Chapter 15FRUSTRATION “You and I have no business together, so I don't see any reason why I should take your call. In fact, I need to delete this contact once I'm done cooking.” Lila mumbled as she stood and looked at Grey's name on her screen. She hissed and dropped the phone back on the table to continue her kitchen chores.“Just call and hear him out, first.” A voice within her persuaded her, and she reluctantly carried the phone and dialed Grey's contact.“Hey, Lila,” Grey called out and took a deep breath on the other end of the phone the moment Lila received the call.“Finally, thank God you picked up my call.” He said calmly.“What? I can't believe this is Grey talking.” Lila took the phone off her ear, increasing the screen brightness to check if truly it was Grey that was on the other end of the phone.“Wow! I never knew divorce can humble a man like him,” she thought to herself and smiled.Before now, Lila's mind was always brimming with fear anytime she missed a call from
Chapter 16SO RUDE“This is past 2 o'clock, and I have to make it there before 4:00 pm." Lila mumbled and hissed continually as she looked at every passing second on her phone. Her unceasing hissed dragged the attention of everyone in the minibus. They wondered what could be making a young and pretty woman as such to be hissing like one old woman who was thinking of the difference of life in the past and the hardship of the current times.What puzzled them most was that she doesn't look pregnant. Of course she has to be at the Grace hospital before 4:00 pm, or else she won't be able to see her father because the hospital rule is that visitation ends by 4 o'clock.Lila centered an angry gaze at the driver, who was driving at a moderate speed. She wished she could just take the sterry from him and asked all passengers to drop down so that she could fire the car on gear 3 to her destination.Her uneasiness in the car was becoming unbearable for some passengers who got irritated by her h
Chapter 17 STAMMERING “Aren't I supposed to be seen here as well? Or am I in the wrong ward? Lila asked politely, still wearing the intoxicating smile on her ravishing face. “N–no. You're in the right place. Pardon me for asking,” Mrs. Shun, who never ceased to raise her voice and display her bossy nature to Lila, suddenly turned into a stammerrer. She turned her face slowly to look at Ma'am Elena, who was seated beside Lila's father, and she saw the confusion in her face, which was very evident. They couldn't say anything to each other and communicated with only eye contact. “Gosh! I just hope that this girl hasn't been here for long listening to our conversation. Oh! We’re finished,” Mrs. Shun thought inwardly, and coincidentally, that was the same thought running through Elena's mind, but there was no way they could say a word to each other about what they think and how they feel. “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Shun. I know you didn't come because of me, but he's still
Chapter 18Lila stepped out to take her leave. The time was fast approaching 8:00 p.m.; it was late already, and the minibuses were scanty on the road. The few that were still available were either filled with passengers or were not going towards her destination. Lila stood for a while trying to find a shuttle that could take her home.As she stood by the road, her mind raced back to her mother-in-law and stepmother’s conversation.“So after taking my mother's life, they're now after my life?” Lila folded her arms as she stood in disbelief of the women's plan. She suddenly became lost in thought until she was tranced out of her thoughts by a minibus that has been honking incessantly from afar, but she paid no attention.“Where to? Madam,” The bus conductor’s voice startled Lila from her imaginary world.“M-main flower, thank you!” She said with her shaky voice and occupied the last available seat in the bus.Something was awful about her, which most people noticed in the car.Everyo
Chapter 19“Where am I?” What am I doing here?”Lila tried to raise herself up from the bed, but her feeble knees and tired hands were too weak to allow her to do that.She looked around and saw a man in white, with his name tag showing that he's a doctor at Denyce Hospital, smiling at her.“Ah, madam! You're awake! Thank goodness!” The doctor said and let out a heavy sigh.“Lila was dumbfounded; she neither returned the smile nor said anything. She still didn't understand why she was in a hospital gown instead of her clothes and her hands patched with bandages.“Doctor, why am I in a hospital?” She asked calmly.The doctor was not quick to answer her; he just smiled at her again, and immediately, she saw a young lady walk in and stand beside the doctor—probably, she should be a nurse or doctor because she's also on white.“Ok, this is nurse Kate; you can tell her anything you want and how you feel from now on. She'll always be there for you.”“Nurse, over to you. I'm off to my office
