011 JOANA'S POV The brakes of my car were not good. I wondered how he knew about that. My head hurts from thinking about how he got to know what was in my car. I called Caleb and told him about it. He said he was coming with someone who would fix the car. The smell from my house the other day was what made me not bring the kids home; I had to leave them at the estate because I felt it was safe there. The chemicals that they had used were choking. I had to call my brothers and tell them about it; they suggested I leave the house, but I was not buying that idea; I called Caleb, and he brought people to the house who helped me clear the place up. I decided to stay there alone and not bring the kids there. Someone was trying so hard to get to me, and it was beginning to scare me. I got into the house after the brakes were fixed. I checked all around the place and then asked the security to be vigilant as well. " If you see anything around my house, let me know; call me imm
012 JOANA POV I thought I was going to rest my head and relax, but I got none of that. My brothers were asking me a lot of questions, and I was answering all of them. Some of the questions that I was being asked had no answers to them, and that was because I did not know how to answer them. They were determined to find those who did that to me. There was more anger than fear. I felt I was taken for granted, and I was tolerating too much. A lot was going on with me, and all I wanted to do was to get my life back and go back to the peaceful life I was used to before this. When I got back into the city, I knew there were a lot of people who did not like that I was back in the city, but there was nothing they could do about it. I guess they were the ones doing all of these things to me. " I told you not to go back to that house; good thing that you left the kids with us here, and being there is never a good thing," one of my brothers said. " It is a nice place; it h
013 JOANA'S POV I was rather quiet. The city had my news, but I chose to remain quiet and that was because I did not want to talk about it; I did not want to give any information to the public; whatever it was that was happening to me was going on because someone was somewhere trying to do worse things to me. " Ma'am, someone is here to see you," my secrets I said. " Let him in," I said. I sat upright, I was never going to act like anything was going wrong with me. I cleaned the tears that were on my face and then smiled. The person walked in, and I was so mad. "I can not believe she let you in." I stood up. I was going to meet with my secretary. He dragged me back " There will be no need for that, I came here so we can talk," he said. I looked at him. There seemed to be a lot going on with him because he was not looking like the Clinton I knew. " What do you want to talk about?" I asked him. I was rather calm this time around, even though I would not hesitate
014 JOANA'S POV I was back in the hospital that I never wanted to be. I looked around me and saw that I was not alone. " You are awake," Caleb said. " How did I get here?" I asked him. " I got to know that you were not in the car, you were not anywhere around the place, not even in the crowd, I knew that something was wrong, so I got back inside the place and asked that the securities search all over for you, that was how I got to find you," He said. I was happy that I was found. My fear was that no one was going to see me there or come after me. " Thank you for coming to my rescue," I said. I tried to breathe, but it was hard for me to do so at first. Then, with time, I was able to properly breathe well. The doctor came in and looked at me and did some examinations before he left the room. " I want to leave here," I whispered to him. " You can not be serious. You did this the last time you were here, and I did not find it funny," he said. " I kno
015 JOANA'S POV I was tired and scared as well. Maybe coming back to this city was never meant to happen, I do not know who was mad that I was back here. This was not good, and now I feared for my life because I did not know what would happen to me next. I looked at the window; it was small like they had built this house for something like this; it did not make any sense to me why that window was that way. I tried to stand up with my hands tied. It was hard at first, but I struggled and got up to my feet. I got near the window and tried to look through it, but there was nothing to see. I sighed, I had struggled for nothing at all. I was about to get seated when the door opened. The man looked at me " Who asked you to bring me here?" I asked him. " Is that question for me?" " Of course, who else? You are the only one here," I said. " I can not answer that," he said. He tried closing the door but I went to the door. " Wait, get me out of here, please; I have
016 JOANA'S POV He was about to leave when Caleb came in. " Is he disturbing you?" He asked. " He is, and I want him to leave me alone," " I do not think you should be coming here; she has asked that you stay away from her, and you should do so." he turned to Clinton and told him that. " I do not care what you plan to achieve by going after her; you are the one that should stay away from her," he said. I was getting tired of all the things he was saying, I did not want to hear any of them. I told him to leave because I was tired of him standing there. " Are you talking to me that way? You were the one who threw a divorce in her face, and now you shamelessly walk in here; you should be ashamed," Caleb said. Clinton turned to me. " I want you to trust me this time, I want to protect you from everyone that is hurting you. I want to guide you and ensure you are safe, " he said. " I do not want that from you; I have made it clear to you that I do not want that from yo
