Shantala stared at Hyperion, thinking if she should believe his words or not. There was a possibility that it was indeed for that reason, however, she got the assurance she needed from her husband just the other night. That was why whether he went there for another matter or to meet Phoebe, she trusted him that he wouldn't be swayed.
As a reply, she snickered."He won't cheat on me," she said with confidence. "That aside, what kind of play are you trying to do now, Hyperion? Can't we just live in peace without seeing each other? Aren't you tired of all the shit going on?"Hyperion felt envious of Gavin, especially since he just witnessed how Shantala trusted him. He wanted to be the person in his place, however, that could never happen for as long as Gavin stayed with her. Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he could only think of using this chance to fully break the trust between Gavin and his wife."I won't ever get tired until you surrenderHyperion was filled with joy that he could no longer hide the smile on his face. Leaning his forehead on Trevor's chest, he felt like tearing up once again. "Why are you happy, uncle?"The mafia boss' smile vanished in no time and he looked at his son again."Uncle?" he questioned.Trevor nodded."Call me Dad like what you did just a while back.""You already smiled so I'm calling you uncle again."He could not believe what he was hearing. Just when he thought that his very son had finally recognized him as his father, Trevor immediately crushed that without batting an eye. Heaving a sigh, he asked, "So you called me Dad because you saw me crying?""Uh-huh."He simply shook his head, unable to think how he should react to that. But he did appreciate that simple gesture and he did not expect that it would be Trevor who actually came at the time he needed someone. "Where is Mommy?" Tr
Sitting in the living room with only one guard standing behind her, Shantala nervously waited. She clenched her hands upon hearing the gates opening. Her gaze, then, shifted to the direction where she saw a black van that was usually used by Gavin's men. She took a few deep breaths before she straightened her back and wore a poker face."Let me go! If he finds out about this, he will kill all of you! Fuck you all!"The woman's agitated voice broke the silence that long lingered in the residence. The two guards holding the woman down forced her to stand across from Shantala."You..." she said with gritted teeth upon seeing the woman in front of her. When the guards let her go, she glared at them before facing Shantala with a scoff."So it is you, huh." She sat on the sofa and flipped her hair. "What do you want?""Let me get straight to the point," she responded. "Are you Tricia Vexmore?"The woman leaned back on the sof
Upon leaving the stadium, Trevor's eyes were locked onto the stall where a woman was selling some ice cream."Uncle, I want some ice cream.""I'll buy you lots later. For now, let's head back home.""But I want some ice cream from that lady!" Trevor pointed at the stall.Still, Hyperion opened the door in the backseat to let him in, insisting that they must leave immediately. But instead of getting some cooperation from his son, he received a pair of puppy eyes."Dad, please?"Hyperion did not know how to react since he felt like Trevor was obviously coaxing him by using the word 'Dad.' But he cannot deny the fact that to be addressed like that made him happy.He let out a sigh as a sign of defeat. Nodding his head, the two of them walked to the stall. While waiting for his son to choose which flavor he wanted, Hyperion received another call from Guillard."Have you found her?" he asked."We lost track of her whe
The question thrown at him sounded like Shantala already knew something, catching Hyperion off guard. However, he did not want to believe it and wanted to think that it was simply a facade. Besides, if he acted out of character, she might become suspicious of him."If I found her, then I should not have proposed to your sister and met you that day. I would have married her like what we already planned for long," he replied. "Shantala... Did you find Tricia?""What do you think?""I think you did."This made her smile as she nodded her head. She could not really tell what Hyperion was thinking or what he wanted to do at the moment so it was hard for her to plan on what she should do next. She was about to speak but then, the head of the guards suddenly came up to her.Standing before her to get in between her and Hyperion, he held his earpiece and instructed, "Spread throughout the vicinity. Those who are stationed at the entrance, rush he
"Ma'am, may I ask when will you be available for the discussion regarding the next trial?" her attorney asked."I will go to your office tomorrow morning... probably around 8. Is that okay?" she responded.Upon getting confirmation, she ended the call only to notice that Hyperion was staring at her. She rolled her eyes out of annoyance."So... are you going to confess the truth for the next trial?" he asked.She simply shrugged, not wanting to talk about it with him. Besides, after she had regained her suppressed memories, she had already come to a final decision. She has yet to open it up to Gavin but she will do just that once the problem in their company gets resolved.On the other hand, Hyperion wanted to make her talk so he thought of provoking her indirectly. Leaning on the car, he commented, "But aside from worrying about the trial, I think you should also start worrying about what is happening in Vidale City at the momen
