“I beg your pardon, Arthur, are you talking to me?” One of the guests asked him. Nevertheless, Arthur gave him a fleeting response “No. I am not talking to you,” he said while replying to her message.Now, the guest noticed that he had overstayed his welcome and excused himself, “I will be on my way, Arthur.”“It's okay,” he responded without looking up from his phone. The guest left while he concluded the message. (It is okay, Nichole. Can you come over to my apartment for dinner since you don't have food?)He smiled smugly afterward and assured himself, ‘She won't have any excuse this time.'Notwithstanding, he was disappointed when her message came immediately.(Arthur, I will not be hungry at dinner.)Now, Arthur was gobsmacked. He grimaced and said, “Naughty girl.”Three days later. At Nichole's Apartment.She had tried Louis' line all these days occasionally, but it was the same story. She got back to work that day, laid on her bed, and thought over his disappearance.“What
He smiled at Nichole, and she smiled back. To make their visit look like a planned one, Nichole had to pretend by asking Arthur, “You are here? Did you get what you went to buy?”“No” he gave an absent-minded response and walked to the couch and sat down. Subsequently, Nichole continued with her meal.“Father, I’m glad that you are here. Kindly stay with Mom. I will be back," Louis pleaded and moved.He was confident that his father would grant his request, and walked towards the door without waiting for his opinion. To his expectation, Arthur replied, “It is all right, Son.”Now, Nichole stared daggers at him while he adjusted his tie and rested his head on the couch. Meanwhile, she thought it was a coincidence that Arthur was there to look for Louis. Unknown to her, Freya and her husband, snitched on her. Freya and Phil's POVAfter they got out of a call with Nichole the previous night, Phil called on Arthur to inquire.“Hello, Phil. It is good to have you on the line,” Arthur res
Thereupon, Nichole strolled around the Area just to waste away time. As usual, she observed the lustful look from the men around. At that instance, she hated herself for having eyes for only Arthur since her husband died. Later on, she returned to their boot and spent some time chatting with them, which gave her the privilege of studying the caliber of staff working with her son.“Have a nice evening,” she said to them.“We wish you the same, Mrs. Bailey,” they responded happily and retired to their rooms.While she walked to the suite with Louis.“You have a wonderful team, Louis,” she declared.“Wow! You are very observant, Mom. I am blessed with a great team," he acknowledged happily.She walked on with Louis, who was aware that the evening would be a moment of intense discussions in his suite. Then, Arthur, who was through with his meal and had settled down to watch the television, greeted them, “Welcome back, Son. How was your day?”“Thank you, Father. My day was fine. I hope yo
A Few Weeks Later at the IslandDenise and his wife had bonded together just the way Denise loved it. Olivia was no longer crying about her past because she had seen love in another form and could not ask for anything more. They looked more beautiful and handsome than they were before they moved to the island. Their skin complexion was healthy. Now, Denise had added some flesh, which could be attributed to peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment.“Wifey. Congratulations on our one-month wedding anniversary. I'm proud to be your husband,” Denise greeted his wife that morning. Olivia, who had also put on weight and was looking chubby, smiled and returned the compliment, “Congratulations to us. It had been beautiful all through. May we find more joy and happiness.”“Amen,” he responded.“You look chubby, do you know?”“Yes. I noticed it. What could be the cause?”“Hahaha. Are you asking? For thirty days, you have been …”“Stop. I got it. Does it make one chubby?”“Let's see what hap
Now, his father looked at Nichole with a pleading face and pleaded in a low tone, “Nichole, please, don't make me wait for too long.”He had come to realize that it was only the children who bound them together, so this was an opportunity to talk to her. Nichole simply stood up and walked back to her seat without response.Now, Louis had freshened up and joined them. They stood up while Arthur picked up his car keys, and they walked to the courtyard. After they got into the car, he drove to the spot where Nichole usually took them when they were younger. Louis remembered the old days when nothing bothered him. He walked around buying all sorts of delicacies for himself and the entire family. His parents sat down at a table as other couples with their drinks while waiting for him. Then, Arthur looked into her eyes and resumed his love moves. “Nichole," he called out.She was startled to hear her name because she thought that what he had to say had to do with Louis and responded quickl
In The Vehicle.Phil and his wife laughed merrily over their accomplishments“Hubby,” she called out.“Yes, my baby.”“I think we had judged Mom wrongly.”“What do you mean?” Phil asked curiously.“It is obvious that Mom traveled to Cairo specifically for Louis and not because she was dating another man.”“I think you are right. That is what I noticed too. Mom is so concerned about her children. Before I met you, I was never aware that the four of you were not from the same mother.”“Yes. You are not wrong if you think that way. Everyone thought so. They thought that Arthur was our biological father, too. I pray that things work out between the two of them.”“I pray so, too," they concluded and drove home silently.At the Bailey International Conglomerates, Seven OaksNow, Louis' team members had returned from Cairo after the Exhibition. So, he began to plan to return to Seven Oaks as well.“Father," Louis called his father when they were in his office. His father, who was busy with
