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
"What now, young man?" One of the elders among the crowd asked. "Listen, everyone!" I started with a smile on my face to lift their moods. "From this day forward, rest assured that you all can rest your worries and fears. Because I will be buying this building tomorrow..." "You gotta be kidding me." An old woman cut me off. "Have you seen your face in the mirror, young man? Or are you on drugs right now? We appreciate what you are trying to do, but you're simply worsening our situation. So get lost." "Pardon me?" I could not help but frown when I couldn't understand what she was trying to emphasize. She was supposed to be pleased by the good news, but it went the other way around. No. Most of them were as if they believed I was talking nonsense. "Get lost, young man. Don't give these people false hopes," she added. "We have had enough of promises. We need our money and jobs back." "You better get out of this place if you don't want to help us with the rally,
Boredom struck me like a bolt of lightning last night, so I did not get the chance to think better about the consequences of creating a new account. I mean, who could have thought I would be bombarded with friend requests and messages the moment I created the Young Master's account? "I'm afraid it's too late for that, my friend." John Dave replied teasingly. "People already yearned to see and meet you in one of the hallways in this building. So, yeah, you should keep the account active as much as possible." "So, what do you suggest then?" I asked him helplessly. "Beats me." John Dave heaved an abrupt sigh the second the elevator cracked open. "You're good at walking in those hallways with your profile hidden. So, it's either you can continue pretending to someone else or you can scream to the world that you are the Young Master. As easy as that." We immediately shut our mouths the second we hopped out of the elevator and greeted everyone we could pass through towar
"Dad, I'm having another call from Ms. Elaine. And I think it's more urgent than yours." That was a big lie. I had to end the call before Celestine completely disappeared from my sight. "Can I call you back in a few minutes?" "Of course, son!" Dad replied and I could hear his overwhelming excitement from the other line of the phone which meant my attempt to lie to someone as smart as Dad worked. After the call ended, I put the phone back in my pocket and followed Celestine from afar. She went into one of the rooms. Imagine my surprise when the students greeted and addressed her as a professor. "Good morning Mrs. Stroem!" the students greeted her. "Good morning, class! So sorry for being late today. I had an early appointment with my OB gyne." Celestine explained. "Anyway, please open your book to page 45, and will continue discussing..." "She's a new professor at this school? Since when?" I frowned in disbelief as I kept myself hidden behind the wall. Far enou
Ten minutes later, I hopped out of the car and bolted to my condo with the soles of my shoes, not touching the surface of the ground. "Grams... Gramps! What are you all doing here instead of searching for him in the countryside?" I yelled at them from the distance. They could have reported the incident to the cops to help them analyze the case instead of traveling all the way to the city for three hours. They could have done a lot of things instead of wasting that long hours to get here. Imagine my surprise when my son's nanny dropped to her knees the moment I stood in front of Grams and Gramps. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Llamas," she uttered despite having a hard time breathing. Her eyes were swollen, and her face was soaked with profuse sweat and tears. She has been crying like for an entire day if I was not mistaken. "You should be," I replied as I looked at her with my eyes burning in rage. "Because if my son will not be found within a day, I don't know what I can do
"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