After many weeks, Jane came to the Sterling villa. Amber hurriedly came to greet her before she even got out of the car.Amber then gladly took all the sweet boxes and food items that Jane brought from another country. This was something that happened in the past often, so Amber used to look forward to the time everytime Jane would return from a foreign trip. “You are sure there are no condoms in these bags, right, ma’am?” Amber joked with her.Jane laughed a little. “C’mon, do I look like a sex maniac to you? Besides, I committed myself to a man now. So I’m afraid I can’t even touch other men anymore.”“It must be heartbreaking to you.”“Yeah, but it is what it is,” Jane took just one bag and then entered the villa. She was thinking of going upstairs, but then she noticed Benjamin coming out of the kitchen and stopped in her tracks. Her heart fluttered for a second. She rarely ever felt that a man was out of her league, and she felt that way when she saw him. “W-Who’s this treasure?”
Jane and Rebecca came out of the room together, holding hands.“You look really cute, Rebecca. I’m being honest,” Jane leaned into her and kissed her head. “You make me want to kiss you.”“I don’t even look at myself in the mirror anymore, though,” Rebecca replied.“You should embrace your current look, as you might not shave your head ever again,” Jane said. “Short hair doesn’t suit every girl, but it suits you. I’m not telling you to stick to short hair, though, because you look so much better when your hair is full. It’s very silky, after all. Compared to yours, mine is very rough. I don’t really like touching my hair, and I wish I had hair like yours.”“You surely are good at joking. Your hair is nice, too,” Rebecca said.Jane and Rebecca went to the living room, and Jane greeted Selena who seemed anxious. “Is everything alright, Aunt? You seem worried.”“It’s nothing,” Selena quickly said. She didn’t want to tell anything about burying Samuel in the backyard. “You already came ba
Selena received a phone call, so she went away.Jane, on the other hand, came downstairs. She saw Benjamin staring at a painting on the wall.“The sunrise… it looks beautiful, doesn’t it?” Jane said.Benjamin glanced at her and said, “Yeah.” He wasn’t sure if she remembered him or not.“Because of the big buildings, we’re not able to see the beauty of the sunrise everyday in cities like ours,” Jane added. “For the luxuries we get by staying in the city, we lose out on a lot of what nature has to offer. That’s what I learned on my recent trip with my fiance.”Benjamin didn’t say anything.“Anyway, I’m Jane,” she offered a handshake, but he didn’t shake her hand. He was a bit disappointed that Jane also didn’t remember him. He didn’t talk to her much at all, but the fact that she also completely forgot about him was not easy to swallow. Because he didn’t shake her hand, she withdrew her hand. (Is he a traditionalist? But he looks modern, though. So why didn’t he shake my hand?) Wanting
Jane went speechless, and her eyes stayed wide open after Rye said those words.Jane looked at Benjamin with a stupid expression, unable to process what was happening. If Rye was Benjamin’s girlfriend, then why did he want to get close to Rebecca? This made her feel crazy.“Is something wrong?” Rye asked, seeing the change in Jane’s expression.“Ah, uh, no,” Jane forced out a smile. “I just got caught in my thoughts. That’s all. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Rye. Your name reminds me of Rye’s Pizzas.”“That’s because I founded that company,” Rye said.Jane blinked twice. “W-What? Are you speaking the truth?”“Why would I lie?” Rye retorted.“Then, does that mean you are friends with Colton Brown?” Jane quickly asked.“Colton?” Rye faintly smiled. “He’s the first employee of my company, so of course I remember him.”Jane’s eyes lit up. “I’ve always wanted to talk with him. Can you give me his phone number?’“I do have his number from a while ago,” Rye said, “but I’m not sure if he’s still
It had been fifteen minutes since Benjamin talked with Jane, but his head was still feeling hot and heavy. No amount of rubbing his forehead and temples helped him right now.Amber brought a glass full of juice to him and was smiling, “I made sapodilla juice, sir. Please have it and give me your opinion.”Benjamin took a sniff and looked at her. “Did you add elaichi?”Amber was startled. “S-Sorry, I forgot to add cardamom powder. Give me a second.” She quickly rushed out.“She wants me to announce my break up with Rye first, huh… What will Rye think if I do that?” Benjamin kept staring at the glass. “It’s easy to break a glass, but a woman’s heart…”He had already broken her heart once. If he were to upset her badly once again, would she be able to take it? She might be a strong woman, but what if she were to make a stupid decision on the spur of the moment?Benjamin dropped the glass at once. But he stopped it with his foot before it fell to the floor. The glass perfectly stood on hi
Rye wondered why Uzza called her, but to her shock, Uzza was eating plum fruits in a round red hat. Uzza only wanted to share plum fruits with her.Rye could only smile and eat together with her. They did grow these fruits on Sciocidad, but this was her first time eating the ones grown in the outer world.“How are they?” Uzza asked.“They are not bad,” Rye said. “But the ones we grow back at home are like juicy little apples.”“Yeah, everything we can find here is like a degraded version,” Uzza sighed. “Even the people are…” she could hear Selena talking with someone on mobile and was talking about Jacob and his drug-related issue. “You’ve lived outside for many months, so what did you understand?”“Mm? Well, at our home, we only need to grow trees and plants to live,” Rye opined, “but in this world… people need at least one of the four things.”“What are those four things?” Uzza curiously asked.“Money, looks, intelligence, or education,” Rye said. “If you don’t have at least one of
