John camped behind the door, his breath shallow and uneven, watching in shock. The sight before him was beyond his wildest imaginings, each second etching a deeper groove of trauma into his mind. Gabriel Blake stood naked as well as Jeffery was. A bottle of red wine dangled from his hand, a stark contrast against the dim light of the room. As he tipped the bottle, crimson liquid cascaded onto Jeffery’s already wet body. It took John a moment to realize—it wasn’t blood, it was wine he had seen on the floor.“Baby,” Gabriel’s voice was a silky murmur, dripping with sweetness as he poured more wine onto Jeffery’s body. The wine traced rivulets over Jeffery’s skin, glistening like dark rubies. Gabriel’s arousal was evident, his erection standing proudly, adding an obscene layer to the already twisted happenings.John’s eyes narrowed, his mind scrambling to piece together the chaotic fragments of the scene before him. He squinted, struggling to comprehend. Was this some sort of ritual?

“What is wrong? What is going on?” John drew nearer to Miss B, his voice tinged with deep concern.Tears welled up in Miss B’s eyes. She couldn’t speak; she could only shudder. John had never seen her in such a state. She was always the strong and stoic young woman. Seeing her in that state made his heart leap because whatever broke her that much was something truly serious.John placed his hand on Miss B’s upper arm. “Did Stephanie do anything to you? I heard she came to the office. What did she do?” he asked, his eyes fixed on Miss B’s teary face.She slowly shook her head. “Everything is just ruined. I am not fit to be a Smith,” she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I am a disappointment to my father and my family. I should have never been born.” Fresh, hot, steamy tears rolled down her face.“Don’t say that. Your father is proud of you. He trusts you and that’s why he placed you in charge of everything,” John said softly, using his thumbs to dab off the tears that roam

Two days later, John was in his room. Lately, he had been keeping a close eye on Jeffery, monitoring his meetings and who he was associating with. He was biding his time, looking for the perfect moment to strike. John needed Stephanie to catch them red-handed, but he had to do it in a way that kept him out of the picture.In John’s hands was one of James’s toys, which he had managed to steal the last time he was in the room. He stared at it, rubbing his thumb slowly and caressing it. The next day was James’s birthday, his sixth birthday. A mixture of tears and a smile appeared on John’s face. He remembered how he used to celebrate his birthdays in grandeur, but this time, planning everything felt different because everything was different.John’s heart raced so fast. Even though it was nighttime, he desperately wanted to see James and be the first one to wish him a happy birthday. Though James was not John’s biological son and reminded him of Stephanie’s infidelity, John couldn’t sto

John remained on the floor all through the night. The cold, hard surface offered no comfort, amplifying the extreme pain that coursed through his body. His eyes were vacant, staring at nothing in the dimly lit room. The stillness around him contrasted sharply with the storm brewing inside. He felt a burning rage deep within his heart, a searing fury that seemed to fuel the agony of his injuries. The slap from Modelisa echoed relentlessly in his ears and flashed incessantly in his mind. It wasn’t just about the slap itself; it was the fact that it had come from her. Never before had he been slapped, and the betrayal from someone he trusted left a gaping wound in his heart.As he lay there, he knew he needed to put an end to everything that was happening. The urgency to resolve the turmoil grew with each passing second. He contemplated the possible ways to bring this chaos to a close, his mind racing despite the creeping silence of the night. The stillness seemed to amplify his thoug

“Dad, it’s been a while, and I know I haven’t really spoken to you since things have gone this way. I have been too ashamed to come to you. The one thing you placed in my care was taken away from me. I haven’t been able to face you ever since. It has felt as though the whole world is against me. I am really sorry for disappointing you. I couldn’t be half the man that you were,” John said with a cracked voice, tears welling up in his eyes as he stood in his room staring into thin air.His mind had traveled far away. There was too much guilt weighing on his chest. He felt wasted once more after he had finished talking to Miss B and returned home.“I need your help today, Dad. I can’t do anything without you, and it is clear that I am worthless without you. I allowed a woman to take over my thinking, and everything you had worked so hard to gather, I threw it down the drain with a snap of my fingers. I know I am worthless and I am stupid. I might have learned my lesson, but the guilt can