An hour had passed already and yet, nothing really happened in the Devon residence. Thus, Shantala got out of the car and faced Hyperion who was still leaning on the car with his arms crossed. "Did your men fail to see what they were searching for? If yes, then tell them to leave my house alone," she stated. "And you left Trevor all by himself long enough. It is time you go and see what is going on with him." Using Trevor as his excuse, Hyperion indeed left the premises and headed back to his mansion. "Sir, we found nothing even in the right wing. It seems like they hid Replica A1 somewhere else," one of his men reported. Heaving a sigh, he said, "Vacate the premises. Install some bugs around the house before leaving." Recalling Shantala's words just a while back, it seemed like she was indirectly telling him that Tricia's impostor was within the Devon residence. He may not have succeeded in taking her back that day but it does not mean that he will just stop. Upon arrivin
"Look here, mister. You are too young to understand but sometimes, the truth is painful that once it is out, people cry. But telling the truth is way better than lying. Didn't your mother tell you that?"His son shook his head. "Mommy did tell me that lying is not good but she did not say that it will be painful."Hyperion smirked as he ruffled his hair."Then, consider that as a lesson from me. Now, let's give her some time to be alone. It's already time to feed you so let's head to the kitchen."Descending the stairs, he added, "And by the way, do not call me uncle again just because you think I did a bad thing. Just consistently call me 'Dad.' Is that clear?""I will think about it."His response was definitely not a good thing but since only recently did Trevor call him that, Hyperion simply let his reply slide. Forcing him to do something he does not like should not be a thing he must do. "But Dad..." Trevor a
The next day, Shantala headed to her attorney's office on time for their discussion of her upcoming trial. "Can I ask for a favor?" she asked before letting the attorney speak."Of course. Do not hesitate to speak your mind.""I know that you are a good friend of my husband and you have greatly helped me when I was first taken to the court. However, for today and tomorrow's events, can you keep it from Gavin?"This somehow puzzled him since the Devon couple had always been open to each other... at least, that was his observation when he started working with them."You see, he returned to Vidale City because of a problem in their company. I do not want him to rush back here because of me so it would be better to keep things from him for a while until the problem gets resolved."Seeing her point, he simply nodded in response with a bit of doubt if he could actually keep quiet about it. And not to mention that Gavin had asked him t
Hyperion and Stacey were currently in his office while tension lurked around them. Even the mafia boss' secretary could feel the ominous aura trapped inside the office so he never dared go in. The couple had just finished arguing about what happened with the meeting with Mr. Devon."Are you really being serious about this? Have you not even considered my feelings? I already let the fact that you fucked my sister slide but taking her son to take care of him... no!" Stacey asked for the nth time. She just could not sit still and wait for her sister to take away what she already had. She would never let her take her husband away. NEVER. Even if Shantala had already given birth to the son of her husband, it was still not enough for Stacey to let go of her love. Hyperion, who was already tired of this argument, chose to remain quiet. He just knew that if he said another word, they would be shouting at each other again.Just then, a knock was heard on the
"Hi! I am Tricia Miller, the substitute nurse sent by Sir Helios," the guest greeted. Linda was unsure of what to do so before letting her in, she went back inside to consult the nurse and Shantala. "What's the matter?" Lily asked. "A young woman came and said that she is the temporary substitute nurse," Linda replied. Lily stood from her seat since she had been expecting the nurse Helios mentioned before. She went to the door and escorted Tricia inside, however, when the guest and her patient saw each other, she noticed the change in Shantala's expression. "Replica A1?" she muttered, wondering why she would suddenly appear again after some time. Tricia smiled and replied, "That used to be my name but my real name is Tricia. And I will be your nurse for the upcoming days." Shantala actually doubted her since they were not on good terms during
It was almost midnight and Hyperion had just gotten back from the company after dealing with the trouble that one of his employees brewed. Though, it was not fully resolved so he had to return anytime soon. It exhausted him but still, it did not stop him from heading to the Devon's residence to check on Shantala.It's already been almost a week since he last visited and he wanted to see how she was doing. Upon arriving at the house, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the kitchen lights on. Curious about whoever was in there, he took careful steps in order not to alert the person inside. Though, he was quite sure that it was no burglar or anything of that sort since he had the entire house under surveillance.When he stood by the entrance, he immediately recognized Shantala even though her back was facing him. She was wearing a white dress shirt which was obviously not hers but Gavin's since it was oversized, falling right to the middle of her thighs, covering her
