Fourteen Months EarlierJason had been trying to get a hang of the diaper task that he had taken upon himself while Alex kept wiggling around like a slobbery jellyfish while chattering like a Magpie when the call entered.“No, I must get this right” Jason muttered as he tucked his tongue into his cheek and willed the baby to stay put. Alex had another idea and he only tried to roll off the dressing table towards a toy that Jasmine had in her hand at that moment. “Stay put, buddy,” Jason said in a strained voice and the boy only blinked up at him before he said his favourite word at that time “No!” and he continued his activity.Isabella, who was hovering around to take over the task, if her boss failed at it the way he had most times, only smiled and tried again as she said “Sir, let me…let me do it. Your phone is ringing again”Jason huffed and looked at the phone that he had placed, alongside other things that he had in his pocket on the low stool in the children’s room and he looke

Looking at the man seated a few tables from him giving suggestions, answering questions and even expressing his disagreement with the opinion of one of the “stick-in-the-mud” presidents, Jason didn’t have to ask himself that question again. Just the appearance of Matteo was enough to show that Jason had made the right choice of stepping in to save the man who seems to be well on the journey of slow suicide even as the outside world did all it could to push him over the edge, Gone were the sunken cheeks, pallid skin, skinny bones and hollow eyes. It was hard to ever think that the healthy-looking young man in front of him at that moment was the same one who had crazed eyes and erratic behaviour the first time that Jason had all of his drug stash taken away. His mood swings and blubbery cries on his first day in rehab were not something that Jason was comfortable with remembering but at the moment, he couldn’t help but compare that haggard-looking, low-self-esteemed Matteo to the well-d

He turned down the offer and forbade Phils to ever mention such a thing again. In the meantime, he strengthened the security around the house, installed a reinforced gate and ensured that someone was always watching over Isabella and the kids whenever they were outside the house. Unnoticed of course, so that the kids wouldn’t feel boxed in or anything. He didn’t want anything to affect their chance of growing as children should, but he was not going to take any chances with them as well. And if the attention on him helped to drive more clients and attention to the company, he was not ashamed to take it. He worked diligently and created his team of innovative and forward-thinking people that comprised Anastasia and five other people whom he had hand-picked himself. Two of them had been poached from Asian and African companies while one was a consultant who worked on a term that benefited the company and herself. So, yes. Jason was popular enough now that it didn’t surprise him anymor

The gleeful face of the twins, as they played in their school’s playground, danced maniacally in Jason’s head as he rushed as fast as he could to the school. Especially as Millicent’s small smile as she looked directly into the camera above the kid’s head glared clearly in his mind. She was sending him a message and only one interpretation came to Jason’s mind as he quickly sent a message. He blamed himself for not doing that before he tore out of the condo complex. What if he was late? He thought in anguish as he accelerated. A car honked rudely at him as he zoomed past over taking a minivan. “Oh, I am going to kill her if she…” Jason thought in anguish. The rapid thoughts of what Aria had done to those kids when they were still so young came to his mind. “Oh, she would wish she was dead in that godforsaken place if she….” Jason shook his head and took the next turn sharply as he wondered why nobody had called him at th school. Had she managed to infiltrate the school or she had bou

“Daddy, who is she?” Jasmine asked in curiosity as she climbed down from Jason’s arms. Alexander was already pulling at Millicent’s pant trousers, not giving a care that the pretty, tall, lady barely managed a strained smile as she looked down at him. She didn’t even bend down to call him cute as most people would do nor did she tell Jasmine that she was an adorable girl even though he knew for sure that Jasmine was not adorable. Annoying maybe, though he wouldn’t tell his dad that. Still, Alexander liked the tall, unsmiling lady and he was fascinated by her pretty hair that cascaded down her shoulders, he had never seen anything like it before. His aunt Mia’s hair had been the most beautiful he had seen before but this lady’s hair even beat that. Of course, he wouldn’t tell Aunt Mia. She loved the jelly beans that she snuck for him when Jasmine wasn’t looking. Even Ganma Celia’s hair was beautiful but it is short and not as fine as this lady’s hair. So the first thing he said as he