Chapter 20The nurse started thinking suspiciously of Lila. She immediately took out her phone to check the latest news channel. In the media platform, current news is always disseminated first before any other news channel would capture it. It always has reports of events happening live and even the ones that took place just thirty minutes a while. “If she's a criminal, I should be able to find something about her here. It's been three days since this accident happened.” The nurse thought.Lila could not tell why the nurse’s look at her changed at the moment.She noticed how the nurse stylishly took her head up and down, looking at her while she pressed her phone. But that one is of no concern to her. The most important thing is that no one in her family knows where she is.Lila looked beside her bed but couldn't catch sight of any of her belongings—her bag.“Excuse me, nurse, do you see my handbag?”“Yes, I was supposed to give it to you when you wake up. Please, excuse me, let me
Chapter 21“Grey shun?” Lila was quite surprised to see that he was the topic of the town. She tried to keep her face away from their sight to avoid one of them saying that she knows her or looks familiar to Grey's wife-ex-wife.Lila wished that something would keep delaying nurse Tonia in the laboratory so that she could have the chance to listen to the full gossip.“Abeg, I'm too curious to hear this gist. Can you just start and stop wasting our time?” One of the nurses said.“Alright, do you know his 2-year-old daughter?” the nurse paused and put her hands on her chin to remember something before she continued.“What is the name of the girl again,... Ehem, Jannel?”“Rumour has it that Jannel is not his daughter!”“What?” All the rest echoed in shock.“Are you for real, right now?” Their voices echoing coincidentally.“Of course, yes. Trust me, I don't spread fake gossip! I always do my research before believing in gossip.” The nurse explained.“And to crown it all, I also heard tha
Chapter 22“It's okay. You guys have digested enough of this man's topic today. Don't you people have work to do? It's high time you allow the sleeping dog to lay and go face your work!” Nurse Tonia scolded them, and they all dispatched to their various duty posts before she continued moving with Lila.“I'm sorry for keeping you out here for so long, Lila. I had to ensure that the scientists were doing the right thing.”“No problem, nurse Tonia D; I totally understand. You see, that's why I told you even before now that you're the best. And you can see for yourself now!” Lila said jokingly, and they both laughed.“Besides, I wasn't bored at all. At least I was entertained by their discussion.” Lila added, so that she could hear nurse Tonia's side of the story and how she'll judge it.“Never mind those gossips. They can't face their lives except to gossip about others.” Nurse Tonia scoffed.“Lols!” Lila smiled.“You don't have to blame them. They're only humans. So if you give people
CHAPTER 68BEHIND BARS“Mother, did you report her to the authorities?” Cynthia asked; her tone was evident of fear as her voice trembled.Seeing the bitter gaze Amelia was throwing at them, she couldn't help but feel insecure for her life.“I swear, I never reported her to anyone. In fact, I don't even know those people!” Elena claimed, feigning innocence with fake tears clinging to her lashes.Amelia's vision began to turn blurry. Everything that had unfolded seemed like a dream to her.“Mrs. Margaret shun, not her mother? Then where the hell did that woman pick her from? She couldn't stop herself from wailing. To discover that her true identity is unknown to her at such an age was something she had never imagined could happen.She stood and watched in tears as her mother was bundled into the police van and taken away like a criminal.Grey's feet became rooted to the spot he was standing. Everything was happening too fast for him to understand.Not done battling with his daughter's
CHAPTER 67ARREST HER. “Security, throw this woman out of this house!” Margret shouted. And the two security guards at the gate rushed to grab Elena by the hand and did as they were ordered.“Are you crazy?” Cynthia yelled after slapping the first security who attempted to lay his hands on her mother.“I don't care who it is that instructed you, but the next time you lay your filthy hands on my mother, I'll make sure that I don't fail my promise of making you rot in jail! Idiot!” Cynthia threatened, forcing the men to let go of Elena's hands.“Mother, maybe you should repeat yourself in simpler terms. I'm sure they're all too dumb to pick sense out of your statement.” She added, sneering at Amelia and Margaret.“Enough of all this nonsense, you daughter of a bitch!” Margret cursed hoarsely.Expecting a cold reaction from Elena, everyone was shocked to see her burst into a brash laugh.“Did you just call me a bitch, Margret?” Elena retorted with a frown and her partly closed eyes.“Wel
CHAPTER 66BACK HOME “I need every detail of the patient in ward 6 before the end of the week. There's something off about that man,” Dr. Lawson instructed the lab scientist before he proceeded to Grey's ward for the morning ward round.“Mr. Grey Shun, you can go home now, but I'll keep you under observation for six months. That means you'll be coming for regular check ups once a week,” the doctor said after close observation of Grey for a few days after regaining his consciousness.“Thank you, doctor,” Grey mentioned and nodded with a smile.“Thank God your health is back to normal now. I think it's time for me to take my leave,” Lila mentioned and waved at Grey, smiling suggestively.The piercing eyes of Cynthia rolled between Grey and Lila. She wanted to see how Grey would react to her goodbye message, but Grey was not naive to Lila's hard-to-get character.“Thanks for everything, Miss Ricks,” Grey said casually after a few seconds of silence while he stared at her flirtatiously.
