Chapter Seventy-One"You've got to be freaking kidding me!""I beg your...pardon?"The receptionist looked stunned. Her brows were furrowed with puzzlement as she stared at Lana, and the smile on her face faltered. The gorgeous red-haired woman in front of her, placed her hand on the counter and closed her eyes, blowing out a breath in frustration. She looked like she was counting to one hundred, in order to calm down. The lobby of the hotel was filled with people and guests. Some were travellers, while some were business people and vacationers. True, it was that time of the year, where the city would be flooded with tourists, gushing over its beauty. Diego stood beside her, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. His expression mirrored that of his mistress when he heard what the receptionist had said.When Lana spoke again, her voice was ragged and it sounded like her temper was hanging by a thread."So you're saying I can't book the penthouse?"The receptionist did a double take,
Chapter Seventy-Two"What the hell do you think you're doing, Lana?!"Damien growled as he marched towards his ex-wife. Somewhere in his brain, common sense trashed about, trying to get ahold of him but he was too angry to listen to it.He knew he shouldn't sound so harsh.He wasn't supposed to sound harsh at all, but goddammit! , the woman was just too infuriating.After he'd driven off from the SK Restaurant earlier that afternoon, Damien had set to chase down Lana, but a call from his assistant Liam pulled him out of that decision."Sir, the investors from Mauritania is here." Liam had said as soon as he picked up the call, "When do you think you'll be able to make it?""Reschedule the meeting." came the terse reply from Damien. He was trying to focus on the road and also on his dashboard, where he could track the location of Lana's car on a panel there. Liam swore silently, rolling his eyes upward, "We can't reschedule the meeting. This people flew seventeen hours to get here tod
Chapter Seventy-ThreeLana was not fazed by the way Damien stormed towards her like an angry bull. Neither did the anger in his eyes or his handsome face which was darkened by a huge frown."Welcome to the club, baby" she muttered under her breath, making sure her own expression matched his furious one.He had the audacity to be angry, after acting like a pest towards her for the whole day?!What a joke!She wrenched her eyes away from his as he approached, and made to brush past him towards the direction of her car.In an instant, Damien's hand shot out and gripped her arm, stopping her from moving further."Ow! Let go, you brute!" She yelled angrily, jerking back her arm furiously but Damien's grip was too tight.Damien leaned down so his face was in hers, "Do not walk out on me!" He said fiercely, his breath fanning her face, "I asked you a question!"Lana punched on his arm hand angrily, tears of anger shimmering in her eyes "Alright, I heard you! Just let go already!"Damien cont
Chapter Seventy-FourThere was shocked silence for some seconds as those words left Damien's mouth. All three of them were shocked.Lana and Diego could not believe he'd actually apologized to her. This was not the Damien Romero they knew, and Lana did not know how to react to this new side of Damien.She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, as he still held her firmly by the wrists.Her bottom lip found its way between her teeth as a slight frown crossed her face. Her mind played back his exact words that he'd said to her a few minutes ago,"I'm sorry, Lana! I don't know what came over me when I said those senseless words but I did not mean them. Believe me when I say, I don't think of you as a gold digger!""He did not think of me as a gold digger" she thought to herself, scoffing slightly, unsure if she should believe his words.This was the same man who'd not wanted to be in the same breathing space with her five years ago. She knew it'd been wrong for his grandmother, Laura, to for
Chapter Seventy-FiveIt was quite late in the night when the Benz finally pulled up at the Romero Villa. It was located in the heart of the city, and was a sight to behold.The driveway which led up to the house was dotted with beautiful lights and different varieties of flowers, which filled the entire area with their exotic and pleasing scents.The car stopped directly in front of the house, beside a small fountain. A statue in the figure of a baby angel with wings, stood on the raised platform, the flowing water pouring out of its upturned vase. The reflection of the moon and stars up ahead could be seen in the water and they shimmered, giving the water a sparkling surface.Before Damien could get out of the car and go round to help her, Lana was already outside the car, staring appreciatively at the building in front of her.His jaw clenched with irritation at this, but he quickly clamped down on it.At least, she was here with him. Lana had eventually agreed to stay at the Romero
Chapter Seventy-SixLana's eyes flew open at the sound of Damien's voice behind her. Startled, she turned in the water to find him staring down at her.She blinked away her drowsiness and widened her eyes at him in shock. Lana became acutely aware of the state she was in and she swallowed hard in trepidation, desperately hoping that he would not be able to see anything through the water.But that might just be wishful thinking. The water was as clear as crystal."What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She gasped at him, taking care to make sure that her entire upper body was still submerged in water. Her cheeks became flamed with heat as her eyes flashed with anger, "Get out!"Damien made no move as though he did not hear what she said. He was leaning against the door, with arms crossed over his chest. He had taken off his tie and his white button down was opened at the throat, revealing his bronzed pecs underneath. He tilted his head and continued watching her, his eyes darkening
