2025-01-11 02:07:55Dee thought she was glad that he was nowhere to be found 3 days after the incident but by the sunset of the third day, she could feel her anxiety level spike up beyond what she could control without her medications.
Her anxiety issues which got diagnosed when she was 16 years old had worsened over the years until she met Jason. She was almost 22 years old when she met him and just 2 days before her 23rd birthday, she discovered she was pregnant with Ria. Since that day, her breakdowns occasionally made its grand appearance whenever she’s extremely stressed. ‘Where is he… where is he… where is he… where is Jason?’, She whispered repeatedly as she paced around her bed while pulling at her hair unconsciously. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the room while staring into the wall as the feeling descended on her again felt as though her throat was closing up as she felt the floor beneath her feet quake slowly. As Dee struggled to steady her feet while reaching for the bed, she heard something she had been ignoring. It was getting louder and louder with every passing second. She couldn’t decipher what it was but she felt it ringing in her head. Then, she heard it clearly this time. Someone was crying and it was a familiar one. ‘Ria’, she exclaimed while dragging herself off the edge of the bed to meet her in the corner of the room where she had cuddled herself in since her episode started. ‘Baby, mummy is here. I’m so sorry’, she said as she carried Ria into her arms and walked towards the door. She stopped abruptly and turned back towards the queen-sized bed raised on a wooden bedframe. The bed cover and duvet were crumpled in the center of the bed and she straightened out a side while placing Ria on it. Ria was however not interested in taking a nap. As she refused to lie down while clinging to mother’s weak frame, Dee was almost losing her wits again. ‘Ria baby, why don’t you take a nap? Mum has to do something now, okay?’ she pleaded impatiently. Ria was however not interested in taking a nap. She went quiet for a while clinging to her mother’s frame before she resumed crying. Her tears were not in any way as a result of her refusal to take a forceful nap. They were as a result of her father’s disappearance. She had no idea that her father was nowhere to be found as all she knew was that her dad had not returned from work with a new storybook for her to read. Dee was not privy to when the promises were made neither was she present when a ‘pinky promise-cross my heart’ was made by dad and daughter. As Dee was about to forcefully drop her on the bed, Fiona, her elder sister walked in. Fiona was confused when she saw Dee struggling with Ria, she was struck with the image of a mother and daughter fighting for a WWE belt. She couldn’t help but smile sadly. Ria, on seeing Fiona, immediately detached herself from Dee and watched Fiona through her teary eyes as Fiona made for the bed. As Fiona sat on the edge of the bed, Ria immediately raised her arms to be lifted up and placed on the bed, willingly, this time around. Dee starred in disbelief as her daughter climbed onto the laps of Fiona. ‘Where is my daddy?’, Ria asked while starring into Fionas’s eyes. Fiona looked up to Dee who had turned towards the door as she made to exit the bedroom and shook her head before answering. ‘Your dad is away on a very important journey, cupcake.’ Fiona replied with a soothing voice that silenced Ria’s raging tears. ‘When is he coming back?’, Ria asked without missing a beat. ‘Very soon, cupcake. Why don’t you take a nap before he returns?’, Fiona said while placing Ria on the bed. Ria obediently obliged without any sort of reluctance. Within 2 minutes, her breathe had evened as she was now fast asleep. Dee, who had walked out of the room as soon as her sister began the question and answer session with Ria headed straight for the refrigerator where she picked up 2 cans of beer and a bag of chips which she placed on the island. Within a split second after opening it, she had upended the liquid in one of the cans which she tossed straight into the trash can below the sink as soon asshe heard the annoying familiar squeak of her bedroom’s door. She had owned the room since she was 14 when her parent had newly bought the house. She used to love her room as a teenager. It was her safe space, her comfort zone which witnessed her first kiss and the birth of Ria. They were sweet memories until she had to move into it with her husband when they could not afford to pay rent any longer. She was a stay at home mum who had every luxury at her beck and call until Jason lost his job as the Managing Director of AX insurance ltd, a top gun in the insurance industry of ArkWrath. As Dee could hear Fiona’s footsteps approaching the kitchen, she thought about what to say to her sister when she asks the same question she has been asking for 2 days now. Her thoughts were jumbled at this point as she could not conjure an answer to a question she knew that she would have to answer, sooner or later. Fiona had walked to the island and grabbed the second can of beer before Dee realized that she was lost in the anguish of her broken mirror of thought again. Fiona snapped the cover open before asking the million dollar worth question for the umpteenth time, ‘where is Jason?’