After concluding his conversation with his grandfather, Josh made his way back inside the expansive mansion. As he walked down the hallway toward his bedroom, Mario was also walking down the hallway. His gaze was on his cellphone, so it didn't look like he was looking where he was walking.The same thing could be said about Josh, as he was also looking at his cellphone, scrolling through his college's group chat to see if Amelia had posted anything about him. He couldn't help but worry that she might expose the fact that he was actually a rich person pretending to be poor to everyone. As he scrolled down, and noticed that she hadn't done any such thing, yet, Josh let out a sigh in relief.Just then, as he was still looking at his phone, Josh unexpectedly crossed paths and bumped into Mario, or rather, it seemed Mario deliberately collided with him. Looking at Mario, Josh expression hardened, angry at Mario for colliding into him.Mario also looked mad as he glared at Josh. "Watch wher
When Antonio had informed Josh that he should accompany him, Josh had initially declined. But Antonio insisted, leaving him no choice. Josh sighed, internally reminding himself that this was what he had signed up for, so he had to go. He didn't have much choice. Looking over at Antonio, he nodded saying, “Alright, I'll be with you in a second.” He needed some time to compose himself, before he could leave.Antonio nodded in understanding, replying. “Alright, be quick alright. It won't take long.” He sighed, approaching Josh and parting him on the shoulder,l as he continued, “We'll be back here in a minute, I promise.” saying that Antonio turned around and made his way out of the room, leaving Josh to his thoughts.As the door closed behind Antonio, Josh reclined on the bed, another sigh escaping his lips. The prospect of engaging in illegal activities, particularly being involved in drug operations with Antonio, sent shivers down his spine. The internal conflict of participating in a
Mario, his eyes looking into Josh's eyes, inched closer. “Keep moving, street rat. What does the name offend you so much? But that's what you are, and you'll always be…..” Mario was about to go on, insulting Josh, making sure he understands who he was and where his place in the family was, but before he could continue Antonio stepped in.“Alright, enough both of you.” Antonio growled, as he approached the two of them. “Mario, can you guys not fight right now? Let's go.” He demanded. Tension filled the air. Mario nodded in agreement. However as he walked past Josh, he deliberately bumped into him with slight force intending to push him out of the way, but Josh didn't move. In response, Josh turned around, shooting him an angry glare, but didn't say anything. Mario's persistent actions were becoming increasingly bothersome, and Josh disliked it. It was evident that Mario aimed to oust Josh from the family, using any means necessary, and he showed no intention of stopping until he succe
The man scrutinized Josh with a suspicious look. Josh had tried to remain nonchalant, trying to blend in the whole time, but he just couldn't, the uneasiness he felt was showing although he tried to hide it, and when the man had seen it, he became suspicious of him..The man's suspicion was understandable. Josh's appearance, both in his attire and aura, didn't align with the typical presence in that room, making it reasonable for the man to question his presence among them.After the man had asked who Josh was, Josh snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes meeting with them man's emotionless gaze. He took a brief second to collect his thoughts, and compose his words before he replied. “Josh.”The man, looking at him from head to toe with a suspicious gaze asked. “What brings you here Josh? How did you get in here.”Given his involvement in drug dealing, the man maintained a heightened sense of alertness, constantly wary of potential threats, suspecting individuals who acted weird and susp
The comments about him made Josh rage, and a huge part of him wanted to reply to Brian and the people making fun of him online, but he chose not to. Instead, Josh chose to disregard Brian's post and the accompanying comments. He powered off his cellphone and returned to focusing on studying for the upcoming test.Hours passed as he dedicated himself to his studies, determined not to let the online mockery distract him. Fatigue eventually caught up with him, and he drifted into sleep while still immersed in his study.***The soft morning light penetrated through the curtains, awakening Josh from his sleep. With a stretch, he rose from his cozy bed and sat up. Grabbing his cellphone, he checked the time, noticing that he had about two more hours before class started. As he rose from his bed, he walked over to the window and drew open the curtains. The air was filled with a faint scent of fresh lavender as he made his way to the opulent bathroom.The cozy shower water flowed down, wash
Ignoring the stares and the talks about him from some of the students, Josh continued on his way. He knew he couldn't pay attention to them as it was what they wanted, also he was used to people disdainfully staring his way and talking bad, so it didn't really affect him anymore. “Hey loser, I know you can hear me.” The curly haired blonde guy called out after seeing that Josh had ignored him completely, embarrassing In Front of his friends.And he was hoping that after calling him out like that, Josh would finally stop, however to his disappointment it was like his words fell on deaf ears.Josh continued walking nonchalantly until he reached the classroom door. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. Upon entering the classroom, Josh noticed that the majority of his classmates had yet to arrive, and a sense of relief washed over him, knowing he was early this time, unlike the previous occasion when he was five minutes late, and he was given detention. But Josh was certain that
