Lenard’s phone escaped from his grasp, clattering to the ground as soon as he saw the notification indicating that the fourth transfer was successful. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gulped nervously, his bravado crumbling completely.“Well, Mr Lenard,” Adrian began, his voice laced with amusement. “It looks like you’ve lost the bet. Time to fulfill your end of the deal.”Lenard’s face contorted into a mix of horror and despair. His eyes frantically darted round the room, searching for an escape route. “This…this is unacceptable!” He sputtered. “There’s no way a lowly migrant worker like you could have that kind of money! How am I sure those transfers weren’t fake?”“Stop trying to weasel your way out of the bet like a coward, Mr Lenard.” Adrian countered, a slight edge to his voice. “The transfers I made are as real as the holes in your singlet. So, instead of making excuses, take off your fourth piece of clothing and declare yourself the fool that you are.”Lenard’s rotund
Adrian glanced at Bright, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he racked his brain for memories of him. After a few seconds, he recalled who Bright was—his high school classmate.“Bright, it’s you? I see you are the manager here.” Adrian pointed out casually.Janice felt a sense of panic rise within her, seeing that Bright was familiar with Adrian. “Sir, I didn’t know you two were acquainted. I’m sor-” She began to apologize but Bright cut her off.“No need to apologize, Janice. He's just a...loser that I went to the same high school with.” Bright's voice dripped with disdain as he glared at Adrian. “What are you doing here?”Adrian’s annoyance grew when he remembered how rudely Janice had treated him. “I wanted to buy some herbal supplements but your subordinate here,” he gestured to Janice, “was completely unprofessional. I suggest you keep her in line.”Bright chuckled as he eyed Adrian with distaste. “Who are you to decide if Janice was unprofessional? You are merely a poor and shab
Jacob Stone strode towards the entrance of his traditional wellness pharmacy with distinguished steps. He was dressed in a midnight suit and clean white Nike Air Force ones. As soon as he swung the glass doors open, he was greeted with the sight of his two employees accosting a young man using two security guards. He frowned at this; wasn’t that young man a customer?He made eye contact with one of the employees, Bright Peters, the manager, who immediately scurried towards him, subconsciously straightening his tie. “Welcome, Mr Stone,” he greeted nervously. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”“The owner, Jacob Stone is here. It’s about to get worse for that bumpkin.” Someone whispered in mock pity.Immediately, the security guards heard Jacob’s name and let Adrian go. Janice equally spotted Jacob and maintained a professional posture as she bowed to him in respect.“Bright," Jacob spoke sternly, his gaze fixed on Adrian. "Why is that man being harassed by security? Isn't he a cust
Adrian went back to the hospital with the herbal supplements and handed them to Doctor Arnold. Then, he made his way to Mr. Ben’s ward to discuss an important issue with him.Mr. Ben was stuffing his face with cookies when Adrian arrived. On noticing Adrian’s presence, he placed the cookies on his bedside table. “Adrian, you’re back.” He smiled at him. “A beautiful young woman had been keeping me company for a while. It’s not been long since she left.”Adrian nodded. He guessed the beautiful woman Mr Ben was talking about was Ashley. He took a seat on the chair next to Mr Ben’s bed and regarded him with a curious expression as he realized that he hadn’t seen any of his family members. “Mr Ben, what about your family members? How come they haven’t come to see you?”“Well,” Mr Ben began, his voice tinged with fondness. “My wife and daughters went to spend thanksgiving with my mother-in-law in her hometown. They should be back by next week.”“Oh, that explains it.” Adrian replied in unde
On Regina’s insistence, Adrian took her to Elegantè Couture, a high end boutique in Wibston to purchase the dinner gown. Regina gawked in awe as they stepped into the store. The atmosphere was lively as various high class men and women shopped to their heart’s content. The polished hardwood floor of the boutique glistened under the soft lighting and complimented the walls that were covered in neutral colored wallpapers. Her eyes darted towards the Dinner wear section. “Follow me,” she commanded Adrian as she made her way down the well-lit aisle.“Oh my,” Regina breathed, as she took in all the different gowns displayed beautifully on the clothing racks. Velvet, silk, and satin pieces shimmered in every direction and each gown had a tag displaying its price. Her hands hovered over a velvet sapphire blue dress which caught her eye and just as she was about to graze the fabric with her fingers, a young female attendant, wearing a white and blue uniform stopped her.“Ma'am, please refrai
Regina’s hands fidgeted nervously with the gown in her hands as she discovered its whooping price tag. “It costs seventy-five thousand dollars?! She shrieked, her voice echoing in the boutique and alerting the attention of customers who stared at her like she had gone crazy. To them, $75,000 was merely a trivial sum of money to feel so bothered about.Adrian stared amusingly at Regina’s wide eyes. She was probably feeling so unnerved because she had incurred astronomically more than the spending limit of $5000. “Ma’am, kindly reduce your voice.” The shop attendant said calmly. “You are disturbing our customers.Worry gnawed at the back of Regina’s mind. There was no way she could afford to pay such an amount for a dress, not when Anita was on a budget. How could she have been so careless? “The amount for the damages is $8000, so coupled with the cost of the dress, you would be paying a total amount of $83,000.” the shop attendant continued, completely oblivious to the raging tumult