Chapter Seventy-SevenDamien watched Yvette lead Lana up the stairs to her room, and let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. He still felt nervous, afraid that she'd still leave but then he hoped she got settled in and banish any thoughts of leaving from her head.He looked around and realized he was the only one still standing at the base of the staircase, watching Lana go up the stairs until she disappeared from his sight.The other maids had gone off into the house, one leading Diego to his own room.He was tempted to follow Yvette and Lana upstairs, to see how she'd like her room but he decided against it.That's enough clinging for the day.Instead, he walked over the room to sit on one of the two matching armchairs to wait for them to come back down. The two armchairs were facing a wall made of wall to ceiling windows. From the windows, it could be seen that the house overlooked a lake, although that was not very visible from the point where he was sitting. This w
Chapter Seventy-Eight"Eiik!"Lana squealed as she stumbled backwards, her hands flailing in the air.It all happened in the blinke of an eye and she expected to land on the floor, with her butt, but Damien's hand shot out and grabbed her waist, breaking her fall.She gripped both his shoulders as she straightened herself, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Damien held her firmly to himself, until she was able to regain her footing. His eyes roved over her startled face, which was swiftly becoming red, due to the color flooding her cheeks.He arched an eyebrow at her, "Are you okay?" He asked, tentatively and Lana quickly nodded."I'm fine, thank you," she muttered breathlessly. She was suddenly aware of the fact that the only barrier between their bodies, was the thin towel which she'd wrapped around herself before leaving the bathroom.She bit her lips in regret and averted her gaze, "Shit, I should have just worn the bathrobe instead." She thought, then cleared her throat, tr
Chapter Ninety-ThreeThe security guards escorted Madam Vera and Rina out of the premises of the company.Vera had stopped struggling and Rina was still playing a dying girl. Soon, the driver brought Vera's car round to the entrance of the lobby, and only then did the security guards let go of the women."Let go of me," Madam Vera struggled one last time, just as they let go of them. She turned to glare at the security guards who still stood behind them, waiting for the woman to get into their cars.Vera stretched back her hands and gave them both slaps across their faces. The men did not flinch and their grave expression remained the same, even with the red welt marks on their cheeks."Please, get into the car, ma'am." A body guard said, giving Vera a serious look. The other glanced at the driver, who came round to open the car door for them."Lowlife bastards," Vera swore under her breath, glaring at the security guards with hate. They gave her a look that said they did not even c
Chapter Ninety-TwoRina walked into her office, and all the employees quickly stood up and bowed in unison, with respect. The fact that she had such influence to the extent that, she'd gotten Rina fired was still mindblowing.No one would dare to cross her from now on, especially now that they knew the CEO was solidly behind her. He even escorted his mother out of the premises for her.Lana sat behind her desk and only then did she ask them to sit with a curt nod of her head. The employees sat down clumsily, shifting uncomfortably under Lana's scrutinizing gaze.Claudia and the rest of Rina's minions felt the most uncomfortable. They could not even raise their heads to look at Lana. Instead, they fiddled with their keyboards or thumbs or bag straps or the pile of papers on their desks.All the while praying that Lana does not call them out. Even though they hated her, they still loved their jobs and wanted to keep it. Rina was gone, so there was no use acting up in front of Lana.L
Chapter Ninety-One"I'll reconsider suing your mother, Damien." Lana uttered, "If Rina is fired from MAGIC!"Rina gasped in outrage, while Vera struggled in the hands of the security men, "Let me go!" She struggled fiercely once more, and managed to wrench herself free from the men, who were a bit surprised by her strength. They had let her go, because it seemed like Vera would hurt herself any moment with the way she was struggling.She stood arms akimbo and faced Lana, "You bitch, what are you saying?! You want Rina fired, after everything she's done for MAGIC?!" She yelled at her, "Do you think I don't know what's going on? You're trying to throw out the rightful owner and take Rina's glory!" She then turned to face Damien, saying fiercely, "How long are you going to believe her? Can't you see how evil she is?!"Damien was silent, ignoring his mother's outburst. He tilted his head and watched Lana with a calculated, narrowed gaze. "You will reconsider, you say?""Damien!" Vera scr
