Damien's heart fell to the ground as he stared at Joanna who stood at the door but before he could even move, her body headed for the floor. He rushed over quickly and was able to stop her from hitting the ground. “Joanna” he called, tapping her face a little to get her to open her eyesShe did but she was quick to close it again. He called out to her again, tapping her cheeks but this time she was not responsive so he had to carry her to the couch. There, he laid her down gently then squatted at her side, calling out to her. Still, she did not respond. He went into the kitchen, got a glass of water and sprinkled some on her face.“Shit” he cursed, as he gripped his hairQuickly, he placed the glass down and took out his phone. On second thought, he decided to drive her to the hospital. He had no one he could call to come over that fast and ambulances cost a lot of money. He carried her again, grabbed the keys from the coffee table and rushed out of the house.He laid her at the back
It only took him a few minutes to arrive at the bastard’s place. It was an old crib but looked taken care of, to say the least. Damien did not care about the exterior of the house. All he cared about was to put some sense into that madman that thought he was the best man on earth. He did not have to honk for the gate of the building to be opened by the gateman.The gateman was familiar with the car. He knew it was his boss’s girlfriend’s car, but not only that, but his boss was fond of moving around with the car. Damien flung the driver’s seat door before stepping out. The gateman was stunned because he was surprised by the unfamiliar face. He would have approached, but Gabe was out already.Gabe had thought Joanna was back to her senses and was bringing the car to him as a form of appeasement. He had a smirk on his face as he stepped out, but the moment he spotted Damien, it disappeared. Damien was in no mood to banter words with Gabe. If he tried to act stupid or oblivious to the fa
With a sigh, Damien pushed open the door of the ward where Joanna lay. Her eyes were closed and her bandages were still intact. She had her right hand on her stomach, her chest rising and falling as she slept. Damien walked slowly towards her, counting his steps as he did so. One thing kept ringing in his head as he approached. Gabe’s words were killing him.He thought he would have the last words but Gabe had better plans. Just after delivering his threat, Damien turned around to leave but then Gabe began to speak, stopping him in his tracks. “I know you have fallen for her but she does not and would never feel the same for you. Her heart has been taken. She only sees you as a man who needs help. A homeless man. A man with nothing. You are a man with nothing. Joanna is not in your class and she would never be yours. I know you want her, I know you want to feel her, kiss her” Damien shut his eyes and Gabe continued“But you can’t. You know why?” Gabe chuckled “Because you are nothing”
Morning came and Joanna turned to the side as she slowly became awake. She had slept for a long time. Even at that, she felt like she needed more sleep. She kept her eyes open for a minute before she shut them again due to the light.When she opened them up again, it took a few seconds for her sight to clear up so she could have a better look at the person who sat at her side. “Damien” she muttered, with her throat dryShe did not try to call him again. He was resting. From his tired expression, she knew he stayed a long time before falling asleep. His head was hung over his body as his chest rose and fell. Her lips curved up in a painful smile.The door to the ward opened and a nurse walked in. “Good morning miss” the nurse greeted politelyJoanna smiled at her as she did not have enough energy to speak. “How are you feeling?” The nurse inquiredThis time Joanna nodded. “Thirsty?” The nurse asked but did not wait for a reply before approaching the table for a glass of waterShe helpe
“You all will hear from me!” The angry lady yelled as the security guard carried her out of the cafeJoanna and her friend watched as the scene unfolded in front of them. Joanna had a look of confusion while her friend had that of amusement. Once the lady was far away from the cafe, they faced each other and just in time, the waitress placed two cups of coffee before them with a smile.“Thank you” Joanna smiled in appreciation and got a nod from the waitress before she walked awayShe grabbed the cup with both hands and took a sip. “I don't get some people sometimes,” she saidSarah smiled and took her cup in hand. “You’re in New York baby girl, no one is sane here” she commented“I get that but I don't think it's necessary for the drama. It's just coffee. Why would she boast so much about her status?”“Not everyone is like you, sweetheart” Sarah took a sip of her coffeeJoanna hummed. “What do you expect me to do?” She rolled her eyes, jokingly “I like that I can move around every cr
Joanna tossed the car keys on the coffee which alerted Damien who was in the kitchen preparing lunch for both of them. He stepped out putting on an apron, part of his face covered in flour while he wiped his hands with a clean rag. He gave her a wide smile. “Had fun?” he asked as he approached herJoanna nodded with a frown on her face but once she raised her head she completely forgot what she was upset about. She burst out laughing, unable to control herself. Her hand flung to her stomach as her laughter increased. Damien chuckled nervously as he had no idea why she was laughing. He looked to his sides wondering what was making her laugh.“What’s funny?” he askedJoanna gestured for him to come closer to her. He did and she led him to the mirror that hung on the mirror at the side. Damien's hand subconsciously went to that spot the moment he saw what he looked like. Even for him, it was embarrassing.“Let me go clean it up” He hurriedly walked upstairs while Joanna shook her headHe
