Chapter 5
Michael drove on the street and finally stopped beside the roadside, parked the car, and sat under a giant tree that gave him a shield from the hotness of the sun. Onlookers didn't fail to throw at him mocking words. However, he ignored them and was left alone to his thoughts. Who didn't know him as the popular broke man in the whole town of Maple? He slumped down onto the ground, having his head buried between his legs as he sobbed. “I am such a useless man. I can't even provide for my wife and in-laws. Soon, we'll be kicked out of the house and I don't even know what to do.” His heart sank deeply as tears welled down from his eyes. “Father-in-law was right. I'm just living off their earnings instead of providing. What a worthless man I am.” He couldn't hold back his tears. Immediately, he wiped off his tears and raised his eyebrows, he spotted a car driving towards where he was and he quickly wiped off his tears and stood on his feet as he watched the car approach. A middle-aged man dressed in a branded suit emerged from the black Pathfinder that worth a million dollars and Michael quickly recognized him as soon as his eyes spotted him. He was the best friend of his late father and he hasn't set his eyes on him for over four years now. “Uncle John! It's you.” He called out. Although John wasn't his father's or mother's brother that was how he did address him. “Michael my dear. It's been a long time since we last met. How have you been?” He asked, letting his eyes trail slowly around Michael's outfit. He was wearing a brown shirt and black clothe which were all worn out. “Everything has been fine. The economy is looking good on you. So how is Aunt Susan your wife and Becky your daughter?” “Thanks for the compliment. And as for my wife and daughter, they're all fine.” John let his eyes trailed on Michael again and he sighed heavily. The state in which he was seeing him wasn't appealing to the eyes at all. “Michael, we need to talk.” “About?” Michael was too fast to ask. “Something important. Just park your car and join me in mine. We have so many things to talk about. Before I forget, how is your new family– Rose, your wife, your father-in-law, and others, how are they?” “They're all fine. Thank you for your concern.” “I also heard their company is on the verge of bankruptcy and their properties will soon be taken away from them because of their inability to pay their debts.” Michael nodded, slightly bowing his head in shame. “Yes sir.” “I see…. Don't worry, just follow me and everything will be settled.” He said and entered the car. “What does he mean by I should follow him and everything will be settled?” He hesitated. But soon, he took his place inside the car. There was an hour of silence as the driver drove them through the town, and the car finally came to a halt in front of a large sophisticated mansion that displayed wealth from every corner, Michael's jaw almost dropped to the ground. “Uncle John, why have you brought me to this place?” Michael asked curiously as soon as they got out of the car. His eyes slowly trailed around the luxurious estate. “Just follow me and you will get to know about it yourself,” John instructed and strode inside. Without further questions, Michael trailed behind him. Stepping inside the large lavish living room, Michael's eyes widened in great astonishment. The Stephen house which he had once regarded as something was nowhere close to what he was seeing. The air in the room was overflowing with wealth showcasing its importance. Michael's staggered back, he was afraid of seeing someone like him of a poor status being in such a wealthy place. “Is he the one?” A man who seemed too busy flipping over the pages of a document asked, letting his eyes linger on Michael. “Yes, he's the one. His name is Michael Robinson, the only son of my late best friend, Robinson James.” “Oh, I see…It's a great honor to finally meet with you after several searches. You're welcome, Mr. Michael.” Michael halted but afterward, he later went ahead and received the handshake. “Michael, this is Barrister Benjamin Brown. He's the one in charge of every legal work of your late Dad and he'll be helping you fill out every crucial document that will enable you to become the heir of THE GOLDEN GROUP OF COMPANIES.” “What? Golden Group of Companies?” Michael was astonished. “Uncle John, if this is a joke, please stop it. You know me quite too well that I hate it when someone jokes with me.” “Mr. Michael, it's no joke. Mr. John is right.” Benjamin interrupted with a smile. “Please, have a seat, and let's briefly clarify this.” Michael however retorted but he later sat down opposite Benjamin and John sat beside him. “What do you mean by he is right?” He asked immediately. “Just relax your