Geneveve Tessa King
I read the text that Kyle sent again. It was more like a warning than a concern. His mom was in town, and he wanted me to be careful. Careful about what? I wasn’t afraid of his mom, and I hadn't even done anything to her, so why should I be careful? Except she wanted to harm my kids. I forwarded the message to James. He would know what to do with it.
Also, it might be Kyle’s way of telling me to prepare for an epic battle. After yesterday’s conversation, I knew he wasn’t going to stop until he had his chance with me and the kids.
Kyle King.
I replayed the conversation I had with mom after Kyle left. She had questioned my feelings for Kyle and wanted to know if I still loved him. I couldn’t answer her. Before the kids came and after they did, I still kept a space for him in my heart. Even after I burned everything that reminded me of him, a part of him still remained. Then, Hoplas was created, and the feelings I had slowly faded. I wasn’t in love with him anymore, and all I had for him was pity, and maybe I still despised him.
I walked into Hope’s room. Today was their dentist appointment, and looking at Hope struggling with Estella, I knew we were going to be late, just like the last appointment.
‘What’s the issue, Estella? It’s almost one o'clock, and Hope isn’t dressed yet.’ I asked, gathering hope in my arms.
Estella sighed. ‘She refused to wear the sunflower satin gown you chose for her. So, I told her to pick what she wants, and you can guess how that is going.’
I smiled, letting go of hope and focusing on the heap of clothes. I picked a short and a shirt. Please, just take this and let her wear it. I have told you that you shouldn’t be allowing her to have it her way all the time. You’re pampering her, Estella.’
‘You know, I don't like yelling at them. They're my little babies, ma, but I get you. Too much of everything isn’t good.’
I nodded. ‘I am glad you see sense in what I am saying. Hurry up with Hope, and I will check up with Nicholas. He’s probably still playing with his toys. I have to meet with a client by evening, so I really need to meet up with the appointment.’
She replied, ignoring Hope’s tantrums, ‘Alright, I will be quick. Do you want me to follow you so that I can bring the kids home?’
‘Yes, thank you, Estella. I won’t be able to do anything if they are with me. Once you are ready with Hope, please take the cake out of the oven. It should be ready in the next thirty minutes.’
I stepped into Nicholas’s room, and the guilty look on his face told me he had been up to mischief. His coloured fingers told me everything, and the stains on his overalls explained the whole story.
We were definitely going for the dentist’s appointment.
_
The dentist’s appointment took longer due to our lateness, and by the time Estella had taken them off my hands, I was already late for my appointment with my client. Arriving at the cafe where we were supposed to meet, I saw someone, but not the friendly Australian businesswoman who I had spoken with earlier today. Avaline. What was she doing here? I ignored her taunting gaze and called the Australian woman Muna.
She picked immediately: ‘I am sorry, Miss. Tessa, but I won’t be able to make it. However, I sent my cousin to drop off the project plans with you. Her name is Avaline, and I think you know her, right?’
I swallowed, glancing at Ava. I should have suspected when Muna told me she had a cousin married to a famous CEO in the States, and I might know the person. Now, I wish I had been nosy. I could have known what to expect, and probably I would have rescheduled. I didn’t like Avaline for obvious reasons.
‘It’s alright. I will go through the project plans and reply via email. Would that be okay with you?’
She replied, ‘Yes, thank you. Also, please, Ava would explain certain things I want to be done specifically and in a different way. I hope this won’t be too much stress?’
I shook my head, even though I knew I wasn't going to enjoy the conversation with Ava. ‘It’s not going to be stressful. I will let you know my thoughts via email too. Is there anything else?’
‘No, that will be all. I really apologise for not showing up once again. My personal assistant messed up my schedule, and I am dealing with like three meetings at the same time. I will make up with you during our next meeting.’
I thanked her and cut the call. If Ava tried anything funny, I was going to ensure she faced the music. I couldn’t tell why I suddenly felt unsafe as I settled on the chair facing, but something told me to take a look around the room, and that was when I saw Dahila walking towards us.
Dear heavens, could this day not get any crazier than this? Did I just walk into a trap? As if on cue, the text message Kyle sent to me suddenly popped up in my mind. I quickly sent a text to Kyle informing him about the setup and urging him to get here fast before they tried anything that would get them arrested.
‘Hello, Tessa. It’s been five and a half years since we saw each other, each other, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting you to be this great.’ Dahila said, settling near me.’
I smiled widely, not missing her sarcasm. ‘Oh, spare me that, Dahila. You and I know that you aren’t pleased to see me. Ava, can I have the project plans?’
Ava smiled wickedly. ‘Yes, there you go.’
Before I could stop her, she took the papers and shredded them into pieces.
