“Ah, Dwayne, it's you…” Ciara enounced with a wide smile on her face. “You are here today again.”“Yeah, I can't help it.” He replied with a slight shoulder shrug. “What else can I do when you have an unwanted…”She cuts him off abruptly, interrupting his words. “Don't say, Dwayne. Don't!” She told him, earning a smug grin from him. Ciara sighed, shaking her head lightly. “Come in…”“Eh —thanks.” He said, closing the door behind him. “I thought you were still angry at me and might deny me entrance, but it seems I'm wrong.”“It's not too late, I can still oust you out of my house now within a blink of an eye.” She threatened, her facial expression far from friendly. “—you are just a guest here, you should watch how you talk to the house owner.”Dwayne laughed at her. “You can't do that to your only." He was forced to press his lips into a thin line due to the hard glare he earned from Ciara. “Alright… alright, I promise to be on my best behavior.”Ciara raised an eyebrow, clearly not c
Ciara breathed in slowly as she tapped gently on the door for a couple of seconds but got no response. This time, she banged her fist louder on the door. “Dwayne…" She called out in a high-pitched voice. “Are you up already?”Still no response.Ciara was alarmed. “It's better you get up now and open this door before I break it down.” She said as she banged on the door. “I'm not joking, Dwayne!”She placed her hand on the door knob and attempted to open the door but was beaten to it. The door was open from inside, which made Ciara tripped and staggered inside, Dwayne was quick to catch her by wrist, preventing from falling.“Ciara!” Dwayne exclaimed, holding on to her. He looked worried, his brows drawn together. Ciara regained her feet as she jerked off his grip from her wrist, giving him a stern look.“Are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't hear you knocking, I was… I was still in bed.” He trailed off, his cheeks turning pink. “I didn't mean to startle you, I'm truly sorry.”Ciara's cheeks
Dwayne managed to recover himself from the trance he was in —shaking Elsie's threat from his mind. “I won't be swayed by her threat? I won't let her lay a finger on my family or harm even a strand of their hair!”Dwayne said to himself in determination before he rushed through the stairs, down to the dinning room, startling Ciara who unconsciously dropped her spoon on the floor.Ciara frowned at his behavior, clearly displeased. “What's with the rush?” She demanded, her frowned tightened. “You just scared the daylight out of me.”Dwayne breathed in slowly, raising his left palm in apology. “I'm sorry, I think I forgot something very important.” He told her in reply. “You can go on with your breakfast, I never mean to startle you.”“You should be careful, Dwayne. You should stop getting worried over nothing.” She cautioned him, wiping her shirt due to the crumbles that feel on it. “—you can't caution Herzl if you're being this way.”Dwayne picked the spoon that fell off her hand, placi
Immediately Aunt Elsie walked off from Dwayne's presence, she hastened her footsteps and soon finds at herself at his doorpost. She smirked and slowly opened the door, she peeked into the room. She was mesmerized by it exterior decor —it was a simple yet elegant room.She entered the room, awestruck, but she quickly shakes the thought off her head. Likewise, she dropped the phone with him on his bed and frantically started searching the drawer under his dressing table.Aunt Elsie stopped her search with a smug grin on her face after finding an olive oil in the drawer, she hastily walked up to the bathroom, greasing the whole floor with the oil. She was quick with it, as she did not waste any more time in exiting the room, already assured that no one had seen her.She returned downstairs quickly before she would cause any suspicion. She walked towards the dinning room but stopped on her track a few steps away, her brows creased tightly, causing a few lines on her forehead.Furthermore
Dwayne went straight to the bathroom without sparing himself a second to breathe —due to the rush and not being aware of the bathroom floor being greased, he slipped, hitting his head hard on the bathtub.Dwayne's head pounded with pain, causing him to groan loudly. A cold chill immediately sent a ripple through him, realizing that he was bleeding profusely from the impact of the fall. He was disoriented and barely able to comprehend what was happening to him.He tried to scream, but it seemed like he suddenly lose his voice. No matter how hard he tries to scream, he could barely hear his own voice.He attempted to stand up but couldn't due to the excruciating pain in his back and his neck was hurting like hell —he had a dislocation in his neck due to how hard he hit his head on the bathtub.Slowly, he felt his life sipping away from his body with no one around to help him. He seethes in agony, crawling towards the door.Dwayne's limbs felt heavy and numb, as if he was setting out to
Gerald arrived at the company but was surprised to hear that Ciara is yet to resume for the day. He wondered what might be keeping her at home, after almost three hours of waiting for her but to no avail, he decided to call her.He tried several times, but her line was unreachable, he was deeply worried and doubted she'll be doing just fine on her own. —in as much as he tries to keep up with positive thinking, he couldn't ignore the eerie feeling he keeps having within himself.After a while, Gerald decided to try calling Ciara's home number, hoping to speak with her aunt that resides with her. After a few rings, someone picked up.“Hello…?” Came a female voice on the other end of the line.“Hi, is this Ciara's home line?” Gerald asked. “I'm trying to reach Ciara, but her phone is unreachable.”“Yes, I'm her aunt.” Aunt Elsie replied. “I'm afraid I can't help you at the moment, she has left for the hospital a couple of hours ago.”Gerald felt a twinge of concern. “Hospital, you say?”
