Christopher grabbed his brother's hand, concern etched on his face. "Hold on brother! You're leaving the kids alone?", Shawn shrugged him off and took out his phone, showing Christopher the recent message from George. "She is awake and well, so you can leave now. She'll join her children in a moment". Christopher nodded understanding. "Alright. Em...Big bro.....", Christopher began as he moved closer to his brother. "No!", Shawn replied adamantly.. Feeling aggrieved, Christopher hit his brother lightly. "Why are you disagreeing without hearing what I'm about to say?" "No you cannot come to my house Christopher, you will be a nuisance ", Shawn stated. "Right!", Christopher face fell, but he agreed, walking out the door with Shawn following behind. After moving a safe distance from Shawn Christopher called out, "Hey, big bro! I just remembered, how do you think mom will react if she sees this picture?", Christopher lightly threatened as he waved his phone in the air, a sly
As they left the hospital, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over the city. The stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky, and the rear lights of passing cars cast a reddish hue on the pavement. Christopher spotted his brother's car, parked at the entrance of the hospital building, he jogged over to it and hopped into the front seat. Shawn started driving, and they sat in silence for a few moments, the evening sounds ringing in their ears; the cars horns, the road traders trying to advertise their products as they scampered to any car slowing down, the shout and arguement of some drunken men by the road, a typical evening in the city of Stonefall. "Hey Second brother", Christopher said, breaking the silence, "I thought you had an important project to oversee today?", "Andrew is handling it", Shawn replied, his eyes fixed on the road. "Hmmm....That makes sense, it's just that dad made it sound as if it was an S-rank or A-rank project." "A-
The warm afternoon sun cast a golden glow over the bustling street as Eleana walked towars the cafe across the street. Her ocean blue dress fluttering in the gentle breeze. She clutched Isabelle tightly, her eyes fixed on the cafe ahead where her lawyer was already waiting for her. "Sorry I'm late, my daughter had a brain scan and I had to be there", she apologized. Standing up the lawyer, Mark, stretched out his hands for a handshake which Eleana took. "There is no need to apologize, your child's health should come first", lawyer Mark said as he gestured for her to take a sit. Eleana sat in the chair opposite the lawyer, and placed Isabelle on the one close to her. "Thank you... I knew Dane will contest the divorce, I just didn't expect him to do so this soon, that's the reason I contacted you yesterday." Mark nodded understandably. "From someone of Mr Dane's stature, immediate response is likely. I've reviewed your case and we need to discuss our strategy on moving forward, but
It was two days since they left the hospital, and Georgina was totally fine, well, aside the memory loss part, Eleana tried telling her some good things about her fatherly moments but whenever it was brought up Georgina would have a banging headache that she had no other choice but to let go of the matter temporarily. In any way, it was for the best, there were few happy moments with Dane and all that was before Isabelle was born. “Aunty Gabby, what are you cooking?”, Isabelle asked as she skipped to the kitchen, following the aroma that was assaulting her nostrils. Stirring what was in the pot with a spatula, Gabriella used her other hand to pat Isabelle on the head. “Be good little Belle, you shouldn’t play in the kitchen. Now off you go.” “But I want to know what you are cooking", Isabelle said, refusing to leave until she was told what is in the pot. “Okay, I am cooking a native food called Egu, my grandmother taught me....” “Hmm, it smells delicious...Aunty Gabby, w
AT SHAWN’S SIDE: The sunlight streaming through the windows highlighted Christopher's chiseled features as he lounge on the couch, soaking up in the warmth of the sun. He was watching a TV series while munching on popcorn, oblivious to the maids who couldn't help but steal glances at his muscular physique. A sudden ringtone broke the tranquility, and Christopher groaned. He initially ignored the ringing phone but reached for it after it's continuous disturbance. "Hello!", he answered, his voice muffled by the popcorn in his mouth, with eyes still glued to the TV screen. A childish voice on the other end caught him off guard. “Hello......I want to speak to Uncle Shawn!”. Christopher's eyes widen in surprise. “When did we have a niece I don’t know of? Or could it be......?”, he thought as he hastily got up and rushed to Shawn's study, phone in one hand and the popcorn on the other. Shawn was looking through the blueprints for a new project when Christopher barged into his study r
