“No, Grandpa, don’t do this. It’s not even about me. Someone's life is really at stake here,” August immediately rushed to block him as the old man turned to leave. He was breathing heavily, his gaze lowered at the older man who had an expression that confused him.“Please…”“Get out of my way, August,” the man said. “I stopped medicine long ago. Since my son died.” August's shoulders fell in disappointment, his stomach sinking simultaneously. But his will to stop him still remained.“So you really did come back because you needed my help,” the old man scoffed. “Here I was thinking you truly wanted to reconcile,” he shook his head in disappointment.“I missed you, Grandpa. Believe it or not, but I truly do.”“That doesn’t matter now. The fact that you missed me or not,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. “What matters is that you can’t get what you want,” he said as he shoved August aside with his weak hand.“His mother is dying, Grandfather! He will be lost without her!” August shou
“Can we go in first?” Lila asked with a sweet smile.“Oh. Yes. Sure. Sorry my bad.” August immediately apologized and led the way into the living room.The moment they got in, August started again. “What did you say happened?” Lila stared at him for a while without replying leaving August more impatient.“Oh. Sorry again. What would you like to take?” He asked half heartedly, more interested in what she has to say. His grandfather?He didn’t even tell her about his visit to him. Only Dan knew. It wasn’t as if they were trying to hide things from her. But there was nothing she could do to held. But right now, it seemed he was going to price her wrong. “It’s fine, August. I don’t need anything.” Seee replied as August nodded, with a look that still says I am waiting for a reply.“I knew what you have been up to these days. I mean you don’t tell me shit but Dan tells me literally everything.” She started with a look that says I am so disappointed in you.“It wasn’t intentionally, I
Lila took the phone from me and dialed a number. “Akash,” she said with a knowing smile.“Hi, Mr. Akash. Someone would like to speak to you, if you don’t mind,” she said, a satisfied smile creeping slowly onto her lips.She handed August the phone. Everything was falling into place, and it still felt like a dream to him.August took the phone and placed it to his ear. He wasn’t sure what to say at first because he felt terribly ashamed.“I knew you would find a way. I didn’t believe the determined August who approached me the other day had been cornered,” Akash's friendly voice broke the seemingly awkward silence.August smiled, but it was directed at Lila, whose eyes shone with contentment.“I didn’t do anything. Someone did all the work,” August replied. Lila knew he was referring to her. She blushed and batted her eyelashes.“Fine, fine. So what’s the plan now? Lila said your grandfather is the legendary Sir Silver who had stopped practicing for a while. I couldn’t believe it when
Akash walked into the Robotics department at Arizona Group the next morning. The team members raised eyebrows as they gave Akash an awkward stare.Akash tried to pretend he didn’t know the reason for the stare. It was obvious they were surprised to find him here after he had made that post.“Good morning, Mr. Akash,” some who cared to greet did, while some immediately diverted their gazes the moment his eyes met with any of them.Akash nodded to the greeting and cursed August under his breath for making him come back here like a loser. He inhaled deeply and headed straight to his office.The moment he got in, he loosened his tie and finally cursed out loud.“Having a blast, Mr. Akash?” Akash turned around to find Sharon standing at the doorway, her arms folded as she rested her side by the doorway.“What were you expecting when you decided to come back? A welcome party from us?” she asked again and straightened up. “You think the world revolves around you, don’t you?” She chuckled wit
"I know that well, sir," Akash replied, pleasing Dave with his answer."Good," Dave said after giving him a long look. "If you know that, you should act like it, don’t you think?" Dave asked again. "I get paranoid these days when people give me mixed signals regarding an issue. Your attitude towards work recently is questionable," he added, peering into Akash, whose lips formed a thin line. He hated how this man sounded like a saint and him the sinner; it was just so ridiculous."That’s why I am promising to change henceforth. I will put all my best to make sure AKIRA shakes the world.""I wasn’t expecting anything less," Dave replied almost immediately, a smile curling on his lips. "Or were you planning to do something else?" He raised a brow as if he already got a hint of his secret plans. Akash shook his head as if his head was too big to move. "Of course not," he swallowed, forcing a stoic expression."That’s why I thought of something to foster the trust between us, Mr. Arizona,"
“I couldn’t believe that bastard. He literally told me to my face that he won’t give up on my mum! The same darn person who is going to cause her death in a few weeks. Is that even reasonable?!” Akash blurted angrily on his way back from work.After the meeting with Dave earlier this morning, he had been uneasy. He had tried to reach out to August the moment he left the office by calling and texting, but he got no response. This only added to the tension.“He knows something is up. Dave has never been easy to fool,” August replied.Akash didn’t remember August had ruined his phone, so he had been trying to reach him. It was later that evening that he finally got across to him after August apologized for not reaching out to him sooner.“You know that and still let me go fool myself!” Akash hit the brake and parked by the side of the road because he already seemed distracted.“Calm down, Akash. It was a 50-50 case,” August replied with a cool tone.“You aren’t making sense right now,” A
