Kelvin's eyes flew open. The dull grey ceiling stared back at him, it remained like that for some seconds. There were a lot of questions in his head at that moment,He was alive. The smell of chemicals and medicine, that signature smell of hospitals filled his nose, with a faint smell of fruits. He could hear the sound of the heart rate monitor beside him, and he noticed for the first time that he had an oxygen mask on. Kelvin slowly removed it from his face, and he heaved out a deep sigh which was stopped halfway because of a dull pain in his chest.He was really alive after all. Kelvin felt warm relief flow across his body, he had never been so happy before in his life. He had watched his life flash before his own eyes, it was disappointing that he had become quite frail.His memory jogged, and he remembered why he had passed out. Kelvin slowly sat up on the bed, his body felt heavy and weak to his commands, but he still managed. He glanced at the table and he saw his phone star
Oliver rang the hospital in his car. He wanted to know Kelvin's state, he wanted to check on him before he went to the interview. "Good day, Mr Russell," Doctor Kendrick answered on the line."Good day doctor, how is Mr Kelvin doing?" Oliver went straight to the matter. "He was awake a while ago, he seemed very healthy and strong. Honestly, I was surprised he could already sit up after that surgery," the doctor answered. There were voices in the background. "He is asleep now, everything is going smoothly, sir," the doctor continued. Oliver could nearly picture the doctor's intense eyes. "I see, thank you very much, take good care of him and provide me with information concerning any future development with his condition," Oliver spoke quickly. He looked to the front and his eyes met Jeff's from the rearview mirror. "Sure sir, I will let you know," the doctor replied. "Good, I will have to hang up now, do have a good day," Oliver ended the call and put the phone down on the seat be
"What the fuck is that? Why is she asking him inappropriate questions?" Anne asked angrily. The attendants were trying to calm her down as she walked towards the director. She looked over to Oliver, and he winked at her, signaling for her to calm down. “I married Zara for love,” Oliver answered with a small smile on his face. “Zara and I love each other very much, so we kept our relationship very private, it is only natural for the public to assume that," Oliver sat forward and clasped his fingers together. Sally nodded her head as he talked as if she was satisfied with his reply. "You see, I did not want to expose her to something she is not comfortable with,” Oliver added.The fact that he said these things as if he truly meant it made him slightly uneasy. "I see, but it was true that your stocks have been rising ever since. It is also not a secret that your company has been going through a bad year earlier in this quarter, and the fact that your wife's appearance was just arou
Oliver raised a brow. He didn't like where Anne was going. "We have to go all out, in making sure all the cameras don't leave your side,” Anne seemed to be excited about the whole thing. Oliver let out a soft laugh, he had always known Anne to be a clown.Anne stopped, wondering what was hilarious.She ignored him and continued, “Well, I have your outfits ready. I have informed Zara that I’ll be coming to pick her up at noon. I’ll have her back before 4:00 pm so you can leave together,” She swiped the screen of her iPad, showing Oliver what she had prepared.Shit! Oliver paused abruptly like he just had an epiphany. “I haven’t told Zara about the awards dinner, and it is tomorrow! Anne, could you please help me out again,” Oliver pleaded.Anne rolled her eyes and responded, “I guess I should add ‘mess cleaner’ to my job description Fine, I’ll call her,” She gave in.She started putting folders inside her bag. She was getting ready to represent Oliver in the meeting.“I guess I shou
Oliver frowned and swallowed hard. His face twitched with unregistered emotions as he watched the person approach him. She was elegant and tall, her dress was fitted. Her slit stopped at her thigh exposing her skin, the body like that of a model. Vanessa Willow.Zara had also recognized her from the pictures Anne had shown her. She was the one who had planned the fall for Oliver. Zara gasped, she looked too beautiful to be evil.It was just like one of those sayings. "You never know the heart of people," Zara thought. "My darling Oliver!" The woman spoke, with a wide grin that could be mistaken for a smile.She stopped briefly, as she turned her face to Zara.It was as if she was scanning her with her eyes, they screamed jealousy. She widened her eyes a bit as if surprised by her. She probably did not expect Zara to be more beautiful than the pictures and videos portrayed.Vanessa's hiss was almost audible. She had nearly started comparing herself with the peasant in front of her.
