Chapter 75KateKate gasped in awe, her heart was filled with so much joy, and with it came the feeling of fulfillment that she had always craved for all her life… the feeling of serenity and peace at last.She hugged herself, the smile tugging at her lips refused to falter as she stared at Richie’s handsome face.This was unbelievable! Marvelously so!She couldn’t believe how long had passed during this short time and how it has suddenly become months that Richie has been hospitalized… and now, he is fine!Fine at last, and fine enough to come home.As they strutted out of the hospital, walking side by side, all Kate could think about was finally having a normal life. The thought made her shiver with excitement as she couldn’t wait to begin to live the kind of life that she has always dreamed of…the type that had always kept her awake, crying and wishing that a miracle would occur.And now, a miracle did occur. The fact that Gordon had died had made her feel sad for a brief moment bu
Kate flexed her muscles as she sat up in bed but winced when she felt the slightly throbbing pain between her thighs.A wanton smile made its way to her lips as she remembered the night of fiery passion she’d shared with Richie and the smile remained when she looked down at her now naked body.As if waking up naked wasn’t enough to start the morning, Richie who had been lying fast asleep beside her rolled over to drape his arm around her waist to pull her close.“Can we do this over and over again… starting from now?” He whispered to her who in turn smacked his arm around her waist playfully.“No way!” She exclaimed with a smile on her lips, “what are you? A horse?…you demand for it too much that I fear you’re going to exhaust me real soon.” She cried.Her half baked complaints fell on deaf ears as he ignored them and pulled her close until all they could feel was the scorching heat radiating off their naked bodies.Richie kissed her slowly, he took his time with it and made sure his
Kate“Crazy people!” Kate muttered dejectedly to herself as she slapped on some makeup on her face even though she knew she didn’t really need it.She simply needed to distract herself from Philip’s disrespect as well as take some more time before she had to face Phillip again, and this was the only way she could achieve that.She didn’t want this dinner anymore; didn’t want to have to sit across Jane and Phillip, eating and chatting when the only thing she wanted was to see them out of the house.In fact, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be getting married to Richie anymore knowing fully well that his grandfather didn’t like her one bit and didn’t even act like he planned on ever accepting her.These thoughts swirled around her head over and over again and made her quite uncomfortable. She was confused.She knew she wanted Richie, but not like this. Not when his grandfather saw her like a walking hazard and especially not when Jane was always around, poking her nose into their business
KateThe midday sun shone brightly against Kate’s face, making her squint into its blinding lights but she didn’t try to move away because she loved it here.She loved the sound of the water whooshing beneath her feet, liked the way the water slapped against her ankles and the back at the pool walls; the loved the peace and quiet, and the occasional sounds of birds chirping away in the distance,…but most of all, she loved the tasty goodness of the champagne’s flavor bursting against her taste buds and how each sip seemed to taste differently from the last.She brought the glass of champagne to her lips again and held her breath, thinking about how peaceful it was and how wealthy people had their own special kind of rest, the kind that she never had the audacity to enjoy when she was nothing but a slave to Gordon.Now things were different; things were more than a little better and she was no longer who she used to be.She enjoyed it.She thought about Phillip too and his blatant show
Kate“Ash—” Kate started saying but immediately hushed when she saw Ashley raise her index finger up to her lips, as if asking her to keep her mouth shut.She did, gulping.Kate still wasn’t sure what Ashley was doing here, especially with her. She feared that she was here for a favor and knew she had nothing to offer right now.Her mind reeled. She needed Richie’s attention right now, needed him to turn around and see the predicament that had befallen her but when she looked in Richie’s direction, she only found him engrossed in a conversation with two middle aged men.Kate shook with fear and uncertainty; uncertain as to whether to raise an alarm or simply act all cool and follow with the silent fear that shook her entire being to the core.She knew what Ashley was, knew that she had killed several people before and couldn’t afford to be the next person on that long list of hers. Not now, not ever.“Does anyone know you’re here?” She asked in a quiet voice, whilst looking into the s
Richie.Richie glanced at his Rolex wristwatch over and over again, hoping that Kate would strut out of the dressing room, miraculously loving one of the dresses she had taken in there earlier but that didn’t happen.He was tired as well as famished but now he was caught up with Kate who had insisted that he followed her wedding shopping because she doesn’t have anyone else to go with her.A few minutes later, she came out all clad in a beautiful wedding dress that flowed all the way to a few meters behind her. It was extravagant and suited her slightly plump figure.“How about this one?” Kate asked, swirling around in circles in front of Richie as she tried to make him have a good view of the dress she was trying on.It was beautiful just like the last one she had worn, and the one before that. In fact, everything she’s worn has been nothing short of perfect on her but he knew that she wouldn’t believe that if he told her.“Beautiful, the pearls make your eye stand out prettily.” He
