At first, Chase wanted to go back on his words, he continued reviewing his actions in his head while Raven and his friends kept pressuring him to fulfill his words.
“What's the website?” He asked and at once the banter ceased. No one said a word as they were all staring blankly at him.. When he didn't get the needed response, he browsed the website on his phone and while they were still watching him in awe, he made the purchase. “I already made the purchase. The courier will bring in the ring before the party folds up.” He said, showing them the screen of his phone. Laughing nervously, Raven said, “I think you are trying to pull our legs here. You can barely afford a car but you are buying a ring worth a million dollars.” Her tone was dripping with mockery. Kirsten, Prisca and Diane couldn't say a word to him, all they could do was to stare with their mouths wide agape. They were still in a state of shock as they were trying to comprehend what had just happened. Seeing their reaction, Chase was trying to slip away from their presence but he couldn't find the perfect way to do so. Suddenly, a waiter slipped and then upturned the tray of drinks he was holding over his head. “Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry sir.” The waiter apologized trying to dab his clothes dry but Chase wouldn't let him. “What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be serving the guests?” A familiar voice rang in Chase's head and at once he shot his head upwards only to receive a wink from Wembley. “Dammit! You should watch where you're going next time.” He snapped at him, pushing him slightly so he could stand up. “Are you for real? You sit here doing nothing and at the end of the day you get paid equally? No way, I'm not going to let that happen.” Wembley said with a scoff, abandoning his tray on the table, he stormed off. “Please wait for me.” Chase called after him as he picked up the tray with the broken fragments of glasses. When he was done, he did a curt bow to Raven and her friends and then scurried away. “Let's see if he is pulling our legs or not.” Kirsten said, staring at the screen of Diane’s phone. “According to him, the ring will arrive before the end of the party, we all should be expectant then.” Raven said with an air of finality. After dropping the tray off at the kitchen, Chase found his way to the bathroom where Wembley had slid into while he was chasing after him. “Thanks for saving my ass man.” He said, hitting Wembley’s shoulder. “Those ladies are bent on making you go insane.” He said, looking at his reflection in the mirror as he changed his clothing. “I had to buy a golden ring for Raven to abate their taunting.” Chase replied with a shrug and proceeded to wash his face. “Back home, no one will treat you this way, you are fully aware of that.” “Ugh! Must you bring up that issue whenever we meet? Look, no matter what happens, I'm not returning to that hellhole.” Taking a pause, he tilted his head to the side before saying, “I have a lot of things to achieve before I die.” “Stop bluffing, no one is going to kill you if you return to where you belong. There would certainly be an attempt but they will be unable to strike.” He snapped back. For the next few minutes that followed, no one said a word to the other. While Chase was seething, Wembley stood aside with his arms crossed on his chest as he stared at him. “About the data breach stuff, do you have a solution for it?” Chase asked, staring at Wembley with a pleading eyes. If he didn't act this way, he might decide not to help him anymore and the next day was the deadline Katherine had given to him. With a deep frown on his face, Wembley pushed his hand into his pocket and then tossed an airpod towards him. “That's it.” He said. “What? How am I going to rectify the issue with the airpod? Look man, you really need to help me here, I can't fall in front of my in-laws, they are going to mock me until I give up the ghost.” he groaned. Closing the distance that separated them, he held his shoulder as he peered into his eyes, “Please help me.” “I already did. You just need to turn on the airpod and when it all starts, you notify me and I tell you everything you need to do.” He said, pushing him aside. Still struggling to understand what he was saying, he followed his gaze with his eyes until he got to the door. Swirling around suddenly, he said, “Least I forget, you need to put this on so I can have access too.” He asked, pushing a glass case towards him. “What's this?” Chase asked with a raised brow. With each passing minute, he was getting frustrated, he was just trying to keep calm and hear Wembley out, otherwise, he would have begun to throw a fit. “That's a smart glass from IM Tech firm.” Wembley said and a smile slowly began to appear on Chase's face. Grinning from side to side, he said, “I know you will help me.” “This will be the last time though, so don't get too excited.” “Come on bro, I know you won't leave me stranded when you can help?” Shoving the items into his pocket, he said, “How can I repay you back?” Before Wembley could give a response, he snapped his fingers in his face and still grinning broadly, he said, “I will take you to Grill N Spice by the weekend? How about what?” “Not interested.” “So what do you want? A doberman, golden ring, tell me…” He was still speaking when Wembley began to walk towards him. Standing directly in front of him now, he placed his hand on his shoulder and then leaned in, “Save us before we all die.”After leaving the bathroom, Chase returned to the table and after apologizing profusely to them, he took his seat. “We have just thirty minutes left for the party to round off, are you certain that the courier will be here before then.” Prisca asked, setting the stage for a new backlash. “Yes, it will be here in twenty minutes even.” He replied with a smile as he stared at his watch. After a brief silence, Kirsten clasped her hand and then leaned towards him, staring intently at him, “While we are waiting, why don't you tell us about your family” she said. “There's nothing interesting about his family.” Raven scoffed. “Then let him entertain us.” Kirsten retorted and the rest of them readily agreed with it. Pursing his lips, Chase dug his hand into his hair and after a brief silence, he cleared his throat, to get their attention and in preparation to speak. “My father was laid off from his work a few months after my birth and my mom was just a worker at a local day care whose e
