At midnight.Jane was resting on her bed, covered in the sheet from neck to toe. The last time she checked her face in the mirror, she looked like she was possessed by a ghost, with spots all over her face. Could someone ever love her after seeing her in such a disgusting look?She looked to her right. Benjamin was talking with someone on the phone in the living room.“Who’s he talking to at this hour?” she wondered. When he finished the call and came to her room, she said, “I’m thirsty.”He poured small amounts of coconut water in her mouth. After that, she smiled at him gratefully. But then she couldn’t control her curiosity and ended up asking, “Whom were you talking to?”“You will know soon.”His words only puzzled her. “Aren’t you going to sleep?”He just tilted his head in response.(Was that a yes or no?) Jane couldn’t tell. Because of the pain all over her body, she couldn’t even sleep. Again, Benjamin picked up a neem stem and gently moved it on her face. It was greatly comfo
The next morning.When Jane told Benjamin just how many times Rebecca made her sneeze, Benjamin yelled at his wife. “How can you be so foolish? What if you get infected now?”Rebecca’s heart skipped a thousand beats. She completely forgot that chickenpox could spread to her. She looked at Jane whose face still looked like it was cooked with rashes and red spots. “A-Am I going to look like that?” her heart sank into her stomach.Jane wasn’t happy with how Benjamin handled his wife for torturing her many times during last night, but she still stuck her tongue out and teased Rebecca, saying, “You’re going to get it now.” She repeatedly said the same sentence and watched Rebecca’s expression turn for the worse.“No,” Benjamin caught Rebecca’s wrist and said, “I won’t let you get chickenpox no matter what.”“How?” Rebecca hurriedly asked. “Is there a way to stop the virus from getting worse in my body?”“Yeah,” Benjamin looked into her eyes without blinking and seriously said, “you just ne
“So you want both of them for yourself, huh?” Donovan amusedly laughed. “Fine. I agree, but if you fail, will you leave the two girls to me?”Benjamin’s gut twisted when he heard those words. “That won’t happen.”“Hmph, let’s see how you’ll buy that house.” Donovan picked up his mobile and called his friend and spoke to him about buying this house. Then, he looked at Benjamin with a cocky expression. “No matter how much you try to buy it for, I’m ready to buy it for a higher price, so who do you think they’ll sell the place to?” he laughed arrogantly. “You lost the game before you could even do anything. All I needed to do was make a phone call. Now, why don’t you touch my feet and apologize? Then I might just let you take that house. Of course, Jane and Rebecca will be mine since you’ve lost the bet.”Benjamin took out his mobile.“What? You’re going to call your mommy now?” Donovan mocked. He knew that the Sterling family is having a hard time recently, so he couldn’t think of Benja
In the Woodland hospital.Veronica woke up to find herself on what seemed like a hospital bed with all the heart rate monitor, blood bags, and saline that caught her eyes. Dust was dancing through the golden rays streaming through the vent-holes.She didn’t have the strength to move her body straight away. She felt weak.The nurse entered her room and was slightly relieved to see Veronica waking up. “How do you feel, miss?” she asked in a gentle voice.“Why can’t I… move?” she asked in a painful voice.“Ah, your body must still be in shock,” the nurse said. “Give it some time, and you should be able to move. But I must say you’re quite lucky. We were running low on blood bags last night. If the guy who brought you here didn’t have the same blood and wasn’t willing to donate his blood, you would have entered into a coma before we found blood for you. Whoever he was, he donated 3 units of blood without hesitation.”As the nurse kept telling how lucky Veronica was, she remembered crashin
Three days later.Rebecca had sent Amber to take care of Jane, so Jane was doing fine now. Her chickenpox was almost gone, though the spots were still mildly visible all over her body. She was yet to leave her room, even though she really wanted to go out and get some fresh air.“Mom and dad haven’t called me even once,” she puckered a little. “It’s like they went for their honeymoon.”Her thoughts shifted back to Rebecca once again. “She doesn’t know it, yet, but she’s fighting a losing battle. Benjamin is drunk on her, but I’ll be his new wine.“I never intended to take their relationship apart, but I’ve been waiting for the right person my whole life just like her. Maybe not as much as she did, and I’m not as cute as her, either, but… most average women are not cute, and I think I can be more intelligent, honest, supportive, and cooperative to my partner than she can be. These are only basic human qualities, but they are rare these days. I’m sure Benjamin will be attracted to me if
On the lawn, Ryan was sitting on the grass and was basking in the sunlight. A butterfly came and landed on his forefinger.Vlad and Mercie who were sitting next to him were surprised because it looked like the old man was silently conversing with the butterfly.They tried to catch the butterfly, but it flew away.“Let them that have the wings fly,” Ryan slapped on the back of their heads, making them pout in anger and leave his side.Elizabeth was watching Ryan from a distance, and Dorothy was also next to her. “It doesn’t look like he has a family, mom. Why don’t you give him a try?”Dorothy was shocked. “Elizabeth!” she couldn't believe what her own daughter was saying.“What? I’m just telling you to be practical,” Elizabeth was chewing on blueberries. “Dad won’t come back, so you want to stay alone for the rest of your life?”Dorothy was slack-jawed. She was actually thinking of staying with Elizabeth, but from Elizabeth's words, she felt like her daughter never really considered
