"Hi, how can I help you?" The middle aged man stared at Claire as though she had just fallen from the sky. Claire's mouth felt as though it had lost its function to speak. "Uhm, hi. My name is Claire and I recently got married to your boss, Bruce." She ended the sentence with a tone of question. He was meant to recognize her as Bruce's bride. Did he not inform the entire staff about her or was the cellar outside the jurisdiction."You know Bruce, don't you?" She asked again, to be clear. He smiled a shy smile and stood to his feet."Of course, he is a good boss to me. What would the young master need?" He asked her like he did not look ready to burn through her body with his eyes. She wondered if he was mentally stable."The young master needs your best bottle of wine. It is that kind of night, do you get me?" She smiled at the man as though he knew what kind of night it was. He gave her a small smile in return and went into hidden corner in the cellar. She was left there wondering wh
Bruce sat with Claire and took the bottle of wine from her hand. He took a long swig and gave the bottle back to Claire. Claire whistled and drank from the bottle too."That did not seem so bad, did it?" Claire asked him but he did not reply her. He sank into the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long while. Claire wondered what was going through his mind. She knew if she wanted him to open up to her, then she had to say something."This Beijing trip is one of the best things to happen to me and my mother. You might not know this but she has had this fantasy of wanting to travel out for a long time. When I saw her in the hospital with all the wires connected to her system, she could barely open her eyes, I wondered how I could make her better. I prayed and wished she would get better, so that I could give her the life she had prayed everyday for. I know, you have reasons not to trust me but to be very honest, I am grateful for all of this. Even if my mother will not show it, she is t
Hugh Steele stared at the information the man before him had brought to him. He had hired a spy to follow up with Bruce's activities and he had discovered that Bruce had moved on. Bruce had taken another bride not too long after jilting his daughter. He could not take that manner of insult. He had wanted to know how he was faring at first… but hearing he had married his employee on a whim angered him and he wanted to avenge his daughter."Where are they now?" Steele asked the man who had refused to take off his black hat. It was hard to get someone able to spy on Bruce Ace so Hugh did not care about how the man wanted to appear before him as long as he did his work right. The man stroked his jaw and took the seat he was offered when he first came in."They paid for three buisness class tickets to Beijing. They leave in two days." Steele nodded. He dropped the rest of the files on the table and was about to leave Hugh Steele's office. "Well, that is good information. Do you know anyon
119"Do you always curse for no reason?" Bruce asked Claire. She sucked her teeth."Do you call people living in your house on the phone? What do you need me to do, sir? Pick up your car keys from the table right next to where you are sitted?" Claire asked with rich sarcasm."Your sense of imagination is excellent, to be honest. Come to the reading room and get your tickets." He said this and realized that he was anticipating the look on her face when he handed her the tickets."OMG. I am on my way." Claire sounded excited. She hurried out of he room and stood at the hall for a while when she realized that she had no idea where the reading room was."Hey hey." She called out to the maids around but they scurried away from her once she called. She began to think. Was this one of Bruce's plots? Frustrate her for the tickets. He was good at frustrating her she had to give it to him.If no one would show her where the reading room was, then she would find it out herself. She went through
"Maria, right?" He said as he stood up from his seat, offering a hand to her. She took it and although her hand was small, her grip was firm. She was a tough one, even if she appeared small."Yes. Maria." She stared at him as though she was trying to assess him too."It is a good thing you came now. I am going to leave for a trip tomorrow. Please, sit." He gestured at the chair opposite his. She took the seat and breathed deeply."You are acting nervous." He blurted. He almost wanted slap his face with his palm. She looked genuinely confused now."I mean you do not seem nervous but you seem like you should be nervous. You really do not have to be." He tried to assure her. She smiled and then she became really nervous. She scratched at her palms repeatedly and Bruce sighed. She had been told that Bruce was extremely wealthy but she had no idea he was intelligent. It had surprised when he caught her in her act. She was supposed to be the extremely nervous, timid girl but that was not h
Maria fixed her gaze to the floor. Now, he wanted to know what she needed saving from. She recollected herself and took a deep breath."Uhm, I did not mean to say that." She said. Bruce knew the truth when it was slightly revealed."What then did you mean about saving, Maria?" He asked the girl standing before him. Her eyes darted over the patterns on the floor. She was beginning to formulate a lie. Bruce could see it. He believed that the best told lies had half truths within it. He just needed to find out what were lies and truths. "I did not mean anything by it. My brother had accused me of going wayward ever since they found me at Tiny's smoking a joint. He wanted to straighten me out, save me from myself." Maria said this and lifted her gaze to meet Bruce's. She wanted him to see the faux confidence in her eyes. Half truths well worn with confidence could pass for whole truths.She had not lied about her brother finding her at Tiny's. But, it was not a surprise to him that she
