At nine in the morning, after the meeting with Diana's attorney, Drake emerged from the house carrying his suitcase. The laceration on his hand was better and still bandaged.
Drake searched for a very cheap apartment to stay in. He chose not to go back to his mother's house so that she wouldn't ask questions and be stressed.However, Drake ran out of money that wasn't enough to rent an apartment for a few days. He was jobless now, homeless and broke. Where would he go?Drake was thinking about finding a new job while sitting down on the bench after dragging his luggage around the street for two hours as holding back the whole pain in his body.Unfortunately, the supervisor didn't give him a reference letter he should have received when the termination notice was issued. The worst part was he still had no idea the specific reason for his termination."What are you doing here, Drake?"Drake moved his eyes to him. The man he recognized as Rooney, standing in front of him, gazing at him with question expressions but he took his glare back then.Meeting someone who used to abuse him at the office–in the park, when he wanted to be alone was the moment he hated the most.Because they weren't workmates anymore, Drake didn't give any answer to him. He no longer wanted to have any contact with them because he needed calmness from now on."Where are you going? I bet you will come to Mama," he chuckled when seeing Drake's suitcase. "Did you get kicked out by your in-laws?"As he already knew about Drake's retirement and also the marriage rumour, Rooney believed that the gossip was true. He also believed Drake went out of the mansion due to the marriage exposure and everyone talking about it."You gotta be at the same level with them, Dude! Rich people will never marry a poor person like you. Look at me. I'm a bit better than you, but I know it's just a dream left in my mind to be part of them. They'll only marry a person who is as rich as they are, whether they'll be happy or not. Keep in mind, Buddy. A business marriage."Drake didn't pay his attention to him. The children were playing before him, attracting his attention that fixed his gaze on them.Rooney signed deeply to go on commenting."Love is not what they need in life. All they need is money in order for them to live like a king and queen."Rooney took a seat next to Drake, looking at his suitcase placed on the ground created a small smile on his face."So, you'll be going home to your mom's house or… ah, I wonder whether your mom knows that you're unemployed now and…"He moved his glare to the playing children who seemed cheerful and sounded pleased from their voices."Does she divorce you?"Drake kept silent, savoring the view that caused him to dream of having a child. He thought his life was going to be full of happiness."I wasn't supposed to ask you. That's what should happen," Rooney added, but then he spoke in free-guilt. "Did you have sex with her? She has nice boobs. I guess she's good in bed. I'm sure you're hook up wit—"Drake gave him some punches on the belly for saying he hated to hear. To him, women shouldn't have experienced sexual harassment, whatever it was, and they are human beings who have to be respected and cherished in all hearts.Rooney couldn't believe what he had to pay for saying something he thought was a joke. A reaction he had never witnessed before from Drake. Rooney hit back at Drake, didn't give him a chance to defend and made him black and blue."I never make a mess with you or your peeps, but you all always bully me for something I don't do or know not of. What exactly do you want?""I don't like a person like you working in the office. I don't know how to say but we really don't want you there."No, Rooney made a lie. He and they seemed to think that Drake would eliminate them because of his capabilities. As a human resources officer, Rooney already had guessed that Drake was actually smart when reading his resume.Another reason for the hatred was the beautiful Diana. The young woman had been attracted to him since he saw her for the first time. Particularly when the rumour spreaded. Rooney enraged and couldn't help himself from hurting Drake to make him feel insecure."Alright, you've got what you wanted now. I'm not one of them anymore. Go, go now. Get away from me!" his voice trailed off and spoke in a weak look.Rooney saw deep into his eyes with a freaking smile. "I will… but after I send you to hell!"Rooney grabbed Drake by the collar, causing him to gasp for air before dragging him to a quiet, out-of-the-way location. He blindly beat Drake and his head. Blood poured from his mouth, temples, nose and bandaged hand.Drake stared at the door, expecting someone would come to his aid as his entire body was stiff. Soon after, a male servant entered to see him."You're awake," the servant said as he approached the bed. Drake's expressionless face caught his attention.Drake had never seen him before and the room he was in now. He wanted to speak but couldn't move his tongue, so he tried to communicate with him through his eyes.“Do you need something?”Drake closed his eyes and nodded at the same time. He wanted to pee and felt like he got naked from the blanket covering up his body to chest.After making sure of his condition, the servant exited the room. “He woke up, ma'am.”“Finally. Make ready his meal and bring it to the room. I’m gonna see him.”The servant bowed a bit until the old woman made her way to the exit. She used a cane to help her walk. At almost sixty years old, she looked quite fit despite the wrinkles on her face."How are you, Child?" she came closer and smiled down at him. "I foun
“I have two sons whom I expect to continue managing our company. They two are my heirs, but they're bad in organizing business to keep it going fine. They often spend much money to have fun, but spend little time at work. I should’ve had my pension today and put my company in their trust. But I’m not lucky cos they almost let me go bankrupt.” Quiet. “That’s why I ask you to be the CEO. It will surely attract their attention to change the bad habits and be more serious in work cos they’re gonna think their position would soon be replaced by someone else. A business only needs a capable person to sit down on the chair,” Jessie knocked on the desk three times. “Remember, Child, life is hard but business is crueler. You’ll get a lot of things from this plan. You can say I take some benefits from you.” Still silence “You don’t have much time to think about it, Son. If you think it’s temporary, just take this chance to repay them to their deen. Cos after that, you won’t hold that positio
