Melissa slipped the ring into her necklace hiding it under her shirt as she walked into the office. Mark had left the room sometime in the night. Hoping to see him in the morning, she got up early but he was not in the house and he had not called. Saying hello to her officemate, she sat on her desk chair checking the pending work she had. Opening her drawer she got a red rose flower and a heart shaped card. 'Morning sunshine, only you can make me smile through this boring meeting.' Sniffing the card, she smelled the familiar cologne bringing a smile to her face. Though the card had no name on it, Melissa knew who had placed it there. She missed him as much. Biting her lower lip, she glanced at the two ladies but no one paid much attention to her. 'Must have sent someone to deliver the card.' She thought but neither of them seemed to have any idea. "Got the card." When she messaged to thank him for the card he declined to share how he got the card to her office. "Girls, I
"What are you doing?" Getting in the car, she questioned Mark when he held her to sit on his lap. "I missed you." He said trailing kisses along her neck. "Mark stop, I have to get back to work. My friends will get suspicious." She giggled trying to get up pushing him away. "There are people outside Mark, please stop." She pleaded, glancing out of the window. James and the driver were a few feet from the car. "Okay, one kiss. Then I'll let you go back to work." He persuaded her, running his hand in her hair massaging her scalp as he placed the other hand under her skirt. Folding her inner thighs, he moved up making her quiver as she patted her legs for him. "Mm!" moaning, she kissed his cheek playfully. "That's enough." She bit her lower lip while running her hand over his chest. "Not quite." He groaned, pulling her close to feel the effect she had on him. Gazing deep into his eyes she parted her lips invitingly as she put her arms around his neck, straddling him. Fumbling with
Her hair in a smooth beautiful bun, looking like a fairytale princess, Melissa gracefully stepped into the ballroom. Dressed in an off shoulder white bodycon long sleeved dress that kissed the floor. Nodding at the employees finishing up, she clutched the small black bag in her hands. The crunchy bag matched her strappy heels which often picked through her long slit. And with every step she took, her smooth legs showed, leaving many drooling. Whenever she turned her head, the dangling diamond shaped earrings glittered catching everyone's eyes. As the ring on her finger that she had forgotten to take off left many wondering. "Make sure the catering team is all set. We need all our guests to be well accommodated." Conversing with the organizer in charge, Melissa didn't notice the person walking towards her until she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Lisa!" Turning to see who was behind her, she exclaimed then covered her mouth as all eyes turned to her. "Goodness, what are you do
After spending her day off watching her son play in the villa's field with his father, Melissa went to work. On arrival, as she walked into the building, everyone looked at their phones. Then whispered to each other glancing her way. Some who had never spoken to her walked over to greet her. She smiled and nodded at them thinking they were talking about the ceremony. Which had gone on for the whole weekend causing a buzz in the media. When she walked into her office, Nancy and Jenifer too were head deep in the newspaper. But tried to hide it when they saw her. "What going on?" She asked, stopping in front of Jenifer's desk when she saw their unusual behavior. "Melissa, hey we didn't hear you come in. Is your foot better?" Jenifer asked, covering the newspaper with her laptop. "What's going on?" She inquired again. "Have you seen today's newspaper?" Nancy inquired, getting the newspaper from Jenifer. "Nancy don't." Jenifer tried to stop her but she paid no attention to her.
