2024-12-22 03:20:09
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 149
Howard parked before a high-rise building. The glittering lights overhead surrounded the lettering of the restaurant's name, making it bold and bright enough even for someone a thousand feet away to see.It took a while for Howard to get a parking space. Once they successfully found a place to park, Kevin stepped down from the car.The restaurant looked as magnificent as it had looked in the pictures and videos; he just hoped their services were as good as the reviews, and they had said it.He began to walk to the restaurant entrance, and Howard followed after him, pocketing the car's keys.Magnificent was not enough to describe the interior of the restaurant. It was elegant, yet it felt like you'd just stepped into the cosiest space ever. As Kevin and Howard waited to be attended to at the counter, he took in the restaurant's design: the bright, limpid glass doors that led from one space to the other, making you crane your neck in curiosity as you wondered what may be behind those d
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 150
“So what are your plans to get Nathan out now?" Philip demanded, trying his best to turn a deaf ear to his wife's quiet sobs.Anthony dragged his gaze away from Betty's tear-stained face to her husband's. Betty's sobs were a bothersome hum that wouldn't let him think straight. If he knew he'd be subjected to such torture of listening to her weep like she just lost a child, he would have locked himself in his room. He met Philip's gaze and lightly nodded his head in Betty's direction.It was the worst time for them to have any conversation. Betty's sobs only increased by the second; the expression on her face grew even graver as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.Philip sighed as he turned to Betty. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder. “It's okay, love. He'll be fine."She shook her head, sniffing as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. “How can you say that?" She sniffed. “No matter what happens now, he's bound to spend a long while in that hellhole. How would he survive?
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 151
Kevin walked out of his closet. He had a shirt draped over his right shoulder as he slid a black leather belt through the holes of his pants and buckled it. He walked to the vanity in the room. He stood before it and threw on his shirt. Then he picked up the cup of coffee his maid had brought for him a while ago. He brought it to his lips and sipped from it. Just then, his phone rang out. He glanced at where it still lay on his rumpled bed, where he had dropped it before he stepped into the bathroom to have his bath.With his mug of coffee still in his grip, he walked over to the bed and retrieved the phone. He glanced at the caller's ID before he swiped right to answer the call.“Good morning, boss,” Lionel's voice came on immediately.“Morning, Lionel. How are you?” Kevin drank from his coffee as he listened to his response."I'm fine, boss. Hope you had a great night!"A perfect night,” Kevin answered honestly. The joy on the faces of his employees and the endless sound of their c
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 152
Kevin stared at the phone. He contemplated if he should take the call or just return to what he was doing. He glanced between his laptop and his vibrating phone several times.Eventually, before he could make up his mind, the ringing came to a stop.He slightly shook his head as he turned away from the phone with a light sigh. His gaze returned to the credentials he had been looking through. Just as he moved to the next CV, his phone began to vibrate again. He sighed; he should have just put it in complete silent mode.“She never relents,” he muttered as he picked up his phone and answered the call.“Hello, Mia?" He said into the phone in a sing-songy tone.There was dead silence, and he had to pull back the phone to check if she was on the line. Did she butt-dial his number or something?“Mia? Are you there?”“Why is it so silent there?” Her voice came on, cool and crisp.“What?” He frowned."Where are you? And why is it so quiet?”He lowered himself into his seat and reclined in it
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 153
Mia's chest slowly rose and fell as she stared at her phone, recalling the conversation that she had with Kevin. “He said I'm acting like a child,” she scoffed. “Well, he didn't exactly say it,” she said to herself with an eye roll, “but he loudly implied it!” She finished in an accusing tone.Mia was aware that she might be acting like a kid, but she couldn't help it. Why would he be keeping secrets from her after all she has done for him?She remembered her last words to him before the phone call ended: her promise to visit the Phoenix Group just to see him, and she rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she had the time for any visit. There was enough work to keep her imprisoned in her office for days. She had just hoped that she'd get something out of him. She hoped that she might sense his fear or hear a noise in the background, anything, something to completely base her suspicions on, but she had gotten nothing! Absolutely nothing! Complete waste of time. Obviously, if she wanted to
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 154
