AS AUGUST and his roommates started cleaning the bathroom on the second floor after eating lunch, the entire city was busy because of a seminar being televised on different channels.It was an ordinary seminar— speakers would tell the audience about their experiences and such. However, the difference was that the speakers were influential and powerful, and one of them was Bruce Sandoval.The reporters were scattered around the coliseum where the event takes place. They were waiting for Bruce to arrive. Bruce and the whole Sandoval family became the hottest topic in the country as the Sandoval family drastically arised from Top 50 to Top 30 in just three months.Other than that, Bruce recently got an award for his continuous donations to charities, and for being one of the best entrepreneurs for this month. It was also the reason why the organizers for the employee seminar invited Bruce as a guest speaker.“I look damn fine.” Bruce cackled as he complimented himself.He was sitting in
“HEY,” a deep, dark voice greeted Samantha. She turned around to see who it was, only to see that it was Francis Wellington, who looked stunning in his gray and black suit. Samantha wasn’t able to speak for a second as she was mesmerized by the person in front of her.On the other hand, Daphne crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. She thought that Francis was trying to gain everyone’s attention, including her. Francis noticed what Daphne did, and he couldn’t help but feel amused.As he expected Daphne’s reaction to be the same as Samantha, it didn’t happen. He just shook his head before turning his head to Samantha again.“The event is about to start. Would you mind sitting down?” asked Francis, showing his pretentious smile.“N-No,” Samantha answered. She even stammered as she shook her head. “Not at all.”Samantha went back on her seat before she glanced at Daphne, who still looked unbothered even though Francis was in front of them.‘This bitch… You’re just lucky today!’ said Sama
SIX months later at the Blackbell prison…“Pass it here! Pass it here!” Sergio shouted to Hector, one of their teammates as they played basketball.Hector was dribbling the ball as he roamed his gaze around the area. With a 109-111 score, the match was too intense for both groups. Hector can hear how Sergio repeatedly cursed him as Sergio wanted to take the ball so he could shoot it, but Hector knew better.Sergio’s main strength isn’t shooting— but defense. And he couldn’t take the risk.Whoever wins this last match in basketball will have a prize— they will not work for tomorrow at any task. The losing team will take care of those tasks for them, and that reward and punishment were approved by the warden.Hector looked at his side again, and a great idea popped into his mind as he saw August looking at him intently. August nodded twice subtly. He was uncertain whether Hector was going to pass the ball on him, but he prepared himself just in case.Luckily, he did.Because Hector didn
THE police officer's words shocked August, causing him to frown. He stared at the officer with confusion, but he didn't explain further. Instead, he moved his hands, calling August to walk beside him.'Why is he calling me?' asked August at the back of his mind. He bit his lower lip, anxious that he might have done something wrong.August couldn't afford to mess up, especially not this time! He planned to survive and escape from this place. As he nodded subtly while walking in front, he just hoped that everything would be alright.His heartbeat drastically increased as he stopped beside the police officer, and in front of everyone. Like him, he could also see the confusion in his co- prisoner's eyes. It was proof that his speculation earlier that this thing happens rarely was true.Still, he wondered what the commotion was all about.The police officer placed his hand on August’s arm, causing him to raise a brow. “This is sudden, but the warden wanted to announce this instant.”The se
AMADEUS pinned August on the wall in one swift. His lower body prevented August from moving, his left hand was on the side of his head, while his other hand was on his neck, choking him.“I killed him,” Amadeus muttered in an authoritative tone. He gritted his teeth, containing his anger. “Why would you open that topic in front of me, huh? Do you have a death wish?”As Amadeus asked that question, his hand gave more force onto his neck. It made August feel hard to breathe, but he didn’t even budge. He trusted that Amadeus wouldn’t kill him, although his eyes said otherwise.Still, August didn’t feel any kind of fear in his heart.“I’m just curious…” August gasped for air before smirking. “Why would
THE collision between the two cars made a huge impact. Amadeus found his car spinning twice before he hit one of the trees, which protected his car from sliding down.“Ugh!” Amadeus groaned when his body hit the car door.It made him dizzy in an instant, but he still found the energy to get out of his car, although he was trembling. The coldness of the rain and the blood flowing out of his head made him shiver.Amadeus needed to check whether the other driver was still alive or not. Like his car, the other car wasn’t in good condition, either. It was damaged, and his body trembled while looking at the car.He slowly walked towards the driver’s seat and tried to open the car door, but it was locked. It seemed like something inside was prevent