mind, Michael, while we explain everything to you.” He paused then continued after a deep breath… “You see...your parents had been hard-working persons and they had managed to set up this company that's now the most regarded and the richest company in town.” “What? How come no one told me about this all these years?” “We tried to. Your parents tried reaching out to you but you never answered their calls just because they weren't in support of you getting married to Rose. And I too have been searching for you all these years but you were nowhere to be found not until I went through a proposal document from Limitless Fashion Company seeking collaboration with us and I spotted Rose's name, your wife on it that was when I knew you were still in town and I had to look for you and luckily I found you.” In shock, Michael's arms crossed, his mouth wide open as he remained silent, unable to say a word. “Michael, I have tasted wealth over the years now and I think it's your time to take over your rightful position.” Overwhelmed with gratitude, Michael fell from his seat onto his knees. “Thank you so much, Uncle John. I'm the luckiest person on earth to have someone like you in my life. Thank you.” John's eyes narrowed down to him. “Please, stop this Michael, you don't have to do this. Remember, it's your parents who have made this possible, and if you should thank anyone then it probably should be them and not me.” Michael's heart sank. “They're no longer alive so I have to thank you instead.” Tears welled down from his eyes. “It's okay. Now, stand up and take your place and prove to your wife and in-laws that you have always been capable.”Chapter 6 John took Michael around the entire building and after everything was concluded, soon Michael signed all the crucial documents making him the new CEO. He was filled with joy because his Uncle whom he had once looked down on was the same person making him move from a nobody to somebody. “Thank you, Uncle, I'll have to go back home now. I know they might have been waiting for me.” “Alright, but don't forget to resume your office tomorrow.” Michael nodded and left and headed for home. “Rose, how is everything going? What are your plans to settle the loans we borrowed? You know we can't afford to lose everything because we have nowhere to go.” Stephen and Maria were curious to ask as soon as Rose returned. “Mom, I don't know what to do right now. I received a letter from Yonggi Cho's family today back in my office and they're threatening to throw us out of the house and even take our properties including the company if we fail to refund their money.” “We're in a
Chapter 7 The next morning, Michael was the first to wake up. He woke up twenty minutes after 5, he glanced over Rose who was fast asleep. “Thank goodness, she's still asleep.” He muttered to himself taking a deep breath. He stood up, folded his mat, and dropped it at its usual place. He also put a $20 note into Rose's office bag before leaving for the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the day. Not up to five minutes after he left, Rose woke up and glanced down to Michael's sleeping spot but she didn't see him. “This is what he should have been doing and not waiting for me to wake him up to prepare breakfast.” She mumbled to herself. “If he had been doing this, I wouldn't have been waking him up with bottles of water.” Still mumbling, she got from the bed and walked straight into the bathroom to take her bath. Before everyone else in the family woke up, Michael had finished every one of the house chores and went out. When they finally woke up, they dined together an
Chapter 8 The news of Golden Group of Companies accepting the collaboration proposal from Best Fashion Company circulated the whole town. Everyone was fully aware that a new CEO had finally stepped on board. And the entire family of Miller White was set at the edge of extreme happiness. The White family had been in enmity with the Stephen family over the years now unbeknownst to Michael. It all started when White chose to betray Stephen and went ahead to establish his own company after stealing from the company they both had together. That was how Stephen's family fell into the huge loan they were owing because Stephen, Rose's father, was the one who borrowed the money, and the signature was signed under his name. As Michael was cleaning the furniture which was his regular work, the entire family was busy watching TV shows together. It was weekend so everyone was present at home and no one went to work. “Rose! Have you heard about the news?” Maria was the first to talk,
