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
THE SHOCK was an understatement for what August felt as his eyes flickered on the area. It was a hot mess, and everything was in chaos.The prison guards looked troubled as they tried to pull the inmates away from each other, but it wouldn’t suffice as the prisoners wanted to take away the vitamins from each other.All of them looked desperate on taking that bottle, as their whole life depended on it. It made August’s brows furrow.‘I just left for a few hours,’ said August at the back of his mind. ‘What the hell happened here?’“August!”Suddenly, someone called August from behind. As he turned his direction on his back, he met Sergio’s gaze, waving his hands and asking August to come at them.“What happened here?” asked August as soon as he went to his roommates’ place. They were at the edge of the court to avoid the prisoners in rage. “What’s with the commotion?”“They suddenly became like that after a few minutes. It must be because of this,” Sergio answered and raised his hand wh
AUGUST THOUGHT that the blood came from his body at first, but his brows furrowed as he didn't feel any pain.His gaze moved in front of him, only to see Amadeus wince and muttered a curse repeatedly while holding his stomach.“Damn you, fucker,” Amadeus mumbled in an irritated tone. In one push, he was able to pin the opponent into the wall.Amadeus made the man in front of his knock out with just one kick. He smirked after that, but it didn't hide the fact that his stomach hurt badly because of his wound.“Boss!” August called as he already recovered from the shock. “Does it hurt so bad? I should take you… to the…”Clinic.But August couldn't mutter that anymore.Suddenly, August wasn't able to speak properly. It was because of the white smoke that continued to scatter from the ceiling. Amadeus felt the same thing, and before they knew it, they stumbled on the floor, unconscious.Mill, who was hiding in another empty room, thought that he was safe from anyone else's rage. He didn't
WITHOUT hesitation, August clicked the red button, ending the call. He composed himself in a short amount of time before turning his direction to Amadeus.“Why aren’t you resting as the doctor told you to?” August asked, diverting the topic onto something else. “It would be bad for your wound to continue moving—”“Stop saying shits, August,” Amadeus interrupted as he raised a brow. “That technique will not be effective on me.”In one swift, Amadeus attempted to take the cell phone August was holding in his right hand. However, due to his fast reflexes, he was able to jump sideward and stand up properly, staying away from Amadeus.‘He’s fast…’ said Amadeus at the back of his mind. Although his expressions were cold, he was amazed at August. ‘If only he had a great amount of focus and control, he’ll be undefeatable.’But August couldn’t control his emotions, especially when it was too overwhelming. Amadeus only shakes his head in disappointment, thinking that August’s skill would be a
‘SHIT, I almost forgot that I told Bruce to go here,’ said Francis at the back of his mind. Because of what happened, the fact that he had an agenda today almost left his mind. Luckily, he was able to prepare himself, and Wesley dealt with the situation immediately before Bruce's arrival.He couldn’t afford to let Bruce know about the humiliation he had for today. Francis would never let anyone else hold something within him. It should be the opposite.“Alright. I’ll go downstairs in a minute,” Francis replied as he folded the sleeve of his long-sleeved shirt. “Tell him to wait for a bit.”“Yes, young master,” the maid acknowledged his command before she walked away. Francis could hear the footsteps she made while walking away from the bedroom.“They’ve been preparing it too much,” commented Wesley as he chuckled. “A wine and food tasting event, and that food would be donated to a party? How ridiculous and a desperate attempt to look good at the crowd.”“You’re right, dad,” Francis r
THAT QUESTION caused the room to be silent. Even Samantha, who was squeaking earlier as she saw her wedding gown, looked in Francis’ direction when she heard what Francis asked Daphne.Suddenly, both of them became everyone’s center of attention. Although Daphne was slightly thankful since they were in the dressing room— which means the reporters couldn’t follow them inside— she still couldn’t help but be irritated because of Francis.“What the hell are you talking about?” asked Daphne as she raised a brow. “Are you bored? Don’t you have something to do despite your insanely busy schedule?”Daphne threw those questions in a sarcastic tone, hoping that she would annoy Francis as much as he made her mad, but the results were the opposite. Francis raised a brow before he let out a chuckle, enjoying his future wife’s reactions.Francis turned his direction to Jake, who was behind him, and asked, “Wait, aren’t you telling her about the news yet?”“Tell what?” Daphne asked in a higher pitc
“WHY WOULD you mention August's name?” asked Daphne. She was getting more irritated every second. “He wasn't even here. How disrespectful could you be?”She raised a brow and locked gazes with Francis. She doesn't have any fear of doing it— especially when Daphne struck her with her cold, intimidating gaze.Daphne never thought about August as someone she liked, not even once. The only thing she could feel about August before was madness, because he was too stupid when they first met, and pity as she could also see herself in his situation.However, just in case someone will make her choose between August and Francis, she'll choose August— no matter what the situation was, regardless of his status.“Thinking about him while you're in front of me? You're the one who's disrespectful, Daphne,” Francis stated as he gritted his teeth.Francis was annoyed at the feeling that August stole Daphne from him, although Daphne isn't his in the first place. Suddenly, his plan before to let August
AS THE food and wine tasting event was already done, Bruce was now in the Wellington mansion, specifically in their bedroom.In front of him was a bottle of whiskey and a glass. He sipped on his drink and leaned on the chair. Bruce sighed, gripping the glass tightly as the alcohol didn't even affect him.A long time had passed after Bruce's conversation with Jake, but still, his words lingered in his mind.“August…” Bruce muttered while staring at the ceiling.His other hand clenched into fists. Remembering how his father declared the marriage made his blood boil. He had this strange possessiveness towards Daphne, and he won't let anyone take her away from him.Not even someone from the Wellington family.Bruce clicked his tongue and placed the glass again on the table. First things first, he must punish August because he was the start of every misery he had gone into.“What's the matter, baby?” Samantha, who went out of their bathroom, made Bruce return to his senses. “Are the wines
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