“WE'LL take this,” Bruce told the saleslady as he pointed at the limited edition bag Samantha told him that she wanted. “Wrap it nicely, okay?”“Yes, sir.” The saleslady nodded before she went to the wrapping station and gave the bag to one of their employees.They were in the same store where August humiliated him before. By doing this, also buying a limited edition bag for Samantha, he could feel like he had given back what August did to him before.‘You'll never be able to embarrass me in front of everyone again, Fordman,’ said Bruce as he showed a cocky smile. ‘Because I took everything already from you.’“I know I have said this countless times already, but this is so nice…” Samantha muttered while roaming her eyes at the store. “This is the life we deserve.”“And we could still get more,” Bruce muttered as his hands landed on Samantha's cheek. “I promise you. After our wedding, we'll be in the top ten highest-ranking families in town.”Bruce leaned onto Samantha to kiss her, but
SILENCE filled the whole place as confusion became evident on the prisoners' faces. They nodded, even though their minds were muffled.The man in front of them was Francis Wellington, and of course, everyone knew him. That was why they couldn't believe that such a wealthy man like Francis would do volunteer work at Blackbell prison.“It's been my first time in the Blackbell prison,” Francis informed them in a serious tone.He got everyone's silence in response.Despite it being his first time, Francis smiled confidently. “I hope everything will go smoothly while I'm here.”This time, he ran his fingers through his hair, intimidating everyone with his presence.After his introduction, the prison guard explained what the event would be all about. Aside from the general check-up, there would be a medical treatment, and the giving of vitaminsAs the prison guard spoke for a long time, Francis, on the other hand, never left his gaze on August. August did the same way, not planning to cut t
TWO YEARS LATER…The waves on the water splash on the yacht where August was standing right now. Both his hands were holding onto the rail as his gaze fixated on the sunset in front of him. It was beautiful, ethereal, and breathtaking… Just like the woman who was walking toward him.“August,” Daphne called her as she gave her husband a fruit shake. “You’ve been there for an hour already. Would you want to spend this day with fish than me?” she asked, pretending to be pissed as her lips curved into a smile.“No need to be jealous of nature, my dear wife. I just want to appreciate how beautiful the sunset was.”August laughed, pulling Daphne gently closer to him using his other hand. Now, both of them were staring at the sunset with genuine smiles plastered onto their faces. August’s hand was resting on Daphne’s waist, while the latter had her head leaned on her husband’s shoulder.A year ago, both of them got remarried, for real this time. At that moment, both of them couldn’t help bu
COUPLE DAYS later, August was able to heal from the beating he had endured when Raquel took him down. He was now as good as hell, and he could now work tirelessly to catch up with all of the deadlines and meetings he had neglected while he was at rest. Fortunately, the press, with a lot of help from Daphne, didn’t know a thing about what happened to August, or else he would be bombarded by the press in front of the Remington Corporation. However, it would not be for long, as something grand would happen now. August had been waiting for this day—The day when the final showdown begins. This day had come down to this moment, where the tables would turn, and justice would finally be served. This time, August made sure that Francis would not be able to run away from his crimes, nor frame someone up to escape from it. Inside August’s office, all of his allies, Daphne, Sapphire, and Maxine, were inside the room. The air was thick with tension as they were looking at the wall clock from ti
RAQUEL, at that moment, was too stunned to speak. Shivers sent down his spine as the unexpected news lingered in his mind. His shoulder was aching because of the pain, but suddenly, it became numb as the pain struck his heart.“W-What?” Raquel asked, blinking his eyes twice. “Are you… fooling me?”“No… It’s the truth.” Sapphire shook her head, the pain registering through her rounded, brown eyes. “We’re Maxine’s children—Her lost twins.”“But how?” Raquel’s brows furrowed in confusion and annoyance at the same time. “If she is my brother, and you’re my twin, and you knew everything about it… Then why didn’t you approach me?”“Maxine only knew it recently, the same as mine.” Sapphire heaved a sigh and bit her lower lip afterward to contain her emotions.After a few seconds, she spoke again.“August informed me recently by giving the birth certificates Master Charles hid in his cabinet. It turns out that Maxine didn’t want to know us at that time because of the complexity of her job… Sh
AUGUST WAS in a daze when he woke up from his not-so-peaceful slumber. He didn’t wake up naturally, but he woke up when someone poured him cold water placed in a bucket, causing August to jolt in shock… Only to realize that he was tied to the chair.Same situation. Same abandoned room.Shivers sent down his spine because of the uncanny coincidence both of the situations had.‘Fucking shit. This is déjà vu,’ said August at the back of his mind when he realized that this is where everything started—When Charles had his people take him so he could have a one-on-one talk with August about being a pretend heir.However, the only difference between the event before and now, is that the person in front of him looked like he was eager to kill him in an instant, but he was just taking his time to do it.“R-Raquel…” August mumbled, slightly stammering, as his gaze fixated on Raquel.“How’s your sleep, August?” Raquel threw the silver bucket on the floor in force while wearing his most sardonic