Just as Jake drove past the gates of the Print Odd company, Kevin got down and headed into the premises while Howard and Jake parked.As usual, Kevin nodded and answered to the greetings of his employees as he made his way to his office.In his office, he lowered himself in his seat and grabbed his phone.“Good morning, sir,” his secretary greeted the moment she picked up the call.“Morning, Vivian. Meet me in my office now.""Alright, boss,” he heard her say and immediately her words were accompanied by the screech of chairs on the marble floor downstairs. He ended the call and waited for her, giving himself a few seconds before he got to work.In a couple of minutes, there was a knock on his door.“Come in,” he said without tearing his gaze away from the door.“Good morning, boss," Vivian repeated with a small smile, clutching her work tablet in her hand.Kevin nodded. “I need a list of all the valuable workers of the company.”There was a slight crease on Vivian's brows, but she q
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 155
After forced laughs and grins that made Mia's cheeks hurt, Donald finally left. Grandmother saw Donald off to the parking lot while Mia muttered some excuse about pending work and lack of time so she could stay back in her office. She just wanted to put an end to the advances her grandmother kept making toward the poor young man on her behalf. After the first time, she was sure that Donald had also noticed. She was so mortified that she wanted nothing more than to disappear from his presence. About a quarter of an hour later, when she was certain that Mrs. Perry would be back in her office, she left her office and stomped to Mrs. Perry's.She met her in a conversation with the head of the administrative staff. Mia could bet that she was complaining about the employee's lack of ‘agility’ or ‘efficiency’ again. She was never satisfied.Mia fully stepped into the room. The sound the door made as she closed it around her got the lady's attention, and she turned back to see Mia. “Good m
Dominance Commander Son-in-law 156
Mia blinked, her anger suddenly dissipated.“Why will you give me those options?” she blubbed.“Because you have refused to listen!” Grandmother bit out, her eyes shooting daggers at Mia.Mia had no idea what to do as she stared back at her grandmother in shock. She knew that grandmother wasn't the type to crack jokes or give empty threats, so if she said she'd do something, then she'd do it.“Grandmother, I can't possibly—”“Make your choice, child. I need a sensible granddaughter, not a moron who stands by a man who has no respect for her,” she bit out bitterly. “If you need time to think, get out of my office and give me a response within thirty minutes.”“Grandmo—” she began, curling her hands into fists.“Get out, Mia.” Grandmother's voice was definite.It was evident that grandmother was angry. Though she couldn't tell if it was because she refused to go with her plan or because she stood up for herself, either way, she was determined to stand her ground and not dance to her dom
Latest Chapter
184
"So what's the plan?” Alessia eventually asked. She may not like Mia's relationship with Kevin, especially now that they were divorced, but she was ready to go with whatever plan Kevin had to save her.Kevin was silent for a while as he ruminated on his plan again.Alessia's gaze was on him, waiting, ready to get into action. So was Jake, though he was still slightly fuming with rage. He wished he could just get the order to descend on Anthony and teach him a lesson he'll never forget.“He wants the company, doesn't he?" Kevin abruptly spoke up. "Then we'd give it to him." Alessia frowned, bristled, while Jake's brows furrowed in confusion."What do you mean, boss?” they asked at the same time."His condition is to have the company handed over to him, isn't it?”"That's what you said,” Alessia answered.Kevin nodded. “Then that's what we will do. The company will go off for twenty-four hours.”Alessia's lashes fluttered multiple times. She shook her head and gathered herself. It was
183
“Come on, Lisa, let's go," Howard called out to Lisa from the doorway where he stood, waving at the taxi driver that just arrived.“A minute, daddy,” Lisa called back. “Thank you, Mom,” she said to her mom as she took the paper bag that contained the cookies she had made. She carefully tucked the paper bag into her sling bag.“Bye, Mommy," she called out. But she stopped when she reached the kitchen doorway. "She hurried back to her mom. “Let me take one more for Dad," she said as she picked up one piece of cookie from the bowl. “You can have the rest. Bye.”“That's so sweet of you, sweetie. Bye. Have a nice day. Send my regards to Mr. Kevin,” Irene rushed out after her daughter.She picked up a cookie and munched on it. She sighed and closed her eyes, savouring the burst of flavours on her tongue. Her daughter had gotten significantly better at making cookies.She had woken up so early in the morning, her spirits high because of her impending visit to Kevin, and announced that she wa
182
Kevin had thought it would all end with the divorce, but it didn't. He had placed his phone on the ‘do not disturb’ mode. He had been surprised when he unlocked his phone and saw his ex-wife's number top the list of the calls he had missed. She had called him over a dozen times.At first, he was irked but worried. Why would Mia call so many times? It was unusual. She certainly wasn't the type to call so many times. The highest she'd do was try to reach the person a couple of times before she'd let it go.All this was why he hadn't been able to shake off the thought that something might be wrong. Eventually, he called her back.She didn't really sound like herself. There had been a plea in her voice that Kevin could not just ignore.He sighed again as he got into the taxi that would take him to the address. He opened the location-sharing app where she'd shared her location with him and read it out to the driver, directing him once in a while.Eventually, he got to the place. The bar lo
181
