The next morning dawned bright and clear. After a restless night’s sleep filled with torments from rats and cockroaches of all shapes and sizes, Fiona rose as early as six AM to execute the next part of her plan.Her plan was to make Luke his best coffee before he left for work, just like a good wife or fiancée would.She wanted to prove to him that she was the only woman who deserved to run his empire by his side, one cup of coffee at a time.Fiona successfully bypassed the security guard at the first entrance of the building. However, just as she was about to go through the mansion’s main entrance, a voice came from behind her;“And where do you think you’re going, young lady?”Fiona froze in her tracks for all of two seconds. Finally, she took a deep breath to calm her frayed nerves, put on her best diva smile and turned to face whoever it was.Her smile disappeared immediately when the person turned out to be one of the guards.“And who do you think you are to ask me that question
“What’s wrong, Luke? What happened?” Nina asked, getting to her feet and patting him softly on the back just in case he’d choked on his coffee.Fiona tried to back out of the room without being seen but Luke shot her a dark, cold stare and she froze in her tracks.“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” He asked.“Uh… Um. I…” she stuttered.Nina and Lord George stared in confusion as Luke got to his feet and advanced in Fiona’s direction. His shoulders were stiff with tension and his eyes, all but glowing with rage.“Son, what happened? What’s wrong?” Lord George inquired.Luke remained mute until he was standing almost nose-to-nose with Fiona, pinning her in place with a death-worthy glare.“What happened to the coffee I ordered you to make, Fiona?” He asked in a low growl. When she continually remained silent, lowering her head to avoid his gaze, Luke snapped.“Speak!”Startled, Fiona jumped and a squeak of surprise fell from her lips.“I… I don’t know…”Luke grabbed her upper
Luke and Nina touched down Japan at exactly seven PM the next evening. They were immediately driven to the Fortress Hill Hotels, one of the best seven star hotels in the city.On their way, Luke watched, completely fascinated as Nina smiled and gasped at the view of the beautiful city. He couldn’t help it. She was simply the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. And to think that Fiona almost made her choke on bad coffee. “Oh my God, Luke!” Nina exclaimed, snapping him out of his bad thoughts. “Japan is so beautiful! Take a look at those cool lanterns.”Completely smitten by her infectious joy, Luke took her hand and smiled down at her. “Yeah. It’s a beautiful place. Very beautiful.”He was supposedly referring to the city but his entire attention was on Nina.The atmosphere in the car suddenly grew tense as Nina ducked her head shyly and tucked a strip of hair behind her ear.Seconds later, her entire frame trembled with delicious heat as Luke tipped her face upwards with his index
“I asked you a question.” Master Adachihara blew hot, giving Luke a disgusted up and down look. “Who even let you in here? What do you want?”Luke summoned courage and stepped forward.“Hello, sir. My name is Luke George. I’m from the Diamond Empire and I’m here to represent Lord George and possibly sign a deal for the development of a chain of hotels you both have spoken on.”The entire room was silent for a moment. Three seconds later, every single man in the room, aside Luke, burst into loud rounds of laughter. Luke and Nina looked on, completely appalled as the men struggled to get their mirth under control.A moment later, master Adachihara lifted a finger and they all fell silent.“I do not understand, sir. Did I say something funny?” Luke asked, stepping forward boldly.The master gave him an assessing glance before replying.“Did I give you permission to speak?”Luke’s eyes narrowed in confusion.“No. I did not realise…”“Then you will keep that mouth shut until I have given
This could NOT be happening. This honestly could not be happening.Luke saw Nina tense as she prepared to deliver another comeback and he knew he had to do something quick in order to salvage the situation.Before Nina could speak, Luke hurriedly grabbed her arm and pulled her back, setting her firmly behind him with a hard look which screamed at her to behave while he tried to fix the situation.“Master Adachihara, please call off the security. We can settle this amicably between us.”“And why would I do that?” The master grunted. “Your little plastic doll has already disrespected me enough. I do not owe you anything.”The master turned to leave but Luke was having none of it. Of course he took offence at Nina being called a plastic doll, but Luke understood that this business deal was pioneered by his grandfather. He had to get it done at any cost.“Sir, please.” He begged shamelessly. “I plead with you to reconsider, if not for our sakes but for the sake of the friendship you share
Luke stared at Master Adachihara, shock and disappointment warring for domination within him. But beneath all of those emotions was annoyance.“Master,” he tried to approach respectfully, “don’t you think it is rather unfair for you to just write off the deal without getting to know all of its advantages and the possible ways we could make profits from this?”The master shook his head.“No, Luke. I’m choosing to base my decision on what I’ve heard and seen already. The bitter truth is that if your hotel idea was good enough, I’d have chosen to invest the moment I saw the first slide.”Luke lowered his head in defeat, at a complete loss of what to do to salvage the situation. Finally, he looked up and deadpanned.“Are you doing this because my colleague disrespected you or because you have a strange aversion for young men?”Completely taken aback at his boldness, Master Adachihara’s eyes widened a fraction.“Are you trying to insinuate that I lack the intelligence to make decisions of
