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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Thank me for what exactly?” She asked, feigning ignorance.
She was different from most ladies that came from wealthy families like herself. Her grandfather would always tease her that she had a good heart like her grandmother but then her father used to say the exact same thing to her; that she had the heart of her mother, so Loretta didn't know exactly who to believe.
It was true that both men loved their late wives so much and maybe because of that saw similar traits in her, but whichever was the case, they both agreed one thing, that she had a good heart.
“For covering my ass out there. I will never forget it,” he responded, gratefully.
Loretta couldn't help blushing at his statement as they approached sunrise villa.
“We are finally here,” she announced happily.
Ethan could hardly believe he actually owned sunrise villa. A little while ago he was literarily homeless but now he owned an entire villa. Life was indeed truly unpredictable afterall, he thought to himself.
As they entered the villa, Ethan marveled at the benevolence of Ian Lopez. The villa was one of the choicest locations to live in. As a matter of fact, it was among the top 10 highly sought after residential destinations of the rich in Stanberry.
It had its own recreational facility and gym as well as both an indoor and outdoor swimming pool.
Sunrise villa also had its own staff, it lacked absolutely nothing.
“I hope it suits your taste,” Loretta asked, as they stepped into his living room.
Ethan opened his mouth to speak but words failed to come out as his joy knew no bounds.
Finally he managed to voice out, “It’s so beautiful. I am truly grateful to you and your entire family. Thank you.”
Loretta nodded as she called the staff of the villa and introduced them to Ethan.
After the introduction, she picked up her bag, “I'll leave you to get some rest. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
But Ethan countered, “please don't go….” realizing how he just sounded, he quickly corrected himself, “It's not safe for you to go home alone. Why not spend the night here and leave tomorrow.”
Loretta blushed, “Missing me already?”
Ethan couldn't help laughing, “I know trouble always has a way of finding you but we are a team now. I have no choice in the matter.”
On hearing that, she picked a pillow from the sofa and aimed at him but missed, as they both laughed heartily.
“Alright, I'll stay even if I disagree with you about the trouble part.” She was going to comment about him being a gentleman but since Ethan never gave her any reason to worry, she brushed the thought aside.
They spent another hour talking over pizza and some fruit juice before they retired to their rooms for the night.
Ethan was amazed at how fast they had become close. Anyone that saw the duo would never believe they got acquainted just today.
The following day, Ethan surprised Loretta by waking up early to make breakfast.
Before going to jail, he had done the exact same thing for Ariella and her family, despite his busy work schedule, but his efforts were never appreciated.
The aroma from his cooking must have somehow woken Loretta up as she came out just as he finished setting the table.
“You made breakfast!” She exclaimed.
Just when she thought she had figured him all out, he did something that surprised and impressed her again.
“Yes, I did. You are my guest, remember,” he grinned.
Loretta couldn't help requesting for more as she found his cooking extremely tasty.
An hour later, they walked into Lopez conglomerate's main building amid whispers from everyone.
“Is that the new head of operations?”
“What a lucky guy!”
“I wonder if he is married!”
Even though they were whispering, Ethan could hear them clearly as his senses were exceptionally good.
Ethan and Loretta soon ran into Julian Lark, the project manager.
“Julian meet Ethan…” But before she could finish the introduction, Julian responded derisively, ‘’Oh! The new driver? Boy, how are you?”
As he stretched out his hand for a handshake, Ethan pretended to want to shake him but headbutted him instead.
Julian fell on the ground, his face contorted in pain.
“Oh! My bad. Did I hurt you?”
Loretta couldn't help turning to the wall and laughing softly. “Like I was about to say, this is Ethan Banks, the new head of operations. You report to him henceforth.”
Julian cursed under his breath. He wasn't pleased that an outsider had snatched a position that he had been eyeing for a long time. He had dreamt of the day he would occupy the position, so he could finally gain the respect he deserved from his family.
He vowed to deal with Ethan as he stumbled into his office.
At that moment Ethan called out, “Julian, get me a cup of coffee.”
Julian was furious. How could a lowlife not only steal a position he had set his heart but also order him around.