122There was a ceiling to floor mirror in the room and a walk in closet. Luxury clothes hung on the wall and the serving uniforms hung next to the clothes. She almost squealed and remembered that she had worn her brother's clothes for the longest time and he probably had no idea about it. He had been stuck in outfits for long periods. His Blink 2.0 t-shirt reeked of whiskey and weed and it had been on him for days. That was probably the only shirt she had refused to wear. No matter how hard she tried to wash off the smell, it never went away. "Is this how the rest of the rooms are?" She asked in disbelief. Lee smiled and nodded. He stepped in and shut the door after him."Yes, all the rooms are fully furnished with state-of-the-art decor. What did you expect? Prison walls and bare ventilation?" Lee asked."Uhm, I did not really say that…" Maria felt like a deer caught in headlights. She did not want to look like she had made presumptions about who she thought Bruce was. She had bee
Maria settled into the room. She took off her clothes that were three times her size but looked trendy because baggy was the new normal. She walked into the bathroom. There was a bathtub, a massive shower stand and jars filled with different oils. There was a body wash, face wash and different body scrubs. It looked like a woman's heaven. She took off her clothes and turned on the tap on the tub. She had no idea what to pour into the tub, so she stepped in when it got filled. It felt so calming, she released a sigh of relief. Her shoulders sagged into the water and she had the strongest urge to go under the water. She went under and came back up when she had to catch her breath. She laid her head on the edge of the tub and took deep breaths. She knew Mr Steele would be calling soon for updates on what was happening. What could she say? The young master is not the devil you say he is? Steele had sent her here for a reason and she wished she knew why.She stepped out of the tub and step
"My Dad? How is that possible? How did he know that I was here?" Jade looked at Bruce, wondering if he had a hand in what was going on. "Did you know he was coming?" She asked Bruce and he shook his head. "Bring him in," Bruce ordered. "Yes, sir." The butler left and he had no time, she returned with J. J. Fulton. Jade gasped when she saw her father. His clothes were faded. His hair and beard were unkempt. He had lost a great deal of weight too. She wondered what was wrong. He had enough money to take care of himself even without working. He could only lack money if he lost everything in a gamble and she knew that her father would never do such. Jade actually expected more from her father. Sure expected him to multiply the money he had. Or, was he this way because he missed her? Jade wondered. "I'm sorry for how I treated you, Jade." He turned to Bruce and placed his palms together. "Please forgive me for having a hand in your parents' death. I don't deserve your forgiveness, bu
"She'll be there all her life?" Jade's mouth hung open as Bruce and Archibald broke the news to her. She was packing to leave for Beijing and hence had little time to be at Claire's trial.It's been weeks since Claire got arrested. She was sentenced to stay imprisoned for life."I think she deserves it," Jade added and Bruce nodded in agreement."She threatened to throw her child off a tall building. Of course, she deserves something worse than a life imprisonment," Bruce said."And her mom?""She's going back to her hometown. I gave her some money to take good care of herself. She has her flaws but Claire's mother does not deserve the pain her daughter caused her.""Jade, tell me you're not still thinking of going back to Beijing," Mr. Archibald chipped in. "I thought both of you got married."Jade and Bruce exchanged looks. Mr. Archibald was right. They were once married and have never had a divorce."You can go back first. I'd prepare the divorce papers," Bruce said and Jade nodded
"Sir Archibald-" Bruce's voice trailed off. He was short of words."What is it now? Don't tell me you're not happy to see me."Bruce looked at Jade and then at Mr. Archibald and smiled. "Of course not. I'm very happy to see you."Bruce got out of the chair, rushed to Mr. Archibald, and gave him a hug. "I was scared that I would never get to see you again.""You were scared and you did not bother to call me.""You told me not to. That you wouldn't answer even if I did. I'm sorry."Mr. Archibald smiled. "You're like a son to me. I will always answer whenever you call."Bruce pulled away from the hug and smiled. "I was so dumb not to have realized that much earlier.""And I should not have tried to force you to marry Tricia." He turned to Jade and smiled. "I should have forced you to find Have instead."Jade smiled nervously. "We don't intend to get back together. I'm leaving immediately my work here is done and that is to make sure Bruce gets his properties from Claire.""And, how does