Thursday – At Arthur's ApartmentArthur woke up that morning feeling unwanted. When he walked into the bathroom for a wash, he took a fastidious look at himself in the mirror and consoled himself.'But I had been like this when she was crushing on me. Why did she lose those feelings?'When he could not get any answer to his questions, he took his bath and returned to the bedroom to dress up for work. Afterward, he left with his son. Meanwhile, Nichole woke up too with a slight headache. To avoid brooding much over Arthur and his unsteady love advances, she left for work very early. In the evening, they all converged at her place for dinner.When Arthur, who had made up his mind to draw her attention to him just like before, and his son arrived, Nichole was taken aback when she cast her eyes on him. Although he was casually dressed, he was charming. He wore a white T-shirt and a pair of white shorts, which revealed his long, hairy legs and arms. He also stylishly brushed his short ha
Now, despite the option that Nichole gave to him, Arthur was infuriated, and it affected his sense of reasoning. To him, 4 PM meant that she did not plan to come back to Dover that day. Then he mumbled to himself, 'This is ludicrous. She wanted me to take her to her date. That would not be possible.'Meanwhile, he combined his position as the Family Head, who must be respected, and her potential husband, who must protect the woman he loved. Then he demanded, “Why 4 O'clock? What time will we come back to Dover?”Nevertheless, Nichole, who had resolved to put her beautiful plan to work, inquired, “Do you intend to come back?”“Why not?” He responded angrily.Then, without waiting for her to speak, he thundered authoritatively, “We are leaving by 1 PM. I think that is the best I can do for the two of you.”Nonetheless, with a tone of finality, he believed that she must accept his order without further argument.“But you said…” she tried to explain but he would not listen.“Good night,
At The BarracksBrown arrived for the meeting at 7 AM. As the head of his family, he knew what to expect from the other Family Heads but he was prepared for them.“Good morning to you, our Patriarch,” he greeted him“Good morning, Brown. How are you?”“As you can see, I am good. What about you?”“I could not catch a sleep last night because of today’s meeting.”“It is expected. We cannot run away from our responsibilities.”“You are right. If those before us had run away from theirs, who knows where we would have been by now.”“You are right.”At that point, the scumbag, Stephen, walked in and greeted them, “Good morning, our Patriarch. Good morning, my Family Head.”The two elders did not bother to respond to his greeting nor glimpse at him. The Patriarch ordered without looking at his face, “Wait in the hall.”“Thank you, our Patriarch,” the momentarily repentant Stephen said, walked to the hall and took his seat. He watched the family heads trickling in gradually before the Patria
Denise paused and looked at her innocent face without responding, but she continued, “Are you still mad at me?”“Eat your food first,” Denise responded and kept feeding her. She took two more spoons and stopped. “I am okay. Thank you,” she sobbed.Unfortunately, Denise failed to respond to the situation. He was angry with the woman that he must save her life.‘I have to concentrate on saving her life first. I can get angry later,’ he advised himself and smiled. He scooped the food and then urged her, “Sweetheart, I don’t think you are okay. Just take more spoons and you will be okay.” Olivia saw it as an opportunity to strike a bargain with her husband, and she quickly asked, “Answer me. Are you still mad at me?”Denise smiled and asked her too, “Can I ever be mad at my beautiful Angel?”(Peck)She gave him a dampened smile and wiped the teardrops that trickled down her cheeks with the back of her hand. Denise was emotional at that point. He dropped the plate and the spoon on the
Now, he gave her a call for the second time. The phone rang several times and timed out.“She must have gone to sleep,” he concluded and went to sleep as well.At the Tourist Center.The Officer was happy with the changes in Jude’s composure. His youthfulness radiated as he was constantly happy. The moisture that usually gathered in his eyes whenever he wanted to speak was not there. He enjoyed making music with his piano rather than watching the television. When the Security Officer got to his room that afternoon for his lunch, he observed that he spoke freely with him; more like a relation than a stranger.“How is your day going, Jude?” he inquired.Jude smiled, paused from the keyboard, and responded, “My day is going well, Sir. And you?”“Fine. Your lunch is here.”“Okay. Thank you, Sir. How about the boss?”“The boss is good. He sent his love.”“Oh! I hope I will meet him soon.”“Yea! You will meet him sooner than you can imagine. Just relax.”“It is okay, Sir. Thank you for your