Avaline KingI smiled, enjoying the horrific look on Tessa’s face. ‘You should learn to answer your elders respectfully. Now, where were we?’Tessa shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t have done that, Ava. Those project plans took your cousin and me weeks to create. I hope you have a good reason when she questions you about this.’‘You will redo them because Muna is one of your biggest clients. Anyway, she will believe her blood more than you. I will just tell her you were angry about her suggestions and decided to trash them. That should do it, right?’Dahila agreed, ‘Yes, that’s smart. Now, back to the reason why we are here: Tessa, I heard a rumour, and I need to confirm it before I take further action. Those kids are with you. Is Kyle their father?’Tessa smiled, adjusting her red hair. I could tell she wasn’t afraid of us, but she was relaxed, which wasn’t the expression I expected from her.‘I don’t owe you or Avaline any answer about my personal life. If this is why you and her showe
Kyle KingI ignored the bottle that Xavier dropped beside me and continued ranting about Avaline and my mom. Luckily, Xavier got the message and allowed me to curse and lament about the fall of my marriage with Avalline. I also told him everything that happened at Tessa’s house and my next plan.‘I thought you were going to say, ‘It’s over, man. Let’s get our things and return to our beloved country.’ and not this. Well, you never listen to me, so I am not surprised.' Xavier repiled, adding more ice cubes to his beer.I glanced at him and said, ‘I had to see her, Kyle. She finally agreed to let me see her, even though the terms of the meeting were against me. Right now, I don’t think I will be returning to the States on Saturday. No. I have to finish this race.’Xavier laughed. ‘I don’t get you, man, but whatever. If you want to continue this thing with Tessa, I will advise you to do something about Avaline. She’s scaring me, to be honest, and I don't think I will love to stay in the
Avaline KingI wanted to make my last day in the United Kingdom a memorable one, so all night while everyone slept, I stayed up and browsed various places I could visit, but one place caught my interest. It was a book club that was holding a fashion-themed session. I used to be a lover of books years ago before I focused my creativity on getting fashion gigs for the family and myself.However, my love for books didn’t die. No. I kept them close to my heart, and upon entering the King's family, I knew I had made the right decision because I discovered Kyle was a lover of books too. Although I never revived my interest, some days when I was bored, I strolled into his library and picked up captivating titles and scanned through them. I registered for the book club and read through their events. They had a lot of activities, and everything was packed with glamour, spiciness, and uniqueness. I couldn’t help but wonder if they would be open to new members. Okay, visiting members. An hour
Genevieve Tessa Roberts I was fidgeting. I heaved a deep sigh and pulled the hem of my dress to cover my knees. Taking a glance at the wristwatch strapped to my wrist, I noted with great angst that it's been over twenty minutes since the Doctor walked out of the room on an excuse to get back to me soon. Sighing again, I rubbed my palms together before picking up my phone to check if I had any missed calls or anything of the sort but nothing stood out to me. I started to put my phone away when the door opened and I stopped and turned toward the woman that had walked in. Sitting up in my seat, my eyes followed Doctor Brown’s movement till she finally settled back in her seat which was right in front of me, separated by a huge desk that had a bunch of stuff I wasn't interested in on it. “Sorry for the long wait, Mrs. King. Here is the test result.” She smiled softly before handing me the results. I hesitated for a second, my heart leaping with what I didn't know as I eyed the unse
Genevieve Tessa Roberts My body stopped moving but my fingers didn't. I stood there, eyes wide with disbelief and apparent shock as I listened to my husband, Kyle go on and on about a lot of things I was too shocked to decipher. He was talking to Xavier, his childhood best friend who had always been in our lives. I had no idea what to say to that or what to think. My heart must have died on the spot because I suddenly found it hard to breathe. Grasping the fabric of my coat, I willed myself to take in deep sharp breaths but it was extremely hard. All I felt was pain. Excruciating pain that rendered me numb. “But, do you really think that you need to do that? Maybe you should take more tests or consider another option. IVF? Surrogacy?” Xavier was talking, asking the mother fucker I called my husband. “IVF, we have already done and concluded. Nothing's worked out. My mother would have my head at the thought of surrogacy. You know how uptight she is and how she wouldn't bend to the sc
Genevieve Tessa Roberts I laid in bed quietly with tears in my eyes, waiting. Five years that I'd been married to Kyle and I'd never received that level of disrespect. The disrespect was too much. I couldn't take it and the more I thought about it, the more the tears wouldn't stop flowing. I hated to think for even a second that it was because of me that this was happening. I knew exactly the time Dahlia and Katherine finished dinner and left. I also listened as he went straight to his study instead of coming to the room. My heart clenched. The Kyle I had married would have come into the room to check on me. Scratch that, he would have cautioned his mother the moment she opened her mouth and came around to check up on me to see if I was okay. The more I thought about it all, the more it hurt and it got increasingly harder for me to stop the tears. Kyle finally walked into the room at around two in the morning. The room was dark but I watched him move about, shuffling things and arra
GENEVIEVE Tessa ROBERTS I smiled weakly, settling into the chair and texting Vera the latest update. I shuddered a bit thinking about my new status, but I managed to keep myself stable. I couldn't afford to create a scene in the office, and there was also a life growing in me. I gently rubbed my stomach as I took a final glance at my wedding photo and threw it into the bin. `Are you okay, boss?` Gen asked, rushing towards me. I didn't realise I had been crying until Gen dabbed my face, and my eyes followed her gaze to my drenched blouse. I sniffed, standing up, `Yeah... I just received sad news, Gen. I will be returning to my hometown; my family needs me. It was really nice working with you, dear friend.` She hugged me tightly, releasing me when I shuddered. `I am going to miss you, Boss. I do hope all is well at home. I nodded, not wanting to release the news of my divorce. I decided to leave it for Christine, Kyle, or Dahila. I won't be the announcer of my defeat. `I will miss
GENEVIEVE Tessa Roberts I opened my mouth and closed it again. It can't be her. The figure is a young lady with flattened blond hair, a shapely figure, and glossy skin. She had full, perky cheeks and alert eyes. `You don`t remember me? It's Navalie Rhodes. The girl you stole Kyle from in college?` I gasped at the recognition. Ava Rhodes. They had been friends in college until Kyle started showing interest in her, and Ava got jealous. Their friendship fell apart, and they became sworn enemies. At last, Ava had gotten what she wanted—Kyle. The sweet twist of fate! `I remember you, Ava. It's good to see you after so many years. I heard you started a fashion label in France. Are you here to expand the business?` She laughed, taking a full glance at me. `That's none of your business, Mrs. King. Oh, sorry, you are just plain Miss Roberts. You know, it's funny how you fought hard to keep Kyle, and he divorced you in less than a day with nothing to compensate you. That's so pathetic, dear