"Give it to me, Andrea," Andrew cried out and then hurried towards Andrea. "Have it, madam Alice. You can call the cops if you like," Andrea announced as she threw the diamond emblem towards Madam Alice, and then stood Akimbo when Andrew loomed closer to her. "Damn you, you will all rot in jail if I see any scratch on that," Andrew yelled in anger, turned and marched towards Madam Alice. "Stop there and don't dare take one more step!" Madam Alice was on her feet, and her eyes shone dangerously as she yelled louder, "I will make sure you are punished for yelling at me... Have you forgotten your night in the gutter?" "Tried that shit with me, and before all gods, I will make sure you are miserable for the rest of your life," Andrew murmured as he stepped towards Madam Alice, bobbed her slap and held her frail arm, and then yelled out," and don't dare raise your hand on me again." "Did you want to beat me?.. Oh my gosh! Andrew had beaten his in-laws in their house," Madam Alice tried
Time froze as the door of the Bentley door fell with a loud thud and all eyes darted at it, then back at the landlord. "Oh my goodness! You just broke half a million-dollar mirror," Jackson placed his two palms on his head and mumbled, "All your assets can't buy a new mirror." Andrew was speechless as he stepped towards the Bentley. He stooped down, picked up the mirror, peeked at it, then back to the old man and let out, "You have destroyed my property because of your miserable house rent. Tell me how much he owns you, and I will pay you now." "Ten thousand dollars. That is how much he owed me," the man answered back with feigned boldness. Andrew dipped his hand inside his pocket, brought out a wad of dollars and let out," This is ten thousand dollars. Have your miserable money." "Then you must buy us a new mirror, and repair our car," Jackson added. "Daddy... Daddy. Welcome home," two identical male twins raced out of the house, towards Jackson and leapt on him. "Meet Tommy a
Apart from Tommy and Jimmy who chattered through the drive to The palace hotel, the two grown-up men were lost in their thought till Jackson drove into the large gate of the hotel, then parked among the several exotic cars. "Welcome to our end-of-the-year party," a beautiful lady in a white and short blouse and mini-skirt welcomed them with a bow, then opened the passenger's door, and helped Tommy and Jimmy out of the car. "Thank you, Miss. Hope we are not late?" "The party is still going on," the lady answered back, smiled and let out, "Please come with me." The inside of the hotel's large hall was filled to the brim, and the voice of the musician on the podium far off boomed louder than the chattering of the guests. "Seat here while I notify our waiters and waitresses to serve you," the lady announced, then pointed at some empty chairs far off. Andrew gestured to the rest of the crew with him and let out, "Come with me." Moments later, Jackson, Andrew and the two twins sat
Einstein glared at Andrew as he walked closer, and his face showed the volume of his anger against the younger man. "I want to use this opportunity to invite the general manager of The Palace Hotel to deliver her opening speech before we proceed to the next program," the MC announced, and his speech was welcomed by another round of deafening clapping and hooting. Miss Simpson was dressed in a blue and white striped frock that displayed all her curves and shapes, and her eyes showed her excited state of mind. "Thank you all for gracing this occasion," Miss Simpson announced with a bow, smile, breath out loud and let out, "As you are all aware, the owner of this hotel had decided to give back to society, and because of this, our organisation will henceforth have a special treat for those who are not buoyant enough to pay for most of our goods and services." "That is beautiful... Now the commoners will be able to enjoy the serenity of this environment, " one among the guests cried o
Pride, they say always goes before a fall. This was the case of Einstein who stood confused when Andrew pledged a billion dollars to support the building of animal shelters. "Donate ten billion dollars, Einstein. Show them that you are richer than him," Stella who had remained on her feet shouted at the top of her voice. "This is very interesting," another young lady muttered, then peeked at Andrew and let out, "Who will believe such a poorly dressed man can afford to donate a billion dollars?" "Maybe he is not as poor as he looks," Stella's toothless friend mumbled. "Thank you, Andrew, for that fantastic donation," the MC collected the wireless microphone from Andrew and announced. He then turned towards Einstein, gave the microphone to him and said in a whisper, "Andrew pledge a billion dollars in support of our project. Luckily for us, you promised ten times his donation. Don't you?" "Em... Em," Einstein stammered because he was confused, and the realisation that he was abou
