Alya and Jason were waiting in Oskar Jung’s office. Jason noted that Alya was fidgeting a little.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted. “I made the changes in the designs as he asked but what if he doesn’t like them?”
“Show them to me,” Jason said. She handed him a file with her designs and he flipped through it. Truthfully, Alya’s designs were great and had the potential to be the next fashion trend. Oskar Jung made a few modifications on her initial sketches but it was not a critique. Instead, the changes he made were totally in sync with Alya’s individual style, only increasing the comfort in the clothes which she wanted to create for the fashion show.
&n
“Hmm,” Malorie said thoughtfully. “He warned you about Jenna?”“Yes!” Alya exclaimed. “Cain told me to be careful of her. It came out of nowhere! Why would he be nice to me?”They were at a cafe which was not far from Alya’s office. Malorie told her to meet her there for lunch so that Alya could fill her in on what Cain told her.“This is worrying,” Malorie muttered. “If Cain warned you then it means she’s up to something. You should be careful. Don’t go anywhere alone!”I wouldn’t worry about that, Alya said in her head. Aloud she said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be careful. But Cain saying this is rea
“She’s in a coma,” the doctor declared to Cain.He was at the hospital where he brought the heavily injured Barbara. Once Dahlia was gone, Cain called up his men to come to his location and made them search around the cliff to look for Barbara’s body. Luckily, she did not fall all the way down but fell on a landing not far from the top. She had sustained a serious head injury so they pulled her up and brought her to the hospital.“Will she ever wake up?” Cain asked.“I’m afraid I can’t tell,” the doctor admitted. “She might wake up or she might never wake up. Her injuries are severe.”“I’ll pay for her stay,” Cain offered
Cain’s face was sapped of all colors while Jenna was hiding her fury with great difficulty. Jason did not care but Alya was staring at Cain, worried about what would happen when Maloried learnt of this. Maybe she already knew and did not tell her. Aaron and Dahlia were extremely happy that a date had been finally set and even James had agreed to it.They had gone to Maxwell that morning to tell him of this and surprisingly, the old man agreed to their proposition. Clancy was impassive but inwardly, he was wincing too. The thought of Jenna being the daughter-in-law of the Tang family was a very sickening prospect and he was surprised that Maxwell had agreed to it so easily.Max was beaming but there was a stiffness in his smile which was very much apparent. The reason he had allowed Aaron to go ahead with Cain and Jenna’s
The clanking of heels broke through the silence of the night. A slim figure was walking along the dark alley. Her long hair was hidden under a cap and she wore a balck coat to camouflage with her surroundings. Jenna’s beautiful face was marred with worry as she headed towards the spot where she had promised the man to meet up with her.She stopped under a broken street light and waited impatiently for the man to arrive. Tapping her foot, she checked her watch every few minutes. She took a great risk meeting him but after Maxwell’s announcement, she had to speed up her plans. Initially, she wanted to wait until her cousin Heath was back but he was still out of reach and she was getting more desperate.Suddenly, a stubby man was approaching her way. He was a bald man in his forties and had a rugged look. He carried a gun in
Jason had just entered Adrian’s office after the latter left a message on his phone. It seemed that it was urgent and Jason vaguely wondered what was going on. Weeks had passed by since the last test and he had hoped that the results would be normal but there had been silence from Adrian’s end. Now, he suddenly texted Jason to meet him which struck him as strange.Adrian was grimly looking at the test reports on his computer, worried about them. He had even talked to a heart surgeon and even he said that it was unusual. For more accurate results, Adrian compared the results with Alya’s previous tests and to his shock, the reports still show that Alya and Jason have the same heart rates. It was almost as if their hearts were in a sync which made no sense.He looked up when Jason entered the room.
Cain got out of the car and took off his sunglasses to inspect the dilapidated building in front of him. Monty had given him the address to the orphanage which Barbara ran and he arrived here under the pretext of an important meeting.The building was three storeyed and greying in parts. It looked as if it was centuries old with decaying walls and a stench of fungus was lingering in the air. Some of the children were playing in the yard. They wore second hand clothes, some too big for them while others wore clothes too small for them. Most of them were malnutritioned and too skinny for their age.Cain slowly made his way through the front gate where one of the staff members came to greet him.“Hello sir,” a stout man in his early twenties greeted him. &ldqu
“If we invest at least a million dollars then our projected revenue would double by the end of the month,” one of the presenters was saying at the meeting but Jason was not paying any attention. His mind was still on what Adrian had told him about Alya’s condition and how their hearts were literally linked.“...And it’ll be beneficial if we go for option B…”The same rhythm and heart rates. But how? Jason wondered. Was this even possible?“Sir?”Jason was startled when David whispered at him. Everyone was waiting for him to say something and Jason realized that he had phased out.“I’ll make
“Give us a good pose Lucas!” the photographer exclaimed. Lucas changed his pose by crossing his feet and leaning back on the couch he was sitting on. They were inside a studio where the setup of a living room was prepared for the photoshoot. Alya was staring at the neat little set which had been built for them.The living room setup was made of mahogany furniture coupled with colorful pillows and chaises. Lucas was sitting on a long sofa wearing a navy colored tuxedo with a green vest. His blonde hair was brushed back with one strand neatly falling on a corner of his eye. The bright light of the spotlights fell on his charming face, illuminating it while he posed for the cameras like a pro.“He looks really good!” Alya complimented. “Those clothes suit him well.”
