Everyone watched as every single piece of clothes on the aisle was packed up by the boutique’s staff members. Once everything was settled, all the pairs of eyes turned to Miles.“Well, the clothes have been packed for you.” The middle-aged man raised a skeptical eyebrow at Miles. “It’s time for you to pay.”Miles sneered before digging into his jacket pocket only for his hand to touch a space. His smile dropped in place of a confused expression as he turned to his jeans pocket only to find that his card was missing. That was when he recalled that he had left his premium black card at home. He had been so excited to spoil Kelsey for the day that he had actually forgotten to take the one thing he needed."What's the matter, you low-life scum?!" The middle-aged woman glared hatefully at Miles. "The staff is waiting for you to pay." There was a moment of silence as everyone waited for Miles to say something. On getting nothing but silence from him, the middle-aged woman burst out into lau
Everyone was shocked when they heard the words from the mall manager’s mouth. The unimportant audience quickly stopped their badmouthing as they wondered if they had heard the manager right. The middle-aged couple froze on the spot as their gaze slowly shifted onto Miles’s face. At this moment, they saw him in a totally different light now. Lesley was not spared in the least, her eyes became wide open and so was her mouth. She turned her gaze to find Miles standing straight as the mall manager remained bowing before him. She couldn’t understand a shred of what was going on. The staff members glanced at each other in confusion which then slowly turned to immense shock. One of them walked forward. “Manager, who is he?”"How dare you even ask that dumb question?" The mall manager, who had arrived with a very calm demeanor, suddenly became easily irritated while addressing his employees. "Are you all dumb or what?! Are you telling me you couldn't recognize a top superior?! I told you ab
Everyone watched in surprise as the pompous family dropped to their knees with pleading eyes."Sir, please forgive us. It is my fault." The middle-aged man now had an unbelievably miserable expression on his face. "On behalf of my family, I apologize for any trouble we might have caused you. We had no idea we were messing with such a big shot."Miles walked slowly before stopping right before the three kneeling people; the middle-aged woman had even forced her daughter to kneel beside her. She couldn’t even dare look up at Miles.Miles scoffed. “So let me get this straight. You’re telling me that you wouldn’t have felt any remorse for how you treated me and my daughter if my true status hadn’t been revealed.”The middle-aged man began shaking both his hands and head. "No! No! That's not what I meant…"“Then what did you mean exactly?” Miles cut off the middle-aged man with a stern gaze.The middle-aged couple shut their mouths as they couldn’t find anything reasonable to say.The crow
Miles could only look at his sister-in-law with incredulity. “Weren’t you the same person who had accused me of using her sister’s hard-earned money? You didn’t believe me when I told you that I had my own source of money. So why do you want me to spend a penny on you? Aren’t you scared that you’ll also be responsible for depleting your dear sister’s money?” That last sentence carried a heavy hint of sarcasm.Lesley rolled her eyes. “Can you stop that? I know you’re not really the so-called esteemed affiliate of the Creek business empire. I’m sure that the mall manager mistook you for whoever that real person is. Therefore, you are a fraud for going along with it.” She spoke with confidence.To Lesley, this was far more believable than accepting that Miles was truly a member of the Creek family.Little Kelsey glared up at her auntie after hearing her words. “Aunty Lesley, my dad is not a liar!”Miles looked down at his daughter with a warm smile. The little girl never ceases to amaze
Miles had been in a very joyous mood when he arrived home with his daughter. Kelsey had bought an ice cream and she was in a very happy mood. Unfortunately, the loving woman they met at home threatened to ruin the mood.“Hey, my love. How was work?” Miles got closer to Lola and he was about to place a kiss on his wife’s cheek only for her to push him away.Lola glared at Miles with anger. “Don’t you dare come near me.”Miles’s face slowly lost its radiance as he stood in confusion. “My love, what was that for?”Lola simply turned away from Miles and walked away from him. “It’s nothing.”Miles sighed. Only a fool would believe that the beautiful woman wasn’t in a terrible mood right now. Even a blind man could easily decipher the truth solely based on her tone.Miles wasted no time as he followed her to the living room. He sat across from her with a concerned gaze. “Are you hungry? I can order us some of your favorite seafood. You’re gonna…” He didn’t get to finish his words.“Shut the
