“Mr Steffan is at the hall already. He said to bring you after we dropped him.” Isaac said, walking up to Racheal.She pressed her lips together and nodded. She walked behind him to the waiting car, and got in. The drive to the main building was quiet. She got down and could hear the music from the windows before she even entered the building.Racheal walked in to see the party was in full swing. The attendants were looser and more merry than their first breakfast here. She saw Roslyn chatting excitedly with Robert Sanders and his wife. Spencer and Danna Sherrod were in deep discussion as they ate. Steffan was sitting with some younger officials in both Xen’s and Yin’s governments. He was listening, but appeared distant as those around him talked and laughed, obviously eager to please him.He spotted her standing, and stood up. There was a vacant seat beside him. She walked carefully towards it. He pulled the seat out for her, she sat and adjusted it.“Thank you.” She said. H
“I can take you out of Yin tonight.” Maxwell said.Racheal froze. She looked at him, and he nodded. “What has gotten over you?”“Can’t you see it? I have not stopped loving you. I made a mistake, all you wanted to do was leave. If I had left with you, you would not be stuck with the Sherrods now.”Racheal watched him, wondering if he was the same person who had broken her heart before. She closed her eyes to push away the thoughts of her clinging to his legs, and begging him not to leave that day.When she opened her eyes, he was close to her and staring down at her with those light brown eyes she was very familiar with.“Don’t fight it. We can leave now, we can still do all the things you wanted to do. Everything can go back to the way it used to be. You always wanted to go to Venice. I can take you there.” He said, stepping close to her.“Sweet Racheal, my sweet Racheal.” He whispered,And that snapped her out of her trance.She stepped back.“You are pathetic. So you break my he
Racheal watched Steffan get up and walk out, before she got out of bed. What did he plan to do with the permit, return it to his father?She did not ask him though, even as she sat beside him on their way to Jade’s house. She had no idea how best to talk to him, because he was almost like a stranger now.“Do you think you are pregnant?” He asked suddenly.“What?” She asked, startled.“Do you think you are? Is that why you have been this way lately?” He asked. She wanted to ask him what way? But she glanced at Justin and the chauffeur in front and said nothing. Steffan clicked a button and the demarcating glass went up, separating them from the pair in front.He turned to look at her. “They cannot hear you now.”She sighed. He had not talked to her for so long, and this is the first thing he decided to talk about? She blamed the loud Roslyn and nosy Danna Sherrod for this. She hated discussing this whole baby topic with anyone. First her father, then Danna Sherrod, Roslyn, now h
Jade held Racheal’s hand as she walked the couple to the door.She hugged her close. “I hope you can make it to our party this weekend.”Racheal nodded. With the way Steffan was acting, she would likely go to that party to de-stress.She turned to see Jade was looking at Steffan, with a hint of anger in her eyes.“All Racheal did, she had no evil intentions.”Racheal glanced at Steffan, he frowned and said nothing.“See you soon.” Jade squeezed her hand, and watched them leave.“You told her we were fighting?” Steffan asked, as they got into the car.“You think I need to tell anyone we are fighting?” She frowned at him. Perhaps the alcohol was making her bolder. “People are not blind.”They said nothing as they drove to the vault.She wondered if this was the v
Racheal did not look at Delbert again before they left.In the car, she could not stop thinking about what Chloe said.Madame Dalloz had said Spencer bombed that camp.Was the woman lying to her? Why would she lie to her? And if not Spencer Sherrod, who would bomb the camp?“Delbert said he would only give you the key to the safe,” Steffan said.Racheal turned to look at him. So that was why he was in such a foul mood.“Why don’t you just take it from him?” He asked her.“I don’t want anything to do with the Dallozs anymore, I told you already.”“You don’t have to be friends with them, just take the key from him.” Steffan frowned in irritation.She looked ahead and said nothing.He’d better go find Ben’s daughter and get her copy.
Steffan stepped out of the bathroom some minutes later.“It’s negative,” he said.Racheal was staring in his eyes to gauge what he felt. But his eyes showed nothing.She could not see whether the result brought him relief, or saddened him.“We still need to take that blood test to be sure,” he said.“I am not pregnant, I don't feel pregnant.” She said in frustration.Why was everyone insisting on this? She might even be barren for all she knew.She was not going to focus her mind and energy on this the way people said her mother had.She did not want to go down that line of desperation.Steffan just looked at her and said, “Rest up.” Then he walked out the door.She sighed.Here she was, hoping that they were on the verge of reconciling.
