Chapter 13Still having her head bent to the ground, Naya remained mute as she sucked her teeth. Her eyes which were fixed on the pictures were burning with hot tears which she was determined not to let roll down her cheeks. Her tears were borne out of the anger that was welling inside of her. The more she looked at the pictures, the angrier she became. “What has gotten over you, answer the damn question.” Nathan snapped as he made his way towards her but he was stopped by his father. Almost immediately, Naya, raised her head, she was still on her knees but her voice was firm. “I deserve some privacy. I can’t go about telling everyone what is going on in my life.” Shifting her gaze to Sam, she gripped one of the pictures with both hands and then ripped it apart, “I bet it's high time you mind your fucking business. Who I meet, where I go to, is none of your business.” Her voice was loud and firm. After this, it took a while before the interrogation resumed again and a resilience
Chapter 14After his words, Liam maintained a stoic expression, staring back at Nathan and Sam who were making fun of him earlier. This time around, the duo couldn't say anything, instead, they just sat there, their lips glued. Meanwhile, Naya was surprised with Liam’s outburst. She was not expecting him to say a word but he did and surprisingly, neither her cousin nor any member of her family could counter it. Deep down, she was brimming with joy but was careful not to show it so as not to further escalate the issue at hand. Staring at Liam, Sam’s father folded his hands around his chest and then took a step backwards to have a proper view of Liam's face. “I asked a question and I deserve a response.” Liam snapped, breaking the silence in the room. This time around, Naya was quick to get to his side. She grabbed his hand and with an apologetic look on her face, she said, “Can you just calm down a little?” “Are you being serious here?” Liam whispered back and immediately, he flu
Chapter 15 At his words, all eyes were fixed on him. It was as if he had committed a heinous crime after being portrayed as innocent. Gulping, Liam tried to speak but he couldn't move his tongue, Naya on the other hand was sweating profusely as she rubbed her sweaty palms against her dress. Her intention was to wriggle out from what was to come only for her to fall into a pit which was deeper than the former. “Why marriage?” Grandmother asked, she was taken aback by the sudden suggestion. “Weren't they dating? Marriage will help to consummate their union and make it official.” he replied with a shrug, fueling her anger. “I disagree, I'm not going to sit back and watch Naya get married to someone who has no future. Are you out of your senses, why would you give such a vile suggestion?” She yelled, hitting her palm against the leather chair. “Calm down, it's just a suggestion. I didn't impose it on them.” He mused. “Moreover, it seems the both of them are inseparable. Instead of
Chapter 16“Registry?” Liam repeated, trying to wrap his head around the sudden development. His face was knitted with a deep frown. Why the suddenness? This and many other related questions spiralled through his head all at once. While everyone was exchanging glances among themselves, Naya's grandmother was reclining against her seat with her fists clenched. If not for the video Sam had shown her earlier, she wouldn't have allowed Naya to get married to a low life, a term she used in describing Liam. “Grandmother, don't you think you are overreacting here?” Sam asked with a frown on his face. He tossed the iPad he was gripping aside and then walked up to her. Holding her hands in his, he said, “Please take it easy and review your decision. Handing Naya over to him is going to put a dent on the family's name. Not only that, tongues will start wagging and Naya is definitely going to suffer.” “You think I'm pleased with this, huh? You think I would ordinarily hand Naya to a worthl
Chapter 17Immediately Liam and Naya stepped out of the living room, Liam flung her hand off his and then stomped outside while Naya ran after him. When they got to the car, he was about to start throwing fits when she pushed him in, got in too and then banged the door shut. “Are you out of your mind?” Liam yelled at her. He was livid and embarrassed at the same time. Even though he had nothing to offer, this was the first time he was being treated with multiple disrespect. “Please calm down.” Naya said, trying to hold his hand but he flung it away, still seething with anger. “How do you expect me to calm down? Your family practically downgraded me back there and you are telling me to calm down… oh, I see… you were busy enjoying the show right?” Hitting his palms together, he yelled, “You brought me here to make fun of me, right?” “That's not the issue here, please calm down and listen to me.” She pleaded with a tiny voice hoping it would placate him but he was just too angry to
Chapter 18Stunned by her sudden action, Liam turned slowly with his lips slightly parted. Tugging his hair, he titled his head to the side, frustration rushing through his vein. “I know I’m not worthy to be aligned with you but please, help me this once. If you don't, it will be over for me, please.” She cried, rubbing her palms together. This time around, she didn't restrict the tears that had been threatening to roll down her eyes since the ordeal began. “Please get up, this is not you.” Liam said with a little emotion. From her appearance and the way she had tackled her family back there, he knew she was a proud person and was surprised that she fell on her knees to solicit for his help. “Are you going to help me? If you aren't, I'm not leaving yet.” Wiping her face with the back of her palm, she continued, “If you leave me now, things are going to be more messy, please don't.” Liam, who had already planned out how the rest of the day was going to be, began to pace around a l