Ethan wanted to know what it felt like to be served for once and to him Julian was the perfect candidate. He smirked to himself as he pictured Julian's face with his cup of coffee.
“Enjoying your new role already, I see,” Loretta guffawed. She knew Ethan was only doing it to punish Julian.
Ethan chuckled softly as he explored his office, admiring its opulent finishings. “The Lopez truly have exquisite taste,” he whispered to himself.
Just then, Loretta's phone rang and she stepped aside to answer it.
As Ethan attempted to sit down Julian returned with the coffee in his hand. Ethan collected his coffee, took a sniff and poured it away.
“Thanks for the coffee but I changed my mind. You may leave.”
Julian was both shocked and furious as he left Ethan's office. He was shocked because Ethan didn't drink the poisoned coffee and he was furious that his plan just failed. He had seen Ethan's petty errand as a golden opportunity to get rid of him once and for all but alas, his plan had failed.
Ethan smiled to himself, on sniffing the coffee, he had perceived a foreign ingredient in it, confirming his suspicion that Julian would try to poison him.
“Firing him would be just too easy,” he furrowed his brow as he thought. “I have something better planned out for you Julian!”
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As Ethan read the message, he furrowed his brows. It was a message from Carmelo telling him that his time was up.Though Ethan had never met the landlord in person, his nephew, Carmelo, had always terrorized him and his mother for money as he deemed fit, simply because they were poor and his uncle was King Fisher, a well known crime boss.Ethan had always paid the money promptly in the past to prevent Carmelo harassing his foster mother but had been unable to while in prison, making the sum of money that Carmelo was now demanding for to be enormous.Ethan got into the car, ignoring his thoughts about Carmelo briefly.“Why didn't you tell me?” Loretta suddenly asked.Ethan turned to her curiously, “Tell you what?”“That you went to jail. Why did you keep it from me?”Ethan had been expecting this question since Joshua announced it in Mela outfits.“I didn't want you or your family to judge me because of my past.” He answered sincerely.“And why did you go to jail?” She pressed further.
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“And where do you think you are going to? You can't leave until we figure out where you got the money to purchase such an expensive outfit.” Andrew's response angered Ethan even more.“You have four seconds to get out of my way!” Ethan's voice thundered.Ethan's bold response shocked Andrew momentarily. In the past, Ethan would always cower at his presence but his demeanor now was the direct opposite, a behavior that somewhat terrified Andrew.But not wanting to back down in front of his entire family, he pushed away the doubts within him and continued with his condescending behavior.Andrew laughed scornfully, in a final attempt to convince himself that he was in charge of the situation. He was used to beating Ethan for no reason in the past and he had been looking forward to doing it again especially now that Ethan came with a really gorgeous woman.“If I show her what a wimp he is maybe she would consider leaving him for me,” he thought secretly in his heart.“Or wha…” Before Andre
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Ethan's response came out with such force that it sent shivers to Carmelo and his men.Carmelo signaled to one of his men and he left only to return in seconds with iron clubs as they surrounded Ethan, each one of them smiling deviously.Loretta was frightened for Ethan. She quickly stood between Ethan and Carmelo, “Why don't you just take the car and we'll leave. No one has to get hurt.”Carmelo smirked, “Negotiations are over. You had your chance.”Signaling to one of his men, he screamed, “Bring her to me.”But before he could even touch Loretta Ethan sent him flying with only a jab to the abdomen.Carmelo was stunned, swallowing hard he signaled to the rest of his men so they attack him at once.Ethan swiftly moved Loretta away as he dodged the metal clubs while raining heavy punches on each of them. Painful screams could be heard from miles away as they all landed on the floor with broken bones and ribs.Carmelo in so much pain, could only speak above a whisper, “You have no idea
