An hour and half later , the food was ready. Valerie set the table for the two and called them. The two men ate quietly, until Richey broke the silence and said, “Chris you seem to be enjoying the food.”Chris suddenly choked and coughed, he took a few sips of water and cleared his throat.“What?”.“I said you seem to be enjoying the food. Did you just say she is a bad cook? Because l would swear that this is one of the best meals l have had in a very long time.”Chris did not answer, the food was undeniably delicious, he felt embarrassed by how Valerie had made such a delicious meal after he had demeaned her as a bad cook. After they were done, Valerie came to clear up the table.“Thank you very much and you are a great cook”, Richey said as he smiled at her.“Thank you, l am glad you appreciated my meal. Some people are just so hard to please” ,she answered as she looked at Chris with the corner of her eye. She could see how he was creasing his face, his eyes rolling from her to Ric
He has regained his consciousness”, the doctor said an hour later as she sat in his office. A wave of relief swept through her face as she realized she had to finally brush off the thought of being charged with involuntary man slaughter. Phew,he was fine!“So he regained his consciousness! And he is completely fine?”, she asked just to be sure. “Yes, he probably got too much stressed and that knocked him out, he just needs some rest and ...uh, he will be fine. But tell me, who are you to him?”, he asked."Me, well l am his...sister…yes, step sister”, she lied.To her surprise, the doctor believed her despite how much she had stammered.“What happened to him before he fainted?”, he asked, looking at her speculatively. "Bad news or had an argument, maybe?”.She recalled how she had troubled him during the day.“An argument? No, not at all”, she denied….”.He must have stressed a bit too much about work that’s all”, she said looking straight into his eyes. He did not say anything for a m
A year prior, Chris had been diagonised with diabetes type 2. Upon commencing medication he had endured several side effects for almost over a month. He suffered from headaches, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. During those days, he was barely at work at all, all alone in his lonely mansion, no one taking care of him. He not only felt wounded physically but emotionally as well. He felt abandoned and uncared for. He had not shared the news with anyone, even his twin brother Chase. Fortunately as his body adjusted he felt better and eventually he was well again.On the current day, he had collapsed even though he was not quite sure why. On the same day he was discharged, Valerie drove him back home. Brushing off the moments of the day, he felt quite relieved Valerie was there with him. For the first time since his parent's demise, someone was taking care of him. Being drove home by Valerie felt different from being drove by his chauffer. It felt soothing to his senses. Suddenly
Tasha felt her insecurity leveling up. The thought of her fiancé being alone in his space with another woman made her bite her nails. Her idea of Valerie wasn't she being Chris' helper, but rather she was just a woman. An incredibly beautiful woman. The worst part of it all was that, upon her arrival, it felt like Chris was not at all intrigues by her presence, but was rather enjoying Valerie's company more. Regardless of their relationship being more of an alliance, and despite that they had agreed to an open relationship, the reflection of Chris pursuing Valerie vexed her. Yes, she may not have been in love with Chris, but she was confident that someone like Valerie was undeserving of Chris, moreover of taking her place in his life. The entire night at Chris' house had been a nightmare. Normally, he would be all over her, his eyes aflame with desire, however this time she had taken a bath, and radiated a sweet aroma on her voluptuous body. Presenting her furnished body covered in
“So what exactly is your intention here?”, Tasha asked in a low ruspy growl as she moved towards Valerie. Startled, Valerie's grip on the knife loosened and it cluttered on the counter.“Good morning, Tasha. God! You startled me to death", she breathed, her cheerful tone a mocking contrast to the tension in Tasha’s voice.Tasha's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to pretend you did not hear my question?”, Tasha asked, her temper rising. “No, of course not…well my intention right now…is to make a sandwich for my breakfast", she replied. "And of course, my long term intentions are cooking, washing, cleaning”, she answered, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She continued working on her breakfast preparation. Tasha rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t believe that. You are not really a typical housekeeper so l do not think so”, she said as she munched on a carrot, her gaze fixed on Valerie.Valerie chuckled and asked, “So what else do you think is my intention?.“I think that you, Valerie...”,
Finally the day of their trip came. Tasha struggled, lugging a heavy suitcase behind her. She let out a sigh, her annoyance visible. "Seriously Chris, you are a billionaire. Why can't you just hire a potter or something to help with the laugage. We should be having an entourage", she complained. "I like to keep things simple", he replied. Tasha's gaze shifted to Valerie.“You carry this to the car”,Tasha ordered."Oh I'm sorry. I didn't realize l was your personal servant. Or personal slave?", Valerie objected, her palm on her waist. Tasha's face reddened as her mouth opened.“Let me take care of that sweetheart”, Chris interrupted, carrying the suitcase hiimself. “Goodbye, Valerie. We will be back in a week”, he said as he stood by the car.“And Valerie please, just please…take care of this house whilst l am away. Don’t let strangers in and make sure all doors and windows are locked bef….”.“Seriously Mr Malvins, I’m twenty five l know l should lock all doors and windows before goi