“How can you turn a son against his own parents? Don’t you have a working conscience anymore?” Danna Sherrod asked.“And you?” Racheal retorted, suddenly feeling anger. “Where was your conscience when you tried to pin a crime you committed on me?”Danna Sherrod frowned.“I could have been your ally here. Maybe your friend even, but you are destroying all the chances of that happening.”“I do not need allies. And you are the last person I want for a friend.” Racheal said, meaning every word of it.“You will regret this.” The woman said, and Raacheal felt her heart sink.Another threat.Now she had to be careful again, and always watch her back.Why could she never get a break?She heard the convoy coming up the driveway.“Come with me.&rd
Steffan placed his hand on Racheal’s waist, and slowly turned her around.“Let's not fight like that again?” Racheal said, tilting her head to look in her eyes.He nodded, and kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled. “Go get dressed.” “Dressed?”“We still have that vacation to go to.” Steffan stepped back, with his hands in his pockets, looking at her.“It’s Tuesday.”“Well, neither of us have to go to work.” Steffan moved close again to run a finger across her collarbone. “And we both deserve it, don’t you think?”She nodded, and turned around into the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, a smile spreading across her face. ***When she stepped out, Steffan was not in the room. She sighed, picked out a sundress, and slid a pair of heels on.“You look lovely.” Steffan appeared at the door.She turned around and smiled at him.“Ready?” He asked. She nodded. He walked forward, and took her hand and her purse.“What are you doing?” She asked, giggling. “He
“Mind Skylar’s head.” Steffan said, watching her get out of the car. Racheal cradled six month-old Skylar’s head in her arms and got out of the car. Steffan turned and walked ahead towards the courthouse. She knew he did not like this, neither did her mother, but she wanted to lead a new life from now on.She would only allow any dispute to be settled by the court no matter how long it took, instead of the torture, killing and all they had done up to the point that she had Sterling.“Maman," Sterling said, peeking his head around his father’s shoulders.“Yes, baby.”“Maman.” He said again, and she smiled at him. Steffan adjusted him in his arms as they walked into the building.It was an informal courtroom, and the biggest case in Xen. This case was what had disgraced Roslyn and made her lose the elections. Journalists waited outside for the final hearing.She and Steffan sat side by side after the judge took her seat, and the accused began to be escorted in by the cops. Roslyl
Racheal followed Steffan into his house quietly. His housekeeper greeted her warmly. She nodded at the woman. She was surprised to see Chef Bennett come out.“Dinner in five minutes, sir.” Then he paused. “Mrs Sherrod.” He bowed.“Make a place for two,” Steffan said. Those were the first words he had said, since she told him she missed him.“Sure, Sir.” Chef Bennett responded.“You kept him?” Racheal asked, as Steffan led the way upstairs. “You liked him.” He said simply.She said nothing more. He surprisingly led the way to his bedroom on the second floor. It was a dark masculine room, wide, dark and intimidating.She stood in the middle, unsure of how to act, or what to do next.He dropped his bag on the bed, and glanced at her.“I am sorry I hurt you.” She said. He paused, midway into sitting on the bed, then started to take his tie off.“That’s rare. Women never apologize.”She made a face at him. But continued anyway. “I was conflicted. I wanted to be with you, but I was
Racheal sat on the toilet bowl, staring at the pregnancy test kit. It clearly read positive. In denial, she took others. They read the same thing.She hurried back to her room and pulled on a dress. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. She sat nervously in the backseat as her chauffeur took her to the hospital.She waited nervously as her blood got drawn, and patiently waited for the doctor.She could not smile back as the doctor said.“Congratulations Mrs Sherrod. Would you like to see your baby?”She climbed the table, and stared at the ceiling as the doctor smeared a cold gel on her flat belly.“You are about seven weeks pregnant.” The doctor said excitedly. “Look at your baby.” She held her breath and turned.She could hear the heartbeat of the fetus as the doctor pointed out where the baby was in the sac. It was so tiny, she burst into tears.The doctor helped her up and soothed her, telling her it was OK to cry, that days like these were an emotional day for
The president is dead did not cover the horror of how Spencer Sherrod had died. He stared at his father’s coffin the next morning as the priest talked on and on. He had wanted to kill this man. He had wanted to kill him with his own hand, so why was he reacting this way to the man’s death?His mind kept going back to how Spencer had looked in the video he had seen. He was headed for a meeting, surrounded by his guards, edgy and nervous, and alone.The old woman had come from the crowd, begging an audience. He had hesitated, but asked them to let her through. The woman had hugged him, even as his guards had yelled that it was against protocol.One had even reached out to pull her away. Then flames. He shook his head as he remembered the explosion sound. They had quickly found out the woman was the journalist’s aged mother. The journalist Spencer had killed at Racheal’s office.He felt someone squeeze his arm. He looked down at the little woman. She was the only good thing in
