Chapter Sixty-Seven As soon as they were out of the restaurant, Lana tried releasing her hand from Damien's grip but he was all too strong. She pulled back, but it did not even have a fraction of effect on Damien. She gritted her teeth in frustration, and dug her heels into the ground, pulling back with all her might. Damien growled low in his throat, aware of what she was doing, "Can you stop doing that?!" he whirled on her and said tightly. She glared back defiantly, and they stood on the pavement, glaring down at each other. "Just let go, already!" She shot back, just as tightly "We're out of the restaurant already. Zaire is not here, so let me go now!" He stared at her and was at a loss for words at the moment. Her cheeks were red with anger, and her gaze was not that dead stare she normally gave him. Her green eyes, which shimmered with unshed tears, was filled with hatred and pain. This did nothing to stop his gut from twisting with guilt. Damien felt his grip on her arm l
Chapter Sixty-Eight"So...you're homeless?"Lana glared at Damien as he walked up to her, his hands clasped behind his back, like a guard. His steps were relaxed and he had a mocking grin on his face as he stood before her.She narrowed her eyes at him in fury, "Seriously? You eavesdrop on other people's conversations now?"He shrugged as though that meant absolutely nothing to him. Infact, he enjoyed the way she was glaring at him, looking all cute with her flushed cheeks and narrowed emerald eyes. The hot sun shone down on her bright red hair, making her look as though her head was on fire.Damien thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful. He definitely enjoyed looking at her.How on earth had he survived his days, after the divorce? Hold up, how come he'd never known she was this beautiful, this tantalizing to the eyes?He knew the answer to that, he thought as his chest tightened with shame. He'd never even thought to give her the time of day.She was the burden brought upo
Chapter Sixty-NineAs the Maybach rolled away from the restaurant with a satisfying purr, Lana let out the ragged breath she didn't know she was holding.She leaned back on the leather seats and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, but it did nothing to calm the inferno that was raging within her.It was a mistake coming back here. She should have thrown Lana's letter and parcel to the blazes, the minute she got them.Her heart clenched with guilt as she thought of that, and she quickly shook her head to clear out the thoughts. She laughed cynically as she leaned back with her eyes closed, resting her head on the headrest behind her. Laura had asked her to help and protect her grandson, but she'd sooner kill him than do any of that.She could not believe that he still had such opinions of her. Worse, the fact that his words still hurt her this much was enough for Lana to punch the seats beside her in anger and disgust."Ugh...that crazy bastard! I swear to God, I'll
Chapter SeventyZaire could barely control his anger as he watched Lana walk out of the restaurant with Damien.Who the hell did that bastard think he was? Storming in here and claiming his woman.His fingers bunched into fists at his side, as he muttered through gritted teeth, "And she went right out with him."This was the main reason why he'd not tried to stop her from leaving. She'd had no choice but to follow Damien but she did not try to stay either.The dark look Lana had given him before she left, had left him short of words but he knew he was to blame for that.He groaned silently, raking his hand through his hair in frustration. He knew he'd messed up big time, losing control like that and lashing out at her.He was very content with showing her the part of him that she was used to. He knew that way, he'd be able to get her eventually, one way or the other.But he'd slip up.And now a single mistake might upset every of the pieces which he'd been carefully putting in place
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 Two Hundred And NineteenMaya made her way to the elevator that connected the company with the parking lot, her head held high in triumph.Before she could press the button however, Gary hurriedly stood up and shouted, "I was only trying to save you from embarassing yourself, Maya!"Maya stopped, her shoulders stiff with contained fury as she turned to him, "What?" She scoffed, taking slow threatening steps back towards him, "you never learn, do you?""You know he doesn't want you." Gary gritted out, "You're better off with me, Maya. You're smart and we connect well. Why don't you make the wise decision and come to me?"Maya laughed cynically, "Is this fool on drugs?" She asked, fury blazing in her eyes, "Why would I even consider being with you? You ugly looking wimp. Can you take care of me? Do you know how much I'm worth?!""You're not worth that much more than me, you know." Gary chuckled bitterly, his eyes wide in a terrifying way, "We both work in the same company and ea
Chapter Two Hundred And EighteenWithout warning, Gary marched forward and grabbed Maya's hand, pulling her flush against him.Maya gasped in outrage as she stumbled roughly unto him, "What do you think you're doing?" She screeched, "Let go of me, you pig!""I should be asking you that question!" Gary was trembling with rage, "What are you doing, selling yourself like a whore for this gigolo?!"There was a sharp intake of breath from the employees who were pretending to be working but also watching the drama.Some were enjoying the show so much that they spoke low behind their palms, laughing and snickering at Maya.It serves her right for strutting about like she owned the place. Maya had been a pain the neck around the office, ever since Noah started working there.It was refreshing to hear her being referred to as the slut that she truly was.She was clearly throwing herself at the man who did not want her, and bared her teeth at any girl in the office who looked at him. Not like
