"Ouch," the boy said softly. He couldn't help but smile because of the pain he was feeling in his knee. He had been running in their yard for almost an hour with a backpack on his back containing heavy rocks. "Stand up! That's not enough punishment for being a rebellious kid. Learn to obey if you don't want me to make you do worse," his father said emphatically his eyes burning with anger. He was scared of those pair of eyes that he couldn't remember when was the last time he looked at them. His father pulled him up violently by picking his bag up even though he was still wearing it. With the weight of what he was carrying even his father had to use force to lift it and remove the bag from him. A throbbing pain from his knee made it difficult for him to stand properly. But even so, he still forced himself to stand properly for fear that his father would be even angrier with him if he saw the tiredness in him. His father simply dropped his bag containing rocks on the grass and
To this day, Arthur still cannot believe the words that Bonifacio said earlier. If he hadn’t expected that revelation, what could Vincent have? "Thank you," he said to the bartender after handing him his drink.He is still at the party and he has no plans to leave because he has Vincent's permission to stay even for a while. It was late at night so the people around him were almost drunk. Gradually, the laughter he heard around him grew louder and louder as well as the sound of the glasses clicking to each other. He drank from his glass of champagne as he just silently watched the people around him. They have a lot of problems that need a solution and questions that need to be answered and among them, they have another serious problem and that is the revelation that Bonifacio said. "A glass of martini please," said the man who just sat down on the stool next to him. Arthur turned to the man and he immediately hid his face with his hand upon seeing the man's face. "Stop hiding.
"Here's your breakfast," Balthazar said before sliding a plate onto the table where Sophia is. She is staring blankly in the open window of the dining area as she tries to fully wake herself up. Last night, she did nothing but rest inside Balthazar's condo unit while he is away to attend a party. Staying in his condo and being alone the whole night gives her the freedom to do the things she wanted to do without being shy or worried about what will Balthazar think if she does that certain thing. Balthazar sits on the chair across from her and put his plate on the table as well. Sophia's eyes are still on the window and she didn't even move a muscle. "Still sleepy?" Balthazar asked in an attempt to get her attention but her eyes remained on the window. She seemed too preoccupied. He moved his chair closer to the table and cleared his throat while his eyes is still on Sophia. But no matter how much noise he make, she still did not move so he decided to give her a tap on her should
Celestine blinked and looked around. White ceilings and pale walls were the things she first saw. Although it is too much work for her to just simply raise her hand, she still tries to do it. She lift her arm with all the energy that is left in her then she looked at the back of her hand. The back of her hand was swollen from the needles that pierced through her veins. She winced when she abruptly move it. After feeling the pain, it was only then that she realized that she is still in the hospital. She is safe. That’s what she keeps reminding herself. To this day, she is still worried about what happened to her. In fact, she no longer hoped that she would survive when she was about to lose her breath underwater. That is why she is very grateful to Lord God for saving her, that regardless of what happened she is still alive. "Good afternoon, Miss Celestine. My name is Carla, and I'll be the nurse in charge to take care of you until you get discharged," said the woman on her side tha
"I didn't know you go back to work now," Victor stated as he dropped himself on the couch. He slept for seven hours last night which he never had for almost two years because he spend his time mostly working and being inside of the office all the time. He likes the exhaustion he gets after working because that only means that he had a very productive day and he finished his work ahead of time. And since he is back in the country, there is not much work that he needs to do other than monitoring Venedict and making sure that their business is in a good condition. Having enough sleep made him have all the energy to pester Venedict early in the morning. Venedict's necktie is not in the right position, he has dark circles under his eyes, there are empty coffee cups in the trash bin, and he got a lot of paper works to the other side of his office desk which Victor thinks that the ones he already finished. "If you're just here to pester me or distract me from finishing shitloads of wo
"W-What are you saying?" Celestine said in disbelief after hearing what Lander had said. She could hardly believe it. From the beginning, she becomes honest about how she felt about Lander. He knows that she can't reciprocate the love he's giving so when she heard what he said, she couldn't make herself believe it because it seemed like Lander didn't accept her rejection of him before, something she didn’t expect he would do. She put the bracelet on the bed then she sternly looked at Lander. "We've talked about this right?" "Yeah, but let me at least explain myself first before concluding anything," he said, desperately wanting her to listen to him. "You are probably the only woman who will make me feel like this but don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all these things to still pursue what I feel for you but me, to finally talk to you as someone who finally accepts his defeat." He takes a deep breath. "I know this is all wrong timing because you're in the hospital right now and w
