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
"Great!" She said. "I'll text you the time and place. Dress accordingly," she said. "Okay, okay," he said and threw his head back a bit.After exchanging goodbye, he hung up and dropped his phone."Let me guess. Another date?" Agatha, who had been watching his facial expressions from the other side of the dining table asked."Yes," he said simply. "But I told her you didn't want to go for any of them anymore and she even agreed," she said with furrowed eyebrows."Makes me wonder why this one's special," he shrugged before putting food on his plate."Should I tell her you weren't able to attend?" She asked."No, it's fine," he said immediately and her face fell.Yes, she was sporting a huge crush on her boss and she always felt bad whenever he went on his dates and it hurt her even more to see that he wasn't even seeing her in that manner.Since they stayed under the same roof, she always tried to dress seductively so he would notice her but he never did."Do you need me to look into
"Excuse me," Chase flagged a waitress down."Yes, sir," she replied with a polite smile.He placed their orders and whispered something to her and she nodded once before walking away.If it was any other person, she wouldn't have done his bid, but Gab and Gabe's was affiliated with their restaurant, which made Theo a part owner of the place.Chase relaxed into his seat and swiped across his phone, replying to some business mails while waiting for Martha to come back.He didn't have to wait for long because a few minutes later, she was returning to her seat after giving herself a long pep talk in the restroom to pull herself together."I'm sorry about that," she apologized politely as she took her seat."It's okay," Chase waved her off."So, how's the merger going so far?" He asked her in a bid to initiate conversation and she was relieved that he didn't ask her what was wrong with her again."It's very stressful now due to the increased workload," she said in an irritated tone."You d
She cried uncontrollably with her head on the steering wheel and the mascara on her eyes came streaming down along with the thick make up in her face, staining her shirt."What's going on? What's happening to me?" She asked herself as her whole body racked with sobs.Her face hurt very badly where she had fallen and it was already swollen as the bruise turned light purple.After her outburst in the restaurant, Chase sent an apologetic smile to the other patrons and they went about their business while he walked out of the restaurant.He entered his car and the driver zoomed off."That was a good laugh," he said to himself as he folded the sleeves of his shirt to reach his elbow.This was just the beginning of what he had planned. He knew Martha as a perfectionist and she was always worried about the impression she left on people and it made him a little bit happy to see her disgrace herself the way she had done.Deciding to spice things up a notch, Chase pulled out the phone again fro
"Quickly, place that there," the empress instructed a group of people with a bunch of flowers."Yes, Dame," they said and did as they were told."Mother, you'll only get yourself sick from all that walking around," Imelda said."My grandson is coming back today," the empress replied and continued walking around to make sure everything was in place. "Everything has to be perfect," she added."One would think we're preparing for a president's arrival," Imelda teased.The empress waved her off and continued checking the decorations."Why don't you rest?" She placed her hands on her mother's shoulders. "I'll take care of everything down here. Your grandson wouldn't be happy if he comes back and you're all stressed out," she told her."There's till a lot to be done and little time and…." The empress started."Mother….." Imelda drew out. "I'll take care of everything. Just take a nap," she told her."Are you sure?" The empress asked skeptically."Yes," Imelda assured her."Fine. Make sure t
"Mother, why aren't you saying anything?" Jacob requested angrily, his hands balled in fists on both sides.The empress, not even sparing him a glass continued sipping leisurely on her coffee.Jacob fumed angrily but his wife, Regina, placed a pacifying palm on his arm, subtly telling him to calm down."Mother, you can't just buy the whole Union consortium," he continued.The empress considered ignoring him again this time, but decided not to.She dropped her cup majestically and squared her shoulders before turning to him."I can and I have," she said in a bored tone.The union consortium belonged to Regina's family. Jacob had seen it as a plan B because he wasn't so sure about his place in Gab and Gabe's consortium with Theo in the picture, hence, he planned to get Regina to inherit the company after her father but much to his surprise, the empress had bought the company."Why?" He snapped."Jacob," the empress said sharply, narrowing her eyes in slits. "I think you forget whom you
"Why my daughter?" Evelyn's mother asked.Chase stared at her as he tried to make sense of the question.Silver caught on his confusion and proceeded to clarify her question."Out of every other person, why did you choose to help my daughter?" She asked.Chase sighed softly before answering."Your daughter helped me first," he said loud and clear. "So the question should rightly be directed to your daughter," he said.Malcolm, who had been leaning against the pillar scoffed and walked away."There's something I've been wanting to ask but I guess now that we've met, I should just ask you," silver said."Ask away," he said with a welcoming smile."How did you and my daughter meet?" She asked.The question about how her daughter had met someone so high and mighty had been on her mind ever since but she hadn't had the right opportunity to ask.Chase smiled and rubbed his hands together."Well, we..""Mom," Evelyn's voice from the staircase cut him off.Chase stood up and rushed towards he
