"Pick up…""Huh?"Lucas tilted his head at the phone."Oh yeah…" Emily sucked in a breath and brought the phone to her ears slowly. Her hands trembled with fear."You useless filth…what took you so long to pick up," her stepmother cussed at her as soon as she picked.Why did her heart bleed because of her stepmother's words? She thought she'd built a wall made of steel around her that made her immune to their spiteful words."I'm sorry…" she apologized, even though she did absolutely nothing to apologize for.Her stepmother's scoffed filled her ears, "Come back home this instant!"Emily removed the phone from her ears and stared at the screen unbelievably, looked at Lucas, back to the screen before she placed the phone back on her ears."But—" she was about to defend herself when her stepmother angrily cut in with a dry laugh."How dare you try to counter my words?"Emily shook her head, "I'm not…I'm not…""Enough!"Emily's stomach lurched, she'd taken in everything and silently wishe
When Emily finally slipped out of unconsciousness, she slowly opened her eyes. Her head banged so much she feared it was going to fall off from carrying so much weight, her body hurt and her legs were stiff she couldn't move them.She looked around the room, trying to make out her surroundings. For a good ten minutes all her mind did was phatom where she was and how she got her. When she realized how, she bursted into tears.Her stepmother and stepsister had beaten her till she collapsed and had left her there to her fate. She tried to stand on her feet but her legs were too weak to carry her, so she fell back to the ground.The room was dimly illuminated with the warm glow of the faulty chandelier that hung in the center of what used to be a lavishly grand living room but now, the direct opposite of its former self– cold, dark and without life.She looked around her and her gaze fell on her bag. She stretched, groaning in the process as she reached for her bag. Still in tears and wit
Claire's gaze went from Emily to the man and back to Emily. What the hell is going on? She questioned herself. Who was the masked man that had showed in front of her house unannounced and had asked for Emily? To make matters worse, Emily didn't act surprised when she saw him– that only meant one thing…they knew each other.Emily would act like she was innocent and couldn't even hurt a fly, but here she was moving around with men Claire wouldn't even sit at the same table with. Claire cussed at Emily inside her heart, she dared not speak it in the presence of this stranger. He might be masked and had the features of someone that would be devilishly handsome but that's not to be in denial of the aura his presence brought.He looked every shade of cruel and mean. Like one who wouldn't think twice before striking anyone who stood in his path and Emily definitely didn't want to be that person who'd take his wrath."Claire honey, is everything okay?" Her mother's voice sounded from the back
Emily watched in confusion as Lucas disappeared through the door. She wondered why he was so bent on remaining anonymous even though he'd been of immense help to her.She walked over to the couch and slouched right into it. The event that happened in her house replayed in her head, how would she face her stepmother and stepsister after this man has put them through.No matter how much she'd forced herself to, she couldn't find sleep. So many things bugged her veins including the fact that Lucas had a striking feature with this heir– No one would trust her, but she'll remain of the opinion that Lucas was the masked man. A few days back, when he brought he'd invited her on a date to the hotel, it had skipped her memory to ask him. She laid down on the couch still lost in thoughts till she drifted off to sleep.The next morning, she woke up and made her way to the car park. To her surprise, the driver was already waiting for her, "Good morning ma'am," he greeted and held the door for he
As Emily stared at him, Lucas could feel the tension building up and resting at the back of his neck. If he slipped up and said something wrong, Emily would fish him out before he would even get the chance to reveal himself. If he didn't speak it meant two things– that he absolutely had no idea what she was talking about, or he knew but didn't want to confirm her suspicion.Tick. Tick. He felt the vein at the back pump with so much blood, he might get sick.Emily narrowed her eyes at him. She opened her mouth to speak, just then his notification beeped– thank goodness for this distraction. He thought to himself, as he cut his gaze from her and fumbled with his phone in his pocket. He brought it and looked at the screen."Professor Perkins class is in a minute," he tilted his head towards the lecture hall, "Let's go…"Emily's intuition told her there was something fishy going on, of course there was a possibility it could be a coincidence. But what if? There were so many what ifs going
Emily crossed her arms over her chest. Of course, he didn't know what she was trying to talk about. What if she was acting up, what if it was all in her mind and he was the masked guy and not Lucas."What's your name?" She questioned.Lucas stiffened, "Randolph…Randolph junior," he answered.She nodded. "Fine Randolph junior," she began, "Why are you doing all of these?" Lucas opened his mouth to say when she cut in, "You didn't just show up in front of my door to clear your name from your brothers scandal, did you?""Yes I did… I shower up in front of your door to clear my name," he said in a firm voice.She shook her head, "You're lying," she answered.He inched closer to her, "I'm not lying, you don't–"Before he could finish his statement, she raised his hands that had the scar, "Then why'd you have this on your hands!""I told you it's a coincidence, I'm not Lucas," he said before he caught himself. Fuck!Emily laughed softly, "It's a coincidence…then how'd you know his name?" Sh