Not hearing any of the accusations and curses uttered by Mr. Clark's niece, Melissa stood in the driveway watching the brown range rover disappear, leaving behind a cloud of dust. "I'm sorry." Melissa apologized, getting back to the house to carry on with her work. "Why don't you ask your uncle what happened before accusing her?" Her husband questioned her irritated by her insistence on terminating the renovation contract just to teach Melissa a lesson. After calling her uncle, she apologized profusely to Melissa for all the insults and for misjudging her. She even promised to talk her uncle into helping her with the information she needed. As they concluded the house tour and discussed all the materials needed to complete the work, a white Porsche driving into the compound caught their attention. "Honey, are you expecting any guests?" He asked his wife, looking out of the window. "No, few people know about this place. I'll go see who it is." She spoke, walking out through the b
The house manager directed Sasha to the house where old Mr. Johnson was resting in the lounge when she got to the mansion."Grandfather!" Cheerfully, she bowed in greeting as soon as she was in his presence. "My child, welcome. Have you been crying?" The old man inquired watching her keenly. "No grandfather, I had an eye infection, but it's better now." She responded touching her face. "How is your health?" She asked sitting on a chair beside him. "I'm doing better now, thanks to the medicine and my good doctor's care." He answered, glancing at the middle aged man standing beside him. "I'm glad you're better. I brought herbal tea, I know how much grandfather loves tea and it's also very helpful in lowering blood sugar." She said taking out a one kilo jar of chamomile tea from her bag. "My aunt told me about its rich health benefit and I thought of you so I had it imported right away." She said smiling shyly. "Thank you, my child, where else can I get such a thoughtful granddaug
Melissa took her bag going into the house, saying hello to Mary in the kitchen she went upstairs to check on her son. Tommy was busy with the cartoon he didn't notice his mother standing at the doorway. With a smile on her face, she watched him for a while imitating what was going on, on the big screen. "Mommy!" He said getting up to hug his mother when she joined him on the sofa. "Hello baby, what are you drawing?" She inquired taking his drawing book. "That lightning mc queen the fastest race car ever, look mommy." He said pointing to the winning red car on the big screen that he had drawn and colored. "It's the fastest car in that race, I want a car like that when I grow up. Mommy, do you think dad will buy it if I ask?" He asked looking at his mother. "I'll buy anything my son wants." Mark said walking into the room. "Daddy." Tommy ran to his father with open arms. Mark carried him in his arm's joining Melissa on the sofa. "Daddy look at my drawing." Tommy proudly gave his fa
With Melissa's picture displayed on every social platform, Mark increased her security. He got people to follow her everywhere she went. He was afraid if identified, people may harass her, endangering her life. After dropping Tommy off at school, she went to the house renovation she was supervising. Checked the materials purchased, giving instructions where needed. Making sure her team was handling the work as planned, she asked Adams to stop at the mall to buy some items on her way to the apartment. At the apartment building, she requested her bodyguards to help her carry the boxes to the apartment door. Getting to the apartment, she pulled Lisa aside. Then she told her the plan to distract her bodyguards so she would leave the building without alerting them. Fifteen minutes later, she walked out through the building's back door wearing sports shoes, blue jeans with a white t-shirt. Hailing a taxi, she pulled her cap down, covering her face. "Sorry, I can't take you to this ad
At Edward's mansion, the whole family sat together for the first time since the explosion. The blast that claimed three of Mr Edward's employees. Mr Edward accompanied by David made a press briefing assuring the country that his family was safe and the explosion was caused by a gas leak. Now with the renovations complete, the mansion stood greater than it was before. Mr Edward, Ms Lucy, and Mr Johnson sat in the garden talking mostly about their childhood and how their lives had changed since they fell apart. Thanks to Diana's confession, they now knew her grandfather was the one who planted the gold jewellery in Edward's jacket, sending him to prison. Moses' father was an employee at Johnson's farm but got fired when his drinking and negligence caused the farm a handful of cattle. When Edward's father replaced him, Moses father committed suicide, and since then, Moses blamed Edward for his ruined childhood. When Edward started the organization, Moses' empire collapsed. He
“Richard, you’ve come." Cassandra rushed from the first floor carrying a doll in her hand and a lady dressed in white running after her. "Aunt Cassandra!" Mark stared at her as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Cassandra!" Her sister peeled her from Mark. “You see, I told you Richard will come for me and our baby." She smiled, holding onto Mark’s arm, stopping him from leaving. “Yes Cassandra, let him have some rest first." Sasha’s mother took Cassandra’s hand forcing her to let go of Mark. “So sorry for that." Sasha’s mother apologized holding Cassandra back. “They diagnosed her with dementia. Most of the time she makes things up and confuses people." She explained to Mark who froze staring at Cassandra. After learning of Cassandra's evil scheme that kept his family apart, Richard sent her away. They didn't have her imprisoned but Richard declined all communication with her. “Oh! I'm so sorry." Mark took a step back when she tried to hold his arm again. Staring at what
