As soon as I removed my lips from Julian, a hard slap coming from Jelian landed on my face. Hard enough I moved my face to the other direction. "What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind?" she blurted with several long curved lines engraved on her forehead. Everyone who witnessed the incident held their breath, all in disbelief that someone like me would kiss Julian on the lips. I have no idea how on earth why I came up with that kind of idea instead of confronting him with the truth. "Why? Do you think I didn't know?" I replied as I fixed my sharp and disgusted eyes on Julian who kept his feet on the ground, still unable to move as though he was still in the middle of absorbing what just happened. "Do you think I didn't know that Julian had a boyfriend?" All our classmates let out a gasp after hearing my confession. It means to me that none of his friends are aware of the truth. Despite the distance between me and Julian, I started noticing his sweat eje
"That's not true, Mr. Fisher! Please, listen to me. I am the dean of this school. I kept peace and order in our school for the past twenty years. He was certainly manipulating that evidence because Mr. Llamas and I had an argument the other day. He must be expelled from this school!" The dean exclaimed as he attempted to snatch the flash drive from me. Good thing, Mr. Roland and two of Dad's security guards immediately came to the rescue and pinned the dean to the floor. "Let go of me! Don't you know who I am? I am the dean of this school. You can't do this to me!" he exclaimed despite having a hard time breathing. Some of the students attempted to slide to the exit, but two other security guards blocked them from escaping. The heavy tension that hung in the air swallowed the room whole. Everyone panicked as they did not expect this to happen. Neither do I. "So, to end this dilemma, I would like to ask Mr. Llamas his verdict on the students who ruined his life." Dad a
"Ms. Layne suggested that we should have our outing in the chairman's newly bought mansion, Mr. Fisher," Jennie said. "I don't know if you are aware of this, but the chairman recently bought a mansion that fits your ideal kind of outing. The property was located on top of the hills with a dense forest where we could have a few activities. What do you think?" Indeed, I didn't have any idea about Dad's newly bought mansion on top of a hill because it was the least of my worries. But it turned out that my cousins were more aware of all his properties. I looked into her eyes to check how she would react when I replied, "Well. I have no idea about it, but I think it's not that hard for Ms. Layne to ask Dad's permission, isn't it?" "Of course." She replied without any signs of second thoughts. "I'll give you guys feedback once I talk to Uncle later tonight. Would that be alright?" All of us in the meeting room were left with no other choice since I had nothing to say anymore
Mom was taken aback when Dad removed her grip from him. "No," he firmly replied, his stares toward turned deadly. "I'm not going home unless this bastard could hear my words. Know your place, Zachary. Be grateful you were using what our family had, deny it or not. Don't you dear cause more trouble in school not that I owned it. I would never spend another thirteen million dollars on your mess. Do you understand?" After letting out those words, Dad evacuated the condo and never returned, leaving me and Mom standing across from each other. "What are you still looking at, Mom?" I asked, "Aren't you supposed to be following him like you always do as one of his minions?" "What happened to you, Zachary?" Mom asked before she wiped off the tears that fell from her eyes. "You've changed a lot, son. I don't know if you are still my son or not anymore. Your Dad was just concerned about you, and you didn't even acknowledge it." I was about to defend myself from what I believed wa
After confirming Noah was already in a deep sleep, I asked his nanny to keep an eye on him for a few hours until I got back. I was not the kind of father who was rigorous, heartless, and inconsiderate, so I told her she could take a nap as long as she was next to my son. "Do you want to see the list of the games we prepared for tonight? I also need to discuss to you with regards to the prizes for each game." Jennie asked as we continued walking outside. She handed over to me a small piece of paper marked with numbers one to thirty on it, I believed, there were fun games to play for our two days of company outing. I know we can't achieve everything on the list, but the first three that came to mind were volleyball, truth or dare, and hide and seek. "Do we have everything we could use for these games?" I worriedly asked before I returned the piece of paper to her. "I mean, if we are going to play all those games within two days, we must have everything we need, right?"
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
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
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
"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