"Hey, Leonard!" A harsh voice called out. " How much time would it take you to clean a table? You're going to disturb the customers."
Leonard wiped away the sweat trickling down his face with a napkin. He spun around.
"But–" he tried to explain that he was working as fast as he could.
"No excuses! Speed up or you will have your salary deducted," his superior said coldly.
Leonard nodded slowly.
"Don't talk to him like that," a feminine voice spoke behind Leonard.
They both turned to look at her. Her arms were folded beneath her breast.
"I am sure you don't know who he is," she added, making Leonard groan silently.
"I advise you to apologize to him immediately," she said to his superior, leaving him shocked.
" Me? Apologize to him? Ma'am, I am only doing my job. "
The woman stared at him coldly.
" Apologize to him or–"
"Can you just stop?!" Leonard glared at her. "I am at fault here and he doesn't need to apologize to me. "
He tilted his neck to gaze at his superior.
" I am sorry, boss. I will do as you say."
His superior shook his head and walked away.
"What exactly do you want from me?" Leonard asked, irritated.
" Leo, I have been trying to make you understand who you really are. We have been looking for you for a while now," she looked around. " You're the most magnificent member of our secret group 'Dark Dragon'," her voice, a whisper as she spoke.
" You were injured during one of our operations and you lost your memory three years ago in a secret mission."
Leonard let out a chuckle and stared at the beautiful lady, wondering if she had gone mad or was just mistaking him for someone else.
"Ma'am, I would advise you to leave me alone so I won't risk losing my job. I am sure you are mistaken or just drunk."
The woman sighed deeply.
" I am telling the truth, Leo. I am not drunk and neither am I mistaken."
"Dark Dragon gave each member a special credit card, and as far I can remember, there's a lot of money in that card so why don't you just go and withdraw the money so you can have a good life instead of working in this place," she said, taking a look around the restaurant, seeing it too lowly for him.
" And also, you would know if I am telling you the truth or not."
Leonard rolled his eyes and continued cleaning, ignoring her.
The lady took her bag from the table and held his shoulder.
"Think about what I just told you, Leo. I am telling you the truth. Have a nice day," she said with a smile.
Taking one last glance at him, she said, " We will definitely meet again." With that, she walked out of the restaurant.
Leonard stared at her retracting figure through the transparent glass door and laughed mildly, continuing with his cleaning.
"Where's that good for nothing fellow?!" A woman cried out angrily, bursting in through the door.
Leonard and the others in the restaurant looked up at the outraged elderly woman.
"Mom?" Leonard called out, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
The woman stared at him scornfully and sneered, "I am not your mother, never was and I never will be."
Leonard sighed deeply.
" Take this! "
She handed a black file to him which he stared at curiously.
"What's that?" He asked, curious.
She gave him no reply. He collected it from her hesitating.
On opening it, it read: 'DIVORCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN MR LEONARD MARSHAL AND MRS TRISHA STONES'
He glanced up at her, shock written vividly over his face, his mouth wide open to say something but was stopped by her.
"Sign that quickly. And never come back to our house, here are your filthy clothes," she said, throwing a black bag at him. " My daughter would marry the rich guy who is after her and not be with some poor rat like you."
" But, you can't chase me away from the house I bought myself," he said, raising his brows.
She shook her head, chuckling.
" House? What house?," She asked. "That house doesn't belong to you but to my daughter as written on the property certificate, so you have no house to lay claims on, young man."
" Really? This is how you people decided to treat me after all I have done for you!" He said, irritation clearly in his voice.
Leonard was disappointed.
"Done for who? What have you done for us?" his mother-in-law scoffed.
" Where's Trisha? Did she agree to this?" He asked.
" Of course she did. Did you think she wasn't also willing to get rid of you?" His mother-in-law furrowed her brows.
" I don't believe you. You were against our marriage from the start. I need to see Trisha before I sign anything."
His mother-in-law laughed.
