It was more than 3 hours later before the herb-gathering competition came to an end.Trisha walked back to the wooden building with a triumphant step, having already acknowledged that Melinda would stand no chance against her.She'd dreamed of leading the group since the start of the conference but because of that fool Vance, she was unable to do so and had to make do with second place.But now, nothing was stopping her ascent to the peak.Her parents had told her; that under no circumstances should she come back a loser.Their ambitions were different from the other families, they wished to assimilate them into their own, and to do that, Trisha had to play her part.She already expected a big celebration to welcome her return after all, she had done as instructed though not completely considering Melinda was the one who helped her deal with Vance.In any case, she was thankful to that bitch.At least she was useful for once.“Now, I'll take care of the rest.” She muttered as she step
As the trial was about to begin, murmurs began to float amongst the spectators.“What if Melinda wins?... What are we going to do?... I mean, we bullied her so much, what if she comes for revenge?”“What are you saying?... How can Melinda win?... Trisha is a better potion maker and she even has created a core, what does Melinda have?”“I agree. So stop saying such nonsense. Trisha would win and once she does, she would surely deal with Melinda to ensure she doesn't come back again.”It wasn't even hidden that instead of Melinda, most people were scared of the mysterious man that she had brought.Before now, she wasn't much of a threat but once Richard arrived, everything was turned in on its head.Of course, now that it was Trisha and Melinda competing, they believed that no matter what, Trisha would surely come out victorious.***Potion-making was similar to cooking.After the cauldron was turned on and some water was added, the herbs were tossed into the boiling water one at a time
The exclamation caused Trisha to pause in her tracks just as a soft radiance emerged from the other side of the room.Struck by terror, she glanced at the origin to find that it was the flower Geraldine used to test Melinda's potion.‘How?... How is this possible?... This doesn't make any sense?’ Unable to accept this, Trisha exclaimed. “Impossible!... You cheated!... You must have cheated!” “How can you be so sure?” Richard inquired, feeling rather amused.“You must have tampered with the flowers!”“But you checked them yourself, are you saying you doubt your capabilities?”“... That, I don't agree with this. Use that flower on my potion and you'll see.”Richard shrugged as he moved to Melinda's cauldron while Geraldine moved to Trisha's own.Performing the same thing, the results came out the same with Richard's flower glowing with an effervescent glow.“No…” Trisha muttered as she realized that had indeed lost.“But how?... You haven't even created a core yet?... I poisoned the c
“You two take Melinda back to the estate while I try to divert the attention of the attackers,” Richard remarked causing Melinda's expression to immediately darken.“Richard, no!... You can't do that, it's too dangerous. You already risked yourself once, why are you trying to do so again?”“Look, we have no choice. Both of us running together would put us both at risk. I have my ways to get out unscathed, but not you.”“Richard stop, please. You might be able to resist a few bullets but those people are using explosives and projectiles, please, just come with us.” Melinda pleaded.Richard shook his head. “I'm sorry, Melinda. But it's for your good.”Using a simple technique, Richard knocked her out and handed her over to the escorts.“Now, make sure to take her back to the estate unharmed. I'll divert the attention of the attackers.”“Alright, Mr. Smith, please be careful.” “Mn, you too.” With that, the guards quickly picked up Melinda's unconscious body and ran in a certain directi
A gunshot echoed in the forest as Melinda subconsciously shut her eyes and took a sharp breath.Simeon had a sinister grin on his lips as he expected the bullet to pierce Richard's knee and send him sprawling to the ground.His employer had told him not to touch Richard as he wished to do so himself but it was unavoidable now so he had to ensure that didn't do too much damage.What Simeon hadn't revealed was that his gun was a spirit-infused pistol that was handed to him by his employer.It had a limited number of bullets but each was lethal enough to destroy a normal jeep if aimed right.So how could a man like Richard possibly defend against it?Simeon expected Richard to fall and cry out in pain, at least, that would cause Melinda to realize the gravity of the situation, however, that never happened.Instead, Richard stood upright, his gaze trained on Simeon as his expression took a dangerous turn.Simeon frowned as he glanced at Richard's leg only to realize that it hadn't penetra
The return to the Dawson's estate was quiet and without trouble allowing Melinda to breathe a sigh of relief after she had arrived at their destination.“Melinda!” Vincent exclaimed as he rushed over to meet her.Ever since he'd received information that her entourage had been attacked, he was unable to stay in place for a single moment.“Grandpa!” Melinda excitedly called out to him as she moved to meet him, with the duo embracing once they got within arm's length.“Oh, my sweet granddaughter, you don't know how worried I was.”“Sorry, granddad, I'm home now.”“Indeed you are, come quickly, we have much to discuss.”Leading the way, Vincent leads Melinda to one of the houses with the other members of the Dawson family present, staring at her with varying degrees of envy.But did any of that matter?... Hardly.Richard and Lolita followed closely behind.On getting into the building, Vincent dismissed all the guards before leading them further to his study and isolating it from those o
The owner of Smith Cuisines was Grace, the same lady who had suffered at the hands of the previous owner of the building, Lesley.Lesley at that time, was using the authority granted to him like a tyrant because his uncle was the owner of Jade Panda and so, who would dare to go against him?Yet Grace had stood her ground and at her moment of immense trial, Richard had saved her and elevated her status from a mere waiter to the owner of an establishment.Initially, Smith's Cuisines was meant to be hers alone but she didn't want that and so, after gaining permission from Maria, Grace had gotten her restaurant to become acknowledged as one of the subsidiaries under Orion Corp.Of course, her business was currently the smallest compared to the giants of the business world Richard had managed to acquire but that didn't matter to Grace.As far as she was concerned, all she wished for was to never be ungrateful to Richard for what he had done for her.He had saved her life and even if it wer
They ate and made merry, barely caring about what the others said as they had fun amongst themselves.A few ladies, being ardent fans of Richard, came over and asked for autographs and even a photo before they returned to their seats.Apart from that, no one else interrupted their meal and Richard was quite happy about this.“Sir, our current monthly expenditure is tagged at 10 million while our earnings are roughly 14 million,” Grace remarked with Richard nodding as he replied.“So a net 4 million is made as profit.” Lolita grumbled at the side. “What's the point of business talk when we are eating? Ugh, that's just not how it should be.”Ignoring her words, Richard remarked. “Have you considered expanding?”Grace hesitated before she slowly nodded. “Yes sir but it took a lot to have this restaurant get to its current state. I'd rather focus on one than have to split myself into too many for no reason at all. But is that okay by you, sir?... I'd completely understand if you want me