Miles watched with an emotionless face as Lola mocked him. He felt a bit of grievance at the fact that he had become someone unreliable to his own wife. Lola couldn’t even trust that he had the power to properly protect her against external problems.When Miles thought about it, he realized that he couldn’t blame his wife for thinking this way about him. After all, his wife had only ever seen the most embarrassing side of him. He was beginning to regret that he didn’t tell Lola of his true identity from the beginning. His wife would have been living an amazing and worry-free life right now instead of dealing with so much nonsense.The Creek heir shook off the thought of regret. He knew better now; he was going to use his entitled power to trample on anyone who dared to mess with his family in any way from now on.With a cold heart, Miles left home without saying a word to his family. He grabbed a taxi and headed straight to Styleon Group Corporation.On getting to the company, the tre
“Yes, Sir!” Fisher bowed his head slightly, looking more like a butler than a company manager. Once Fisher McCall was gone, Miles instructed his subordinates as he began making some calls. No one messes with his family and gets away with it.Back at Miles’s home,Lola noticed that Miles had left their house without telling her about where he was going. Worried, she picked up her phone and was about to call him but she halted as pride welled up in her heart. If there’s anyone who should be taking the initiative to call, she believed it should be Miles as he was responsible for their argument.She was still pissed at him. At the office, her superior – Edmund Porsche – had always treated her with respect, until Miles messed it all up by disrespecting the man. The worst part was that with Miles gone, Edmund was taking revenge on her instead. She shook off her train of thought and brought herself back to the present. Since Miles wasn’t here, she couldn’t leave Kelsey alone in the house a
Lola had left Styleon Group Corporation in anger, and it was all due to her husband once again. Lately, that was all she had been getting from Miles – Anger.She was currently on her way to see a client in order to close a new deal for the company. At the thought of this, Lola felt helpless.Back when things were quite simple, she used to be excited about these things. She was always meeting up with clients with an optimistic mind and a confident personality. Most of the time, she had always closed the deal on a good note. It was why Lola was one of the most valued employees at the company.Sadly, that had no longer been the case. Ever since Edmund had suddenly changed towards her, her work life had turned into a world of anxiety for her. Worse, Edmund started setting her up with opportunistic clients who always forced her into doing things she didn’t want to do.The particular client she was meeting today was the same person she met the last few times. For some reason, he had refused
Miles knelt down to her level, smiling softly. "We did, sweetheart. But winning was just the first step. Now we have to make sure it stays won."Sarah's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"Miles quickly looked at his family, then shifted his focus back to Sarah. "We still have a large amount of work in front of us." Nevertheless, I think we are prepared for the challenge. Do you want to assist us in improving the city? Sarah nodded with great enthusiasm. "May I work as your aide?" The room was filled with laughter, relieving the tension that was growing. Miles stood and playfully tousled Sarah's hair. "You have the ability to become anything you desire, young one. "That is the main objective." Maxwell cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "Miles, there's something else we need to discuss. About your role in the family."Miles tensed, memories of their past conflicts flooding back. "Dad, I-"Maxwell held up a hand. "Let me finish. I was wrong, son. I tried t
Miles paused at the door, turning back to face his defeated enemy. "You're right about one thing, Ethan. It's not over. It's just beginning. But this time, we're building something better. Something just."With that, they left, racing towards the Lyon compound. While driving through the city streets, they observed evidence of the night's happenings all around - police barriers, lights flashing, and groups of spectators. "What do you think Joseph Lyon has?" Lola asked, her brow furrowed with concern.Miles shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't let him walk. Whatever it is, we'll face it together."They arrived at the Lyon compound to find it in chaos. Creek family members and newly arrived police officers were everywhere, securing the premises and rounding up Lyon family members and associates.Elena met them at the entrance, her face grim. "Joseph's in the basement. He's threatening to upload some kind of dossier to the internet if we don't let him go.""What's in the dossier?"
