2025-01-11 01:58:48‘Watch out man!’ Iglesias called out behind Jason as he almost bumped into one of the waiters exiting the kitchen with a breakfast box.
Jason heard nothing. All he wanted to do was flee. It was not until he exited the building through the back door that he realized that his keys were not in his pocket and he was still wearing his work clothes. ‘I’d rather dump them in a trashcan rather than return them anyways.’, he thought. He had momentarily forgotten what he had just witnessed as the ache in his head made it difficult for his thoughts to conjure. Jason whimpered as he felt his head throbbing as the scene and exchange of dialogues came rushing back. He felt his stomach churn as though he was hungry and nauseous at the same time. As he held unto the delivery boxes stacked by the door in order to relief himself of his aches, he heard the door open behind him. He did not turn because he knew that whosoever it could be was probably out to mock him. Then he heard the familiar voice yet again. ‘Jason, I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you’, Daisy said sounding remorseful as she walked to his front. ‘Get away from me!’ Jason said as he felt Daisy’s hand on his shoulder. ‘I wanted to tell you but I know that you would not believe me’, she replied. ‘You should have found a way to make me believe! I would have found better ways, better jobs, taken extra shifts, taken days off to treat her right.’ Daisy could not distinguish or believe what she thought she heard and what she actually heard. ‘Are you crazy?’ she asked in disbelief with her eyeballs threatening to pop out of their sockets. ‘Yes, I am. For pushing my wife into the arms of another man, Yes, I am!’ he replied almost in tears while clutching his stomach as another wave of pain hit him. ‘Jason!’ She screamed silently sounding as though she was close to tears ‘She does not deserve you! She hates you! Can’t you see?’ Jason stood silent for a minute as he felt her hands on his shoulder once again as her words pierce his already aching ears and heart while he searched for answers deep within his soul. ‘If she hates me, it’s definitely my fault. She used to love me and I’ll do everything I can to win her back’, he said as he dusted off Daisy’s hand. ‘Jason, look at me. Please, for once look at me. I can be there for you, be here for you, I can be what she’s not, what you want…’, she pleaded solemnly. As Jason felt the pain in his abdomen subsiding, he stood up straight to look into Daisy’s face. Daisy thought this was it but the Jason’s countenance sent her three steps backward. It was the look of disgust shooting daggers into her soul. Jason said nothing as he walked away from the building leaving behind his keys, his scooter and his wife. … Jason knew he had to do it now or lose her forever. ‘I can’t lose her like this. She’s my life. She loves me. This is my entire fault’, he thought as he walked down 5 blocks until he reached the front of a building. The building was quite an odd one as it was obviously older than every other building surrounding it with a mansion-like structure with a huge bronze statue of a man dressed in suit looking across the road towards the Seventh Lake about 2 kilometers away. Jason had always thought it was a strange statue but at this point he paid it no attention as he was on a mission armed with the right words and thoughts to secure a loan for his own dispatch and delivery business. ‘Welcome back, Mr Jason’, the security official at the door said as he pushed the button attached to the door frame in order to let Jason in. Luke, the security official at the door was a 38 years old dark-skinned British man with a chiseled body which was very obvious in his black on black uniform. He is known to effortlessly switch his accent depending on the occasion, the client or the weather as the other bankers sometimes say. ‘Is Miss Lily in?’ Jason asked him impatiently without entering into the building. ‘No time for pleasantries today hun?’, Luke replied as he let the door shut itself. ‘I’m sorry. I…I just have a lot on my mind’, Jason replied while letting out an exasperated sigh. ‘You should take it easy man. I’ll be at our usual by 9 PM.’ ‘I’ll be there. I sure need someone to talk to before I lose my mind.’ ‘I gat you, bruv’, Luke said as he winked and snapped his fingers simultaneously. Luke has been Jason’s best friend since junior high school. Their friendship had stood the test of time especially with his marriage to Dee which Luke disapproved of. Jason has never really understood why Luke has never like Dee even after 7 years of introducing them to each other and countless other meet-ups. ‘She’s in. what do you want with the loan mistress? Anything I should know?’ ‘The bar’ ‘Aight. You’re welcome to Trust Bank, Mr. Jason’, Luke said smiling mischievously as he pushed the open button again. Jason could not help but breathe in the cold but surprisingly refreshing as he stepped into the customer’s service section. ‘Here goes nothing’, he said to himself as he went straight to one of the bankers sited behind a table at the right corner of the room. ‘Good morning, Mr. Jason.’ The man said enthusiastically. ‘I’m here to see Miss Lily’ ‘Do you have an appointment?’ ‘Well… no, not really.’ Jason replied while scratching the back of his head. ‘See you some other time then. Next!’ ‘Please…’ ‘Lily has no time for jobless folks like you. It’s better you get a life rather than following women that are way out of your league.’ For the umpteenth time within 2 hours, the aches which Jason had felt, both in his head and his heart, which had earlier subsided, came back in triple folds. This time around, there were no boxes or railings to hold onto as the pain sent him crashing into the cold floor. He felt himself slipping into darkness before the sting of a pinch brought him back to life. It was only then he realized that he had passed out in the banking hall. ‘Where am I?’, he thought wearily as the splitting headache welcomed him into its arms yet again. As he turned his head, he found himself staring directly into the face of Miss Lily which startled him. ‘I’m so glad that you are awake, Jason’, Miss Lily said as she brushed through his hair with her soft palm. ‘Lily, where am I?’ ‘You are in my room’. She said with a smirk on her face. ‘No, please… please, don’t do this to me again Lily. I’ve not been able to forgive myself since that day. I can’t even look her in the eyes’. Jason said as he sat up on the couch where he was laid and tears began to stream down his face ‘Oh Jason! Come on! She has done worse to you!’ ‘But… it’s my… I know that it’s my fault’, Jason replied while cleaning his face with his shirt. ‘Jason!’ ‘Lily, please… I have done your biddings already’, Jason said remorsefully as Lily walked towards the table in the center of the room. It was only then that Jason realized that he was still within the bank premises as he took in the extent of the room they were in. It occurred to him that they were in Lily’s inner room. ‘It’s been signed. You can come for it tomorrow but…’, she replied with an evil smirk on her face as she sat behind the desk on a rotating chair. ‘But what again Lily?!’, Jason said almost screaming with his evidently teary voice. ‘You have to tell her about everything.’ Jason did not wait for any further exchange of dialogue with the beautiful 5’6 fair skinned blonde devil. ‘The devil doesn’t bargain. She’ll only break your heart again’, he thought smiling wearingly as he walked through several doors before he exited the building. He felt that he had lost his dignity, his only hope, his identity, Dee and probably Ria. Jason felt his entire life crumbling at his feet and unfortunately, he did not hear Luke calling his name till he stepped in front of a speeding fire-truck which sent his body and soul flying thousand miles apart. ‘Maybe my life too’. He thought as he heard his name been screamed by a familiar voice before he slipped into darkness again as he felt his body hit the hot tar. This time, the slip was undeniably a painful one which he wished never to come back from.
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Jason stood by the grand windows of his mansion, the floor-to-ceiling glass offering him a sweeping view of Arkwrath serene coastline. The sun was just beginning to set, casting its golden light across the shimmering water. This mansion was the perfect place for power players like himself to keep their secrets hidden. But secrets, as Jason had come to learn, were never fully hidden. They had a way of bubbling up, especially when you had too many people to trust.His father’s call had come just two days ago, and now, with the welcoming party drawing near, Jason was still grappling with the weight of the conversation. Winston, his father, had been unusually insistent that Jason make time to visit Aunt May. The invitation was personal, informal, and in Jason's eyes, fraught with potential complications."Aunt May insists on cooking for you," Winston had said, his voice gruff but warm. "She wants to meet the man who's taken over everything that once belonged to her husband. I understand
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As the day wore on, Olivia couldn’t help but feel the weight of it all. She had no idea how much her life would change from this point forward, but one thing was certain: she was now part of Jason’s world. And as much as she tried to deny it, a part of her couldn’t help but wonder what else lay behind that mask, behind that calm, composed exterior. She would have to learn to navigate this world, to keep her emotions in check. But deep down, she knew the hardest part would be keeping her growing attraction to Jason hidden. Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t deny the undeniable pull he had on her. And that terrified her more than anything else..Olivia stared at her phone, her eyes scanning the schedule once again. The calendar she’d just synced with Jason's was now filled with precise, almost meticulous details of her upcoming days. There were meetings, appointments, tasks—all arranged with an efficiency that left no room for ambiguity. As she went through the events, o
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Olivia had returned to her seat and she didn’t trust him. Not yet. But as Jason’s fingers moved swiftly over the keyboard, she realized that her choice was already made. She had no other option but to trust him, at least for now.Again, Olivia sat in the uncomfortable silence of the room, her eyes darting between Jason and the space around them. There was an air of discomfort about the situation, a palpable tension that seemed to follow Jason wherever he went. He was different from the man she had first met—different from the son of Arkwrath who had been an unspoken legend. Jason was no longer just a figure in the shadows of his father’s empire; now, he was its heart, and every action he took seemed deliberate, controlled, and... unsettling.She had tried to understand him in the moments she spent around him, but now, in this office—his domain—it felt like the game had just begun. Jason didn’t seem like the kind of person to make idle conversation. He spoke when he needed to, and when
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CHAPTER 44
Jason stepped out of the elevator and into the atrium of the Arkwrath Tower. The faint hum of the city outside echoed in the massive glass windows, but inside, there was nothing but silence and the sense of impending change. The air seemed thicker, charged with a subtle tension as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for him to take the first step into his new role. As he crossed the polished marble floors, his heels clicking against the surface, a realization hit him. This was it. This was the moment. He wasn’t just stepping into his father’s shoes—he was claiming the throne. He was no longer the son of the man who had once built the empire; he was the emperor now. And whether he liked it or not, the world was going to watch him. His every move, every decision, would be scrutinized. Agreed with, disagreed with, criticized, and most of all, gossiped about. Jason had always known this would come. But now, as he entered his father’s old domain, there was a tangible weig