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Ethan simply stood there staring at Clarissa and her boyfriend without responding to any of their mocking remarks.“Baby, hope we didn't keep you waiting for too long?” A beautiful feminine voice was suddenly heard asking Ethan.“No darling, you didn't,” Ethan swiftly responded, smiling at Loretta.Gabriella also came to him and kissed him affectionately on the cheek.Clarissa and her boyfriend gasped in shock as they tried to wrap their minds around what was unfolding before them.Not one but two extremely gorgeous women were now standing beside Ethan and being very affectionate with him.“That's impossible!” Clarissa whispered to herself.She and her boyfriend had assumed that Ethan was at the shopping mall to carry shopping bags for people but now it turned out that they were both wrong.Although Clarissa was beautiful and classy, yet her beauty was nothing compared to those of Loretta and Gabriella.“Ladies, I can't believe you would both stoop so low as to associate yourselves wi
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Gripping the club, Chuck suddenly swung it hard in Ethan’s direction, aiming for his head, but Ethan's sturdy grip easily caught the club in mid-air.Chuck struggled to retrieve the club from Ethan's powerful grip but all his efforts were in pain.“Is that all you've got?” Ethan suddenly asked after watching Chuck struggle to retrieve the club from his grip.Chuck’s frustration was immediately palpable as he tried to land a punch on Ethan’s face but Ethan stopped it with only one finger and swung the club at Chuck's face.“Bang!” In another second Chuck was on the ground with blood oozing freely from his mouth.All the other customers who had initially looked down on Ethan, suddenly gawked at him.“You've simply been a pawn, so I'll spare you and your men. Leave now and don't ever come back!” Ethan warned Chuck as he and his men struggled to get to their feet.Mr. Orlando was also about to leave but Ethan stopped him, “Not you! You deserve a little time out like Chuck, don't you think
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Mr. Orlando’s discomfiture was palpable as he clenched his fists in rage, almost launching an attack on Chuck, “You moron, what do you think you are doing?”He yelled at Chuck who simply frowned, “We have a bit of a setback but I'm handling it. I was just about to put this poor fool in his place before you showed up!” Chuck responded, ignoring Mr. Orlando's outburst.Mr. Orlando gritted his teeth. It was almost impossible for him to deny his involvement any longer, “You had a very simple task! Take the money quietly and leave, yet you blew it, you and your incompetent crew!” Mr. Orlando ended his statement, with an irritated expression on his face.Loretta couldn't contain her shock! She and several other customers, including Gabriella, gawked at Ethan and Mr. Orlando.“Let me guess, the last robbery incident here was also planned but you took the fall for it while Orlando here pulled some strings to get you out!” Ethan responded glaring at both Orlando and Chuck.“I'm also guessing t
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“What was I even thinking when I turned down his proposal initially?” Clarissa asked herself, smiling as she watched the security guard preparing to hit Ethan with his baton.Ethan’s unwavering gaze remained fixated on Darius, even though he was speaking to the security guard, “I would think carefully about my next step if I were you!”The security guard chortled, “What's there to think about? I have the backing of Mr. Darius! Besides, what can a nobody like you do to me, huh?”A well-dressed man came out of the building at that instant wearing a discombobulated expression on his face, “What the heck is going on here?”The security guard wore an excited look as soon as he saw his boss, “Sir, I'm glad you are here! I was just about to call to inform you of Mr. Darius' arrival.”Clarissa chuckled, “Darius is a very important fellow, even the executive director of the museum came out to personally welcome him. You should have pleaded for mercy when you had the chance….”“Slap….. Slap….”
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“What was I even thinking when I turned down his proposal initially?” Clarissa asked herself, smiling as she watched the security guard preparing to hit Ethan with his baton.Ethan’s unwavering gaze remained fixated on Darius, even though he was speaking to the security guard, “I would think carefully about my next step if I were you!”The security guard chortled, “What's there to think about? I have the backing of Mr. Darius! Besides, what can a nobody like you do to me, huh?”A well-dressed man came out of the building at that instant wearing a discombobulated expression on his face, “What the heck is going on here?”The security guard wore an excited look as soon as he saw his boss, “Sir, I'm glad you are here! I was just about to call to inform you of Mr. Darius' arrival.”Clarissa chuckled, “Darius is a very important fellow, even the executive director of the museum came out to personally welcome him. You should have pleaded for mercy when you had the chance….”“Slap….. Slap….”