At the states, Sasha sat opposite her mother and grandfather, biting her fingernails. She couldn’t dare look her grandfather in the eyes. “Please forgive me. I never meant for all this to happen. Mum!” When her mother overheard her phone conversation with Diana, she forced her to confess to her involvement in Melissa’s kidnapping. “I can’t believe you are capable of this Sasha. Do you see how your obsession with Mark has hurt people?” Her mother asked with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry!” She sniffed trying to hold her mother’s hand. “This is my fault. I pushed my daughter and granddaughter too hard. I turned them into heartless monsters. Being a Johnson was my dream and now my children suffer because of my greed.” Sasha’s grandfather said ashamed of what he had made them do. “No father, you only did it thinking of their well being. Don’t blame yourself father, they chose to force what was not working.” His eldest daughter tried to console him. “But I put the idea in them. How
"They are moving, I have to get to Melissa." Mark glanced at the tracker in his hand. "We are almost there." Robert fastened his seat belt. "Once they pass the bridge it will be too late. Call Andrew and the police chief, they have to close the road." Mark instructed him. "I can't lose you again Melissa." He said to himself looking at the wedding ring on his left hand clutching the steering wheel. "Careful bro. We can't save her if we are dead." Seated beside Mark, Robert cautioned as he accelerated the speed. "We are running out of time, Robert. I promised to protect her." "And you will get her back." On the other side, David and his security team raided the house. They shot dead most of Diana's men, injuring several of them. "Where did they take my sister?" He beat up one of the guards but no matter how hard he hit him, he didn't say a thing. "Stop, you're going to kill him." The lady who helped Melissa shouted. "These people know nothing, even if you kill them they won
"Ma'am, we have a problem." One of Diana's men got into the office out of breath. "Our men on the perimeter just informed me, there are several vehicles with armed men ending this way." "What? Are they police?" Diana asked as she gathered her things, stuffing them in a travel bag. "No, they look like the men from Edward's security." He explained. "Damn it. How did they find us?" She ran a hand through her hair. "What do we do now ma'am?" "Get my car ready. We have to get to the plane." She ordered walking out. "You think you can outsmart me?" Diana banged the door open and woke Melissa up. "What happened? Ouch, you're hurting me.""Get up." Diana pulled Melissa up by the hair then frisked her body for a phone. "You brought them here." "What's going on? I have nothing on me, Diana." Melissa cried out as Diana pulled her hair. "What is this?" Diana asked, looking at the tiny red light on Melissa's necklace. "What?" "F*ck, this led them straight to us." Diana plucked off the n
Two days earlier. In Mr Edward’s office, Mark almost went mad calling everyone on his contact list. As he looked for ways to get Melissa back, David and Mr Edward organized a search team with the police and his security team when Luke Edward barged in. "You have to get out." "Luke!" Mr Edward roared as the door bust open. “There is a bomb in the office dad. We have to leave now.” The three men stared at him as he checked the bookshelf and the cabinets.Trying to get information on the new gang in town, Luke sent one of his trusted men to investigate. The man was later captured and tortured. While locked up, he overheard the plan to bomb Edward's mansion and as they took him out to finish him off, he escaped. Then went straight to Luke's office. When Luke got the information, he instructed his men to take him to their private doctor as he ran to the mansion. Though he never saw eye to eye with his father on most things, he still loved him and was willing to risk his life for h
When Melissa opened her eyes, she glanced from the blue bed sheets to the gray painting on the wall. With her hands and feet tied, she looked around the unfamiliar room. A few minutes later, the door opened inviting in a young lady carrying food and water on a tray, followed closely by one of Diana’s armed men. “Take some medicine for your head.” The lady instructed, handing her the glass of water and a white pill. “Please untie my hands.” Melissa requested which the man obliged to. Then cuffed her left hand on the bed. “Make sure you eat. I’ll come for the plate later.” The lady instructed, after making sure she had swallowed the pill. “Where is Diana? I want to see her. I demand to know if anyone survived the explosion. Hey, where is Diana?” She asked, but no one talked back to her. They left the room, locking the door. Curled on the bed, Melissa stared at the food for a while. Watching the explosion felt like her world had ended. She didn’t want to imagine life without Mar
Driving from Edward’s mansion with her brother, Melissa got a message from Sasha. She asked to meet at a hotel a few miles out of town for some interior deco inputs on an office she was opening in the States where she planned to relocate to. “I’m afraid I can’t come with you to the company. Sasha wants us to meet for lunch. She needs my help with something.” She informed David after reading the message. “Are you sure it’s okay to meet with her alone? I can take you there.” David said, feeling restless about the meeting. “She is not that bad of a person when you get to know her and I have to be friendly with her for Mark. The two families are very close. Whether I like it or not, she will always be around whenever we go for any of Johnson’s family functions.” She said, trying to ease his worries. “The driver will take you. Be very careful. If you suspect anything, get out and make sure to call me once your meeting is done.” He instructed, still feeling reluctant to let her go a
Seated in the office at the steels company, Melissa smiled remembering the wonderful places they visited over the weekend. The family of three took road trips most of the free weekend's, which was both exciting and educational for Tommy as they visited different parts of the world. Mark was extremely affectionate, always pampering her and providing everything they needed more than they asked for. Which often reminded her of her father. The man who worked hard to provide for his little girl. After the ceremony they had moved into the Johnson's mansion but since his mother was back at the farm and her aunt had moved to live with the Edward's as she prepared to move to her husband's home, they went back to the villa house. After years of mourning, Betty reunited with her son and husband. Cassandra didn't accept Richard going back to Betty. In a fit of range she attacked Betty and threatened to slits her throat if she didn't turn down Richard, luckily Richard and the family interve