In truth, it hurt to love and not to be loved back. But what hurts most is to love and not have the courage to express it. Jackson didn't possess the boldness to express his feelings to Miss Simpson, and he would have rather died with his desire if Tommy had not taken the bull by the horns. Every step Miss Simpson took towards him increased his heartbeat, and he was as white as a ghost when she arrived beside him, stooped and whispered in his right ear. "Your son said you want to dance with me." "Em... Yeah, sure. Did you mind?" "I won't be here if I do. Now be on your feet and don't keep a lady waiting," Miss Simpson mumbled, then stretched her arm towards Jackson. "Wow! Thanks, Miss," Jackson announced as he held Miss Simpson's hand, and with fingers intertwined, both couples stepped into the middle of the hall and then moved in rhythm to the melodious voice of the musician. On the podium far off, Andrew peeked at Jackson and Miss Simpson as they held tight to each other, and
The whole hall turned hysterical after Einstein's speech, and some guests left in annoyance, while others uttered profanity words at the sad-looking man. During the commotion, Jackson pulled his two sons by their hands and then gestured to Andrew and let out, "Let's get out of here before it turned violent. I have kids here with me." "Let us go to my lodge so that your children can relax. It had been a hectic day for all of us." The two men wobbled among the crowd and were at the hall entrance when someone called Jackson's name from behind. "That is Miss Simpson's voice. Let's wait for her," Andrew let out and then smiled at his shivering friend. "Are you going without saying goodbye?" Miss Simpson announced. She paused, gawked at the identical twins and asked, "Which among you came to call me?" "I." "It's me." Miss Simpson looked at both twins, giggled and let out, "Are you trying to get me confused? Anyway, I love twins and I adored them when they were identical. She turned
"I suggest you go and meet her, she sounds autocratic, and I would hate to be on her bad side," Jackson muttered, and his speech seemed to pull Andrew out of his reverie. "I hate the way she is trying to order me around," Andrew answered back, standing up and pacing to and fro in the well-adorned executive lodge. "You don't have a choice, at least you ought to know why she called for you." Andrew nodded his head, peeked at his Thuraya satellite phone for a while, and then hurriedly punched some numbers on it. "Who are you calling?" Andrew ignored Jackson's peering eyes as the line rang at the other side, and then released the breath he wasn't aware of holding when a voice muttered. "You finally decided to call me since I gave you a phone... How are you, Andrew Elizabethans?" "I am good, sir. Isabella called and demanded my presence. May I know the reason why?" "All your sisters had been eager to meet you since I informed them about you. I think she just wants to see what you l
A year later, Andrew had almost forget about his estranged queen, and only the vacant position of the queen keeps Jasmine's memory fresh in his brain. During the chiefs meeting one late night, the chief chamberlain cleared his throat and muttered, “When is our kingdom having a new queen? It’s over a year since Queen Jasmine left our palace.” “The chief chamberlain just spoke my mind,” An older chief in a white regalia let out. “ As our custom demand, the throne of the queen must not be vacant more than twelve months. We must choose another queen as soon as possible.” Andrew Inhale louder and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “I can’t just make a random woman my queen. I need to first find a woman that I like, fall in love with her and then choose her. Don’t you think this is a long process that can’t be achieved in a few months.” “We all know this, your highness,” Another chief in a blue regalia and extra large hat mumbled. “We have all think this through and decided to choose Andrea
Jasmine barged into Andrew's chamber one night and met him staring at some family photos. “You don’t bother to check on me since Andrea arrived.”Andrew offered a sardonic smile and gestured to her to come closer.“I’m so sorry. You have been acting cold and making it difficult to talk to you.”Jasmine fixed her eyes on Andrew's face as she stepped closer and stood beside him. “You know why am angry, yet you keep doing the same thing to drive me to anger... Did I do wrong by marrying you?”With an innocent smile pasted on his face, Andrew shakes his head sideways and asked, “What did I do wrong? You have been avoiding me since Andrea arrived in the Palace.”“You know what you did, Andrew. So stop acting all sweet.”“I only knew Andrea’s presence here is not agreeable to you. But as you already know, she is the mother of my heir and I can’t stop her from visiting her only son.”“Oh!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Are you shaming me because I haven’t given you a child or you just hated me?”