Kingston stretched his body and yawned. He was exhausted from working out in the gym that he can't help but take a nap which lead him into waking up late in the afternoon. He set an alarm however, probably because of his exhaustion, his whole system did not recognize the sound of the alarm. He wiped the sleep on his eyes before getting out of his bed to finally start his day. It's been awhile since he worked out at the gym and he wasn't surprised anymore to feel soreness in his muscles. He has a lot of things to do yet he overslept so he had no other choice but to cancel some of his plans for the day. "Ah, fuck," he murmured as his legs tremble with every step that he take. He stopped walking and reached for his phone on the table and checked the messages he received. Upon scrolling, he caught the message coming from Belmont. He opened their chatbox and read his message. From: Belmont Sir, Miss Celestine finally gain consciousness and Mr. Mogilevich will stay in the resthous
"Boss, we're just confirming if you will stay in the resthouse overnight because Miss Celestine is looking for you since she woke up," Nicholas said to Vincent over the phone while his eyes were on the empty hallway of the hospital. He is standing because his body ached from sitting on the stainless bench for hours while he is trying to sleep in a sitting position. After minutes of trying, he failed and so he just decided to stand. He heard from other associates that Vincent is planning to stay overnight at the resthouse and since he doesn't know if it was true, he needed to confirm it himself because Celestine is looking for Vincent and he couldn't find the right excuse to answer her question. Vincent rests his elbows on the railings of the balcony while he is staring blankly at the scenery in front of him. He let out a deep sigh. "She's looking for me?" he asked to confirm. "Yes, Boss. She's been looking for you since she woke up. She's asking me questions I don't know how
"V-Vincent..." All she remembered was throwing the gun somewhere and she ran towards Vincent. His eyes are wide open as well as his mouth. He's not moving. She tried to wake him by touching his chest yet after minutes of sobbing and trying to save him, nothing happened. His chest is not moving, it was as if he is asleep but his eyes is open. He's not breathing anymore. "N-No, Vincent. Wake up, c-cmon... Wake up p-please," she whispered to his ear even though she knew to herself that no matter what she do, it's already too late. She hugged his body and she sobbed in his chest, hoping that it was just a bad dream even though she still can feel the intensityof the gun when she fired it. "Celestine, let's go. C'mon, you need to leave now. Any minute from now Vincent's men will come to check on what was happening here. We need to go now." Celestine looked at the woman who suddenly speak. It was Sophia. "S-Sophia..." Sophia's eyes is roaming around the mansion checking if Vincent
"Clean the cell, leave no trace of his blood there, burn the gun, his clothes, and his apartment," Vincent authoritively said as he was washing his hands on the sink. His men immediately nodded his head after hearing what his boss had said. They were having a good time talking while eating until they heard a gunshot coming inside of the cell. Everything happened so fast that the the only thing they know was thinking that their boss had planted a bullet in Kingston's head but it wasn't what they are expecting because when they go to see the cell, it was Kingston who is holding their boss' gun. "What the fuck are you still doing here? Didn't you hear what I asked you to do?!" Vincent shouted when he noticed that the associate is still standing next to him like an idiot. Vincent's shout was enough for the associate to get back to his senses and get out of the bathroom and do what his boss asked him to do. Vincent closed his eyes firmly and threw his head back while he is clenching
"Let me go!" She had been screaming yet no one seem to hear her, they are ignoring her. She is inside of a van with five men inside, all of them are wearing masks and they are all silent. There is nothing that could be hear inside except for her screams that don't seem to bother the five men. She closed her eyes firmly and stopped trying to untie her wrists on her back for a moment. She has to remind herself that she had been in this position before, her getting kidnapped by the enemies is something that is not new for her and instead of feeling scared she should think of a way to escape from them, though it might be impossible to do that because what is the strength of a woman compared to five strong men surrounded her. "Good thing you finally get tired of screaming," the man driving the car said while he is chewing a gum. She opened her eyes. "If you think that Vincent will come to save me, you better think again. You got the wrong person. I am not Sophia, you should've taken h
