"How dare you ask me to do that to Beatrice, is she in support of this?" John yelled, gazing down at the woman who had deemed it necessary that he left his wife.
Immediately he yelled those words, Mrs. Grey dipped her hand in her bag and brought out a sheet but one look at it and the way she had handled it, one would easily know that it contained something huge.Wordless, she threw the paper at John like the miserable man she had always seen him to be.With the anticipation that it was something that could solve his problem, he desperately studied the content of the paper, which the next moment, made his eyes momentarily go wide open."You made me spend the last penny on me, the money I could have used on my mother to come to see you at this goddamn restaurant. I was hoping that you had changed your mind to help me, but instead, you chose to ridicule me?!" He paused as he gave his mother-in-law a disappointing look but she cared less, all she wanted was for him to sign the f*cking paper."I should have known something was wrong when you invited me over. You did it because I cannot afford a place like this, right? To ridicule me?"Those words only made the silently enraged woman hiss out an irritable sound that drew more attention to them.Hearing him blurt out those words made her think about what her daughter had probably seen in John that had resulted in her being stupid enough to end up with someone as peasant as he was. She could only thank her stars that her daughter had finally come to her senses.He claimed to have earned a bachelor's degree in computer science but here he was, lamenting about wasting his last change on transport fare.'How pathetic!' she thought.She wasn't the one who made his life miserable. She wasn't the one who made him not have a professional job even after applying to so many firms. She wasn't the one who had deemed his failure in life but she definitely would be the one to tear his marriage apart.It irked her to see a man in such a state, no job, no money, no life but yet, he declares love like it comes for free. At least, a reasonable man should know love wasn't everything, money was.Now that her daughter had agreed to marry the richest young man in the city, she was more desperate to get John to sign the divorce paper. She wouldn't want her daughter to dwell in poverty for the rest of her life.If only her daughter had seen the light before she got married to him, Mrs. Grey was certain that she would never stoop so low to have a conversation with him.This time, she also chose to let her voice be heard, she was tired of him playing the victim, as she also considered herself as the victim of the story. His refusal to sign the document was depriving her family of a good life."Young man, you read the content of the paper given to you. This is something that should be easy for both of us, I am willing to help that woman get–""I won't allow you to disrespect her. You don't just address her as that woman., she is my mother for f**k's sake." John interrupted with gnashed teeth."No, she's not, she is just a woman who had pity on you and took you in as her child."The moment those words left her mouth, John's eyes went wide open, there was only one person that knew his history, which was his wife, Beatrice. There was no way Beatrice would have told her mother, he tried to convince himself."Anyways, you know Mr. Kendrick, the CEO of Alpha Tech Group, right? I wouldn't be surprised even if you have no idea who he is. He is one of the richest young men in the country and he has shown interest in my daughter. Just sign the goddamn paper, then you will be divorced from my daughter. After that, the money will be sent to you."Without care, John tore the paper into tiny bits and hell did that make Mrs. Grey's blood boil."Tell your daughter that she belongs to me, there is no escaping this marriage, she remains in my ho…" The beep of his phone interrupted his statement but he was too furious to pick it up.Meanwhile, that was the last thread for Mrs. Grey, she had tried to play the nice card but it seemed this man had tried to prove stubborn. There was no way she would allow him to get in the way of her path to be a member of the Kendricks."Then, I see that you want her dead, I have no problem with that but good luck with finding £11,000 before the tumor kills her. You should answer whoever it is, maybe it is the hospital trying to inform you that she is late.""I hope to get an invitation to her funeral." Mrs. Grey blurted out like the cold-hearted businesswoman that she was.At that point, he had to ask himself how things got to that point. He wasn't the only man to get married to a girl whose family was better than his.The last time he checked, marriage was about care and happiness but it seemed his case was different. His wife didn't make things easy for him either, the only reason why his mother-in-law was doing this was that his wife had agreed to it.His phone beeped for the second time which resulted in John pushing his stare to the caller's ID and indeed, his mother-in-law was right, it was from the hospital."Mr. John, your attention is needed at the hospital." A masculine voice said on the other line."Is she alright? Is my mot… "The phone was hung up. He cursed, what the heck is he going to do?With no time left to waste, he ignored the presence of his mother-in-law and rushed to the hospital with high hopes that there was still life in his mother.The way he ran out of the restaurant irritated Mrs. Grey. He looked so weak and pale, almost seeming like he could fall if he was slightly pushed while running. She immediately concluded that it was a result of hunger.If he can't even feed well, how the heck would he feed her daughter? Hell no, one way or the other, she must find a way to annul his marriage with her daughter.He was just too wretched for her and at the same time, full of pride. She kept asking herself what it would have taken him if he had just signed the document and taken the money needed for his mother's treatment.'Maybe he really wanted his mother dead', she thought.With no money left with him, John had to run a great distance to the only well-renowned hospital in the city without care of the prying eyes and whispers that roamed the streets. As he stared at his mother, John didn't realize the tears that had threatened to fall from his eyes. This was not how he had planned his life to turn out. He was on the brink of divorce with his wife who had told him to his face that he was a wretched man. To add to his already existing misfortune, he was also on the brink of losing the one woman that really cared for him genuinely.His mother just had a few days if the necessary surgery was not conducted on her but things didn't go smoothly. Whenever there was anything surgery, there was also something called bills which needed money, and this was something that he didn't have. His gaze traveled to her body. The hospital gown that she had worn did some justice to her by covering her skinny body but her arm was not fortunate enough to be unseen. Her feedin
