“M-MISTER ANDERSON!” said Bruce, slightly stammering, as he saw who the man approached him.It was Benjamin Anderson, the heir of the third-ranking family in the country. Bruce couldn’t speak as he looked at the man from head to toe. Every clothing and accessory on his body screams exquisitely that he looked like a rag immediately!‘God. Even the scarf he was holding costs fifty dollars already!’ Bruce couldn’t help but exclaim at the back of his mind.“N-Nothing. Nothing’s happening,” Bruce answered awkwardly as he let go of August's collar and fixed himself.“We’re just playing, right?” he added to ask as he stared at August with a deadly gaze.However, August just shrugged his shoulders, not planning to speak. Moreover, he was interested in Benjamin. He already saw him before at the gathering, but August didn’t expect Benjamin’s aura to be extravagant, which is a lot different than Harvey's. Harvey’s personality was boastful, and he could say that Benjamin is the same, too.But Be
“MY GOD! How did this happen?” Jessica exclaimed as her eyes flickered within her teammates. “How the hell did they know about our product?!”No one could answer Jessica at that time. All of them were confused, disappointed, and nervous at the same time.August felt the same way as Bruce started to pitch the product on the scouts and judges. It was exactly the same thing their group placed onto the document.“Our team managed to create a robot AI that specializes with medical treatments and diagnosis,” said Bruce as he clicked the remote onto the next slide. “The purpose of this is to help people seek immediate medical assistance, and think that they already have a companion always by their side.”As Bruce continued his report, he never left any single details in their document. August just stared at Bruce while clenching his fists, and the latter smirked at him as their gazes met.“A traitor…” said August as his gaze fixated on the table, in which the paper regarding his supposed pre
“THIS IS a robotic AI with applications inside. It may have the same concept as Mr. Sandoval’s group, but its features and purpose are different. As they focused on the medical industry only, hence, our robot could be used literally everywhere.”August flipped to the next page, and everyone was shocked when they read the features of their robotic application.“Inside this robot features wherein the owner can set what they wanted the robot to do. Although it can obtain a limited amount of data as of now, the amount was sufficient for the robot to function.”On the next page, some examples of how the robot could be used by companies or even customers were written on the screen.“In fast food chains, it could be used as an order form. People would say their orders to the robot, and the latter would immediately send it to the cashier to process it.”“In the video game industry, the robotic AI could be used in customizing their own avatar, and choosing opponents based on their preference.”
IN THE blink of an eye, Bruce was already in front of August, holding onto his collar tightly— as if his entire life depended on it.“You… Why don’t you just keep quiet as you did before?” asked Bruce as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.It was evident in his eyes that he wanted to beat August, even harder than he had beaten him up before. But something’s stopping him from doing that. He was afraid that what happened before would happen again. Aside from that, William was there, silently watching them. Every time he remembered that incident, it was followed by how his father tortured him like shit.With that, Bruce wasn’t able to speak. He just only snapped out of his thoughts when August held onto Bruce’s hand and removed it from holding his collar.“I’m not here to fight, but to find William.”“M-Me?” William, who was currently helpless as blood continued flowing from his nose, pointed at himself.August couldn’t see William properly as he was sitting slightly far away from
“THOMAS Bellingham’s group!”As soon as the host announced the first place, everyone clapped for them. However, in their minds, they were confused that none of the most influential people— Bruce and August, to be specific— won the hackathon event.All of them thought that there would be fraud in the event, but judging by the results, the organizers managed to make the competition fair and square, after all.Everyone was smiling except for Bruce. His eyes widened, and his lips parted as he heard that the host didn’t mention his group as the winner.“Why?!” Bruce stood up and exclaimed, which made everyone look at him, including August who doesn’t have any cocky smile on his lips. Rather, he was confused as him, too.Bruce didn’t bother explaining why he shouted. He just sat again on his seat and clutched onto the tablecloth to contain his emotions. The host cleared her throat before the awarding continued as if nothing happened at all.‘It should be me! I should be the winner of this
“SIR WESLEY,” Jake greeted on the other line.He stood up from the couch and gave Nicole a deadly glance before he went onto their terrace to hear Wesley properly. “I’m sorry for what happened. I didn’t know why the hackathon event led to such ridiculous results?”“Ridiculous?” asked Wesley as he laughed sarcastically on the other line. “Geo Saundler removed all the manipulations coming from our family for the competition to be fair and square.”“What?” The tip of Jake’s brows pressed hard as he heard what Wesley said. “August won that competition without any manipulations?”“He did.”Jake wasn’t able to speak for a moment. A hint of envy and annoyance became evident in his expression. Suddenly, he became envious that August, who was once in their company, became popular and valuable in a span of months.He realized that if only he didn’t mess up with Bruce, or the other way around, he could have used his talents to make the Sandoval Corporation prosper.“Trance,” Jake called his most
AS WESLEY clicked something on his phone, a video suddenly played. Jake doesn’t need to look at it anymore as he could recognize the voices in the video.He could even recognize the scene, and it was the viral video that appeared at the annual awarding before.With that, Jake remembered the time when he called Bruce to take down the video. He wanted to be free from the Wellington family’s grip, but because of Bruce, he needed to beg again.“My child is an imbecile. I should've disciplined him better,” said Jake as he tried making his voice sound stable, but failed. His voice cracked, and the only thing he could do was bit his lower lip because he had been lowering his pride too much.“No. I think he’s a good man,” Wesley answered on the other line, smirking. “I like the fact that he beat that August to death.”Wesley hated everyone in the Remington family, and no matter who they were, even if they were just mere employees, a maid, or really a part of the Remington family, he’ll alway
‘NONSENSE.’That was the only word that came to August’s mind as he heard Bruce’s statement. Bruce already left him as he went into his own car. However, he thought that everything he said was pure bluffing since he was not that popular in the industry already.And maybe, it really does.A month later, August had risen to the top more than he could ever imagine. No one doesn’t know him now. Aside from being a key employee in the Remington corporation, Charles’ also allowed him to create his special team under the strategy department.With new inventions to manufacture, and with new ideas that made the company prosper, August had partnered with different subsidiaries with Charles’ help, including Johnson Gaming with Harvey.In fact, Harvey and August were together today in the Remington Corporation building to sign their agreement on their partnership. There were only a few reporters inside, and some employees from the Remington Corporation.Since August took care of some of the busin
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