As the sun toured the heaven and graced the Sterling villa with his warm light, Ryan was sitting in the backyard by the lotus pond and was interacting with the butterflies.“You like the building, huh?” he smiled and glanced over his shoulder. The sunlight crept into the villa and made it soulful by imbuing the spaces with a lot of soft natural lights that would ease the naked eye. No wonder the butterflies were attracted by this building. “It is wonderful, indeed. Whoever built this villa had spent his time under the sun,” he thought as he noticed Kathy grabbing the fruits from the balcony.His stomach started rumbling. “Sorry, guys.” He apologized to the butterflies. “I’m too old to be missing my meals. See you later.”While the butterflies went back to settling on the attractive spots on different plants, Ryan entered the building.Meanwhile, in Rebecca’s room.Rebecca had been to the bathroom for the eighth time in the last forty minutes, and she wished she hadn’t drunk so much co
The excess coffee made Rebecca visit the bathroom excessively, and she didn’t even remember the last time when she was a victim of diarrhea, let alone one this severe.For the eighth time, Rebecca walked out of the bathroom that morning, but this time, she was sweating more, Her shoulders fetl frail. Her stomach made the strangest of noises. Her head felt light. Her shoulders felt heavy. Her hand was on the abdomen, gently pressing the belly in to bear the pain. She wanted to get down on the bed and give some rest to her complaining spine, but to her spine-chilling shock, Benjamin was on her bed, hugging her pillow, and there was an extra-large bun on the table. Her face turned pale like she had seen a ghost; her heart sprang into her mouth, and she immediately ran back into the bathroom, skipping on her toes.“R-Rebecca!” Benjamin rushed over, but she locked the door just in time. “I brought breakfast for you. A new item that I made today. I think you will love it.”Rebecca was shaki
At 9:30 A.M.A young man was sitting on the footpath, with a couple of bags on the side, his countenance growing duller than the old donkey statue behind him. By this hour, most people would have had their breakfast and would be busy with their daily work, but he had nothing to do right now. He didn’t even have the money to buy breakfast.And he never begged anyone for money, either.All he had was his degree certificates, and they felt both priceless and worthless at the same time. After all, he couldn’t eat them right now, but he might just be able to get a decent job with them if he kept trying. Still and all, he was thinking about his parents and about getting back home, though he didn’t have the money for the flight ticket at the moment.He put his cap before him, upside down, and waited. He never asked any passerby with his mouth for money. He hoped someone would toss a coin or two, and he would get to eat for the day, so the rumbling in his stomach would stop and the weight of
Benjamin had prepared lots of bagels as they were Lisa’s favorite. When Lisa asked whose idea it was to cook bagels, he told her it was Elizabeth’s idea, even though it wasn’t.In doing so, he lessened the sparks of ire between the mother and the daughter, though only a little bit. Nevertheless, their impressions on Benjamin didn’t improve at all. They viewed him the same.Elizabeth still called him Benj-fucking-min when Ryan wasn’t around. Lisa treated him like he was a stranger and talked with him only when she needed something. Roshan didn’t even come home after going out for a ride in his new car. Dorothy had locked herself in her room, seemingly mourning for her husband. Whether it was an act to get Ryan’s sympathy and attention or not, only Dorothy and her daughter knew.Louis and Bella, on the other hand, rarely ever responded when Benjamin tried to talk with them. Their children were secretive as usual.Shawn, however, was strangely smiling whenever he made eye contact with Be
Seeing Benjamin and Akash smiling together like best-freakin’ friends, a fit of anger endeavored to swallow up Rebecca’s senses. Fueled by an intense feeling hard to describe, her heart pumped blood harder and faster than ever.She literally smelled hostile, as ire coiled up her intestines, but she somehow controlled herself and went over to the two men. She was always good at maintaining a poker face, after all, though it wasn’t proving easy at the moment.Akash saw her and was spellbound by Rebecca’s features. Has there ever been such magnetic eyes that could pull men’s hearts with invisible strings, and a nose so pretty even enemies would want to pinch it? Her healthy pink lips would put roses to shame. She was hands down a nubile beauty without a match under heaven. Just who was this woman? And why was she in this building? Akash had a lot of questions flooding through his brain. He didn’t even realize that he was actually gawking at her.Benjamin, on the other hand, saw that Rebe
It did seem like Akash’s arms were cut, but then how could they heal so quickly? Veronica quickly asked, “How did your arms heal so fast? Does that make any sense?”Akash could only force out a smirk. “You’re unbelievable. If you want proof, then why don’t you go to the hospital and ask the doctor yourself?”Veronica frowned in response.Rebecca went back to her room, sat on the bed, and rubbed her forehead. Seconds later, she remembered something. She put her hand under the pillow and pulled out a ring. It was her wedding ring.She remembered buying this ring out of anger. She had entered a jewelry store and picked the first pair of rings that caught her eyes. Thinking back on how she was acting on her emotions back then, she felt stupid. She squeezed the ring in frustration, but it was too strong for her fingers to bend let alone break.In the kitchen.Benjamin was showing his frustration and anger on chopping the vegetables without even washing them beforehand.“How can she doubt m