Bang.Shocked would be an understatement when it came to how the medical practitioner felt as John barged into his office. For the first time in a long time, he saw a smile on John's face. 'That's unusual!' He thought. John has never entered his office with a smile, it was either he comes begging for the treatment to be done and he pays later, or he becomes an employee in the hospital so his labor could pay for her bills but not this time. The man in his presence was damn happy."I… I have the money, please commence the treatment."Again, another surprise from John. The doctor knew the amount of money that was involved, there was no way John would have raised such an amount of money. No… no way, it wasn't possible, not even a lottery would give him such an amount of money within a short time. Curiosity took over, shocked and eager, the doctor took off his eyeglasses. "You mean £11,000?" He asked, giving John an intense and suspicious look but John cared less. His mother's life was
He wished to say no but he couldn't. Maybe it was better that his father sees the woman that took care of him and gave him everything that he could ever ask for, no matter how little it may seem."Sure, come see her," John uttered with full sarcasm.With no words left to say, John led his father to his foster mother's ward which was a few meters away from the doctor's office. There, the old butler was still available, clearly waiting for John's and his master's arrival."Butler Chad, you may leave now. My son will move into the mansion today, make preparations for that." With those words, the butler gave a slight nod and left.A wave of silence followed suit as Mr. Sebastian stared at the sickly woman on the bed. It was worse than he imagined. At that point, he asked himself, how could his son settle for something less? Everything about John's foster mother irritated him, her skinny face, her pale body, her financial status– they all gave him some sort of irritable feeling. How could
It was all too much for John to handle. No! This cannot be, he had expected his stepmother to have a kid as her child due to the year she got married to his father but here she was, holding a man's hands like he meant the world to her– a man that for some reason stared at John like he was the only thing that should be hated.John had somewhat expected this. There was no way his step-family would welcome him with open arms and neither was he planning to do the same but there was nothing they could do about his arrival.He was there to stay. There was no going back. He was there to stop whatever plans they had for the legacy his parents built. "Why bring him back? He is of no use here, James. You have Luke to take over your legacy in the newest future. This was not part of the deal." At that moment, John felt some sort of self-achieved feeling. Although he wasn't so pleased to come back to his father, now, his mind was made up on setting his gaze on this gold digger… this money sucker
Dressed into the fine young man that he had always pictured himself as, John was made to think of how his life was going to play out from that moment. He sighed a deal with the devil, now he would have to dance to the devil's tune. Right when the butler was putting on the finishing touches, M.. Sebastian walked into John's room but wait… with a mask? John's face suddenly went into a frown. He understood that whatever his father had planned wouldn't be a nice one that he would be comfortable with. But at the same time, he also acknowledged the fact that this was all done in his favor. Anything this father was doing now, it was all done to preserve their family's treasures."What's that in your hand?" John asked while secretly praying that his reasoning was wrong. "You heard the last time, it's gonna be a masked gathering. With our kind of business, we should be careful especially when it comes to exposing our faces to the public. That's why I deliberately called for a masked gatheri
'What the heck?' John exclaimed inwardly.Without wasting a second, John turned to confirm his suspicions. He cursed again. This can't be, how was it possible? What connection did she have with his father? Can she recognize him? Who was this man she was holding so tightly? The question kept coming but there was only one way they could be answered- he needed to comfort her.Even with that mask on her face, he found it so easy to recognize her.He remained mute, waiting for her to make the first initiative. He wanted her to recognize him. He wanted her to say something that would make him know that indeed, she recognized him.Damn, she even had a smile on her face."Good day sir, I am Mrs. Grey." "Sir?" He muttered without realizing that his voice was loud enough for both his mother-in-law and the man beside her to hear. "And I am Mr. Kendrick, one of your father's business associates." Again, John was shocked. Of course, with an immediate effect, he recognized who the fuck this man
"What's wrong with me, why am I not fit for this job?" John grunted, wanting to hit his boss' office table in frustration. He placed his left hand on the side of his hip while he used his other hand to massage his temple. There was no way this could happen to him, at least not now that he was desperately in need of money. His eyes flickered as he stared at his boss, he had shown nothing but loyalty and dedication, even as a personal assistant, then why should this befall him? John frowned and turned his gaze over to his close associate, Alex, who was ready to defend him and then, he turned his gaze back to his boss. "Mr. Balowe, what about those things that you said about my hard work, are you going to throw all that away?"Mr. Balowe sighed. He wished to tell John why he was getting fired but he just couldn't. He was scared, scared of the consequences that would follow suit. All he needed to do was to fire John and be free from the threats that had been directed at his company."