Rebecca’s POV:From the very moment we’re born, the race of life will start and never ends until the last breath is drawn.These past few days have surely been a race and made me feel like it would go on forever.I experienced many things I haven't experienced in a while.I was ignored.I was insulted.And some of my ex-colleagues tried to scare me into withdrawing the cases against the company they work for, where I used to work for.All these things were pretty disheartening and scary to say the least.Being the prettiest girl no matter where I went, I always got the attention in a good way, without even having to try. However, things seem different now. Maybe because of what happened in my professional life and also what was happening with the Sterling family at the moment, all these things played their roles, I’m aware.I’ve been trying to get a job, but it’s not proving to be easy.I used to earn over a million dollars a month until recently, but now, I’m jobless, earning zero do
Benjamin’s POV:It wasn’t easy to not give my love the pizza when she was asking for it. I bought 3 round doughs baked with toppings of cheese and meat just so we could eat together, after all.I hoped she would understand my feelings. I wasn’t trying to chew up the food and then feed her like how birds feed their babies. She had two hands. She could easily grab a piece if she wanted, but only after I get some reward. The next moment, I saw her bringing her face closer to kiss me on the cheek. Yes. That was all I wanted. A little moment of love that couldn’t be shown any simpler.However, my ears caught the noise of wheels spinning and tires skidding before a blazing light flashed through the windshield.My instinct screamed danger. Only the thought of saving Rebecca ran through my mind, and my body reacted as fast as I wanted.In the blink of an eye, the front half of the car was utterly destroyed into a squashed mess. The shock stunned my body, so Rebecca could be feeling it a lot m
“How are things with your family, brother?” Fiona asked.Selena raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a family that deals with real-estate, so you should already know how we’re doing.”“Haha, I do, but outside information can only be trusted so much,” Fiona responded. “Recently, we’ve worked hard on getting a marriage deal for Fiona. Her fiance owns a reputed sports agency that deals with covering all the popular international sports. He earns hundreds of millions every year, but his father is a tycoon in the alcohol industry. Their net worth is in tens of billions.”“Good for you and your daughter,” Jacob smiled.“By the way, Brother,” Fiona glanced at Veronica and Akash. “What does Veronica’s husband do?”Jacob’s expression slightly changed.Veronica frowned and looked at her mother who was looking back at her with a rather poker face.“He is staying at home for now,” Veronica said openly.“Pfft, he’s jobless?” Riley snorted. “Your taste is so bad, Veronica, not just in terms of finding a pa
Benjamin went to the first floor and waited in the hall until Rebecca left her room.Then he went to her room. The door was locked, but he solidified his energy in the keyhole and opened the door.He entered the room quietly and saw the water bottle on the table next to her desk. It was half-full.Benjamin took out the vial and poured a drop of water into the bottle while saying ‘I love you, Rebecca.’He entered the bathroom and poured a couple of drops in the bathtub while once more uttering the three words ‘I love you, Rebecca.”He was about to come out of the room, but then he stopped and then ended up leaking another drop of water on the pillow, and another on the blanket. “I love you, Rebecca.”“Hopefully, this will help,” he thought.Benjamin then hurriedly left the room and then went to the rooftop. He mixed a few more drops in each of the four water tanks, while saying the words out, “I love you, Rebecca.”He looked at the vial.Three fourths of it was finished.He put the via
Despite Uzza, Rye, and Benjamin living in separate rooms, there were many guest rooms still available in the mighty Sterling villa, the best property on Rachel Hill.So, the families of Jacob’s siblings stayed in those rooms without any issue.But the problem was with the cousins, who were trying to show off. They acted arrogant and haughty with Veronica and even mocked Rebecca for the little hair she had on her head, not even bothering to wonder why exactly her hair was like that.Rebecca didn’t even bother talking to them, or sparing a word with them because she knew how selfish and self-centered these people were.Jacob and Shawn might have forgiven these people, but Rebecca couldn’t just act like nothing ever happened.She didn’t treat them badly, either. She just ignored them and minded her business.However, her cousin sisters got their eyes on Benyamin who was quite good-looking. Her cousin brothers were also unable to avert their eyes from Rye.Rye looked more like an exotic f