Chapter NinetyLana looked so fierce, that both Vera and Rina were overcome with fear. They shuddered, even as Vera tried to stand firm."I won't let you get away with this, Lana!" she retorted, "I won't!""Oh right!" Lana said suddenly as she walked back to Diego, and examined his face once more. The sight of his bleeding lips made her grit her teeth in anger. She turned back to Vera and said coldly, "I won't let you get away with this too, Vera."Vera eyed her in annoyance, "What?!""This is assault." Lana said, simply, "You dared to hit a person to the extent that you left a mark on their skin." She smiled tightly, "You have to pay for that."Vera scoffed, "You must be out of your mind!" She spat out, unable to believe what she was hearing. She sniffed haughtily and looked down her nose at Lana, "I was only teaching your lowlife assistant a lesson. How dare he speak out of turn to me?!"Lana brought out her cellphone from her bag, and gave Vera a fake smile, "you can explain that t
Chapter Eighty-NineVera raised her hand to strike Diego once more, but then she felt a tight grip on her hand, holding her back. "What the..." she started saying as she turned in anger to look at the person that would dare to hold her hand back. Her eyes widened in shock when her eyes met Lana's face."Y..you.." she retorted, trying to sound firm, "What do you think you're doing?""Are you out of your freaking mind?!" Lana growled, baring her teeth at the older woman, who was stunned at her audacity."Let go of me this instant!" Mada Vera shrieked in a tremulous voice, "Don't you know who you're talking to?!"Lana was trembling with rage. She looked from Diego's reddened cheek and bleeding lips, and it only seemed to add more fuel to the inferno that was raging within her."You nasty old hag, how dare you touch him?!" She said to Vera, fiercely. The employees gathered around, all gasped at Lana's audacity. They wondered if she knew she was talking to the mother of the CEO.Vera's mo
Chapter Eighty-EightDiego paced back and forth outside the office of the design team, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Damien.He could not take it if Lana was angry.His heart clenched within him, as guilt made his stomach churn. The question she'd asked him rang in his ears over and over again "Is CEO Damien your boss that you take orders from him?"He was sure he'd heard some traces of hurt in her voice. Diego groaned at that possibility. He could not believe he was such a coward in front of the person who had treated his mistress so badly when she was in RomeroIt was just that Damien's aura was too domineering and Diego still feared him.If it weren't for Miss Lana being in the Romero Villa, Diego wasn't sure he'd ever have gotten the opportunity to look Damien in the face.That was how high up he was.The elevator dinged behind him and he turned to it sharply, his eyes lit with hope, "Miss Lana?!" He called out as he walked towards the elevator. However, he stopped and froze, a
Chapter Eighty-Seven"We'll be signing it in the office."Lana scoffed in disbelief. She raked a hand through her hair, and tried not to glare at him."It's okay, it's okay ." She calmed herself down, "He's just trying to get on your nerves."She was certain now, that Damien was playing tricks with her. If not, why all these delay in signing the papers?"You said you had the papers here." She said, giving him a right smile, "Why trouble ourselves and take it to the office?"Damien shrugged, "So we can meet my lawyer there," he replied and walked past her to grab his jacket which was on the chair next to where he'd been sitting, and draped it over his shoulders, "He can be our witness as well."He finished buttoning the jacket and gave her a cocky smile, as she watched him puzzledly.What he'd said made sense .Perhaps, he was not playing tricks after all?"I can only know that when I sign the papers," she reminded herself, then raised her nose haughtily at him, before saying outloud.
Chapter Eighty-Six"Yes!" Vera cried, admitting her wrongdoing "Yes I did! And so what?"She was breathing hard and trembling with fear and anger at her ruined plans, but she decided to forge on anyway."Yes, I set someone to keep tabs on you!"she continued, her words coming out in a rush, "But that's because you chose to keep yourself far away from the rest of the famiky and your fiancee! Do you know how heartbroken Rina was everyday, at your absence? Just knowing that you were fine was enough for her, which was why I did it!""Who is it? Your minion?" Damien asked, ignoring her outburst. If Rina died every night and woke up every day at his absence, it was none of his business. She was the one reason he'd left the main estate in the first place. She should deal with it. However, Vera ignored his question as well, "But it's a good thing I did, right?" She went on with a vehemence in her tone, "if I hadn't, then I wouldn't have known you disgraced our family by bringing back that sc
Chapter Eighty-FiveThere was an awkward silence at the table for a few minutes, with Lana wondering why he'd not take his mother's call.But that's none of her business now, was it?"Aren't you eating?" Damien's asked. His brows was furrowed slightly in worry, "Why? It's not to your taste?""No, no." Lana replied, shaking her head, "I've not tasted it, but I'm sure it tastes superb." As she spoke, she looked down at her plate and her mouth made a round "o", when she saw the food.Beef cutlets with a side of roasted vegetables and pasta. "Impressive." She mumbled as she took a bite of a juicy, crispy beef cutlet. They were actually her favorite, and she wondered how Damien had known about it.He was watching her now, eagerly anticipating her reaction, "Well, do you like it?" He asked, softly."It's really good," Lana replied, nodding her head in appreciation, at the rich flavour of chewy meat and vegetables that burst in her mouth with every bite she took, "Yvette's cooking is real