KateThere were chirping sounds in the distance but Kate couldn’t say where exactly they were coming from because it was something she had never heard from this part of the house before.She could almost swear that it was her mind and her mood playing tricks on her but she said nothing, smiling as only thoughts of Richie filled her head, and his sweet masculine scent filled her nostrils.The morning breeze blew gently against her face and she smiled as she stared at Richie’s handsome face; the face she’d grown to love so dearly.They both sat, naked but unashamed. Kate was basking in the goodness of the morning while Richie was sad, worried that Kate was still keeping things from him and bothered because he felt it was something mighty enough to cause a rift between them.He didn’t want any issues arising between him and Kate, he could not afford it especially now that he had grown too attached to her, and was already a little bit too entangled in her special web.Kate could notice th
Richie.Richie stared at Kate in absolute shock. He could not believe what she had just said, and the fact that she was just telling him after all these while made it even more shocking than it already is.He could see the fear on her face; could notice how she fidgeted but he didn’t really care about that, all he cared about was the fact that she had been hiding things from him… especially something this massive.Dealings with Ashley were nothing but trouble and Kate could be in one heck of one by communicating with her or having anything to do with her altogether.He didn’t like the fact that she communicated with Ashley nor the fact that she still even felt indebted to Ashley who was bound to take advantage of Kate’s vulnerability to her personal gain.He stared at her again, still in shock, contemplating on whether to scold her or talk to her about it. He thought of the latter and decided that that was what he would do.“Why didn’t you say a word about it to me?” He questioned, hu
Days later…(Taormina, Sicily)“Please be quick about it..” Kate said to the hotel receptionist and quickly dropped the phone almost as soon as Richie waltzed out of the bathroom looking as though he was running an ad for a modeling agency.He looked so handsome in his bathrobe and had droplets of water on his hair and face which only made him look more breathtaking to Kate; and she couldn’t help but thank her stars for allowing her to get to meet someone as perfect as him.He was the perfect depiction of her childhood dream man; and sometimes she feared that he was just too good for her.Their eyes locked and held; and for a moment they were so enthralled by each other that nothing else mattered anymore.Not even the fact that they were clad in nothing but their birthday suit. Richie winked at her, making her blush fiercely.After a long while of comfortable silence, Kate let out a long sigh and screamed excitedly;“I still can’t believe that I’m right here in Atlantis bay! My dream
Chapter 91Kate“Stay back!” Jane growled fiercely but Kate couldn’t exactly say if she was yelling at her or at Richie.Her body shook with fear as she stared at the black metallic object clasped in Jane’s hands but she didn’t show her fear; She couldn’t bring herself to because she knew that that was exactly what people like Jane thrived on.She couldn’t give her that satisfaction.Before she came here, she had braced herself for the absolute worst; had expected Jane to pull a stunt like this from the very beginning that now it no longer surprised her.All she wanted right now was to get out of this situation unscathed. She didn’t care how she intended to do that but knew that that was her only aim.Ashley had told her that a thing like this would happen; had warned her and thankfully she had listened.At first she didn’t want to be scared but when she looked into Jane’s eyes, and saw the crazed maniacal look in them, her fear only intensified.This witch was crazy enough to do anyt
Richie.Richie wanted to snap. He was pissed at everyone’s overly bubbly attitude today and was beginning to wonder if the day was his or theirs.He couldn’t really say that the day was his though because he was practically being forced…more like threatened to do this.He still couldn’t comprehend why his grandfather would present him with a decision as difficult as this for his own personal interest, and it made him mad.The brightly lit air conditioned room still felt unbearably hot for Richie as he yanked uncomfortably at his necktie and glared against the high fluorescent lights that seemed to want to blind him.He didn’t care that his discomfort was being let out in the open and that the press could make a fuss out of it later, all he cared about was getting done with this accursed wedding ceremony and being back to the confines of his room.He drowned out the loud cheerful noises around him, wondering to himself why these people seemed a lot more happy that he was getting marrie