Mia wondered how far out she had driven. Did Kevin lie when he said he'd be there? Was he going to ditch her like Donald did too?She turned on her phone's screen to check her call log to see how long it had been since their last call. She blinked when she took in the time displayed on her phone's screen, and her mouth formed an ‘O.’ It's just been three minutes.She sighed. She needed to just chill.Even when Kevin allowed himself to be used as a house boy, he was always unapologetically honest. She knew that if he said he was going to come, then he surely would. She just needed to remain patient.While she waited for Kevin, she sipped her water. Though she still yearned for a drink, maybe something to make her feel bolder, she concluded that it would be better if she was sober when he arrived. She didn't know what turn the conversation would take, or if she'd ever get to see him again; she didn't want to ruin this opportunity.As she sipped her drink, her mind wandering, she vaguely
180
Mia heard Kevin let out a long sigh. And she couldn't help but wonder what he thought of her. Clingy? Pathetic? She sure sounded like one. But she didn't care. At that moment, at least. She just wanted to see him, talk things out with him, and have that tranquillity she suddenly believed that she deserved.“Kevin, are you still there?" She bit her lips when he let out another sigh.“What do you want to talk about, Mia? What do we have to talk about?” He still sounded exasperated like he had sounded since he picked up the call, but there was the hint of concern in his tone. And Mia latched onto it like a lifeline.“Don't you think we have to talk? I understand that you already signed the divorce papers, but it can't just end like that. Please, let's meet even if it's the last time.”A brief silence. Then, “Which bar are you at?”Mia frowned. Her gaze went to the entrance and then around the bar, but there was no name or address anywhere inside.“I'm not sure,” she told him, feeling dum
179
Mia had always known that her grandmother never cared about her or anyone at all. She uses people for her gain, but, somehow, she fooled herself into thinking and believing that her case might be different. After all, she has given her life to the company she so cherishes, working tirelessly to keep it in the limelight, thus allowing her grandmother to keep her shoulder high… but it meant nothing to her. Perhaps her grandmother thought she was so mighty that everyone had to worship her.But just for once, couldn't she have pretended? Mia thought. Mia had never allowed herself to get this mad or show emotion like this. It was a telltale of how angry and saddened she was, yet her grandmother disregarded it like it was nothing.Mia regarded her grandmother for a while, wondering what would ever make her see anyone other than herself as a human with emotions.“What use are wishes if they don't get granted?” Mia spat at her grandmother, not bothering to keep the anger and distaste from her
178
It's only been about ten minutes, but it felt like twenty hours as Mia repeatedly tapped her feet on the floor.The stares had begun to irritate her, and she couldn't stop herself from turning to the restaurant's entranceway, hoping that her date would step in.“Good evening, ma'am,” another table attendant with a practiced smile similar to her colleague's stopped by her table. "What would you like to have?”Mia, despite the growing anger in her, managed to offer her a smile. "Water,” she grinned. "Sparkling water would do," she finished, her smile still intact. She was not interested in anything, but she couldn't allow the fourth attendant to walk up to her again.The lady's eyes fell on the table, and Mia followed her gaze. When she saw the crystal glass pitcher filled with water and the flute glass before her, she muttered, “Of course," and pressed her lips together. That was what she had told the first table attendant that she wanted. It was still untouched.Her cheeks flushed wi
177
The voice at the other end hesitated. Then he cleared his throat. “Mia. How are you?"“Fine."Mia felt a bit guilty. Donald wasn't a bad man. At least, compared to all the men her grandmother had tried to pair her with, he was a good man, but she just couldn't help it. He could have refused the date unless he got her consent, but then grandmother could be cunning whenever she wanted to be. But still… she couldn't soothe the raging anger in her. She couldn’t help but be mad at him. All of these were happening because of his presence.“Okay. So, my driver will be at your villa to pick you up."“Okay," she said, and before Donald could utter another word, she ended the call.It was with even more annoyance that she returned to the vanity mirror to continue dressing up.A while later, a knock came on her door. She stared at the door for a while. Could it be grandmother again? She wondered.On the third knock, she walked to the door and unlocked it.Her anger grew when she came face to fac
176
After a hectic day at work, Mia usually liked to shut down in every way she could and just have time to herself. Half the time, she's unable to enjoy the rest because her mind would either wander about the ways to make the company better, or something work-related would come up.Today, it wasn't work that was on Mia's mind as she paced her room, nor was it rest.She hissed as she walked back to her chair and dropped into it. The document she had opened on the laptop on the desk before her, a spreadsheet that showcased the employees that were contributing to the company's growth and how they contributed, was the last thing she wanted to deal with right then. She had decided to go through it, hoping she'd get her mind off what happened, but she couldn't get her grandmother's words or Kevin's out of her head.She found it hard to believe that Kevin had been made to sign a divorce paper, and worse, he thinks she was in on it.She couldn't believe she was really divorced. Grandmother had m
