Chapter Twenty OneThe night was well lit both with the moonlight as well as the lights emanating from the huge dome where SERENE was holding its fashion show.The show proved to be a big affair with all influential and respectable members of the society in attendance. An hour before the show started, the dome was already filled up, with the invited VVIP members seating primly inside on reserved chairs.Over the years SERENE has proved to have amazing designs that were sought for at any opportunity. So no one wanted to miss it.They knew SERENE was getting its designs from ALLURE and also Muse. This caused a lot of dissension in the fashion industry, with everyone saying Muse was being unfair working for a few selected people.But no one had seen this talented fashion designer so their anger and envy were not well-aimed. The fashion icons in the city could not also reject her designs because they were top notch.So they took every opportunity to make sure they are available when her d
Chapter Twenty-two.At the instruction from Zaire's assistant, Diego steered the car around the dome to the second entrance which was behind it.This was so she could avoid the press and the crowd. Lana thought that was quite okay.She did not want to meet with the press. They could take pictures all they want when she's on the runway.The crowd watched the limousine roll down the road and drive past them. They could not see the occupants of the car but apparently, no one thought to follow it.Lana breathed a sigh of relief at that"My God, the place is so full!" Clarissa said, her eyes wide with wonder "What's this, Broadway?! SERENE never had this much audience before.""Pierre Evans be doing wonders" Lana whistled as she also stared in awe.She could not help but feel her chest puff up with pride. She was going to be wearing a dress designed by the man who could pull such a crowd.That was freaking awesome!The next instant, her palms became sweaty, and her breathing ragged. She in
Chapter Twenty-ThreeWhen Pierre Evans finished his speech, Damien was glad to see that he was in good health. He had feared the man would not want to venture into fashion designing again after so many years.But again, he had designed for SERENE, so there was no harm in trying to get him to design for other companies.When the show started, he was immediately amazed by the outfits just like everyone else."Thank God, we came out for the show. I can't believe I was going to miss this!" Vera exclaimed, her mouth open as she watched the models."Exactly, Mother. I can feel my senses tingling. I don't think I've ever seen such exquisite designs before!" Rina breathed by her side, her eyes wide as she took in every detail of the outfits being paraded by the models on the runway.Surreptitiously, she brought out her iPhone and took a few pictures, as the models went by. She caught Damien glaring at her when she looked up, and gave him a nervous smile. "Thank you so much for bringing us ou
Chapter Twenty-Four"Lana!"Damien yelled as he walked backstage. The place was huge and crowded. The occupants of the huge room stared at him, their eyes wide with surprise.They wondered why the C.E.O of MAGIC was there yelling for a certain Lana.Wait, who was Lana?"Lana!" Damien yelled again, his eyes scanning every inch of the room but she was nowhere to be found.But she literally just walked in here, dammit, he thought in frustration, his hand raking his hair.How did she disappear so soon?"I must find her!" Damien was breathing hard as his head swam with those thoughts. His fingers were clenching and unclenching as he stood helpless, in the middle of the back room, with everyone else stealing surreptitious looks at him.A woman walked up to him smiling nervously. "Hello, sir". Mira said tentatively "do you perhaps need help? Maybe I can do something?""The woman in the finale dress tonight. Where is she?!" Damien asked, staring at her directly in the eyes and Mira blinked.S
Chapter Twenty-Five Lana laughed, a mirthless sound escaping from her lips as she marvelled at Rina's stupidity. "How stupid can you be, Rina? Why would I want the attention of my Ex who is nothing to me?!" She said, her voice calm and mocking. She was totally enjoying seeing Rina lose control like she was currently. The little fool still thought she had feelings for Damien. "Damien can rot for all I care," she said those words staring at Damien directly and Vera snapped. "Shut up, you whore! Rina is right about everything!" She yelled, wagging a manicured finger at her "you must have planned this with the C.E.O of SERENE to embarrass my son!" "Mother, Enough!" Damien growled, his eyes closed in frustration. "Damien! What is this nonsense?!" Vera hissed, as she walked closer to him, her long black dress swishing the floor, threatening to trip her. She looked around at the crowd and spoke loudly "you're really doing this over this golddigger and lowlife?!" Damien's jaw tensed an
Chapter Twenty-SixLana walked out of the dome, blinking back the tears that was threatening to spill down her face. Even with Zaire's jacket draped over her shoulders, she was shaking terribly from the night cold and from what had just happened.Standing by the side of the tarred road, they were almost blinded by the headlights from Lana's Limo, as it rounded the corner and drove towards them.The car came to a stop in front of them and Diego jumped out of it, and went round to the owners spot to open the door.Clarissa walked in to the car and scooted over to the other side, before settling down comfortably. She bent her head and stared out at Lana, wondering why she wasn't coming in yet.Shrugging out of his suit jacket, Lana turned and handed it back to Zaire "Well then, this is it. Thanks a lot for tonight, Zaire."He looked at her sheepishly, his green eyes boring into hers "I'm sorry about what happened tonight, Lana. I never knew the Romeros would honor the invitation this ti
