Racheal froze, staring at Delbert in surprise. She was not shocked at what he was saying. She would be a real dummy to not know that the man had some type of feelings for her. She was simply shocked that they were strong enough for him to give voice to it. She had never believed the day would come when he would confess his feelings for her.“I love you,” Delbert repeated strongly. “I would take you out of this place if you said yes to me.” She frowned, her shock turning to hurt.So he had the power to take her out of here all this time? He did not do it because she was not his woman. Was that not selfish?This realization soured her mood.Even if Steffan was not in the picture, she would still not have accepted that kind of offer.His offer was not the absolute freedom she craved. She wanted the freedom to be able to get out of here, and choose to be with anyone she fancied, or choose to be with no one at all, if she preferred.“You are not saying anything.” Delbert said.“What d
The couple left after barely saying goodbye to their friends. Racheal did not see Delbert again till they left.“Thank you for tonight.” She turned to Steffan as they sat in the backseat of the Cardillac. She could already perceive that he was disappointed that she did not enjoy the ball as he had planned.Steffan drew her close, and kissed her forehead. “I am sorry your experience was ruined.” He said, and turned to look out of the window. It had begun to rain, and the rain beat against the window with force, as their convoy sped on the road back to the hotel. It was almost midnight.“It wasn’t. I had a wonderful first ball.” Racheal replied, shaking her head. And she meant it. Despite all the confrontations she had had, that she was still forcing her mind not to think of, she did not want to think about what secrets Steffan was keeping just yet, that had been a wonderful party.She had laughed, danced, ate, and forgotten all her problems for a few hours,“Won any games?” She
Racheal could hear Steffan moving behind her, but she could not turn to look. Her chin was on a pillow, her belly pressed into her knees, as the rain continued to pour in torrents outside.She could only think of this moment. All her problems were temporarily at the bottom of her mind. She knew she was being careless, but she liked to forget everything, just for this moment.She wanted to be immersed in this world that she had just one day left in.It was way past midnight, and after today, she would return to the presidential villa to face her demons.She did not know when next she would be able to get away like this, or if it would ever happen again.Her mind returned to the present when she heard Steffan shut what sounded like the refrigerator door. Whatever he was doing, he was sure taking his sweet time.When she finally heard his steps drawing closer, her anticipation at the pleasure ahead made her forget how to breathe. What exactly was he planning to do? She felt him com
“Where are we going?” Racheal asked, unable to contain her excitement anymore.“For the 10th time, you will find out soon.” Steffan laughed. He was in a good mood. They both were.After a steamy shower session they had before they left the hotel, the day could not be any better.But as they got off the jet earlier, Steffan had reminded her of the surprise he had for her.He did not drive her back to his resort, instead they took the major highway, some back roads, and were now in a very quiet community. Gigantic houses stood alone on large acres of well-tended land. The whole area was extremely quiet and clean.What could he possibly want to show her here? She wondered as she relaxed back into her seat. Steffan drove out of the road onto a bridge, and as he circled up the spiral-like bridge, a mansion at the top of the hill came into view. The house was impeccably white and ridiculously large, even from a distance.He rode up to the gate, and the iron bars opened on their own.Sh
“What are you thinking about?” Steffan glanced briefly away from the road to look at Racheal on the passenger seat.“I wonder when next we will get to come here.” She replied.“Every other month?” He said with a smile.When she made no response, he said, “Hey, I would never let you feel trapped in that damned villa again.” He reached out to hold her hand. “Dates, getaways and vacations till I get you out of that place. You will spend more time out than in it.” He squeezed her hand. He was frowning now,This was the cold intimidating Steffan she was used to seeing.And something told her she would see more of this version of him as soon as they got back to the presidential capital. She turned to stare at the falling sun through the window. They had spent the whole afternoon at the mansion. Her mansion. She even spent time with the staff, when Steffan locked himself away in the study for about an hour on some business calls.Now, the day was drawing to a close. Tomorrow, she would
“Was there somewhere else?” Steffan asked softly.“What?”“I am curious about your life before me. Was there someone else?” He asked.Racheal looked at him, trying not to get angry.Was he going down this road of other-men nonsense again?“You are not going to ask me about my past sex life.” She said, a little irritation in her voice. “I had none, as you know.” ‘Your love life, you had one.”He was deliberately ignoring her irritation. Was he trying to ruin the night?“Why are you so certain?”“Even married, you have me contemplating getting a gun to keep these men off. The attention you must have gotten as a single woman would be beastly,” he said.She relaxed, and stared at him. She did not necessarily want to hide details about her ex. In fact, she did not mind telling him all about the ex who broke her heart. This could also be her opportunity to ask him about this Malorie woman, and the secret Delbert said he was keeping.“Will you tell me about Thalia too?”Steffan’s face we
“I have a surprise for you back at the villa,” Steffan said.Racheal looked at him. And looked away. She suspected he was just trying to cheer her up. Or maybe he really had a surprise for her. But she did not get any excitement from the thought. They were driving back home in the morning light. The sun was positioned in a way that it seemed they were riding into it. It bathed both their faces in light.She turned to look at him. He looked like a strong, Greek god, as he gripped the steering wheel.She wondered when next she would be able to have a peaceful drive with just him like this, without chauffeurs, bodyguards and nosy journalists.Just the both of them.She looked away, reminiscing back on the last few days, and all the fun they had despite the few hiccups. Why could their life not just be like that?Why did life with him have to be difficult?She knew the answer to her own question though. It was because people like his parents, her father, Thalia, Zuri, Delbert and all
Racheal looked out of the window to the familiar buildings of the city. She could not say why, but the city felt different from when she had left it. There were also more cops on the road, questioning drivers and pedestrians. Had it always been like this, and she had not just not noticed it? She glanced at Steffan. He was still quiet. She sighed and looked away. At least he no longer looked like he was in mental pain. She suddenly felt his hand on her’s. He raised it up to his lips, and kissed it.She turned to him, and his eyes were a plea. She felt herself melt within even though she did not want to. She relaxed and watched him kiss her hand again and again, before he lowered it to his thigh and held it there.She tried to stop herself from explaining away his behaviour, but she couldn’t.Maybe he had dirty secrets he was hiding. But now? He had only good intentions. He had told her he was trying to redeem himself. He was seeking redemption. He had to feel remorse at his pa
“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