“Rebecca’s beauty puts the word beauty to shame, but your beauty, I’m afraid, doesn’t even come close to the worth of the shit stuck to her sandals.”Jacob’s face turned ashen as ever upon hearing those words from Benjamin’s mouth. He never expected Benjamin to be so bold. If it was Jacob of the past, he would have grabbed Benjamin’s face, dragged him across the floor, and beat the living crap out of him, but now, he was still sitting next to this youngster and was grinding his teeth as his eyes reddened with every passing second.“If that is your final stance, then this is my final stance,” Jacob stood. “I like pushing myself as far as I can go. You will see how it feels to lose it all soon. I will not give you a single dollar, but I will make sure you’ll leave this villa and also my daughter’s life. You will lose your job and everything else you have going good in your life.”“I wish I could wish you some luck,” Benjamin responded, “but wishing would be useless in this case because
Even in defeat, Akash still spoke the truth, “I don’t owe shit to your daughter.”“I don’t trust your words,” Jacob coldly replied. “If my daughter says you owe her, you owe her. If she says you don’t owe her, you don’t owe her.” He looked up at Veronica who was coming down the stairs with a little bit of guilt in her face. “Does he owe you anything, Veronica?”She initially shook her head a little but then nodded big-time.“There you go. You owe her,” Jacob told Akash. “If you leave without paying her debt off, I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.” He then patted his daughter with pride. “This is smart of you, Veronica. You always have to keep your borrowers closer than your enemies. That is how you get connections and build a solid platform in the social circle.”“Yes, dad,” she nodded shamelessly, and Akash looked at them both like she was looking at two big piles of shit. He never hated someone so much before.After her father left, Veronica lowered her voice and said, “I did y
“How did you feel when you first saw Veronica? Tell me the truth,” Uzza was questioning Akash while he was watering the plants in the backyard.“Obviously…” Akash was about to say something, but his husband-radar sensed his wife coming up from behind, so he said, “when I met her on our first date, I became pregnant.”Uzza spit out the corn kernels in her mouth out of shock. “What?”“Pregnant with love, I mean,” Akash added.“Why are you exaggerating?” Veronica pulled Akash’s ear. “When we first met, I smelled his hands first. They didn’t smell like curry, so he passed my first test. And then, we talked about other things.”Akash shook his head and giggled helplessly.Seeing Akash blushing, Uzza could see that he was in love with Veronica more so than Veronica was in love with him.Veronica then climbed on Akash’s back and hugged him from behind.“What are you doing?” Akash complained. “Can’t you see that I’m working?”“Work while carrying me. As a man, you should be able to do this muc
Kathy wanted to visit the mansion of the president to meet the president’s son, but she couldn’t go alone, so she took Amber with her. Samuel welcomed them, but Amber didn’t like the atmosphere and told Amber she’d go back. Kathy didn’t force her cousin and let her leave.Kathy then explored the mansion with Samuel, which shocked the maids as Samuel hadn’t done such a thing before. What if Samuel’s daughters and wife were to see what he was doing now? What if Andrew were to see?Andrew, on the other hand, was very busy. He worked with some media companies and celebrities and had them leak news on trafficking of women and children. He also had some sexual scandals released to divert some of the attention.The public thought that it was the work of the media companies at first, but as the news channels began to give credit to Andrew Sehla the president, everyone wondered if Andrew was behind this.As if living up to the people’s expectations, Andrew made some politicians and celebrities
As Veronica handled Akash roughly, punishing him for his farts, he yelled at her and told her to do the exercise herself to understand how tough it was, but then Veronica did five sit-ups and made them look so easy. She didn’t have any abs, but her abdomen looked very beautiful because of the skin folds and the type of dress she was wearing.“See? It’s so easy,” Veronica hissed at him. “Now, do just like how I did. Don’t inhale while getting up. That’s why you’re farting like a pig. Breathing is everything. Without that you won’t be able to execute any exercise with control.”“O-Okay,” Akash helped her get up. When he saw Rebecca and Benjamin at the door, he was so embarrassed he went to the other end of the gym.“You have come far, Veronica,” Rebecca was proud of her sister. She used to teach her little sister all the time, and now it felt nice to see her teach Akash how to do different exercises.“Haha,” Veronica laughed like a gorilla and looked at Benjamin, “do you want to learn f