Tasha frowned at the mention of Chris’ intention to confront Valerie about the safe. He believed that perhaps she could have noticed any sort of suspicious activities in the mansion while they were away. He felt unsettled at the thought that leaving Valerie alone and unguarded in the lone mansion may have made her vulnerable to a grave amount of danger and the possibility of what could have happened made a chill flow down his spine.“How more stupid can you get? What exactly is the point in asking the obvious? Isn’t it too obvious Valerie is the one who took the money from you, who else was here besides her?”, Tasha fumed.Chris sighed and wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. “All l am saying is we can’t be sure, if she had taken the money, she probably would be long gone by now”, he said hesitantly. “Besides she doesn’t even know the safe password”, Chris said hesitantly. “I have way too much enemies, they could have done it”.“Valerie is not a typical housekeepe
Chris had a bad feeling about everything. At first, for some time he thought he would embrace every chance he would possibly find to be away from Valerie, but after getting to know her, now that it would possibly happen he felt scared. He realized until then that saying goodbye to her would break his heart. It was about four as they went downstairs to Valerie’s room. Tasha barged in without knocking. She began opening Valerie’s bags, wardrobe to see if she could find the money.“Whoa, what is wrong with you?”, Valerie kept yelling as she kept wondering what Tasha was up to.“Mr Malvins, can you tell me what is going on here?”, she asked eager to know. Chris sighed and said, “My safe is empty and l left the money in there before leaving for the trip. Now its empty”.Valerie was surprised, hoping it wasn’t what she was thinking.“So what do l have to do with your little safe?”, she asked her eyes open wide.“Don’t call it little Valerie, that’s hurtful. There were millions in there”, he
Just then, Chris swiftly changed the subject. “So just be strong friend. Time is like a river. You can’t touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again, so enjoy every moment of life”.“What was that?”, she asked, surprised at his words.“Oops! Forgive me, I just can’t help but become poetic in this garden of …”.She burst into laughter. They both now felt tired as it was running late. Chris accompanied Valerie to her hotel. “ I will just put you to bed and l will be out”, he promised. Valerie sat in bed, then it was time for Chris to go leave, but he kept on moving about.“You want to tell me something?”, she asked.He looked at her, surprised. “It shows?”, he asked back. “Well, I was wondering if I could spend the night on the couch”, he said, hesitantly. Valerie said nothing.“You won’t even know l am her, I promise”, he said.“And why would you leave the comfort of your home for a small uncomfortable, hotel couch?”, she asked, she had been aston
Chris quietly walked around the room, watching Valerie sleep. Without warning, his phone made a loud ringing, disturbing Valerie from her peaceful sleep. It was a call from work and he just had to take the call. After hanging up, he apologized to her.“I’m sorry l woke you up”, he said, sincerely.“Not a problem”, she said assumingly as she yawned and stretched. Valerie felt herself loosening up to Chris’ presence because frankly, he was all she had during this turmoil.“How about you take a shower?”, he ordered. Valerie kept gazing at him, and didn’t say a word.“I was thinking maybe we could order some food, afterwards”, he suggested. She comprehended what he was trying to do.“Chris, l am fine, you really don’t have to…”, she stated.“ I wasn’t asking, it was a command. Now, off you go…give me twenty steps to the bathroom!”, he blasted, a faint smile on his lips, hoping Valerie would find that humorous. She giggled and stood up immediately, pulling her feet to the bathroom.“Aye, C
Chris stood still, frozen. His phone right in his hand. He didn’t know where to start. He wasn’t at all worried about his twin brother being teased mercilessly on the media for cheating on Valerie. He wasn’t pleased too by the masses claiming he was more organised and trustworthy compared to Chase. His only worry was on poor Valerie, how she was coping , how she was taking the betrayal.The previous day, Chris had felt her dilemma. He couldn’t see through her though, he couldn’t fathom why she kept on giving Chase so much power over her. Right from the moment she had caught Chase having sex with Dora red handed, she should have given him a piece of her mind, shown him what she is made of, sued him even. However, Chase had taken her love for him as a sign of desperation and weakness. He wondered how Chase had been blind to see what an incredible woman he had. Her immense love for Chase was visible in her eyes, and Chris knew it was pure and true. Still, all that worried him was Valerie
