RICHARD YUKA'S POV,As I drove to the Orphanage, the weight of my father's words hung heavy around me, causing my grip on the steering wheel to tighten.I knew I had to confront the truth about what he did to my mother, but then, I reminded myself to stay focused and achieve all that I had set my mind on, before getting back at him. I arrived at the Orphanage precisely at eleven o'clock, but I knew she might not be open to receive visitors at that moment, so I patiently waited until lunchtime.At precisely twelve-thirty, the bell rang, and immediately, I opened the door. I was determined to get my course rolling, but since I hadn't informed her about my coming, I opted for a text instead.After typing a "Hi!" I realized she might not respond to a strange number, since she never gave it to me, so I immediately deleted it and threw a bait instead."Lunch?" I texted and as I waited for her response, the sound of my heartbeat grew louder in my ears, even as I hoped for her response.Aft
LEONARD KISH'S POV,Following the setback with Mr. Gustavo, I had called for a meeting to discuss alternatives, but they insisted on getting his approval or terminate the project which was already in progress.I knew what that meant; it would mean I pay for the losses incurred, and then J.K would definitely ask for compensations, but that wasn't just it.The fact that it would put an indelible mark on my reputation and ruin my chances of becoming the next CEO greatly infuriated me.I could tell Mr. Ricardo was behind the scenes and had won the shareholders over, which was why they had unanimously agreed with the suggestions he made"What's the progress on Mr. Gustavo?" I asked Sam after a strained meeting with the shareholders that day.My steps were swift and heavy as they carried me back to my office."Just like you ordered, Boss," Sam said, in a matching intensity. "His invitation has been revoked, and he won't be able to attend the upcoming International Congress of Hoteliers." He
LEONARD KISH'S POV,As soon as I got off the phone, Sam asked, "Boss! Is anything the matter?" His words dripped with caution, his concern etched on his face as he stared at me.The words had barely left his lips when I turned my phone to Sam and showed him the photo of Elsa and Richard, smiling cozily at each other in an eatery, and Sam's brows creased."Do you know where this is?" I asked, my gaze fixed intently on Sam, as I demanded an answer from him.He scratched his head, and hesitated a little. "I think it's close to her workplace." He answered, his voice a stark contrast to his initial determination.As soon as I heard his words, I pulled my gaze from him. "Do you know the exact location?" I asked, my jaw clenched in determination."Yes Boss!" He answered in a small, his tone ringing with caution."Judging from the surroundings, I'm certain it's Yucoco. An eatery close to her workplace that specializes in local dishes. It is said that she's a regular customer of that place and
LEONARD KISH'S POV,My fists clenched tightly beside me, as my anger propelled me towards them. Each step I took was a deliberate attempt towards Richard, who was invested in his act of touching my property.The smile on his face greatly irritated me, not to mention the fact that Elsa stood frozen under his spells, her gaze fixed intently on him like a precious gem.As soon as I was close enough, Elsa caught sight of me, and her eyes widened in surprise, her jaw gradually dropping. The shock she had felt was evident on her face, which made Richard slowly turn towards my direction, with an annoying broad smile on his face.In that instant, my fist shot out, and my fury directed it towards his face in a fierce determination, "Bastard!" I cursed, my voice heavy with rage.A gasp of surprise escaped Elsa's throat as my punch sent Richard off balance, and her hands flew to her mouth to stifle the shock she had felt. Her eyes darted desperately from Richard to me, her fear clearly writte
ELSA ELKINS' POV,My heart skipped a beat as his grip on my arm tightened; his steps were heavy with determination as he dragged me on, leaving me scuttling behind him, but I refused to give in to his intimation. My resolve grew, and I leaned in, I bit his arm with every ounce of strength in me, directing all my resolve to the bite until I tasted blood.Leonard winced in pain and in that instant, his grip loosened, while I wriggled my arm free from his monstrous grip."Have you lost your mind?" I glared at him, my blood burning hot with a seething rage, my heart banging hard against my ribcage in a mix of fear and pain."Elsa, let's get out of here, now!" He said, his voice tight with an urgency that left me confused. As he stretched his hand towards me again, I tactically avoided it, my brows creased with the confusion that had settled into my heart. I wasn't going to leave until I got an explanation for his behavior.I couldn't understand what had gotten over him. His sudden chang
ELSA ELKINS' POV,"Just in case you've forgotten Elsa, you're my property who was given away as a repayment for her father's debt!" Leonard spat! His words were a like sharp blades that pierced into my heart."And from now on, you're hereby grounded and forbidden from leaving this house. Your only job is to work hard for the freedom you so much crave and if I'm not satisfied enough, you'd remain stuck right here forever." He said, his words tumbling out in a fierce intensity.Every word he spoke stabbed my heart and my knees grew weak. My words felt stuck in my throat, and I couldn't get myself to say another word to him.Right then, I was reminded again of how it began, and I realized that in that whole world, there was no place I could turn to.My father wouldn't even accept me back for fear of the notorious 'Kish family', and as for my mother, let's not even talk about her.I realized again that in that wide world, the only thing I could do was to stay obedient in my supposed husba
