Ken wanted to slump into a heap or worse still run out like a weakling but there was no time to chicken out. If he must leave, he would depart after putting up a good confrontation. He had sworn to fight for his Miranda after all.
Now, Miranda was mocking him before her latest lover. She gives no damn about his admission to Harvard and she just told him that he would never earn a million dollars in his life. Hearing that comment from Miranda intensified the rate at which his heart was shredding into parts.
What happened to the soft-spoken girl he fell madly in love with? Where was the girl who loved every damn thing about him? What happened to the love of his life? For how long had she been together with Charlie? Was she brainwashed? Dozens of thoughts kept running through his mind until Charlie brought him back to consciousness by striking his palms against each other, creating applause.
"Get your broke ass out of this room. Miranda and I have work to do." Charlie spat.
Miranda placed her hands on Charlie's shoulder and gave him a peck on the right cheek. "Lots of work to do baby" she replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
Ken was completely shattered. First, Miranda broke his heart in an instant then she hurled insults at him, disparaged his status, and now she was flirting right there in his presence? The manner with which she was speaking to him and the way she was carrying herself proved that she had no ounce of feeling left for him. Indeed, she was finished with him.
In a fit of rage, Ken charged toward Charlie with a hardened face and clenched fists but again, Miranda stood in his way.
"Let me through!" he yelled at her face with bloodshot eyes.
"What are you doing Ken? You are no match for Charlie. He is going to kill you." she cried out.
Now she's suddenly worried about him? "Kill me? Miranda, I died the moment I walked through that door and saw you both kissing." Ken retorted.
Charlie began rolling up his sleeves. "Let the boy come to papa."
Mirada looked into Ken's eyes and blurted. "Just leave us alone."
Ken felt that he had taken enough. He was about to push Miranda to the side and take on Charlie with a punch when a loud horn came. The trio turned around and looked through the door. A limousine was parked by the lawn, a few meters away from Charlie's car. They were so engrossed in their deed that they didn't notice the moment the car pulled over.
Miranda and Charlie exchanged confused glances. They were expecting no one and Ken was more confused than they were.
The front door of the car was opened and a girl's smooth legs hit the floor. Her feet were enclosed in a glossy red heel. Miranda and Charlie moved closer, beside Ken to get a proper glance at the stranger.
The girl stepped out and slammed the door. She flipped her straight black hair and brushed her well-manicured hands on the limo. She was dressed in a black sleeveless gown that hugged her tightly, doing justice to her curves. She pressed her purse against her tummy and began taking graceful steps toward the trio, swaying her hips rhythmically.
She was striding into the room with a smile and everyone caught her blue eyes. The moment she stepped into the room, her vanilla fragrance took charge of the atmosphere. She stood beside Ken with a bright smile, laying her perfect set of teeth on display.
"Who are you...what are you doing in my room?" Miranda managed to ask, her hazel eyes hovering around the girl's Hermes purse. The girl looked a bit older than her.
The girl slid her hand into Ken's and flashed another glorious smile. He responded with a grin.
"I'm Ken's girlfriend."
Miranda's jaw dropped. "Girlfriend?" She giggled and turned to Charlie. "Did you hear her, she's claiming to be Ken's girlfriend."
The girl extended her right palm to Miranda, demanding a handshake. "I'm Cassie and thank you so much."
Miranda's gaze fell on her polished nails. "Are you kidding me? You just walked into my apartment claiming to be Ken's girlfriend and now you are thanking me?"
Ken moved away and isolated himself in the corner by the right. His eyes were fixed on the white ceiling and he kept tapping his left thigh slightly.
Charlie intervened. He moved closer to the girl and was almost lost in her deep blue eyes. "Excuse me, young lady. Where the hell did you come from?"
"You must be Miranda's new guy?" Cassie replied and presented her hand to him. "Thank you for taking Miranda out of Ken's life. Now, I can finally build a relationship with him."
Miranda gave Charlie a soft push and faced the girl. "What are you talking about?"
Cassie smiled and grabbed the stool Charlie was occupying earlier. She sat and crossed her legs, her golden bangles slinging. She placed her bag on her lap.
"Seems like I'll have to take you guys down memory lane," she commented and cleared her throat loudly.
Ken was still in his corner.
"I've known Ken all my life." she began and flipped her glittering hair. "We grew up together and I've been in love with him but never realized it until a few months ago."
