“This is exhausting,” Daphne murmured as she felt how drained she was just by talking to Samantha."A day hasn't passed, yet I'm getting sick of the people around here." It was the first time she saw her, but she didn’t have a good impression of her. Daphne remembered August earlier; it looked like he was a good guy. At the same time, she was glad that August would have been able to live a good life. She saw it in her eyes— August lived in harmony despite hiding. When she saw that viral video from her brother’s live broadcast, it felt like Daphne woke up from her peaceful slumber. He ignited the sleeping rage in her heart. And with that, she knew it was the right time for her to seek revenge. Even if they didn’t meet at the boutique, she would meet with him someday to give him an invitation. However, she didn’t expect August didn’t know about her existence— like a caveman. “What would be your next move, Fordman?” she murmured before she sat on the edge of the bed. "Would I
AS AUGUST and Daphne walked inside The Rosehouse, all eyes were on them— including the other visitors and the reporters. August looked uncomfortable, as he wasn’t used to the attention people were giving them, while Daphne acted casually as if she had lived this kind of life. Daphne’s hands clung to August’s shoulder as her fingers, with yellow nail color, tapped lightly onto his skin. He turned his head and bent a little to glance at Daphne, only to stop himself from breathing and walking as he felt mesmerized because of her beauty. “Are you okay?” Daphne asked before a genuine smile escaped his lips. August could only nod as his lips were slightly parted, not knowing what to say. He thought Samantha was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen— not until he saw Daphne that day. However, he could say that Daphne’s characteristics weren’t real. He could feel inauthenticity on it. And that’s what August hated the most— people who loved pretending, which made him loathe Samantha. A
DAPHNE WAS stunned because of August’s straightforward question but she was able to maintain her composure. She trained herself to manage her emotions and not let them ruin her plans. 'History won't repeat itself,' she told herself with conviction. “No. I only know your name and your previous job before you get fired.” Daphne immediately shook her head and chuckled a bit. “Strategy Developer, isn’t it? Not bad, though.” She wasn’t the kind of woman who would dig into someone’s personal records— although she asked one of her people to investigate August because of her curiosity. When she realized what she was doing was contrary to her principles, she immediately disposed of the data on her paper shredder machine. August didn’t answer as he stared at the stage. His gaze went darker every second as he clenched his fists. He breathed heavily as he tried to maintain his composure. By now, he felt like he was used and insulted by everyone. Starting from the type of cloth he wore d
“LET US welcome the most popular couple in the town… Bruce Sandoval and Samantha Evergreen!”The mellow music started to overbear the chit-chat of the visitors as Bruce, who was wearing a gold and white suit, and Samantha, who wore a gold and pink ball gown, both went up the stage.They were holding each other's hands. Bruce smiled at Samantha which she immediately returned."Samantha..." August mouthed, almost in a whisper, as his heart skipped a bit.For everyone, it was a heartfelt scene between lovers who decided to tie the knot after all those years with lots of challenges they encountered.But for August, it was the most horrible scene he had seen— even more horrible than those insults and judgments he had taken from the people around him."They looked like a royal prince and princess!""Well, because they are!""Can't wait for the wedding already!"He could hear the praises of the people around them. It intensified the pain in August's heart more.There was nothing more painful
THE SHOCKED expression of Samantha greeted August as soon as he entered the room. Daphne was right. Samantha was already wearing a pink and gold one-piece suit covered with a pink cardigan when he entered.“Samantha,” he called her in a low tone. It sounded full of regrets, hatred, and desperation at the same time.He couldn’t help it when a lone tear fell from his eyes. Samantha looked like he was afraid of her, and he didn’t know the reason behind it. All he did was to love her, so the terrified expression in Samantha’s eyes pained him.“Sam…” August called for the second time as he took steps forward towards her. The same emotions were still evident in his voice.Samantha heard it, too. Of all those years she needed to pretend that she loves August to use him, she got a gist of his personality. For her, reading August’s expression and voice was like reading a children’s book; both are easy to grasp.“August,” Samantha, who was stunned at first, finally found the strength to speak.