Richie.“Try it again and again.” The male voice from the tv spoke loudly but to Richie it felt like he was being spoken to.He loosened his tie, copying the gestures of the young magician on the screen and began mimicking the man’s actions.A few minutes went past, and after a while of copying the magician’s actions Richie decided to stop. It was no longer fun to him; in fact nothing felt like fun anymore.The world felt like it was spinning in circles, and to Richie everything was in a flux. He couldn’t say exactly what stand his life held right now or what its meaning was but knew he was simply going with the flow that came.Pressing the bottle of liquor to his lips, Richie took a big gulp and winced when the fiery liquid burned its way from the back of his throat down to his chest.He loved the feeling though, but the aftermath was what he disliked.He hated how it usually made him feel crappy and how his fingers shook like that of an epileptic person whenever he took it excessive
Richie‘Wait, something didn’t feel right.’ Richie thought to himself as he sat unmoving on the large red sofa he had adored as a kid but now it held no significance to him, and all he could think about was how to get out of it and fast.Right in front of him sat Jane and his grandfather Phillip and Richie could do nothing but glare at the both of them as they went about chattering between each other like he wasn’t in the room.Jane’s loud giggles infuriated him, even the way she had suddenly changed her sitting position into some sort of lazy style while she rubbed continuously on her flattened stomach.On a normal day, he would’ve sent her out of the house but this was his grandfather’s and not his… he had no right to do that here and that was her saving grace.“How aren’t you sure that this isn’t some sort of joke the same way you thought Kate had lied about being pregnant?” He snarled at his grandfather who seemed too enthralled with talking to Jane that nothing else mattered.To
RichieRichie staggered up the airy flight of stairs with only a bottle of chilled liquor clasped in his cold stiff hands.“One green bottle standing on the wall… one green bottle standing on the wall…” he sang drunkenly as he trudged upwards, absolutely oblivious to the shocked stares his workers threw at him as he walked past.Truth is, he didn’t even notice they were staring nor did he care if they actually did.He rubbed his hands again and again across his face to stop himself from falling asleep as he walked but that seemed as impossible as walking on eggshells and praying that it does not crack.His body suddenly shook with a kind of cold that he hadn’t experienced before but then he couldn’t quite explain if it was as a result of the weather or due to how cold he actually felt inside.He couldn’t bring himself to talk to anyone about how he truly felt…about how his dreams were constantly plagued with memories of Kate and how he felt he would go crazy soon if nothing was done a
Kate“How’s this even possible?” Kate mumbled very quietly under her breath after taking her first bite of the almost half cooked cheese sandwich which smelled way tastier than it actually tasted.Her taste buds which had previously been on overdrive immediately came to a rest and then she began to munch slowly on the food whilst fighting the urge to drop it in order not to offend Ashley.That would be bad.She couldn’t even bring herself to tell Ashley that she wasn’t such a good cook and that the food tasted bad, instead she ate on slowly and decided to strike a conversation with her.“I get the part where you always had people working for you and so you should always have them doing your biddings. Why then did you still learn to cook?” Kate asked whilst chewing.She grinned when Ashley frowned at her half opened mouth but wasn’t remorseful as she kept chewing absentmindedly on the offensive tasting sandwich.Ashley rolled her eyes; “I never learnt to cook pumpkin, and I know exact
KateHer eyelids were heavy, almost like they’d been previously sealed shut with a cement and then forcefully ripped open after it had gotten dry moments later due to indecision.Kate winced under the pain. It was a little too much and her body throbbed from it.She could feel her stomach twist painfully from it too but she didn’t care, all she wanted was to understand what she was doing here when only moments ago, she was at the back of Richie’s Rolls Royce…on her way to her wedding reception.She wanted to understand why anyone would decide to kidnap and beat her up when in fact, she could swear she hadn’t done anything to warrant such treatment from anyone.She was confused and at the same time shocked but was also scared because she was quite unsure about who was behind all these.What if it was Luxander… Or Ashley?Her eyes widened at the thoughts as her heartbeat accelerated. She prayed that It shouldn’t be any of those two because she knew of how crazy they could get and she di
RichieThe tie clung onto his neck like a choker but he didn’t notice it as his mind was somewhere else entirely.He yawned, rubbing at his heavy eyelids only to sit up in shock when he discovered that he was still inside his car since the previous night and that he was still clad in his wedding suit.His wedding suit…The suit that he had planned to take off the instant he was alone with Kate after their ending; the suit he no longer had the strength to take off his body because suddenly it felt like all of his dreams were already going up in smoke.…a thick choking smoke.He slowly trudged out of the car, walked all the way into the house, and stood hopefully in front of the large TV screen which only brought news of the exploded warehouse over and over again.He couldn’t believe that something this drastic could simply happen only a few hours to something he’d always dreamed of.It felt like a dream, a very terrible dream that he had still not woken up from and at the same time he