Valerie’s POV I didn't know if Drake had received my voicemail or not but I hoped he did. This was all my fault. I should have listened to Jasmine. I tried calling Jasmine but the network connectivity of my surroundings was poor and I couldn't reach her.Luckily,I got lifted by a cab driver riding along my path and he brought me down to Drake's house. I got down from the cab, thanked the driver, and offered him a few bills which he kindly turned down before revving out of the lawn. I felt grateful for his kind lift after I had spent close to an hour trying to find my way home.I sluggishly carried myself to the porch, approached the door with a soft knock.My legs began to tremble beneath me. Here I was standing in front of Drake's house,a man I had just taken his company and a few valuable assets from him and handed it to his stepbrother.No response.I knocked again, this time louder and more pronounced.Shortly after,the door creaked slightly, opening to reveal Mia's face.“Welcom
Drake's POV My chest region wanted to explode. It was exploding already,my heart racing as I listened to Valerie's voicemail.Ron had forcefully taken the company from her? How? I thought they were working together in pulling me into mud? Is she making a mockery of me or is she damn serious?She sounded serious. Her voice dripped with fear and uncertainty like she didn't know the next step to take. I dialed her number but I didn't go through. Something was off so I decided to go home. I wasn't expecting her to be home but at least I could corner her while she's packing out of the house.I quickly entered my car and the driver sped off at full speed. We pulled up in front of my lawn for ten minutes. I quickly alighted, sprinting into the house.I quickly made it to her room, knocking frantically on her wooden door but there came no reply. I knocked thrice and still no response.What if she's in the shower?I tried to be considerate but then she had identified herself as an enemy. Fr
Valerie's POV Two weeks later.The doctor attended to me while the nurse administered a pill for me to take. It's been two days since I was rescued. A lot has happened over the past two weeks. Now I am here for the test results which were conducted two days ago.Charlotte had kept me captive for a week and two days before I was rescued. How Drake and the police found me was absurd but I was glad Charlotte was behind bars.I was glad to be free even though I stayed a week and two days in captivity.*Flashback*“Here's your food, pig. Make sure to eat up and be done in five minutes. I'll be back to collect the plate.” Charlotte hissed and spat into the food before placing it on the ground in front of me.She pulled at my hair and confirmed the tightness of the chains around my body, hissed again before scurrying out of the dirty dark room where I had been kept captive for only God knows when.For four days,I hadn't had anything except water. Charlotte had made it a point of duty to spi
- Valerie's POV "Yo—You're pregnant?" Jasmine stuttered “You are preganant!!” her high-pitched voice echoing through the room and into my already mashed brain. She screamed, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug as I gripped the pregnancy stick, harder than I would grip anything else. "I'm pregnant?" I choked out, gasping for air as Jasmine squeezed me tighter. "Yes!! And I'm going to be the godmother. This is the best day ever!" She squealed in excitement, finally releasing me to plant a kiss on my cheek. But I can't be pregnant. I can't. "Let me get us some fruit juice, since someone is banned from wine for a few months!" She exclaimed, leaving the room of my apartment penthouse. My world spun in circles, my body growing cold and breath turning ragged. How could I be pregnant when I wasn't supposed to be? I bit my nails, trying to calm my pounding heart as fear gripped me tighter. "Drake is one lucky man!" Jasmine returned, shoving a glass of juice into my hand and forcibl
Valerie's POVI gripped the steering wheel tight, my fingernails digging into the soft leather fabric of the wheel, another hand pressing my phone to my ear as I dialed Drake’s number for the last time as angry tears blurred my vision of the road, making keeping control of my car almost an impossible task as I clamped down on the accelerator, my heart beating so fast, I could hear it in my ears."The person you're trying to reach isn't available. Leave a message after the beep.""I’ll leave your keys in the mailbox. Pick them up whenever you want," I spat into the phone before hanging up. Drake never apologized. He never even bothered.I stormed into the penthouse, my anger boiling over. How could Drake get engaged without telling me? I yanked clothes from the closet, stuffing them into my suitcase. Each item felt like a piece of my broken heart.Three years. Three years of being his wife, attending his events, meeting his family. And now the whole world knew he was marrying someone e
Valerie’s POVAs I stepped out of the public elevator, a wave of whispers crashed over me like a tidal wave of judgment. The office seemed to freeze, every eye turning toward me with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.“What is she still doing back here?” a voice murmured, loud enough for me to catch.“Broke, much?” another snickered, their laughter cutting through the air like a knife.“Gold-digging slut,” someone hissed, their words a sharp slap to my face.I forced myself to keep walking, each step feeling heavier under their collective gaze. My heart pounded in my chest, but I squared my shoulders, refusing to let them see how much their words hurt. My face remained stoic, a mask of indifference hiding the turmoil inside.As I approached my desk, the whispers only grew louder. I could feel their eyes following me, judging every move I made. I sat down and tried to focus on my work, but the air was thick with their hostility.A text from Jasmine appeared on my phone, offering a br