Chase woke up to the violent buzz of his cell phone. He stretched his hand to grab the phone but before he could get a hold of it , he noticed something quite usual and off. He closed his eyes and opened again, then now he felt more awake and ready to start the day. Just then, his ears heard a sound. A faint sound, yet undeniably the sound of an angry mob. Just as he started to see a clearer picture of what was happening, he hurried out of his bed and shifted his gaze to the window.His eyes instantly grew larger. Was that an egg that had just landed on his crystal clear glass window? Pacing to the window, he got the shock of his life. His security men were trying to ward off an angry mob off his yard. It was quite visible how the security men were struggling, almost being overpowered. One spotted him standing by his window, clueless and instantly raised a finger and posted straight to him, shouting, “ Cheater! Cheater!”.At once, the visibly angry mob shifted focus to him , and let o
In his vintage, uptown mansion, Chris had been snapping his fingers nervously, his gaze fixed on the blank wall. His mansion was visibly secluded from the rest of the elite neighbourhood. One could describe the mansion as basically lone, and quiet in a bothersome way. Nevertheless to Chris, it was the most refreshing place he could ever be, after that long tiring day of work in the city. He could not shake off the feeling that something would inevitably unfold because of Dora’s sudden arrival. He was greatly concerned about Valerie now more that ever, hoping Chase wouldn’t hurt her as he had predicted before. Dora’s sudden appearance in the city only , he perceived was worrisome and only meant one thing. Trouble. Now only three days to Valerie and Chase’s wedding. Even though he had lost the woman he wished he had to his twin brother, he still cared for her, and hoped nothing bad would come her way. Like her husband to be’s troublesome ex girlfriend out of the blue showing up at their
Answer me honestly, I deserve to know the truth”, Valerie asked, firmly.“I used to. Or l still do, I don’t know Valerie”, he replied.“Oh?”, she said with anger and pain. “And me, I was an option?”, she asked, scared of the answer he would give her. He did not say anything for a moment. Valerie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to their bedroom and locked the door. As Dora trailed behind them, Valerie sent her away.“I need a private moment with my man, if you don’t mind, Mrs Home Wrecker?” , she said.As they entered the room, Chase switched to defence mode. “Valerie, believe me l had no idea she wo…”,he begged.“Shush, don’t say a word. I understand what you’re going through, the confusion…l get it”,she said, with ease. Chase couldn’t hide his surprise. He wasn’t expecting Valerie to be suddenly so calm. Hesitantly, she took off her engagement ring and held it to his face.“You know this makes me so sad right now, but l have to give you space to think about this, so could you
Right at midnight, as the mansion was filled with dead silence, Valerie suddenly woke up from her slumber. She recalled the incident that had unfolded earlier and tears trickled at the corner of her eyes. She had cried herself to sleep and now, she vowed she wasn’t going to start again.Still drowsy, she stretched her hand towards Chase. Still feeling her hand against the sheets, she knew Chase wasn’t there with her. Hours before during diner, an intense argument had erupted between them, but to her surprize, Chase had seemed not bothered at all. Perhaps, he had seen her asleep and thought they’d talk in the morning.Valerie felt her anger was justified. Chase had been excessively rude to her, he had to be the one to apologize. Valerie couldn’t help but feel something was off and…wrong . Why was her husband to be acting so strangely only five days before their wedding? “Had she done something wrong?”, she kept thinking to herself.One thing was clear. Chase must have had some unresolv
Valerie impatiently paced up and down the room. She was a mess; still in her pyjamas, her hair undone and her body quite sweaty. Chase had not been back from work since the previous day and she was sick worried about him. Her calls were going straight to voicemail and he was absent from work. By then, it was almost two in the afternoon and he hadn’t even bothered to text. She kept on praying that God keep him safe wherever he was.As she was about to throw her body on the couch, the telephone rang. A private number was calling.“Hello”, she answered, her voice filled with irritation.“Val, how are you?”, a voice responded. Immediately, Valerie knew who it was and her mind geared into an adversarial mode.“You! What is it?”, she yelled. “What do you want from me now?”,“Whoa! How did you even know it’s me?”, Chris said, his voice sounding cheerful, contrary to her menacing voice.“No one calls me that except you…so duh!What do you want,anyway?”,she asked.“I wanted to thank you for the
Valerie could barely recognise herself anymore as she gazed into the mirror. Her reflection revealed a stranger. Her hair once black and straight, now blonde and curly, cascading down her back in bouncy waves. Her make up too had become bold and flawless. Her nails impeccably manicured. Once she favoured simple, comfortable clothing but now, she would wear designer clothes and sleek dresses. “Just one last show”, Chase would always promise, but there was always another.In the haste of the wedding preparations, Valerie had intentionally erased Chris out of her mind. She had chosen to forget him, but she felt he wasn’t the only part of her life she had swept under the rug. She had forgotten how it felt like to be herself, she had missed the simplicity of life, like just walking on the sidewalk, or strolling in the park without the paparazzi running after you. Now, she felt as if she was slowly loosing herself in the process of being a billionaire’s fiancée.Her life was now plagued by