AUGUST BLINKED his eyes and turned his head to see who was the man who entered the other door. It was a tall man wearing a white polo shirt and pants. Despite the casual clothes, a powerful aura was evident around him. ‘Jake Sandoval,’ August thought. He was the CEO of the Sandoval Corporation and the head of the Sandoval Family. He was the mastermind of all the transactions. In all those years he worked at the Sandoval Corporation, he only saw him twice: One at the general assembly and the second at the emergency meeting when the stock prices decreased drastically because of an issue he couldn’t remember. He wasn’t active at the company, but no business transactions, especially the most crucial ones, were done without his approval. August was always intimidated every time he saw Jake, but he couldn’t help to think that Charles Remington had a more powerful and intimidating aura— yet he was comfortable with him at the same time. “F-Father…” Daphne mumbled as her hand traveled ont
“YOU TOLD me that I don’t belong here…” August mumbled which made Bruce smirk. “But why do I hear insecurity from your voice—” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence when Bruce suddenly punched into his stomach, causing him to cough as he tried to catch his breath. It was in the same position where Bruce punched the first time. In a moment, Bruce was able to determine where August would hurt the most. Samantha, who was also watching, gasped as August almost lost consciousness. Nicole and Jake had neutral expressions as they were already used to this kind of scene; blood and mess were like natural things to them. Some people were also shocked because of what Bruce did, but after a while, they were already screaming that Bruce should give August another hard punch because he deserves it. August couldn’t help but think if those people were humans— or demons pretending to be one. ‘Sick bastards,’ August thought at the back of his mind. “This is the end for you, August.” Bruce let out
HIS INTENSE declarations were followed by a massive volume of laughter within the crowd— including the Sandoval family, except for Daphne. August closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trying not to bring their laughter straight into his heart. But it was to no avail. He could feel his heart breaking. One of his hands traveled onto his chest and clutched it while breathing heavily. His chest went up and down as he did that. All of them found August's claims amusing. Nicole even held onto her stomach as she laughed hard with her eyes getting teary, the same as the other people in the place who looked at him like a clown who was giving them entertainment. "He's sick!" "Dream on, dude!" "Your dreams will come true once you die!" Their sarcastic laughter was followed by harsh insults. They were even pointing out at him. Some of them were spitting on the stage, while some were splashing their wines onto him. At that time, he regretted opening his eyes— the same as how he regretted
TWO YEARS LATER…The waves on the water splash on the yacht where August was standing right now. Both his hands were holding onto the rail as his gaze fixated on the sunset in front of him. It was beautiful, ethereal, and breathtaking… Just like the woman who was walking toward him.“August,” Daphne called her as she gave her husband a fruit shake. “You’ve been there for an hour already. Would you want to spend this day with fish than me?” she asked, pretending to be pissed as her lips curved into a smile.“No need to be jealous of nature, my dear wife. I just want to appreciate how beautiful the sunset was.”August laughed, pulling Daphne gently closer to him using his other hand. Now, both of them were staring at the sunset with genuine smiles plastered onto their faces. August’s hand was resting on Daphne’s waist, while the latter had her head leaned on her husband’s shoulder.A year ago, both of them got remarried, for real this time. At that moment, both of them couldn’t help bu
COUPLE DAYS later, August was able to heal from the beating he had endured when Raquel took him down. He was now as good as hell, and he could now work tirelessly to catch up with all of the deadlines and meetings he had neglected while he was at rest. Fortunately, the press, with a lot of help from Daphne, didn’t know a thing about what happened to August, or else he would be bombarded by the press in front of the Remington Corporation. However, it would not be for long, as something grand would happen now. August had been waiting for this day—The day when the final showdown begins. This day had come down to this moment, where the tables would turn, and justice would finally be served. This time, August made sure that Francis would not be able to run away from his crimes, nor frame someone up to escape from it. Inside August’s office, all of his allies, Daphne, Sapphire, and Maxine, were inside the room. The air was thick with tension as they were looking at the wall clock from ti
RAQUEL, at that moment, was too stunned to speak. Shivers sent down his spine as the unexpected news lingered in his mind. His shoulder was aching because of the pain, but suddenly, it became numb as the pain struck his heart.“W-What?” Raquel asked, blinking his eyes twice. “Are you… fooling me?”“No… It’s the truth.” Sapphire shook her head, the pain registering through her rounded, brown eyes. “We’re Maxine’s children—Her lost twins.”“But how?” Raquel’s brows furrowed in confusion and annoyance at the same time. “If she is my brother, and you’re my twin, and you knew everything about it… Then why didn’t you approach me?”“Maxine only knew it recently, the same as mine.” Sapphire heaved a sigh and bit her lower lip afterward to contain her emotions.After a few seconds, she spoke again.“August informed me recently by giving the birth certificates Master Charles hid in his cabinet. It turns out that Maxine didn’t want to know us at that time because of the complexity of her job… Sh
