'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 was. He was the same man that his wife had mysteriously gone crazy for and the sole reason his mother-in-law has wanted him to file for a divorce.But at the same time, he couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, else, he exposes his identity."So how may I help you?" John asked with a creased forehead, sizing the good-looking man with his gaze.Never in his life had he ever seen his mother-in-law with a smile but there she was, smiling like a fool as she stared at Kendrick. He didn't want to think to the drastic side but with the way Mrs. Grey had held Mr. Kendrick, it would only make sense if one thinks that she was the one who was getting married to him."Since your father will be retiring, and you become in charge of his companies, I would like to propose a stronger alliance between our firms."John couldn't get more irritated. Never would he do such. He can't possibly help Kendrick get more money, only for his ex-wife to enjoy it. Instead, he would stop at nothing to see that The Kendricks' name fell to the mud.Without the will to hide his objection, John confidently blurted out. "No, I wouldn't want that." He said, his gaze fixed on his mother-in-law whose smile had now turned into a frown."This would be beneficial with both our firms, if you wish, I can drop by the headquarters for a–""This lady, who is she to you?" John interrupted with his gaze still fixed on his mother-in-law."Oh, she is my mother-in-law, my wedding with her daughter is in a week, if you wish, I could invite you."John had wanted to say something that might reveal his identity but was stopped when he saw his mother-in-law gesturing for someone to come meet them.Heart beating and heavy sighing, John couldn't believe what… who he was looking at. His wife.She looked so happy and of course, beautiful as she approached them. He had expected that she would go to her mother who had called for her but to John's surprise, she went to embrace Kendrick. The next second, she gave him a quick kiss before turning to face John.He hoped she could recognize, at least. She was his wife, she should be able to recognize him with or without the mask but no way, she was just as oblivious as her mother.She stretched forth her hand for a handshake but instead of receiving it, John chose to just stare at it which brought forth a weird silence. Beatrice knew that it was her queue to place her hand back in its previous position."You look like an already married woman," John said, clearly waiting for her to deny the fact that she had never been married."Oh, I was married to some good-for-nothing man but we are now divorced. Soon, I will be Kendrick's bride." Beatrice uttered with so much confidence."Good for nothing?' He asked."Yes, but like I said, we are now divorced." She said,John could only sigh. This was too much to bare. Now, he had heard it from the horse's mouth, his determination for payback became more intense.With nothing left to say, John turned his back on them, trying to walk away but before they could call for him, Mr. Sebastian's voice echoed through the loudspeaker.He called for everyone's attention and then called for John to come join him on the stage."As everyone knows, my son who will be my successor is back and I will use this means to announce my retirement plan."A wave of whispers followed suit but with one order of silence from Mr. Sebastian, they were all made to keep mute."My son, John, is now the CEO of my firm. All my properties have been signed to his name but his identity will remain a secret for security reasons."Anyone in John's shoes should be happy with what Mr. Sebastian had said but the case was different for John, whose gaze was still fixed on his wife and her supposed husband-to-be.He understood that it was because of money she ran to Kendrick. What happens if he was to show her that the man behind the mask was her husband? Would she leave Kendrick at that spot or would she still consider getting married to Kendrick?But John's trance was greatly cut short by a yell from his half-brother, Luke. His eyes were red and swollen, almost seeming like he had just finished a long section of crying."No! It's not possible. You can't do this, Father. He left you, so why do you want to give all that you have to him?" Luke asked."We are leaving." Mr. Sebastian uttered. He took John by the hand and walked down the stage. He got no time for this. He had delivered his message, so he had no business staying at the event just to exchange words with Luke.****"Can you tell me more about the Kendricks?" John asked as they got into the car."It seems you must have met one of them, they are one of my rivals but I keep them as my business associates.""Not anymore, they took something that belongs to me, my wife," John said with so much disgust. He was now in charge, he decides who stays and who leaves. His father's money will make it easy to ruin the Kendricks' wealth and name.His wife can never escape getting married to a wretched man, he promised himself that."You mean Miss Beatrice? She's no good to you. You need to understand that with the kind of power you now possess, you don't need some fuck up gold digger. I think you should let that young man be. He will soon realize the woman he desperately wants to marry." Mr. Sebastian said, irritated by the fact that his son still had that petty thief in his mind.He was now in money and should have women to his dispense but John seemed to disagree with this.No way! He can't let this slide. Yes, he had the money but there was one thing he didn't have- payback. He wanted his wife to know what she had just missed and at the same time, thank her. If she and her mother hadn't betrayed his trust, then he would never have thought of going back to his father.With gnashed teeth, John blurted out. "No! Do you expect me to let them go scot-free after ridiculing me? I won't do that. You have given me access to your wealth, then allow me to use it.""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."
"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
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