was going over the so-called ‘not impressive enough’ proposal. I wasted almost seven hours of a sleepless night only to be told this? My heart felt heavy as I tried to calm the anger brewing inside me. As my fingers aggressively pressed on the letters on the keyboard before me, the cunning voice of Listowell still echoed in my ears. I didn't miss the deliberate criticisms and coldness he passed on while I was presenting. But I had ignored it all. I thought he was only trying to be silly, only for him to dismiss the whole proposal! And for what? A flimsy excuse that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe. “Miss Muggins?” Yaw spoke for the first time after a long while since we came back from the conference room. Yes?” I replied, not raising my gaze to look at him as it was still focused on the screen.“I don't think it's a good idea to go through the project right
MELISSA’S POVThe low screeching sound the door had made caught me off guard. “Who would enter an office without knocking” I thought to myself as my eyes darted to the doorway, checking who the culprit was. For a couple of minutes, I stood still, expecting the person to enter but there was no one. “It probably opened by itself” inwardly saying to myself, I turned and headed to the door side to close the door. Just when I held the doorknob, twisting it to the left side, someone’s head suddenly peeped in between the door and the wall. “Oh my God!” I screamed as soon as my eyes met that of the head’s. My face turned pale while my heart raced in shock, causing me to stagger backward. It was Yaw!“Miss Muggins! Forgive me, I didn't know you were back there,” rushing inside to hold me firm, Yaw apologized before I could fall. Standing upright, I scolded, “You just scared the hell out of me, Mr. Agyei”So sorry miss, I didn’t want to disturb your slumber so I thought to open it slowly
MELISSA’S POVI couldn't really tell why my heart skipped a beat when I heard his voice. Hoping against hope that the voice I had just heard wasn't that of the person I suspected it was, I turned my head towards the direction from which the voice emerged.And it was indeed him. The CEO, or should I say. My ex-husband? Anyways, it was Listowel Gordon. I felt my muscles tightening as my spine stiffened when our gazes met. "Planning anything cool?" he asked again, an indifferent expression on his face. We all stood still, dumbfounded by his sudden appearance and more so, his question.How is it his business if we are planning anything?As he approached us, I cut him a deadly glare, expecting that he would catch on and leave. But he pretended as if he didn't see. Averting his gaze from me to look at Maxwell, he asked, am I invited?“Mind if I join you guys?”I felt the muscles in my shoulders tightening, and my spine stiffening as I processed his words. He walked past me with an unrea
MELISSA’S POVI knew he was only trying to be silly so I acted like I didn't hear and walked away. ******The ride to the bar was quiet and the tension in it was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. My colleagues, Gloria, Yaw, Max and Collins were acting as if they weren’t the one that had excitedly hopped inside the car earlier. I guess they were intimidated by Listowel’s presence. Meanwhile, I had also experienced my share of the stress. Listowel had sat close to me and our bodies had been brushing against each other whenever the car swerved. In as much as I tried to suppress my discomfort, Listowel was comfortably seated, pressing on his phone, refusing to shift to the side a bit. Soon, the car pulled up in front of the infamous Murphy’s restaurant. From outside, I could hear the classic music and buzz of conversations from the insides as we stepped down from the car. Yaw, noticing my nervousness, was the first to talk. He gestured for me to come closer and said, “Come
LISTOWEL'S POVI tried hard to dodge the curious stares from the rest of the staff and those who were seated at the long table.Some were whispering and murmuring, while the rest had their mouths wide open. The expression they had on their face spoke none other than "What the heck is the cold CEO of all doing here at a team night out?” I could even see some random people at the restaurant secretly taking pictures and videos of me.Gosh... How I hate crowded places. I mean, can’t I go to places peacefully without having pictures and videos of myself circulating the internet? I was tempted to grab and smash the phone of a certain girl, whom I think is a blogger as she had her camera a few inches away from my face.If not for Mr. Bellingham, one of my administrative assistants, who had led her away, I would have probably been a hot topic in the news by now.MELLISA'S POVGloria, the vibrant thought this to be fun as she had a mischievous smile while shifting to and fra. I tried pinchin
