TWO PEOPLE IN SHOCKReuben had already booked an appointment so they only had to wait for their turn before being called in.While they sat at the reception waiting for their turn, a gentleman walked in with a digital camera in his hand.He walked to Reuben and Annabelle sitting on a couch and having a chat." Good morning sir, I'm Justice" He said and extended his hand for a handshake.Reuben shook his hands with a smile." Wow, you came in right early. We are yet to go in so you will have to wait for a while" Reuben replied" Sure sir, I will," Justice replied.Reuben nodded.Then turning to Annabelle who seemed lost he said." Babe, this is the photographer I hired to come take the pictures for the whole of today," Reuben said." Oh okay, nice meeting you" Annabelle said and shook hands with Joshua." Nice meeting you too" Joshua replied as she shook her hands.After waiting for about fifteen minutes, it was finally their turn.They both walked into the office.They were taken thr
GETTING READY FOR THE CELEBRATION AHEADThe workers brought in the items.Grandpa Roland, Annabelle and the photographer entered. The designers set off to decorating the room.Reuben led the trio to the hallway and gave the photographer a seat to sit on as he waited for them.He then led the two to a bedroom and told Grandpa he reserved it from him.Grandpa.Afterwards he took Annabelle to his own bedroom.He heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he sat on the bed for a few seconds and laid on his back stretching his arms on the table.Annabelle closed the door and stood transfixed at the entrance.She looked at Reuben as he laid on his back staring at the ceiling.She stared at him for some minutes in silence.Reuben noticed the room looked unusually quiet, he tilted his head and saw Annabelle looking at him in silence." What are you thinking " he asked as he tilted his head back to its normal position"Nothing. Just that this room looks particularly empty and I wonder why" Annabelle
SOME OLD BOOGIE MOVES" How can you say that? You sound like a student going to write the most Important exam in her life." Reuben teased her." Stop making fun of me. You are a man and may not feel anything. But I am really nervous" Annabelle said." That will disappear with time"Reuben had paused eating as he spoke to her."Hey. I understand how you feel. I know what you are thinking. But not to worry, I assure you that I am going nowhere"Reuben said softly to her and pecked her on the cheek Annabelle blushed for a moment.. Reuben resumed eating his food.After eating about half of his food,His phone beeped.He took it out and stared at it." Oh, it's 4pm already. The caterers are here. Let me go get them.He abandoned his food on the bed and quickly dashed out.He ushered the caterers in and sent them to the kitchen." You can start here. Keep the drinks in the refrigerator. The gas stove is working perfectly so if you will anything, I'm in the living room"Reuben said
THE LEAVE DAYSBefore anyone could say jack, the doorbell rang" I'll go get it," Reuben said and hurriedly walked to the door.He opened the door and saw a lot of people there." Surprise" The crowd screamed in delight as Reuben opened the door.Reuben was surprised.He could see familiar and unfamiliar faces.Two mini buses were parked behind them.One was from Reuben's company and the other from Annabelle's companyReuben could not understand what was happening.Apparently, it happened that the two groups came to meet each other and decided to pull this stunt on Reuben and Annabelle.Reuben smiled and opened the door wider, he stood aside as he watched them enter, one after the other. They all entered and the party started.It was all fun. At the beginning, Reuben addressed all of them and thanked them for joining them and for honoring their invitation.Later, some cool music was played and they all enjoyed themselves.The caterers were available to share the drinks amongst everyo
WHO DID YOU MEET?*******************Louisa went with Ethan to the Registrar General's office for their marriage proceedings to be done legally as she had planned with her grandmother. In essence, they both excused themselves from work to get that done.Grandma had arranged for a dinner party that day after they were through with everything at the office.Louisa went with Ethan in his car to the Registrar General's office.The were a lot of people in the compound as they got there." We are going to leave here late today,there are a lot of people around today" Louisa said with a worried look.They were sitting in Ethan's car in the garage" No need babe. I've already booked an appointment with the Registrar General and we are supposed to show up at 11, so we are a few minutes early " Ethan said ." Oh wow that's a good job. I thought we would come here to book it" Louisa replied.Ethan got out of the car and closed the door.Louisa followed suit.Ethan walked over to the other sid
BREAKFAST IN BED FOR HER"Too bad. But I hope he did not do anything silly to make Ethan suspect anything" Grandma asked" Not at all " Louisa replied, shaking her head." So what happened to Ethan?, where is he?" " He said he's got some things to sort at the office and would be here before the party starts," Louisa replied.By 17:00 hrs, Ethan had arrived at Grandma's House and so were some of the family members. At exactly 18:00 hrs, the party started, Ethan was introduced to the whole family and the news of the marriage between him and Louisa walked announced.Some of the family members were visibly not happy with Louisa's marriage but there was nothing they could do.Others thought that, with Annabelle's status and her family background, she deserved a befitting marriage ceremony where dignitaries should be present and not the little family party they threw.This caused a murmur amongst the family members and they expressed their disappointment. Grandma heard them and announc