LEONARD KISH'S POV,My jaw clenched tightly as we drove back to the company that day, despite the fact that I was angry, there was something more than anger that had settled in my heart; something I just couldn't lay my hands on.I loosened my tie, but I couldn't get rid of that unknown feeling that was surging within me. Guilt? Sadness? Hurt? Regret? I couldn't tell, Maybe a mix of them all.I puffed out a breath and said to Sam, more like an order, "Stop the car!" His gaze had been darting from the windscreen to the rearview mirror. I needed a breath of fresh air, but as soon as the words left my lips, Sam replied sharply, "Boss, you still have a meeting to catch up with," he said, but the caution that laced his words was unmistakable.I could see the concern etched on his face, and I knew he was considering the implications of defaulting the meeting, but at that moment, I couldn't think of anything else. How could I focus on the meeting when I was feeling like that? I needed to
LEONARD KISH'S POV,"You didn't ask her, Boss; you forcefully took her away after inflicting injuries on the person she just had lunch with," Sam replied calmly, his gaze fixed intently on me, his brows slightly furrowed.As soon as I heard his words, I couldn't stop myself from scoffing in disbelief. 'Did he just mean Richard?' I thought, I couldn't believe he was talking about Richard like that when he didn't need anyone to remind him of how dangerous Richard was."Do you mean Richard? Are you justifying him now?" I asked, my words ringing with disbelief as I stared at him,"No Boss! That's not what I meant; I was only trying to be rational," he responded calmly, as he pulled his gaze from me, making me scoff and rolled my eyes."As far as I'm concerned, he deserved it, and I wished I had given him enough beating," I said, "I only hate the fact that I had bent so low to his level, but I wished you didn't restrain me," My jaw clenched as soon as the words left my lips, and as the s
ELSA ELKINS' POV,"You went down with a fever, and he took care of you," she continued, but I only twitched my lips and forehead in response.As far as I was concerned he caused it, and it was only courtesy that he took responsibility for his actions. But whether he chose to or not, I didn't really care, nor was I grateful in any way.I was still savoring the soup when Nanny Ruth swiftly continued, "He barely had a good night's sleep in order to monitor the room temperature and adjust it to suit your temperature." She said, snapping me out of the thoughts that had kept me busy.But her words had no effect on my heart, not even did they inflict a scratch to the wall surrounding my heart. They felt like glass against my hardened heart, shattering into pieces as soon as they met."Sounds unlike him!" I managed to say, even without paying attention to what she had just said.But Nanny Ruth's lips spread into a broad smile as she swiftly continued, "You need to see him when he came back la
ELSA ELKINS' POV,My brows scrunched up as I gradually awoke, another day had come. Unlike before, I had lost the usual enthusiasm that had always accompanied my day.The room was shining brightly, but against my heart, which was filled with sorrow and sadness.It was a stark contrast to the gloom that had settled into the depth of my heart, and had overshadowed me. As my eyes gradually adjusted to the brightness of the day, a sharp pain pierced my head, and it banged so hard that I screwed my eyes shut, as though I was trying to shut out the pain.In that instant, the door slowly opened and Nanny Ruth walked in with a bowl of soup in her hands. "You're awake my child," She said, her voice as warm as the morning sun, but then, it lacked the efficacy to affect my heart like it had always done."Good morning Nanny Ruth!" I managed to say, my voice horse as I struggled to sit up, but as I did, a towel fell off my head which startled and surprised me.The surprise I had felt didn't las
LEONARD KISH'S POV,In that instant, something crept into my heart; a feeling I wasn't used to, and for the first time ever, I felt panicked.Determination out of nowhere surged within me, and I hurried down the stairs, my feet pounding with a fierce intensity as I rushed out to the living room,"Butler Joe!" I called, my voice ringing with a fierce determination that bounced off the walls. Immediately, his door swung open, and he dashed out of the room, stopping right in front of me like a bolt. He was panting heavily, and was trying to catch his breath."Young Master, you..." He was about to say when I swiftly interrupted him,"Where's Elsa?" I demanded, my voice firm and heavy as I stared at him. Butler Joe's mouth flew open immediately, and then he tried to say something, but nothing came out, he looked stunned. He was clearly surprised by my question, the look on his face spoke of the confusion in his heart. But then, his hesitation only fueled my growing desperation.I was r