Anita furrowed as she felt a headache coming on. Today was turning out to be one of the most stressful days of her life. “Mom, what on earth did you do to incite a debt of $83,000!” she scolded, her voice laced with exasperation. “I clearly told you not to not exceed $5,000. What do you mean Adrian has to take the blame and how did it bring about getting a divorce?”Regina flinched at the sharp tone of Anita’s voice. “Well,” she hesitated. “I accidentally ruined a dress worth $75,000 and I have to pay for it as well as damages of $8,000. Since your good-for-nothing husband can’t contribute a dime to help me out, then he should work for the store until he covers the amount of the debt or…he leaves you alone to marry someone capable.”“Work for the store?” Anita reiterated. “Do you even hear yourself, Mom? You’re the one who messed up, so why should he take the blame? I can’t believe you right now!”“B-but…he’s your husband.” Regina sputtered defensively. “It’s his responsibility to loo
Anita had just stepped into Elegantè Couture when her gaze landed on her mother and Adrian standing with three other people in the dinner gown section. She inched closer towards them just in time to hear a woman dressed in designer clothes and heavy makeup speak. “You have to promise to get him divorced from your daughter today. Only then will Jamie settle your debts.”“Excuse me?” A heavy frown settled on her face as she walked closer to them. “And why will I divorce my husband?”Anita’s words cut through the air and every head turned to her direction. Tatiana’s face was filled with surprise at first then morphed into admiration. Jamie’s jaw fell slack and his mouth became dry as he gawked at Anita while Tiffany’s gaze held a bit of envy as she took in her beauty.Regina was the first to react as she rushed to hold Anita’s hand. “Annie, you’re here. Well, we were just talking about how it would be better for you to divorce Adrian and marry his step-brother instead.”Regaining her com
Regina was rushed to a nearby ward by Adrian and Doctor Arnold instantly got to work reviving her. Adrian and Vincent stood at opposite ends of the room, each watching what Doctor Arnold was doing with rapt attention. Adrian was calm, though his heart raced as he relived the moment Regina fainted out of shock when she heard the disheartening news about Anita.A coma? He himself still struggled to believe that Anita had slipped into an indefinite coma. At that moment, his heart was filled with different kind of emotions which he wasn’t sure how to express.He simply clenched his jaw very tightly with his fists held to the front of his mouth as he waited for Regina to wake up.Vincent, on the other hand, was struggling to maintain a calm composure. He just got news that his daughter had slipped into coma and now his wife had fainted.That was more than one person could handle. The tears he had been holding back ever since he arrived at the hospital began streaming down his face. And
Adrian pushed the doors of the Life-mate hospital open, and headed straight for the intensive care unit without as much as an acknowledgment to the staff at the reception. He met Vincent, who had been out of Wibston on a trip, and Regina pacing in the waiting room of the intensive care unit and the panic and worry on their faces made his heart sink.The moment Regina saw him approaching, the panic on her face morphed into anger as she marched to him. And before he could say anything, her hand collided with his cheek in a slap that resounded through the waiting room.“What kind of husband are you?” She seethed, her irises flickering with rage. “Anita has been fighting for her life for the past one hour, and you dare to show up just now?!”Her voice rose a few notches as she grabbed the neckline of Adrian’s tee in her hands, completely disregarding the tiny patches of blood around it. “What were you doing that you couldn’t protect my daughter?” She spat again, her voice trembling with
Kai didn’t bother to pay any attention to Adrian as he tightened his grip on Blaze’s neck. The color on Blaze’s face transformed from red to ashen, and it became obvious that Kai was infusing some of his dark energy into him.Adrian’s anger rolled off him in waves, and his body seemed to glow a little more as he crossed the distance to Blaze in the speed of light. Before Kai could process what was happening, Adrian retracted his palm and slammed it against Kai’s chest with enough force to send him flying across the ring and landing on the ground with a thundering crash.Blaze fell to the ground after Kai released him and he wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. The whole arena was silent at this point, as no one dared to utter a word, not even an intake of breath.Adrian walked up to Blaze and extended a hand towards him. “I’ll take it up from here, Blaze. You did well holding the fort for me.”Blaze looked up at Adrian, and his expression was filled with awe as he took in his gl