MELISSA’S POVMy neck stiffened at his words. What does he mean by what he said? He expects me to take the food meant for him? In front of everyone? What even was going on in his mind when he placed the food before me? The deafening silence that engulfed our table caused a sense of dread through my bones. Everyone had their eyes on us, watching us with puzzled faces. Feigning a smile, I said, “No, thank you sir. I'm actually very full right now”. I declined and gently pushed the plate before him with the tip of my fingers. I turned back to face my colleagues with a smile that did not reach my eyes. I guess nervousness was too detectable for them not to notice as they also grinned awkwardly. “Or do you need me to feed you?” Listowel’s deep voice came through again. This time, I froze, his words sending a shiver down my spine. Is this why he insisted on coming with us? To make me feel uncomfortable?My fingers trailed from the table down to the chair. Moving slowly under the table,
MELISSA’S POVMy heart thumped faster against my ribs as the question came through. It seems the heavens aren’t on my side today. Why is everyone trying so hard to get on my nerves today? Or did they all collaborate with Listowel to ruin my time here? Now that I really thought of it, everything looks suspicious. First, it was the impromptu proposal, Yaw had called me to work on yesterday.Next was the rejection of the proposal. Followed by the team dinner, Listowel insisting on joining us and now here I was, being asked questions here and there as if there’s nothing else to discuss. Was I just overthinking or these are mere coincidences?My eyes trailed to the end of the table, where the voice came from. It was Priscilla. I had heard someone call her that when we arrived. But I couldn’t tell if this question came out of sheer curiosity or if there was something more behind it. For a moment, I sat frozen, thinking of what to say. I indeed know Wendy. Although I had heard of her
MELISSA’S POV The clock struck five and it was already time to close. I shut off my monitor and started arranging my desk, bringing the day's work to an end. I grabbed my bag and put in it some accessories before I stood up and adjusted my dress. From the glass windows, where I was checking myself, I could see a blue folder with a stack of documents inside. I let out a gentle sigh as I remembered what I told the owner the other day. I remember telling Listowel that I was gonna give it to a dispatch rider to deliver it to him but there here it was, still lying on my desk as if all the riders in town were on holiday. Well, I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to go give it to him in person. Yes. Yes. I know. I know that seeing him often was gonna disrupt my healing journey but….. I forced a chunk down my guts as I inched closer to pick it up. These documents seem to be important and it'll be thoughtless of me to leave them in the hands of a random rider. Wha
A wave of gasps erupted from the people around me as the liquid drenched my designer dress, turning the white fabric into red.My lips parted widely, my eyes closing shut as the wine dripped from my hair to my face and onto my dress. I froze. For a moment, I couldn’t move or utter a word.Was I just hallucinating or that dang old bat had poured the wine on me?I let out a slow breath, my fingers curling into a fist beside me as I stood properly. “What the hell do you think you’re—“ I yelled, but my statement died on my lips as her palm vehemently clashed against my cheek.My head snapped to the side, my hair flying everywhere as the sting spread through my face. My hands shot up to caress the area she had just slapped, glaring at her with deadly fury. Whispering, the onlookers started inching closer to the scene; their phones shot up in the air as they started recording. I raised my hand, intending to return the favor. These people were recording and I hate to be the one at the m
WENDY’S POV Tonight made it exactly a month since Listowel woke up in my bed. I had sent the photos to Melissa to get a reaction out of her. But to my surprise; she never reached out as I expected. I was even doubting she must have seen the photos until I witnessed Listowel being thrown out of her house by security two weeks ago. Only the heavens know how happy I was that day when I realised my plan had worked. Their so called lovely relationship had crumbled. I had this in mind and was in the process of planning my next move not knowing the blow that hanged in the air, waiting to be served. I was dining at the rooftop restaurant, when the articles of Listowel admitting that Melissa is the lady he’s been going out with circulated the internet. The people around had started murmuring among themselves so I had requested to change to a private dinning room. The music played softly in the background while the symphony of clinking glasses, people conversing over their foods an
MELISSA’S POV My phone buzzed with messages as my colleagues from work texted to inquire if I was really dating the famous ‘Listowel Gordon’. Who the fvck released these images and how the hell did the person get them? My mind raced with thoughts as mixed feelings wrestled to take over me. I couldn't really tell how I was feeling. I didn't know whether to be happy or pissed. Unlike before, people were admiring me now. They were somehow glad that we were a couple and wished that our relationship would prosper. Really? What changed? Why were they happy for us all of a sudden? Well, this and other thoughts swirled in my mind as I tried to connect the dots. The fact that the pictures that were trending were personal ones I took with Listowel baffled me. Unless maybe Listowel got hacked, I’m not sure he will release the photos like that without informing. Even though I wasn't getting immediate answers, I was glad this in some way had cleared rumors. For weeks now, I have