“Ciara suffered a severe shock when she heard about Dwayne's death, and this had a significant impact on her mental health.” Dr. Bethany explained, her voice laced with concern at the news she's passing.In a nutshell, Gerald felt devastated upon hearing the doctor's explanation. He could see the same look of fear and worry on Aunt Elsie's face, and knew they were both deeply concerned about Ciara's condition.It's clear they were not only pained at the news but confused, not knowing which one of the news to react towards —either Dwayne's death news or Ciara's mental challenge. It came too sudden and unexpected.“What… what do you mean?” Aunt Elsie asked, her voice trembling. “Is Dwayne truly dead? And Ciara —is she going to be okay?”Dr. Bethany paused for a moment before answering.“I know this is a lot to take in,” Dr. Bethany said, her voice soft and compassionate. “Let's try to take things one step at a time. First, I want to reassure you that while Dwayne's death is indeed a tra
It's been almost a week since the tragedy that befall Ciara —on the flip side, Aunt Elsie felt she had enough already; of her pretence and being there for Ciara when she is basically nothing but a burden to her.Looking after Herzl was a big blow to her guts, she wished she could just toss him aside like a piece of trash or better still, render him in such a useless state as void as his mother's —she just wants anything to take him out of her way.But she knew she can't, no matter how much she wishes for it —because people will talk and rumors would go round, spreading faster than wildfire.‘Dwayne died, his sister struggling with her mental health and his cousin in a poor state?’ Such drastic news as that will only ruin the reputation she globally wanted to build and jeopardize her plans.Aunt Elsie was torn between comforting the little boy —without letting him have a knowledge of his mother's predicament and paying a visit to Ciara at the psychiatric center every day; it was too mu
"There she is..." Jamel whispered but audible enough to Alex's hearing, who only nodded with out a reply as he strode towards Ms. Carter. They both exchanged pleasantries before he had his seat opposite her."It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carter." Alex said as he sat down. Ms. Carter looked at him with an inscrutable expression, her green eyes glittering."The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Alex." she replied, her voice smooth and calm. "I understand you're the CEO of The Williams cooperation. It's quite an impressive company, I've heard lots about it."Alex smiled slightly but it was enough to brighten the atmosphere. "Thank you, but I'm hardly the only one responsible for its success. I'm lucky to have a great team." He uttered, still maintaining his slight smile. "A great team, and a great leader." Ms. Carter vocalized with a few head nod. With out much further ado, she cleared her throat, deciding to go straight to the point. "I supposed you are yet to find a shareholder yet, or ha
The long ride was slow and as well as a quiet one too. Alex sighed for the umpteenth times, unable to fathom the reason behind his sigh that seems not to be coming to an end — of course, he has many reasons for his continuous sigh, but he could not pinpoint which one of it was gnawing at him.Though his mind and thoughts seems to be in fuzzy, he managed to forced his focus on the wheels —he can't repeat the same mistakes twice and this time, he might not be lucky enough and might lose his life. Alex did not want that to happen to me once again, he dreaded the thought of it. He had almost seen death once —he won't face it this time.He's currently facing a lot but losing his life shouldn't be the thought on his mind. His mother —he had stressed her enough with his continuous and never seems to end escapades lately, should he add more to it? No, right? And his daughter too, what would happen to her if she's left behind? Times like this, Alex wished he could turn the hand of time and go
When Lisa walked into her office, she was surprised to find that Judas was not there. On a normal day, Judas would be the first one to greet her upon her arrival. But today, he was nowhere to be found. Lisa was confused and concerned, so she decided to call him to find out what was going on.When she pulled out her phone, she quickly dialed Judas's number. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer after two try. She had wanted to dial the number for the third time but shrug it off, and decided to keep her phone.Just when she was about to do as thought, the phone rang, vibrating softly in her grip. She checked the caller — it was Judas. With a deep frown settling on her face, she reluctantly picked the call. "Hey..." Judas hailed dryly from the other end. "Sorry, I screened your call. I was about parking when you called so I couldn't answer the phone." "Where are you?" Lisa questioned instead, ignoring his excuses. "I just entered my office and find it empty — you aren't her
