“Javier… Let’s get a divorce!”It was to be Javier Kersey’s 24th birthday tomorrow and this was what Selena Lewis was telling him tonight.Even though Selena had been picking fights up and down and digging out flaws in their relationship, it had never crossed Javier’s mind that he would be receiving a “special” gift like this on the night before he turned 24. Seated on the couch in the living room, Javier tried to salvage the relationship after a momentary lapse.“Selena, my birthday’s tomorrow and I wanted to give you a surprise, you know, a special present for—”“No need.” Selena waved dismissively before Javier could finish his sentence.“I can’t bear to see you work so hard—an office worker in the day and part-time food delivery man at night. A surprise gift bought using your hard work and sweat? I don’t need it. That’s too much on you, too exhausting.”Javier looked hopeful, his gaze brimming with delight when he looked up.“I don’t think it’s hard at all. Selena, for you,
Javier and Selena went down from their apartment together around nine the next morning. While they were waiting for a cab by the road, Javier offered her a last chance.“Do you want to reconsider your decision?”Selena did not even spare him a glance. “No.”Right after her prompt decline, her phone rang inside her brand new purse. When she pulled it out, Javier saw that it was a new phone. Judging by the logo on the back, the cellphone was a collaboration model with Porsche. Selena glanced at the name on the screen and walked off to the side. As she picked up the call, her voice dripped with honey and sounded incredibly sweet. That honeyed voice had once belonged only to Javier, but it was now enjoyment for the man on the other end of the line. Since they were over, Javier did not comment as he flagged down a passing cab. Opening the car door, he gestured for Selena who had just ended her call to get in.From when they had known each other, he had always been a gentleman. And now
Terry was intoxicated by Ciara’s beauty but once he heard what she had said, he was infuriated, especially after seeing his beloved car being squashed into a pancake.But before he could say anything, Ciara walked up to him with her long legs which were cladded in a pair of black tights. Stunned, Terry fell under the bewitching gaze of the lady’s eyes. It was as if they were sucking his soul away. When the girl reached him, she said threateningly with a grin on her face, “Keep staring and I’ll dig your eyes out, yeah?”She was smiling but Terry felt chills running down his spine and he unconsciously averted his gaze.No longer bothered with Terry, Ciara went to Selena and pinched the girl’s chin while raising her face like she was teasing the latter. After some scrutiny, Ciara giggled. Her gaze was mocking.“My brother said that you’re beautiful, inside and out, and married you despite our family’s protest. We offended the Soroys because of this and grandpa got so angry that he ban
Ciara went back to Javier’s side after sneering at Selena.When she saw the man’s blank face, she stuck her tongue out at him and hugged him as a peace offering. She burrowed her head in Javier’s embrace and asked softly, “Javy, I was wrong, okay? Save me some pride, don’t scold me in front of outsiders…”Javier was honestly powerless against his younger sister. Ruffling her hair, he slung an arm around her shoulders, and together, they walked toward the Rhino GX.Selena had always thought that Javier did not know how to drive but it was today that she realized the man could drive and he could drive rather smoothly. With a step on the accelerator, Selena watched as the large tank sped off into the distance. For some time, she stood there stunned, her cheeks throbbing from the slaps she had received.Suddenly, she threw herself at Terry, who stood equally stunned beside her, and shook his shoulders fervently. “Terry, he was acting, right? He must’ve emptied his pockets to hire that
They then suddenly heard a folder being slammed against a glass door. The sound was not loud but it immediately quieted the commotion.The noise was followed by the appearance of a woman in a white, short-sleeved, business suit and skirt holding onto a folder. As she walked in, she chided, “Are all of you so free? Good chat huh? All right then, I’ll be withholding your pay for this morning except for Javier’s. We can use that money to organize a tea party next time, so you all can chat as you snack!”It was Jade Odell, a 27-year-old with a pretty face and a rocking body. The tight-fitting business suit somehow looked sexy on her. Nonetheless, no one dared to try anything funny with her because she was the general manager of their company, Beacon Tires.Upon being criticized, the employees promptly ducked their heads and swallowed back the indignation they felt no matter how resentful they were. The most they could do was grumble in their mind, ‘This is all that lowlife Javier’s faul
Javier stayed behind in the office, waiting for Jade to return and to become the company’s biggest shareholder. But before Jade had returned, Selena and Terry walked in first. Once Selena stepped into the office, Sean went up to her all huff.“Just in time, Selena. Pay us back on behalf of Javier. That scum snitched on us to the boss and pointed the finger at us when we were just cracking a harmless joke. Now, we have to take a half-day pay cut because of him. You should be responsible for this! Give us back the money!”Selena was stunned from being shouted at the moment she stepped in. It took her a while before she understood the entire situation from her noisy harping coworkers and her blood boiled. They were already divorced but the impoverished man was still embarrassing her! She yanked open her purse, pulled out her divorce papers, and raised them up high so everyone could see them.“Look here, okay?! I’ve gotten a divorce from Javier and this is the cert. From this today fo
