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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"You're fired!"She felt her heart sink deeper into her ribcage. She felt her hearing capacity reduce, so much so that all she could hear were distant echoes of the words that had been uttered to her. She felt her mouth go dry.She lifted her hazel brown eyes to meet her boss. He looked angry. She had deduced that from the way his brows knitted together, causing the fair skin around the area to wrinkle as well. From the way his breathing had become harsher and from the way he looked at her. His arms were folded together, causing the blue shirt he wore to form creases. His dark pants did the same. It was probably the effect of his anger."Mr Mark maybe I should come back when you're calm and no longer angry," she suggested but in a low voice. She heard her own panic in her voice even though she was trying to hide it.Mr Mark glared at the little woman standing before him in anger. Even if the white shirt and dark pants she wore made her look innocent, he knew she would be exactly the s
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