"Mr. Raker, you can now be discharged. Don't forget to take your medications properly," the doctor said to Kelvin as he sat up. A checkup was being carried out with the help of several other nurses. "Now remember, you can't do any tedious work. That is it, see you in two weeks," Doctor Kendrick warned, as he held Kelvin's shoulder firmly."Thank you so much Doctor," Kelvin replied as he made his way out of the room. To his surprise, Jeff was waiting outside for him."You look much better, Mr. Raker," Jeff complimented with a smile on his face. His green eyes were sparkling at Kelvin. He proceeded to collect Kelvin's bag from the nurse assisting him."Oh no, you don't have to—" It was too late, he had already snatched it from him and was walking straight outside.Kelvin felt slightly better that someone was at his discharge, but a disgruntled frown immediately formed on his face as he realized the absence of Zara."Thank you, Jeff," Kelvin said as he caught up with Jeff. Jeff nodded
Oliver stared at the message that was displayed on his phone's screen and his facial expression changed. Anne saw the look on his face and out of concern she asked, "What is going on, what did you see?"Oliver went ahead to show Anne the message that got him stunned. "Oh no, not now," Anne lamented. "How is the security at your place?" Anne continued, trying to figure out the whole scenario."Very tight. Enough CCTV, one that you can't access without permission," Oliver replied wondering what Anne was thinking."Well, we cannot say anything about Kelvin, it was part of the contract. Since the security is tight, we should not be bothered about this. Jeff's driving him right?" Anne asked. "Uh? Yeah, he is," Oliver said. Anne nodded. "With these in check, I do not think that is a problem," Anne said. Oliver realized that this was not. what he had been thinking about. Anne was thinking about Kelvin being seen with Zara, while his mind was somewhere else entirely. Kelvin back in his
Jeff walked to the vehicle and closed the door. He looked up when the electronic buzzer indicated that the gate was opening. He was surprised when he saw Oliver drive in with the Range Rover. "What—?" The word hung in Jeff's throat. The Range Rover parked beside the other vehicle and Oliver came out of the vehicle. He was looking around frantically as if he was looking for something. Jeff tried to rack his head around the reasons why Oliver would be back home very early. It wasn't like him, especially on a weekday. He could not place it. Was it because he had driven Kelvin to the house?Oliver turned to Jeff and saw the confusion and worry on his face and he smiled at him. "Jeff, everything is fine. I think I just need to rest," Oliver assured him. Jeff was still perplexed, he was curious. "If you are not feeling well, I will drop you at the hospital...maybe I should call the doctor for you," Jeff brought out his phone and dialed the doctor's number. Whoa! He was taking it too
This was very bad. Cold sweat broke out of Kelvin's body as he worked a thousand scenarios of how today would end. Was this the end? Had she found out? Was Oliver's company and reputation going to plummet down the drain?He was very certain that the woman in front of him was Vanessa Willow. Of course, she was the one, the one that had caused problems earlier for Oliver. If she was here, it was bad news for him, it was instant death. Kelvin nodded his head at Vanessa as he greeted her. He looked at Rita as she smiled at her and he wondered what signal he could give her to back off from the crazy woman in front of him. How could someone so beautiful be as evil as the press portrayed her to be?“Kelvin!” Rita called out. She noticed that he had been staring out into space for a long time. Kelvin greeted Rita briefly and turned to Vanessa. "I hope we are making you comfortable ma'am," Kelvin said politely and wore a smile on his face. "How about we give you a feel of our VIP spaces
Vanessa stared at the restaurant bewildered. She had expected it to be a small restaurant where she could just grab her grubs and leave at the speed of light. But they had something going on here. Vanessa stared at the description of the restaurant and looked back at what stood before her. The front of the restaurant was true glass, but at the same time, it offered privacy to its customers. Vanessa slowly stepped out of her car and looked at the glowing name on the signboard.“ZAMAN'S GRILLS,” she spelled it out. It looked like she wouldn't be able to get in without a reservation, although there were chairs outside, but she didn't want to be hijacked by the media. Vanessa made up her mind and entered the main restaurant, the interior was even better, with the makings of a 4.5-star restaurant. She settled into a chair and stared at the servery, where a middle-aged man and woman were working. Those middle-aged people were Paul and Rita Lawman. “Uh hi, I wanted to make a reservation
Kelvin stared at the name Paul had scribbled on a pad for the restaurant. He suppressed a laugh in him and looked at him. "Don't tell me," Kelvin laughed. They were all seated. In the Lawmans' new home. Paul jokingly hit Kelvin, “Oh please, what is wrong with Zaman's Grills?” He turned to his wife waiting for her response. Rita held her forehead and turned to Kelvin. “Paul is more obsessed with his daughter than I. It is all his doing, not like I have a better name yet," Rita saidKelvin adjusted himself in his seat and took in the living room. Oliver had taken his time decorating his house. God knows how much he had splashed into the project. "You should have seen Zara when she came in some days ago, she has grown up," Paul started. His eyes gleamed as he talked about Zara. "Really? In what aspect?" Kelvin asked with renewed interest as he clasped his hands. "Well, for one. Zara has always been a grown up but it seems like she grew up again! Zara found it hard to convey her fe
