John Dave and Jennie were thrilled to see and hear me standing against the Chairman of Fisher Group and Companies for the first time, but I couldn't raise the tip of my lips anymore when I started to feel my wounds stretching, and my strength was getting depleted. Perhaps I already reached my limit to move and talk. "Then we have a deal," Dad replied. Exchanged handshakes were not Dad's cup of tea, so we simply looked at each other's hands, waiting for someone who would stretch first. "Ang oh, I almost forgot." he added, "Mr. Cedrick was very pleased with the dinner date last night. Elaine boasted to his Dad that you are a perfect man for him. Keep it up. Looking forward to the family meeting soon." Well. Van was not lying with his claim then. Thanks to him, my identity was kept hidden from Clark and his friends. It's too early to unfold the truth about me. I still have a lot of plans for them. Had to make sure they would regret it soon. Dad did not give me the chance
My bodyguard was about to nod his head but I ordered them to wait for me outside. "You heard him right, Clark. As bright as day. For the record, my name is Zachary Llamas Fisher. You, people, don't know that because I have been hiding my identity for all my life." Imagine my surprise when Clark and his friends scoffed even after being locked up in the precinct's holding cells. "Do you expect me to believe that?" Clark blurred. "I think you need to see an expert doctor to get your brain checked, Zachary." "Say all you want, Clark," I replied with a smile on my face to piss them furthermore. "No one's forcing you to believe me. And it's a good thing for me that you don't believe it. But I'll make you believe me once you all rot in jail. I'll make sure that none of you will see another sunrise." There's no point in hiding my identity from them now. Clark and his friends are already locked up with no other way to escape. Not even his Dad can convince me to withdraw my char
After letting out that remark, I turned my gaze to the police officer Sebastian insulted who kept his mouth shut the second I defended him. I can see that his arms and legs were having a synchronized tremble as if he recognized Sebastian or his family, and what they can do to them. But that's no longer new to me. Apart from Sebastian, I was well aware of what his parents could do, dirty or not, since I was once his best friend before things went south. "It will be a huge shame to this precinct if you, a police officer, get scared and will do everything they tell you. No matter what happens, I would never drop the case. Once I hear you take those bastards out of that holding cell, I will be the one to make this place buried in the ground. Consider this a threat." Threatening people wasn't my cup of tea. However, the police officer left me with no other choice when I knew I was stating a fact. Cops can be paid for nowadays. They are willing to bend the rules of the law
Mr. Roberto nodded at me, and my gesture to remain calm despite the rumbling of my chest began ripping off my chest. "What the hell is going on?" I asked myself as I attempted to think of one good reason Dad wanted to see me with his business partners. Is he planning to introduce me to them again? No. The people with him in this room were the company's board of directors. The only familiar face I recognized from them was Mr. Cedrick. But he also saw me at the golf course and was introduced by Dad as one of the Fishers. "Please, come on in, Mr. Llamas." Mr. Roberto nodded at me for the second time. A part of me wanted to run away when I was not planning to withdraw the case. I need justice. But I was left with no other choice. There was this part of me who was curious about what the hell was going on inside. Dad could have called me by the name everyone wanted to hear - Zachary Fisher, or at least my "son". I had to get to the bottom of everything, so I bowed at eve
Also, I switched on my phone in the middle of my travel after being switched off for twenty-eight consecutive days. I intentionally switched it off after sending the reassuring message to John Dave and Jennie that I'll be back once I'm done dealing with the drama of my life. "Dude, have you heard the news?" That was one of John Dave's messages among the hundreds of missed calls and unread messages from different numbers that flooded my inboxes. "Honey, where are you right now? I've heard about what happened in your Dad's office earlier, and I started to get worried when your Dad simply told me you're old enough to deal with your life." Mom's message. "Mr. Fisher, good morning. Please be informed that we have finalized the mega project already. I have sent all the files in your email that need your approval. Get back to me once you get this. Thank you." Jennie said with a sad emoji. I guessed the news about me running away already reached her. "Zachary, honey. I've
On top of the documents were duly signed "Confidentiality Agreement" by Clark and his friends. I can see that there were terms and conditions attached to it, including the one Dad had mentioned that they are forbidden to get near me a certain distance and for not mentioning a word about the case if it didn't exist to them. "Alright, here's the real deal, Zachary. I'll be giving four things to agree with me if you still want to work in my company," he added, "first, the one I mentioned earlier. In exchange for agreeing to my terms, you have to sign an agreement too. One thing is for certain, those bastards won't harm you anymore, both physically and mentally. Second. We need to unfold your true identity publicly through a press conference. In the way, no one would dare hurt you in all aspects." Dad looked me in the eye, however, this time, the sharpness and profoundness of his expressions tripled compared to five seconds ago. I was supposed to confront him, but he answered
