Luc's at work when the message comes in."Yes?" He asks as his secretary pushes open the door and comes in."I received a call that requires your attention sir.""Okay...? Are you trying to keep me in suspense? Come on, what is it?"His secretary takes a deep breath. "I received a call from Anderson's Affairs, right from the secretary to Reese Anderson, the CEO."Lucas looks up to meet his eyes. "Right from the boss? What did he want?""He says that Mr Anderson wants to meet with you...""With me?""Yes. He said for business purposes."Lucas's face hardens. He remembers their last encounter that he had gone to visit them at home. The man he left behind didn't seem like someone who would want to meet over anything at all.But curiosity gets the better of him and he's willing to know what Reese wants, what he wants so bad that he should ask to see him, for business."When did he say he would love to meet?""Today, if possible. He's actually still on hold.""Ah, I see. Tell him I'm not b
Already on his eighth glass of wine, Reese glances angrily at the large double doors of the hotel and he curses. "That trash bag."He swigs the whole glass of wine at once and returns it to the breakfast table where he had sat. He dropped a single bill on the table and proceeds to leave.Just then, he hears the door and then footsteps coming to that side. He turns to check if it's his visitor and sure enough, it is. Lucas strides towards him, one hand in the pocket and the other one swinging his car keys in his hands. He stops and then smiles, a supposed to be charming smile but in the situation, it's far from it.It's more of a mocking and degrading smile."Oh, hi. Something came up and I had to make a detour. Why don't we have a seat?" Luc smiles pretentiously as he pulls up a chair for himself and sits down.Reese smiles back, his own smile just as strained and pretentious."I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long?" Luc asks as he settles down."Oh, not at all. I came here t
Stella, in the dead of the night, wakes up and looks to her side.She absentmindedly noted that Reese is not in bed. She doesn't bother to put on her slippers and heads down the stairs, past the living room, into the kitchen.It's her kitchen anyway so she doesn't need any light to know where things are. She walks over to the knife cabinet and pulls it open. She rifles around, her head up, her eyes staring blankly into the cabinet.She lays her hand on the largest knife and pauses, then she pulls it out of the cabinet.There, in the deep dark, she stares at the tiny glint of the knife...The minutes pass by and she just stares at the knife, seeing it and not seeing it at the same time.Suddenly, blinding white light floods the kitchen and the knife drops from her hands with a jerk.Reese peers into the kitchen and sees her bending to pick the knife, return it and close the drawer."You startled me." Stella remarks as she walks over to meet him by the kitchen entrance.He looks into th
Coming back to herself a bit after Stella tells her the news over the phone that same morning that her father has said he's going to return the Wood's money since he's gotten another sponsor.She'd been cold on the phone.Returning some money does not and can not stand in place of a child that's been lost... She feels terribly cold in the house alone. All the ice cream in the fridge has melted and the food almost spoilt.She swipes it all into a large trash bag after setting aside some ingredients that are still good enough to make something.She looks at the counter at the end of her house chore and eyes the ingredients she had salvaged, to see what she can make out of them. The only option she gets is noodles since that's basically the only thing she does not have to go to the grocery store to buy.She opens the overheard cupboard and picks out one medium large ramen noodles. She proceeds to cook it to satisfaction and even the aroma of the food gets her hungry even before it is rea
Lily's hands trembled slightly as she turned the key in the lock of the house that's always so eerily quiet. The grocery bags weighed heavily in her arms, but not as heavily as the one in her chest. She walks in and goes right to the kitchen where she arranged everything she had bought earlier into the fridge, using the opportunity to rearrange her thoughts. What does she even want to say to them exactly? Clearing her throat out loud, she stands straight and looks at the fridge like it's another person. "Hi, I just want to tell you that... Hi?! Too casual. Let's try again." Hermind racing through the rehearsed words she would say to the Woods, she starts again with talking to the fridge like it's a human. "Good afternoon, I'd love to have you know... Ugh. Too formal!" "Hey, you think I killed Price? Why will I be carrying his child then?! Why would I even say that? It's too classless." She sighs as she closes the fridge, frustrated. She stood there for a moment, letting the stead
In the infinity pool that comes with the penthouse, someone is having fun, having some champagne on the glassy edge of the pool. She swims with her back, gently stroking the water in soft motions as she lets the cool breeze and the warm water coat her body and she relaxes, a smile playing on her lips.Her phone buzzed incessantly, notifications flooding in from every corner of the world. She scrolled through the endless stream of messages, comments, and tags, her lips curving into a satisfied smile. The premiere of her latest movie had been nothing short of spectacular, and the buzz surrounding it was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Her face was everywhere—on billboards, trending hashtags, and magazine covers. Overnight, Alicia had become a household name, from an unknown woman to a star.The movie Spellbound had been such a hit that she's been shocked as well. Even the director that she'd had some fun nights with was not expecting it. Just another averagely rated movie, even
Mikayla stood in the center of her office, her gaze focused on the view of the city below. The sun was setting, casting a golden colour across the skyline, but there was no beauty in it for her today. The scandal that had erupted on social media was spreading like wildfire, threatening to engulf everything she had worked so hard to build, with the immense help of Lucas.Even if she can afford to lose it, she can't afford to lose it, disappointing Luc. She holds back from grabbing her phone and even calling him, but she can't do that without solving the issue at hand first.Hita, her PR manager, was pacing back and forth in front of her desk, her tablet clutched tightly in her hands, her face a mask of worry."Ms. Mikayla, we need to respond immediately," Hita urged, her voice a mix of urgency and desperation. "The longer we stay silent, the more damage this does to our brand. People are already starting to believe the rumors. Our customers are demanding answers!"Mikayla turned away f
"Mi-nello Mall has always prided itself on its commitment to quality and authenticity," Mikayla began, her voice carrying the authority of someone who was not to be trifled with. "The baseless accusations made against us are not only false but malicious. We have gathered here today to demonstrate that Mi-nello is built on integrity, and we will not allow just anyone to tarnish that." Anyone.Just anyone.She paused, letting her words sink in before delivering the final blow. "As a result of the defamatory statements made against our brand, Mi-nello will be pursuing legal action against the individual responsible. We will not stand by and allow our reputation to be destroyed by lies and deceit."Alicia’s blood ran cold. Legal action? She had expected some backlash, maybe a public denouncement, but a lawsuit? This was far worse than anything she’d imagined. The implications were staggering. Not only was her newfound career at risk, but her personal life could be dragged through the mud