*Three Years Later*Jason was pacing back and forth outside the operation theater. His heart was anxious but thankfully, it was not in pain like the other times. However, it was extremely cold thanks to what was going on inside.“Relax uncle!”He looked around to see a spunky eleven year old girl with long, curly hair and the same blue eyes as him. Alina had a growth spurt over the past three years. She was now almost reaching his shoulder.“Aunt Alya will be fine!” she told him. “If you get too anxious, she’ll only panic.”“I can’t help it!” he scowled. “And kids shouldn’t be here! Why aren’t you at school?”
The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Its lights fell on the series of tombstones in the graveyard. Colorful flowers were blooming all around the family which was standing next to a pair of graves with a shared tombstone. Despite the nice weather, the family was solemn as they paid their respects. The tombstone had a writing on it:“Here lies Sheila and Charles Wang. Loving parents and good people. Date 19XX to 20XX”Max dabbed his eyes, lamenting the loss of his granddaughter and her husband. Cain and Jason told him that they died in a car crash and also revealed that Alina is Sheila’s daughter who was being taken care of by her uncle and his fiance. Jason and Cain stood on his sides with their lovers. Alina was kneeling in front of her parents’ graves, silently crying.“I miss you
Alina woke up in the hospital. She was heavily sedated; Jenna’s beating had caused her arm to be fractured.“Alya...sis…” she mumbled.“I’m here.”The girl’s eyes flung open and she was delighted to see that Alya was there with her.“You’re here…” she whispered, reaching out for Alya. Alya smiled and took her hand.“I am. You should rest.”“How long have I been here?”“Almost two weeks,” Alya said. “You were badly hurt by Jenna.”“But...Aunt Jenna
Jason and Cain sped towards the factory. Cain was on the phone with his men, giving them instructions.“My men just informed me that Heath Seo was spotted outside that factory we’re heading to,” Cain told him. “How did you know he’d be there?”“I just do,” Jason muttered. Cain was suspicious but he did not ask anything else. He had filled in Jason about what happened at the Tang mansion that morning and even though Jason was tense, he was also worried about Maxwell.“Looks like grandfather took this well,” he muttered.“Well, he never really liked my mother in the first place so he wasn’t too sad seeing her leave,” Cain remarked. They were now about to leave the main city but the factory was st
Jason pulled up in front of a restaurant when he suddenly felt the familiar sensation in his heart.“Agh!” he winced when his chest became cold. He was gasping for breath and closed his eyes to lay his head on the steering wheel.“What the hell?” he muttered. “Why is that sensation happening again?”He touched his heart and it was colder than the earlier attacks. Jason was sure that it was a warning sign and that Alya was in immense danger. Flashes of her running through the rain were popping in his head.“Why is she outside?” he whispered. He was so engrossed in his pain that he did not notice a familiar Maybach pulling up behind his car. There was a knock on his window and to his surprise, it was Cain.
*Few Hours Ago*Monty arrived at the place where Jenna called him. It was a narrow alley located within an industrial area where several factories were meshed together. The buildings were in a series of rows, put side by side. A small dockyard was situated at the end of the place where a few ships were anchored.The workers had gone home for the day because the sun was setting. The gloomy clouds hovered in the sky, indicating that it was going to rain that night. Monty looked around for Jenna and finally spotted her standing a few meters away. He slowly walked towards her.“You called for me?” he asked.Jenna was wearing a pair of large sunglasses and she took them off to examine him.“Did you fi
Malorie quietly followed Cain to the patio and waited for him to talk. He was quiet for a while before turning to face her.“You should have told me about this,” he began. “That my mom was threatening you. We could have worked something out.”“I wanted to find our child first,” she replied in a small tone. “If I had told you, she might have gotten alerted and killed Billy. I couldn’t take the risk.”Cain stared at her for a while before sighing. “We’re both idiots,” he muttered. “We talk about being on our own but in the end, we let my parents manipulate us…”Malorie was staring at her fingers, unable to understand what to do. So many things had happened and it was going too fast.
Dahlia was hosting her regular afternoon tea with the socialites at her home. As a tradition, she hosted these gatherings every week with the elite class women so that she could increase her network and influence. Despite the setback with the wedding, she was now more determined to match Cain up with someone even more influential than Jenna.“Mrs. Wang, I hear that your daughter Catherine is coming back to town!” Dahlia was saying. They were sitting in the living room, sipping tea and having cakes. Butler Austin put the trays of food in front of them and stood aside.“She is,” Mrs. Wang replied. “For a business deal.”“I hear that she is now a very renowned interior decorator,” Dahlia remarked. “Maybe we should have her over for dinner sometime next week? I&rsquo
Malroie was watching the news, filled with dread. Over the past week, there was nothing other than James Park’s sudden death which had caused the business world to go into a frenzy. The stocks of his company fell and it was acquired by the notorious research firm owner, Heath Seo. Jenna took over the business and the Tang’s were in great debt. If there was no additional investment, the Tang’s were going to be ruined.The reporters were crowding outside Cain’s office. They hounded him as soon as he was out.“Mr. Cain, what’s your next strategy to pull this business together?” the reporters demande.d “Can you save the company?”“Is it true that your wedding to Jenna Park has been called off?”“Can you