017 CLINTON'S POV I stayed in my room all through; I felt like there was no reason to be outside or to be in anyone's face; I was exhausted and tired of reaching out to Joana. I know she was still mad at me, but this was becoming difficult for me. I stayed in bed, there was a knock on my door, I got up and opened it. I had locked the door because I never wanted anyone to open it. Another reason my door was locked was because of Louisa, I had asked her to leave my house, and she had done so, but she would not stop coming over to visit me like I was tied to her or something. It frustrated me. " What is it?" I asked the maid who had knocked on the door. " I was worried about you and wondered why you had locked yourself in the room that way; it was unlike you," She said. Her voice was filled with concern for me. " Thank you, I'm fine," I said. I opened the door and left the room. I got under the trees, the garden path, and stood there. I was thinking of how best to l
018 CLINTON'S POV I called the private investigator that I had hired; he was the one who was watching over Joana's kids; I told him I wanted the kids safe and nothing should happen to them. I got there one day, and I wanted to be sure that he was doing what I had asked him to do. I got there and met his car parked at a distance, he was inside, watching. I was impressed with that. I stayed in the car and watched as the children came outside, they were heading to their car. I got to look at them so well. There was something different; I began to pay attention to the things they wore, their height, and how they looked. I took my phone and called my private investigator. " I need you to leave your car and come to mine; there is something I wish to show you," I said. " Where are you?" he asked. " The car opposite you," I said. He got it and got out of his car. He walked to where I was, opened the car door, and got in. " There is something I noticed. I want to know the
066JOANA'S POV“YOU SAID YOU HAD AN ACCIDENT, BUT ONLY FEW SCRATCHES!!!”Clinton quickly pointed out, his face cold with no expression on his father.“I… I didn't get into a nasty accident, just a mild one, that's why I have a few scratches,” she defended herself calmly.“And you fainted for over an hour,” Clinton attacked her again.She was trying her best to stay calm, but Clinton wasn't going to let her.“Clinton… you need to calm down, we should thank the heavens that she is safe and didn't get into a nasty accident. You would have blamed yourself for life.”I reasoned with him calmly that Anita may be smart, but she should learn how to cover her trails properly.One thing I have learnt so far about Clinton was that he hated being deceived.“I'm sorry… it was just too much for me to handle. Truly, I would have hated myself if anything should happen to you.”Anita smiled softly, “It's fine…” She darted her gaze in my direction. It was stern and deadly but still held an innocent lo
065JOANA'S POVWe arrived at the hospital as the kids waited with Caleb and Clinton, and I went into the doctor's office.“Luckily, there's nothing wrong with Japheth. Everything seems to be okay. He's a strong boy.”The doctor smiled, passing the documents to me and Clinton, “Doc, are you sure? It took us some time for us to get him out of the ball pit.”“The pit was truly deep, but there were no pressures on him, so thankfully, there are no internal injuries.”I let out a sigh of relief as we headed back to meet the others. Clinton got a phone call and excused himself.We headed to the parking lot when Clinton rushed to me, “I'm sorry, I won't be able to drop you and the kids off; I have an emergency.”He bent to the size of the kids, “Hey guys, Daddy is really sorry, but I can't drop you guys off. I promise to take you to school tomorrow.”“Pinky promise,” they stretched out their pinky finger to their father, who smiled and snuck his bigger finger pecked their foreheads and left
064JOANA'S POV“Mirabel…”My mother instinct kicked in, and I rushed to the sound. Mirabel was seriously crying; then I noticed that Japheth was missing, and Jake was removing some balls while crying.“He pushed Japheth,” she pointed to a boy who was hiding behind his mother. A tall man pushed them behind him.“Stop accusing my boy,” he growled at my girl. Clinton rushed him, grabbing him by the collar.“If anything happens to my own boy, today would be the last day you would see life,” he threatened.Caleb managed to bring Japheth. He was struggling to breathe properly.“Why wasn't your kid under parent supervision?” The man tried to defend his child.“Since your child was under parental supervision, why didn't you stop him? Oh wait, he's a child of a bully.”The man wanted to punch him, but Clinton dodged, folding his hand behind his back.“The dog who barks the most can't bite,” he pushed him away, “who's the manager of this place? I want the camera footage of this place asap, or