Jade stood in front of the window of her office, shaking in anger as she tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill over her red-rimmed eyes. She was livid. Albert Warnock dared to blackmail her into that kind… that kind of relationship?!Jade would never agree to something like that. She was running an enterprise, she was not selling herself!At the same time, she blamed herself for not being experienced enough and for falling into such a despicable trap. Despite that, after wallowing in self-regret, she still had to face the current predicament she was in…For the later stages of production, she was short of 950 thousand dollars. How was she going to fill the gap? Would she have to watch this tire company go bankrupt?As Jade furrowed her brows in misery, someone knocked on her door and entered the office. She wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand and took a deep breath to calm herself, trying to conceal as much of her inner turmoil as possible.When she
Jade’s pretty face froze in shock. Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that Javier was actually serious and would transfer 1.5 million dollars to the company account. It took her a good ten seconds before she came back to reality and asked in disbelief, her eyes wide open in shock, “Where did you get so much money?!”“The wind blew them to me; the rain showered them on me; they grew out of the pot plants too…”He rambled off some nonsense then tapped the index finger of his right hand on the additional clause printed on the contract. Javier continued, “There are actually many ways I can get the money but, right now, I think we should focus on another topic, shouldn’t we?”Looking at where Javier’s finger was pointed, Jade immediately understood what he meant. A delicious pink flushed over her fair cheeks as a look of embarrassment appeared on her face. Now, she felt that her actions earlier had been too hasty. She should have let Javier brag all he wanted just now. Wh
As Bernadetta launched a barrage of kicks against the restaurant door, Mrs. Greene summoned 120% of her strength, holding the fort. The older woman had made a living terrorizing others with absurd accusations and downright unreasonable demands, but this time, she had met her match. Bernadetta James put the “man” in the word “woman”—in that she resorted to violence as soon as things escalated. In the end, it took both Mrs. Greene’s apology and a deal to provide Javier and Bernadetta with three days’ meals, all free of charge, to make the young woman stop. Then—“because I actually have a weakness against people sincerely appealing to my better angels,” according to Bernadetta—she amended the peace offer, changing the three days’ free meals to…a week’s worth. Back in the inn, Javier expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Bernadetta for rescuing him. “I can’t thank you enough for standing by my side when I needed it the most, Bern. But I can thank you a bit more if you refrain from using t
Mrs. Greene opened her flap and unlocked the floodgate, the spit during her tirade so profusive that she could water an old lady’s lawn. “It’s him, officers! It’s all him! He did this to his own camera just to remove himself as a suspect, but we know better than that! He’s the guy who stole my goddamn lingerie!”She turned and trained her finger on Javier. “You vile, disgusting, degenerate piece of sh*t! Ptooey!”‘Back at you! I'd rather spend the night with my left hand than with you!’ By this point in the morning, Bernadetta had arrived at work. Her heels clicked onto the floor as she sauntered toward the commotion. As soon as she heard what had transpired, she laughed, looking clearly amused. She trained her perfectly manicured finger on Javier and piled on. “Oh, it was him. I can testify to that! He stole Mrs. Greene’s bra because he is…the Lingerie Phantom Thief! By day, he is Javier Kersey. At night, he is Jo Ker, the Bra Stealer!” Javier threw his arms up in exasperation
Javier shook his head. By the time his vision was back to normal, the dog was gone. It had escaped! “What kind of hell spawned this little sh*t?!” Javier wondered to himself aloud. “Was this really an effect of the world changing? Is this an example of mutation because of the Storm? Or is there something else at play?”Baffled and unsure what to think, Javier returned to the dorm and told the residents to open the door. Inside, he found Florence huddling the frightened kids closely. She was white from fear, and yet in the presence of vulnerable kids, she had assumed the role of the protector without a second thought. “Hush, it’s alright! It was fake. Someone pulled a terrible prank and put on this white sheet and…” Javier made up a fib to explain the haunting away exactly because the truth could land him in a mental institution. No one would believe him—and for good reason too!Javier drove Florence back to the Yuzuian restaurant, where the latter’s electric scooter was. While