"What?" Miranda interrupted with a scream. Charlie and Ken were both silents.
"Let me finish." Cassie countered with a soft smile.
"I've been looking for him all this while until I finally learned that he was rounding up high school in this city. I graduated from high school last week and decided to drop into the city to find my love and when I drove to his apartment this morning, I saw him getting into a cab so I followed him down here." Cassie explained.
Miranda's face was covered with a shocking expression. She palmed her forehead and began to pace.
"So...so you are saying you've been here from the moment he walked in?" Charlie asked.
Cassie agreed with a nod. "I was here from the moment this whole drama commenced. I was in the car. You guys were screaming so it was easy to hear the entire conversation."
Charlie directed his finger to the car outside. "That limo...you...You own it?"
Cassie stood up with a smile. "I do."
Mirada instantly stopped pacing.
"I heard you saying Ken was never going to earn 1 million in his life?" Cassie said and quirked her brow. She then turned to face the door. "That car costs 50 million and....." she turned to Mirada. "If his new girlfriend can afford that kind of vehicle then where does a million stand in Ken's life? I mean, my fortune will now be his."
"What's your name again? I didn't get that part while I was still in the car."
"Charlie. I'm Charlie," he said softly.
She presented her hand to him and he shook her with a fake grin. "Thank you so much for finding Miranda. She was never meant to be with Ken and I know he is starting to understand that now," said Cassie.
Charlie nodded like a dumb sheep. Cassie carefully shoved him to the side and marched toward Miranda who was drowning in the pool of turmoil.
"Miranda!" Cassie called out and when Miranda lifted her head, Cassie was smiling at her with open hands. Before Miranda could blink, Cassie immersed her in an embrace and began rubbing her back tenderly.
"Thank you so much for breaking up with Ken. You don't know what that means you me." Cassie said and broke away from the embrace.
She walked up to Ken and slipped her hand into his. "Let's go my love. We have a future to create."
Ken nodded and wrapped his hand around Cassie's waist. They marched out of the room.
Miranda placed her left hand on her chest and drifted backwards with a gasp. She was forced to stop moving after hitting her back against the wall. Charlie lowered his head while Miranda watched as Ken and Cassie vanished. They stepped into the car and sped off. Ken didn't turn to look at her as she aspired."What the hell just happened?" Miranda managed to ask. She was still in shock.Charlie lifted his head with a sigh. "Well, it appears your boy just struck gold.""Damn it!" Miranda yelled and aggressively shoved the pieces of stuff on the table. The plastic vase, books and mug came crashing to the floor, creating a mess.Charlie walked up to her with astonishing eyes. "What is wrong with you babe?" He tried to grab her but she placed her hand on his chest, the way she did to Ken earlier."Stop acting like a jealous girlfriend," Charlie remarked and dropped on the stool."Now I'm acting like a jealous girlfriend?" She smirked and continued. "Oh come on Charlie, I'm not jealous. Tha
"Pull up here." Cassie ruled out to her chauffeur.The limousine had been moving for about ten minutes. The driver parked the car behind a restaurant and stepped out. Ken carefully took out his hand that had been entangled in Cassie's. She smiled lovingly at him and he immersed her in a warm hug."Thank you so much sister," he said, holding up the tears that had welled up in his eyes.She rubbed his back tenderly and replied. "Siblings don't have to thank each other Ken. You can count on your big sister anytime."They broke off the embrace. Cassie pulled out a tissue from her bag and passed it to Ken.He collected the tissue and pressed it to his eyes. "Thank you, Cassie," he mumbled and threw his back against the seat with a deep sigh.Cassie understood that dozens of thoughts were running through his mind at that moment so she remained silent. After a few minutes, she spoke, breaking the silence between them. Ken's forest green eyes were devoid of tears. "Seems like I arrived just
The ride from Boston to Cambridge wasn't a draining one for Ken. Feelings of anxiety and euphoria had enveloped him and all he wanted was to step foot at Harvard.He alighted at the bus station and pulled his luggage bag out of the vehicle. He had gotten a new bag. Ken roved his eyes around the busy station. People stood in groups. Some were getting off buses, others were rushing to get in."Wow!" he mumbled as his eyes magnified in astonishment. It is his first time in Cambridge. Ken heard about the city countless times and saw its beautiful architectural settings on television but now, he was standing on Cambridge soil.He held onto his school bag with one hand and pulled the luggage bag with the other hand. He shifted from the highway to a corner beside a restaurant. People littered the street and Ken concluded that the situation is so because it was Monday morning.Ken couldn't stop roving his green eyes around the bus station. It was damn busy."Harvard!" Ken heard a petite hai