If it was anyone else that had asked for his hand for a dance, Benjamin wouldn’t even have thought about it. But the one asking now was Rye, the woman he had spent the most time with up to this point in his life.“Haven’t you two danced together already when you were young?” Uzza said, trying to break the ice between them. “Why are you thinking so much now, Benjamin? Just grab her hand and craft a step or two. Trust me, first love is the best. There’s no better feeling than dancing with your first love.”“I don’t just want to stop at being just his first love,” Rye said without hesitation. “I want to be his last love also.” She smiled through her eyes and reached out for Benjamin’s hand and grabbed it. “If you are not going to hold my hand, I will hold yours.”Benjamin pursed his lips. “R-Rye…”Before he could say another word, Rye put her finger on his mouth. “Shh, don’t act like I’m asking you to sleep with me. It’s just a dance. Don’t make a big deal over it.”After she removed her
“I’ve also just checked an e-copy of your marriage certificate. It turns out that the name there isn’t yours. It’s called Benyamin Wilde. So, in this present messed-up timeline, you were never Rebecca’s husband. Not even for a second. You didn’t even get married yet, so…” she brought her lips closer to his cheek. “Wouldn’t it be totally fine if we kiss each other right here and now?” Rye’s words skipped Benjamin’s heartbeat. He turned his head away to his left.Rye didn’t like that, but she didn’t get upset about it as she was just teasing him.“I know I’m being a little rude, this is reality, Benny,” Rye added. “You never married anyone in this reality yet. So, why don’t you just let things go and head back home?”“I would still like to live in this villa,” Benjamin replied softly.“Benjamin, you are like thunder,” Uzza intervened. “Rye is like lightning. If you get together, your kids are going to be like thunderbolts. How was my poetry?”“Very mediocre,” Rye commented frankly whil
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
Benyamin couldn’t go upstairs with Rebecca because he refused to tell Selena what he was doing all these days.Selena wouldn’t have allowed him to go past her unless he gave her proof, so he settled with staying in the dorms for the time being.Rebecca dressed up very nicely and attended dinner. Because Benyamin wasn’t present, she was about to visit the dorms, but Selena told her to sit at the table.Selena sent Delle to go and bring Benyamin, saying sarcastically that he might otherwise get lost.Rebecca sat down and waited patiently. (Why didn’t he just tell her what happened? Things would have been easier if he told her everything. What does he have to hide?)Meanwhile, at the dorms.Benjamin and Rye were both present in the same hall as Shadow. Rye was silent, and Benjamin was doing the talking.“What is your relationship with Rebecca?” he asked Shadow.“Obviously, I’m her husband,” Shadow replied. “Don’t you know that already?”Benjamin frowned. “Stop joking.”“I’m not joking. W
Benyamin gave a bouquet to Rebecca, and she gladly accepted it.Rebecca brought Benyamin into the villa while holding his hand, and her eyes were still wet with tears of happiness.Selena, who just happened to be coming downstairs with her handbag, planning to go out to make an important deal, saw Benyamin. The bag in her hand dropped. “Y-You… Why did you come back?”“Mom, is that the question you ask your son-in-law?” Rebecca’s voice was sharp.“He’s been gone for weeks!” Selena’s gaze also turned sharper. “And don’t you remember what he’s done? He sold the villa away to Uzza. Did you already forget that he cheated on all of us? Let go of his hand now! He must have heard of my recent rise and came here to use us! A bastard like him should never even be let close! Kick him out. Now!”Rebecca, however, tightened her grip. “No. If you want him to leave, I’ll leave, too.”Selena’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Have you lost your mind? Just what do you see in this trash that you are willin
Selena had been busy talking with many businessmen from all across the country. The people from the film industry also came to the Sterling villa with bouquets and gifts.Some gifted her luxury cars, while some others wanted her to act in their films, so they were showing their call sheets and asking for her movie dates.They were willing to pay her as much as twenty to fifty million dollars per movie.Selena, however, didn’t reckless sign on every movie she got. Out of the dozens of stories that came to her, she only picked two so far.And she was quite happy with her current situation.To show her gratitude to Uzza, she came to her and gave a key to Uzza who was in the kitchen with Delle.“What’s this?” Uzza asked.“One of the movie producers gifted a private jet as advance payment for agreeing to do his movie,” Selena replied.Delle’s eyes enlarged very much. “A-A private jet? How much does that cost, ma’am?”“32 million dollars,” Selena casually replied. “This is just the start. I’
“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