Allow yourself to be like a willow tree that is easy to bend but not easy to break. Otherwise, you will be the next oak tree who will rend while fighting the wind.......... ********************************************* It was midnight and Roveign city was surely silent, but only on the surface. The core of it was filled with lights and shouts! The only fighting arena of the city, used by the underworld goons to show off their mighty bodies once in a while, was engulfed in cheers. A certain name could be heard in the sea of screams. “Howard!!!!!!!! Beat his ass!!!!!!!” The man was huffing in sweat by clenching his fists in front of his face. Sweat dripped from the edge of his face and his rough brown face was sparkling in the dazzling lowlights. He turned back to look at the person who caught his attention, mostly distracting him! Seeing a woman shouting like a crazy person, his face covered in disgust. He turned his face away after giving a cold glare at her, “BITCH!!” He spat asi
“Madam, won’t you go to today’s party? It’s an honourable day for the Anderson family.” The girl with slightly reddish-brown hair, fair complexion and a slender figure, who was writing something on the paper in front of her, looked at her maid. She was standing before her holding the tea tray. The girl slightly smiled at her and then again concentrated on what she was doing, “ You remember grandma’s words right, Nina?” “Which one? She gives you a lot of hearing. Which one are you talking about?” “NINA!!!!!” The girl glared at her maid seeing her sarcastic behaviour. The glare had a perfect effect on her since Nina remembered the answer to what she was asked, “……….You…you mean the last one?!” “….Yeah. The last one. I can’t show my face to her until I get married to a man within three months.” “But madam Eleanor, where are you going to get a man to get married? Not to mention who would also be a gentleman!” Nina sulked while scratching the tea tray and diverting her gaze away from
Howard reached his den with his gang after they got their share from the Bet Master. When they meant to share, Howard got the major share! About eighty percent of the whole sum. As the gang could earn a whole lot of money just from a fight, Howard often took challenges. And also people from the underworld liked to strike at Howard so that they could prove themselves better than him. It was the underworld. A world within a normal world. Far different from the place where normal people lived. People like Howard never had a life like usual guys who had families to live with, jobs to do, responsibilities to fulfil and promises to be kept. But for persons like Howard, none of them mattered since he didn't have any of them. No family, no job, no responsibility and neither did he make any promises. And even if he made one by mistake, there was no such rule that it should have been kept! He was a carefree guy who had to maintain his position as a don to survive. And his juniors held onto
Nina left the tray of tea and snacks a while ago on Eleanor's table. But Eleanor was so busy that she couldn't set time aside to enjoy it. Afterwards, it got cold. However, she had no attention to it. She was roaming all over her room looking for an important file. "Where did I keep it? TCH!" Suddenly the phone rang. Eleanor squinted her eyes since it was an unexpected call. Although she was kinda troubled by it, Eleanor picked it up. “Hello? Eleanor Anderson speaking here.” "Eleanor!" A female voice whispered from the other side of the phone. Somehow the voice made Eleanor jump out of joy, " Oh my!!! Aunt Laura! After a long time." It was Laura Anderson on the other side of the phone, the one and only daughter of Miranda And also Eleanor’s aunt. The one who first gave Eleanor blessings other than Eleanor’s father was Laura. She had no child of her own and had only an adoptive daughter named Lione. But for some reason, Laura used to love Eleanor more than Lione. Although she nev
“Where are you taking me? Le..let me go!!” Aiden was moving like a cockroach in the capture. His eyes were blindfolded and his hands were tied to the back. "Shut his goddamn mouth!!!" Howard shouted which ended up echoing in the room! Suddenly it was pin-drop silence. Nobody spoke or moved. "Who..who are you?!" Fear could be sensed in Aiden's voice as if he could guess a little bit that he was standing before his death. But he shouted again while crying, " I asked...who are you? Do you know who I am? Let me…" Before Aiden could even finish his whole line, Leo put a sock in his mouth. Aiden kept struggling as he couldn't breathe! He gulped his words and tears fell down his eyes. "Take him to our old place." Howard signed the back door to Tany and Leo to take Aiden away from his sight. By lugging Aiden, Leo and Tany took him outside the room where loud sounds were coming from. There was a casino beneath the room and it was where Aiden used to gamble! The sound hit Aiden's eardrum
