When they arrived home, Wayne tried to speak to Loretta, but she ignored him. She managed to flash a small smile at their daughter and trudge up the stairs.“Daddy? Was Mummy crying?” Elsa asked, immediately her father picked her up.Guilt ate at Wayne’s heart and he shook his head. “I’m sorry, baby. I made your mother cry.”“I know what makes Mummy feel better!” Elsa whispered into her father’s ears.Wayne smiled and nodded, placing her down. “Why don’t you go upstairs to keep Mummy some company while I go prepare her favorite food?” He handed her a paper bag as well.“Chocolates! Thank you Daddy!” Elsa jumped in excitement when she opened the bag.He was glad he asked Mark to bring some chocolates along, the smile on Elsa’s face right now was priceless. Just then, someone cleared their throats behind them and Wayne turned to see Aleena, glaring at him with hatred.Wayne greeted her, but she didn’t reply.But when Elsa offered Dennis some chocolates, she opened her mouth. “My child
Anna shook her fingers furiously at Wayne. “Once this bastard is taken care of, I’m gonna marry you into the Brooks family and that’s the end of it!”“You can’t do that!” Loretta shouted back, challengingly. Grandma’s hurtful words pierced through her heart like a knife and she felt so pained.“I’ve made my decision and that’s final, you’re getting a divorce from this bastard!”Anna finally turned her ferocious gaze on Wayne. "You should prepare for your exit from this family! I'm no longer tolerating lowly people like you here anymore.""Now that you've annoyed the Taylors to the point of blind rage, you either choose to go meet them and get your punishment yourself? Or they hunt you down? From now on, you have nothing to do with the Moore's! Go in there and pack your things out!"Loretta leaped forward at that instant. "Wayne's going nowhere, Grandma! If he leaves, I leave with him!"Anna was a bit taken aback. "Really? Loretta?" Her voice turned icy cold. "You want to follow the pa
Wayne scratched his head at the intense gaze she was giving him. It was like she wanted to look into his soul. "It’s the left over money from what my friend borrowed me.""Are you serious?" Loretta scoffed in disbelief. "You borrowed money to do all this?"Wayne nodded."So why happens if you're unable to pay back?"Wayne sighed, placing both arms on her shoulders. "Now worries, wifey. Mark is a very good friend of mine."Loretta shook her head, still finding it all hard to take in. But as she looked around she had to convince herself that it was true."Excuse me." Wayne excused himself to go pick a call and Loretta picked up a ceramic pack of new plates to admire it."It's so pretty, right? My Daddy is the best!" Loretta heard her daughter's voice."Who's Elsa speaking to?" She hurried to the restaurant to meet her daughter laughing with a tall man with green eyes and jet black hair.Loretta found him familiar but she couldn't place it."Elsa?""Mummy!" The man looked up when Elsa r
And Leslie clenched her fists.Wayne started walking away when he stopped to look Leslie in the eye, sending her a warning her not to do anything funny."Hmph. I can’t believe this bullshit, Aleena." The most outspoken of them, Janet Rogers spoke up. "How could your live-in son in law address you so casually and non-chalantly? Aren’t you giving him enough chores to do?""Yeah. Please tell us. The haughty look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. He seems like a criminal to me. How could you live with such a person?" Another woman spoke up.Aleena’s face turned red in embarrassment."True. You always brag to have power over the entire Moore family, but what is this?”“A miserable son in law walked past you without greeting properly and you're letting him go?" Leslie snickered. "Aren't you going to discipline them? Is this how lax the Moore family is?"Aleena's face turned red from all the insults and snickers of disgust.It was all that bastard's fault.If he hasn't come in at this
Sunday morning. . .The Moore family had to attend a baby shower thrown by the Castor Family. The wife of the first son, Wendy had given birth to a baby boy, so the party was sure to be extravagant and luxurious.Wayne didn't want to attend, but he had no choice because Wendy was Loretta's friend and it wouldn't be nice not to meet and congratulate her.Gary refused to allow them get in the official Moore family limousine, so Wayne had to take his rickety car along.Even though Loretta's ticket was VIP, Anna took it from her and handed her some normal backseat invitation, in her words she didn't want to be associated with people like Wayne and since he was going with her, it was best they stay far apart.Wayne only snickered at her reason, ushering his wife and daughter into his car.He got to the VelCrik Hotels, making his way to the parking lot. Several luxurious cars lined up the place that even he felt a bit overwhelmed.It was like the Castors invited an arrays of wealthy people.
Loretta woke up the next morning, meeting Elsa on the bed alone. She quickly glanced around the small room, he wasn’t anywhere.A small possibly at at the back og her mind that he’d left again. She rushed top the wardrobe and sighed in relief when she saw his big black bag and his suitcase.There was a big black bag beside his suitcase which wasn’t there when he arrived yesterday, could Wayne have put the bag here?She ran her ahnds along the tips. It was made of real leather and was probabaly very expensive. It was the sort of bag people ususalyy to carry lots of cash.Just as she was about to open the bag, Elsa called out to her and she stepped back to kiss her daughter good morning.“Where’s Daddy?” Elsa looked around in surprise.“I- He stepped out for a moment, dear. Let’s get you ready for scholl, baby.”“Yay! I love going to school!” Elsa ran into the bathroom and Loretta laughed. “Is it cause you wanted to get 1st position from Charlie?”Charlie was Elsa’s best friend, he was
Wayne turned to face Fedora, hands in his pocket. "What clothes was I wearing when you saw me stealing your box?""I. Huh." She cleared her throat. "A b. . .black hoodie and trousers."Wayne's hot gaze burned into her eyes."Really?" He took a few intimidating steps forward, pinning her with a fierce malicious gaze.Having trained in Martial arts, he'd developed an intimidating aura that could frighten anyone he focused on.Fedora was beginning to fumble under the pressure. "Mum, I'm not l. . .lying. I saw him with the box. Please believe me!""What the hell are you doing to my daughter, you freak? You took the box out of this room, didn't you?" Aleena jumped on Wayne's throat immediately. "Don't you dare deny that hid it in that black bag that was in your wardrobe!"But Wayne's gaze didn't leave Fedora's face. "I can assure you that the jewelry box is still in this room. Your daughter hid it just to frame me!"Fedora flinched in fear at the deep baritone of Wayne's voice. He sounded
"Daddy, please put me down." Elsa muttered.She got down and ran to the door. "Mummy, I want to go play with Dennis downstairs.""Alright, baby. Were coming down soon." Loretta rubbed Elsa's hair and let her out.Wayne was still staring down at his phone, his fingers were hovering over the 'read' button.What he was about to discover would be a turning point in his life. Either to strengthen his plans or turn his life into a nightmare.As he was about to open the email notification, the door swung open and three people burst in.Anna, Gary and his wife, Aleena.Loretta frowned deeply, placing her arms akimbo. “Aunt, don't tell me you had to involve Grandma in what just happened? Aren't you supposed to be scolding your daughter for what she did?”Aleena gave out a loud hiss and scoffed. “Keep your opinion to yourself, Loretta. I don't need you to tell me how to raise my daughter. Face your thief of a husband!”“Aunt, I won’t tolerate you calling my husband a thief.” Loretta insisted. “Y
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