Evelyn Davies stepped out from a black Audi RS7 with a proud smile on her red-painted lips. The milk-colored Prada gown she wore clung to her slender figure and was complemented by her artificially colored platinum blonde hair, which cascaded down her back in waves. She took out her phone to snap a quick selfie, but her smile faltered as she spotted the familiar figures of her cousin, Anita and her aunt-in-law, Regina emerging from a car that looked to be better than her boyfriend’s. Her brown eyes narrowed in envy. She had always been jealous of Anita because she surpassed her in a couple of things; academics, beauty, elegance. Her plan for the evening had been to show off her new wealthy boyfriend in front of everyone at the party and get all the attention to herself, but looking at the luxury car Anita had come in with, it seemed she also had a wealthy boyfriend of her own. ‘Why does she have to outdo me every time.’ she whined bitterly. Henry Cooper, her boyfriend, noticed her
The tension in the air increased as Anita watched the exchange between Adrian and Henry, her expression a mix of admiration and worry. She admired Adrian’s confidence, noticing it was a dominant characteristic trait in him, but a part of her worried that he might be getting in way over his head.“Adrian, are you sure about this bet?”she whispered, her voice hushed. “The suit isn’t yours, so how are you be sure it’s genuine?”“My friend would never lend me a knockoff suit. Trust me.” Adrian stated firmly.“Why the stalling?” Evelyn snorted at Adrian and Anita. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out now?” she rolled her eyes dismissively.“Nope,” Adrian declared. “I never back down from a challenge. You should be asking your boyfriend that question.”“Don't be ridiculous,” Henry muttered in distaste. “I’ll easily win this bet. You’ll see.”“Listen up,” Evelyn stepped forward, her manicured nails tapping rhythmically on her phone screen. “Here's how we'll go about this,” she began as she scr
The Davies mansion exuded an air of Opulence and grandeur as men and women dressed in designer suits and dresses, mingled and chattered among themselves. The interior was covered with white and gold decorations which stretched from the foyer to the grand living room where the party was being held. Waiters dressed in white and black uniforms weaved through the crowd, with their tray of champagne flutes professionally balanced on their hands.Anita felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her as she stepped into the room. It had been months since she last visited the familiar mansion. Adrian, beside her took in the scenery, a curious yet relaxed expression written on his face. He hadn’t been to many elite events yet, so this was all new territory to him. But now that he was a trillionaire heir, he would have to get used to attending even greater parties in the near future, some which would personally be hosted by him.A waiter came by and Adrian took two flutes of champagne.“Here you go,” he
“The moment we have all gathered for is here.” Esther Davies announced, a smile plastered on her thin red lips. “Please join me in celebrating my dear husband and patriarch of the Davies’ family, Lloyd Davies as he arrives!” A spotlight immediately fell on the grand staircase, illuminating it to reveal a silver haired man dressed in an impeccable white Boglioli suit. The tap-tap-tap sound of his gold rimmed cane echoed throughout the room as he descended the stairs in slow, calculating steps—This was Lloyd Davies. Although, he was slightly bent over due to age, one could still feel the aura of a formidable businessman that he exuded. The crowd elicited in a round of cheers as Lloyd walked towards the stage and with effortless sophistication, settled down on the beautifully crafted chair that was specially designed for him. Grandma Esther glided towards him, handing him the microphone to greet the guests. Lloyd Davies cleared his throat and a smile stretched across his face. “Tha
Anita shifted uncomfortably on her feet, feeling an inexplicable amount of nervousness washing over her as all eyes including her grandfather’s turned towards her. “Didn’t you hear your cousin, Anita?” Grandma Esther spoke through the silence when she saw that Anita hadn’t yet uttered a word. “Come over here with your gift this instant!” “Y-yes, grandma.”Anita nodded in a shaky voice. She was completely unsure of how to go about this situation. On one hand, if she presented Adrian’s cheap gift to her grandfather then he would be deeply displeased, and on the other hand, if she didn’t present anything, he would be more disappointed in her than he already is. After a moment of contemplation, she decided to go with the latter. According to her grandfather, it was better to give nothing at all than to give something of no worth. Before Adrian could convince her to take his gift, Anita was already approaching her grandfather. She shared nervous glances with her mother before she muste
Every head spun around at the sound of Adrian’s voice as they wondered who he was to say such a thing. Regina’s face became white when she saw Adrian approaching, and she lunged forward to block him from taking a step further. “Are you out of your mind?” she hissed through gritted teeth. “I warned you not to utter a word at this party again, so what do you think you’re doing?”“I wouldn’t have had to intervene if you hadn’t just stood by and watched your daughter being humiliated.” Adrian retorted in a barely restrained tone. “If you’re unable to defend her, then don’t stop me from doing so.” After saying this, Adrian sidestepped a fuming Regina and moved to stand beside Anita, who was taken aback by his audacity to challenge her grandfather.Lloyd’s thick gray eyebrows, furrowed into a deep V. “Who’s this fool?” he barked, his eyes narrowing intensely at Adrian. “And what is he doing at my party?” Adrian was about to speak when Anita discreetly nudged him with her elbow and shook he
Grandpa Lloyd chuckled dryly at Adrian’s proposal before his expression turned stormy. “Do you know why I gave you the benefit of the doubt, boy? Because I wanted to see how far you were willing to take your stupidity, and it seems I really underestimated it.”Nathan mirrored Grandpa Lloyd’s stormy expression. “You shouldn’t have given him a chance to utter such balderdash, Grandpa.” His eyes then shifted disdainfully to Adrian. “Do you know the caliber of company Crestwood Investment is? I bet you don’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be making such a ludicrous wager.”“He’s just a nobody trying to act important to impress Senior Davies,” Lilian chimed in, her expression filled with mockery. “He’ll only end up shooting Anita in the foot because as we speak, my name is already on the proposal as the Davies Designs’ representative. How then do you think you can change that, huh?”“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Adrian responded sharply and his gaze turned to Grandpa Lloyd’s. “
Liam Muller and the entire Muller family arrived at Lloyd Davies birthday celebration just in time to spot Adrian presenting his ginseng root gift to Lloyd.Liam’s face contorted into a scowl and he turned to his family members. “Mom, dad, Tiffany, hold on a sec. I need to go and see what that idiot is trying to do.” He walked away from them and dashed towards the the part of the hall where Lloyd Davies and his family members were. On seeing Lloyd about to collect the ginseng root from Adrian, his jaw clenched. He instantly shot out his hand and snatched the ginseng root away from Adrian’s palm.“Don’t be fooled by that cheap plant, Senior Lloyd Davies, I have the real thousand year old ginseng with me!” he declared in a smug voice.Everyone’s attention shifted to him, and Grandpa Lloyd’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “And who are you?!”Lloyd straightened his gait. “I’m Liam Muller, the sole heir of the Muller family.” He announced proudly, then pointed a condescending finger at Adrian
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