“Hello? This is Eleanor Anderson here. May I please speak with your Senior Officer in charge?" Eleanor called the Roads and Highways Surveillance Office. "Please, hold on a minute." A polite manly voice responded to Eleanor's phone call. A beep sound came into her ear as she was wearing a mini wireless Bluetooth headphones. Eleanor left home about half an hour ago to look for Aiden. But there was no information about her father yet! She was on her way to the Roads and Highways Surveillance Office. But she took the road to the party at first. Since Eleanor was forbidden to show her face in front of Miranda, a long road was the best choice for her until everyone from the Andersons left the party hall. She inquired about almost everybody she knew, who attended the party today. But no one had seen Aiden. "It means he didn't go to the party.", Eleanor murmured while waiting for the Senior Officer on hold. She tightly held the wheel. Her eyes were burning in rage when she thought how irr
"Sir, the place we are going to isn't suitable for people like us. So I would like to tell you to stay calm.", Paul warned Mr Dixon who was looking outside the window and watching the car being devoured by a big tunnel. Cars were passing by. Some were looking at his car repeatedly while driving. It was a daily scene for Mr Dixon. But he was awestruck when he saw a tunnel beneath the tunnel! It happened a while after they entered the first one. Suddenly Paul told the driver to pull the car aside. He got down from the car and went near the tunnel wall. Mr Dixon was dumbfounded seeing a voice checker inside the wall. Paul took a deep breath seeing Mr Dixon staring at him intensely. He let out a sigh and went near the checker. A voice came out from inside when he tapped the button, “Say the code!” “Fuck you, Roveign!” “Voice recognised. You can enter now.” “.................” Paul was about to cry. Mr Dixon watched the whole show. He was so loud that Dixon was on the verge of laughin
Eleanor took a detour from the place where the van was last seen. However, there wasn’t any secret passage or any other linked road. She took another three rounds to confirm, but there wasn’t any clue where the van might have gone. Eleanor stopped the car far from the tunnel. It was almost getting dark. The sky was filled with bright stars and birds were returning to their nests. The view made Eleanor more depressed thinking about the uncertainty that she could find her father. Eleanor finally realised that Roveign city was far bigger than she had imagined. She didn’t know a thing about that place even though she had been living there for twenty-two years. It was a jungle and if you weren’t strong, you wouldn’t survive there. The anxiety and fear Eleanor was feeling, was sign of facing a beast. Or more probably facing a certain someone. Eleanor sighed while looking at the night sky. It was cold. She rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. Yet she couldn’t tolerate the cold wind that w
“Who goes there?!”The watchmen couldn't recognise the face of the man who was trying to sneak inside the mansion. He flashed the torch at his face only to conclude the guy was a stranger. “Stop right there!” He shouted. “You can't go in!”“Why?” The man asked. His deep voice could send chills down the spine. The eyes that were glowing at night could swallow the watchman down. However, he also had dignity as the Andersons’ watchman. It wasn't an easy task to guard such a huge mansion consisting of only a few people after all.“You need a prior appointment to meet any of the Andersons and also the curfew here starts at 8 PM sharp,” he said to the manSuddenly a car started honking behind them. The headlights suddenly got turned on, blinding both of their visions. “Let us in, Marc.” Shouted the driver inside before he closed the window by his side. The watchman let the car inside and closed the door without further ado. He completely forgot about the man's existence and was about to
“The mine is sold?” asked Erin in bewilderment. “Yes, ma’am. It's unexpected, but it's sold.”“Any information on who bought it.”“Nile Dixon.”“Someone new?”“Yes, ma'am. He has recently opened a construction company here.”“That business won't flourish with Opals around, then why?”Eleanor glimpsed at the file before her. A man's picture, who was in his thirties, was smiling at her. A naive look on his face as if he's someone novice in the business field. Shutting the file in disappointment, Eleanor said, “Look out for him.”“But he seems harmless, ma'am.”“Don't judge a book by its cover. He just looks so, but not a fool.”The informer stood there dumbfounded. However, he didn't dare to ask further. As if he knew, it was beyond his understanding.“I’ll have an eye on him and keep you updated.”“Hmm…Oh! And what about Uncle Evan?”The informer let out a sigh as he stated the situation, “Not good at all. He's signing the deal tomorrow.”“Grandma didn't say anything?” asked Eleanor.