"I know what I'm saying is true, Lisa." Andy insisted, seeing the doubt in Lisa's eyes. "Since you left for Los Angeles and made me the acting chairman, my father has been pressuring me to take over the company." Andy went as far as explaining every little detail to Lisa not leaving one out of it. He went as far as telling her how Xavier left home since he refuse to dance to his tunes and even him going to apologize to his father thinking maybe he had change. Lisa was dumbfounded after listening to all what Andy had said, even though she had expected those cunning men not to back away easily. The one she mostly find hard to believe was Xavier cutting ties with his son over his petty greed but since it's coming out from Andy's mouth, she has no other choice than to believe it. "— I shouldn't be saying this, but I can't let them hurt you. I've watched you grown up and I see how kind and considerate you've been..." Andy muttered slowly in conclusion. "I won't possibly be at peace if I
As Andy stood there, staring at his father, he knew that their relationship was irreparably broken. No matter what he said or did, he would never be able to repair the damage that had been done.The man standing in front of him was not the father he had once known and loved. He was a stranger, a man consumed by greed and ambition. He was lost to him forever.Slowly, he turned and began to walk away. He didn't look back, didn't say another word. He simply left, and never looked back.Andy couldn't help but wondered how his father had turned this way — at this stage, he's beyond repair and no matter the amount of words said could bring back his old self which seems to be lost forever.‘Am I really doing the right thing?’ He asked himself, giving his actions a second thought. ‘Leaving him and walking out of his life the moment he's alone and needed someone by his side, is it really okay to desert him like this?’He's not alone, he has his brother who are always supporting him, no matter
"Whether it's sinful or not doesn't matter to me." Xavier cut his son off, matching his angry tone. "Did you think I wish to remain hidden while that bitch enjoy all the luxury to herself and her illegitimate kids?"Andy would have calmed down a bit but his father was only adding more fuel to his anger. "How dare you, father..." He uttered repulsively, trying to defend Lisa. "Why would you speak such ill words of her and her kids who had done nothing wrong against you?""Nothing wrong, eh?" Xavier muttered with a scoff. "Her existence alone has wronged me greatly. Now that I'm into it already, I won't back down until I see her got ruined completely."Andy shook his head sideways, the look of disgust that was on his his face deepen. "You aren't worth living with, Mr. Xavier. It's a good thing you left me on your own." He said with scoff. "I see why mom left you two decades, taking Stephanie along with her.""You..." Xavier yelled with anger written all over him, pointing his index fing
Ever since Andy could remember, he has never been anxious as he is at the moment. He wasn't even sure of the best words to say to his father when he see him. It was at that moment it all dawned on him that he has not planned all of these well enough which made him let out a low but tiring sigh.The moment Andy stepped in and as though his father had been expecting him to come, Andy was welcomed by his father's blazing gaze — if only looks were capable of ending one's life, Andy was sure to have dropped death on spot."What is this ungrateful brat doing here?" Xavier's thundered in anger, his voice laced with hatred and he did not hesitate to give his son that same look as well —hatred, anger, frustration and fury! He turned towards his brother's direction. "Fred, why did you allow this boy in?""I think he has something to say to you." Fred muttered, though audibly to Xavier's hearing with a slight shoulder shrug, collapsing on the nearest couch. "Let's listen to what he has to say. H
It was barely past noon when Andy had returned home from work that afternoon, he couldn't come back home the previous day because it was already late in the night when he finished from the theatre room so he took his rest at the hospital instead. Andy sat on his favorite couch with a heavy sigh of relief but his relief did not last more than a few moment, because his relief was swallowed with his gnawing feeling of emptiness. Everything seems empty to him — and he felt as though he's alone in the whole big world. He knew something was amiss somewhere and tried figuring it out. Alas! He figured out that it was the absence of his father. He had missed his father's presence in the house, his nagging and miss seeing his scowling face as well —all of these had made the past five years bearable for him but for the past one week, he has no one else to do all of these to him. Andy couldn't help but blamed himself for the emptiness he was feeling, he was the one who had sent his own biolog
Once they were gone, Lisa let out a sigh of relief. She was glad to have a moment to herself, and she was looking forward to the peace and quiet. Although she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about sending the kids away but she had things to discuss about with Judas.Judas moved closer and sat down on the seat opposite Lisa's desk. Lisa, as well, sat down in her usual position, her eyes fixed on the man before her. His facial expression says it all, of course he has a lot o say to Lisa and could not wait to be permitted so he could relay his words. "It seems you have something to say, Judas." Lisa finally voiced out after observing Judas for a while. She's not too blind not to have noticed —she knows Judas too well. "What have you come up with this time around?" "Uh, yeah." He nodded his head in agreement, adjusting slightly on his seat. "You can guess..." his voice was drawling and far from usual.Lisa raised her left brow slightly. "Beats me. What are you up to this time, Jude