“Could the duel be over?!” Julian boomed from his spot at the front stand of the arena. “The other guy seems not to be getting up. If he’s still down in the next twenty seconds, he’ll be declared the loser!”Blaze’s ears perked up in alarm at Julian’s announcement, and seeing as Adrian wasn’t going to get up on his own, he rushed to him without hesitation.With a precise strike of his fist against Kai’s spine, Blaze sent him stumbling away from Adrian.Taking advantage of Kai’s momentary disorientation, Blaze knelt beside Adrian and quickly placed an arm around his shoulder to support him. With some effort, he helped him up to his feet just before the final seconds elapsed. “Master, you need to fight the dark energy before it consumes you,” he advised, his tone filled with concern.Adrian wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and held onto Blaze’s arm for a moment longer to steady himself. “I’m trying,” he gritted, his face tightening as the dark energy wrapped around his hea
Nathan’s anxiety began to fade as his friend Malik methodically worked to cover up their tracks, ensuring no one would ever trace Anita’s accident back to him.Still, the memory of her terrified scream, and the sound of the crash replayed in his head like a broken record. His heart gnawed with extreme guilt, but then a dark sinister voice whispered in his head.“Cheer up, Nathan. It’s too late to cry over spilled milk. At least now you’d get back all you lost to her. You’ve won.”At the mention of him finally defeating Anita, every shred of guilt he felt vanished and was replaced with sadistic triumph, and a befitting smile slowly crept up his lips.“It’s all done, Nate,” Malik announced as he pushed back from the table, and reclined on his swivelling chair, both of his hands coming to rest at the back of his head.He looked up at Nathan’s relieved face and chuckled. “That was kind of scary, wasn’t it? Even I froze for a moment before my mind geared into action.”Nathan scratched the
“N-Nathan?” Anita’s jaw dropped in shock as she heard the voice of her cousin come in from the speaker. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as her unease became stronger. “What’s happening? What did you do to my car?” “Oh, nothing much, just a little…rigging,” Nathan replied in a casual voice. “Isn’t it exciting to know that I can control your car from where I am? I can even..” He trailed off and before Anita could respond, the steering wheel jerked suddenly under her grasp and started moving on its own accord. “Nathan, stop!” She screamed in panic as she tried to regain control of the steering. “My car is swerving out of control! Why are you doing this?!” The mocking sound of laughter came from the speaker again, and slowly the steering wheel started working normally. “Oh you look so sacred, Anita. You should see your face right now.” Anita’s heart dropped to her stomach as her eyes darted around the car. Was he watching her? A shiver ran down her spine as she scanned for an
The air in the hall crackled with tension as the four men faced off with each other. Adrian and Blaze, Lawrence and Kai.Lawrence and Kai wore identical smug expressions as they undermined their opponents, while Adrian and Blaze wore unfazed, yet confident expressions.Lawrence, deciding to add more heat to the tension, turned to Kai with a cocky smirk. “Kai, what do you say we make things more interesting for our dear opponents?”Kai’s brows rose in intrigue and a sly smirk slowly crept up his lips as his gaze flickered to Adrian and Blaze, then back to Lawrence. “I think that’s a splendid idea, boss. Let’s spice this challenge up a bit.”“Perfect, then,”’Lawrence clapped and turned to face Adrian and Blaze, but his gaze was particularly trained on Adrian. “Why don’t we make a little bet?” He tilted his head challengingly.Adrian and Blaze exchanged glances with each other, and Blaze shrugged. “It’s entirely up to you, master. I’ll go ahead with whatever you decide.”Adrian nodded hi
Murmurs and hushed whispers erupted from the crowd at Adrian’s declaration and everyone began to wonder what would have given him the courage to say such.Julian Xu’s brows furrowed as he sized Adrian up from the podium. Adrian was wearing a black, silk untucked shirt and black slacks with a pair of white air force ones, looking more casual and unassuming than any other person in the hall.Was he dreaming? Julian thought as he watched the young man approach the front of the podium.Adrian didn’t pay any mind to all the comments as he strode towards Julian, his head held high and his hands tucked into his pockets.Lawrence Smith, on the other hand, was seething as his irises flickered wildly at Adrian, while Xavier Palmer and Nolan were wide eyed with disbelief.Nolan was the first to break the silence as he turned to Lawrence. “Mr. Smith, you have to do something!” He blurted out. “You can’t possibly let that loser challenge your position!”“Yes, Lawrence,” Xavier added with a frown.
Adrian had overheard Nolan’s request for Lawrence’s help, and initially he paid no mind to it, but seeing as Lawrence had agreed, he became curious to see how things would play out. Especially since he had given specific orders for Sebastian not to be released without his permission.He observed quietly as Lawrence placed a call to his supposed friend. “Hello, Chief Legal prosecutor Rashford,” Lawrence greeted the person on the other end with a smile. “I have a favour to ask you.”“Lawrence Smith, my good friend. Long time no see,” the chief prosecutor responded with equal familiarity. “Of course, tell me what favour I can do for you.”Lawrence’s expression gleamed with hope. Maybe the chief prosecutor will be able to help afterall.“So the thing is,” he began, lowering his voice slightly. “I have a friend whose brother was thrown into Hades Prison. Is there any—”“Hades Prison?!” Lawrence’s chief prosecutor friend echoed, his voice pitched with shock. “No, no, friend. I’m afraid I w