Ken took languish steps toward his hostel, fighting very hard to withhold the tears welling up in his eyes. He imagined Miranda, laughing behind him while he vanish from her sight.He lowered his head and kept wondering whether Miranda had ever loved him for a moment. Again, she had just lashed out at him, stating that she was grateful she was with Charlie now.Ken sniffled as he walked down the straight path ahead of him, assessing Miranda's torturous statements. Maybe she's better off without him.After moving to Harvard, he had hoped that he'll get to move on quickly now that he's far away from her but it turns out that she made it to Harvard too.Ken sighed and marched toward his room. He opened the door and was greeted by its emptiness. His roommates had all gone out. He fell on his bed with his face feeling thankful that they weren't around to detect his discomfort.A few minutes later, his phone began to vibrate. Ken got up and pulled the device out of his bag."Cassie!" he gas
Ken lowered his head and held the ropes attached to his backpack with both hands. He was walking out of the hostel. He hurried into the lecture hall and settled at his favourite row; the first row. He could still sense the eyes of some students all over him. The young lecturer walked onto the hall and wrote an equation on the board. He flipped his marker. "So who is going to solve this problem for us?" There was pin drop silence.The lecturer began moving around the hall waving his blue marker. "You guys can't solve a mathematical problem? This is just the basics. Next semester, you'll be advancing to Medicine courses proper."No one spoke. The newbies kept exchanging blank glances. The lecturer returned to the front row. "Finally, we have a hand up. Come over here."Ken stood up and took the marker from the lecturer. He walked to the board and in less than two minutes, the equation was solved. Ken slowly turned around to face the class who were staring at him like an appetising m
Are you sure about this?" Mr Cameron asked Cassie for the umpteenth time."Yes dad." she acknowledged with a nod and went on stirring her tea with a spoon in circles.Her father sighed and went for the toasted bread on the dining table. "I can't promise you Cassie but I'll speak to a few of my contacts and get back to you."Cassie rose to her feet, pulled out her chair and rushed to her father. She wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Thank you so much, dad.""As I said, it's not a promise but I'll see what I can do about it." Cassie smiled and returned to her seat.After pondering about it several times, Cassie had just requested that her father have her transferred from the state university to Harvard.She smiled and took a sip from her tea mug, praying that the process works. When her father demanded the reason for requesting the transfer, Cassie had lied to him that she wasn't getting the best from the state university and she'll only get the standard of education she desir
Ken and Cassie stepped into the RUSTOM cafe beaming with smiles. They settled on the last booth, opposite each other.Cassie busted out laughing after dropping her transfer file on the square table. "Did you see their reaction after you read out from the file that I am now a student of Harvard?"Ken chuckled and waved at the waitress by the counter. "They didn't see the transfer coming and honestly, neither did I."Cassie grabbed the menu card on the table. "I spoke to my dad about the inter-university transfer last week and this morning, my acceptance letter from Harvard arrived."Ken motioned to the waitress to come closer. She leaned toward him and scribbled down the orders he was pointing at from the menu card. The waitress nodded and left."I guess that was the surprise you were talking about when you called me this morning?""Of course," Cassie said and roved her eyes around the cafe. "Well, now that I'm a student here, I'll need a tour of the campus."The plump waitress returne
Cassie looked up to Ken with pitiful eyes. If there's one thing she's certain of is Ken's quest of keeping a low profile but right now, she wasn't sure whether it will be possible.Camera lights kept flickering all over them as more students kept trouping to the scene to catch a glimpse of the battered men. They were taking pictures of the men on the floor."Did Ken beat them?""Damn, they are in a mess.""Are you sure he beat them? There's three of them."More comments kept erupting from the crowd. Cassie held onto Ken's hand and together, they forced their way through the crowd.Ken led Cassie down the street. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault," she mumbled.Ken forced a grin and hailed a cab. "It's not your fault Cassie. I have no regrets," he replied and motioned to her with his head to get into the back seat of the cab.Cassie stepped into the cab and waved at him, her eyes speaking gratitude. "Call me when you get to your hotel room.""Sure," she replied.The cab sped away.Ken tur