Grinning from ear to ear, Georgina opened the door wider. "Welcome everyone.... You may come in". She closed the door after them. The men walked into the room, making the comfy house feel smaller for Eleana and Gabriella. The ladies stood up, overwhelmed by the guests in their house. "Uncle Shawn!!", Isabelle called out loudly from where she was sitting.. Shawn gave her a warm smile which melted Eleana's heart as she looked up at his face, his tall stature overshadowing hers. She sneakily observed his features; his chiselled jaw, brown hair, his long lashes that would swoon any woman, his perfectly well coloured milk suit that matches with his skin tone and his hazel coloured eyes, he was the epitome of handsome and she couldn't look away. Shawn caught Eleana staring and quickly, she averted her gaze. “Hello! I don’t think we’ve had a proper introduction. My name is Christopher and I am a friend of Gabriella and a brother to Shawn”, Christopher said with his hands stretched
Everyone stood up quickly and Eleana rushed to Shawn's side, her body trembling in fear and anxiety. "Come on baby, breathe, just breathe", Eleana said, holding Isabelle palm in hers as Shawn continues to push her tummy upwards. "Cah, cah, cah, cah", Isabelle coughed as she let out the meat that was clogged her throat. They all let out a sigh in relieve while Shawn held her properly and patted her hair. "Are you okay little one?", he asked, his voice soothing to the ears. Isabelle nodded weakly and wrapped her hands around Shawn's neck. Stretching out her hand to hold Isabelle, Eleana thank Shawn. "Thank you Sir.....Baby, come on, mama will hold you", Shawn tried to give Isabelle to Eleana but the little one refused to let go. She tightened her hold on Shawn's neck.Shawn was confused and couldn't make out what Isabelle wanted. "Little one, your mama wants to hold you, let go", he said but Isabelle gave no reply. "Baby Belle?", Georgina called out. "Alright, she is fine now, y
"Do you know what happened? Uncle Shawn?", Georgina repeated the question after a brief pause. Shawn hesitated, his eyes clouding over. "I saved you from getting hit by a car. That's what happened" "A car? Like, I was on the road?", She asked, her mind racing. This was going in a direction Shawn did not like, she was an inquisitive child and he doesn't want to say anything that might trigger her memories, he for one, hopes she forgets about it. "Yes, you were about to cross the road", he answered, choosing his words carefully. "Okay... But, why was I crossing the road? I never cross the road by myself, so who was there with me?", Georgina probed more. She had these questions on her mind for days now but her mother avoids telling her anything that concerns her accident, so does Aunt Gabriella. She knew from Isabelle that the man who came to the hospital the other day was her father, but why does she not remember him? What really happened that day? Mom forbade Isabelle from tellin
"Your Honour, these are the evidence to back up his claim", Attorney Baxter said as he handed a copy of the pictures to he Judge and the media tech. The images were displayed on the screen. The first one was kinda dark, but the face of Eleana in the embrace of a man who's face was bot taken, was clear for all to see, the picture even captured the children sitting inside the car. This changed the people opinions again, some that had believed Eleana was already jumping the fence. _How could she be so loose?__ That was the thought that passed through most of the people's mind. Eleana felt as if she was drenched in cold water. "Isn't that the stranger that was walking on the road", she thought, looking intently at the picture until realization dawned on her. "I see...So he was a setup?", she asked no one in particular as she muttered under her breathe. She didn't view the stranger as someone that was hired for a job like that, he looked too _mighty_ for that, in anyway the ph
AT THE SAME MOMENT IN THE COURTROOM: Attorney Baxter was already asking Dane questions they had practiced beforehand. It was of paramount importance to portray Dane as a father who thought providing everything his children could ever ask for was the best way to take care of them. "Mr Dane, Mrs Eleana here, accused you of being an abuser, what is your take on that?", Attorney Baxter's question elicit murmurs in the courtroom. "What's the lawyer trying to do, there's already evidence that he did lay his hands on her, isn't he just adding more salt to the room?", "Is this lawyer actually defending the man or offending him?", "This question won't be in his favour, no?". These were the words spoken in low tone as the gallery wondered what the lawyer was up to. "Order!!", the bailiff said, reminding them that the court was still in session. "Mr Dane please answer the question", Attorney Baxter said to Dane, giving him signals to repeat what they had practiced the day before.