Chapter 19Stunned, Naya couldn't help but stare at him as she blinked her eyes rapidly. She thought she was dreaming so she bit her lips as she pinched herself with all her might. “Ugh! That hurts.” She muttered, staring back at him with her eyes widened in shock. “Why are you being so dramatic? It's just a proposal.” Liam scoffed. Chuckling lightly, she began to comb through her hair again with her fingers. She always does this whenever she wants to make a crucial decision that requires careful thinking. After a few minutes of silence, she raised her head in his direction and with a sceptical look on her face, she said, “Are you sure of what you are saying? Can you operate a laptop?” She asked, peering at him. Though Liam was not pleased with the way she was speaking to him, he shoved it off and then placed his hands on his hips. For a moment, the atmosphere between them was thick with tension. While Naya was praying he didn't change his mind, Liam was trying desperately to sw
Chapter 20 Blinking his eyes rapidly, Liam turned towards her direction while Naya looked away, making his blood boil. “What are you driving at?” He managed to ask after several minutes of silence. “You said… ugh! Are you for real? You are driving me crazy here.” Shutting his laptop, he set it aside and then buried his head in his palm. Trying to wrap his head around the turnout of event, he was banging his head against the leather seat with his hands balled into a fist. “When are all these going to end? I’m going insane already.” He muttered tugging his hair. As for Naya, she wanted to explain what they had watched jointly but she couldn't find her tongue to do so. She felt it was going to make him angrier. “Aren't you going to explain yourself?” He yelled at her. “I will.” Her response came. Rubbing her sweaty palm against her dress, she proceeded to push her hair away from her face. As if on a cue, just as she was about to start speaking, her phone began to ring. Reaching o
Six months later… The county had returned to normalcy after a thorough reform was put in place. To honor those that had made it happen, a mass meeting was organized where all members of the country were invited to be a witness to. Tyler Greene, the newly appointed President, was present in the mass meeting, being an icon in the revamped version of the country. His face was brightly marked with excitement, as he left the smile on his face and was distributing it to the citizens, who were seeing him. They had come in their masses as they wanted to witness the occasion first hand."First, I'll formally announce the reason for his honorable, reasonable and democratic meeting." Tyler started, his voice cool at first, accompanied with the sound of his laughter. "We all know about the change in the course of events in this country and those who made it happen.." Tyler spoke with clear gladness and couldn't hide it. Tyler's vice was beside him, holding a thick colored banner in his han
Daniel's voice was loud, as he kept making gestures with his hands. He was seated with his friends, conversing with them about the current news that spread around the country. Suddenly, someone rushed into their midst and exclaimed, "I heard another news…" "What's that, boy?" Daniel said, his voice breaking confidently, as if he would not be shaken by Liam's dealings. "Tell me, what's the news?" "The deal you made…" the boy started, but as soon as Daniel realized it was about a deal, he took the boy to a side to continue their talk in whispers. "The deal you strongly made and stamped with Karl had been released and broadly spread!" "What deal?" Daniel questioned him out of shock, and was rubbing his face until he stopped, as asked the boy again, "I don't get you. What deal?" "The chip infusion." The boy replied, his voice lighter as soon as he sensed anger in Daniel's voice."What!" Daniel reacted, as he nearly collapsed. "You know what? Just run away!" "To where?" The boy ask
Alaric had gone back to the operating room, and was still in bed. Fortunately, the surgeon realized he was all right. Alaric was totally healed, but he happened to have lost his memory. His constant surrender to Karl was all robotic. He was later brought from the operation room to a ward, on instruction that he needed to rest. "Hello?" A surgeon asked him. "What do you feel now?" "Feel what?" Alaric returned, his voice clear but light. "What do you mean?" "Oh, I know you're just coming back to normalcy…" the surgeon said, turning to his colleagues. "Do you think he is totally okay?" "Yeah," another surgeon responded, walking up to Alaric to check on him. "I think we should seek the attention of the senior surgeon, so he can see him." "Is that necessary?" The first surgeon questioned in return, holding her lips as she smiled. "Well, you can. At least, he is all right." Soon, the senior surgeon was around. He turned to the first surgeon and whispered to her ears, "I hope no chi
Kaylan didn't perform less than she was asked to do. She had spread the news of Rodriguez's illegal dealings vastly. Liam had ordered the release of the article which contained almost everything about Rodriguez and Karl. Rodriguez had felt comfortable with Karl's soothing words, continuing his illegal business with Karl became easy for him that he had no remorse, and even hid his fears about any form of leakage. "How far have you gone with the task I gave you?" Liam asked Kaylan, his voice deep but clear, an expression of his excitement. "In what state could the biotech company be, right now?" He mused. "I've forwarded the news to my team." Kaylan replied, returning a clearer tone in her own voice. "It will reach the masses easily that way…""I'll prove to Karl that I can thwart his schemes and nullify all his tricks." Liam chuckled, his voice making him sound like a villain and threatening Karl's attitude as though he was present. "Exactly, Liam." Kaylan responded in agreement.