Chapter Twenty-Seven"What?!" Diego and Lana cried out in unison.Lana grabbed Clarissa's phone from her hands, her brows furrowed as she scrolled down reading the comments that were on the various posts.They were bashing her online, calling her a homewrecker and a troublemaker, as well as an attention whore."I bet she slept her way to wearing that finale gown!""She's not even that pretty. Rina is better than her.""Poor Rina. She's so strong. I hope she overcomes this.""I detest girls like this. I bet they are not even that interested in her. She's the one throwing herself at them!""She'd better not come between our power couple. All homewreckers should be jailed!"Lana's teeth gritted in anger as she read those comments. She was being bashed online while the real homewrecker was being pitied and praised.Ironically, nothing was said about the men who had actually been involved in the scuffle, Lana realised as a bitter taste crept into her mouth.She continued scrolling on comme
Chapter Twenty-EightDamien stood outside the Greenville Hospital, his hands tucked deep in his pocket while the cool night air played with his golden hair.They had rushed Rina to the hospital and called the family doctor, who owned the hospital. Rina had cried in pain all along and asked Damien to stay by her side all through her treatment.It was a very tearful performance and she had refused for any treatment unless Damien held her hand.Damien had obliged her, holding her hands even though it filled him with distaste and partly because his mother was on his neck to do so.Besides, Rina looked so pale, so fragile, so helpless...She was the sister of his best friend and he'd charged him with taking care of her. This had been no problem when he'd been madly in love with her, but now it irked him when she wanted to get close to him.He wondered how he'd fallen out of love with her so quickly. She was once his everything but one of the things he hates the most was a two-faced person.
Chapter One Hundred And SeventyLana jumped when the door to her room was opened suddenly, and Aryan stepped inside. She was sitting on her bed, with her knees drawn to her chest.She stared at the big man who walked over to her bed and stared down at her, hard.Lana swallowed a lump in her throat and shivered under his steely gaze. Aryan exuded a cold, killer like aura that sent a chill running down her back.She could not mistake the unbridled hate and contempt in his eyes, as he stared down at her."Zaire..." Lana croaked, averting her gaze from his. She cleared her throat and asked nervously once more, "Where's Zaire?"She never thought she would be asking for the very man who abducted her, and kept her locked up.But Aryan gave her the creeps and Zaire was literally the only one around here who could protect her from this dangerous looking man.Zaire had always been around for the past four days, checking up on her regularly. He brought her meals for her, there in the room, and m
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-NineDiego was lying on his bed looking pitiful as hell. He was hooked to several machines at the same time, which aided his breathing and other things.However, he was awake and conscious of his surroundings. His skin was sallow and he had lost a lot of weight, as well as a lot of blood.Damien had to have him moved to a VIP room, so he'd be more comfortable and recuperate well.The room was spacious and looked more like a suite than a hospital room.The doctor in charge of Diego's treatment led him into Diego's room, and he was followed by the Detective and the rest of the men.Diego stared forlornly at the visitors who filed into his room. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, as he saw Chairman Fernandez."Why is the chairman here?" He thought in wonder, and made to sit up but the doctor restrained him."Try not to move, please." The doctor warned."Chairman..." Diego acknowledged Samuel, and the chairman gave him a light nod. His eyes ran over the y
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty Eight"A goodbye letter?" Chairman Fernandez repeated gruffly, "What the hell does that mean?"Paul was silent, unsure of what to say himself. His phone pinged with a notification, and he quickly brought it out to check the message.His brows furrowed in a dark frown as he viewed the message. Without a word, he passed it to the chairman."What is this nonsense?!" The chairman barked, his eyes scanning the goodbye letter Lana had supposedly sent from him.She expressed her feelings of sadness at leaving her father but stated that she had to follow her heart.She had sent another letter to Clarissa, asking her to liquidate all her shares from ALLURE, since she no longer has interests in managing the company.In the letter, she told the chairman not to worry about her, and he should not look for her as well. "What did you do to Lana that made her this way?!" Samuel Fernandez bellowed at Damien, and threw the phone at his feet.Damien and Liam glanced at eac
