Anamika arrived at the hotel where she was supposed to meet Taylor. The man was sitting quietly in the hotel’s bar lounge, with two mugs and pot of whatever liquid was inside. A waiter walked Anamika to him before leaving them alone.“Mika, you look gorgeous. How is your mother doing?” “What do you want with me this time?” she ignored his hypocritical pleasantry and went straight to the point. “You don’t expect me to speak with you standing over me like that. Have a seat.” He gestured to the sofa in front of him. “I’m not here to sit.” She replied curtly. “Alright. But you can’t say I didn’t offer you a seat.” He poured himself a cup of black coffee and started sipping it languidly. “Join me,” he added as if he didn’t know she hates black coffee. “Why did you call me here? I have other things I’d like to attend to.” “Well, you’ll have to excuse me. I have no intention of getting down to business so soon.” He smiled before he continued sipping his coffee gently and quietly. A
“Only I and Ash knows who Asher Walker really is. If you don’t pay for the information from me and go to seek help from Ash, I’ll send Ash’s father a message to tell him his son had grown weak because of you. I’m very sure your head would be hanging on a spike the next day.”Anamika looked at him skeptically for a while. Taylor had never lied before. In fact he has no reason to. “Asher would tell me what I need to know in due time. I don’t need to hear it from you. ”Taylor laughed. “It seems you don’t understand my point of coming here today. Ok, I’ll tell you everything for free.”“I’m not interested.”“Oh yes, you are… Asher Walker is the grandson of Old man Williamsburg from the capital.” He observed her face while saying it. Then a smile flickered across his lips when he saw the shock she was in before he continued.“When he was young, his grandfather and the Quinn family came into a consensus and held an engagement for Asher and Lisa, the brightest Miss of the Quinn family. Eve
He wasn’t holding a gun to anyone’s head, nor was he yelling, or showing any form of anger, but the chill in the atmosphere was more than enough to convey the message that Asher had incurred his grandfather’s wrath. There was grave silence in the room that the sound of a pin dropping would reverberate in the space. The noiseless atmosphere was about to drive the people crazy. The guards just wanted the meeting to end as soon as possible! After what seemed like forever, the old man finally parted his lips. “You said something?” The old man’s deep and husky voice would send children looking for their mothers in tears. From his temperament alone, one would know he isn’t a small fry. But when he opened his mouth, everyone subconsciously felt threatened. Even Uncle Roger glanced at Asher with pity for a moment. “Yes, grandfather.” Asher answered after a moment of silence. Unlike his grandfather’s domineering and intimidating voice, Asher’s was respectful but stoic. “I didn’t hear i
When Anamika returned home, she didn’t know what to do at that time. She locked herself in her room to think but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think of any helpful thing. All she could think of was what Taylor told her. “You’ve only been a tool for passing time…. 20 Years of engagement…. They’ll be getting married three days from now.”Everything else that was said had no place in her mind. Anamika didn’t know how to help herself from thinking about the calamity that had befallen her. She has no power to fight against such people. She felt betrayed, deceived, and used. Still, her heart refused to hold Asher accountable for anything. Instead of getting angry at him for turning her into a joke, her heart was feeling that he might also be struggling. Subconsciously, she took out her phone from her bag and saw she had missed calls from him…fifty times! She wiped her tears and decided to call him back. Immediately the phone rang, it was answered. ‘Mika, are you fine?’“Ye
After a long while of crying and lamenting, Anamika finally calmed down in Asher’s embrace. “I’m sorry. I promise to fix everything,” he said. “How? You two have been engaged for almost 20 years, Asher! How are you going to solve it?” she stared into his determined eyes. “You don’t have to worry.” He pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead. “You and the kids will be fine.”The two sorted things out before Asher returned to the Capital. Unbeknownst to him, his emergency visit to Rose City was captured by those Uncle Roger sent to look into his matter. … At the Capital… That evening, Asher received a message, telling him to appear at one of the top hotels in the City. The message was from Lisa, whom he hadn’t seen in almost 10 years. This was his chance to end things diplomatically with her. He thought. Arriving at the hotel with Roy and Milo, they were escorted to a VIP booth. Roy and Milo stood by the door, together with the two stoic ladies they met there. Asher
Anamika was shocked when she found out she had it on her schedule to meet with Lisa Quinn after the morning meeting with the head of departments. She hadn’t been herself since yesterday and now, the genesis of her problem wants to see her. Why?Different scenarios consumed her mind as she thought of reasons Lisa would want to see her when her wedding with Asher would be happening tomorrow! Emma, who was serving her punishment as the new ‘Assistant’ after Cynthia left, could see her friend drifting in and out of oblivion as she sat in her swivel chair, staring into space. Emma, who was lying on the couch, thinking of her own life, sat up and walked to Anamika’s office desk and sat on it, yet her friend didn’t notice. She sighed. “Have you gotten yourself into a problem again?” Anamika jolted and sighed softly. She had been looking lost since she woke up. “What is going on?” Emma asked. “I have a meeting with Lisa Quinn.” “Lisa Quinn? Who is Lisa… Oh! The Quinn family’s daughter