Chase was already half asleep when the text message from Evelyn had come in.He rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked up the phone and read through the message.A soft sigh escaped his lips when he read the words."Evelyn…." He muttered under his breath and shook his head before tossing the phone to the side and going back to sleep.He was woken up by the blaring of his alarm clock the next morning and he sat up groggily on the bed.His long-term "mini vacation" had finally come to an end and it was time to return home.He picked up his phone again and skimmed through the many unread messages but frowned when none of them was from Evelyn.He dialed her number but got the automated feedback before it went straight to voicemail."I guess this is it," he muttered to himself.He got up and walked straight to the bathroom to get ready and when he was done with his quick shower, walked into the closet.All of his things were already packed and ready and he got dressed quickly.There was a soft kno
"I know…it's far and…." She started to say."Heck it is," Malcom interrupted her immediately and she sighed softly.Their mother quickly put her hand over Malcolm's hand to calm him down."Let's hear her first," their mother's soft voice echoed.The glare on Malcolm's face didn't lessen but he was quiet now.Evelyn took a deep breath. Even before she started talking, she already knew how difficult the conversation was going to be, given that her mother was still recovering and Malcolm was yet to get a good job. At some point, she even considered going selfish, but she just had to put it out there. "As I was saying, I got a scholarship in NYU," she repeated but her voice was no longer as firm as the first time."Scholarships at NYU aren't easy to come by, sweetie," her mother said softly, goading her to tell them more.Evelyn looked down at her intertwined fingers because that part was going to be a little difficult but it couldn't be avoided. She wasn't going to lie to her family."I
Quietly, she followed him into the car which was already held open for them.She smiled inwardly at all the respect he was getting because she believed he deserved nothing less, given all that he had gone through."Do you want to get ice cream?" Chase broke the silence between them after contemplating for a while.Getting ice cream after lunch or dinner had always been their thing.Evelyn was still overwhelmed from everything that had happened and had barely been able to get food past her throat."Maybe next time," she said with a polite smile.Her words made Chase happier than she knew. It meant that she was actually considering a next time with him, which only meant that that day wasn't going to be the last time they met."How did you do it?" She asked out of the blue, turning in her seat so she could face him.The partition of the car was up, so they were separated from the driver and could have any conversation without fear of being eavesdropped on."Do what?" Chase asked and arch
Evelyn's eyes skimmed through the words on her screen again and again as she tried to understand what she was seeing.She looked up at Theo who had a small smile on his face as he watched her because he had a good idea what had her like that."Wha….what's this?" She asked with shaky hands. "Do you know about this?" She showed him the screen of her phone.He read through the email and leaned back in his seat."You know about this," she said softly. "I can't accept this," she shook her head and started to type on her phone but he gently took it away from her."Eve…" he started but she interrupted him."No, this is too much, I can't accept it," she said hurriedly."You've always wanted this," he pointed out.She reached for her phone but he kept it out of her reach."It was a dream. A dream I had no hope of fulfilling," she argued."And an opportunity has come for you to fulfill it," he countered."I can't accept this," she shook her head. Chase studied her for a few seconds without say
"I know it was you who paid my mom's bills and helped my brother out of jail," she said softly. "I…" Chase didn't know what to say. He had tried as much as possible to hide it from her because he knew how difficult it was for her to accept help. She had done life on her own for a long time and she felt that any help rendered to her was a set up."I just want to let you know how grateful I am and I'll work as hard as I can to pay back every cent," she said and swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat.She hadn't expected her little speech to get that emotional and she wished with everything in her that he knew how grateful she was."I don't need anything back from you," he shook his head. "I didn't do any of that to get anything in return. I did it because I know how much your family means to you and you're my friend. Friends help each other in need," he told her."But I've never helped you," she said and choked on a sob."You have," he replied without missing a beat and leaned
With a small smile and a shake of his head, Chase tucked the phone back into his pocket but not before sending a quick email to someone."Take me to Hovers," he told the driver, who nodded once and turned on the engine.The ride to Hovers was smooth in contrast to Chase's bumpy thoughts on what to say when he gets there.He hadn't expected her to reply but she did and he was going to see her.He tapped his long fingers on his knees impatiently as each second of the ride felt like a lifetime but soon, the driver was pulling outside of hovers.Hovers was a small café downtown. It was far from the whole bustle of the busy city and Chase could really pin that kind of place to Evelyn.The fresh greenery on the outside and the minimal but cozy decor on the inside was definitely her scene.He pushed the door to the welcoming space that smelled of coffee beans open and he looked around for a couple of seconds before his eyes caught her honey brown hair in a corner.He cleared his throat and r