“I’m glad you honor your word.” Wayne smirked, placing the wad of cash on the center table.He turned around to see the women glaring maliciously at him, they were so angry that their throat filled with blood.Nikki gritted her teeth, glaring at Wayne in hatred. After all she’d done to make him leave? He still managed to stay back here? She was going to frustrate him and make his life miserable.Anna’s intense gaze zeroed in on him. “I want to see the both of you in the study, right now!” She ordered, tearing her gaze away from Wayne and beckoning Gray behind her.Wayne reached out to pull Elsa into his arms. “Baby, Daddy’s not going away okay?” He murmured and wiped the tears that were still on her cheeks.“I wouldn’t be so elated if I were you.” Aleena snorted, rolling her eyes in contempt. “Elsa darling, let’s see how long your father can last in this house.” She hissed loudly and stormed off.Fedora followed right behind her mother after casting a look of disdain at them.Nikki sc
“No worries, Uncle. We’ll work something out!” Loretta tried to stutter but Gary kept screaming at her.“Shut up! How dare you disobey Mother’s order to divorce him? Have you forgotten all what this man made you go through?”Gary had lost his temper again and his fingers were beginning to dig into her shoulders as he yanked her slender frame around.“Let go of her right now!” Wayne demanded, clamping his hands around Gary’s grip.He forcefully yanked Gary’s hands off, pushing him back. “I’ve warned you several times not to lay a hand on my wife! Haven’t I?” Wayne shot him a very deadly gaze."What can an imbecile like you do to me? I’m speaking to her not you, get lost!" Gary hollered at him."You!" Wayne grabbed his collar. "You keep getting on my nerves, eh?"Gary's eyes reddened in rage. "How dare you speak down at me?" He raised his fists to hit Wayne."Enough!" Anna's thunderous voice stopped the both of them from getting into a scuffle.“Wayne. Is this how your parents taught yo
Wayne tried to console his daughter. "It's okay, Princess."Nikki snickered. "Elsa dear. That's what you get for taking the side of this wretched man! No chicken for you and your daddy!"Nikki chuckled as her words made Elsa wail louder.Loretta's face was already red in anger. What sort of person provokes a child like this?"If you can't help her, at least don’t make her feel worse, Nikki." She snapped hostilely.He stood up. "Let's go." Wayne took Elsa into his arms, whispering soothing words to her.Loretta cast him a questioning gaze."It's better to go to bed on an empty stomach than eat this soup. It was probably made from rotten vegetables."Ignoring the snickers, Loretta stood up, following behind Wayne out of the dining.When they got to her room, Wayne bent to place Elsa on the bed but she clung to him. "Daddy, I want to eat chicken.""Elsa," Loretta sighed, opening the small locker beside the bed. "I have some bread and milk here." She produced half loaf of bread and a smal
The next morning was the first day at school for Elsa, Loretta took her into the bathroom to have a quick bath and get ready for school.They had a quick breakfast of noodles Loretta quickly prepared in the kitchen and set off for the Kindergarten..Loretta sighed, looking outside as the cab sped through the Las Vegas Highway. Last night, she'd decided to sell all of her jewelries and fancy clothes in a thrift store to start all over at her restaurant.She needed a very stable source of income, If not for anything, but for the sake of her daughter.As she has no college degree, it would be hard to find a better job. She was going to see Mike Taylor today for a possible talk on giving her some more time to pay back the loans.When they arrived at Merry Children Kindergarten, Loretta greeted Elsa's new teacher, Miss Doris with a smile before handing over her bags."Bye, Daddy!" Elsa waved frantically before running into the gates.Loretta asked the cab driver to take her straight to her
Wayne nodded, flipping through the average annual report Henry handed to him. For the past 5 hours, they’d been going over the reports of each section of the company. He was willing to know where his company was lacking and improve on it.After it all, he closed the book with a snap and glanced up at Henry. “I’d love to expand my company to other sectors. Do you have an idea of how the oil sector in Las Vegas works?”He was asking Henry because he was sure the man had a lot of experience in the business world, having spent several years in California before he brought him here.Henry scratched his head, thinking for a while. "I have a friend that works in the Petrolum sector, there’re some news that the government is about to buy some oil rigs.""Really?" Wayne rubbed his chin. "Are you sure about that?""Well, my friend is reliable." Henry stuttered."Then get me some substantial business report on it by tomorrow.""Y.. .Yes sir." Henry was stunned at the sudden smile on his Boss' fac
Wayne didn't let the teacher complete her sentence before dashing off to the principal's office.He met his daughter seated opposite a stern looking woman, a little bruise below her right cheek."Daddy!" Elsa's eyes filled up with tears as she rushed to meet him."My Princess," Wayne breathed into her hair, pulling back to examine her face. Apart from the little bruise on her lower cheeks, there were several small cuts on her arms."Who did this?" He growled up at the person seated before them."Excuse me sir, who are you?" The woman frowned, getting up. "I've never seen you here.""Principal Rogers. He's my Daddy!" Elsa pouted.The principal was about to speak when Miss Doris arrived behind Wayne, panting."She's right, ma'am. Miss Moore confirmed it after dropping Elsa off this morning."Principal Rogers eyed Wayne in disdain. "So you're the miserable son in law of the Moore family?" Wayne ignored her question to face the issue at hand. "Who did this to my daughter?" He asked again,
