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
A wave of nausea rose in Anita’s throat at Liam’s words. She hated his guts. What gave him the right to think he could buy her affection with gifts?Liam on the other hand, was oblivious to the animosity festering within Anita as he gestured to the servants lined up behind his family. “Bring me the gifts meant for Anita Davies!”Another male servant scurried forward, with two boxes, one big, the other small and held them out to Liam. Liam retrieved the big box first. He opened it and took out a pair of shimmering silver shoes adorned with sparkling diamond anklets. He turned to Anita with a wide, pompous grin on his face. “This, my dear, is my first gift to you. It’s a pair of original Stuart Weitzman Limited Edition heels worth over half a million dollars!” he declared, before placing them back into the box and extending it towards Anita.Everyone marveled at the dazzling beauty of the shoes and some of the female guests even became jealous of Anita. “I heard that they are only 20 p
A jolt of surprise surged through Liam at Adrian’s accusation before he masked his countenance with a scowl. “A fake necklace?” he scoffed. “Do you think I’m a cheapskate like you? I spent a lot to ensure that this necklace is the genuine Moonstone. So keep your lucid opinions to yourself!”The guests, completely swayed by Liam’s display of wealth, also murmured in agreement with him.“Why is this nobody so shameless? How can he say the Moonstone necklace is fake?”“He’s just jealous because he can’t afford such a gem in his lifetime!”“What a sorry excuse for a man. Too disgusting!”Regina’s expression also mirrored Liam’s as she glared at Adrian. “What could you possibly know about genuine jewelry when you’ve never seen one in your life? Just keep quiet and stop disgracing yourself with your ignorance!” She shifted her gaze back to Liam, the scowl on her face morphing into a smile. “Ignore this fool, my dear. Go ahead and place the necklace around Anita’s neck.” she urged him.Anita
“Wh-what?!” Liam sputtered incredulously. “That’s not possible! You probably made a mistake. Check again!”Gerald maintained his serious expression. “ I’ve been in the gemologist business for over two decades now. I can assure you that I didn’t make any mistake.”Everyone was surprised at Gerald’s remark. Could it mean that Liam really bought a fake necklace and Adrian was right?Regina spoke up in surprise. “Mr. Gerald,” she chuckled nervously. “I don’t mean to water down your expertise or anything, but, can you check the necklace again? I mean maybe you made a slight error somewhere.”“There is no error.” Adrian butted in, a confident smile playing on his lips. “The necklace is truly a ripoff. I’d detected some irregularities with the pearls and crystals which wasn’t supposed to be the case with an original Moonstone.” he explained.Regina narrowed her eyes at him, clearly still unimpressed. “No one asked you to interfere in this, and your opinions don’t matter. Remain silent!”She
Nigel slowly but steadily walked up to the center of the hall where the commotion was. Immediately Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Esther saw him, their faces lit up with pleasant surprise. “Elder Nigel, you’re welcome!” they greeted in unison.Nigel let out a small smile on his lips. “Old friend, I heard your birthday was today and I decided to come and wish you well, and also present you with this 500 year old ginseng as a birthday gift.” he extended a small box towards Lloyd. “Who were you about to call security for?” he asked curiously. “Oh, it’s just that con artist over there…” Grandpa Lloyd pointed to Gerald. “…and that useless boy…” his hands moved to Adrian. “Con artist?” Nigel followed Grandpa Lloyd’s line of sight and when his gaze landed on Gerald, his eyes glinted with recognition. “Ah! It’s the famous gemologist, Gerald Stone!” Nigel chirped as he momentarily forgot what Lloyd had just said and approached Gerald for a handshake. “I didn’t expect to see you here! I was so imp
“B-but-” Robert and Tatiana stammered but their words were abruptly cut off by Grandpa Lloyd’s loud voice barking orders into the phone. “Security, your presence is needed to escort some unwanted guests out of here!”Within a few seconds, four security guards arrived at the scene. Robert, Tatiana and Tiffany spared Adrian a withering glare, then their heads slumped in embarrassment as they were each being led out by a security guard. “You, bastard!” Liam, who couldn't control his anger anymore, was about to lunge at Adrian when the last security guard restrained him. As he was being escorted out, he pointed a menacing finger at Adrian. “Don’t think for a second that you’ve won!” He snarled, thrashing against the security guard’s firm grip. “I would never let you win…” his voice trailed off as he was dragged out of the hall.“Good riddance.” Adrian mumbled under his breath, sporting an unreadable expression as he watched Liam go. However Liam tried to get back at him, he knew he would
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