Jade stopped before a hotel."This is where I stay.""Why stay in a hotel when you have a family house?""It's sold.""No, it isn't. I bought it back.""You did?" Jade's face brightened, then it became dull. "Claire now owns all your properties, so it's hers now.""I bought it in your name," Bruce said dryly and got out of the car.Jade beamed. "Thank you."She was here because she wanted to give him his money, but knowing that Bruce still cared made her happy."Then we should go there, instead of staying in the hotel. I'll quickly go to my room and get a few of my things."Bruce got back into the car and Jade got out.She walked into the hotel. After about ten minutes, she came out with a traveling bag and dropped it in her boot.Jade handed out a debit card to Bruce immediately after she got into the car. "It has your five hundred million."Bruce took it from her and mumbled a thank you."What about Mr. Archibald?" Jade asked, breaking the silence that lingered between them as she d
Bruce's eyes flung open. His breathing was back to normal and his heart stopped beating fast. He felt everywhere was brighter too. He guessed right. The door was opened and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion immediately he saw who opened it. "Jade?" "Bruce." She ran to him to check if he was alright, but when she touched him, Bruce slapped her hands away from his body. "What are you doing here?" "If I had not reached here on time, you would have died." "That's what you want, isn't it?" Bruce scoffed. Jade shook her head. "If I wanted that, I would not have risked my life to save you." "Risk your life? I know you're on Claire's side. Stop the pretense. I know you somehow found out that I had a mp3 player that could land Claire in trouble. You told her about it and like you wanted, she was not absent. As a result, the case was dismissed. " "That's not true," Jade said, defending herself. "I was the one who took the audio recording. I asked the old man to give you
"He is your son too. Are you seriously going to kill your son?" Bruce could not believe his ears.Claire scoffed. "He is your son. Not mine. According to the contract I signed, you did not need a mother for your son. You only wanted an heir. You planned on paying me off so I could leave the child I would give birth to with you.""He is your blood. Don't tell me you're this heartless.""You know what poverty is like. You know what being powerless is like and what being powerful is like. So you should understand when I say that I want power and money. I want to teach those who have ever looked down on me a lesson. I want to be able to get what I want whenever I want. I want people to look at me with respect. I want the kind of money you have without being at your mercy.""Claire, don't I give you what you want whenever you ask?""You can wake up one day and decide you don't want our marriage again. What should I do then? I refuse to be at the mercy of a man. I want to have your money. I
It's been two months since Bruce saw Claire. She was nowhere to be found. He involved the police, and his men and searched for her himself but he still could not find her.Finding Claire was the only exciting thing that had happened in the space of two months. He worked from 7 am till 9 pm, then from work, he would go to the bar.Once in a while, his eyes scan the bar for Jade. The night before his first trial was the last night he saw Jade. He never saw Jade again after that day.Bruce looked around his office. The furniture was sleek and modern. The floor-to-ceiling windows gave the office a good view. He placed his hands on the mahogany desk, his eyes on his phone.His phone rang and he picked up the call immediately."Have you found them?""Ava still lives in this city but Naomi has relocated," the caller said and Bruce Ace nodded."Text me Ava's address."The last time he saw them was the day Claire ditched him on their wedding day. He smirked, remembering how they had looked do
Bruce Ace sat on the wooden bench. His eyes moved around searching for any trace of Claire. The courtroom was filled to its brim. The judge was visibly annoyed at everything that was happening.Murmurs filled the air.It's been an hour since the trial should begin but Claire, the plaintiff, was absent.The judge finally raised his court to talk. "The plaintiff seems to be nowhere to be found. In this light, the case is therefore dismissed."Bruce Ace frowned.He was ready for her.He has something to prove his innocence. Something to show that Claire was the guilty one here.Bruce was fixed to his seat. Refusing to get up. If this was the case, everybody would think that he had paid her off to shut her up.They will think he was the cause of her absence. Not like he cared what they thought of him but he wanted to shut her up the lawfully way.He wanted everyone to get a glimpse of what he had to go through because of women.Bruce finally left his seat and headed for the exit. His body
"Claire?"Claire raised her head from her food to see who was calling her. Her eyes flew open."Jade."She frowned."Oh my! How have you been?" Jade asked, joining her at the table. "Where have you been?"Claire raised an eyebrow, wondering if Jade had no idea of the ongoing case between her and Bruce. The news was everywhere. How would she not know?"Are you talking to me?"Jade smiled. "I know we don't have a good past. The issue with my brother and Bruce and stuff like that, but now these people are no longer in our lives, so I think we should be nicer to each other now.""Have you not seen Bruce?""I've seen him." Jade's face fell. "I saw him in a bar yesterday. He only talked to me when he did not know who I was. When he did, he yelled at me and left. He was telling me something about his wife trying to kill him to get his property and that she had sued him for beating her up which is not true. Do you know how he has been?""You don't know who I am?" Claire asked, just to confirm