“Hey, punk.” A tall man that seemed like the leader of the gang came forward, snickering aloud. “Are you gonna make this easy for yourself or I force you to kneel in front of your daughter?”“Hey, it’s been a while I had some exercise, Wayne.” Mark exchanged a smirk with him, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.Wayne frowned at him. “Be careful, you don’t want to end with corpses.”“Are you deaf?” The leader hollered when Wayne didn’t even spare him a glance. “Kneel down there on your own or your daughter is gonna get hurt!”“What?” Wayne finally glanced at him, his gaze terrifyingly cold. “What has my daughter got to do with this, you lackey?”“You just called me a lackey?” The leader scoffed, his face turning red in anger.He faced his men. “Make sure to beat him so that he can’t talk again!”The first man came charging toward them.“Daddy!” Elsa buried her face into her father’s chest.But he didn’t manage to reach them, because Wayne grabbed the bodyguard’s wrist, twisting so sh
Wayne settled back on the sofa, anger surging through his veins as he thought the matter through. If Anna would really get his parents cremated, there would be no other way for him to prove that he is a Costa.He placed another call to Mark. “Have some of my men meet the officials at the Cemetery and ask them to wait. I’ll be meeting them soon.”Loretta had noted the abrupt change in his mood. “Are you okay?” She asked.“Yeah. I have to leave for a while.” Wayne scratched his head, unable to look into her eyes. His eyes trailed down to her wrist.The gash was looking a bit ugly, and painful.He dashed up to the cabinet to find some band aid or something to cover the gash up. “Is there a first aid box in here?” He asked.“Nah.” Loretta stood up, throwing on her jacket. “I was just gonna get one from the grocery store down the street.”After assuring Elsa that they would be back, they left for the grocery store.Wayne made Loretta stay still while he rummaged the shelves for the complete
Memories of all that happened today flashed back to Alice's head.She passed the 1st round of the Oriental Catering Contest and on her way home, she bumped into that man that gave her wild goose-bumps.Nathan Reyes.Astonishingly handsome and charismatic -only when he didn't open his mouth. One of the dancers said he was a well-known business man.Alice sat up.How come she's never heard of him?She head to her table and turned on her monitor, typing his name on the browser. His pictures popped up at once.Scrolling through, she found out that not only was Nathan stinking rich, he was the grandson of a past Governor of Haiui- Greg Reyes, his father- Martin Reyes, was the President of the prominent food packaging company- Cheese&LiT Co and his mother, Lina Reyes was the best surgeon in the state.Charismatic family.There was no mention of a sibling of Nathan’s- that meant she had upset the heir to the Reyes Legacy.Even if Alice hadn’t heard of the Reyes family, she knew Cheese&LiT a
presence. “You have no right to do that! I made a simple mistake and I apologized, what else do you want?”“I do not need anything from a spoilt idiotic brat like you.” He fired back at her.Alice was red in the neck. “Who the hell do you think you are to call me an idiot? The governor's son? Even the President's son has more good manners than you do!”Nathan frowned. “You don't seem to know who I am.”“And who the fuck are you?” She shook her fists at him. “I've never heard of your name here in Haiui, aren't you just a spoilt brat that returned from abroad and got handed all the family properties on a platter of gold?”His gaze darkened, but his voice was still non chalant. “Why do I feel like you're one of those stalker ladies that have been dying to grace my bed?”“Yuck!” Alice grimaced in disgust. “I'd rather eat poop than waste my time with a man as arrogant and condescending as you are!”That statement clearly hit Nathan’s nerve cause he stood up abruptly, veins popping out on h
“I’m sorry I have no idea what you’re talking about.”“You have an idea, you freak!” Alice grabbed his collar. “You are the cause of everything that’s happened to me and my family, you fraudster!”He held her hands, “I’m beginning to feel embarrassed, Miss, Let go of me!” His thick voice resounded.Alice flinched visibly and everywhere around them became silent.“I said, let go of me!” He repeated icily.A shiver ran down her spine as she stared through the sunglasses into his eyes, leaving goosebumps in their wake.Her fingers subconsciously grabbed his collar harder.“No, you’re gonna pay for all what you did,” She insisted. “You absconded with my parent’s money only to return and flaunt it around. Everyone needs to know what cheat and fraudster you are!” Alice screamed.“What?” He gritted so angrily that she felt the waves of anger through his collar, but she didn’t care, he needs to suffer pain and humiliation.Alice turned to face the crowd. “Someone call the police! This man is