The legal battle was tougher than Andrew had imagined. But at last, Jackson was given the option of parole only after five years and a commendable behavior. Though it wasn't exactly what Andrew wanted. Yet still, he was glad that he was able to reduce his punishment. A year later, Andrew was attending to some political guests when he was informed of Ajay's arrival in his palace. "Take him to my private chamber. I will be with him in a few hours." He quickly dismissed his guests and rushed to attend to his childhood friend. "What brought you to my palace at this time of the night? I thought you had gone to Arkansas City for the Yuletide holiday." "Yes, I just came back some hours ago," A smile appeared on Ajay's face as he muttered," Andrea is back at the O'Connor's villa." "Oh! Why doesn't she come to me?" "She can't. She knows that you are happily married and she won't like to be a distraction to you or your wife." "Married, yes. But not happily… Do you have her new mobile n
Jacob was found dead in his room the following morning. As expected, Jackson was arrested for the murder of Teddy. During the interrogation, he refused to mention Andrew's name and insisted it was an accident. Nevertheless, he was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Though Andrew was happy that he had avenged his father's and grandfather's death, he felt sad that Jackson ended the scapegoat. But because of the sensitivity of the case, he had no choice but to sit and watch the law take its full course. A few days after Jackson's judgment, Andrew was seen gazing absent-mindedly into the sky when he heard some footsteps behind him. He turned and a smile appeared on his face at the sight of the unexpected guests. "Hi, Simpson.""My king!"Andrew stepped closer and held Simpson in a tight embrace. He then picked up his daughter, hugged her and then ruffled Jimmy and Tommy's hair and mumbled, "You guys are growing fast," He turned towards Simpson
Andrew was right. Bad news travels faster than its counterparts. His rumour of death had reached his enemies even before Jackson arrived. Sevreachedmen were seen in a jovial mood as Jackson stepped inside a splashy large room with a blinding light. "Welcome, Jackson. We have heard of the usurper's death, and we realized this is your handwork," Jacob announced as he held Jackson in a tight bear hug. "Now that he is dead, let's see how he wants to wear the crown.""It's my pleasure to serve you, people," Jackson mumbled as he offered his hand for a shake. And he was aware of the poisoned pin as it pricked Jacob's palm. Jacob also feels a light sting and his eyes immediately gawk at the ring on Jackson's finger. "Where is the poisoned ring?" Jacob asked as he released the breath he had been holding. Seeing a different ring on Jackson's finger brought immediate relief to him. "Here… Here it is," Jackson said as he dipped his hand into the pocket of his suit and brought out the deadly
Though Andrew didn't believe Jasmine's explanation. Nevertheless, he decided to let the sleeping dog lie. Yet still, this seemed to bring a bigger hole in their imperfect relationship. And the two of them live like cat and mouse for months. A year later, Andrew was still wondering why he ended up with Jasmine when he was informed of a guest awaiting him. Thinking maybe it was Andrea, he immediately asked if it was a man or a woman, and disappointment could be seen on his face when he was told it was a man. "I can't see him tonight. Take him to the guest quarters until I'm free to attend to him.""Yes, Your Highness. Though he claimed that it was very urgent and begged for your immediate attention.""What is his name?""Ajay O'Connor. He seemed to know you from your days at Arkansas City.""Send him in," Andrew mumbled. He wonders what Ajay wants with him and his curiosity makes him restless until Ajay arrives. The young man was a shadow of himself. His once smooth and shining ski
After their first night together, Andrew and Jasmine seemed inseparable. Though their relationship can be termed one-sided, Jasmine appeared to be happy and satisfied, and it looked like Andrew had at last forgotten his lost love. Since the royal chief won't stop disturbing him from getting married, Andrew has no choice but to propose to the excited Jasmine who immediately agrees. In truth, when the desirable is not available, the available becomes the desirable. Six months later, the pair decided to tie the knot. Their marriage was the talk of the town, and a week was declared a public holiday to celebrate the important occasions. During the royal banquet, Andrew was seated among his family and friends in a deep conversation when he noticed a silhouette of a woman who resembled Andrea. "Excuse me, please," Andrew muttered, standing up from his throne and hurried towards the outgoing lady. He ignored all the well-wishers who called out to wish him a happy married life and smiled
The sun was already glaring in the sky when Andrew woke up. After having a light meal, he decided to visit his ladies, at least for courtesy's sake. They came from far and near, and sending them home without attending to them seemed very insulting. They were put separately in different rooms, and Andrew knocked on the first door and stepped inside.A tall and shapely lady with a beautiful face stood up from the bed and walked towards him. "Good morning, my lord. I have been waiting for you since yesterday and I am glad that you finally come to visit me."The lady hugged him seductively and dragged him towards the bed in the middle of the room. But Andrew gently removed his hand and then motioned to the lady to sit down, while he sat beside her. "What is your name?""Janet, my lord.""And your profession?" "I'm a barrister and I'm working with a private company." Janet placed her palm on Andrew's chin to caress him, but Andrew held her hand, frowned and shook his head. "Take it eas
Three months later. Andrew was seen walking to and fro in his palace, and the grimace on his face showed his state of mind. His body shivered, and his eyes were cloudy. A red line shows around his eyes and a patch appears on his forehead. After yawning twice, he suddenly whirled towards the men at his back and asked, "Are you telling me she had grown wings and disappeared from the surface of the earth? I have spent millions of dollars to look for her, sent people from one end of the earth to the other side, and the result is always negative." "I'm sorry, my lord," A tall man with a large scar in between his eyes answered back. " I guess she didn't want to be found and had been evading us." "We heard she was in Orlando, and we immediately flew down there. But she must have heard of our arrival and disappeared before we reached her hideout." Andrew's frown deepened as he stared at the men on his front. "Why am I unfortunate to be surrounded by letdown people? I want a result and no