. Her tone was filled with the tinge of an interrogation room of a police station and Dee could feel her anxiety which she had earlier washed down with a can of beer creeping underneath her tank top. She wanted to rip it apart as the heat was becoming unbearable but she didn’t. ‘I don’t know, I don’t care and I don’t want to know’, she replied dismissively as she opened the refrigerator to pick another can of beer which thanks to Danny, they have had an unending supply since his touchdown in Arkwrath for a few weeks now. ‘Or you know something that you are not telling me?’, she continued while sipping on her beer and eyeing her sister at the same time. ‘What do you think I know, huh? The fact that you have succeeded in chasing him away with your bad attitude or the fact that he saw you in a compromising position in his boss’ office?’, Fiona answered while eyeing her. ‘Jason told you that? That lying bastard! I knew he was going to twist everything’, Dee said with the tinge of sadness and regret visible in her voice. ‘oh, please please please, spear me the details!’ Fiona retorted. ‘ Whatever it is that that lying bastard told you is nothing but lies from the pit of hell!’ ‘I went to his office to surprise him on our anniversary only for me to meet him kissing that Daisy bitch in their locker room’, Dee replied with her voice choked with unwept tears. ‘If it was true that I am the unfaithful one, why has he not returned home to his wife and only daughter for days now?’ Fiona was torn between believing her sister and Jason’s story at the same time. But truly, Jason had gone MIA since that day hours after she had received the shocking call about Dee’s infidelity. She had her doubts, but ‘Dee and Infidelity’?, she thought ‘they do not go hand in hand.’ Dee was her only sister and she could vouch for her at this point. She was however skeptical about tagging Jason as the unfaithful partner because Jason was more of a ‘simp’ for his wife than his wife was for him. Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an incoming call from Dee’s phone which Dee was oblivious of until her Fiona called her attention to it. She was lost in thoughts again even though she could not place her mind on a certain train of thought. As she picked up her phone from the top of the refrigerator where she had earlier placed it, she had a confused look on her face as she was faced with either answering a call from an unidentified caller or declining it. She turned the phone to Fiona and Fiona gestured that she should answer it. And she did. She waited for the caller to speak up but all she could hear was a familiar feminine voice singing, ‘Conversations in the Dark’ by John Legend. ‘Daisy?’, she asked with the look of disgust evident on her face. ‘Hey wify!’, Daisy answered excitedly. As Dee could not believe her ears and with the glaring fear of Daisy confirming what Jason had told Fiona made her cut the call without listening to what she had to say. ‘Bitch!’, she cursed as she ended the call. Fiona merely looked on as she was becoming more confused with every passing second, thought and dialogue. The phone rang again. Dee did not bother to check who the caller was as she opened her mouth to tell the caller off. She was however caught off-guard by Zacxavi’s voice. Fiona did not know who the caller was but she saw Dee’s face become calm for a split second before she lost her balance and dropped down to the floor. ‘Dee’, Fiona called as she could not understand what was happening. Dee could not utter a single word as the only sound that escaped from her lips was a muffled scream. 'Jason is dead.'
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The night had finally arrived. The city of ArkWrath buzzed with anticipation as the opening chords of a new era played out in the luxurious ballroom of the ArkWrath estate. The welcoming party was not just an event—it was a statement. Every detail, every glance exchanged, every whispered word carried weight. Jason stood before the large mirror in his suite, his father’s new butler—a tall, perfectly composed man named Benet—having finished the final adjustments to his attire. Jason’s tuxedo was tailored to perfection, black as the night with gold accents that subtly hinted at the opulence of the ArkWrath legacy. His mask, a work of art, rested over his face, hiding his expression from the world. The ArkWrath family did not simply walk into a room; they commanded it. And tonight, Jason was going to make sure the world saw him as more than just a name—he was the face of this empire. He barely noticed Benet fussing with his cufflinks, his mind preoccupied with the events to come. His f
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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
CHAPTER 46
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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Olivia sat across from Jason, her mind racing as she observed his every move. He was different now, no longer the man she had once seen in passing, no longer the son of the man who had ruled the empire with unyielding control. Jason was the empire now. And Olivia couldn't help but wonder: was this his true nature? Or was it all an elaborate façade? His calculated demeanor, the coldness with which he spoke, it was as if everything was part of a game—a game she didn’t fully understand but would soon be forced to play.Jason’s gaze never wavered as he stared down at the screen of his laptop, the soft glow illuminating his sharp features. His presence in the room was suffocating even. He exuded an energy that made everything else seem insignificant. Olivia shifted in her seat, feeling like an intruder in this vast, cold office.Then, just as she thought she had figured out his demeanor, he spoke again, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.“You’re going to start living with
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