"So, what’s the plan?" Nurse Cara asked the moment they settled at the cafeteria. There weren't many people around, just a few who might have come to see their family and friends who were patients in the hospital."Akash couldn’t get his mother away from Dave, so we were going to try the more subtle approach," August replied."We? Since when did the two of us start working together?" She asked, giving him a weird look."I meant to say 'I and my team,' but you will definitely join the team soon," August said quickly.She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why should I help you? The main reason I left the oncology department is that I don’t want to care anymore.""Will you really be okay if the woman dies? Tell me you’ll be fine, and I’ll leave without saying another word." It was a big lie. Nurse Cara was his last resort. He would definitely not move an inch if she said otherwise.She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "She is dying," she started to shake her head. "According to the doctors
Akash answered the call without checking the caller’s ID.“Hello, am I speaking with Mr. Akash?” A feminine voice spoke over the phone.“Yeah, you’ve got him,” Akash replied, sparing a glance at Dave, who was staring at him as if curious about his caller.“Sir, I am sorry to inform you that your mother has just passed away and….”The voice trailed off. Akash's body went stiff for a moment, then the phone slipped from his hands freely, his hand slowly coming down to stay by his side. His whole weight suddenly felt too heavy to hold on, and the only thing that would relieve him at that point was slumping on the floor.“Akash?” Dave called and made to touch him, but was surprised when Akash lunged at him and grabbed his collar. “You bastard! You killed her!” He yelled at Dave as Brooks rushed to get him off his boss, but Akash was annoyingly strong at that point.“You killed her!” Brooks managed to get him off Dave and stood between them. “Stay back, Mr. Akash, or I will be forced to cal
“I think you’re mistaken, Miss. I hope you can check through again in case you missed something….”“Are you trying to teach me my job?” The receptionist snapped, shocking Aliya with her abrupt outburst.A mere receptionist was talking to her rudely, and there was nothing she could do. They weren't in the same league, but if she caused a scene with this secretary here, what would the trillion-dollar company think of her?She pressed her lips together for a while, trying to suppress the growing anger within her.“I am not trying to teach you anything, Miss. I only want a chance to meet the chairman,” Aliya managed to muster in a calm tone.“And I am telling you right now that there is no room for you, Miss. Please leave, or I will have security drag you out,” she hissed impatiently and shifted her attention to the system in front of her.Aliya wasn’t sure how to behave afterward. Even from the beginning, this whole thing had worn her out. Pushing through was something she was barely cop
“I can’t believe you agreed to it just like that, Grandfather.” Simon walked into Pa West’s study room later that evening to vent. Even though he had looked calm when everything was concluded earlier, deep down he was pissed.“Don’t be such a fool. Didn’t you realize the stunt that loser was trying to pull? He is trying to delay the vote to take down his wife.” Pa West took a gulp of his liquor while seated on the luxurious leather seat in the room. He relaxed backward and gave a satisfied groan as the liquid went down his throat.“If we had dismissed his suggestion like that, the shareholders might start to think we only want to remove Aliya due to personal reasons. These people don’t give a fuck about sentiments. All they care about is profits. And Allen, that weird pauper, knew that and played his card well.” He placed his hand on his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. “I wonder how he got the idea to bring in the trillion-dollar company into this. He talks about the company like
“The both of you could compete for who could bag the contract with the trillion-dollar company,” August suggested with a confident look. “I am sure the owners won’t mind if they see that the West Corporation is enthusiastic to work with them.”“Don’t be ridiculous,” Simon chuckled as he tried to wave off the suggestion. “They would think the company is divided if my sister and I submit different proposals to them for the same company.”“And who said you would be the next chairman if it isn’t Aliya? What do you take me for?” Landon immediately cut in as Simon shifted his gaze slowly to meet his enraged brother.“Shut up and stop embarrassing yourself, Landon.” Pa West seemed to be pissed too as a deep frown formed on his face.Landon gritted his teeth as he tried to hold himself from speaking again. But he knew better. His grandfather, who was his only backer, was solidly behind Simon. It felt like all he had been working hard for was a waste. He had been fighting Aliya all this while
