After she was done with her appointment with Melissa, she left the section. A woman in her peripheral view at the emergency unit caught her sight. There were bruises on the woman’s face presently being tended to by a nurse.The woman looked familiar so she walked closer. “Lola?”The woman didn’t react at first till she called again. “Lola? Is that you?”Penelope gasped in horror when Lola turned to look at her. “Fire cracker? Is that you?”One of Lola’s eyes were covered. The skin looked red and swollen. There were some cuts on her face as well.“What happened, Lola? Who did this?” Penelope couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.Lola shook her head. “No one. I did this to myself.” She answered, looking down at her feet. “I wanted the luxury. Whatever came with it was damned. I did not care.” She added.The nurse finished with dressing her. Penelope walked right in front of her. “No, Lola. No human being or animals deserves to be treated this way.” Her voice rose with fury. “Whoever
Penelope didn’t talk. Which unnerved Killian. She didn’t even look in his direction. Killian tugged at his tie out of frustration.What can he do to get her to talk? He couldn’t handle the silent treatment anymore. He preferred her chatting his ears off and berating him.“Let’s get out of here.” Killian pulled Penelope along harshly.For a brief second, she relished in his hold and yanked hers out of his. She stomped her way towards his car.She yanked the door open after the Valet handed the keys to Killian and sat in the passenger’s seat. She really couldn’t wait to go home,Killian marched with equal intensity and sat behind the wheel. He slammed the door shut, making Penelope jump in fright. Regardless, Penelope uttered no word, not even a sound.The car was started and Killian sped away from the Villa and onto the streets. His foot pressed harder on the accelerator. The car roared angrily. The sight outside the window blurred into colourful block lines.Penelope grabbed the hand
“Thank you.” Penelope expressed her gratitude to the truck driver. She returned his jacket to her and alighted.“Take care, ma’am. And, beware of lonely paths.” The man spoke and bid her goodbye,She let out a huge sigh of relief as she stared at her condo. Splurging all her money on it had never been right than at that moment.She had needed to walk back to the main road in her heels, tried to stop many cars but none waited. Her eyes stung with tears, thinking about her situation. Who would stop for a strange woman at the dead of the night?She had to turn some drivers done who were all too eager to have her join their party. It was a car filled with boisterous men who hollered and didn’t hide the desire in their eyes.She walked away and thankfully, they drove. She had given up home as she crouched on the road side. “Where are you headed to, Lost child?” An old truck driver asked.A truck parked right in front of her,Her eyes were brim with grateful tears. She hopped onto the trop.
The atmosphere was bustling with giggles and joyous laughter. Francine stared at the couples around her with longing. It was the first night of the weekend. Of course, couples would take the day to catch up from their busy schedule during the week.The restaurant was their favourite. The spot was theirs, too. The owner of the restaurant never failed to make it available for them whenever she requested for it.“Babe?” Freddy arrived at the restaurant. “I am so sorry I kept you waiting.” He came in and pecked her on her lips. “Killian almost drove me to nuts on his search for Ms. Winters.”Francine’s eyebrows furrowed. She wondered what he did to Penelope again.Freddy frowned at her lack of reciprocation, “What is going on?” He asked as he pulled out the seat opposite Francine out for himself.Francine let out a sigh and stared out of the window. “The view is beautiful.” She said quietly.“Is this about your grandfather?” Freddy inquired. “I have a solution.” He announced excitedly. “
"Where is she, huh?" Killian bellowed in his study. "Can we report her missing?" "It hasn't met the duration to file such report." Nathan countered. Killian scoffed, "The 72 hours duration? What if she is in danger? Where the hell is Freddy, by the way?!" Nathan shrugged and leaned into his seat, "That would be on you. Who leaves a woman stranded in the middle of nowhere? Definitely not a gentleman."Killian glared at Nathan. "It's not the time, Nathan." He spoke gently. He already had enough of self-blaming. He had yet to get a wink of sleep, worrying about her safety. A series of knock sounded on the door. "Come in." He answered, sounding tired. Boyles poked his head into the room. His dark hair was combed to the back. He had on a brown leather jacket, paired with black jeans. "Is this a bad time?" He asked grinning, "Looks like it's a bad time." He answered himself, cringing. Killian wasn't the least interested in his theatrics gimmicks. "Depends, Boyles." Killian responde
"Have you seen Ms. Winters?" Killian inquired from Ms. BShe shook her head, "She has been behind closed doors since your return from the hospital." She answered. Ms. B wondered what happened at the hospital. She was well aware of Killian's desire to possess an heir. It had caused a rift between his deceased wife and him. She had been there their entire marriage. But she could feel whatever was between Killian and Penelope, it exceeded the pregnancy. "Thank you," Killian said and turned towards Penelope's wing in the manor."Uhm..." Ms. B started uncertainly, "Maybe you should give her some alone time?" She suggested.He needed an answer and he needed it very soon. He gave a nod hesitantly. His gaze wandered towards her wing, wishing she could materialize from her room. He shook his head and grabbed his car keys. He sped out of the manor like a maniac with no destination in mind. ***Penelope lifted the hem of her top and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She felt her tummy