LEONARD KISH'S POV,A renewed sense of exhaustion and weariness seeped into my bones as I arrived home later that evening.As I stood at the entrance of the mansion, scenes from earlier that day replayed in my head, and I recalled the harsh words I had said to Elsa.My brows furrowed immediately, as the weight of it all pressed heavily on my shoulders.As I pondered on it, I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "Well, it's her fault." But then, no matter how hard I tried to believe she was guilty, the heavy pang in my heart kept nudging at me, filling me with guilt.After struggling with myself for a while, I heaved a sigh and admitted, "I'll just try to make it up to her," Shrugging my shoulders as I tried to shove it off my mind, but the pang in my heart didn't lessen a bit, Instead, it grew heavier like a rock in the pool of my heart, even as I pondered on how to face her that evening.After about ten minutes of hesitation, I dragged myself inside and saw Nanny Ruth walking t
MR YUKA LEE'S POV, I recalled how I had always beaten her like the Monster I was, all because she had always stood against me and against my dream."I wish you never told her about your intentions of going into the drug business," those words out of nowhere whispered in my head, crushing my heart further."I never wanted to tell her about it; if she hadn't confronted me... if she hadn't called me greedy and spoken ill against my mother who had introduced it to me, she probably would have been alive by now," I said out loud, replying to the voice of accusation that had risen against me.But as my thoughts and the memories lingered, I realized I was being accused, and I wasn't going to bear the blame all by myself."No! You're accusing me. I didn't tell her. She went through my stuff! Get out of my head! She shouldn't have gone through my stuff; she wouldn't have found out and confronted me about it if she hadn't," I said, as the memories from that day replayed in my head.As it linger
MR YUKA LEE'S POV,"Why must I do what you asked me to do?" Richard's response came, his eyes blazing hot with a rage that was completely new to me, but at that moment, I was already too furious to contain my wrath. "What did you just say?" I snarled as it settled in my heart that he was angry because of a woman."Are you challenging me now?" I growled, my eyes wide open in a matching intensity.The thing I hated the most was being challenged, and that was exactly what he was doing.But the words had barely left my lips when Richard firmly replied, "Or else what?" He challenged, his teeth gritted, his lips quivering.At that moment, the beast in me roared like a wounded lion, struggling to let loose, and as I tried my best to seal it in, Richard's voice came again,"Should I remain silent just like my mother did and end up like her?" He asked, his voice quivering, his lips trembling with rage, fury glinting in his eyes.His question slammed into me like ice to my surging flames, damp
RICHARD YUKA'S POV, As soon as I left Sam, I sank heavily into the couch and filled my glass to the brim, while he sat there without uttering another word to me. I downed my drink, intending to get drunk, but no matter how many bottles I consumed, I remained sober as though I had just drank a jug of caffeine. It was something I had seen as an affliction since I was eight. I had been immune to alcohol after what happened that afternoon, which pushed me into drinking in hopes of getting drunk. At that moment, I wished I could just get drunk for a while and forget about the naggings from my father and the memories it had always left in its wake. After a while, I stood up and started walking towards the exit door, and James quickly followed. I didn't know how long I stayed out, but I stayed until I was ready enough to go back home. As we got to the car he opened the door, but I quickly stopped him. "I'll drive, go back on your own today," I said with a stern voice, and walked towa
RICHARD YUKA'S POV,"Hello!" I answered the phone, my tone cold and deep as I waited for his response,"Get back here immediately!" The angry voice of my father boomed into my ear, dripping with authority.In that instant, the dial went off ruffling my nerves. My lips twitched with a simmering fury as his words settled into my heart. My grip tightened around the phone, and my mind went blank immediately, my eyes locked in space and I seethed.My initial excitement completely disappeared and was replaced with a seething rage, and in that instant, James' voice broke into the fog that had settled around me."Boss!""Boss!!" James' voice nudged at my heart, gradually bringing me back to the present, "Boss are you okay?" He asked, his voice dripping with concern as he stared at me with furrowed brows.I turned to face him, seeing the concern etched on his face, "I am," I responded coldly, my voice tight with a surging rage, but as I stared at him, a thought crossed my mind."Was that yo
RICHARD YUKA'S POV,Although, I knew I got enchanted by her the first day I saw her, I wasn't oblivious to what I needed, and what was more important."So I wanted to kill two birds with a stone," I stated, and James' eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and confusion which made me scoff."Firstly, I wanted to check if it was true and then secondly, I wanted to drive a wedge between them if it was true!" I stated with a nonchalant air, shrugging my shoulders as I spoke, after which I took another sip.James chuckled lightly, the sound of which spoke of the disbelief in his heart as he stared at me in surprise."So, you mean you went through all that trouble just to do that?" He asked, his tone ringing with disbelief.As soon as I heard his words, I couldn't stop the scoff that escaped my lips. What does he know after all?"It's not a trouble at all, James; you just don't know anything," I replied, refusing to allow his words to downplay the effort I had put in."At least I succeeded