Rubbing his palms together in glee, Chase reached out of his cutlery and immediately began to dice the meat in his plate. After eating for a while, he took a sip from his glass of water before shifting his gaze to Wembley who had his glass to his lips, glaring angrily at him. “I did nothing wrong so I'm not going to apologize.” He said, starting up a conversation. “Are you comfortable with your current lifestyle?” Wembley asked, leaning towards him. He was tired and frustrated from repeating the same thing several times. “Yes, why? Aren't you comfortable with yours? Don't ever think of committing suicide because if you do, I will personally dice your body into tiny pieces.” He said, pun intended but Wembley wasn't buying it. Grabbing his cutlery, he started to fill his mouth with food, trying to forget all that was happening but it was impossible. Chase on the other part had resumed eating. He was glad that Wembley hadn't pushed in with his request for him to return home. “Sinc
Standing in front of room 184 was Chase. He had his head bent to the ground as he contemplated on whether he should go in or not. Having spent four months with Raven with no dates or even a friendly conversation, he was skeptical about the whole thing. His instincts kept bugging him but at this point, he didn't know whether he should leave or not. After several minutes of standing in front of the room, he grabbed the handle and then pushed the door in only to be greeted with an empty room. “Raven.” He called, looking around but there was no sign of a human in the room. “I knew it was room 284.” He muttered as he walked towards the door. Grabbing the handle, he tried to pull it open but he couldn't. Wondering what the issue was, he did it the second time but it was the same result. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and he swirled around only to see a lady who was half naked walking up to him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, his eyes bulging with fear as she closed the distance be
Now standing outside the hotel, Chase exhaled and with a hand tucked into his pockets, he made his way towards the road to flag down a taxi. “Where are you heading?” Zara asked, appearing in front of him. He didn't see her coming so he was a bit startled seeing her standing in front of him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, taking in her features. This was the second time he was seeing her after he got married to Raven. “I came to speak to my husband to be… is that a crime?” She didn't allow him to give a response before tossing her car key towards him. “Can you drive?” She asked. “Yeah.” “Gray Honda Civic.” For more than five minutes Chase remained where he was not making any effort to move his feet. He had his gaze fixed on her as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening. “Fine, if you are not driving, I will.” Zara said, trying to snatch the key from him but he didn't let her. Holding her arm, he pulled her to himself, “Why are you doing this?” His voice was
Getting home after spending the whole day outside with Wembley, Chase was greeted with a strong odor of burning food that he flew into the house to find out what was happening. Getting to the kitchen, he pushed the door open, only for smoke to welcome him in and he began to cough. Relieved that it wasn't the house that was burning as he had thought earlier, he proceeded into the kitchen and then pushed the windows open before proceeding to open the door so that the smoke would get out. About half an hour later, he snapped his head upwards, he had just remembered Zara who was now living with him. Facepalming himself, he began to look around the house, searching for her since she wasn't in the kitchen.When he got to the rooms, he started checking them one after the other until he started hearing sobbing sounds emanating from one of the rooms.With a speed he never knew he possessed, he reached out for the door handle and then pushed it in, revealing the coiled-up figure of Zara at
It's been three days since Chase got married to Zara. These three days had been the best in his life after a very long time. Unlike Katherine and Raven who always loved to make his life a living hell for him, Zara was different. She was lively and always loved indulging in every phase of her life. This morning, since it was the weekend, they had a late breakfast and at the moment, Chase was in the living room while Zara was preparing to meet with her friends like she always did during the weekends. Scrolling through TV channels absentmindedly, he had his hand under his chin as he thought of the direction his life was now headed. He was tired of sitting at home idle all through the day and it seemed Wembley was finding it difficult to find the right spot for his proposed restaurant. Zara had no idea about this plan, she strongly believed that he was hunting for a job whereas he wasn't even making any move. Digging his finger into his hair, he let out a low sigh and then reached o
After getting off the bus, Chase pulled his phone out of his pocket, “Oakdale.” He muttered and then snapped his head upwards. With a smile on the side of his lips, he allowed his eyes to roam around his current environment for a while. Oakdale was a little town which bustled with different activities all through the year. Pubs, restaurants, clubs and several other businesses were found there. Out of all the restaurants that were in Oakdale, the best belonged to the number one food company in the state. Still looking around, Wembley walked up to him and then intertwined his hand in his. At once, Chase pulled away and with a scowl on his face said, “Are you crazy?” “What?” Wembley chuckled. He knew Chase hated bodily contact but he still went ahead to hold his hand whenever he had the chance to do so. “So why did you call me?” He asked, digging his hands into his pocket as he exhaled. “I'm done.” “Done?” “Come with me.” In silence, Wembley led Chase to a buildin
FlavorQuest…It had been three weeks since Chase opened the restaurant but the progress had been slow. On most days, they had just one customer and so they had been experiencing a lot of loss which left them discouraged. Sitting behind the counter with his hands resting under his chin was Wembley who had his lips caged in between his teeth as he stared at the door, waiting for the second customer of the day and Chase, who had stepped out to return. “Can I speak to you?” Maurice said, pulling a chair out. “Sure, go ahead.” Wembley replied, trying to keep a brave face when on the inside, he was scared. Scared that Maurice wanted to leave the restaurant and find a more profitable job. “Why do boss keep paying us each weekend when we don't even make up to a quarter of the amount?” Maurice asked. This was the exact question Wembley had asked a few days ago, but he didn't get a satisfactory answer to it. Chase had told him that he had always wanted a job that paid on a weekly basis an