[RICHARD WELLINGTON]August blinked his eyes twice, trying to confirm if what he was reading on the paper was true, or if his eyes were just playing with him. However, a few seconds had passed, and he still read the same name.“H-How…” August was at a loss for words. It wasn’t something that he expected. He almost thought that it was Francis, but turns out that the lead scientist is Richard, the Wellington family’s original heir.“Are there—”“Greetings, Sir August.”August was about to ask the lead engineer if he found more documents other than the white folder he was holding now, but his words went midway as three cleaners who were wearing personal protective equipment suddenly bowed in front of him.“One of your employees called us to clean this room,” one of the cleaners said as she glanced at the mess August made earlier.“A-Ah. Right.”August only nodded at them, not knowing what to say. His mind was so shocked that he didn’t even notice his employees leaving him alone in the ro
TWO WEEKS LATER, the event about Bruce being confined to the Remington Mental Hospital scattered around the country. According to the doctors, Bruce was diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he would need long-term medication and treatment to heal.While some people sympathized with Bruce for it, some people say that it was karma because of what he had done to August.However, August didn’t care what those people think about now. He had work—A bunch of them—And it was never-ending.It was already one o’clock in the morning as August had finished meeting with the different departments, and reviewing business proposals. He wasn’t eating his lunch yet but he was determined to finish everything first. August wanted to have free time so he could take care of his other business that he neglected because the work became surprisingly overwhelming.“Maxine…” August called, causing Maxine, who was sitting on the couch, to look at him. “Do I still have any urgent matters
“MR. JAKE SANDOVAL, the head of the Sandoval family, was arrested for torture against his son, Bruce Sandoval. The police said that they were investigating thoroughly about this matter and that they will preserve results with fairness and no biases—”Before the reporter could finish her sentence, August already took the remote and turned the television. Daphne, who was immersed in watching the news, jolted in shock as she turned around, only to see August smiling at her.“I’m home,” said August in a sweet tone as he extended both his arms, asking for a hug.Daphne couldn’t help but laugh a little. She went toward August and wrapped him in her embrace. “How was it? What happened to Samantha?” she asked in curiosity.“I think Samantha and Bruce divorced… But I’m not yet sure.” August caressed Daphne’s hair lightly and gently pushed her head more onto his chest. “Stop watching the news, okay? It’s already enough that you know anything, but don’t think about it too much.”Daphne only nodd
“WHERE DID you go? Why do you look like shit?” Nicole asked as Bruce went inside the room, all his clothes were soaked because of the rain. “Take a bath first before you go to the dining table. You know that your father didn’t like seeing you like that,” she added, shaking her head. “Yes, Mother.” Bruce nodded as he was tired to explain everything. He went to the bathroom to fix himself. Bruce wore a simple white shirt and sweatpants before he went to the dining table, joining Nicole and Jake for their late dinner. Samantha was already out of the picture as his parents were also informed of what she did earlier. However, they weren’t aware that Bruce felt hurt because of the same reason. “Did you chase that bitch away?” Jake asked while they were eating. “Y-Yes, Father.” “That’s good,” Jake commented, and Bruce only smiled subtly in response. Bruce ate his steak, but because of his stomach churning and his heart thumping rapidly, he felt like that piece of steak was hard to sw
SHE IS the most stupid person in the world, and she knows it. Samantha couldn’t help but look at August in disbelief, the pain and betrayal registering upon her facial expression.“August… You can’t do this to me…” Samantha mumbled as her knees went wobbly. If not only for the table in front of her, she might be sitting on the floor now. “This isn’t what we have talked about…”“I know,” August said, and Samantha didn’t notice that he was just done talking to someone on the phone. “That’s why it is called betrayal. It’s painful, especially when you’re feeling desperate.”“How can you do this to me? I am your girlfriend!” Samantha exclaimed, gritting her teeth and clenching her jaw.“Ex-girlfriend, Samantha,” August corrected before he heaved a sigh. “Our relationship was over years ago.”As if on cue, two guards entered August’s office and took Samantha away, just like what he did yesterday. He could even hear Samantha cursing and begging him at the same time before the guard closed th