"Can you believe that?" Damien stormed into his father's office with rage, throwing all forms of curtsey in the wind.Jacob sat on his recliner chair, going through some papers on his table.Damien hadn't expected his father to be as quiet as he was during the meeting with the empress. Even though Damien didn't have much of a say in decisions involving the empress, his father did. She was his mother after all. But he had just sat there and watched her bring a total stranger into their home and not only that, his position was now threatened."What's the ruckus about, son?" Jacob asked calmly. That was his nature. He never raised his voice above the normal level, no matter how mad he was. He was more of a silent observer."Dad, you can't just let grandma bring a total stranger into the house, you have to do something," Damien roared and slammed his palm on the table, hard."Oh, but she has," Jacob said without batting an eyelash or sparing a glance his way."And we're just going to sit
"It's almost time for dinner. I can't believe that guy will be joining us," Jennifer groaned as she went into her mother's room. She lived in the same quarters with her mother and her brother, Benedict did too, up until he got married and was given a quarter of his own."Who are you talking about?" Imelda asked as she coated her face with another layer of makeup."Of course I'm talking of that guy that grandma picked from God knows where," she huffed and lay on her mother's bed. She had watched him throughout the meeting and if it wasn't for the way her grandmother looked at him with love and admiration, she might have just been friendly with him but now, she felt nothing but dislike for him."You're talking about your cousin, I presume?" Imelda arched a perfectly-carved eyebrow in her daughter's direction."He's not and will never be my cousin," she sat up, not believing her mother had said that to her."And you say that, because?" Imelda asked slowly."I don't know if you heard, mom
"Come over here," the empress said, pointing to her left.Theo went closer and started to pull the chair next to Benedict's wife until the empress spoke again."Damien, please move," she said without meeting his eyes."What?" Damien asked, hoping he had heard wrong but when he turned to her and met the cold look on her face, he knew better than to question her again.The silence and tension in the room was so thick that it could slice glass as everyone held their breath, waiting for what would happen next.There was an unspoken hierarchy in the family and Damien fell third in that chart after his father and for the first time in a long time, that chart was about to be broken.Chase took slow, purposeful strides to the chair that was assigned to him and Damien only stood up after he got there and waited for a beat."Enjoy it while it fucking lasts," he muttered under his breath in Chase's ear through clenched teeth before moving to take the seat close to Imelda, who sported a victoriou
Dinner ended and just as they were all about to leave the dining table, the empress cleared her throat, stopping them in their tracks."Jennifer," the empress called as she sent deadly glares to the girl."Grandma," she answered softly with a bow of her head and everyone stared curiously."Do a repeat of what you did this evening and you'll see a side of me you've never seen before and trust me, it won't be nice," the empress warned.Seeing that her daughter was being apprehended, Imelda was about to say something in her defense but was cut off by a clearing of throat."It was an accident, grandma. Or wasn't it?' Chase said cockily, directing his question to Jennifer. He had seen what happened and knew better than anyone that it was anything but an accident because the look of harmful intent was clear on her face before the maid was sent spiraling to the ground."Yes, it was and I promise to be more careful," she said through gritted teeth."If that's all, grandma, I'd like to retire
Chase spent a good amount of the night reading the book the empress had given to him. From what he had read, it was written by the empress' husband and even though he knew a good deal about business, he was grateful for the book because it gave him insights about large scale businesses such as the one he had found himself in.He had been so engrossed in the book that he didn't realize when he slept off.A small knock on the door woke him up the next morning and he slowly opened his eyes, trying to make them get used to the unfamiliar environment."Young master," the muffled voice of Denise, his help was heard on the other side of the door.Chase pulled the comforter up to his waist and rubbed sleep from his eyes."Come in," he said in his deep morning voice.Denise pushed the door slightly open and poked her head in and when she was sure it was safe to enter, went the rest of the way in.She had to take extra precaution because she still had unwanted images of Damien fucking various w
While on his way to the dining room, Chase mistakenly bumped into someone."I'm sorry," he apologized quickly while holding the person to steady them on their feet. Once the person was standing on her own, his eyes met hers and amusement clouded his features.Jennifer stood before him, looking everywhere but at him."I didn't see you there," she started but there was something in her voice that told Chase that she had seen him very clearly and purposely bumped into him. But the question was why."Hmm," he hummed easily. "If you'd excuse me," he started and shoved past her but her voice stopped him again."Look, Theo," she called and he stopped in his tracks, turning back to face her and give her his attention.She looked like she was in search of words and Theo promptly turned his wrist, checking the time on the million dollar wristwatch that sat beautifully on his wrist, telling her silently that he didn't have much time to spare for her.Taking the hint, she cleared her throat and s
The empress came in and they all got up to acknowledge her."Sit," she commanded after taking her seat.Chase, who was standing all along went to take his new position closest to the empress."Are you ready for your first day at work, Theo?" The empress asked while the servants maid the rounds to serve the food."Yes, grandma," Theo nodded his affirmation. "You'll ride with me," she told him."Mother, we have countless cars out there and Theo can ride any one of them that he likes. Why does he have to ride with you?" Regina spoke up. She was fed up with the preferential treatment Theo was getting, instead of her son. That had been the reason for the mini outburst with her husband the previous night.Chase flickered his eyes to her but kept quiet, instead, put a slice of steak in his mouth. Did it really matter who he rode to work with?"You speak only when you're spoken to," the empress said firmly without looking at her.The empress thought she had quite the nerve to interfere with
They got into the back of a white SUV. The family members had been surprised when she asked Theo to ride with her because she never offered to ride with anyone. If not that they all bore the same last name, nobody at work would know that any of them were related to Dame Gabrielle Alcantra, but again, she had extended the hand to Theo, which she never gave even her own children."Do you want to grab a bite first?" She asked him when the driver smoothly peeled the car out of the driveway."No, grandma. I'm good," he repeated. She had no reason to worry but she couldn't help it. She had been given a second chance to take care of the only legacy of her favorite child and she was going to do it while giving him maximum protection all her life.She sent him a side-glance and placed a soft hand above his, silently telling him that she was there for him."Grandma, I've been introduced to the family and I know I was supposed to finish my training here but I wanted to ask if I can go back to P