Somehow, Lucas had been able to convince Emily that he was the heir to Belcraft and not her friend back at school, because of a scar on the same side of their hands.If Emily believed him, he couldn't tell, but she didn't bring it up both at school and when he'd invite her as the heir."Where's Emily?" A familiar female voice questioned. First off, the loud voice pissed him off, he was in the library. Perhaps some people didn't care about rules and regulations that governed a particular environment. Secondly, he was in no mood to speak to anyone.He raised his head and his eyes met a pair of brown ones glaring down at him with disdain– Claire. Emily's callous sister who relished in seeing her in so much pain.Lucas ignored her and went back to what he was doing on the laptop. Claire scoffed and slammed the laptop shut. She shouldn't have. She just shouldn't have.He wasn't a huge fan of the Gold's family particularly because of what they did to Emily. But this encounter with Claire ri
"Isn't this a bit too much?" Emily asked as she pulled a chair and took a seat.Nina shrugged, "Nobody goes against the orders of the young Master," she said.Emily rushed through her breakfast and hurriedly grabbed her bag to leave. By the time she got downstairs, the car was already ready to take her back."This isn't necessary, I can find my way back," she said, suddenly feeling angry that he'd left her all by herself. She needed an out, out of this situation she was entangling herself in and fast.What if he's not who she thought he was? What if he's even worse than Denver? What if he's a delusion and doesn't exist? So many questions raced through her mind.The guard shook his head, "I'm sorry Miss Emily, but I'm under strict order not to let you leave her if I don't drop you off,"Emily felt warm to her stomach at the guard words. First he showed up and now he's making her feel sorta special?Get a hold of yourself girl. A little voice at the back of her mind cautioned. Plus this
Before Lucas could make a movement out of the location, a gang of boys had gathered already, surrounding him. The old man couldn't just stop calling him a thief even after he had explained to him that the money belonged to him. However, at some point in time, Lucas couldn't blame them. He had not taken his time to think through his actions. He should have known that it was definitely going to be outrageous for an odd looking man like him to display such huge amount of money, even if he was in disguise. No one but him knew he was in disguise as a poor man after all.Soon enough, it looked to him like the old man had filled the gang in with the wrong details. That explained the disapproving and angry stares they gave to him. It was unfortunate that even as he tried to plead with them so he could tell them the truth from the misconception the old man had, they had began to throw blows at him, kicking and slapping him at the same time.Lucas considered their action to be inconsiderate, i
He was more shocked to see the group of people staring at him, confusion spread out on their faces. There were just three of them. Three women, staring at him. And neither of them was ready to move away from the spot they were standing at. Although he wasn't surprised at how they stared at him. As of that time, he was no longer the rich looking, handsome billionaire. He was now an ugly haggard poor man who was sniffing around the cliff, probably searching for what to eat. After staring at them in silence for quite some time, he decided to make a move as he suddenly remembered what he had thought of doing if things didn't work out fine. As usual, there was always a plan B.Surprisingly, the first step he took made them take another step back. Despite given the distance, he could still see the distrust that equally led to fear on their faces. Of course, he should have expected that. “I won't hurt you please. I just need to ask you a few questions.” He said, taking another step towards
The last action he did was button up the torn trousers he was putting on. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have a mirror where he could look up himself to see how he looked in his disguised form. He had made a mental note to himself before leaving the house that he had to look the poorest ever.After his several attempts to make the people around him believe that Emily was not dead had failed, Lucas took it upon himself to go search for her himself. He knew how hard he had paid people to go in search of her. However, it was heart breaking to say that there was no one who took it in their deep interest to find her because if they did, he was pretty sure that some positive results would have come out. He was presently at one of the abandoned and deserted warehouses he knew about. That was another perfect spot for a billionaire like him to suddenly transform himself into a disgusted poor man which people would want to stay away from. He had chosen the warehouse, far from the mansion so
