"Young master, is everything okay?" Agatha asked softly beside him but he couldn't hear anything past the loud ringing in his ears as the two people that changed his whole life walked into the office.Martha and Mark walked hand in hand into the office with bright smiles on their faces.It wasn't until his eyes became hot that he realized that he had been staring at them without blinking.Never in a million years did he think he would see them again. When he woke up in that cramped apartment, he promised to close that chapter of his life forever but he knew it was a faraway wish as Martha's hot red lips curled up in her signature smile as she stared at everyone in the room. The same smile he had fallen head over heels for years ago."Mr and Mrs Andersons, this is young master Theo Alcantra, the vice president of our sponsoring company," Dante introduced and Martha flashed him her pearly white smile, while Mark stood there with indifference. He just wanted to get the hell out of there.
"Do you mind grabbing dinner together to celebrate?" She asked, flashing him a very wide smile.Chase tilted his head to the side with raised eyebrows. He could see through her and he knew she had an ulterior motive, he only needed time to figure out what it was.As he stared at her, he wondered how he hadn't been able to see through her façade then. "What do you say?" She pressed when he didn't say anything.Agatha, who stood beside him saw the need to remind him of their trip back to the states that evening but he cut her off but speaking first."Is your…. husband okay with that?" He asked, spitting the word 'husband' like it was poison but she was too preoccupied with admiring Theo to notice."He doesn't mind. He'll join us, right?" She asked Mark, who had been absent minded the whole time."Um, yeah, sure," he said, not even knowing what they were talking about and not caring to ask.Chase narrowed his eyes in slits as he stared at his brother. Mark was currently a shadow of his
The ride back to the house was smooth and in no time, Chase was in the confinement of his room, working on a project he had received from the states.His phone rang.He was too busy as he had to complete what he was doing on time, he ignored the call.A couple of rings later, the call got disconnected, only to start ringing again in the next second.Groaning, Chase picked the phone and pressed the green button."Why aren't you picking my calls?" The empress asked as soon as he placed the phone on his ear."I'm busy with the Riverdale project, grandma," he said in a bored tone, eyes fixated on his screen.The empress nodded in satisfaction but soon remembered the reason she was calling."I heard you're not coming back today," she said.Of course, Agatha must have relayed the message to her already. He thought to himself."Yes, grandma," he replied."Do you even care about me?" She asked a second later.Chase finally stopped typing on his laptop and leaned back on the couch."Grandma…"
Chase raised an eyebrow but walked deeper into the dimly lit restaurant."Do have a lovely evening," the manager said and bowed his head."Oh, I will," Chase replied with an evil undertone but the manager didn't get it, instead he smiled genuinely and bowed one more time before turning to leave. "Hello Mrs…" Chase started as he got to the table, pretending he had forgotten her name.Martha's eyes sparkled at the sound of his voice and she immediately turned around and stood up from her seat."Please, call me Martha," she said amidst giggles."Okay, Martha," Chase said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes while the name was like shards of glass coming out of his mouth."Thank you for coming," she said again."It wouldn't speak well of me to stand a beautiful woman up," he said, playing her game."Oh, you flatter me," Martha beamed. "Please sit," he said hurriedly and even pulled out her seat for her."Thank you," she said and sat down.Chase stared at her back with disdain but when
He had said it so randomly and so easily that she wondered if she had heard him correctly.Seeing her confused state, he decided to elaborate.He picked up his handkerchief and dabbed the corners of his lips while she stared at him with wide eyes."Your ex husband? I learned that you were married but he died a couple of years later due to unknown reasons," he said.Seeing that he already knew about it, there was no use hiding it so she decided to tell the truth. Or her own version."Yes," she said with hard eyes."And might I add that I also read that he was your current husband's brother, no?" He asked.She waited for a few minutes, trying to gather her thoughts before answering him."You're not wrong. Everything you heard is correct," she said. She took in a deep breath and tears welled up in her eyes. "My ex husband, Chase, he was a very abusive man," she started and Chase balled his hands into fists. "He would always hit me at any given opportunity and sexually violate me afterwar
"Do you want to hang out and maybe see a movie together?" Martha asked as they left the restaurant into the chilly night.They had just finished eating, Martha at least, because Chase couldn't get any food down his throat after all he'd heard."Pass, I'm tired," he replied with no emotions as he walked her to where her car was parked."We should do this again, maybe tomorrow? I really had so much fun spending time with you," she said and placed her hand on his upper arm."Yeah, okay," Chase said and finally managed a smile."Okay," she said giddily, happy that he had agreed to go out again. Everything was going better than she had expected. "Can I have your number? So I can text you when and where directly instead of going through your secretary?" She asked but she frowned her face at the mention of Agatha, Chase could tell that she didn't like her.Well, Agatha didn't like her either, so they were even.Martha thought Agatha was too nosy and for her to get what she wanted, she had to
"Mark!" She yelled when she finally found her voice and he stormed into the room a few seconds later, looking around with wide eyes for the intruder."What happened?" He asked when there was no sign of any other person in the room.With shaky hands, she pointed at the phone on the floor."What's wrong?" He repeated but bent down to pick up the phone and he read the words out loud. "I know what you did to your husband.""Someone knows. Someone knows what we did, Mark. Someone fucking knows," she said with wide eyes, going into a panic attack."Calm down, Martha," he said in a hard tone as he reread the words."Someone must have seen us," she rushed out."Calm down,' he repeated through clenched teeth."What if they have evidence? If they go to the police and….""Calm the fuck down, Martha!" Mark yelled, making her jerk.He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.He opened it again and held her shoulders and gently led her to sit on the bed."I'm going to need you to breathe
The run back to the house was a shorter one and soon, Chase was entering the front of the house."Young master," the chef approached him with a small bow, making him stop in his tracks. "Breakfast is ready," she informed him."Alright. I'll be down in a few," he said and walked up the stairs to his room."Young master," Agatha called as soon as she saw him.He stopped to answer her but she was lost for a moment as she stared at his body. Even with sweat that trickled down his forehead and soaked his sweatshirt, he was still very attractive."Yes?" Chase asked impatiently, getting annoyed by the delay."Oh, I'm sorry, sir," she apologized immediately and blushed a bit for being caught staring. "The empress said you should call her when you get back," she relayed the message that she had and Chase realized he hadn't gone out with his phone."Did she say why?" He asked."She didn't say," she shook her head no."Okay," Chase nodded once and turned to leave."Er, young master," she stopped