063JOANA'S POVI sighed deeply, entering the car, Japheth and Jake still had a long face while Mirabel tried to make them smile.“Don't put on such a long face; see, we're finally in Daddy's car,” Mirabel tried her best to cheer them up.Clinton shook his head, sighing, starting up the engine, and heading to the ice cream parlour.“Japheth… Jake, cheer up, remember I promised you ice cream, so if you don't smile, I'm turning this car back home.”The boys slowly raised their heads, putting up a small weak smile. They were still devastated, but I wanted to teach them a lesson.Nothing should ever make them throw their fists no matter the age they were.“Those are not genuine smiles, okay, I'm turning the wheels,” he made a fake turn, and the boys quickly shook him.“We're smiling; don't go back on your promise,” I was about to scold them for their tantrums, but Clinton gave me a glare.“Alright… you win, ice cream here we come,” Clinton cheered loudly.I didn't like the fact that the k
062JOANA'S POVClinton stopped talking. He was quite shocked by my behaviour, but I honestly don't blame him.“Funny how the old Joana couldn't say half of all you are saying,” he finally spoke up with a tiny smirk plastered on his face.I opened the door slightly. “Funny, right? Because the old Joana is dead.”I alighted from the car, walking slowly to pick up the kids when I saw my kids bowing their heads and a woman flaring with anger.Mirabel slightly raised her head and saw me immediately, Mommy…”I rushed to her, confused about the whole situation.“So you're the mother who can't train her children properly?” I raised a brow at the lady opposite me.Her son was standing by her side, I noticed my boys refusing to look at me even when I had arrived.“Japheth, Jake, I want you to raise your heads now,” I said in a commanding tone as they finally lifted up their heads.My boys had a black eye, and my sons had a freaking black eye.“Can somebody explain why on earth my boys have a b
061JOANA'S POVLouisa launched towards me but was stopped by Caleb, “The only reason I haven't beaten you up to a pulp is because you're a lady; don't try me.”Caleb growled as I chuckled lightly. Louisa, fuming with rage, ran to Clinton's side, but Clinton removed her hand from him.“Are you really doing this to me?” She yelled angrily.“You caused it. Besides, when will you stop ruining yourself? You're an adult. Act like one.”Clinton pushed her aside and walked to me. She screamed loudly, drawing attention to her.“Joana, mark my words, you will pay for all these, I promise you.” She picked up herself and left the place with her supposed minions.“How do you survive with this girl all the time?” Caleb scoffed, heading to his car.I chuckled softly, heading to Clinton. He tried to open the door for me, but I stopped him, “I agreed to ride with you. It doesn't mean I'll let you do all these shitty things.”Clinton's face turned cold. I don't know what he was expecting, but I hoped
060 JOANA'S POV The way he said my name sent shivers down my spine. It was cool, soft like he was trying to tell me something from the tone of his voice. I gazed into his eyes deeply. It felt like a spell was cast upon me because I was too immersed in his sight. “Joana…” Caleb cut me out of my trance, “huh?” “Tell him not to pick the kids. After all, he said, "You have the final say,” I chuckled at Caleb's jealousy and over-protectiveness. “Unfortunately, I can't. I already promised him, so I can't go back on my words, and you saw how the kids are always clingy to him, so my dear, I have the lower hand here.” Clinton snickered, “Oh well, I guess I need to get the car ready, Caleb. I won't mind you joining us. At least they would have their uncle around.” It was kind of funny seeing these two bicker, I had honestly forgotten about the situation that I was under. For a minute, I hoped my life was as peaceful as this meeting. What if I and Clinton never had any issues
059 JOANA'S POV “I think we should head back into the cafè,” Caleb finally broke the wavering silence in the car, I gazed at him, confused. “Why?” His tummy rumbled slightly, exposing his hunger, “that's why.” “It's not my fault that you ran out of the cafè without eating, and besides, I have work to do.” I turned to leave, but Caleb held me by the wrist, “C'mon, I have already apologized. Don't do this to me.” I removed his hand from my wrist, “you only apologized for looking down on me, but you didn't apologize for walking out from me.” “Okay, fine, you win; I'm really sorry for my crazy reaction towards you this morning, so please, can we go together to get brunch? I'm famished.” I gazed at his fake puppy eyes, “don't try to look cute with me, I'm not buying it. Can't you just order in?” I blasted him with the same words he used on me, “I know you're mad at me, but c'mon.” I chuckled softly, “Okay, fine, let's go,” he had a huge smile on his face as we alighte
058JOANA'S POVI gently sipped the milkshake that I had ordered while enjoying the scene unfold.“The police did get me, but I haven't said anything after all. You still have my daughter,”“And I don't plan on returning her anytime soon until the deal is complete,”“This wasn't the plan,” I could feel the anger in his voice.“Things changed. Unfortunately, the men I hired couldn't get the job done, and now that girl caught up to them, I won't release your daughter until Joana is dead.”“The police are onto me. There's no way I'm going to make any mistakes except you can wait,”“My patience is on a thin line, and I hope you know that your daughter won't make it without the surgery.”Anita stood to leave, “why are you doing this to her? She has not done any harm.”“A hitman doesn't ask questions, but since you want to know so bad, she has something that belongs to me, and until you take her out, I can't get it.”Anita left the place and then the man and his daughter, but Caleb looked d