"Mum, how can you assign me to do this," Mirenda murmured in the shower. "She is gross," she added. Meanwhile, back in the dining area, dinner was over, and it appeared no one enjoyed their food except Grandpa. Mrs Haward left the dining area, went to the living room and started going through the TV channels. Jason descended the staircase to the living room and was glad to find Mrs Haward there. He walked up to her and looked at her for a while. "Mum, she is my wife. We are legally married. When the time is right, I will let you know the details. So I would appreciate it if you left her alone," Jason said. "She has been through a lot. I will plead with you to stop making life more uncomfortable for her than it already is," he said in a calm voice. "Wow, I never thought I would see the day, my little brother would go all out and defend a woman from his heart," commented James, who had just walked through the front door, making Jason and Mrs Haward turn to look at him. "You are in lo
The phone slipped from Mrs Haward's hand, crushing it to the ground and shattering it into pieces. Everything started making sense to her. "Julia is my husband's daughter?" Mrs Haward repeated the words on her lips, and it felt like multiple needles went through her heart. She was using the excuse Jason was adopted to say he was not qualified for the position he holds right now in the family, only to find out he is the rightful heir by marrying the daughter of a Haward. "No this can't be happening, does Jason know the reason he married her that quick?" Mrs Haward thought. She picked up her phone, assembled it, turned it on, and called a friend. After talking for a while on the phone, she took a shower and went out to meet her friend. At the office, Jason sat behind his desk in deep thought. He recalled the incident that happened eighteen years ago. He was just six years old by then. His father, Mr Johan Haward, had gone to work and his mum, Mrs Haward, left him alone with the
Henry suggested. "You will love it," he added with a smile, and Jason gave it some thought. "You want me to have dinner with her in my limo inside the garage?" Jason asked, pausing in between words, making it sound like it was a horror movie with so many bizarre scenes. "Mr Haward, with everything you have said right now, you don't have a problem standing close to her, unlike with other women. You want answers to why you feel the way you do around her, and why you think the way you do about her. You can only get those answers by getting closer to her. Give it a try, and if at any point you feel the need to get away from her, then you will know she doesn't have any impact on you," Henry explained. Jason looked at Henry for a while but said nothing. "Take it as an experiment. Let's see what results we get. Mr Haward. If this works, we will know that, gradually, you are healing from the trauma," Henry convinced Jason and he nodded. A knock on the door interrupted their conversati
"Wow!" was all Peter could say, and his eyes widened like a bright light. "I guess we are ready," said Peter, and offered Julia his hands like an invitation to a dance which made Julia smile. "Time to go, my lady," Peter added, and led her out of the place. Peter opened the car door for her and closed it after she was comfortably seated. He quickly sat behind the wheel and smiled when his phone screen lit up. He picked it up, unlocked it and smiled at the simple message; 'The boss is waiting in the limo' He quickly typed a reply. 'We are on our way,' and he clicked send. The car engine came to life, and they drove out of the compound. It was getting late and Julia wondered where they were going. "Please, where are we going?" Julia asked. "Back home," Peter replied, and Julia felt more relaxed, but she had a great time at the spa and couldn't help smiling about it. Julia didn't give much thought to her appearance after Peter had informed her they were going home. After a cou
Julia lifted her gaze to see he was pouring another glass of wine and was surprised to see him smiling. She had never seen him smile. Her eyes shifted to the big bottle of wine on the table, and she realized it was empty. He was drunk. "You like working in my company?" Jason asked, staring at the glass in his hand. "Yes, I do and thank you for giving me that opportunity," Julia replied. "Good, I like the designs you made and so did my clients," Jason said, smiling, and Julia wondered if he was talking about how she felt about working in the company or if he was talking about the project designs. "It was good work done," Jason added. Jason was more relaxed now as he asked one question after another and Julia could not keep up as he was just changing topics with each query. He opened the car door and stepped out, pulling Julia with him. Jason emptied the glass of wine and threw the glass away, breaking it. Julia jumped at the sound of the breaking glass. Just then, the guard appear
"Well, you are right. Jason knew about the will," Mirenda said, walking towards the bed. Mrs Haward was sitting behind the dressing table cleaning her face with a cleanser. She stopped cleaning her face and turned to look at Mirenda who was sitting on the bed. "How did you find that out?" Mrs Haward asked curiously. "I spoke with Julia. She told me their first meeting was by accident, and they became secret friends and one day he asked her to marry him, and she said yes," Mirenda reported. "Just like that?" questioned Mrs Haward. "Yes, mum. It makes perfect sense why they are so distant from each other. They never dated," Mirenda added. Mrs Haward sat in silence processing the new information in addition to what she already knew. "Julia is the daughter of her husband. Basically, she is his only blood. Mirenda, James and Jason are all outsiders. Jason, by marrying Julia, has become the rightful heir to the Haward's fortune," Mrs Haward thought. "Mum?" Mirenda called but Mrs Hawa
Julia pressed her back against the door and sunk to the floor hugging her legs. In her silence, she recalled their passionate moment together; Jason grabbed her by the side. Her hand quickly went to that side of her body and she felt a burning sensation touching it. Looking at it, her skin had turned red, and it was bruised. It was a hand-print. She didn't know why, but she felt sad and tears started flowing down her face as she rested her head on her knees. Jason was out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist and with another, he dried his hair. He picked some fresh clothes from the closet, put them on, and stepped out of the room after dressing up. He draws the curtains, allowing in some light and fresh air. He turned, and his eyes fell on a red dress lying on the floor, along with female underwear. He frowned deeply, wondering if Julia had run out of the apartment naked. "How did she leave the apartment without her clothes?" Jason thought, heading towards the entran
The day went by with Julia and Jason spending their entire day inside their room. Later that night, while Julia was sleeping, a hand covered her mouth and a knife was placed under her chin. She opened her eyes in shock but could not see who it was as the room was dark. "Sssh, a sound from you and this knife will split your throat, do you understand?" came a husky male voice. Julia nodded, but the corners of her eyes were quickly filled with tears as she trembled in fear. "Now, you are going to get up from this bed and quietly walk with me out of this room," the man said in the same tone, and Julia nodded. Julia got up from the bed, placing her feet on the floor with a knife under her chin. She stood up, and the man had the opportunity to get behind her and, still with the knife under her chin, led her to the door. Julia's hands hang loosely on her side as she slightly opens them apart, more like in surrender. Walking past the bedside stand, Julia slowly grabbed the lamp in the dar