Love? After all he had gone through with Rebecca, he highly doubted he knew what love was now. Then he could say love was sacrificial. Love was that thing that made a person blind to any flaws and accept those flaws too. Love makes a man want to stare at the woman he loves for eternity.Love makes a man look at the woman he loves and despite her messy state still views her as the most beautiful person in the world. Love makes a man want to hold his lady till the end of time. Love is jealous. If any man makes any advances on the lady he loves, he wants to break them in half.Despite the good parts, love hurts. Damien loved Rebecca and that was why it hurt him so much when she joined every other person to mock him and not even stopping at that but cheating on him too. He was not perfect but he knew the sacrifices he made to be with Rebecca but she threw him aside on the sight of wealth.At first, he felt their relationship could work. They could and will fix it but he saw her having sex
Damien did not hold back as he hit and kept hitting Gabe. Gabe, this time tried to hold him off. He blocked and successfully landed a couple of punches on Damien but Damien was not backing down. He kept going. Gabe kept tempting him and this was the height of it. How many times would he be beaten up before he would learn not to touch a lady most especially Joanna?Joanna did not deserve to be treated the way Gabe treated her. She was calm and loving. In the two months Damien has known her, not once has she flared up. She was rarely angry and even when she managed to be she knew how to hold herself back unlike the man who stood before Damien. There was nothing Gabe could say that would merit the kind of treatment he gives Joanna. Sometimes Damien thinks he needs to be taken to an asylum because this behavior is not normal. The first thing he does when he sees Joanna is to threaten her life. Did this man ever love Joanna? How did they even end up in a relationship in the first place? W
The doctor nodded. “He is unconscious, but he is responding to treatment,” the doctor replied to Joanna. It was a relief to everyone to hear that news. No one wanted to lose Damien for any reason, especially when it came to the situation with the business. Everyone was aware of the threat that came with him taking on the position of the CEO and they understood that situations like this were going to arise. However, they thought they would be able to handle it if it came to that, but they did not see this attack coming. It will be a great loss to them if Damian died. Joanna surely would not be able to handle his death if it had come to that. They all sighed with relief. “Can we see him?” Joanna asked quickly. “Not right now. The nurses are currently carrying out some final touches,” the doctor said, and they all nodded. Eliza hugged Joanna, who had tears rolling down her eyes. She was relieved to hear that Damien was okay. They stayed in the hospital for some time as they waited fo
No one expected the police to be on them that quickly. Joanna's father was called, as she wanted to get Damien rescued as soon as possible. She was frantic. Ever since she saw that video, it felt like her entire world was spinning. No one had called her to threaten and demand for one thing or the other. She had a guess at which the kidnapper would want to request for, but they were going to find their way around it if it came to it. Unfortunately, no one called. After spending only a few minutes, she knew she had to call her father. He was the one with the resources, and he could get anywhere at any time because he was the president of the country. This kind of things would not be hard for him, most, especially because he had people in every part of the country, especially this city. It only took the special defense team to track those who kidnapped Damien. It wasn't so easy because Damien's phone was in the car, which would have made things easier, but thanks to a particular phone
That action was not something he planned to do. Damien carried it out without thinking of the next step. The moment he pulled the trigger at Mr Blue, he rushed off the chair, heading for nowhere in particular. The warehouse was not completely lit, so he could not see every part of the warehouse except from where he was sitting. He rushed over to the only pillar he saw and then hid behind it. He knew he could not be completely invisible to them, but he had to be sharp in his dealings. He was not going to sign off on everything that his father had worked for to someone who did not know how tough it was to build an empire such as the Alfredo company. Damien peeped out from the pillar, so he could see what was happening. To his surprise, none of them were moving to even come to him. It felt like they did not mind that he was about to leave their crutches. He knew he could not be happy just yet. He dabbed his body, trying to figure out where his phone was. It then occurred to him that hi