To spice up their plans, Liam had mailed a flashdrive to Rodriguez. The flash drive contained all the information they had gathered about him and Karl. Rodriguez made up his mind not to return the flash drive as he had a conclusion that something important was attached to it and so he was curious to find out the content. With that he made his way back to his office and as the Chief Justice he sat behind his imposing mahogany desk in the room.His eyes were fixed on the small, sleek flash drive that had been tossed on the table. The audacity of Liam to think of doing this hit him but he smiled while the question popped in his mind.Who did he think he was, trying to blackmail him?What was on his mind?Curiosity getting the better of him, Rodriguez inserted the drive into his computer and waited as the files began to load. Suddenly, the screen flickered to life, revealing an array of documents and recordings. Rodriguez's eyes widened on seeing the images which had himself includ
Madam Aurelia began walking in circles inside the living room as thoughts of what they were going to do next consumed her thoughts. She was still recovering from what she had seen in the file that Dave had brought, and the evidence was sickening. There was no doubt as to whether Karl and Rodriguez were crooks, and should they manage to expose them, it would definitely influence the outcome in their favor.Liam walked into the room, “Did you manage to find anything good among the papers?” He inquired, looking eager and hopeful.“Yes.” Madam Aurelia replied, gripping the folder firmly. “There are records of money movement as well as transactions which are quite illicit. If we conduct this campaign in the proper manner and present the right audiences with this evidence, the extent of Karl and Rodriguez’s dealings… It would be interesting corruption news that will come to light.”“Then we have no time to waste.” Liam affirmed in his stern tone. “Whatever this information gives us, they
Liam stepped out of Tyler Greene’s office with a heavy heart, blaming himself for keeping his expectations high. He had wanted a better answer than that. However, Tyler’s indecision was a cause for concern. Time was running fast and voices of opposition against Karl were still weak. During the drive home, Liam found himself troubled. Would Tyler really lend his support for the cause? Or was he simply yet another hindrance in their efforts? He needed to collect his mind and think of a way out but he was too worried to even think properly. Instead of heading to him, Liam headed to the hotel to meet with Madam Aurelia who sat in the living room in the living room on his arrival. Her face was solemn, though she appeared to be happy with his arrival. “How did the meeting with Tyler go?” she asked, concern evident in her tones.“It didn’t go as well as I hoped.” Liam admitted, ruffling his hair. “He is not willing to take any actions against Karl, and I am afraid he has no nerves f
Liam stood still only to start pacing about because he was restless. He began to plan what step to take after Alaric's revelation. He was desperate to put an end to Daniel and Karl but he didn’t know how to go about it. He felt like an ill-fated knight who had lost everything; the very thought of Harrison now felt as if it was a heavy stone placed over him.Madam Aurelia was seated on the table sorting some papers. “We need to strategize on how best we are going to eliminate Karl.” Her tone was firm although not loud. “It is not enough to just wait and see what he intends to do next.” She added, casting him a glance. “Of course I understand,” Liam answered and twirls his hair with his fingers. “But what can we do? There is too much influence and too many people surrounding him.”At this point, Giovanni dashed into the living room, his eyes darkened as he looked around, “Liam!” he shouted – gasping for air. “Daniel and Karl are up to something. We must hurry before it is too late.”
Alaric felt dejected in that small dingy room as he was at a stand still. He found himself strapped to a chair with metal rings cutting deep into his wrists. On the other side of the room, Xavier was strutting around confident with a sneer on his face. “Look at you now, Alaric ” Xavier said as he put his hands on his hips and laughed. “Formerly you had stature, nowadays you are just a flat back guy. What do you think about it?”Alaric turned his gaze toward him, internal rage reflected on his face. “You think this is a joke? You’re a mere puppet in Karl’s shadow. You will realize that one day.”Xavier let out another laugh. “Karl is top management. You would have done better staying with him. Instead, you went soft and turned the other way, and now look what this has led you to.”“Break all the connections with Karl.” Alaric spoke in a strained tone. “He’ll drain you dry. You will end up exactly like me.”Xavier shook his head but his grin had gone away. “You do not get it. This is