READY FOR A HONEYMOONAnnabelle felt the touch on her cheek and slowly opened her eyes and hovered her eyes around the room. She saw Reuben standing beside her wearing a smile.Reuben noticed she had opened her eyes and was looking at her." Good morning sunshine. It's time for breakfast. The sun is already up and shining so arise and shine" Reuben said, coupling it with some funny gestures.Annabelle smiled and sat up" Good morning, when did you wake up?" She asked,looking at Reuben's face." Long enough to prepare breakfast for you" Reuben replied and maintained his smile." What?" Annabelle asked with a puzzled look"You did what?" She repeated her question." You heard me right, I prepared breakfast for you," Reuben said as he turned around and took the tray from the drawer. Annabelle's eyes opened wide in amazement.She looked like a kid who had been told a fairy tale and was yearning for more.Reuben gently placed the tray on her lap and sat beside her.Annabelle was too dumbf
CALM DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME! I CAN EXPLAINWell we are here " Reuben said and entered the wide gates of the hotel..Annabelle looked up. There was the inscription boldly written on the gates of the premises."HONEYMOON HOTEL ANNEX" .Annabelle was shocked. She was short of breath. She was visibly gasping for breath." Surprise!" Reuben said in delight. " No, no, no. This ain't happening. This ain't happening" Annabelle said in a whisper." Yes it's happening" Reuben said with a smile" No, Reuben, this is a honeymoon hotel, it's a five star hotel. It's a very expensive hotel. We can't afford it" Annabelle said, trying to calm down as much as she could.She spoke in a whisper so as not to shout.Reuben was still smiling at her." Firstly, you have to calm down and hear me out," Reuben said and switched off the engine.Annabelle heaved a sigh of relief." I've calmed down now. So can you explain to me how we are going to afford it. Because the last time I checked, a single night here c
I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER Grandma had just returned home from the courtroom and was in her mansion. Madam Martha and Madam Rebecca were with her, still trying to console her. Grandma could just not bear to see her going to jail. She had broken down in tears right from the courtroom and had to be brought home. They had to bring her to the house forcefully. As they sat down weeping, a knock came on the door. “ Come in please” Madam Rebecca said The door opened, and a guard walked in. “ There are some people here to see you ma'am” the guard said. Grandma was absent-minded about the whole surroundings as she kept weeping. “ Who is that?” Madam Rebecca asked. The guard did not reply. Instead, he stood aside. Three policemen walked in with one other man. The man without a uniform came forward. He had an ID in his hand and a paper in the other hand. “ My name is Mr Andrews, and these are inspectors Jack and Jill, we have an arrest warrant against Mrs Evelyn Anderson, and we
CHAPTER 267Monday morning. CourtroomThe courtroom was set for the proceedings to take place.Reuben was seated with Annabelle and their family lawyer.They sat on the side of the plaintiff.On the defendant side sat Grandma Anderson, Jake’s father, madam Rebecca, and a few new unfamiliar faces.They had two lawyers on the defendants side, The Jakes family lawyer and the Anderson family lawyer.They were all seated and waiting for the proceedings to start.Earlier in the previous day, Grandma, together with her family lawyer, had visited Louisa and Jakes again, and they had spoken.According to the conversation with their lawyer, they were better off by pleading guilty to the accusations and pleading for mercy, in that case, they were going to be pardoned and their sentence was going to be released.They had come into an agreement with the family lawyer for the Jakes family to do that.Both families had no money left in their accounts to drag th
THE VISITThe driver drove into the premises of the police station.The sun shone high above the sky, and everywhere was bright light.Grandma got down from the car and hurried towards the entrance." You are welcome ma'am" one of the policemen who knew her greeted her as soon as she entered." I want to see Louisa now," she fumed, ignoring the greeting from the policeman." Certainly ma'am, you have to wait for just a few minutes. I will be right back with you, " the policeman said with a dry smile and walked back in.Grandma stood in front of the policewoman at the reception.She looked at her with a deadly look, and the woman did her best to avoid the gaze and ignore her.Grandma stood there shaking vibrantly.She could feel her knees hurt from the stand, but she ignored the pain and stood there.Her only aim at that time was to see Louisa and speak with her, and that was exactly what she was doing.After standing for about three minutes, she was already losing her patience.Just