AUGUST WAS in a daze when he woke up from his not-so-peaceful slumber. He didn’t wake up naturally, but he woke up when someone poured him cold water placed in a bucket, causing August to jolt in shock… Only to realize that he was tied to the chair.Same situation. Same abandoned room.Shivers sent down his spine because of the uncanny coincidence both of the situations had.‘Fucking shit. This is déjà vu,’ said August at the back of his mind when he realized that this is where everything started—When Charles had his people take him so he could have a one-on-one talk with August about being a pretend heir.However, the only difference between the event before and now, is that the person in front of him looked like he was eager to kill him in an instant, but he was just taking his time to do it.“R-Raquel…” August mumbled, slightly stammering, as his gaze fixated on Raquel.“How’s your sleep, August?” Raquel threw the silver bucket on the floor in force while wearing his most sardonic
[RICHARD WELLINGTON]August blinked his eyes twice, trying to confirm if what he was reading on the paper was true, or if his eyes were just playing with him. However, a few seconds had passed, and he still read the same name.“H-How…” August was at a loss for words. It wasn’t something that he expected. He almost thought that it was Francis, but turns out that the lead scientist is Richard, the Wellington family’s original heir.“Are there—”“Greetings, Sir August.”August was about to ask the lead engineer if he found more documents other than the white folder he was holding now, but his words went midway as three cleaners who were wearing personal protective equipment suddenly bowed in front of him.“One of your employees called us to clean this room,” one of the cleaners said as she glanced at the mess August made earlier.“A-Ah. Right.”August only nodded at them, not knowing what to say. His mind was so shocked that he didn’t even notice his employees leaving him alone in the ro
TWO WEEKS LATER, the event about Bruce being confined to the Remington Mental Hospital scattered around the country. According to the doctors, Bruce was diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he would need long-term medication and treatment to heal.While some people sympathized with Bruce for it, some people say that it was karma because of what he had done to August.However, August didn’t care what those people think about now. He had work—A bunch of them—And it was never-ending.It was already one o’clock in the morning as August had finished meeting with the different departments, and reviewing business proposals. He wasn’t eating his lunch yet but he was determined to finish everything first. August wanted to have free time so he could take care of his other business that he neglected because the work became surprisingly overwhelming.“Maxine…” August called, causing Maxine, who was sitting on the couch, to look at him. “Do I still have any urgent matters
“MR. JAKE SANDOVAL, the head of the Sandoval family, was arrested for torture against his son, Bruce Sandoval. The police said that they were investigating thoroughly about this matter and that they will preserve results with fairness and no biases—”Before the reporter could finish her sentence, August already took the remote and turned the television. Daphne, who was immersed in watching the news, jolted in shock as she turned around, only to see August smiling at her.“I’m home,” said August in a sweet tone as he extended both his arms, asking for a hug.Daphne couldn’t help but laugh a little. She went toward August and wrapped him in her embrace. “How was it? What happened to Samantha?” she asked in curiosity.“I think Samantha and Bruce divorced… But I’m not yet sure.” August caressed Daphne’s hair lightly and gently pushed her head more onto his chest. “Stop watching the news, okay? It’s already enough that you know anything, but don’t think about it too much.”Daphne only nodd
“WHERE DID you go? Why do you look like shit?” Nicole asked as Bruce went inside the room, all his clothes were soaked because of the rain. “Take a bath first before you go to the dining table. You know that your father didn’t like seeing you like that,” she added, shaking her head. “Yes, Mother.” Bruce nodded as he was tired to explain everything. He went to the bathroom to fix himself. Bruce wore a simple white shirt and sweatpants before he went to the dining table, joining Nicole and Jake for their late dinner. Samantha was already out of the picture as his parents were also informed of what she did earlier. However, they weren’t aware that Bruce felt hurt because of the same reason. “Did you chase that bitch away?” Jake asked while they were eating. “Y-Yes, Father.” “That’s good,” Jake commented, and Bruce only smiled subtly in response. Bruce ate his steak, but because of his stomach churning and his heart thumping rapidly, he felt like that piece of steak was hard to sw
SHE IS the most stupid person in the world, and she knows it. Samantha couldn’t help but look at August in disbelief, the pain and betrayal registering upon her facial expression.“August… You can’t do this to me…” Samantha mumbled as her knees went wobbly. If not only for the table in front of her, she might be sitting on the floor now. “This isn’t what we have talked about…”“I know,” August said, and Samantha didn’t notice that he was just done talking to someone on the phone. “That’s why it is called betrayal. It’s painful, especially when you’re feeling desperate.”“How can you do this to me? I am your girlfriend!” Samantha exclaimed, gritting her teeth and clenching her jaw.“Ex-girlfriend, Samantha,” August corrected before he heaved a sigh. “Our relationship was over years ago.”As if on cue, two guards entered August’s office and took Samantha away, just like what he did yesterday. He could even hear Samantha cursing and begging him at the same time before the guard closed th