Wayne barged into the house with Mark right behind him, both of them panting heavily. "Where the hell is Mathew?" Wayne grabbed the bodyguard's collar.The guard's face was riddled with shock and confusion. "He should still be in the house, I never allowed him to leave!""What?" Wayne faced Mark in shock. What if that video had been wrong? But he had a feeling deep in his mind that he wasn't wrong.They all rushed towards the stairs, making their way straight to Mathew's room."Mathew? Are you in?" Mark hurriedly banged the door.Wayne paused to check the lock. It had been locked from outside. Signalling no one was in."No. No. No. Shit!" He swore in anger.If his mind was working perfectly, Wallock has Mathew in custody and was probably waiting for the right time to threaten him.Mark managed to break the door open, rushing in to check everywhere.No Mathew.Wayne caught a letter on the bed. It was from Mathew himself."Dear son, I'm sorry to relay this to you this way. Not especial
When Alice returned to the restaurant, customers were already teeming in, most of them asking for her mother, she managed to give them the best reply she could and after instructing the Juliet and Marie on what to do, she left for work.She prayed the Principal won't be around like yesterday, she was 2 hours late already and she wasn't in the mood to receive any tongue lashing this morning.As it happened, Mrs Sanders was right at the gate when she arrived, she beckoned Alice to her office with a stiff face.“Miss Ruiz, what time is it by your watch right now?”“I'm sorry I'm late again, my mum-”“What the hell does your watch say?” Mrs Sanders asked again, a little louder this time.“10 o’ clock.” Alice gritted.“When are you supposed to resume?” “8 o clock.”“Seriously, do you expect the parents to wait for you to resume before dropping their kids? Is this what I pay you for?”Alice kept mute.“Miss Ruiz, I'm talking to you, aren't I?”Alice sighed, she was still shaken from the or
His words sent shivers down Alice's spine, but she was determined not to show fear in his presence. “You have no right to do that! I made a simple mistake and I apologized, what else do you want?”“I do not need anything from a spoilt idiotic brat like you.” He fired back at her.Alice was red in the neck. “Who the hell do you think you are to call me an idiot? The governor's son? Even the President's son has more good manners than you do!”Nathan frowned. “You don't seem to know who I am.”“And who the fuck are you?” She shook her fists at him. “I've never heard of your name here in Haiui, aren't you just a spoilt brat that returned from abroad and got handed all the family properties on a platter of gold?”His gaze darkened, but his voice was still non chalant. “Why do I feel like you're one of those stalker ladies that have been dying to grace my bed?”“Yuck!” Alice grimaced in disgust. “I'd rather eat poop than waste my time with a man as arrogant and condescending as you are!”Th
Alice kneaded the dough thoroughly, adding some butter and re-kneading.Her fingers felt stiff but she continued anyway, they’d run out of supplies for the evening sales so she had to.The thought of abandoning everything flashed through her mind, but the fact that her mum was still lying in a hospital made her continue working vigorously.The heat from the oven sizzled her skin and made her realize that the oven was ready, as she began piling the dough in, Juliet came in.Alice looked up at her. “How’s it going over there?”“Fine.” Juliet sighed, looking her from up to down. “You can go have some rest, Miss. I’ll look after the oven.”“No, Thanks. Julie. I have to make sure everything comes out well.”“You look like you could pass out any minute from now, you’ve been working since morning, please-”“I have to work. My Mum is in the hospital.”Juliet went to put on an apron. “That’s more reason why you should have some rest. Come on, we don’t have much customers at this time, you can
The next morning while she was cleaning hastily so she doesn't have to be late for work again, Juliet suddenly rushed out of her mother's office.“Miss Alice.” She panicked. “Your mum, she fell and-”“What?” A lump formed in Alice's throat, with her heart thumping she dropped the mop and rushed to the office. Her mother was lying on the floor, seemingly lifeless.Cold fear came over her.“Mum?” Alice shook her with trembling hands. “Can you hear me? Mum?” She checked her pulse and thankfully, Mum was still breathing. “Go prepare a cab for the hospital while I bring her out.” She instructed Julie.Julie nodded and left.“Mum? Can you hear me?” Alice asked again.She burst into tears when her mother's lashes fluttered a little.Her mother was still alive!As she carried her mother over her back, she discovered in shock how much weight her mother had lost. Alice cried harder when she realized that her mum might really be sick and hiding it from her.She couldn't afford to lose her Mum.
“It's fine dear, nature has a way of gifting us something else for whatever we lose.” Mum patted her hair fondly.Alice wiped her tears to stare at her mother’s face, “You aren't surprised, why?”“I kind of figured it out when you returned home early and looking downcast yesterday.”“Mum.” The tears flowed harder. “I'm sorry for letting you down.”“You didn't let me down, love. Audition or no audition, win or lose, you’re still my precious daughter that I cherish so much.”Alice kept sobbing until she began to feel sleepy, she pulled her Mum into an embrace and whispered. “I love you, Mum and I would do anything to make you happy.”As she went to bed that night, she made a decision to never give up, no matter what came her way.The next day, Alice woke up late and ended up getting to work late, but she was relieved to find out that the Principal was not yet in school.She went about her normal activities of taking care of other people's children, feeding them, cleaning their poop, hel