006

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 earnings were barely enough to make ends meet. The suffering went on for three more years until father couldn't bear it anymore and so he committed suicide and the next day, mother did the same, leaving me in this cruel world.” He took a pause to take in their facial expression which showed pity before he resumed.

“After my parents death, I was taken to the orphanage because my relatives were unable to add another mouth to their families.” He ended his tale with a shrug.

“That's sad.” Diane said.

“Yeah, but I have gotten over it. Even though my parents are no more, I'm going to work hard so they will be proud of me wherever they are.” He affirmed.

“Yes, that is what you should do.” Pouring him a drink, Kirsten said, “I hope you won't commit suicide too when life gets tough on you.”

“No, I won't. I’m going to remain strong so I will be able to take care of Raven.” he replied and Raven scoffed in response. She was moved by his tale but she was just trying to act tough on the outside.

Immediately the courier service arrived, Chase excused himself and on his return, he placed a black box in front of Raven.

“The… ring?” She stuttered, trying to calm her ragging breath.

“Yes.” he replied with a vigorous nod that did nothing but to increase her heart beat.

Wiping her brow, she slowly took off the lid of the box, exposing a glistening golden ring which was the exact replica of the one he had chosen for her.

“No way.” Kristen yelled, alternating her gaze between the ring and a smiling Chase.

“Do you like it?” He asked, staring at her as she shrieked with joy. She had been biting her lips so she wouldn't scream out while her friends just sat there stunned by the turnout of events.

They were expecting him to present something else so they would make mockery of him but it seems he was the one making a mockery of them.

“I’m uploading this on my I* right away, this is too good to be true.” Raven said and she immediately took a snapshot of her finger which had been adorned with the ring.

At the end of the party, Chase had to join the others in cleaning up before he could think of returning home and by the time he was done, it was already a few minutes past midnight.

Walking up the stairs, Raven was making her way down, the ring still on her fingers. Smiling weakly at her, he asked, “You like it?”

“We need to talk.” She snapped in response. Lost on what to say to her, he turned around then returned to the living room.

“How did you get the money to purchase a twelve karat golden ring? You think I won't verify if it was real or not?” She asked with a mocking laughter.

Falling on his knees, he placed his hands together and with a tired voice said, “Please forgive me, I had to take a loan from a bank ASAP to fund my account so I could make the purchase.”

“What?” She asked with her eyes wide open.

“I'm sorry. I did what I did because I couldn't bear the mockery anymore. I wanted to prove to your friends that I could go any length to make you happy…” He was still speaking when she slapped his hand across his face, the ring leaving a deep mark on his chin.

“Are you out of your senses? Who asked you to go that length all in the name to prove your stupidity?” She yelled.

Just when she was about to hit him again, he used his hand to shield his face, yelling, “I will pay the loan myself, I'm not going to involve your family.”

“Much better.” She snapped and with a scoff, began to stomp towards the stairs.

Suddenly, she swirled around and with her nose scrunched up in disgust, she said, “Get ready for the board meeting tomorrow.”

“Yes I will, thank you for your concern.” He yelled after her and when she was gone, he fell on the couch as he rubbed his chin, shutting his eyes tightly as the stinging pain raked through him.

The following day, with the help of Wembley, Chase was able to pull off the test that Katherine had set for him, this left mother and daughter furious.

At the end of the day, instead of returning home, Raven drove straight to her mother's home and immediately she got in, she fell on her knees and then began to cry while her little sister, Zara, looked on.

“What's the issue this time around?” Zara asked with a snort. Raven's tears were driving her insane and to make matters worse, Katherine was yet to return from work due to heavy traffic.

“Stay out of this.” Raven snapped at her and then resumed crying.

The moment Katherine returned home, she quickly rushed to her side and then began to rub her fingers on her back, trying to soothe her but it didn't work the magic. Raven kept sobbing until she didn't have the strength to carry on anymore.

“Please talk to me, that happened?” Katherine asked, staring intently at her. Her eyes were already watering as she imagined a lot of scenarios in her head.

“Can't you do something about Chase, I'm tired of seeing him each day. He pisses me off, irritates me and the urge to kill him gnaws on me so much.” She mumbled as she tugged her hair.

“Why don't you kill him?” Zara snapped at her and at once, she turned to her mother who in turn said, “Get out.”

“I was just trying to offer a solution, nothing more.” Zara protested.

“I said get out you wench.” She yelled, her neck veins popping out in protest.

Rolling her eyes to the back of her head and with a scowl, Zara tossed the headrest and with heavy footsteps, she stormed towards the stairs.

Immediately she was gone, Raven held Katherine’s hand and then leaned towards her. “Why don't we set him up?” She asked, staring intently at her as she hoped she gave in to her request.

“Set him up? How will it be beneficial to you?”

“If he falls for it, then we will get divorced.” She said with a little smile. Impressed, Katherine nodded, sharing a smile with her. She too had been trying to find a way to pull Raven out of the marriage but to no avail.

“Mom, are you going to help me?” Her voice was shaking now.

“Of course dear, what do you suggest we do?” She asked, holding her hands.