Chapter 9 The following day, the news of Golden Group of Companies terminating collaboration with Best Fashion Company overnight went again throughout the whole town leaving everyone wondering. Rose couldn't hold back her happiness as she heard the news. It was all she had prayed for. So she quickly picked up her phone to call Cordelia. Although she had blacklisted her contact before, she now felt the urge to unban her and called her. After she dialed her number, it rang but there was no answer, however, she didn't stop calling. And finally, Cordelia picked up. “Hey, you fool! What do you want?” “You silly girl, what do you think I'll stoop so low to ever need something from people like you and your family? You know that can never happen.” Cordelia remained silent while Rose continued. “Oh, my darling friend. I heard what happened. They approved your proposal and not even up to a day they terminated it because it seemed they had gotten to know your true identity. Ha ha
Chapter 10 “Cordelia, please stop, stop,” Paul called, lifting his hand as soon as he got outside. Cordelia had already entered the car in anger and was about to drive leaving him. She finally stopped and Paul hurried to it. “What were you trying to do? Leave me here and go?” He asked, his voice was sharp and a hint of disbelief flashed through his face. However, Cordelia didn't answer him a word. She shifted and took her seat near the driver's seat allowing Paul to take his place at the driver's side. He glanced at her then shifted his attention back to the steering and then sped off. “Cordelia! You need to learn how to control your anger. That was too bad of you trying to cause a scene in such a big company. Do you not know what damages it will cause to our company?” Paul asked, a hint of worry in his voice as he drove through the town. “I don't care to know what it will cause. Do you expect me to stay calm and absorb such a manner from that so-called new CEO? Huh?”
Chapter 11After he finished, he invited all the family and he walked to to usual place in the kitchen to eat his lunch. His wife called him.“Michael!” She called, her voice calm. And Michael immediately paid attention to her as she continued. “I don't want you to be going out of the house again. You'll stay at home and do all the house chores because I can't be going out to work and when I return home there will be nothing in the house to eat.And you know that I don't like eating by this hour of the day.”“I understand and I'm sorry for everything but what if your proposal with Golden Group of Companies gets approved, will you still allow me to go out?” He asked.Rose thought about it for a while before answering him. Meanwhile, the whole family was all quite enjoying the meal leaving the husband's and wife's conversation.“Maybe. But you know that won't be possible because I doubt if they will.”“Okay.” He said and walked back to the kitchen.Half an hour later, they finished eat
Chapter 12 The next morning when everyone was still busy preparing to leave the house Michael was busy doing his usual house chores. The doorbell suddenly rang and Rose was the one who opened it since she was on the verge of leaving the house. It was a delivery man who stood before her with a parcel. He was wearing a blue shirt and black trousers and also sturdy shoes. “This is a parcel for Mrs. Rose. Is she in?” “Oh, yes. I'm the one.” Rose was perplexed because she didn't remember offering anything. But she kept silent. “Here ma, please sign.” The delivery man ordered and Rose glanced back inside the living room. It was only Michael who was there presently and he was busy cleaning. “Okay.” She signed and she was handed the parcel. “Thank you, I'll take my leave now.” He said and hopped on his bike and zoomed out of the compound. While Rose stared in his direction with the parcel in her hand before turning back inside. Carefully dropping it on the table, she unwrap
Chapter 13“What? Why, Grandma? Is it because of this good-for-nothing man?” She pointed at Michael.“Whatever you choose to call him. All I know is I'm going nowhere if he isn't going with us.” Isabella said with seriousness written on her face and took her seat on the couch.Seeing his family in a disagreement made Michael worried and he walked to Grandma Isabella, trying to bring peace. He didn't want the family to be in hatred just because of him. “Grandma.” He called out and hung his hand on her shoulder. “Please, go with them and celebrate. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just go with them.” He said, feeling pained inwardly. But she retorted. “No. I'm going nowhere if they aren't going to take you along. It's unfair for them to be treating you like you don't exist at all. What offense have you committed that is making them treat you this way? For God's sake, it's bad.”A tiny tear began to drop down from Michael's eyes, hearing how Isabella spoke. Her words always made him