The clerks noticed the same attitude and were astonished. Without looking back, she walked to the car park, got into her car, and drove to the gate. She stopped and got out of the car. The Security men were surprised to see a woman who was raging a few minutes ago walking solemnly to their office. Quietly, she picked up her phone and drove away.‘What must have happened? Who is the President of the Bailey International Conglomerates?’ She mulled over and drove on. Nevertheless, she never considered calling Stephen, neither was she aware that she narrowly escaped the police arrest. Now, Denise had sent for the Security Officer who drove to the Admin Block after Lorene drove off.“You called me, Boss,” the officer stated.“Yes. Why did you call the cop on that woman?”“I did not call the cop, they just came.”“How? What do you mean by they just came?" Denise furrowed his brow and asked him.Incidentally, the security officer was not aware that Denise was not in the picture of the arra
At the Gate.‘He would be surprised to see me,’ she fantasized and parked. She honked with the confidence that she would not be turned back anymore. Then, the Chief Security Officer, who had seen many of her types since the previous week, walked up to her by himself.“Good day, Ma’am. How may I help you?” he asked her politely.The new face she was seeing for the first time looked more mature than the security guard who had embarrassed her the previous week. “I wish to see the President,” she said confidently.Now, the CSO observed her again and inquired, “Are you on an appointment with him, Ma’am?”“Yes. He must be expecting me. Please open the gate. I want to avoid keeping him waiting,” she made clear.The officer locked eyes with her and then declared with a mockery smile, “I see. Sorry, Ma’am. The President is not on the seat.”Just like anyone would be, with a surge of hostility and violence, she got out of her car and began to rant, “What do you take me for? A kid? After int
Under the present circumstances, Stephen’s head could not process the information he got at the same time. From the stranger’s speech, he grasped that he was aware of the issue at hand. Then, he looked at the two elders and inquired, “Oscar’s wife?”Stephen, whose purpose of visiting his Patriarch was to find a solution to the river of problems that was drowning him, had just discovered another problem.All the same, he had to straighten things out, “I don’t have anything to do with Oscar’s wife. I ….”However, the Patriarch and the Family Head thought that his explanations were lies and aggravated his already bad case. The Patriarch rose from his couch with his military demeanor and the might of the Patriarch of the Bailey’s family and thundered. “I will not hesitate to throw you out of the barracks after the soldiers have court-marshaled you if you think you can dance on our intelligence.”Now, Stephen was aware that he had screwed up and that making excuses would cause him more t
At the Barracks The daily drilling of the young soldiers, which Gen. Bailey looked forward to every morning, took place at 6 AM and lasted for one hour. As a matter of routine, he was in his studies, reading through the dailies after his breakfast, when he got the email from Barrister Guidance. He quickly read through it and was timorous. “Has Stephen gone nuts? How many women does he want to have at the same time?” The nonagenarian Patriarch asked while cold sweat formed on his forehead. He went through the mail again and discovered another serious point.“Accusing Arthur of using Nichole as a nanny is an insult that her children would not take. No wonder Denise was distraught during the meeting,” he thought.At that point, he got a call. He looked at his phone and discovered that the caller was Brown. He took a second look at his phone and vacillated between picking up the call and ignoring it. Shortly, the call timed out.When he was about to concentrate on his emails, he got a
After their breakfast, they prepared for work and got out of the house at once. Then, Lorene stopped him off.(Peck)“See you later, Love,” Stephen said and got out of her car.“Bye. Love,” she responded and drove off to the hospital. It was quite unfortunate. Stephen had devoted his love to her, who possessed all the attributes he needed in a wife, but she was in love with Arthur Bailey and not Stephen Bailey. “This is good. With a wife like Lorene and her friend Evelyn, I will have a blissful marriage,” he mumbled before he boarded a chartered taxi.Then, he sat comfortably in the back seat. While he was approaching his house, he turned on his phone to transfer the payment for the ride, but an epiphany occurred when he saw the different breaking news popping up on his phone. He punched on one of the news and saw his resort as a heap of rubble. Then, he looked at it critically to confirm that his eyes were not misleading him. When he confirmed it, he rested on the headrest of the
The other Family Heads attacked him at once and demanded, “Why did you not ask her son before he left?”Now, Zoey could not help but laugh. To defend himself and maintain his dignity, the Family Head explained, “I was about to ask him, but before I looked up, he had gone.”“Coward. You knew nothing but to insult and push a fellow Family Head," Brown blurted out and the Family Head rushed at him, but he was restrained by the other Family Heads. Then, the Patriarch ordered, “Go home, all of you. The meeting is over.”They began to file out one after the other, still barking and yelling at each other. Then, Oscar shouted, “Zoey, get into the vehicle and let us leave here.”Zoey glared at him and got into the car. She did not relent in rubbing it in his face, “Can you shout at me, Oscar? You could not raise your voice when it was necessary.”Oscar, who was used to such berating, ignored her. He turned on the ignition and drove off.At The Tourist Center After Denise got out of the cal