So many people started visiting Sterling villa ever since Selena herself had leaked the news of her buying a lot of land and buildings in Aurora Hills.Selena was sitting on the balcony, with Veronica next to her.“Why has the traffic increased so much?” Veronica said, “I’m seeing so many cars come and go recently.”Selena somewhat smiled and sipped on cream coffee. “I wasn’t born rich, Veronica. My relatives didn’t even let my parents into their homes or invite us to their functions because we were poor as church mice.”“Stop joking, Mom,” Veronica smirked with amusement. “You look like a million dollars. I’m sure our relatives’ sons back then would have wanted to marry you.”“You’re not entirely wrong, but they didn’t want to marry me as much as they wanted to mess with me,” Selena said. “I still remember one guy telling me, ‘I may look ugly as hell, but I can show you heaven in bed.’”Veronica went silent in shock. She didn’t think her mother’s beauty would have brought such terrib
Delle was bringing food, three varieties, on a big plate.Rye intercepted and took the plate from her. She brought it to Benjamin and sat by him under the tree.The grass was cool, even though the breeze was warm.“You think I haven’t noticed that you weren’t eating anything since you made that 40-day promise?” Rye said. “You were just acting like you’re eating.”She broke the bread mixed with fruit and brought it closer to his mouth.He didn’t open his mouth.“Do you want me to stop eating just like you are doing?” Rye said.Benjamin, who was staring into the distance, glanced at her. “Is it possible to love and hate at the same time?”Rye pursed her lips together, not quite understanding why he asked such a question. “I was angry with the things you did. I am still angry, but I don’t hate you. So, if you really love someone, I don’t think you can hate them.”“If there is no hatred in his heart, then how is Neel able to do this to me?” Benjamin asked, a hint of pain laced through his
Rebecca and Benyamin had breakfast together.This nearly made Selena’s eyes bleed. She didn’t think she’d live a day like this.Watching them eating happily was like injecting poison into her body.While she loved seeing her daughter happy, she couldn’t spare any mercy on the man who tricked her daughter into marrying him.Even now, she was thinking in her heart, devising plans on how to separate her daughter and her husband.Having lost the mood to eat breakfast, she came to the backyard.Amber was preparing the background setting needed for the interview.“Where’s Kathy?” Selena asked.“S-She’s with Samuel Sehla, ma’am,” Amber hesitantly said.Selena’s gaze turned a little icy, but then she smiled. “I knew Kathy had it in her, but I didn’t think she’d be able to grab the attention of someone like Samuel Sehla.” She looked at Amber. “What about you?”“I-I don’t plan on grabbing anybody’s attention,” Amber quickly replied.“Tsk, tsk,” Selena shook her head. “Try to grab Benyamin’s att
The next morning.Rebecca came out of her room fast and reached the dorms just to check on Benyamin. She found him brushing his teeth with his finger. And he was using salt.“Don’t you have a brush and toothpaste?” Rebecca quickly asked. “You should have asked me then.”“No, I’m fine with this,” Benyamin replied. “The smell of the chemicals in the toothpaste just makes me feel nauseous, so I’m fine with just this sea salt.”“But… will salt be enough?”“It’s enough,” Benyamin gave a thumbs-up. “In fact, I’m worried about you because you’re using that chemical-ridden toothpaste which dullens your brain.”“If they dullen the brain, then why would they promote toothpastes so much on television?”“They will promote everything that will make them money while keeping the people sick, so that they will not be able to think clearly and would rather depend on the government to think for themselves,” Benyamin smiled.“That’s not funny,” Rebecca hissed. “I have to go and brush my teeth. And I’m f
Later that night.Benjamin was out in the garden, sitting under a tree, doing nothing as hours went by.“He’s been like that since dinner,” Rye was watching him from the first floor’s window. “It’s not good.”“What can I say?” Uzza was feeling heavy-hearted. “It feels like the story of Abel and Cain altogether, though in a different way. The brothers that represent the duality of current man. The devil sure knows how to mock us and make us angry. I’m certain now. It’s his plan. He put the sworn brothers against each other.”“But how did he get Shadow?” Rye frowned. “I don’t sense any demonic energy in him.”“Considering Shadow’s abilities, it’s easy for him to hide the demonic energy,” Uzza opined. “He’s a perfect place for demons to hide, though I don’t know how they got hold of him. He must have been caught by surprise. I just hope that this won’t lead to something disastrous.” She was looking at Benjamin. “The longer this goes, the more likely that someone among those is going to b
Veronica brought Akash with her to dinner. Almost everybody was present at the dinner table after a very long time.New tables were arranged because there were more people now.Veronica could see that Akash was not taking his eyes off Benyamin. “Why are you staring at him nonstop?” she asked in a low voice.“He’s tall, handsome, and so fair. Even his hands are so shiny. How’s that possible for a man?” Akash sounded quite envious. “Men are not supposed to look so good-looking, right?”“Mm…” Veronica looked at Benyamin and felt the same. “He does look like a million bucks, but he doesn’t seem to have much muscle on his body. What’s the point of being tall when you don’t have enough muscle? You only look like you have inadequate genes.”“Not every man can be built heavy like the men in your family.”“Haha, you’re right,” Veronica was proud of her brothers and dad because they were tall and big and good-looking. Their jaws alone would melt the gazes of many women, after all.Rye and Benjam