Anamika’s one–time presence was all the coffee shop and its sister business needed to make the place jam packed with customers in the following days until it became one of the best coffee shops in Rose City. After all, their coffee was unique to begin with. While Anamika was lost in her own world, she didn’t notice the guy wearing a black face cap that was sitting a few tables away from hers. He looked quite suspicious but no one thought he was there for Anamika. Anamika was quietly drinking her coffee and thinking about the next step to take when her phone beeped. She looked at the message and saw it was from her Assistant, Ryan. [ Boss, the meeting with Lisa Quinn is in thirty minutes. ] Anamika brushed her hair backwards and downed her remaining coffee at once. The thought of someone fighting over Asher with her was driving her crazy. But just like Emma said, she has to make the right decision that would be best for herself and her kids. A few minutes after she left the coffee
Lisa was about to sip her drink when she heard that. She changed her mind and put her cocktail down, then crossed her legs. “Asher and I are getting married tomorrow. I can turn a blind eye if you agree to end things cleanly with him tonight.”“Why come to me with such an offer? Wouldn’t it be best if you had had a talk with Asher?” “Of course, I did. But he chose to put your life at risk.” “What do you mean?” “He said he loves you, but it’s unfortunate that he can’t have a weakness called love.”Anamika frowned. She was getting more confused by the second. “I don’t seem to understand what your point is.” “The Quinn and Williamsburg’s family made an alliance for the betterment of the country. The Quinn family are in charge of the security of the Country while Williamsburg’s family is the head of the country’s economy. “However, due to their questionable reputation in the underworld, the World’s Bureau of Crime Investigation (WBCI) are on their trails. The only way to leave them
At the hotel… Mr. Richard was amazed and proud of Anamika. Watching her teach those old men a lesson reminded him of how her mother was back then. The man sighed and emptied the glass of wine he was holding. The result of his investigation came out yesterday. Anamika is his daughter. After finding out, he told his family before embarking on the journey to seek his daughter. The Quinn family didn’t have much to say, except that they blamed him for just finding out. As for Lisa, she was having a hard time accepting the revelation. The sound of his phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. He picked the phone and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number, but he decided to answer the call. “Hello,” his voice sounded. ‘Mr. Quinn, the Emperor is back from the meeting.’ Mr. Richard bolted up and hurried out of the hotel. … Arriving at the palace, he was brought to see Anamika in the throne room. Anamika hadn’t even stepped on the dais when the man entered. The father and
The other Presidents cleared their throats and shifted in their seats. They all owe debts. What if she asks them to pay up too? Scrapping their country banks together to pay off the billions they owe Hassride would crumble their economy, so, it would be better they all mind their businesses and live Country B’s president to handle his matter on his own. The old man glanced around, seeing that no president would come to his aid, he swallowed the lump of pride that was stuck at the back of his throat and sat down. “Your Majesty, it hasn’t come to that.” His heavy voice earlier suddenly went low. “As a businesswoman like you called us, we’re strict on marking our allies and curbing our enemies. If you could boldly look at our face and disregard our authority to vomit such atrocious venom, we can’t be guaranteed that you won’t stab us in the back when you see something that would jeopardize our country. So, on this basis, we hereby vote for your country’s removal from the Alliance Nati
Sitting on the deck with a bottle of wine and cake, the two watched the numerous stars in the sky. They’ve gone a bit far from their residence, but Anamika still doesn’t know why she was brought into the yacht. Neither did Asher want to say. Well, the sky looks beautiful from here, so it’s not a loss. Asher fed her a piece of cake. Just as she was about to accept it, her gaze zoomed in on a multi-coloured and sparkling something from afar. “What’s that?” she pointed. “We’re here.” The yacht moved closer until Anamika saw it was a multi-coloured waterfall! “Oh. My. God! How is this possible?!” “It’s the reason I purchased the island. It’s beautiful, right?” He asked. “No, the view is spectacular! Wow!” The yacht stopped a distance away from the waterfall where they could view it clearly. The light coming from the yacht and the multi-coloured Illumination from the waterfall brightened the area, so much so that one would almost forget it was night. “This, I must bring Emma here,