Zara sat cross-legged in front of her parents. They sat in their new home, and she had decided to visit them. She preferred breaking the news to them face to face, rather than on the phone. She had left Jeff in the car outside while she talked to her parents inside. And besides, it had been a while since she had seen them. "Dad, we are getting you a shop."Those words hadn't been digested completely in Rita and Paul's ears. One could say they had trouble processing it. They seemed to be lagging, at times. Zara sighed and rested her hands on her thighs. She uncrossed her legs and sat more comfortably. She used that opportunity to look at the house very well. She could see that Oliver had taken his time to furnish it well with high-grade furniture. Wasn't he doing too much, too much to be comfortable?"Zara, what are you saying?" Paul asked first. He seemed to have processed it faster than his wife.Zara sighed and stood up. "Mum, Dad, remember those times when you used to say you
Zara felt something ominous as she stared at her phone. Vanessa's video was trending, and she wondered what she was up to this time. Thankfully, she wasn't her problem. Oliver would deal with her sooner. She sat in the garden and looked up at the sky. The sun was high up in the sky, but it was mild on the skin because of autumn. She looked down at the flowers and thought about talking about the plants to Oliver when her phone rang. Zara stared at the ID and put it to her ear immediately. "Yes, Mom?" Zara answered. Kelvin must have already told them about it by now. She just hoped her mum wouldn't throw hard questions her way. "My baby girl, you have gotten us what we have always wanted," Rita's voice broke out as soon as she picked up.Zara sensed happiness in her mother's voice. It has been forever since she heard her mother sound that happy. She could also hear soft sobs at the end of the receiver. "Oh Rita, are you going to start on the call and keep sobbing?" Zara heard her
Vanessa had become quite miserable. In fact, "quite miserable," was an understatement. She had reached the point where she had completely embodied Squidward's point of view, that famous miserable character from that legendary kiddies show.Her reputation had plummeted downwards, she couldn't even go outside to buy her groceries because of the way people looked at her. Her suspension at work was still ongoing, she didn't even expect to be called back after what had happened. Oliver Russell. Vanessa grabbed a ceramic vase from the bedside table and flung it at the wall. It shattered into a million pieces, with the sound bouncing back and forth in the large room. She grabbed her bare knees and looked at the mirror. She was losing it. Oliver Russell. Vanessa stood up and rested her hands in front of the dressing mirror. Her eyes were puffy from not getting enough sleep and she had gained some mass from staying at home, lazing around since last week. "Oliver, I will crush you!" Vane
Oliver smiled back at Zara with his hands in his pocket. Zara slowly stood up and shook her head. It was impossible, why was he going that far? He was getting too involved with them. "No, I can't accept that," Zara shook her head. "You can cut off my bonuses, I barely use them anyway. You can use the money and pay for the—" Oliver cleared his throat and Zara stopped talking. He looked down at her and cocked his brow. "Tell me the truth. If I left it to you, you wouldn't have been able to do it, even with the bonuses. Are you a masochist? Can you even repay me?" The smile on his had disappeared. Zara looked to the ground and held her palms together. She felt her palms were the only ones warming her up in front of Oliver's cold stare. "I—I—""You can't. So instead of partying with the money I have, or going to the brothel, I want to help your family, and you are not stopping me," Oliver paused. He saw that he had been coming a bit too strong there. He watched as Zara's body tensed
"We need to talk."A sentence with four words. It sounded more intense than it was intended to, partly because Zara was trying to avoid Oliver. She hadn't forgotten what had happened on the rooftop that day. She knew it. She had almost kissed Oliver. "We need to talk."She simply stared at the message that was displayed on the screen. It had been there since morning, and she hadn't even bothered to reply. “Curse you, Oliver,” Zara flustered.She had successfully ignored Oliver for the last few days after that incident. She beat herself up every time she remembered it. What killed her the most was that she could not tell Kelvin about it. How would she even start? She knew it was almost an act of betrayal. Kelvin himself had been very busy for the past few days, his cafe boomed well. He was very happy. No way she was going to spoil it for him. Zara straightened her dress and heaved a deep sigh in front of the mirror. Her face stared back at her. She looked less confident than the wa
Oliver flexed his fingers in front of his laptop. The tech seemed alien to him. How many days had he missed work? Four days? Two days? Well, none of that mattered since he was—Anne barged into the office and shook Oliver out of his thoughts. Oliver blinked several times at her and she simply stared back at him. Oliver thought he would have another episode of severe scolding for dumping his work on her. "Oliver, I found what might become a problem later," Anne dropped her laptop on Oliver's table. She had taken Oliver by surprise. He thought he would have gotten scolded again. "What are you talking about?" Oliver raised a brow in confusion. Anne slapped her forehead lightly. She had forgotten that she had left Oliver out of the loop since Vanessa's last show. "Okay, let me place it like this since you have not been around for a while," she flashed Oliver a frown and he swallowed. He raised his hands in submission and Anne continued. "I ended up putting myself in Vanessa. More lik