LISTOWEL’S POVI let out a long exhale as I read through the articles about Melissa and I. Surprisingly, all the comments we were receiving are all good and encouraging. Unlike the previous months, the people were complimenting our resilience to have kept our relationship going despite everything. The articles were spammed with people admiring Melissa’s beauty. Even though I didn't like the fact that they were comparing her to Wendy; I was happy either ways that she was getting the good recognition she deserved. With a smile on my face, I scrolled through each comment, liking each compliment. Suddenly, a sharp knock echoed outside of my door. My brows knitted together as I wondered who could have been at the office at this time aside Kevin and I. Glancing at my wrist, I noticed it was a few minutes past eight. I was about signalling Kevin to go check who it was when the door flung open. The audacity! Who enters my office with such disrespect?! My eyes darted the doorway, as I p
LISTOWEL’S POV Listowel, do I look stupid to you?” Lisa’s voice jolted me back to reality, anger flashing across her face as she crossed her arms over. My lips parted, and I was about to tell her that she was the smartest person I've ever known and that I was the stupid one there. Because all this was my fault. I was stupid for failing to see the signs of Wendy’s plot when it was so obvious. I couldn't believe how stupid I was to have ignored the fact that, Webdy had seductively rubbed her shoulders against mine that evening. But before the words could part my lips, she grabbed her bag and stood. “You know what? I don't have time for your little games…” I reached for her hand but once again, she pulled away as though I was a plague. I wanted to follow her but stopped. I was going to give her some distance in the meantime. Now that a major part of the puzzle has been revealed, it will take me no more than a few days to find out the whole truth. ********** With a fo
LISTOWEL’S POV I have faced several challenges in my life, from impossible negotiations to dealing with rival businesses but none of them have taken a toll on me as the one that I have been currently battling. This one was the worst kind of battle. Why? Because I was fighting the one person I loved most. And it looks as if there wasn’t any chance of me winning. For the past few weeks, after the event that happened at Melissa all my attempts to get her to listen to me have proved futile. There have been days that I’ve tried to reach her by waiting at her doorstep, but I couldn’t anymore because she reported me to the landlord and now I’ve been banned from entering her residence till further notice. I tried to catch up with her at work but her goddamn boss, Giovanni has had security chase me away several times. Even though it was humiliating, I was willing to endure it all for her. I could have countered Giovanni’s actions by making my men oppose him but the fact
MELISSA’S POV It's been almost a month since I broke things up with Listowel. That jerk! After chasing me up for a few days, he gradually backed off. I guess he must have finally realized that I am no bvtch to be toyed with. But I must admit, the past few weeks have not been easy for me. Waking up every day to pretend as if I did not know or had anything to do with him has been heartbreaking. I try to convince myself that he's not worth my time and energy but deep within me, I've been hurting. On lonely nights, I cry my eyes out before I’m able to sleep. There have been days that I felt like calling to cry on him, to tell him how much he hurt me, to explain to him why I didn't deserve all that he did to me; but the fact that I had deleted his contact from my phone had saved me from embarrassing myself. Within the first two weeks, I was unable to concentrate at work; but Mr. Giovanni, already aware of the turmoil in my life, helped to keep me distracted from overthinking. H
GIOVANNI’S POV Seeing Melissa cry her heart out the other day in the office made me want to care for her more. I had offered to walk her to the garage because of the tear stains on her dress. I didn’t want her to attract unnecessary attention and questions from the other staff. At the garage, I was about to head back to the office after waving her goodbye when I suddenly heard a consistent click from the soles of heels behind me. Curious, I turned in the direction of the sound only to see Melissa rushing towards the other side of the garage. My eyes trailed to the direction she was heading and an unsettling feeling washed over me as soon as I recognized who it was. Listowel Gordon. The CEO of Gordon Constructions. Even though he might not know me, I know him very well. We’ve not gotten the chance to meet face to face yet but I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a smart business mogul whom most influential people in Aphrodite City admire. And I am no exception. When it