Miss Andrews led Josh to the teacher's lounge where she was going to have a talk with him about something. Entering the teacher's lounge behind Miss Andrews, Josh looked around, as he was expecting that the moment he entered the lounge, he would be met by some stern looking teachers and professors, however to his slight relief and surprise he noticed that it was empty. As Josh stepped further inside the room, Ms. Andrews' walked over to the door and shut it gently. Her hand lingered on the doorknob for a moment, her eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion before she turned to face Josh and gestured for him to take a seat. “Have a seat, Josh “ Complying with her, Josh walked over to a seat and sat down as instructed by Ms. Andrews. Mrs Anderson also did the same,she walked over and sat down opposite Josh. With a concerned look, Josh looked over at her as he asked, "Is everything alright?"Ms. Andrews smiled faintly, assuring him with a nod, emphasizing that there was no need
The woman noticing that not only did Josh almost make her fall down on her face, he had also made her spill coffee on herself, couldn't help feeling angry. She glared at Josh, her frustration now directed at the ruined clothes. "Look what you did! My outfit is ruined!" she exclaimed in a accusatory tone. She was blaming Josh for the collision, when in reality it was her fault for focusing on her cellphone and not looking where she was going. Josh was already almost seated when she bumped into him.Josh, still caught off guard, let out an apology, "I'm sorry, it was an accident." He said humbly. Although he acknowledged that she was the one who collided with him because apparently she was too occupied by her cellphone, Josh chose to humble himself and apologize to avoid any unnecessary issues.However, the girl, now more concerned about her coffee stained clothes than the collision, didn't care about his apology. Him apologizing after he had just made her spill hot coffee all over her
Josh moved quickly down the stairs, his heartbeat thundering in his chest as he pursued the mysterious figure. Hoping to catch up to him and ask him questions.The shadowy intruder was swift, sprinting through the mansion’s dimly lit corridors with ease, his footsteps barely making a sound. Despite Josh's best efforts, he struggled to keep up, his shoes hitting the polished floor heavily as he turned corner after corner, desperate to close the distance."Hey! Stop!" Josh called out, but the figure showed no sign of slowing down. Josh picked up pace, and he could feel frustration building up inside him, with each second, the man’s elusive speed almost mocking him. Although Josh was trying his best to run fast and catch up,his attempts were futile, he couldn't catch up with the man.They reached the grand staircase leading to the main entrance, and just as Josh rounded the last bend, he caught a little glimpse of the figure slipping out of a side door into the night. By the time Josh ma
Josh knew some people had expected him to act differently, more ruthlessly, more like a true ‘De La Cruz.’ Giovanni hadn’t said much, but the silence bothered him. It was a silence that spoke volumes, making Josh wonder if his grandfather shared the same doubts as the others.Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, Josh pulled out his phone, deciding to put the night behind him. He quickly dialed his bodyguard and driver to come and pick him up, hoping to escape the weight of the evening as soon as possible.Not long after he made the phone call, a sleek black Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of him. His bodyguard stepped out of the vehicle and silently opened the door, waiting for Josh to get in. As Josh took a step forward, ready to leave the night behind, he heard the soft but distinct sound of footsteps approaching him from behind.Josh paused on his tracks, his hand resting on the car door, and glanced back over his shoulder, catching sight of a familiar figure moving toward him. H
Lilith had no comment on Josh’s actions. She could see Mrs. Washington’s disappointment, the frustration appearing on her face as she watched the man who was supposed to be the future son-in-law of their family display complete weakness in front of more than a hundred people. Mrs. Washington shook her head in disdain, her voice dripping with scorn as she continued to speak on Josh. “What a disgrace,” she murmured, loud enough for those around her to hear. Her displeasure with Josh was justifiable according to herself. How could a soon to be son-in-law of hers act like that? He let someone who had put hands on him earlier walk away without a consequence? To her, it wasn’t just a show of weakness from Josh, it also revealed a lack of self-respect. If Josh had any, he would show no mercy and would have taught the man who dared to disrespect him a lesson. “Giovanni must be very disappointed. Total weakness from Josh. A real De La Cruz would’ve made Walton pay. No hesitation, no mercy.”