The embarrassment was too much to bear when a lot of people were now looking at me with contempt as if I were some kind of a pervert or criminal. I had had enough of humiliation from Dad earlier, so I decided to turn around with my hands covering my face when two security guards appeared in the hallway. "What's going on?" One of the security guards asked. He attempted to cover for me, but he failed when everyone had already captured a few photos and videos of me. "Take that pervert to the cops, Mr. Guard!" The woman yelled, catching more attention to the rest of the offices on the second floor. Most, if not all employees on the second floor are now out, watching the commotion as if they were TV series. "He has been following me from the eighteenth floor all the way here. And he tried to touch me." "Young Master, are you alright?" the second security guard whispered, his voice laced with worry and fear, as he checked on my face covered in red, not only because I was to
She closed her eyes tightly when I was about to slap her face. However, I stopped myself from becoming a monster like Dad. "Fine," I said. "Give her her last warning for the sake of her family. Once I hear she is doing that again to someone doing nothing against her, I'll make sure to ruin her life myself. Do you understand?" Jennie and Ms. Claire nodded their heads in unison without asking further questions. I'm not good at threatening people, but it was the least I could do to scare her, with the hopes that she would heed my words. "Gather everyone. Let's have an immediate meeting in five minutes." I said before I walked back to my seat. Three minutes later, all the new employees in my office were gathered around the table, their faces filled with curiosity and confusion. Mr. Claire, on the other hand, remained her eyes lowered as if she was avoiding making eye-to-eye contact with anyone. None of them even dared to ask anything about what happened earlier. Jennie
"At the count of five, you'd better leave the mansion if you dont want to see me in my beast mode!" Dad added before he slammed the surface of the table, which resulted in some of the plates and glasses nearby falling and breaking into pieces after dropping to the tiled floor. Before he could start the counting, everyone, including Mom and my cousins, evacuated the room in the blink of an eye. Their worries and fears have left marks in the air. I was about to follow them outside when Dad growled at me to stay on my spot. Dad was known for being calm and profound. Every time he gets mad about something, he prefers to address the situation in silence instead of threatening or yelling at us. Today was probably the first time that he let everyone see his wrath. "Bring that woman in an instant, Zachary!" Dad growled. "If you don't want me to kill that woman, you better bring that woman in front of me. Don't you dare trick me this time? I'm giving you ten minutes!" The ten-minute alloca
"Well, I mean..." he added, his voice calm but sharp. However, this time, his curious eyes were fixed on us in the backseat since the car had already stopped moving in the middle of the road. "Rumors in the office have it that the two of you were dating. Everything I heard was just rumors, wasn't it?" Jennie and I exchanged glances, both waiting for someone to speak up and tell the truth or lie to Mr. Randolph. "What you heard was not just rumors, Mr. Randolph. Jennie and I..." I paused for a few seconds to muster the courage to speak up. "We're married already. And we haven't told anyone about it apart from you." Mr. Randolph lowered his eyes to my hand as I reached Jennie's and rested them on my chest, showing off to him our wedding rings on our fingers. He will know about it eventually, so there's no point in hiding it. "God damn it, Zachary! What were you thinking, huh? Do you think marrying someone will solve something here?" Mr. Randolph yelled at us for the fi
The two followed and kept their distance behind me, similar to lost puppies. But I know their sharp eyes were fixed on me as if they were going to stab me with a knife. "Didn't she tell you she's going to cook dinner for all of us? Julian and Jelian will be joining, too. We hope you dont mind." Divina asked. "Not unless you two already told them about my identity, didn't you? I hope that won't be the case." I said sharply. "Because that would only fuel the rage and hatred I had for this disgusting family." "O-of co-course not, Young Master!" Roger obviously stuttered. "We may be the worst in-laws, but we already learned our lesson. Rest assured that your secret is safe with us, right, honey?" Divina nodded her head without asking further questions, making me feel at ease. As soon as we reached the kitchen, I was taken aback when someone I barely expected was helping Celestine. "Zachary, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your class right now?