Chapter Two Hundred And SeventeenNoah stiffened as Gary said those words. What the actual hell?!He turned sharply and glared at Gary, who had a maliciously gleeful look in his eyes.How had he known about that? Noah narrowed his eyes at the odious man, who was enjoying the look of confusion on Noah's face.Slowly, he started chuckling and soon, the annoying man straightened up and laughed outloud while Noah simmered, and the rest of the colleagues watched in puzzlement."You never thought about that, did you?" Gary continued, after he'd had a good laugh, "Well, you should have, before you thought of running your mouth." He lifted the stack of files and slammed them back down on Noah's desk, roughly, "You better start working on them," he smirked, then leaned in to say in Noah's ears once more, "Or you're not the only one who is going to lose your job."Noah's mouth tightened into a grim line, as he realized what Gary was trying to say.He had indeed started working at the company
Chapter Two Hundred And SixteenThere were shocked gasps around the office at that statement. Everyone was staring at Noah, wondering where he got his boldness from.Even if he was right, no one had ever thought of talking back to their superior. They had always collected whatever harsh treatment had been meted out to them, without second thoughts.Who did this new guy think he was? What was that he said, Manager Gary's job was what was on the line.Really, it was his own life that was on the line. They looked at Manager Gary to see how he'd receive this news.Gary had gone pale, then slowly he turned beet red. He bared his teeth at Noah menacingly, "What did you say?"Noah stood his ground, staring at the man, "This preparations were supposed to have been sent in a month ago." He went on, "The orders for the shipment were made before I even started working here. I'm sure the regional manager have this job to you directly but you did not carry it out, due to your negligence."Gary was
Chapter Two Hundred And FifteenWham!A huge stack of files was dropped on Noah's desk like a boulder, and the small desk rattled from the force of it."Listen up newbie, I want these files to be screened and the reports on my desk in the next one hour, do you understand me?"Noah slowly looked from the huge stack of files sitting in his desk, to the shaggy haired man in front of him.It was Gary Shane, the junior sales executive and Noah's direct boss in the establishment.From the very day, Noah started working at Romero Solutions And Logistics, Gary seemed to have it out for him and took extreme pleasure in giving him demanding tasks.Arching a well carved eyebrow in question, Noah spoke calmly, "All of these? In an hour's time?""What?" Gary smirked. He was chewing gum and the smacking sounds it made grated on Noah's nerves. Gary shoved his hands into his pockets and took a relaxed stance in front of Noah's desk, his eyes roving over Noah in mocking fashion."What?" He asked agai
Chapter Two Hundred And FourteenLana looked up again as she felt Adrian's hands stop their soothing motion on her neck and shoulders."You've located...he's really alive?" He asked, his brows coming together in disbelief.In reply, Lana laughed happily, covering her mouth daintily. Her eyes shimmered with happy tears and she went on speaking cheerfully, "Yes! Can you believe it? Well of course you believe it, because I always said so!"Adrian was silent even as Lana kept in talking. He'd stopped massaging her shoulders and her cheerful voice was just going on and on in his head.She looked really happy, hopeful, something he'd never seen in her in a long time.And that was because Damien Romero had been found.Wait, he was really alive?He'd always heard Lana say it and he'd seen her waiting for him, encouraged her to keep on hoping because only then Arielle could be saved but now, it seemed like Damien Romero was really going to be back in her life.Their lives.Somehow, and for rea
Chapter Two Hundred And Thirteen"What do you mean he knows something?"Lana asked, later that night in Adrian's office.When Adrian had called her at the company earlier, she'd immediately headed to the hospital to see him.Oakcrest City's hospital was one of the best healthcare facilities not only in the city but in neighboring cities as well. It was a combination of both specialists and general hospital.It provided the best health care services and even the creme de la creme of society had their check ups there. The hospital's VIP section was built solely for the benefit and comfort of wealthy people. This sentiment has gone on to be abused by the rich, who use the hospital as a getaway to evade tax hunt, scandals and malingering.The facilities in the VIP area were more like the equipments that belonged in a spa or resort than an hospital. There were lounges, perfect little cafes and the patients wore robes as their hospital wear instead.However, only the best and most professi
Chapter Two Hundred And Twelve"You were right," Director Evans said as he walked over to the single table in the centre of the small office.Apart from the single table and two chairs facing it, the office was bare, with its grey decor.There were two chairs sitting side by side near the table, which had a packet of cigarettes sitting on it as well.Director Evans drew a cigarette out of the slim pack and lit it with a lighter lying close by, "Romero is really not in the hospital. Lana did really play us all."Zaire smirked as he listened to this, while Director Evans took his seat with a satisfied sigh, "Now, there's just one little problem to sort out before we make this public," he drawled, taking long puffs on his cigarette, "Where is Romero, really? Do you think he's going to come back?""Damien Romero will never come back to his Empire," Zaire spoke with a calm smile, as he turned to back to watching the city below.Director Evans was watching him with narrowed eyes, "How do yo
Chapter Two Hundred And ElevenDirector Evans walked briskly out of the hospital and towards his parked car, smiling from ear to ear. His driver swiftly opened the car door for him and he quickly got in, making himself comfortable.The driver quickly went round and took his spot as well, "Should I go to the location, sir?""He must be waiting by now, don't you think?" Director Evans replied, "We'd better get moving then."The driver nodded and immediately placed the car on the road, and was soon speeding down the highway.The Director sat in the back seat looking very pleased with himself. He was still smiling and soon, he burst out into full blown laughter.The driver glanced at him curiously from the rear view mirror and quickly looked away focusing on his driving.He did not know what was making his boss laugh and he was not very curious by the way.Besides, he and his boss were not in a relationship where they could discuss his source of joy.But he could not help, but wonder wha