The room was filled with the murmur of the crowd, their astonished whispers growing louder as they wondered what Giovanni's grandson was going to do to the person who had wronged him earlier. It was no longer a secret that Chris Walton had dared to attack Josh De La Cruz at this event earlier. No doubt a foolish and dangerous move from Mr Walton. Everyone knew he was about to face serious consequences for that. So, would Giovanni's grandson exact his revenge on Mr. Walton? The anticipation filled the air, with everyone eager to see how Josh would handle the situation and what retribution Walton would face.It wasn't about if he was going to get his revenge or not? The answer was already obvious. He was A De La Cruz, so of course he was going to get his revenge from the person who had wronged him! The real question was; how was Josh going to take his revenge? What was he going to do to Mr Walton?The event attendees watched intently as their gaze shifted between Josh and Giovanni, eag
Chris Walton struggled to accept the revelation. How on earth could Josh be related to Giovanni De La Cruz, let alone be his grandson? It all sounded like a made-up lie to him. However Giovanni had no reason to deceive him, so Chris had no choice but to believe it. It had to be the truth.It wouldn't even matter whether he chose to believe it or not anyways, because either way, Giovanni was involved and he was on Josh's side.The truth was undeniable, Josh was indeed Giovanni's grandson. A wave of regret washed over Chris as he began to realize how bad this was. He had made a big mistake. Only if someone had told him that the young man who had approached him and introduced himself earlier was actually a De La Cruz, then Chris wouldn't have been so rude to him. Chris had taken the fact that Josh had been nice and humble towards him earlier as weakness. He thought Josh was just a nobody who wasn't on his level and was unworthy of his respect or attention. Plus the fact that Amelia was
Giovanni’s face darkened, his expression turning icy upon hearing Mr. Walton's disrespectful reference to Josh. He couldn't believe that someone would be bold enough to insult his grandson in front of him. Even if Giovanni hadn’t been there earlier, Giovanni wondered why anyone would disrespect his grandson in the first place. Hadn’t they realized who Josh was already? Giovanni had made a point of introducing Josh to many people that night to ensure his identity was known, so he assumed Mr. Walton was aware of who Josh was. The fact that Mr. Walton had still gone on to insult him seemed baffling to Giovanni. It was as if they were daring fate itself, how could anyone be so reckless as to insult his grandson in front of him? Were they tired of living?The insult aimed at his grandson was unacceptable, and Giovanni couldn’t stand by silently. Fixing his gaze on Mr. Walton, Giovanni’s voice was low but filled with menace. “You’ll refrain from insulting my family in my presence,” he said
After speaking with Vincenzo for a while, Antonio left him upstairs and returned to the venue. As he approached Giovanni, he appeared deep in thought.Giovanni, noticing Antonio’s preoccupied expression, asked, “Is everything alright?”Startled from his thoughts, Antonio quickly forced a smile and replied, “Yeah, everything’s fine.” He chose to lie, not wanting to reveal his encounter with Vincenzo. Antonio knew that if Giovanni discovered that Vincenzo, the traitor, was at the event, it would only lead to trouble.Meanwhile.As the night progressed, Josh and Bianca finally parted ways. However they exchanged numbers, something Josh didn't expect to happen, but he was atill very happy. He was still surprised that she had taken a liking to him. Because he wasn't used to people taking a liking to him. That was one of the reasons he never had many girlfriends in his 20 years of life, and the only girlfriend he had turned out to be the worst human being, only dating him because of a bet.
Mrs Washington looked at Lilith, her response seemed to surprise her. The indifference in her daughter’s voice and demeanor was noticeable, and Mrs. Washington’s eyebrows raised in a mixture of surprise and concern. She had expected a different reaction from Lilith, one that might have aligned more closely with her own sense of decency and respect. Mrs Washington was deeply concerned that her family’s reputation might suffer if word got out that her future son-in-law was behaving like a playboy. Though she could tell that Josh wasn’t truly a playboy, his recent actions were troubling and contradicted the image she expected him to uphold. The way he was acting at the event, instead of being with Lilith, he was with someone else and she worried what the people who knew about his engagement Lilith would think. They would probably say he didn't respect them.Knowing she had to do something and put an end to Josh's disrespectfulness of her family, Mrs Washington had no choice but to walk
As he reentered the venue, Josh decided to not think much about the mysterious caller, or about Chris Walton. He found himself trying to focus on the present. The pulsating pain was a constant, but so was his desire for revenge. He was determined to make Chris Walton regret ever crossing him, but he needed to keep his composure and look for the right opportunity. For now, he would have to navigate through the night with a balance of patience and resolve.Returning to the bar, Josh felt a mix of relief and anticipation. The evening had taken an unexpected turn with the phone call and another clue sent to him by the mysterious person in the envelope, but he didn't want to think about that for now. He was eager to return to the pleasant company of Bianca. he felt a genuine connection with her, something he hadn't expected.The brief but enjoyable conversation they’d had before the interruption had been a welcome distraction, and he found himself looking forward to continuing their chat.