Amidst the sound of the music, Rooney came to join them in congratulating the spouse, passionately hugged Nicole and Abraham. He turned around, was stunned to see Drake looking completely different. He could not believe his eyes when he saw Drake looking like a rich man. “Drake? Is that you?” Rooney's voice sounded very surprised. "How are you, Rooney?" Drake smiled happily at Rooney like a dog in heat looking at an unretrievable bone, but he also felt his breath catch at the mention of auntie to Nicole. Rooney neglected his question. “What are you doing here? How can you wear that costly dress and come here? You know, you can’t come in if you don’t have the invitation card and show it to the security. This party is only for rich people, not for moneyless people like you.” Drake hated to hear the repeated question and asperse because they should have known who he was now. “I know.” However, Rooney grabbed Drake's suit quickly. "You must have stolen those clothes and sneaked in her
"Everything is in fix, sir. Rooney has also been nursed. As per Lord's orders, we did not take him to the hospital. I've also gagged him from talking about your power." Drake nodded happily. He himself did not suffer any injuries from the incident other than his body having to adapt to the fire funeral slowly. All the guards who were witnesses were not allowed to tell anyone about Drake's power. The warehouse burned down because Drake could not control the output of his fire power. The burning flames kept growing after they all exited the old building. "The engagement party was rather disrupted, the guests were whispering about Miss Diana the whole time. The Johnsons were very upset," another bodyguard said. Drake's smile widened even more, satisfied to make the guests curious with the hints he said. "So?" "They're having trouble explaining it to the guests," the bodyguard continued. "And they denied it, sir," added the other guard. Drake's smug smile faded away just as the newl
"I got a call from Amanda that you asked her to transfer to your bank account for gambling debt. How dare you spend money on the casino!" Jessie spoke loudly, and her cane was pointed at him that shocked Drake and Aaron. "You can't use Brannet's property for your prive!""That's not the company's own, but my royalty from the auction I won. Our client has transferred the money to the company's bank account, so Amanda just needs to forward it to mine," Aaron replied in an angry face. Drake restrained tightly his lips to smile watching a mother and her son arguing that he had never seen before. Afterwards, Aaron took his phone to dial Amanda. "Have you transferred my money?" "I-I'm sorry, sir, I didn't get approval from Mrs. Jessie." "Transfer it now or you get fired!" Aaron rang off the call after snapping on the phone, staring at Jessie sharply before getting out of the room with his anger. Jessie sighed deeply, then talked to Drake. "Don't let him get the money. He doesn't deserv
A knock came on the door, while Drake and Aaron were going on about the unfinished money case. Sammy rushed to come in and stopped before Drake. "We found out the cause of your accident, sir. It wasn't a common case but someone has designed it to harm you."Again, a shocking news hit Drake that an unknown man targeted him to be shot. It caused his chest to tighten since his breath hitched. Aaron was also stunned and hard to swallow in that he couldn't believe that someone had the same will with him, too. He smiled slightly since someone made his plan easier. Unfortunately, Sammy incidentally caught his expression. "Do you know who the perpetrator was?" Aaron asked, looking wondering as if he was concerned. "Yes, sir. That person was Miss Diana.'' Aaron and Drake were startled that Diana–for Drake–was beyond imagination to get her own back on him, except her parents wanted him to pay just because of the intrusion he made on their anniversary party. Then, Aaron bursted out laughing
Hello, hello… hellooo!" Before Celine replied, the call was hung up. "Ergghhh." "What's going on?" Drake was confused to find her mood changed to be angry. "What can I do for you at this moment?" "I won't do anything for this guy!" Celine grumbled as placed her phone down. "Damn you!" "Your boy? Does he do something to hurt you?" Drake cleaned his mouth using a napkin as he got done with his meal. "Drake, can I put my trust in you?" Celine eventually made her mind to speak up. "I… actually… I'm pregnant and need many things for me and my baby. So…" "You need money." Celine nodded. "Yes, I do but above all… his responsibility. He said that he would marry me if I'm pregnant with his baby. But he disclaimed it's his baby. He even gives me hush money and gets me to keep it under wraps."Celine had no choice but to tell him as she should address her needs during pregnancy. When she knew that the new CEO was Drake, she had been thinking to ask Drake for help after Aaron disclaimed her
"Drake! Drake!" Diana shouted. He turned to the door slowly when the door opened. The young woman seemed furious and rushed to him.Slap! Drake gasped. It shocked him that Diana slapped him for the first time. "What did you say about us?" Diana snapped him. "People say I'm married to you. We become the talk of the town now! You know what happened to me? I'm ashamed! You embarrassed me!" Slap! His red eyes wider trying to believe what just had happened. Drake realized that this was real life he had to deal with. However, as far as he remembered, he didn't tell or answer any questions people had asked. "What are you talking about?" He didn't truly understand what was going on. To this date, the secret wedding was saved with him. He wouldn't have any courage to reveal their wedding. "Why did you expose this fake wedding?" "I didn't. I never tell anybody about it," Drake denied. "If you say that you don't, then how can they talk about us? Don't make a lie, Drake. I can do bad thi