And undeniably, a part of me wanted her to stay as long as she wanted. I'm not stopping her. Needless to say, I missed her so badly even if none of us could turn back time. I wanted to hug her in my arms tightly until she felt suffocated and play my lips with her just like the old days. But I was controlling every fiber of my muscle that wanted to do all that. A lot of things changed between us. I have already vowed to spend the rest of my life with Jennie, making her the happiest woman in the world. Above all that, we promised to be the best version of being parents for our son. "I dont know what the hell is going on inside your head, Celestine, but I believe your parents could have told you that we are no longer a couple, aren't they?" I replied sharply while pretending to be busy at my desk to avoid making eye-to-eye contact with her. She nodded. "Indeed, Mom and Dad told me that we were no longer a couple before I lost my memories. They were the ones who told me y
"That's enough, gentlemen!" Mom spoke up. "Someone died and yet you are blaming each other. Aren't we supposed to blame the one who killed them and find justice? Let go of him!" "We're so sorry, Mrs. Fisher." one of Dad's bodyguards replied, his voice barely audible. Without asking further questions, they let go of their clasp from me and strode to the corner. "Zachary, we are here to pay respect to Mom and Dad." Mom uttered, her eyes swelling up. "Your dad even canceled his appointments just to visit them." Right. Mom loves Grams and Gramps as far as I can remember. She was once a devoted daughter to them before she married Dad. She barely spoke every time Dad was taking over the floor. But her life turned into a living hell since they got me. There was this one night when she attempted to run away from the mansion - away from Dad, but she failed drastically. She was locked up for a few months in the dungeon similar to a prisoner. That's how wicked Dad really wa
Our uncertain journey began when Jennie and I nervously sat on the couch in front of Dad's desk while waiting for him to get back from his meeting. "There's still time for a change of heart, Mr. Fisher." Jennie broke the deafening silence and towering wall that divided us. "I'll be giving you ten seconds to evacuate the room before the chairman arrives. And before you would regret it for the rest of your life." Regret. Did she think I might regret something for the rest of my life if I tied the knot with her? Perhaps she already noticed or heard the sound of my racing heartbeats. "One." she began counting. "Two." I joined her counting inside my brain. "Three." "Four." "Five." Reaching this far, my heart skipped a beat for a few seconds, attempting to consider her proposal. I still have five more to be able to run away. If and only Noah could talk and understand the situation his confused father is going through, I could have called him and sought his
None of them even considered the fact that the statement was also applicable to me. "Someone like me, that's completely ridiculous!" I could not help but scoff inwardly in disbelief. Well. What else could I say? All my cousins were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Lucas managed to achieve his dream at a young age. He became the CEO of his own company, and his parents could be proud of his achievement. His achievements also helped his sister, Layne, to achieve her dreams. She got all kinds of support from her brother and parents, either love, financial, or even connections. My other cousins, Mark and Chris, have grown well as well. Their parents supported all their dreams. None of them experienced being in my shoes. To get humiliated, mocked, degraded, and kicked out of the family. It's easier for them to say "Someone like her" because they know nothing about Jennie. I was about to defend Jennie when one of the housemaids of the mansion approached me and whispe
I slightly crouched closer to her with the hope of having a better look at her face but to my surprise, she cracked her eyes open. Startled, with no way of escape, I closed my eyes and kissed her on the lips. "What are you doing?" she whispered to make sure Noah would not wake up. "Go-good night kiss?" I defensively uttered right after I removed my face from her face. Then I cleared my throat to avoid the stuttering of my voice when I was about to add, "Good night, Jennie. Thanks for keeping an eye on my son. You can now get back to your room." Gladly, Jennie didn't ask for further questions about the kiss even if I knew she had all the right to confront me. What I did could have startled her too. She could have bombarded me with questions but she chose to shut her mouth and evacuated the room. I guess we're even now. She kissed me before, so I was simply returning the favor. The next day, I woke up alone on the bed. Worries and fears sent shivers down my spine when
Startled, Jennie hurried to my spot and helped me up. "Zach, are you alright?" she asked before she yelled at her brother, "Julian, do you have any idea what you just do, huh? Are you out of your mind?" "Come on, sister Jennie. That bastard deserved to get beaten, not just a single punch." Jelian hissed back. "Do you even have the slightest idea what that moron did to our family? You should stay away from that monster before your life gets ruined as well." "You should leave this place in an instant, Zachary," Julian ordered. "You, of all people, should know better that most, if not all of us, hated and disagreed about you being part of the outing." "As much as it pains you, Julian, but you can't just shoo Zachary out of this place." Jennie defended me, her voice sharp and sounded scary for the first time. "To begin with, he was not here to join your class outing. We also had our company outing in the same place and time as yours. In fact, we are in the middle of playin