~Thirty minutes earlier~Leonica had just finished sorting through the first batch of attending guests when Grace glided down the stairs alone. She glanced up the stairs, expecting the little demon to rush down in his usual energetic state, but he did.“Where’s Ash?” She asked when her son was nowhere to be seen.“The young master fell asleep right after his bath.” Grace informed as she descended the last flight of stairs and picked up the dusting rag she had dropped off before going upstairs, about to resume her duties. When she noticed Leonica’s unwavering stare on her, she asked. “Should I have stopped him? Perhaps I should have kept him awake so he could sleep better at night?”“Uh, no. Not at all. It’s just,” There was a pause in her sentence in which Leonica chuckled to herself. “It’s not every day you see Ash fall asleep right after a bath.”Understanding the reason for her long stare, Grace nodded her head. “Indeed. The Child must have been really exhausted.” She reasoned, rea
“Risk it?” Leonica repeated his words and went silent. All of a sudden, she chuckled loudly, startling Gabriel. “Don’t be silly, Gabriel. Even if artificial insemination fails, there are many other ways to save Ashley.” She said and waved her hand in a dismissive manner almost as if saying she wanted to end the topic here.But Gabriel’s confused expression said something else.Other ways to save Ashley? God he hoped it was no what he thought she was implying.“In-Vitro for example.” Leonica added upon seeing Gabriel confused face and nearly relished deeply when his expression contorted confusion, anger that came when he realized that his *ssumptions were right and then finally a disapproving look that came along with the realization that not many mothers were the same after IVF.“IVF, are you listening to yourself, Leonica? That can harm you.” He objected, leaning forward in a manner that showed he was serious about his every word.“Like you care.” Leonica shrugged nonchalantly, eyes
The air in the room had suddenly turned stiff after Ashley’s words. But the boy remained smiling, clearly not knowing the meaning of the glances his parents exchanged.Had they just heard right? Ashley, saved by Angelina? The very same Angelina Fernandez they knew? Scheming, witchy and all?Uh-uh, no way in hell that actually happened. But it was also clear that Ashley wasn’t lying. The bundled demon of joy looked far too innocent to be lying. At times Leonica even feared that the kid didn’t even know how to lie and now was no different.So, it was either his brain was still a bit muddled from the entire experience or the doctors had given him some sort of shot that messed up his entire mind and made him mouth speak all kind of rubbish, or perhaps both.Leonica chugged her son’s strange behavior and unreal words up to the two. Chuckling, she gently brought his hands down. “Ash, Honey, tell me, do you feel alright? Do I.. need to question the doctor about your shots?”“Nope.” The child
The next few days had gone in a bliss of eventless hours. And soon, it was the day of Ashley’s birthday party.Standing in front of the mirror, Leonica examined the dress Ashley had insisted hard on her wearing. It was a black evening gown, opened at the back with moderate neckline and golden lining at the bottom which stopped at her ankle.At first glance, she saw nothing special about the dress and wondered why Ashley had been so insistent on her wearing it.“Mommy, it’s time to go~” Came Ashley’s voice from outside her room door and soon, the small child appeared, dressed in a black suit and pants, a befitting attire for his birthday party.It was then Leonica took one look at his dress and then back at hers in the mirror and chuckled. Now she understood why Ashley had insisted on her wearing the dress he had picked out. It was because he was wearing something to match her.The lapel of his tiny black suit had glitters of gold and so did his tiny bow tie, almost as if it was made t
“And any man would be a fool to know someone like her and allow her walk away, am I not right, Mr. Bryce?” Arvan asked in a care free manner, smiling and pocketing his hands at Gabriel's obvious irritated expression.Even without one knowing the subject of matter or the situation at hand, the tension hanging thick in the air, one that Arvan didn’t seem to be paying attention to and even if he is, he was doing a fine job at feigning indifference, was enough to spell everything out loud.A few seconds had p*ssed after Arvan’s words; seconds in which Gabriel held an intense eye contact with him, before he chuckled, lowering and nodding his head all the while.“Indeed. You’re correct, Senator Richardson,” Looking up, he offered Arvan a smile, nearly as meaningful as his past one. “For once, it’s safe to say we’re Seeing Eye to eye.”Like hell they were. Despite the smile on Gabriel’s lips, meaningful as it may look, Arvan was sure that the moment he turned around, the former male won’t he
As the Emcee’s voice echoed within the event halls, most, if not all of the guest, pausing their current activities to look in the direction of the entrance and watching as Angelina strode in with high and confident shoulders, they began to whisper the exact same question Leonica could have asked herself had she been an outside person, who had been aware of Angelina and Gabriel’s relationship, just like the rest of them.And soon, one of those outside people, C*ssandra Romero Namely, soon found her way over to her daughter’s side and tugged her aside by the arm. “What is that witch doing here?” She whispered through seethed teeth.“Mom, please calm down,” Leonica tried to sooth her mother after gauging her anger. Not that she could blame her, if she had been her own mother, she would have given her an ear full, and a long lectured and then saw to it that Angelina was escorted off the premises, immediately. But what could she do, it was Ashley’s request after all.“Don’t tell your moth