" You want to see Trisha? Trisha has no time for you," she told him, waving her palm in his face. "She's with another man, having fun. Someone who would give her a good life, not some peasant like you who can't even get himself a pair of shoes."
"Having fun with another man? " He frowned, clenching his fists,:"Well,if that’s what she wants"
He took a pen from his pockets and signed on the papers.
His mother-in-law had a vicious smile on her face and she took the divorce papers and went away without saying anything more to him.
Leonard looked on. He felt insulted, with the many eyes staring at him, he hoped for the ground to open and swallow him up.
Getting embarrassed like that as a man wasn't acceptable and it was all because he had no money.
He married Trisha because her father had saved his life but a few months after their wedding, he died.
Trisha and her mother had made life a living hell for him, turning him into their slave.
Leonard's mind flashed to his conversation with the strange lady about the card. He needed money to show folks that he wasn't as useless as they thought.
He plunged his hands into his pockets, searching for the card. He found it and stared at the black card, his name boldly written on it.
"If this card was truly with me all along then definitely she wasn't lying and there's only one way to find out."
Throwing the napkin in his hand on the floor, he walked out of the restaurant onto the busy street,headed to the closest bank.
It was time for him to find out the truth about himself and if that woman wasn't lying, then Trisha and her mother should be ready for his come-back!
The taxi stopped in front of City Bank. Leonard paid the driver his fare and alighted from the taxi. He sighed deeply and looked around. He felt a little awkward considering how oddly he was dressed— a plain, fading white shirt and a pair of gray pants. Shrugging off the feelings, he walked into the gates. Taking the card out of his pocket, he stared at it wondering what would happen if all the strange lady told him it was true. "Hey, watch where you're going!" Cried a woman he almost bumped into. " I'm sorry," he was saying, raising up his head from his card. Leonard's eyes widened with shock in their sockets. "Tri… Trisha. Trisha, what are you doing here?" The lady also couldn't hide her surprise as she opened her mouth to say something. "What do you mean by that, young man? It's a bank so she has every right to be here and not some peasant like you," A man said beside her, irritated. It was then Leonard caught sight of him holding his wife's hand like they were some sort o
Leonard looked around him, listening to the gasps, surprised faces and the new found respect on the eyes of the manager leading him on. He saw the shock on Trisha's face. He smiled slightly and shook his head. But, his mind whirled around one thought; What if this was just a dream? What if it wasn't real? Then, he might just wake up from it and laugh at the stupidity of it all. "Is this the man?" A cheerful female voice chimed happily, jolting him out of his thoughts. Leonard stared at the beautiful woman before him.She had a shapely figure, it was imp-thin, she was wasp waisted, clad up in a black suit. And her slender eyebrows shot up with delight. "Yes ma'am, this is the client," the manager replied, looking at Leonard with a smile. A wide smile crept up to her face. "I am delighted to meet you," she said, stretching forth her hand for a handshake. Leonard accepted her handshake, feeling her soft palm within his. "Come with me, let's see what we can do for you. This way,"
" You're also fired, John!" Came a loud, authoritative voice behind them. They all spun around to stare at a mean looking face, whose eyes filled with fury and anger stared straight at John, who gulped down nothing, looking astonished. "Me…Fired? Why sir?" John stuttered, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Your services are no longer needed here so I would advise you to leave to avoid getting kicked out forcefully." A smirk crept up on Leonard's lips. 'Now look who's going to stay on the streets,' he thought, his smirk widening. "Please sir, you can't do that to me!" He cried out loudly. "John, please leave," the manager said, gesturing towards the door. "Leave or I will send for the security." At the mention of security, John's eyes widened. He clasped his palms together and went on his knees. "Please sir!" "Security!" The manager yelled, ignoring his pleads. Two men walked into the restaurant and looked sternly at the manager with respect. "Throw this fool outside," h