Valerie’s POV It took me a minute to understand what had just happened, and like a reflex, I called him back. “What do you mean, come to the wedding?” I demanded, my head still pounding from crying. “I mean, come to the wedding,” he replied, his tone clipped, and I started to grow irritated. “Well, no. You can't just tell me where to show up. I am not your wife,” I snapped. “Even better, you're my mistress. So be there by eleven A.M,” he replied. “No. No. I won't be coming. Don’t you see how I would be embarrassed? I could lose whatever face I still have with your family in less than twenty minutes sitting at your table, so no, I won't be coming to your wedding,” I said harshly. My phone beeped with a message, and my eyes widened at what I saw. “I just sent half a million dollars for your brother’s treatment. I heard there are more treatment agencies for leukemia. See you at 11 A.M. tomorrow, and don’t make me repeat myself again,” he said and ended the call. I was frozen lik
Valerie’s POV“She’s pregnant!” Jasmine suddenly exclaimed, stepping in front of me as my heart threatened to burst.“For joy! She is just so happy for the newlyweds, she couldn’t hold it in. I was just telling her she needed to tell Drake how she felt, pregnant with joy, to get it off her chest,” Jasmine lied so fluently that I had to cast her a look. Ron, on the other hand, didn’t seem to buy any of it. His gaze remained fixed on me, piercing and expectant.“For the record, I think Charlotte is also a nasty little icy devil,” he said, a smile spreading on his face as I unconsciously released a sigh of relief.“That doesn’t mean—” I placed a hand on Jasmine’s shoulder, stopping her from saying yet another lie. Ron’s mischievous eyes made me feel oddly safe.Ron walked past Jasmine and drew me into a hug. At first, my body was shocked, but then I melted into his embrace. His warmth comforted me as his big hands wrapped around my shoulders and his chin rested on my head, offering me a
Valerie's POV Two weeks later.The doctor attended to me while the nurse administered a pill for me to take. It's been two days since I was rescued. A lot has happened over the past two weeks. Now I am here for the test results which were conducted two days ago.Charlotte had kept me captive for a week and two days before I was rescued. How Drake and the police found me was absurd but I was glad Charlotte was behind bars.I was glad to be free even though I stayed a week and two days in captivity.*Flashback*“Here's your food, pig. Make sure to eat up and be done in five minutes. I'll be back to collect the plate.” Charlotte hissed and spat into the food before placing it on the ground in front of me.She pulled at my hair and confirmed the tightness of the chains around my body, hissed again before scurrying out of the dirty dark room where I had been kept captive for only God knows when.For four days,I hadn't had anything except water. Charlotte had made it a point of duty to spi
Drake's POV My chest region wanted to explode. It was exploding already,my heart racing as I listened to Valerie's voicemail.Ron had forcefully taken the company from her? How? I thought they were working together in pulling me into mud? Is she making a mockery of me or is she damn serious?She sounded serious. Her voice dripped with fear and uncertainty like she didn't know the next step to take. I dialed her number but I didn't go through. Something was off so I decided to go home. I wasn't expecting her to be home but at least I could corner her while she's packing out of the house.I quickly entered my car and the driver sped off at full speed. We pulled up in front of my lawn for ten minutes. I quickly alighted, sprinting into the house.I quickly made it to her room, knocking frantically on her wooden door but there came no reply. I knocked thrice and still no response.What if she's in the shower?I tried to be considerate but then she had identified herself as an enemy. Fr
Valerie’s POV I didn't know if Drake had received my voicemail or not but I hoped he did. This was all my fault. I should have listened to Jasmine. I tried calling Jasmine but the network connectivity of my surroundings was poor and I couldn't reach her.Luckily,I got lifted by a cab driver riding along my path and he brought me down to Drake's house. I got down from the cab, thanked the driver, and offered him a few bills which he kindly turned down before revving out of the lawn. I felt grateful for his kind lift after I had spent close to an hour trying to find my way home.I sluggishly carried myself to the porch, approached the door with a soft knock.My legs began to tremble beneath me. Here I was standing in front of Drake's house,a man I had just taken his company and a few valuable assets from him and handed it to his stepbrother.No response.I knocked again, this time louder and more pronounced.Shortly after,the door creaked slightly, opening to reveal Mia's face.“Welcom