You know that saying ‘It is impossible to suffer without making someone pay for it; every complaint already contains revenge’ and in this case, Ashley was the one going to suffer for the sorrow and wrongful doings Leonica and Gabriel had inflicted on her.It was only fair that way, taking something from them after they had taken several things from her. Leonica especially. Her ability to become a mother, the love of her life, her peaceful life, her status in high society and even her parent’s love when they had been alive.F*ck, now that she counted Leonica’s wrong doing, remembering each one of them like it was yesterday, Angelina felt like Leonica deserved to suffer more. Losing one thing was too simple for her. No, it was far too easy for Angelina to feel content. She wanted Leonica to feel the exact same pains she felt. The pain of losing her child, her ability to become a mother her status, the love of her life and her parent’s love if possible. She wanted Leonica to feel it all,
Between the fact that she was about hitting the daughter of Arvan Richardson, a man that she was well aware was not to be messed with and the death stare said man was shooting in her direction, more than enough to make her wish the floor opened up and swallowed her whole, Angelina to have realized the mistake she had committed while allowing her emotion get the best of her.She had broken character and messed up, bad.Her head snapped around, looking in the direction of the people who had gathered because of the commotion, whispering underneath their breaths and towards one another and then she looked behind her, where Gabriel and Leonica stood. The expression on Leonica’s face said it all, she wasn’t the least bit surprised about her three sixty change in attitude. Gabriel however, even though he wasn’t surprised, was left in a staring trance with a look of disbelief written over his face.‘F*ck Angelina, you just had to mess it all up!’ She shut her eyes and cursed herself inwardly.
Anastasia had fallen asleep after her call with Megan, only to be awoken to the sound of someone knocking on her front door.Reluctantly, she slipped out of bed and made her way towards the front door and without checking who was at the door, opened it.When her eyes landed on the person standing in front of her, her expression switched from surprised to angry, then back to surprise, because she had not expected to see her mother standing in front of her door after so long.“At times I want to believe that you’re blind to my call, but then I see you winning all these cases on national Television and realize, oh wait, my daughter does have eyes.” Pushing her way into Anastasia’s apartment, Fiona dropped her purse and coat on the chair and turned to face her daughter. “Give me one good reason why you’ve been avoiding my calls?”“Didn’t Mason pass along my message?” Anastasia questioned, closing the door and heading to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.While doing so, she did
Whatever dark, alcohol induced thought that had been roaming Anastasia’s mind was dashed the moment she gave Lloyd the pass code to her apartment and instead of doing anything when he arrived at her room, he simply tucked her underneath the duvet and sighed.“You’re really a case.” He mumbled underneath his breath, but she clearly heard it, and just as he was about to turn around and leave, she caught his wrist.“You’re leaving? You’re not gonna do anything?” She had blurted out the question before she could control her own words and in seconds, she wished for the bed to open up and swallow her.Gosh, why had she said that?The alcohol, yeah, it is as definitely the alcohol!“Do you want me to stay?” Lloyd’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Do you want me to stay, Anastasia?” He repeated when she remained silent.Her grip around his wrist loosened and Lloyd nodded.Of course she didn’t want him to stay. That was simply the alcohol in her system talking.Swallowing the bitter pill, he
Lloyd’s words had instantly sent Anastasia’s heart into an overdrive. Without even needing to focus on it, she could feel her heart beating hard against her chest, shaken up by his words, his proximity and the look in her eyes.And it scared her.Not Lloyd, but rather the familial pounding of her heart and the fluttering in her stomach, because she knew it all too well and it was a feeling she feared.It was the same feelings that had caused her unfortunate relationship with Derek.Those memories flashed within her mind and before Anastasia knew it, she had paled.Lloyd didn’t fail to notice this and in seconds, his expression changed into concern. But before he could say anything, she had broken free from his hold and stood up, walking towards her door and holding it open.“Get out.” She demanded.Lloyd was surprised by the sudden shift in her attitude. Just a few seconds ago, she seemed pissed at him, now the look in her eyes made it seem like she was trying to be on guard against h