While Benjamin and Rebecca were about to go separate ways, Elizabeth came over to them.While smiling a bit awkwardly on the surface, she asked, “Brother Benjamin, my bank card is having some issues. Can you please pay for the piano? I’ll pay you the money soon as my bank issue gets resolved.”Rebecca’s eyes slightly widened because she had seen Elizabeth trick so many people with the similar tactic. In fact, Rebecca herself had fallen prey to this move a few times long ago.“No problem,” Benjamin took out a card. It was a platinum-coated card with the symbol of ‘W’ on it, made with diamonds.“Wow, are these real diamonds?” She was shocked. “What kind of bank gives these cards? I would like to have this, too.”“It’s a secret bank known as Eternity Bank, so it won’t be easy to get you one card, but I will try,” Benjamin told her.“Thank you. You really are so kind,” Elizabeth smiled happily. “May I know the password for this?”“It doesn’t have a password.”“Oh…” Elizabeth didn’t quite
Once Benjamin walked out of the room, Rebecca met him and asked in a low voice, “What did you tell him?”“I did what I could,” Benjamin shrugged. “I’m not sure how to handle this type of a situation, but I think it’s something he has to change from the inside. No matter how much we say, he won’t change unless that spark of change comes from within.”“So, we should just create an atmosphere that will make him self-realize and then get rid of his bad habit, huh.”“That would be anything but easy, though, because we never know what works and what doesn’t.”“You are right, but we can’t just give up on him. Even though I don’t like Elizabeth, I can’t ignore her kids who grew up right before my eyes,” Rebecca replied. “I told my brother to not give them mobiles when they’re young, as they might get addicted to games, which they did… But now, they are in that age where hormones will make them want to watch new things. If we let them get out of hand, they will be ruining their careers and thei
Benjamin closed Roshan’s eyes and showed him some of his memories.When Benjamin went to door-deliver pizza, a man was kicking his wife out for cheating on her. He married her even though she was a single mom, but just four months after their marriage, he found her cheating on him.There was another instant where Benjamin found the same girl on the same day in two different places, sleeping with two different guys, and she even asked Benjamin to fuck her on the stairs between the floors. She seduced him, but Benjamin scuttled away from her.After showing a series of troubles he came across on his job, he then showed the challenges he experienced every evening when Rebecca came to pick him up in her Porsche.Even though Benjamin was her husband, he would try to court his own wife by giving her flowers, or sweets, or a special pizza he personally made. He would praise her, saying he had never seen her use the rear-view mirror for applying lipstick like he had seen many other women do it
George saw Rebecca alone, waiting outside Roshan’s room. He used this opportunity to come up to her.“What are you doing here, Rebecca? Did Roshan cause some trouble again?” George was folding his sleeves. “Let me teach him a lesson.”“Stop!” Rebecca hit his shin bone with her foot. Because of her footwear, he cringed in pain. “Why do you assume things? I’m standing here just because I want to. Nothing else.”“You expect me to believe that?” George harrumphed. “You are such a bad liar. The day you brought some random guy into the house and said you loved him and married him, everyone else might have believed your words but I didn’t. There’s no way someone like you who’s so capable can fall in love, much less marry a pizza-delivery guy. Compared to him, I’m so much better!”“You are wrong, George,” Rebecca calmly and confidently replied. “Benjamin…” she lightly smacked her own head. “Ahem, I mean, Benyamin is a billion times better than you. He doesn’t bend his spine for money like you
Rebecca knocked on a door.“Who is it?” Roshan asked from the inside, a hint of anxiety in his voice.“It’s me,” Rebecca replied. “Open the door. I’ll just have a quick few words with you, that’s all.”“A-Aunt, I don’t want to talk to you right now,” Roshan replied. “Please go.”“I’ll talk with him,” Benjamin told her in a low voice. Rebecca then walked away and stopped at a certain distance.A minute later, Benjamin knocked on the door.“Hey, I’m Benjamin,” he said. “Can I talk to you?”“No, I’m busy right now,” Roshan answered.“It’ll only take a minute,” Benjamin persisted. “I won’t bother you afterward.”“Tsk,” Roshan, annoyed, walked over to the door.Benjamin knocked on the door again.Roshan quickly opened the door with a hostile look. “What?”Benjamin smiled and stepped closer and put his arm around Roshans’s shoulder. He then shut the door from behind him and even locked it without looking back.“W-What are you doing?” Roshan nervously asked.Even Rebecca, who was outside, co
Veronica just finished bathing and was putting on one of those sexy outfits designed by her sister in the past. It revealed the entire midsection of the body, but hid everything else.Though Akash found it sexy, he said, “You really are not wearing that in the home, right?”“What’s wrong if I wear it?” Veronica retorted. “This isn’t even that revealing.”“Look at yourself in the mirror. It feels like I might catch a glimpse of your underboob if you were to raise your arms,” Akash said.Veronica squinted her eyes. “I’m wearing a bra underneath, you idiot. You know nothing about fashion. I’ve been bearing with your stupidity for a while now, but if I can’t even wear this type of clothing, then you should consider going back home and complaining to your parents about it! Because you need to really grow up!” After blurting out her anger through her words, she snorted and left the room.Standing by the balcony, she watched her father talking to guests downstairs.“This is meat tea, which D