Meanwhile, in a corner, Cullen had been spying on the two bigshots at the parking lots. Seeing that CEO Mika had left without wasting time, his lips curled into a smirk. "Robert, secure an appointment with CEO Mika for me," he commanded."Yes, sir!" His Assistant immediately got to work. Asher, on the other hand, got into his car to leave but paused and looked in Cullen's direction. Their eyes met but Asher broke the contact first and got in his car. "Boss, her report has been sent." Roy, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, handed his boss the iPad he was holding. Going through CEO Mika's background check, Asher's lips curled into a faint smile. "This is not all there is," He gave the iPad back to him. "I thought so too. This report didn't talk about her childhood and everything before five years ago." "She's capable. Milo," Asher called. "Boss," the quiet guy who also goes everywhere with them, replied with his hand on the steering. "Visit the Empire, find out everyt
CEO Mika leaned forward, "Are you threatening me, Mr. Cullen Walkers?" "Pfft...Not at all… of course, not," he chuckled. "It doesn't seem like it, the ball is in your court, do what you deem fit but if you think I'll be scared, you're mistaken. I'm not interested in dealing with your company." She got up to leave but Cullen also bolted to his feet and smiled, "CEO Mika, you're taking things too seriously." He stretched his hand but CEO Mika stepped back and smiled. "Mr. Walkers, is this meeting personal?" Cullen also smiled faintly, "Actually… Yes. I–""Have a nice day," Mika didn't wait another moment and left. After she left, someone walked in with a camera."Boss," he handed the camera to Cullen. Glancing at the photos that were taken of him and CEO Mika, Cullen smiled. "You like her, don't you? I'll make sure you never get your hands on her." He said to no one. ...The next day, pictures of CEO Mika and Cullen, smiling over a meal surfaced in the business magazines with anno
Asher curled his lips, "You made me go to the Empire and seek Ash's help, just to find you. Do you dare to deny it again?"Anamika paused, She knew she couldn't deny it anymore. The underworld is a place ruled by a mysterious person named Ash. Whatever he wants to find, he can lay his hands on it, even though it is something that happened decades ago. His information is legit and cannot be doubted, He's so good that even the government goes to him sometimes for help. With a person like that in the picture, Anamika couldn't invade Asher's inquiries anymore. "So, now that you know, what do you intend to do about it?" She raised a brow in a challenging manner. Asher leaned forward and said in a lowered voice, "You were my first–""What of it?" "I deflowered you," he smiled provocatively. "You are mine," he said slowly. Silence reigned in the elegant office for a long while before Anamika chuckled, then burst into a pile of degrading laughter. "You're a demented being and need help
At Nairaland's airport… Emma and the kids could be seen, standing by the entrance with a placard that had 'Welcome Mummy' boldly written on it. Aiden, like always, had his digital camera as he took pictures. Nadia on the other hand, had a large pink teddy bear held to her chest as she waited quietly by their godmother's side. "Godmother, isn't it time to raise the signal? People are coming out," Aiden said. "We wait a little longer. If your mother sees the sign from afar, you won't be able to take a fabulous photo of her shocked face," Emma smiled. "That's right! Wooo!" The child exclaimed happily. Nadia on the other hand, rolled her eyes but continued to mind her business. A few minutes later, Anamika, her Assistant, and a few guards were seen walking over in large strides. Nadia smiled when she saw her mother, "Mummy," she said under her breath. Seeing the excitement on his sister's face, Aiden looked forward. He knew that the few reasons his sister could be so happy was whe
Nadia and her brother's eyes met for a moment before he asked;"How sure are you?" "Who said I'm sure? But we can find out," she said while walking to her bed to grab her laptop. Aiden left his table and went to her, "Don't tell me you want to defy Mom again." He frowned. "She told me not to handle her business anymore, she didn't say I can't exercise what I was taught of hacking," she replied, a little annoyed. Nadia is a gifted child. Before she was two years old, she was already able to speak fluently and do things beyond her age. Anamika was frightened and took her to the hospital. There, the doctor told her Nadia was very healthy but with an overwhelming IQ which would leave her lacking in social activities. Around three years, Nadia was already an expert in puzzles and calculations. Her photogenic memory, sharp senses, and her love for reading made Anamika seek professional help. At four years plus, Nadia was already helping her mother sort out her work and play with hacki
Anamika remembered something and said, "Right," they disengaged. "I saw him..." "Saw who?" Emma asked."The stranger from five years ago..." Seeing the scowl on Emma's face, she continued, "He is Asher Walkers!"Emma choked on her saliva. "Wha– what are you talking about? What do you mean?!" It was simply unbelievable!"Asher Walkers was the man... My children's father!"Emma's lips fell apart for a while before she replied, "Wow," nothing else came out of her vocal cord. Never in a million years would she believe that her best friend's nightmare was Asher, the bane of the Walkers' family!"Wait, I– I don't understand. How did this happen?!""Bet I was used by Amelia and Asher?" she thought out loud."How so?""I can't find a better explanation after coming up with a few and piecing them together."Amelia was Cullen's fiance at the time. Then she told me to go to room 101, which I went into, but the numbers suddenly changed after I came out the next day. At the same time, I saw Ameli
Ah, so they are investigating me, interesting! Asher thought."Yes, he truly found us!" Aiden said, a little panicking. He has seen what that man is capable of doing. He even invaded his phone!Nadia took her laptop and saw a text written in red.'Did I scare Aiden? Sorry, I didn't mean to...'Nadia shifted her gaze to the webcam and a rare smile caressed her lips. "Are you a hacker?" she asked.'I'm just so and so, not very good.' came another text."My hacking skill is still inefficient. My master is dead and I haven't found another master yet, why don't you teach me the little you know?"Aiden was shocked for a while but after realizing the hacker doesn't have bad intentions, he relaxed. But when he heared his sister's words, he facepalmed.He forgot for a moment that his sister, although an introvert, loves talented people because she feels they are the only ones who can hold a decent conversation that wouldn't bore her out.'Of course... But your mom won't allow it.'"True... But
Anamika chuckled sadly as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself sitting on her brother's favorite swing at the public playground.She built another public playground last year and bought this one; where her brother spent his remaining days with her... It was also the place her father died.The image of her father screaming her name and running towards her assaulted her blurry vision.The man was running with all his strength and made it in time to push her out of the way but he couldn't save himself from the bullet that was meant for her."Daddy!!!!"Anamika screamed but the man smiled at her and said with difficulty, "I- I'm so– sorry!... I love–"Tears rolled down Anamika's eyes as she slowly broke down, crying her heart out. Those words that he didn't get to finish were what she had loved to hear the most from her parents.For so many years, she longed to hear those words but nobody except Martin told her that repeatedly. Not her mother, her father, or Cora ever told her they
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