Shrouded by the darkness her office provided after lights out, with her eyes glued to the bright screen of her laptop, Anastasia replayed the CCTV footage she had gotten from Danco.She studied the man’s movement, how he had approached Logan, his face shaded by the black hoodie he wore. She paused the video during moments of their interaction, trying to read the lips of Logan.It was clear he rejected at first. He even looked appealed by the idea. But then his eyes suddenly showed the interest that had sipped into his mind after heading something that he hooded figure had told him.What could it have been? Anastasia wondered as she watched the part of their interaction where Logan had indeed offered the hooded figure payment, in the form of raw cash, but he rejected, handed the drive over to Logan and walked out.Smartly, the hooded figure had walked in the opposite direction waiting until the attention on his had lessened before he came back and entered the black car, which belonged
“What?” Anastasia blinked in surprise after hearing what Logan had said. “He didn’t request for any money?”“Yes. As a matter of fact, it seemed like he was doing it not out of crude or hatred, but rather obligation. At first I thought something was wrong, I tried refusing it, trust me, but he insist and before I knew it, that bastard had dumped the concept and vanished.”Anastasia brows knitted together more. This wasn’t at all in the file that Kareem had given her. In fact, going back to what he had told her when briefing her about the case, he said the employee’s motive for selling the concepts was because they had gotten fired and had a personal grudge against the company.But that wasn’t the case, at least not from both sides.“And did you tell your attorney this or-““Yes, I have. I even explained the whole goddamn thing to Riley when his lawyer dropped by yesterday, but he refused to listen. He thinks I’m covering for the employee.” Logan sighed. “Look, I’m telling you the trut
Anastasia sat in the chair farest from Lloyd, listening to all his assistant had decided to tell her about the situation.Yes, she had accepted the job. Why? Well it was simple, the pay. The money that was offered for her to handle this case was more than enough to buy her a whole island.Who was she to turn down such an opportunity. Most definitely not her and most definitely not because of someone name Lloyd Riley.“And that is the case.” Kareem concluded.“I see.” Anastasia hummed, nodding her head in the process. From all she had heard, learnt and was able to gather, the situation on ground had come about because of an employee who had stolen confidential files from the company and took it to a rivalry company, selling it off.But the rivaling company, either they were not smart enough to change the concept of what had been sold to them or that they purposely wanted to rub the fact that they had gotten hands on L.R co’s latest concept.Either way, it was a stupid move and Anastasi
Lloyd woke up the next morning to find the bed beside him cold and empty. His brows furrowed and as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his mind recalled the events from last night yet Anastasia was nowhere to been seen.Did she leave? He wondered.He looked around, and his eyes landed on a piece of paper on his bedside table.Lloyd frowned and picked the note up, his eyes skimming through the words written on it.Last night was great, but I could have gotten better. I left some cash to thank you for your service. Hope we don’t ever cross paths again, Lloyd Riley.After reading the message, Lloyd’s eyes quickly found a thousand dollar bill placed on top of his wallet and he chuckled.“Is this a fucking joke?”Did Anastasia take him as a sex worker? Or did she think he was a prostitute?And she even had the balls to tell him that she hoped they were crossed paths again.He shook his head, still finding it funny that she’d leave a message like this.“Oh, Anastasia, you’re so cut
“Lloyd Riley, I’ll make this a night for you to remember.”It was like a promise, or maybe even a declaration, but regardless, it was one Anastasia was determined to keep and she knew just how to do so.Over the course of years, she had dealt with boys like Lloyd, players, the call themselves. They waltz into your life, mess up your emotions and end up using you as a one night stand.Anastasia’s first experience at that had been painful, so right now, as she walked back to where she and Lloyd had been seated, she wondered how Lloyd would feel if the tables were turned on him.“You done?” Lloyd asked as she took her seat from across him, fingers curling around the glass of her whiskey.“Yes. The bathroom here didn’t really have much to offer.” She flashed him a smile, deciding to move on to her plan rather than delaying an further. “So, do you have any plans after this?” She asked, placing the tip of her glass on her lower lip and looking at Lloyd through her lashes.He narrowed his ey
Standing in front of the mirror, Anastasia sighed, a frown etched onto her face as she checked herself. For a second, she debated whether or not she could pull off the outfit she was wearing.Her usual dress code, always having had the mindset of a lawyer and boss woman, was a simple jumpsuit or trousers and a blouse. But tonight, she had decided to switch things up.Tonight, she was wearing a knee length, skin tight dress, a dress that was cut at the front, revealing the bare skin of her thigh. Her hair, usually held up in a messy bun, was free flowing down her back, her lips a deep shade of red and her eyelashes long and luscious.As she stood there, checking herself, her mind began running wild.Why had she agreed to a date with Lloyd? What the fuck was she thinking?She shook her head, this for sure, was going to turn out to be chaos.Being ripped away from her thought by the sound of her door bell ringing, Anastasia decided to lock up her worries in the back of her mind and appro