"Bryan!" She squealed over the phone awkwardly. "You didn't tell me you were back. Thought you would be in Germany for another two months." She said trying to buy some time on what to do."You don't sound too happy to hear about my arrival. That's heartbreaking." Bryan retorted."No no... I am happy. Of course... I am. You know I don't like surprises. I would have got things in place ahead of your arrival. But don't worry. I'll get a cab and meet you at the airport in a couple of minutes." She quickly explained to diffuse the situation.Penelope changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. She wore a Jean jacket over it and slipped into pink sanders before leaving her room.The next step is how to get a cab. A thought popped into her head.She went to the drivers' quarters in search of Max. "Max!" She called from outside.She heard some movement before a man poked his head out. It was Van, Killian's driver."Ms. Winters!" His eyes widened. He had wanted to lash out at whoever was di
Penelope paced back and forth in her room. It had been over a week since Bryan returned from the country. She needed to come up with something soon. Her phone chimed. She walked over to it to see the notification of a message from an unknown number. But there had been messages persistently for some months. The message wasn't any different but a name was added this time. "I love you."DrewThe message read. She threw her phone back on the bed. She had thought it was a message from Killian. She could care less about Drew. He was her past, a history. It was best he stayed there. The message failed to stir any emotion from her. She regarded the words baseless and him, a liar. Penelope wanted to ask for his permission to inform her brother about the pregnancy, the engagement hasn't been fully established. She needed more time.Plus, she had to devise a means of living in the condo to rid Bryan of any suspicion towards her. She heard the faint roar of the car. Quickly, her bare feet sl
“Congratulations, Ms. Penelope Fords.” The board members erupted in a series of congratulations. She had been voted as the new CEO for Ford Company and all affiliate companies.The new reached Stanley Ford and he was beyond livid. The woman took the one thing that he hoped would still be his if he was granted bail. But his court judgement had been life sentence till death without any chance of parole.It was at that moment that a foreign substance rolled down his cheeks. He didn’t bother catching it because he deserved all that had happened to him. He allowed himself to be driven with so much power, molesting women, blackmailing them and killing simply because he thought he could get away with it.In the end, Penelope Ford won. She provided the DNA evidence, sending Delilah and her daughters away. She didn’t take the house from them because she had no use for it. She, more than most people, understood what it felt like to have no roof over your heads.She wished she could be steel hea
“Max! Fran! Come out!” Penelope screamed at the top of her lungs, wondering where they had hidden. It was their moving day. The boxes had been tapped, packed and waiting for the moving truck.She tried again and went to the back exit to look for them. The kids were testing her patience lately. They had ben rebelling against her since she mentioned that they would be moving to the city. But Max had given her a condition- to move in with Killian.They wanted to spend as much time with her and Killian as well. The thought stressed her out because it further added more pressure on her decision making.“Come on, Max! Fran!” She called outside and was on the verge of giving up when she heard some movement nearby. There was a store room where she kept the supplies.“Max? Come out here!” She ordered sternly. He came out in slow steps with Fran in tow.“Really? Both of you are unbelievable. I am the parent here! As much as I allow you some freedom doesn’t mean you should undermine my authoriti
Revenge never felt this sweet and bittersweet.It had been a couple of days since Jared King trended for the fraud he was. His doctor who forged a report of his ailment had his license revoked as well. So, yeah… Revenge tour was bittersweet as many people lost their jobs, sources of income all to rebuild a system that had fallen into the hands of power-drunk men.Penelope took it upon herself to visit some people before she returned to the countryside. One of those people was Nathan Hoffman.“You have a visitor.” She heard his PA relay to him.“Was there an appointment?” She heard him ask in a tired voice. Her heart bled for him. She imagined the PA shook her head when she heard no response. “Let them in.” He gave his permission.Penelope waited for the PA to come out to accompany her in.“Nathan.” She called as soon as she set foot into his office. He raised his head slowly. A glimmer of light shined in his eyes at the appearance of Penelope.“Penny.” He whispered, almost disbelievi