“Hey Luke, my boy. Nina! Welcome, welcome.”Luke and Nina smiled widely as Lord George beckoned to them from the VIP section of the club.“Hey, Grandpa. I see you’re enjoying the party.” Luke said when they were finally within hearing distance. Lord George gave him an affectionate pat on the back while he took Nina’s slender hands and kissed her on both cheeks.“You look a dream, my dear.” He complimented the blushing woman. “Very gorgeous.”“Thank you, grandpa.” Nina replied with a smile of gratitude.Lord George turned his attention to Luke.“You’ve really struck gold with this one, my boy. Hold on to her for as long as you can.”Nina lowered her head shyly as Luke’s intense, heated stare landed on her skin. He pulled her beside him and draped an arm around her.“Oh, I intend to, grandpa.” I’ll hold on to her for the rest of my life if I can, he thought to himself.“Sit diwn. Sit down, you two.” Luke and Nina took their seats and Lord George snapped his fingers — a gesture which im
Nina was nearly choking with anxiety as she and Hailey searched for Luke all around the club. They even went as far as searching outside and looking through every single car in the parking garage but one hour later, they still couldn’t find him.All their efforts were futile.“What are we supposed to do now?” Nina asked frantically, Luke’s phone snug in her grip.Hailey paused and thought for a moment.“Does the phone have any damages?” She asked, “like a cracked screen or…”Nina flicked a glance at the phone and her eyes widened in horror;“The screen is actually cracked.” Hailey chewed on her bottom lip.“I don’t wanna scare you or anything but from the cracked screen, there’s a high probability that he was kidnapped and had tried to fight off his assailants in the process.” Hailey’s words hit Nina like a blow to the guts. She staggered backwards, her heart beating a mile per second.“No….” She whispered. “It can’t be. It can’t.”Hailey wrapped her arms around Nina’s shoulder in a
One year later“…to end this broadcast, here’s a recap of the major stories.Former Mrs. Fiona George, ex wife to one of London’s most successful trillionaire businessman, Luke George, along with her mother, Mrs. Carmichael and ex-boyfriend, David Humsworth have all been sentenced to different years in prison. After a long year of legal battles, the court finally announced their sentence today, bringing months of crime and criminal conspiracy to an end…”A sense of satisfaction settled over Luke’s heart as he watched clips of Fiona, her mother and David being led into a police van, already handcuffed. Fiona was screaming and crying while David and Mrs. Carmichael lowered their heads to avoid being captured by the cameras.Beside Luke, Nina, his five months pregnant wife, snuggled deeper against his side, placing her small hands atop his chest.“It’s finally over.” She whispered, her gentle voice already soothing his soul. “It’s really over. Are you happy now?”Luke twisted to the si
For five long seconds, a thick blanket of silence reigned in the room. Lord George stared at Nina in shock, obviously unable to believe his ears. Lucas’ expression was filled with awe while Fiona and her mother looked like they’d just been forced to swallow a bowl full of fart.“Luke, she’s lying. This bitch is lying to you. I didn’t bribe the doctor. How could I do that when I didn’t even know the hospital until you took me there? How can I betray you like that?” She sniffed and hiccuped, looking every bit the victim.Mrs. Carmichael was enraged.“All you’ve done for the past few minutes is go around yapping that little mouth of yours and spewing lies.” She spat at Nina. “Where’s your evidence, huh? You’re claiming that my daughter bribed the doctor. Where’s your goddamn evidence, you shameless homewrecker?!”“If you’re looking for evidence, don’t ask her. Ask me.”Everyone turned towards the door, searching for the owner of the new voice.Mrs Carmichael’s face dampened with fear an
Luke’s heart thundered like a runaway train as Fiona came closer and closer, thrusting the baby towards him.When she was just a hair’s breadth away, Nina intercepted her, blocking her from reaching him.Fiona’s scowl deepened, her eyes already burning with rage.“What the heck do you think you’re doing, Nina? Get out of my way.” She snapped angrily.“And what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nina countered, folding her arms.Fiona raised her chin.“I was just about to introduce Luke to his son and heir before you rudely interrupted. As you know, my Cameron is a bonafide member of this family. You’re not. Therefore you have no right to be here. Why don’t you just give up on your plans to destroy my marriage, Nina? Can’t you see that you’re already failing?”Nina smirked.“Since we’re all here and you seem to have so much to say today, Fiona, why don’t we play a little game?”Luke stared at the back of Nina’s head with confusion. What was she doing?“In addition to being blind, ar
SIX MONTHS LATERPain. He was in so much pain.His arms, legs and back throbbed and burned. His head felt like a wailing banshee had taken up residence. He tried to open his eyes but his eyelids seemed to be glued shut.“His vitals seem okay but he’s no longer responding to treatment. I’m afraid his coma might become worse. His injuries are nothing like we’ve ever seen before.”He heard noises above him and tried to alert whoever it was to the fact that he was actually awake. He tried to blink or even move his finger, but his body refused to listen to his brain as usual.“I’m sorry but you and your family will have to consider taking him off life support. I don’t mean to be pessimistic but it doesn’t look like he’ll get any better than this.”His heart tightened with panic as he listened to the doctor go on and on about how he’ll never recover. Someone was crying in the room. He could hear the whimpers. Her whimpers.He struggled to stay awake for a moment longer but his brain was spi
THREE MONTHS LATERThe day was dark and gloomy. Rydling soldiers and Elders gathered around the glass casket, their faces pinched in tight frowns.“We’re gathered today to celebrate the one person who sacrificed his life to save all of us. We’re here to witness the end of the reign of our chosen one.” Elder Tomako said quietly.“We watched him fight a good fight. Now, it’s time to bid him farewell. We tried our possible best to bring him back, but I believe this is really the end of the road for our hero. Lower the casket.”The casket was lowered by four heavily built soldiers into the already dug earth. The moment it touched the ground, the death bells started ringing.The forlorn sounds of the bell were followed by flashes of lightning and the deep, rumbling sounds of thunder. That was the king of the Rydlings himself, saying goodbye to his chosen one. The Chosen One had fought a good fight. Now, it was time for him to rest eternally.
