Racheal glanced at her wristwatch. She had already spent about one hour here.“I still have to respond to them, accepting their offer.” She said looking up at Madame Dalloz. “Oh dear. Of course.” Madame Dalloz said.“Do you have a printer I could use?” Racheal asked.The woman looked at her in confusion for a few seconds. Then she said, “Oh, you are not allowed a smartphone or computer!”Racheal nodded.“That's such a ridiculous law. Like you could not communicate with your family in Xen some other way if you wanted to. You could even send letters and no one will know.” Madame Dalloz said, the irritation on her face deepening. Racheal said nothing. “The last room on your right is my husband's study. He has a printer I believe.” The old Lady said finally. Racheal stood up immediately. She did not want the woman to see her face.Monsieur Dalloz? She had always thought Madame Dalloz a widow. No one had ever spoken of the man, not even Delbert. And the old lady seemed like she was cal
Racheal stepped into the now empty building, except for staff members, and took an elevator to the tenth floor where the boutique was located. The boutique manager welcomed them at the door with a broad smile. She looked eager to get started. “Hello.” Racheal said with a smile. She envied women like these who had the opportunity to work, and wondered what it would feel like working for your own money, and meeting new people everyday. “How may we help you today ma'am?” The manager asked politely. She was dressed in an expensive looking suit and had a perfect smile. “I need a dress for a wedding. Can I have it ready by tomorrow morning if I purchase one now?” She asked.“Of course. This is the President's daughter's wedding right?” The manager asked, leading her into the super fancy shop.“Yes.” Racheal replied. It still surprised her how famous she was in Yin. Back in Xen as even the President’s own daughter, not very many people knew she existed. “Do you have anything in mind?
Jade, the manager, and some shop attendants were watching the unfolding drama. Racheal knew any piece of information about the presidential villa was big news to the public. If any of the staff here were some type of vlogger or social media influencer, they would definitely use this as content. But she had to send Steffan some kind of message, and teach Isaac a lesson too. She looked around the shop and scanned the rows of clothes, shoes and purses. She dived into the shop, and two bodyguards followed her closely. She picked shoes, formal and casual dresses, purses, makeup and other girly accessories, with the knowledge that the bill was running up. If Steffan wanted to be all macho and show her he had money, she would help him spend that money. She knew she was being childish, but she could not help the emotions boiling in her. She had endured too much in the space of one week.She had the bodyguards carry it to the front desk. The look on Isaac's face was satisfying. Good luc
Racheal was transformed very quickly by this glam team that seemed to be the best she’d had yet. Better than the ones at her wedding even. She stared into the mirror and saw a soft featured congresswoman staring back at her. She had on a powder blue blazer, matching high waist trousers, and white crop top. With her gold hair let down, she looked stylish yet powerful. She had never seen herself like this, and she was in awe.“Thank you.” She said.“Your features made styling you easy ma'am. It's our pleasure.” The leader of the team said. Racheal smiled at them and watched them pack up and leave. She turned back to the mirror and smoothed down the lapels of the suit. It felt soft to touch. Although she felt nervous about this evening, she could not delay it anymore. She picked her purse, waved her maids goodbye, and was out the door. At the back seat of her car, she held her hands together in nervousness hoping this would go well. As her convoy rolled into the building, she notic
“This video was taken by an internet user just this afternoon, and has since gone viral on the internet.” The host said.Racheal was stunned, unable to speak. “It seems like you did not want anyone to know about this.” The host said, and the crowd laughed. “No, I didn't.” Racheal responded, looking at the video of her at the foster home just this afternoon. The faces of the happy children brought tears to her eyes. The host quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. She grabbed it and dabbed the corner of eyes. “It seems this means a lot to you.” The host said quietly. She nodded, “Yes.” The crowd applauded loudly at her response. In the moment, she was happy to use Steffan’s money, and annoy him. She was also happy to feed the children and give them a treat for the afternoon. But watching the video now and seeing the children's faces and how important this was to them, made her emotional. She understood what it meant to be hungry and have no parents
“Yin is the power of the east, and our organisation still does not have a firm place here, even after one hundred and fifty years of our existence in other parts of the world.” The man at the head of the table continued. “If we have Yin, all the other countries in the east would follow.” The man said. “What organisation are you speaking of? What does your organisation do?” Racheal asked, clearly confused. “Protect The Progeny is the name of our organisation. We cater to children during disaster response, their nutrition and shelter. We empower parents with jobs and skills, and for those who are incapable, we find compatible families for these innocent children to have a shot at a better life.” The man responded. “The east is always at war, we need to protect the children because they are the future of every country.” The older Racheal said. “Outside Yin's capital there are many children starving, displaced from their homes since the war. Spencer Sherrod had turned a blind eye to it
Racheal wondered if this secret was about the strange noise she had heard at the Dalloz mansion. Or was it about her anonymous supporters?“Yesterday, there was something you did not pay attention to. I did not want to draw your attention to it till I was sure.” Delbert said.Racheal nodded enthusiastically, listening. “The first lady's guard delivered that diamond necklace. You did not wonder why? She was part of the plan to frame you.” Delbert said.Racheal gasped. All the blood drained from her face. She knew the woman hated her, she was sure about this since the day the woman did not even lift a finger to help her during her panic attack, or call for help. She just watched her. But she had no idea the woman’s hate was this deep.“I spoke to Ben today, and like most of Yin's citizens, the man loves you. So he talked.” Delbert said.“You spoke to Ben?” She asked in surprise. “He was caught this morning. You did not know?”Racheal shook her head. Her day had been hectic, and she
Racheal ran out of the car as soon as Delbert replied to her question and bent over the sidewalk. Her stomach churned and heaved, and she threw up until exhaustion. She felt someone hold her hair up and pour cold water on her neck. Without looking, she knew it must be Delbert. She leaned down more, and let the water run down her neck and face not minding her makeup.She finally stretched her hand out, and Delbert placed the bottle of water in it. She rinsed her mouth, and stood up.She walked back to her car, and sat down. Delbert was looking at her anxiously. “You seem very upset at what I just told you.” He said, concern evident in his voice.She shook her head. “I began feeling the nausea some time before.”“What do you think about the whole thing?”“I don't want to even think about it.” She said, and turned to look out the window. Delbert drew near and squeezed her hand. Then he leaned in and kissed her temple. She did not look away from the window as he stepped out and closed
“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