Elena's voice came through, tense but steady. "She's inside. Ethan took the bait. He's got her in his office."Miles tightened his fists, suppressing the anxiety eating away at his stomach. "Okay then. I am entering. Always remain committed to the plan, regardless of any obstacles that may arise. With that, he walked confidently towards the front door, feeling his heart racing but remaining determined. The guards by the entrance became tense when he neared. Miles declared that he is here to visit Ethan with a commanding tone that left no room for disagreement. The guards nervously looked at each other before one of them communicated on his radio. After a brief pause, they moved out of the way, letting Miles go through. While strolling through the grand corridors, Miles couldn't shake the thought of the countless lives ruined to uphold this image of authority and extravagance. He prepared himself, aware that tonight marked the end of everything. He reached Ethan's office door, pau
Miles took a deep breath, his mind racing with possibilities. "We need to create a distraction. Something big enough to draw Ethan's attention away from his office."Lola stepped forward, her face set with determination. "I have an idea. But you're not going to like it."Miles turned to her, concern etched on his face. "Lola, what are you thinking?""Me," she said simply. "I'll turn myself in to Ethan. Tell him I'm abandoning you, that I want to make a deal.""Absolutely not," Miles said firmly. "It's too dangerous."Lola stood her ground. "It's the perfect distraction. Ethan won't be able to resist the opportunity to use me against you.""She's right," Rachel interjected. "Ethan's obsessed with destroying you, Miles. Having Lola in his grasp would be irresistible."Miles shook his head, his voice rising. "No, I won't risk you like that. There has to be another way.""There isn't," Lola insisted. "We're running out of time and options. This is our best shot."Maxwell placed a hand on
"Dad!" he called out. "This way!"In some way, amidst the chaos and lack of light, they succeeded in coming together again and leaving the cabin. In the woods, they ran without direction, with the sound of their pursuers not far behind. "There's a river approaching," Maxwell gasped while they ran. "If we manage to get across, we could risk losing them." They continued moving forward, with branches lashing their faces and the ground unpredictable beneath their feet. At last, the sound of water rushing reached their ears. "We arrived," Elena wheezed. But as they reached the riverbank, a shot rang out. Miles felt a searing pain in his arm and stumbled."Miles!" Lola cried out."I'm fine," he forced through clenched teeth. "We must continue to keep going forward." Stepping into the icy water, they could hear their pursuers approaching nearer. Miles glanced behind him and observed flashlights moving among the trees. With a sinking heart, he came to the realization that we will not be
While driving in uncomfortable silence, the city lights disappeared in the distance. After what felt like an endless amount of time, Dorian veered onto a dirt path that twisted through thick forests. "He declared that we are nearly there." Out of nowhere, headlights were visible in the rearview mirror. Dorian muttered curses quietly. "They've found us."Miles twisted in his seat, his heart pounding. "How? We were so careful!""Questions later," Dorian growled, pressing down on the accelerator. "Hold on, everyone!"The vehicle surged ahead, jolting harshly over the bumpy road. Sarah began to weep, and Lola tried her hardest to console her while hanging on tightly. "That way!" Elena yelled while indicating the direction in front. A tiny cabin appeared, tucked in between the trees. Maxwell came to a halt in front of the cabin. "Everybody, leave!" "Hurry up!" They scrambled out of the car, Miles helping Lola with Sarah while Elena and Maxwell grabbed what few bags they had managed t
It's a gamble," she remarked, "but there's a chance it could succeed." Count me in. One after another, the rest of the Autumns concurred. When they joined hands to confirm their sudden collaboration, Miles felt a spark of hope for the first time in weeks. Miles did not realize that another person was secretly listening to their conversation. In a room on the upper floor, Maximilian Autumn, the eldest child of Nigel and heir of the Autumn family, was having a conversation on the telephone. "Did you get all that, Ethan?" Maximilian whispered.On the other end of the line, Ethan Chariot's voice crackled. "Every word. Good work, Maximilian. Your family's betrayal won't be forgotten when this is all over."Maximilian's grip tightened on the phone. "Just remember our deal. When the dust settles, I want control of both the Autumn and Chariot families."Ethan chuckled darkly. "Of course. As long as you hold up your end, you'll get everything we agreed upon. Now, let's discuss how we're goi
While embracing each other, both fully conscious of the peril nearby, a faint voice was heard from the staircase. "Mom?" Father? "What's happening?" Miles and Lola looked in the direction Sarah was standing, her worried expression evident on her small face. They shared a glance, aware that their future decisions would impact not only their destiny, but also that of their daughter and the whole city. Miles kneeled and extended his arms towards Sarah. "Sweetheart, please come over here." Mom and Dad have something significant they need to inform you about. While Sarah embraced them, Miles and Lola promised quietly to defend their family and seek retribution against anyone who posed a threat. The larger view was starting to become clear, bringing with it the understanding that their lives were about to change forever. The sudden ringing of the doorbell surprised Miles and Lola, interrupting their quiet chat. Miles cautiously approached the door, looking through the peephole. Surpris
He was startled by the ringing of the doorbell. He opened the door and saw Rachael Autumn standing there, her face showing signs of worry. "Rachael? What are you doing here?" Miles asked, ushering her inside.Rachael wrung her hands nervously. "Miles, we need to talk. It's about your family... and mine."Miles' eyes narrowed. "You mean how your family has been lying to me all this time? Using me?"Rachael flinched. "It's not like that, Miles. We didn't have a choice.""There's always a choice, Rachael," Miles spat. "You could have told me the truth.""And you?" Rachael shot back. "You lied too. You said you were single, that you were just Miles Autumn. Was that all a ploy to get close to us, to get information?"Miles stepped back, stunned. "What? No, I... I never said I was single. I just... I didn't mention my family because I was trying to protect them."Rachael's eyes softened. "I believe you, Miles. But you have to understand, we're all caught up in something bigger than ourselv