Shawn was sorting through some documents in his office, with Andrew by his side, his baritone voice resounding in the quite space, as he discussed the latest construction update. The marketing manager was also there, waiting patiently to report on the latest marketing strategy that his team came up with , which will elevate the company's popularity, propelling it higher in the international stage. This atmosphere was broken by the weird ringtone coming out from Shawn's phone. It was a poem, a kid's poem, but Andrew was already used to this sound ever since the day Georgina added a special ringtone for her number so Shawn would know who was calling without having to see the number, unlike the marketing manager whose jaw dropped in shock. __Wha...? What the hell is this sound?? Did a bug enter the boss's phone?__He wondered, surprise etched on his face, but this was only the beginning. A smile escaped from Shawn's lips, a sight that Andrew was gradually getting used to but it
At Gabriella's House: The babysitter fell asleep watching the children play with their phone. They were so sensible and obedient fat she didn't have to do anything other than watch them play. It's been hours and they were still playing with their phone, she go so bored that she fell into the dream land. "Look, sister Ginny, the babysitter is asleep", Isabelle pointed out, informing her elder sister. "I guess she is tired, that's good, we can finally do that", Georgina said as she sprang up and kept the phone aside, but Isabelle took it along with her. "Sister Ginny are you sure mommy won't get angry?", Isabelle asked as she fiddled with her fingers, while looking at her elder sister with her natural puppy eyes. Over the past few weeks, Georgina has been having weird dreams, or visions, she wasn't sure. At first, she thought it was a dream since it only occurs when she is asleep, but, recently, she see flashes of images floating through her mind, trying to remind her of somet
Attorney Baxter stood up with a file in his hand; "Mrs.Eleana, you said, you and Mr. Dane has been married for seven years now, correct?", he asked. "Yes, we have", Eleana replied curtly. "And in these seven years, how much have you contributed to the growth of your family, financially?", the lawyer asked again. Eleana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I don't understand", she stated. "Okay, let me rephrase that", the lawyer said as he walked closer to her. "In these past years, how much money have you contributed to foot your household bills?", "Objection your Honour, the question is irrelevant", Attorney Liana objected. "Your Honour, I am about to show it's relevance", "Sustained, the witness may answer the question", the Judge said to Eleana.Eleana realized where the lawyer was getting at, she hadn't spent a dime of her money on anything and that might give off the idea that she is irresponsible and incapable of taking proper care of her children. "None", she replied cu
“You may continue”, the Judge said. “Thank you, Your Honour. Mrs Eleana, many of us in the court may wonder, why didn’t you leave when the abuse began or was there something else that kept you there?”, “My children", Eleana replied without much thought. “I didn’t have a father while growing up and I know how that feels, I didn’t want my children to ever experience the pain of losing a father, so no matter how Dane treated me, I stayed, for my children” “And why did you decide to leave now?”, Attorney Liana further questioned. There was a little hesitance from Eleana when that questioned was asked. Attorney Liana noticed it and had to remind Eleana of an important fact; “Remember Mrs Eleana, you are bound by law and faith to answer every question truthfully". Eleana nodded in understanding and said; “I decided to leave when he brought home his side woman, over the years, no matter how much he fooled around outside, he never brought any of them close to his house and his c
"All rise! The Honourable Judge Kamren Jamison presiding", the bailiff spoke loudly as everyone stood up for the Judge to enter, and sat down after the Judge had taken his seat.“Your Honour this is the divorce hearing of Mr. Dane Diamen and Mrs. Eleana Diamen. We have child custody issues to resolve”, the bailiff informed."Very well. The court is now in session, Counsels state your case", the Judge said as he hit the gavel. Today was the first Saturday of May, the day of Dane and Eleana divorce hearing. All the proceedings for the past weeks has been preparing them for this day, this was a matter of who lives and dies at heart, for both parents. Speaking of which...Eleana would have given up on the case if she had been represented by a state given Counsel, but fortunately for her, the right lawyer found her, or so she thought...She met Liana a week to the hearing, all private lawyers she met didn’t want her case at all, she knew it had to do with the mysterious disappearance of
AT THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE: The once lively office was doused with a solemn silence. Disappointment, guilt, anger and sadness filled the air. One might ask; "Isn't it just an issue with the version, it can easily be resolved. That shouldn't warrant this type of atmosphere right?", but what they wouldn't know is that, this is the first time the project management team failed a presentation. They have all worked together under Arnold's tight rule and protection, so they haven't had a day like this. It was a foreign feeling and to think that the cause of all this was something that even an amateur could avoid. The team members couldn't help but throw disappointed looks at Ssrah, but she had been here longer than most of them so they really couldn't voice out their anger. Noticing the mood in the office, and her teammates accusing looks, Sarah decided to stand up and apologise when Eleana beat her to it: "I'm sorry for letting the team down. I was the one in charge of cross
AT ML CONSTRUCTION: Eleana, are you ready?", Asher, the assistant project manager, asked her. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks". "Okay", Asher nodded in understanding. Eleana was staring out the window, lost in thoughts and uncertainly, this would be the first time she will be seeing Shawn after his visit to Gabriella's house, and the first time she would be meeting him as her boss, which was unnerving. She fidgeted with her pen, her mind racing with doubts. "How should I act? Will he think I didn't deserve the spot when he sees me? What if.....? Ahh! I'm thinking too much about this", Sofia, noticing her distress, offered a reassuring smile. "Hey, we've all been there. Meeting the boss for the first time is nerve-wracking, but he's not that scary". "Thank you Sofia", Eleana said assured by her words, but Sofia got one thing wrong tho, the fact that the Big Boss has been to her house and even had breakfast there. "Not if she makes a fool of herself when she sees the boss", Sasha s