Valerie's POV My legs vibrated beneath me as Drake walked up to me,his gaze devouring. He took the mic from me forcefully, his gaze shifting to the crowd.“I am so sorry for this misunderstanding fellas but think this lady is probably drunk and needs to be taken care of. Guards please lead her away.”Drake commanded his voice dripping with authority and power.Two men leapt forward and snatched my arms, grabbing and holding onto me tightly. They began to lead me away but Ron was quick to intercept. He landed both guard's a kick to their groin letting them retreat away and unrest erupted from the onlookers.This definitely wasn't what they planned to be their soulful entertainment but surprisingly they had no choice but to sit and watch it play out.Drake rage boiled over the surface ,his anger simmering onto his oceanic blue eyes.“ Why the hell did you do that to my guards Ron? What right do you have to waltz in here and disrupt a party that lots of money was spent on to organize? Wh
Drake's POV My car pulled up infront of a the magnificent hotel, an exact replica of a castle in fairy-tale. My driver quickly alighted, turned around opening the door for me. I stepped out of the car,the cool evening breeze caressing my skin. Charlotte stepped out as well,her arm quickly slipped around mine. She flashed me a sheepish smile, holding unto her purse tightly. I straightened out my suits, applying a fresh layer of deodorant, adjusted my glasses before making my way into the Hall which was bustling with loud music and bangers. Alot of guests had started arriving, staffs especially. Junior staffs to be precise.I looked around, my eyes dancing across the hall untill I spotted Sheila whispering into the MC ear.She seemed to be telling him to begin immediate actions since I was already in the room.The MC nodded understanding whatever she had to say. My gaze left thier faces and got focused on Charlotte who kept tugging at my suit.“ I don't want a single wrinkle in sight
Drake's POV It's been two days since i had the most terrifying nightmare of my life. Why would Valerie appear as an old woman seeking revenge? Why did she constantly accuse me of killing our baby when I indirectly and directly didn't have a hand in it.Till date, I had no answer to my question. I literally just couldn't comprehend why she had to disguise herself as an old hag. I didn't take it so literal but I knew Valerie wasn't happy with all that had been happening to her. I was going to find out sooner than later.The foreign investors and I had lost contact. Sara had stopped receiving and returning Sheila's texts, emails and calls. She must have cautioned herself to avoid being snuffed out or caught by her Boss who would probably be livid at her. I had told Sheila to keep on sending texts untill Sara eventually replies.Surprisingly,the ball solstice was to hold tomorrow. It was such a great day anticipated by a lot of people. Me ,my stakeholders and my employees,the junior staf
Drake's POV “ Wait Valerie, listen to me." I yelled repeatedly but Valerie wouldn't listen,age kept on moving, her pace gradually increasing.“ Please wait for Val. I have something important to talk to you about. The road ahead of us is quite dangerous. You need my help in navigating these dark paths. Let me help you." I urged, calling into the night air but Valerie wouldn't listen.“ Leave me alone." She managed to say, her back h at me,her pace a little.“ It's late and dark, lonely and scary. You need to come back to me. The driver is waiting. If we keep on going through this path,we might lose the driver entirely.”Valeria chuckled scornfully “ I don't mind losing the driver. I don't want to go with you. Leave me alone.”Valerie's steps increased as she surged deeper out of the light and into the darkness, navigating through the wood and thick bushes like she was quite familiar with her environment.“ You are threading into the bushes Val. Am sorry I called you out tonight. We
Drake's POV “ Out of my fucking room before I lose it. You are a fucking chameleon. You always change your skin to fit a favorable condition. You don't care about others. You only use them to satisfy and pleasure yourself. You only use them when you have something to gain. When they have something meaningful to offer." Charlotte's expression turned pitiful,tears pricked at the corners of Charlotte's eyes.“Drake, I care about you. I am not exploiting you. I care. I want to care.” she tried to touch me,my devouring gaze stopped her hand halfway.“ I want my personal space but if you're willing to give me the space I need,get out of my way, I am late for an appointment." I sneered and shot her a glare.“ Drake, listen to me." Charlotte pleaded.I frowned,my annoyance flaring.“Get out of my way,I need to use the exit door." I ordered.Charlotte's feet didn't budge,it rooted firmly to the floor.“ pl–.” I shoved Charlotte away, stepping out of the room immediately." Sleep in the room
Drake's POV 3:45 Pm. I kept staring at time,my mind divulged of any means of keeping itself occupied until I was ready to leave.Sheila had dropped the audio tape from her interrogation from twelve junior staffs. There wasn't much attached to their conversation but I was able to pick out something. They didn't have contact with the foreign investors considering there were based in the ground and second floor of the building.Sheila had promised to continue tomorrow even though I saw how exhausted she was. Interrogating a total number of twelve staff members alone was no easy feat. I had stopped her from carrying on with the interrogation considering the company had seventy staff and ten contract workers.She couldn't bear the burden of twelve,how would she bear the burden of sixty eight more staff. There were other ways to snuff out a culprit and I would find it out sooner or later.The door to my office opened and Sheila walked in with a glass of water. I asked if it's almond time