A SCARY REALITYGrandma Andersons Mansion.Three hours later, Grandma had just alighted from her car with the factory manager.She saw madam Rebecca and Martha coming towards her.They all wore sad faces to meet her.There was an awkward silence amongst the trio as they welcomed Grandma, but Grandma did not say anything.She was just smiling through the whole process.The two wondered what there was to smile about the trouble they had at that moment.They went to the living room, and all of them sat around." Where is Louisa? I was told she was coming to the hospital to see me but she never came.Where is she now?" Grandma asked.She noticed that everybody else's face changed at once.She suspected that something was wrong." What is it? Why is no one talking to me?" Grandma asked.She was eager to know what was going on.The manager looked at Madam Rebecca." Have you told her yet?" She asked him.The manager shook his head in the negative" What is there to tell me, someone to speak
ALL IS UNDER CONTROLLouisa and Jakes were pulled out of the police van, with the handcuffs on their hands.They both looked surprised as they could not fathom how they had just been intercepted in the middle of their operation and arrested by the police.The police had confiscated their phones and all that was with them.Louisa had seen Reuben and Annabelle earlier at the scene, while they walked away, after Reuben told the policeman something.She was sure Reuben had found out about their plan and had laid ambush for them." Is this what your plan led us to? In prison?" Louisa screamed out to Jakes when they were arrested.All she got was a caution from the police to keep her mouth shut, with the addition that whatever she said at that time could be used against her in the court.Louisa knew that was the end.They had been caught in the act, and she was sure that the boys were going to confess that Jakes was their leader.She was caught with Jakes at the same time at that scene,
ITS A STRIKEGrandma was in her room in a phone call.It was time for dinner and she needed to go eat.The househelp had served her meal and informed her about it.Grabdma came out to the dunning room when one of her guards entered, with an envelope in her hand." Excuse me ma'am, there is a parcel for you," the guard said as soon as he walked in." Who is it from?" Grabdma asked " There is no sender's address, only the delivery address, and that is here." The guard said.He handed over the envelope to Grandma.Grandma took the envelope and muttered a " thank you" as the guard left.She was curious as to who would send an envelope without a sender's address.Grandma did not touch any of his cutlery. Instead, he opened the envelope to see the contents.The envelope contained a single sheet.She took out the paper and read the contents of the paper." Dear Mrs Anderson, We have not8ced your recent activities, and we know where you invested all your money..We can assure you that the
THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL STARTED"What is going on here?" Annabelle asked in surprise.She could not just fathom what was going on, although she knew she was just about being kidnapped.Reuben held her hand and led the way back to the car, away from the sirens and the people who were being arrested. " What just happened here? Why is Louisa and that man being arrested? Who are those men? " Annabelle asked all at once." Let's sit in the car and speak for a bit.There are still a lot of things you need to know, " Reuben said as he unlocked the car with the remote.He opened the door for Annabelle to sit down and closed the door.He walked to the driver side and sat behind the steering, roaring the engine to life." I'm ready for the questions now, but before to ask, let me begin with narration," Reuben said as he drove out of the parking lot and out of the premises." I know you have a lot of questions. First of all, our date has not been canceled. We are on our way to a new restaurant.
STAGED KIDNAPFriday Evening, 4:30pm, Honeymoon Hotel.Louisa and Jakes were out of the hotel and were heading towards the garage.They were done with all their planning for their mission ahead, and everything was carefully laid out.Everything they needed to make their work successful was ready.They walked into the garage, and Jakes unlocked the door to a new car.They both sat in it as they talked.Louisa had gone there with a car, but according to Jakes, it was too risky to use her car, as it might be identified by Reuben.They had hired a new car they were going to use.They sat in the car as the driver drove out of the premises of the hotel." So we are going there earlier, so we can monitor their movements, they should be there around 5pm, and we should get there about ten minutes before them.Everyone else is ready over there, and this should not take a long time.We will pull out quickly, " Jakes said.Louisa nodded.She was okay with the explanation and how things were go
TWO WAYSLouisa went to the hotel and met with Jakes as they talked for the last time.Jakes made it clear that he had confirmed news from the Brooks mansion that Reuben and Annabelle were going out on a date the following day.He, however, stated that they did not know exactly where and when they were planning to go.Louisa rejoiced with the news as she knew they were getting closer to victory.Jakes told her he had the vans ready, and they also knew where they would be sending Annabelle after they had gotten hold of her.He had a private ship that was on the shores of the seas, waiting for him.He planned on going back home with Annabelle on the ship instead of air.He was doing that for his own safety, at least,until things went calm.After about thirty minutes of talking with Louisa, they finally dispersed, and Louisa went back home to prepare for the day ahead.It was a careful and nice plan they had laid out there, and they were sure it was going