Asher and Anamika didn’t bring their bags, except for the roses she placed in a vase beside the window. The sun was slowly giving way to the moon by the time Anamika was done re-pruning the 99 roses and setting them in a vase of warm water to keep them alive for much longer. “We didn’t bring anything along.” She sat on the bed. From inside, she could view the surroundings, thanks to the glass doors and windows. The place only has one room, a kitchen, and bathroom. “Roy brought your necessities… everything is in here,” he opened the wardrobe for her to see. “Oh, you came prepared,” she looked down at her ring. She’s been caressing it ever since he wore it on her finger. A smile settled on her lips as she remembered his cheeky confession. Suddenly, she chuckled. “Mind breaking the good news to me?” he got into bed and hugged her from behind. “I was wondering. Since when did you realize you loved me?” She asked. Asher pulled her so she was sitting in between his legs while he wrapp
For the next couple of weeks, Anamika was trying to put the country together. She must learn all there was about the country and her Ancestors, replace some workers, bestow titles on the deserving ones, amend the rules to straighten the country and lots more. It would not be easy, which was why Asher didn’t return to Country A as planned. He stayed behind to help her in whatever way he could. Inside the office, Anamika was going through some documents when Lady Seraphina, who has officially been bestowed the title of Minister of communication, knocked and entered. “Your Majesty, Richard Quinn’s men are trying to spy into our data.” “What are they trying to find?” she asked. “About your mother and you.” Anamika raised her head from the document and looked at her, “Do what you think my mother would have done if she was alive.” Lady Seraphina understood the assignment. She bowed and left. Asher entered afterwards and hugged her from behind. “You’ve been on these documents for three
While Anamika and Asher were having the greatest time of their lives, their friends and families in Country A were having a hard time believing what they were seeing on the news. How did CEO Mika suddenly become the ruler of the greatest nations to ever exist? To crown it all, their worst nightmare! Aiden was excited when he found out he was a prince but for Nadia, she was worried about her mother’s safety. Their mother didn’t tell them she was going anywhere. In fact, they thought the ruler was probably their mother’s lookalike, or twin sister, until their great grandfather explained the situation to them. As for Emma, she was lost for words on what to say. She and her husband were supposed to go for their honeymoon today, but with Anamika’s case making waves in the country, she refused to go for her honeymoon until her friend returns. Who knows, she might be facing a lot there. If only she knows that the “a lot” her friend is going through is moaning while Asher’s rod thrust in
Inside the hall… Only Asher and Anamika remained. The two continued to stare at each other. One sitting on a high level and staring down at the other. “Your Majesty, may I come closer?” “One more disrespectful word from you and you’ll have your head severed!” “Thank you, Your Majesty!” Asher closed the distance and walked up the dais. Totally ignoring her warning. Anamika’s heart danced with glee but her face was as stoic as ever. Standing right in front of her, he said. “Your Majesty, I plead not guilty.” “...” Anamika was left speechless. This man… “Hassride has always had prejudice against my country, so when they saw me, they didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt and just apprehended me,” he flattened his lips. “Oh? Are you saying my country is unreasonable?” “Your people treated me with injustice. I was chained to the wall like a criminal…I also didn’t get anything to eat. I’m starving.” His gaze softened to the likes of Aiden’s when he’s trying to talk his way out o
In a dark dungeon, Asher, Milo, and Roy were chained to the wall. Roy had sighed in helplessness for a thousand times already. “Boss, what should we do now? If help doesn’t come, we’ll be killed before we know it. I feel sorry for madam and the kids,” he sighed again. “There’s still time,” Asher responded languidly with his eyes closed. “The situation looks brim. I shouldn’t have given this suggestion. At this point, I finally realized I was stupid.” “Right, you’ve always been stupid,” Milo stole the word from his mouth. “Milo, when was the last time we spared? I think we need to compare notes after leaving here.” “All I can see is death hovering over your head,” Milo said with a straight face. He’s never one to talk too much but at this point, he was angry at himself and everyone. When they came to Hassride, they tried to spy into the country’s history but failed to find anything. Later, they found out the man who can help them was put in the dungeon. Infiltrating the dungeon
This was exactly what Anamika wanted. To plant doubt in the man’s mind. Now, with him not knowing who to trust anymore or what to believe right now, his power has decreased greatly. Too bad she doesn’t have what it takes to back up her power of the tongue. Even though Seraphina said that everything is in place, Anamika has no idea what is in place. There was absolutely no time to discuss the preparations they’ve made, but anyhow, she’ll use her voice to fight for her rights. If it doesn’t work, then, Seraphina and the others can step in.“So, this is how you intend to unseat me? What if I kill you, I’ll be the only Emperor available and your people will no longer be able to fight against me. Before they groom another Female Emperor, it would be too late. How’s that?” Anamika smiled, “It’s your call. But do you honestly think you can kill me right here?” “No, everyone here is your supporter, and killing you in front of them would mean I leave evidence. Like you said, the people will