"My lock screen is bland…" Eleanor examined the screen thoroughly as if she just got a new phone. Surprisingly it was as old as her career. She was neglecting her important partner. "I guess this! This one will be good." Eleanor looked happy as she changed her lock screen. However, the pain in her chest was choking her, making her unable to breathe. She grabbed the water bottle from the passenger seat and chugged it down fully in a go. Taking a deep breath she said to herself, "Calm down! You already knew this!"Yeah.Eleanor had an idea of what was happening. There was no point fighting the truth. However, she still had to find out some answers. Her focus was lost with the phone ringing. It was Lione. She picked it up instantly. "Hello? Reached home safely?""Lea…we're here in your office now."Eleanor went silent. But that was momentary. "She won't budge unless you come here.""Not surprised at all. I owe her answers, so I had it coming.""Where are you now?" "On my way! Tell
“Can you see her?” “Nope!” “Where is she?” “I bet she’s flirting with the boys!” “Shut up!” Lione cried out from the pain Eleanor inflicted on the spot. "What the! You’re so violent! I don't know how mom finds you polite and kind", she said as she rubbed her right arm. Smirking at her, Eleanor replied," I'm just good at camouflage. Wanna learn?" "As if!" Lione continued her solo treatment. The girls were so busy to notice that Laura was glaring at their way. To be exact, it was Eleanor whom she was staring at. Her rageous eyes could burn her down if she knew. Moreover, fate was never her friend. Eleanor had been giggling while teasing Lione right before Laura came from behind and pulled her aside by the ears. "Ahh..ouch ouch ouch!!" Eleanor tried to fight back only to learn that it was a futile attempt against her opponent. "Girl! You come with me!" "Au…aunt Laura! Welcome back! It’s… haha…it's terrific to see you, but…can you let go of my ear? Ouch!" Although Laura was
"Things are going as you planned." "Great! Don't let ya'r guard down though. They'll be coming in numbers from now on." "Yeah, can relate. Already two came and asked for your info." "How surprising! One of them must belong to the old hag." "After looking thoroughly, they both were her people." "Very cautious, I see…" "It won't be easy to escape their doubt." The cigarette in Howard's hands was burning down as the smoke circulated inside the car. He dived into deep thoughts while waiting for the traffic light to turn green from red. Tany was waiting for Howard to reply regarding the ongoing issue. However, he abruptly asked something unrelated, "Boss…why don't you wipe out the Andersons? Going in a roundabout way is a bit…" "It doesn’t suit ya, Tany…" Tany flinched. He realised where he was going wrong and immediately apologised. "I'm sorry. I bet I'm a bit tired these days." The sudden quietness was frightening for Tany. He could feel his heart racing. The thumping sound
"Hey! Wha...what the hell are you doing?" "Shut up!" "LET ME...UNG!"That was the last thing Reynold could say before his mouth got shut. His eyes were already blindfolded, so he couldn’t see where he was being taken like a package without an address.He was on his way to his home after a tiring day in the office. The deal with a foreign company took longer than he had anticipated. Although Reynold had a bittersweet argument that he had wished to forget by having a glimpse of his sweet wife, fate planned otherwise.After all, the day was jinxed! The hard grip behind his neck was painful enough for him to ignore where he was being dragged. For a while, he could only smell a musty odour around him. The mild sound of cranes was piercing through his ears. Reynold could conclude that it was a lively industrial area, but It was hard finding out about which part it was in Roveign city.Just before he works out the clues, Reynold heard someone slamming their way forward and guessed it was
Eleanor had been looking at the mirror for an hour with deep anticipation. She could hear her stomach rumbling whenever Howard's face popped up before her blank eyes. While acting his part about what he would say when he saw her, Eleanor could hear her heart beating louder than drums. She kept patting her chest in case she was capable of calming it down. "Calm down! Calm down! Woah. Everything's going to be fine." Eleanor said to her troubled heart but it only fueled her fear. She sat down on the chair, clenching her dress hard as she looked at the mirror again to find Nina at the back. A soft smile appeared on her face before saying, "I'm scared." "Why? Are you going to war?!" Nina asked in return which almost killed Eleanor since she had found it funny. She burst into laughter, unable to hold back anymore. It lasted for a while until she started clearing her tears and said, "It's not funny at all!" "But you’re laughing!" "Yeah, you’re right! WHOA! I feel something heavy on my ch
"Jennifer! Do a background check on Howard Brown and report me quickly," ordered Miranda. She just woke up from a good night's sleep and couldn’t leave her bed yet. Especially when the weather was nice, she didn’t have any plan to get out before eight o'clock in the morning. However, her usual routine said otherwise. Maybe it was because she was feeling sick since the day Eleanor brought Howard into their house. At first, Miranda didn’t harbour any doubts about Howard. Unfortunately, his response the other day at the dining hall was rather surprising for a mere clerk. Not that the common folks didn’t discuss such topics on business and current affairs! Despite having any relation with the revolutionary world of commerce, common people liked to talk about random topics now and then. So it wouldn’t have been surprising for Howard to know about the business world. Moreover, he was an acquaintance of Eleanor. Thus, it wasn’t surprising at all! But he had a rather clearer idea than any no
The weather was cloudy that day, so the room was gloomy. However, that wasn’t the only case why the situation was so dampening. Wearing an angry mask, Howard was sitting on the sofa. He was looking aimlessly at the flower vase that was kept on the table before him. As if he was planning to throw it to the wall. What would Eleanor do if he did that was what was going inside her head as she stood by the door and watched over him quietly. Howard didn’t bother to notice when she slowly walked into the room and went by the window. The curtains were half opened. So, she pulled the curtains away, letting the least bit of sunlight enter the room and enlighten Howard's misjudgement. "What do you want?" Howard asked in a harsh tone. But Eleanor was happy that her effort paid off. Thus she brushed aside his grumpy tone and joyfully replied, "Why, of course, I want to cheer up my angry husband." "Is that so? Then you must know the reason for my anger!" His tone became harsher. Eleanor almost