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-Seven“Where the hell is my daughter?!”Samuel Fernandez roared, pointing at Damien menacingly.Liam stepped forward, straightening his tie, “Mr Fernandez, we weren’t expecting you. If you can just clam down, sir…”In a thrice, Samuel Fernandez was across the room. He grabbed a hold of Damien’s neck and delivered a blow to his jaw.Damien staggered back, his jaw radiating with pain. He could taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and his jaw felt slack.“Damn, the old man packs a good punch.” he muttered to himself, as he stood up and faced Samuel once more.He stared calmly at the huge man, his jaw dripping blood from a cut on his lips. He fleshed and unflexed his fingers, but he did not move from his spot.Samuel Fernandez growled in unrestrained anger. He charged at Damien once more, delivering two more well placed blows to his face.Damien stumbled back against a table, groaning while the maids screamed their heads off. He shook his head to cl
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-SixThe hospital was bustling with activities and Damien could not sit still. The smell of medication and antiseptic teased his nostrils, and he gritted his teeth against the nauseous feeling bubbling up inside of him.He drew his attention back to the matter at hand. He was in the city hospital to check up on Diego, who had undergone a surgery and was making a swift recovery.It had been four days since Lana had been missing and there were no closer to finding her than the first day. Wherever that bastard Zaire had hidden her, he had taken utmost care to not leave any traces behind.The police had also been searching for Aryan, but nothing came forth from their search. Aryan had also simply disappeared and the police began to suspect she was not in the city.No.They did not just think she wasn’t in the city.They did not think Lana was missing.Two days ago, to further aid their search and find clues, the cops had gone over to the Romero Villa and rumma
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-Five"You and I?"Lana repeated slowly, staring at him innocently. Zaire nodded, as he tucked her hair behind her ear."You know who I am, right?" He asked her softly and she slowly shook her head.Zaire smiled softly and continued, "Lana, its me, Zaire, your fiance."Lana blinked in surprise, "fiance?" She repeated, then pointed to herself, "I'm...Lana?"Zaire nodded, "And I'm your fiance." He reinstated, firmly. He saw Lana stare at him with a slight frown and almost panicked. He wondered if she recalled who he actually was, but he shook that doubt from his head and clasped both her hands in his. She did not withdraw from him but she tensed slightly."Listen, Lana." he said, "You will be completely fine, okay? You are with me, your fiance. You have nothing to fear."He felt he had to continue to repeat that word, so it becomes a fact. If he says it enough, then she will believe him."Then, why don't I remember you?" Lana asked with a slight frown. Za
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-FourZaire arched an eyebrow at Lana's question. His eyes searched her face as she stared at him with eyes as round as saucers."Lana, are you okay?" He asked, tentatively.Lana blinked at him in surprise, "Who's Lana?" She asked puzzledly, then she looked round at the room once more.When her eyes fell on the syringe which Mathias held, she gasped in fear and actually scooted closer to Zaire.She grabbed ahold on to his arm, and shivered in fear."Help me," she breathed softly, closing her eyes in terror. Zaire was surprised when Lana clung unto him. He tried pulling his arm away, but she hung unto him and shook her head helplessly, tears brimming in her green eyes."What's going on here?" He asked, his brows furrowed thoughtfully, "Why us she acting like this?"Mathias realized Zaire was actually speaking to him and he cleared his throat, "Well, from the look of things, it seems she's amnesiac, sir." Mathias uttered, then gave Aryan a pointed look, "Pe
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-ThreeLana opened her eyes slowly and let out a groan. She held her head in her hands and tried to sit up, but on cue, pain exploded in her head and she fell back to the bed with a gasp.Wait, bed?Where the hell was she?Her eyes flew open once more and darted around the four corners of the room she laid in.It was a simple room, with walls painted white.Infact everything was white, the lone table and chair in the room, the dresser, the double bed she was lying on, and the covers over her.Lana sat up carefully, a slight frown on her brows. She realized she was also wearing a white nightdress, and her eyes widened in terror. "What in the actual fuck?" She muttered to herself, as she looked around her once more.She had no idea where she was , or how she even got there. The last thing she'd remembered was...Lana's hands flew to cover her mouth as her eyes stung with tears."Diego." She breathed in anguish.The last thing she remembered was seeing Diego
Chapter One Hundred And Sixty-TwoDamien drove like a mad man along the highway at a neck breaking speedHe had only one thought in his head as he drove along; Lana was in danger.He shouldn't have let her go on to the airport. At least she would still be with him now. But how would he have known Zaire was going to hit this early?His forehead glistened with beads of sweat and his fingers gripped the steering tightly. Ludovic must have gotten to her.It has to be the case.In fury, he punched the steering, letting his horn honk loudly on the road, startling the other drivers."Damn you, Ludovic!" He swore under his breath.His phone was ringing nonstop. He knew it was Liam but he ignored it. Liam would meet him at the airport.When he got to the airport, he got out and actually met Liam there waiting for him. The assistant had taken a shorter route to the airport.There were patrol cars around the airport. The cops had been notified already, as well as the authorities in the building