“This is why I keep talking about the importance of marrying people with brains. How could you just suggest something like that?” Landon spoke up, immediately seizing the opportunity to humiliate August again while August maintained his calm and composed look.He stared straight ahead without sparing Landon a look. He knew Landon was dying to see him crumble. Too bad he was done being a punching bag to them. This would be the beginning of their sorrows.“You always end up saying nonsense whenever you open that mouth of yours. What the hell do you know about business, huh?” Pa West asked.“Do you truly care about my sister? Do you actually want her to lose her position deep down?” Simon asked with a cocky grin. As always, he was the only one who made a point.Normally, they were supposed to just agree to it and watch Aliya fail because bagging a deal with a trillion-dollar company is like an ant trying to move a mountain. The West Corporation is a small company and not among the top th
Simon noticed how Aliya entwined her fingers together. He could already see how tense she was, and he would definitely use that to his advantage. He was always like this—watching with sharp eyes like an eagle and pouncing on his prey when they let their guard slightly down.“Are you tense, sister? If you’re uncomfortable about the whole arrangement and would prefer not to go through with it, you can just step down willingly. Everyone would understand that you’ve grown wary over the years and would like to focus on your family now,” Simon said with a cool gaze, making a face as if he was truly looking out for her.“Don’t be ridiculous, brother. Just because I am a married woman doesn’t make my career hopeless. Forget about stepping down—I dare you to say you are capable of handling West Corporation half as well as I have,” Aliya said in a cocky tone, causing Simon to clench his fist, which was placed on the table.It wasn’t always easy to get her brother to lose his composure, but when
“Did the beating affect your head? What the hell are you saying?” Aliya laughed, not taking his words seriously. He didn’t blame her. He is a pauper with nothing to his name. How could he possibly help her?“You will see how I will make everything easy for you.” August sat up, brushed away the hair covering her face, and placed a peck on her forehead. Aliya watched him, unsure how to react.She pressed her lips and watched him in silence as he lay back. “Could you get me an apple, please?” he asked politely.Aliya, who was deep in thought, shook her head as she came back to reality. She flashed him a smile and nodded. “Sure,” she said and started to walk out of the room.“Babe,” he called when she grabbed the doorknob and was about to open the door. “Make sure to take your time,” he said with a calm smile.Aliya gave him a half-suspicious look before nodding.Immediately after she left, August located his phone by the bed stand and dialed Lila.“That was quick,” she commented the mome
“I will do neither, and none of you has the right to make me do any of it if I don’t want to,” Aliya said stubbornly.“You are testing my patience, girl,” Pa West gritted his teeth. As Aliya made to say something, August held her hand. She turned to look at him, an almost helpless look on her face. August shook his head.“I don’t care,” Aliya still turned around to say. “You all should go to hell for all I care!” she blurted in annoyance and made to leave when Landon rushed after her and grabbed her other hand.Aliya swung around to find Landon staring deadly at her. He raised his hand to slap her. “How dare you speak to Grandfather like that!” he berated.August couldn’t believe what had just happened. He stared wide-eyed at his wife’s now reddened face. He grabbed Landon by the collar. “How dare you!” he fired at him.Landon had never seen August like this. August rarely spoke, but now he looked like an enraged lion about to pounce on its prey.“You crazy psycho. Get your hands off
“What! No!” Aliya blurted out almost immediately, glaring at anyone who dared to look at her.“Are you glaring at me right now because of this piece of trash?” Pa West asked, a disgusted look on his face as August's fist clenched. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t used to people treating him like trash. In the past, he would usually put whoever tried to cross him in their place. Dave's case was a perfect example. At that moment, he felt a sudden urge to reincarnate that part of him that he killed years ago.But he couldn’t do that. He had managed through all this while. Besides, he barely cared about insults as long as Aliya was still very much in love with him. But what he wouldn’t tolerate was anyone trying to take her away from him.“She is feeling like a big shot because Dad made her the CEO, Grandfather. Uncultured people like her, who are raised by nobodies, will always act like they want. It’s so disappointing,” Landon chipped in, indirectly insulting her mother.“How dare you insult
August walked into the room that seemed as quiet as a graveyard. It was the exotic living room of the Wests. They were among the wealthy people in the country, more like among the second tier when it comes to ranking from top to bottom. But theirs was the best of the second tier. They were not to be trifled with at all. With the kind of achievements Aliya had made for the company, it had grown significantly over the last five years. Besides that, August used his secret connections with influential people he had worked with in the past to help Aliya secretly.“Babe, you’re here,” Aliya said, walking toward him the moment she noticed August standing in the doorway.August was carried away by the sight of the familiar yet unfamiliar man sitting on the single-seat couch in the middle of the room. He suddenly realized why nobody bothered to use that particular seat in the room. It was reserved for someone.Pa West. The head of the West family who had been away from the family for the past