Sarah quickly requested for a bottle of water so she could splash it on Joanna. The moment Joanna came to, she instantly began crying because of the situation they had found themselves in. Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo came into the office and saw Joanna in that state. They quickly helped her up and took her into Damien's office so they could have some time on their own. In a matter of minutes, Joanna was in a messy state.She had not thought something like this would happen and so soon. She kept asking what they were going to do now. Mr Alfredo was making calls to everyone that he knew could help, which also included the police. They needed everyone to help find the CEO of the company. Mrs Alfredo was vested with trying to calm Joanna down, and so did Sarah. After what felt like an hour, Joanna spoke. “I need to call my father,” she said and immediately began searching for her phone. None of them stopped her because they needed everyone. Mr Alfredo did not know who might do this. One person
Joanna stayed home for a few hours without doing anything. There was nothing work-related that she could do either, so she was just bored at home. She tried to watch a few movies and series, but it did not keep her mind occupied. For some strange reason, she felt really restless and could not pinpoint where the problem was coming from. She sent a message to Damien, and all seemed well from his side. She even called her father, asking him if everything was okay and he was a hundred percent positive that everything was okay. It troubled her a lot and after being bored and restless for a very long time; she called her friend Sarah. Sarah was more than happy to hear from her and even invited her to come over to her studio. Joanna quickly obliged, as it was a way to get out of the house. The bodyguard which Damien had put in place tried to follow her but she stopped him as she did not want to have him following her. She was fine and certainly; she wasn't going anywhere that would seem u
Damien frowned. Why would his mother so readily want to give Joanna her ring? It was hers. He still remembered how she was when it came to this ring of hers. She cherished it and rarely allowed anyone to touch it if that person was not his father.“But it's yours. Joanna would need to keep it after” Damien tried to reason with his mother, but she seemed not to mind. She smiled.“I do not mind if she takes it. I actually want her to. It's an Alfredo heirloom. Your father's mother gave it to me after our engagement ceremony, but I don't want that for Joanna. I want you to propose to her with this,” Mrs. Alfredo said. Damien nodded, understanding what his mother had planned. However, he shut the box, then handed the box back to his mother with a smile. Mrs. Alfredo looked shocked at this. “You don't want to use it?” she asked, sounding upset.“I really want you to,” Mrs Alfredo added “Mum, I know, but not right now. I cannot propose to Joanna right now. But I will. Once I am ready, I w
Joanna and Damien snapped their heads to the door, with their eyes wide. Eliza's eyes matched with theirs before turning around. “I'm so sorry. Sorry,” she said as she walked out the door, shutting it behind her.Joanna turned to Damien, and Damien tried to kiss her again. “Damien” she called out to him with a tease“What?” he acted as though he did not know what she was talking about and still tried to kiss herJoanna tried to stand, but he held her down. “Just one more,” Damien pleaded. Joanna smiled before kissing him. They were about to sink in when Joanna quickly got up.“Eliza would be waiting outside,” Joanna said, unable to contain her smileJoanna adjusted her dress, and so did Damien for his suit. “You can come in now, Eliza,” Damien said once Joanna was seated across from the table with her legs crossedEliza opened the door slowly, poking her head into the office and darting her eyes around. She wanted to be sure that nothing was going on inside the office anymore. She had
Mr. Blue knew he had made a big mistake. He needed this job. Unfortunately, he did not have much going on in his life, which was all the more reason he wanted to be the CEO of the company. It has been his dream.He glanced around the room. Hoping that someone would stand up for him. They could not really side with Damien, who they had only known for two weeks over him they had known for years, right? They could not just abandon him, right?He glanced at the only man on the board who had defended him moments ago, but the man quickly averted his gaze. Mr Blue just got fired, and he did not want to also get fired. He needed the job. Damien just proved to them he would work hard and far to get all of them to act right.He was not his father who would keep them because they were of value. Now there were people who would readily take their position and were more competent than them, even though they lack the experience. Mr Blue, seeing that no one was going to stand up for him, stood up.“Y
Damien worked into the office with a stern expression on his face. Every staff knew not to mess with him at this very moment or else they stand a chance to get fired.Just by mere looking at him, they knew something was up. Those who feared and did not fear him before now did. He was in no mood to play with anyone. Even Joanna tried to cheer him up, but he was really upset. She only successfully cheered him up when she was around. But from the moment he stepped out of the house heading for the office, the frown he had kept aside reappeared. Most people thought Damien was soft, but he was not.Yes, for a while he has been away from the business, but that does not mean he does not know how to play his cards very well. Those men thought they could mess with him but failed to understand that he got some traits from his father and he was going to utilize it very well. The meeting was scheduled for one o'clock, so for now, he was in his office attending to other documentation. He took up