"How dare you show up in this place!" Mr. Devon roared. "Up until now, can't that fucking tiny brain of yours realize that the cause of my son's death is you? Or do you just have no shame at all that you still chose to stay even though you ruined his life?!"The stinging pain on her cheek did not really matter to Shantala because it was not any more hurtful than losing her husband. The accusation that her father-in-law made against her did not affect her as well because she knew who was really at fault.Despite having the chance of getting another slap from him, Shantala still looked back at him with no sign of fear. She could see how enraged he was but, for sure, it was not because he lost Gavin but because he lost the chance of marrying him off to Phoebe Romalia.She scoffed. "Instead of pointing your finger at me, why don't you reflect on the actions you did? Didn't you threaten him to divorce me that was why he returned here? Didn't you want him to mar
Back in Vidale City, Mr. Devon was currently playing golf with his business partners. It was his usual hobby whenever things were going quite well. In the middle of their conversation, he received a call from one of the bodyguards staying in his son's residence."Sir, I just spoke with the attorney. Both Sir Gavin and Miss Kierra signed the divorce papers," he reported."That's great, that's great," Mr. Devon responded with a smile before ending the call. "We should celebrate.""For what occasion?" one of his business partners asked.They knew that Mr. Devon rarely held any sort of party so it made them curious as to why he would initiate a celebration."For a new beginning."Thus, in no time, the mansion of Mr. Devon was filled with people from different elite families. He was a bit disappointed, though, since Mr. Romalia was not there to celebrate the beginning of their soon-to-be prosperous business. "Hey, Dad," Amelia c
Mr. Romalia was quite puzzled. The successful separation of the couple should be something that his daughter should be happy about. However, she looked rather exhausted and no hint of happiness was on her. Plus, he noticed a bruise on her cheek."What happened? Shouldn't we celebrate such great news?""Gavin is rushed to the hospital. It... It seemed like his condition worsened because of my negligence. I just realized that Kierra is the only fitting woman to be his wife. I'm giving up."Upon hearing her reply, Hyperion immediately stood."Mr. Romalia, I apologize but let us discuss this matter further some other time. I will contact you as soon as possible." Even before Mr. Romalia could respond, Hyperion immediately ran out of the mansion and got into his car. At full speed, he rushed to the hospital. He very well knows that he promised himself that he should stay away from Shantala until her relationship with Gavin was legally severed
Gavin could only look away while Shantala left the living room. Staring up at the ceiling, he tried his hardest not to let a single tear escape from his eyes.A little while later, Phoebe came in together with his attorney. The first thing that the Romalia heiress looked at was the divorce documents. Upon seeing the signature of Shantala, she was over the moon that she immediately pounced on Gavin."We are getting married!" she exclaimed.The attorney cleared his throat to notify the young heiress that he was still there. He gathered the papers and put them back in his case before returning his gaze to Gavin."I will take care of the rest and make sure that Ms. Kierra will get her alimony as soon as possible." After saying that, the attorney left rolling his eyes to the side upon meeting the gaze of Phoebe.The young heiress was about to charge toward him but she calmed herself with the thought of acting as the perfect wife and partner fr
This was where Shantala got confused. She was sure that the dead person in that room was her mother but how come her death was not reported? And how come the police confirmed that she was that person instead?"How did you do that?" she asked. "You know, the thing wherein the police saw that the body was you?""Chiavelli actually paid the officers who investigated the scene. Thus, they ended up confirming that I was indeed that person. But as for the body..." Valerie looked away as she pursed her lips.She waited for her, not wanting to rush her or anything.After a minute, Valerie added, "It was someone else's body with the same face as mine. It may sound absurd but a few hours before the engagement party, she suddenly came out of nowhere and told me to help her. She was beaten up and clearly, she was so scared. What was even weirder about that incident was that she introduced herself as Replica A0."Shantala's eyes widened as she remembe
Since Shantala got into an agreement with the attorney, she let him go to the house first. She will, later on, be going back home to make it look like she has gone somewhere else. She simply feared that if she and the attorney went together, Gavin would become suspicious. Wanting to take her time, she was about to go to the grocery store only to bump into Valerie and Chiavelli.And now that she saw the person who claimed herself to be the original Tricia Vexmore, the questions she had on the day her trial turned into chaos came rushing back to her. Only weeks had passed ever since that day but Shantala felt like it was already years ago due to the consecutive stressful events she had gone through. And instead of greeting her, she just stood there staring at her with wide eyes.Thus, Valerie took the initiative to start their conversation. Besides, this might be the last time they will see each other. Chiavelli also left for them to have some privacy."It's