He walked into Gab and Gabe's and it looked like he had entered a different world, not where he spent most part of his day for the last couple of months.Everywhere was decorated to the T and there was even a red carpet that rolled from the end of the lobby down to the driveway outside.The gala was to be held on the 30th floor where a hall was. Chase stepped into the semi-filled elevator where different scents of perfumes and colognes made bile rise in his throat. Only staff and event planners were present as the VIP guests were yet to come.After what felt like hours, the elevator finally opened on the 30th floor, revealing the most magical sight he had ever seen. He knew the hall was big but what he didn't expect was how big it was. It only made him realize he hadn't explored much of the hotel.There was a huge chandelier with a million bulbs hanging from the very high ceiling and there were smaller paper lanterns around it. They illuminated orange lights, giving the hall a halo gl
Patrick motioned for him to come by hooking his pointer finger upward and as much as he didn't want to go, he didn't have much choice."Can I get you something else?" He asked the old man and woman he was serving, wishing they would say yes so he didn't have to serve Patrick right away but they shook their heads no. "Excuse me," he was sad but put on his best smile.Wiping his sweaty palms down on his pants, he walked up to them. He looked around for Evelyn but he couldn't find her in the growing crowd."This is a public event and he really won't do anything too rash right? Right." Chase pep-talked himself. He reached that conclusion at the same time he stopped in front of their table.He noticed that Paul had joined them, together with Kenny. Seeing the younger man, he remembered the incident he had witnessed in the elevator and wondered how he was coping."Temmy boy," Paul called out immediately he stopped in front of them and Kenny sent him a small smile. "You don't look bad," he s
The slap to his cheeks had disoriented him for a second. He tried to piece what had just happened together but before he could apologize, another voice broke the murmuring that had risen among guests."What's going on here, Damien?" Dame Gabrielle walked majestically to the scene with three buff guys behind her who were her bodyguards."Grandma, this worthless fellow dared spill wine on me. I need to teach him a lesson,"Damien started to say."Oh, my poor baby," another woman joined the fuss. Chase recognized her. She was the woman he had almost bumped into a while ago. "You again, how dare you?" She spat and sent another slap directly across his face.Her name was Julia and she was Damien's mother. "Guards, get him and whip him 50 times," Damien said coldly. All the while, Patrick had a triumphant smirk on his face. His plan had worked exactly how he wanted. He knew how ruthless the grandson of Dame Gabrielle Alcantra was and that was why he created the scene when he saw him approac
"It's you," the woman gasped, bringing a hand to her heart. Right there on Chase's back was a black mole 5 centimeters from his neck. His father had the same mole and Gabrielle remembered teasing him for giving birth to himself when the little child was born and the same mole was in the same position.Chase didn't know what was happening and he immediately fell on his knees again. "Yes, it's me who spilled the wine on your grandson. I'm terribly sorry and I'll accept any punishment you give me, if I'm worthy to ask anything of you, please don't take my life," he cried. He knew his life was useless but he didn't want to be killed again.The woman didn't answer instead she walked up to him, pulled him up and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.Chase's eyes widened. What was going on? Why was the woman hugging him? Was this the hug before his death? The list went on in his head."Where have you been? We searched everywhere for you? What happened to you?" The woman rushed out, sobbing.
After the emotional reunion, Chase went back to the hall where he event was hosted. Dame Gabrielle had asked to be taken back home because she was already worn out. She got into her private jet and flew back to the states. She felt bad that she couldn't carry her grandson along immediately but she knew better than anyone the importance of time.Patrick was surprised to see him because he expected him to be carried out in a body bag but seeing him whole and even a small smile on his lips, he couldn't understand it."Come here, boy," he beckoned for Chase. He was curious to know what happened with the empress. Chase's smile dropped and he went to answer him. The party was still on in full swing and people had taken to the dancefloor while others were a step away from drunkenness. Paul and Kenny were no longer on the table, leaving only Patrick and Laura who hung all over him, her breasts threatening to spill all over his arms. The girl really had no shame."Do you know how much troub
"Ugh, these heels are killing me," Evelyn pouted. She absolutely hated wearing them because what was the use of wearing something that only boosted your confidence for a couple of hours then turn to death traps later? She didn't understand."Wait here," Chase told her and left.They had just finished eating at the restaurant and were about to leave when she started complaining of her aching feet. Knowing that he still wanted to spend more time with her, Chase rushed to a small convenience store around the block and bought her a pair of slippers. "Here," he bent down in front of where she sat and began to unstrap her shoes."Uh, I can do it myself," Evelyn rushed out, feeling overwhelmed by his act of kindness."Let me," he told her, looking into her eyes and she gulped hard at the intensity of his stare. She held her breath, too scared to breathe loudly or he would hear it. "All done," he said and got up to his feet, putting his hand out for her to take to help her stand up."Thank
Chase woke up the next day in his room. It looked like any other normal day before the memories of the previous night came crashing down on him."It wasn't a dream," he muttered to himself.He was about to stand up when his phone pinged. Picking it up, his eyes literally turned to saucers.True to her word, Dame Gabrielle had her secretary wire Chase the promised amount. She vowed to make up for the rough life he had lived. Her first instinct when she got back to her villa in the states was to announce the lost heir but she decided to hold her peace. One week was going to run by in a blink of an eye and she could finally be with her grandson.Seeing the wire alert of $20 million, Chase thought he would faint. "It really wasn't a dream," he repeated. As he was still reeling from the amount, his phone rang and an unknown number popped up on the screen. Looking at it skeptically, he pressed the green button."Good morning, master. I'm secretary Kim and the empress assigned me to you," a
In less than 2 minutes, a man of average height came barreling into the store. His dark hair was disheveled like had just woken up from sleep and he wore his tee shirt inside out. Wide eyes scanned the place and it landed on his manager."Mi….mister Blake," the manager jolted upward from where she was seated and rushed up to her boss. The man had always been elegantly dressed, no hair out of place. Seeing him in this state had her a little worried.What she didn't know was that Secretary Kim's call had woken him up and he ran down to the store because apparently, a threat was posed to his business."Where's the young master," he looked ahead, shoving the manager to the side with so much force that she lost her footing and nearly fell face first but quickly regained her stand."There's no young master here, sir," she said again, following behind him. What was he talking about?The man's wide eyes searched around the lobby till it landed on Chase. The man was quite tall but Chase hovere
"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