“He used to be a student at the school.” The words of Mr. Shaw couldn't stop playing in her head. “I was able to go into the city. That was the only place I could think of finding him since no one here knew who he was. And I had to start from where we had found you. When there was nothing positive there, I moved further. Along the line, I was able to find a group of people, young boys especially who had an idea of him. According to the people I found, he used to be a student at one Belmont Academy.” The old man explained to Emily.At first, when he had come into the house with the good news of having found the man in the picture and knowing his location, Emily felt her heart gladden. Even if they were on a maybe part of finding him, she believed a clue was worth something. But as it stood, she had just one question… how would she find him in a big school just as the old man described? From the look of the young man in the picture, he didn't look like one to still be in school. So, wh
It was two days gone in her new place, and Emily still couldn't remember who she was or where she came from. All she had with her was her name which sometimes she questions if it might truly be her name. And also the picture which she had given to Mr. Shaw to help her find the truth behind it. Ever since the date she found the picture, she took it upon herself to search every nook and cranny of the bag said to belong to her, with the intention of finding anything else that could tell her who she truly was. Unfortunately, there was nothing. It was just a bunch of make up kit, the name tag, and the picture. However, what Emily was truly focused on at the moment was finding out who the man in the picture was. She believed that if she found out who he truly was, it could be a lead to her real identity.Now, she was home alone like the previous days. Mrs. Shaw had gone to her place of business, insisting that she had to fully recover before she would start working for her as they had agre
Blake stood to stare at his friend in confusion. He didn't want to believe what he had just heard from him. But then, he was forced to believe him, owning to the seriousness on his face. “I have a lot of questions concerning this if you're actually serious about it.” Blake finally opened up to say.There was a reign of silence as Lucas didn't respond to him. “How did you leave to find Emily? Where did you also go to find her, Lucas?” Blake asked, hoping he would still get a response from him because definitely, he was curious.“When you all were asleep, foolishly believing that she is actually gone for good.” Lucas answered, a sting of betrayal playing in his voice. “Lucas, you're endangering your life.” Blake said, concern glaring in his voice.“I don't care if I had to do that. All I want is to find my woman.” Lucas said forcefully, turning to look back at Blake.“Let me remind you that this supposed woman is dead.” Blake said. “Her body was not found. That doesn't mean that she
“Is he still locked up in his room?” Mr. Belcraft asked Blake the moment he walked in. Blake let out a deep sigh firstly before he could respond.“I'm just coming in. But I bet he would still be locked up in his room.” Blake finally answered. The old man was the next on line to let out a deep sigh. When Blake watched him closely, he could see the wrinkles which had appeared on his face. It was clear to him that the old man was more stressed up than anyone else could be.And truth be told, he just had to be, owning to the fact that he deeply cared about his grandson.“Will you help me go check up on him?” Mr. Belcraft opened up again, pleadingly.“Of course Mr. Belcraft. I would do that.” Blake said, and he nodded his head in approval. Blake then turned in the attempt of doing what he had come to do as well as what he had been pleaded to do. However, just when he was about to take further steps upstairs, leading to Lucas room, he suddenly stopped. He quickly turned back to him. “Mr. B
All through the ride last night, Emily couldn't get her head off the fact that she was about to go start a new life in a village she knew no one or nothing about. Although underneath the scary feeling, she felt thrilled to go start a new life. When she thought deeper about the bold step she had taken towards an unknown destination, she pushed aside the fear that clunged onto her. After all, she couldn't remember who she was. There was a possibility her new journey could make it all happen. The clattering sound she had heard caused her to open her eyes, and sit on the bed. "Oh, God." She yawned deeply. For a minute, she had forgotten that she was now in the home of her saviors, the old woman and her husband. After she had pleaded with her to let her leave with them, the old woman had thought of it wise to inform her husband. Clearly, Emily didn't object to it. All she did was pray inwardly that the old man was going to accept it. And he did. While they took it upon themselves t
She had thought that the smell of drugs, syringe, and possible vomit had only conjured in her dream. However, she was all wrong when she opened up her eyes. Her first sight was the bulb producing light which was on, and the rolling fan. She stayed put for a while as she tried hard to realize where she was. Sadly, the harder she tried, the more pain she felt. The young lady closed her eyes shut again. This was in a bid to calm her hurting head, and also see if she could get anything. When she did it for the longest time she could remember, and nothing happened, she opened back her eyes. It was at that time she used the opportunity to look around where she was. Definitely, she had not been wrong when the smell told her she could be in a hospital. Even if her memory had a bit of lagging behind, she could as well recognize what an hospital looked like. But, she still couldn't think past the question she had. Why was she in a hospital? She thought. Despite the struggles, she finally