His eyes looked like they had seen a ghost. He was right. Everything he held dearly would soon become a ghost of his imagination. "T-thank you all for spending today with this old man." He concluded his speech and left the center stage. People began laughing, smiling and toasting to him. A clip played in the background for everyone to see. It was a collage of photos with music attached to it. Stanley smiled so much, his cheeks burned. Slowly, the pictures turned from pictures of his to pictures of the bruises he afflicted on Lola. Everyone gasped at the gory pictures, covering their mouths at the sheer horror of those images. Soon after, names from the black lists were called. Several funds of the government that was diverted. Stanley gasped, shaking his head disbelievingly. "No! None of this is true." He tried to plead with his guests who had adored him some minutes ago, now turned their backs on him.No one listened. People started to leave the parties because soon after, siren
"What have we got?" Killian asked.Boyles held a cigar in between his lips as he took a deep long drag."A lot. Depends on where you want us start." He spoke after putting the smoke in the air. His feet casually crossed over each other on her work desk. She had a study in a makeshift basement.It was no news that Boyles knew about where she was, even though she never revealed where she was writing from in any of her letters.He was the one that anonymously tipped Killian about her whereabouts. They knew because he confessed the minute he set foot into her household, right before plumping into the chair in front of her desk.He was always an enigma thag no one could decipher."His offshore accounts. We must look into it. Several events had been hosted, especially art works which we know he couldn't give the middle finger about. Most of them are usually sent to another location." Killian inquired, looking at the spread papers and files before him."I will have my men on it. I got you an
Penelope woke up to the light streaming down softly on her face. She groaned a little due to the sudden intrusion on her vision she opens her eyes.She adjusted her position and met a wall behind her. Her hand darted to the back to feign the object."Careful, love. Unless you want to stir him awake for another round. I don't mind, though." His voice vibrated against her neck, turning on very early in the morning.She bit her lips and retracted her hand. As tempting as his offer was, she couldn't even summon the strength. The previous night was a tryst that left her moaning her lungs out and causing her to be sore down there.If she somehow made it out of her bed, she would claim victory. The night was sweet, slow and rough. Everything she wanted and desired. She clamper he thighs shut while reminiscing."Talk to me. What are you thinking about?" Killian asked, slipping his hand around her waist and pulled her flush to his front, not condoning any space between them. He let out a sigh
Killian didn’t hold back on having fun with Max and Fran, especially not on his Black Gold credit card. But he didn’t mind. Anything to see the joy on their faces, he was willing and ready to do it.Sometime in the evening after having lunch with the kids, Max asked, “Okay, Dad. Why are you sulking? Don’t you like spending time with us?” Max inquired, dumping his fries on the plate and meeting his gaze.He turned away from the view of the buzzling locals outside the window, “Of course, I want to spend all the time I can get with you.” He spoke defensively.The two arched a brow, “Then, why are you sulking?” Max asked again.“I am not sulking.” He answered with a scowl on his face.Max and Fran leaned back at the same time, seemingly choreographed before concluding. “Sulking!”Killian let out a sigh.“Come on. Talk to us.” Fran spoke this time. She pushed her food away, grabbed the napkin to clean her hands and crossed her arms, expectantly.Max leaned back into his seat, waiting as we
“Stay in here and don’t leave the car, Penny.” John warned sternly, debating on whether he should turn back home because of the danger he might be putting his daughter in. Evelyn would have his head if she found out about it.She had warned him against it but didn’t listen to her. How could he? The only opportunity he had to save his dying wife, not taking it would mean losing her to that bastard disease that was eating her up from the inside.All he wanted to do was take his wife’s pain away. The society shouldn’t fault a man for the means he takes.In quiet strides, he went into the building with his hands tucked inside both his pockets. Occasionally, he would look behind him, straining his neck to check the car to see if anyone was near it.After some minutes, gunshot was heard, startling Penelope where she sat. her heart raced as she looked around, wondering where her father was.The kite was in her hold when she poked her head out of the window, looking into the darkness that ove
She looked down at their joined hands and looked back up at Killian. “One step at a time, remember?” She spoke and pulled her hand out of his. “The children are far more important right now.” She added and stood up from the couch. “Goodnight, Killian.” She whispered the last part.“Goodnight, Penelope.” He spoke in a low voice, feeling dejected at her rejection. Although, he half expected it but it didn’t lessen the ache he felt in his heart. He grabbed the comforter nearby and used it to cover himself after taking minimal clothing pieces off. That had been his bed for the past few days.The thought made him chuckle. How could a billionaire squeeze his length into a couch for days? Ms. Flores would have aneurysms if she ever saw him in that uncomfortable position. His bed was much more comfortable than the hard couch. He wondered why Penelope didn’t buy a more comfortable one when she easily could.Think of this as a means to an end, he tried to comfort himself internally.Just when h