THE END OF HIS REIGN***Have you ever gotten the feeling that you’re about to die and no one can save you even if they tried?Have you ever looked death straight in the eyes?That was all that went through Luke’s mind as he stared at the red eyes of the demon-beast before him. His knees and heart quaked with fear and blood whooshed loudly in his ears.Luke knew he was powerless without his amulet. Even if he’d trained for physical combat, those skills wouldn’t be of any significant help against Malcolm.Malcolm took a step forward and Luke gulped in deeply.“I heard Rydling had chosen a weakling to save his people.” He growled, his voice dripping with disgust. “I thought my people were bluffing. But looking at you, I guess they weren’t.Which makes me wonder why my own brother would, out of the millions of experienced and well-trained soldiers at his disposal, choose a good-for-nothing scaredy-cat to lead a war against me.” Malcolm burst into loud, booming laughter. “I mean, what w
A month later…Something was coming. Luke could feel it.For the past month, his anxiety rate had tripled. During the day, he felt followed, stalked. At night, he felt watched.. He could barely sleep these days. His amulet glowed all night and he was pretty certain he’d heard whispers in the dark two nights ago. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. His guts burned with suspicion. There was something wrong somewhere.Something was coming. Something dark…and very, very ugly.****“Focus, Luke. Focus! Channel your amulet’s power. If you’re distracted, the enemy will definitely find an opening to strike.”Luke took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging nerves. Today’s training was on mobility. His ability to dodge the strikes of evil spells or possibly, gun shots from the enemy.“There’s an unwritten rule that guns are banned from all supernatural wars but Malcolm’s followers are evil. We should not underestimate their inclination to cheat.” Elder Tomako had said ea
FOUR MONTHS LATER“It's all about concentration, Luke.” Elder Tomako said for the umpteenth time. “Close your eyes and focus on the power within your amulet. Channel it. If you can do that, the amulet would do anything you want. Close your eyes and feel the magic. Command it.”Luke shot his eyes and focused. Gradually, he felt the familiar energy begin to build. His amulet glowed and throbbed against his chest, sending spurts after spurts of power through his entire frame.He chanted the power codes he was taught throughout his first month of training and the tips of his finger began to burn. “Ancient spirits please arise. Lend your power and your might. Victory over my enemies, I pray thee. Ancient spirits please arise!”Finally, the energy within him became so powerful, shards of dangerous light shot through his fingers and sliced all the targets in front of him, reducing them to puffs of dust.The room erupted into a flurry of explosions and the stench of smoke filled the air.Whe
“How did you kill him?” Luke asked as they both settled down on the Italian sofa.Lucas’ expression became guarded.“Well, turns out, grandpa isn't the only person Edoardo was indebted to. The bastard was involved with a lot of shady people. He gambled a lot and lost loads of cash in the process.Unfortunately, he borrowed money from an organisation that doesn’t believe debtors should walk around scot free.”A slight chill crawled up Luke’s spine at Lucas’ dark expression.“What organisation was that?”Lucas took a few seconds too long to reply and Luke instantly knew that Edoardo had fallen into deep, deep shit before his death.“Edoardo borrowed money from the Russian crime syndicate. The Bratva.”Luke froze as shock shot through his entire system. “D-did you just say…?”Lucas nodded.“Yes. Unfortunately for him, he borrowed half a million dollars from them and couldn’t pay back after a period of six months like he’d promised.”Luke's heart thumped wildly as he asked;“How did they