A resentful wail—interspersed only by sobs that sounded more like someone was being strangled—was echoing in the middle of the night while Javier and Florence could not see even a single soul out there? Animated by the power of “hell, naw!”, Florence dove into Javier’s arms for protection. Her hands were clasped firmly on either side of her head, hoping to block out the ghastly demand in her ears. Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that even a crowbar could not pry them open.Javier himself was just as terrified. He would have felt better if he could see the source of the voice rather than just hear a woman sobbing about getting her head back. At least he would know what he was up against! But just hearing it without any visuals at all?! Nooooope!Then, Florence hugged him in a “help-me!” sort of way. She was soft and supple—damn, that sexy figure in combination with her silky-smooth skin sure was welcoming. She was warm, and damn did she smell good! Nothing competed with fea
The dog barked in protest as it pointed its paw at Javier with the intensity of a mob before executing a monarch. The flames in its eyes were so bright that they could incinerate Javier into ashes in milliseconds. In the end, though, all that protest was for naught. Constance tied it up in the parking garage, while Javier watched in glee. Ah, sweet, sweet revenge! The stupid dog had thought it could set him up, had it? That would teach it!The look the Pomeranian shot him almost felt like a threat: ‘Just you f*cking wait, hooman!’‘Wait for what? How much can a stupid b*tch like you do to me?’ Javier scoffed in his mind. Now that the four-legged pest was gone, Javier turned back to Constance and talked about the new orphanage. As it turned out, despite the old woman’s sentiments for the building she had founded, she was a lot less obstinate and unreasonable as she might appear. “I mean, I don’t object to it completely. I know the new place is gonna be better, but…” She faltered a
Florence called half an hour later to tell him where they’d be having dinner. After leaving the inn in Bernadetta’s care, he hurried to the venue. Florence had picked a newly-opened Yuzuian restaurant. Javier had never liked Yuzuian restaurants, but since Florence had invited him, courtesy stopped him from asking the woman to change their meeting venue. He found Florence quickly enough and sat across from her. They placed their orders, and Javier began his performance: He started sighing and doing his best to look forlorn. It intrigued Florence enough to ask what was wrong, and Javier told her about his unfortunate beef with Constance that day.“It’s so unfair, man! Why would I bully a dog for no reason?” he moaned. “I’m sure Aunt Constance misunderstood. You’re a knightly, heroic, kind man! How could someone like you possibly get off on hurting a dog? I’m sure Aunt Constance was just too worried about the dog’s welfare to think things through. She didn’t mean it. I can vouch for
Herschel was dressed quite sharply today. It was the full ensemble—black leather shoes, black slacks, a white collar, and last but not least, the good old oil-slicked hair. The typical look of a high-ranking office worker, just as Javier had requested. Ordering him to get in his car, Javier asked, “You brought all the stuff I told you to?”“Yo, I would never forget the stuff my boss told me to bring. I’ve got all the preparations down pat. You can check ‘em if you don’t trust me,” Herschel replied. He fished an ID and some documents out of his leather bag. “See? All the documentation a journalist in the most important room of a news agency would have.”After a round-check and some instructions, Javier sent Herschel on his way to complete his mission. The man was strangely reluctant, though. “Boss, you told me you decided to work in that inn, right? Does that mean, you know, that you’re gonna call me ‘boss’ while you’re there?”Javier had almost forgotten he had mentioned this. It
Javier’s suspicion turned to Constance Hellman’s white Pomeranian. He turned to the director’s office and met the dog’s eyes. With its paws on the windowsill, it hoisted itself up to look out of the window. Seeing the dog cracking a lopsided grin and baring its fangs—beaming as smugly as a teacher’s pet who had managed to subdue everyone through the power of being the boss’s favorite—made it look both amusing and chilling. It would have been had the dog not caught Javier’s gaze, suddenly dropped the smile, and put on a face that seemed to be saying, ‘I’m just your average dog! Nothing to see here!’And then it feigned—yes, feigned—a yawn as its one last measure to cover up the fact that it had been laughing smugly to itself. ‘What. The. Actual. F*ck?!’ Javier thundered in his mind. ‘B*tch’s a natural actress! What’s it doing here instead of being interviewed on a talk show after becoming viral on TikTok?’In combination with Russell’s report, the incident inside the director’s of
As Javier was befuddled, Constance rushed in from outside and picked up the white Pomeranian gingerly to carefully check its injured leg.“Oh, baby, what’s the matter? Did you hurt your leg?”The white Pomeranian whined in pain and began twitching upon hearing Constance’s concerned question. This upset Constance so much that she admonished him sternly. “Mr. Kersey, I thought that you were a loving person, but I can’t help doubting your motive now.“I’m skeptical about you taking good care of the kids here when you’d even hit a cute dog!”Javier felt extremely offended. When had he hit the dog? He hurriedly explained, “Madam Hellman, I didn’t do anything!”Constance asked angrily, “You didn’t do anything? Why would it suddenly limp now and whine so pathetically? Why did it hurry over to me? Give me a reasonable explanation!”Javier was in distress as well. “How would I know? It was fine when I was carrying it just now, but it wanted to get down on the floor, so I carefully placed