“We should start moving. I don’t want Limuel’s men to find us here," he said as he stocked the fire. She dropped a plate of Ramen in front of him. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.He did not mind if he lost all his wealth, and became doomed to this kind of life, as long as he had her. She was all he wanted now, all he had ever wanted really from the day he met her.“It will be a few hours still before we can start moving.” She responded. He nodded and picked up his meal. She walked closer and sat beside him. He turned to her, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, enthusiastically, the way he remembered, the way he liked.He loved how much she loved his touch. They were soon grappling at each other, their meal forgotten. He squeezed her warm soft body as she moaned his name and dug into his back. He savored the warmness of her, the fullness of her curve, the lusty way she matched his thrusts, squeezing tight around him.He did not want to
Racheal sat shocked, staring at Steffan’s face, just barely able to see it in the near darkness. But she could see clearly enough the honesty in there. His blue eyes were clear and honest, open and pleading.“You should have said that when I wanted to hear it.” She said, shaking her head, starting to move away. But he held her.“I should have. I was a fool not to have.”“I even told you once that I loved you. You said nothing.”“I am sorry.”“Stop apologising. It won’t fix anything," she said, trying to pull away. She did not have to hear this, she did not want to hear this. It would make leaving him that much more difficult. It was easier walking away from a man who hurt her, and had never admitted to loving her even once. But now…“Racheal.” He said, taking her face between his hands. “I love you. I have always loved you. My heart stops at the thought of losing you. The day Isaac told me you were dying, the day you sent that divorce document, my heart completely stopped beatin
“I thought you changed. Apparently, you did not," Steffan said finally, looking away. “You are still as stubborn and careless as ever.”His words stung her.“Careless? You sound like I got some warning that a certain Limuel was after me and ignored it.”“I tried to warn you. I sent a dozen messages, tried to make an appointment,” he blew up.She shrank back. Well. There was no way she would have known. She had his number blocked, so there was no way she could have seen his messages. She still did not know how he had gotten her new contact number by the way. She could not think of any of her staff who could have given him her personal number.She knew he was in contact with Isaac, but could Isaac have given him the number?“After all that has happened to you, I don’t know how you can still put yourself in danger like this.”“One could say I was in danger, hiding with you in a storm like this. At least Maman would think so.” She said quietly, lowering herself to the floor. That got
“What are you doing?” Racheal asked as she watched Steffan walk towards one of the many couches in the room. He said nothing.He placed a bright flashlight she suspected he must have found wherever he found the axe on the floor, lighting the whole room up. He raised the axe, and began to hack at the couch.She stared at him in shock, at first not understanding what he was doing. Then she turned back, and shut the heavy bolt on the door. He had to make fire somehow, or they would freeze to death before the storm was over. Between the both of them, they could probably buy a million couches for this family.She walked further into the living room, past him, checking the whole place out. The only place that was open to them was the hallway, the open kitchen in the living room, and a tiny bathroom at the end of the hallway. All the other rooms were firmly locked. She was not very eager to ruin their locks like she did the front door.She walked towards the kitchen, and turned on th
“What? Why?” Racheal screamed in confusion as she watched Limuel’s guards pull a limp Steffan up.Then they began to pull him to pull him away, his tall frame causing his foot to drag behind him.“I had a suspicion he might come here.” Limuel said, pulling out a big cigar.“What did we do to you?” She asked, looking from Limuel to Steffan, who was being dragged away.“I have no problems with the Sherrods. Just you.”“What?” She asked just as she saw Limuel’s toddler run out of the house. The guards tried to stop the child who was not warmly dressed for the weather. The toddler screamed. He just wanted his father.Lukas Limuel turned at the commotion. “Let him through," he said, standing up. The child broke through the barrier of guards, and ran into his father’s arms.“I don’t have the time to explain anything. I hear your mother has suddenly returned from the dead. I believe she will pay a decent price in exchange for you as compensation for what your family did to us.” Lukas sa