"Can I give you the funds so that your son can begin treatment?" Leonard asked, raising his brows. Keith glanced at him surprised, " Leonard, you know what I like about you?" Leonard shook his head. Keith sighed and held his shoulder. " Your sense of humor and your helpful spirit. I appreciate your help my friend, I really do but we both know that you don't have such money and I wouldn't want to burden you with my own problems, you got yours to settle." Leonard smiled slightly at him. He felt the urge to tell Keith about everything, but it wasn't the right time to do so. His past...was too dark. The more he knew,the worse it was for him. "I think I have to leave now, can't afford to leave my kid alone in the house. Take care of yourself, buddy," Keith said, tapping him on his shoulders before walking away, buried in his thoughts. "I promise you Keith, as soon as I have everything sorted out, I will help you and your son." Leonard said to himself, with a sad smile on his face. H
Now that Cordelia was so proud of her job,then he'd be very like to show her who's the boss.Amanda smiled behind the phone. " Sure, Mr Leonard. That would just cost a very little part of your money." Leonard smiled brightly. "Good. Purchase it for me right now." " Yes,Mr Leonard. I will get the paperwork ready." Leonard dropped his phone into his pocket, he stared at the house once more with a smirk on his face and walked away. "I told you, you would regret it!" The game started now... The next morning. The ringing of a phone woke Leonard up with a start. Staring at the screen, it was Amanda. "Hello?" Came her soft voice over the phone. "Hi, Amanda, good morning." "Good morning Mr Leonard, the purchase of Miles Corporation PLC has been finalized, you are now the new boss." Leonard smiled darkly. " Good. I will be there soon." After leaving his hotel room, Leonard took a taxi and went directly to Miles Corporation. As the most high-end commercial office buil
Leonard gazed at them,exuding an icy aura."Our boss? That's hilarious!" Cordelia rolled her eyes scornfully. But somehow,she felt a familiar sense of fear. "Darling,be careful. He can be crazy!" She held Ronald's arm and stepped backwards. "Don't worry,babe. He's just a stinky cockroach.I can trample it to death without any effort." Ronald glanced at Leonard, raising his chin confidently. "Security! What are you doing there?Are you blind?! Kick him out!" "Yes,Mr Ronald!" The security guards surrounded Leonard immediately. Taking Cordelia's hand in his, Ronald left with her arrogantly. "Catch him!" The security guards shouted and moved closer to Leonard. "Stay away from me or you'll regret it later" Leonard warned, a dark expression on his face. "Stop barking,loser!" "You want us to take off your pants and throw you onto the street?" "What's going on here?" A stern voice sounded behind.A middle-aged man walked towards them "Good day, Mr President" the security guards all
Leonard began to remember fragments of his past. He was one of the third descendants of the great Marshall family. They are very wealthy family. He had joined the dark dragon at the age of 18. He was chosen by an old man, who led him to the dark dragon. Guided by a mysterious old man, he performed excellently well. He became the king of the dark dragon within only two years. People trembled whenever his name was called and prayed for death in his presence and he was very wealthy and powerful He was called 'The King' of the Dark Dragon. The dark dragon is an underground group that punishes the bad and protects the good. They were responsible for making those who used corrupt means for making money go bankrupt. They simply protect the interest of the poor masses but in secret. Several years ago, he and his team went on a mission where they were ambushed by some mysterious men causing life threatening injuries to Leonard and his team, his closest friend lost his life and one other
Entering into the hotel which was filled with rich and influential people, Leonard couldn't help but feel out of place. Though, in the past he usually attended more elaborate parties but in the last three years, he had gotten used to just small parties held by Trisha's family, which of course he wasn't even allowed to attend. "Leonard, let's go over there and sit. It's almost time for the party to begin," Amanda said cheerfully, oblivious of Leonard's nervousness. He nodded, following her lead. Different kinds of delicacies were laid out on the table. Leonard filled his plate and ate the food casually without proper etiquette. Meanwhile, Trisha and Martin walked in, exchanging pleasantries with the other guests. "Look over there, Trisha," Martin pointed at Leonard, who was eating his food causally. "So petty," Trisha sneered. "I knew he was just here for free food, he must have been starving. I really pity Miss Amanda, that nitwit is using her for his own benefit." At that mom