"Fuck," Kingston murmured when he tried to make a movement. His body is sore from all the punches that he had received. He doesn't know how long Vincent had been keeping him inside of the cell because he couldn't see any light from the outside. All he wanted was Vincent's men discovered a new hobby and it is to beat him up every fucking minute. He spit blood on the cold tile floor then he tried his best to move his body for him to comfortably lie on the floor. As he was trying his best to move, he is holding his breath firmly. He can endure the pain but his body needs a rest. He never felt so restless his entire life until Vincent kept him inside of the cell that makes him feel like he is visually impaired. "Fuck this," he continued cursing as he was trying his best to quicken his movement so the pain he might going to feel will be all at once yet his body is not cooperating. He can feel the tiredness of his body. Every inch of his being wants to rest yet in his mind, he keep tel
Celestine stopped walking as soon as she figured out that Saoirse is no longer following her. She turned around to see what her manager was doing and she found her a bit far from where she is with a devilish smile. At first, she is hesitant to call her attention but then she remembered why somehow she wanted to have this conversation with her manager. "Hey! Everything's fine?" she asked loudly, making sure that despite the distance between them she will still be able to hear her. Saoirse who was startled by her voice immediately composed herself, remove the devilish smile on her face, and act as if she had done nothing wrong then she jogged towards Celestine's direction. "Sorry, I just had to reply to that important text message," she explained as soon as she reached Celestine's side. "Anyways, I know a place here where we can talk privately." What Saoirse just said made Celestine's eyebrow raise. She's not in her manager's side for months now unlike before that they are usually t
"Good morning, Miss," the maid greeted as soon as she opened her eyes. Last night, she wasn't able to sleep. She doesn't know if it is about the temperature or is it about the idea that Vincent and her isn't fine. But between the two, she choose to believe that it is because of the room temperature. "W-What time is it already?" she asked as she was helping herself to sit on the bed. The windows in her room is open yet the sunlight is not hurting her skin, giving her an idea that she woke up early today. She looked at the maid confusedly. Maids are not allowed to enter the room, not just her room but in any room without asking for permission that she is confused for why the maid is inside of her room the moment she open her eyes. Even though she wants to point out about the maid tresspassing inside of her room she just decided to shrug the idea off. She wanted to start her morning in a good mood since she slept with a heavy heart last night so instead of scolding the maid she just p
"H-Here's your coffee." She slightly tilted the tray that she was holding. Vincent lick his lower lip and run his fingertips to his scalp. He doesn't have an idea of how he supposed to deal with her after knowing almost everything that she had done. He couldn't believe everything that is on the papers. He couldn't believe everything that Kingston said. Everything is an act of betrayal. Everything isn't true. Celestine planned it, she tried to be in control of his life and he never did question her, it also somehow his fault yet it wouldn't justify the fact that she is the mastermind. She did what she did and he wouldn't let her fall for her stupid game anymore. She might had already plan how everything is going to end for him but he will change it. He will change the ending and it is him who will have the loudest laugh in the finish line that she had prepared for him. "I didn't ask you to bring that to me." He turned his back on her then he pulled his sleeves up. She, on the othe
Celestine hit her shoulder when she felt a mosquito pinching bite. Its blood was on her palm. It's dead. She grimaced, disgusted by the blood that is on her palm. She looked away from her it and wipe it on the hem of her t-shirt. The blood in her palm is something that doesn't freak her out anymore like she used to. Seeing blood anywhere becomes a normal scenario for her ever since she met Vincent. She glance in her palm and even though the blood wasn't there anymore, she can still see it; her hands that is covered by blood. She closed her eyes firmly to keep herself calm but instead of avoiding the idea that her mind had made up for her, she smell the blood. She can smell it. Blood that almost smells like hers, the scent that she's been trying to get out of her system. That smell, it was so familiar. A shovel suddenly entered her mind. The dried red stain in the shovel is what brings her back to the past that she's been trying to get off of her mind but couldn't. "Miss, are
"Did you already sent the letter?" The man slightly nodded his head. "Yes, Sir." "Are you sure that she will receive the letter?" "Certainly, Sir," he answered with great confidence. "Good. Go back to your work now." He rest his back on the backrest of his couch. The letter successfully sent to Celestine, he just hope that the letter reach her before Vincent get to read them. Just when he thought he can finally have his fifteen minutes break, his phone suddenly rang. He pushed himself to reach for the phone on the other side of his table. He picked it up and put the phone against his ear. "Who is this?" he asked. "How are you, Bonifacio?" said the man on the other line with a devilish smirk lingered on his lips. That voice, he knows that voice very well, he know it so well that he immediately recognized the person calling. "Venedict," he said. Venedict chuckled. "Guess you still remember me." He clenched his jaw tightly. They haven't heard anything from Venedict sinc