CHAPTER 65 “Mother, what do you mean by what you just said?” Cynthia demanded calmly.Amelia had her arms crossed on her chest in amazement.Margret glared at Elena, who was running her mouth, causing her to shudder involuntarily.Elena has never seen a woman with such a bitter look in life. Margaret's angry eyes looked as if they could swallow Elena whole if she dared to say anything.“Mother, I just asked you a question that needs an answer!” Cynthia yelled.“Hmmm. Are you talking to me?” Elena asked casually, pretending as if she were lost in some deep thoughts for long.“Of course, she's talking to you,” Amelia cut in.“Please, Mrs. Elena, what did you just say about my mother?” “Oh, y-your mother,” Elena stuttered and smiled suggestively.“I didn't say anything about your mother. If you heard anything, it's probably a slip of the tongue on my side,” Elena defended herself curtly.Lila smiled inwardly but masked her amusement with a stunned expression. She remembered when she ove
CHAPTER 64 A VISIT OF CHAOS“Trust me when I say that I'm not hurt. I know women like Cynthia can be crazy at times, but believe me, they're mostly harmless,” Lila said as she patted Derrick's shoulders with an assuring smile.“Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get some rest. Remember, I just finished donating some blood now,” she said politely and began to walk away.Derrick was not willing to let go of her hands, but she pulled it out by force.“L—Lila,” he called again as he watched her departing back.This time around, Lila was getting pissed off already by his actions. Why did he want to keep her there without any reasonable thing to say? She ignored his call and continued moving, but that didn't stop him from following her again.“Lila, please, let me walk you out and drive you home,” he suggested as soon as he walked up to her.“Besides, you're weak, and I can tell you need some assistance,” he added.“Thanks but no thanks, Derrick. You shou
CHAPTER 63RISING COMPLICATIONS Lila sat on the couch, blowing the hot coffee she had made. Picking up the remote, she turned on the television to watch the morning program of her favorite channel.Scrolling through her phone while waiting for the television to finish processing, her fingers automatically clicked on the HOT NEWS that popped up on her phone.“Popular billionaire Grey Shun faints over his daughter's kidnapping at school!”She froze.Her eyes flinched and ears perked up when the television finally came on, and she heard the newscaster giving a report on the current happenings in the city.She stared triumphantly at the bold black caption at the bottom of the screen. “THE YOUNG MAGNATE, GREY SHUN, IS SAID TO HAVE FAINTED OVER THE REALIZATION OF HIS DAUGHTER'S KIDNAP,”What!Without hesitation, she scrolled through her phone contacts.“Hello, Derrick,” she said as soon as the person on the other end of the phone picked up.“Hello, Derrick, Are you there? Derrick, Derrick, I
CHAPTER 62SET IN OF KARMA “Call the IT department immediately. This has never happened, and it cannot happen now!” Grey instructed.Since the breaking of that news to him, his eyes darkened, and his brain got disoriented. Feigning concern, Cynthia's face assumed a perplexed look as she watched her husband drop his food and begin to pace back and forth in the room. “Honey, please talk to me. Maybe it's something I can help with,” she said with an intricate smile. “Grey! What is it? You can't keep us in suspense like this forever!” His mother asked impatiently. It has been long since she raised a voice at Grey like that, and she jerked him out of a pool of thoughts in silence. Nodding his head, he began, “The website, yeah, the website.”“What happened to the website? You still haven't said anything!” Margret insisted, her heart began to sink in fear, seeing how profusely Grey was sweating even under the fan.“I think the company website has been hacked,” he finally pulled himsel
CHAPTER 61THE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED. Cynthia couldn't believe what she just heard. How could Grey just blacklist her from all of Shun's establishments? What would now become of her? A poor housewife? Never! She can't sit and watch herself turn into a subject of ridicule by the people around her.“I have to do something and maintain my steez,” she said to herself.“Ho—honey, "I said, Shut up!” Grey cut her words mercilessly and pinned her in place with a dark and menacing gaze. Cynthia was inflamed, but she couldn't snuff out the anger she was feeling, because the anger in Grey's eyes looked like he'd dismember her if she dared to create a fuss. “Can we please meet up tonight? It's urgent.” She grabbed her phone as soon as they reached home and sent a text to Brian. Without hesitation, she sent him the address of the venue.“Why the urgent call? Aren't you supposed to be with your husband by now?” Brian demanded to see Cynthia. She couldn't voice a word but only threw an expre
CHAPTER 60BLACKLIST CYNTHIA Cynthia's feet got stuck on the spot for a few seconds. Everyone was beginning to wonder what could be wrong.She turned, hoping that it was Grey's voice and she'd see him waving at her to stop right there, but she realized it was only a whisper from her weird imaginations as she was only able to be met by his angry eyes glaring at her. His expression was deeply bathed in a dangerous frown that she can't predict the outcome if she fails to comply with the apology conditions.Right behind her, on her left-hand side, she sighted Brian, who winked at her and shook his head as their eyes met.She could read from his expression that he was not in support of her apologizing, but what would be her fate with Grey if she decided to go by what a total stranger wants? Besides, she has not accomplished her mission in the Shun’s family yet.“Miss Ricks, I'm sincerely sorry for what happened yesterday. Please find a place in your heart to forgive me,” Cynthia said a