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 between them. Ignoring him, shs proceeds to take off her bra and before he could know what was happening, she was holding onto his shoulder, trying frantically to kiss him but he wouldn't give in. “Please let go of me.” He yelled. He didn't want to push her away for fear of causing her harm which was going to do nothing but to escalate the issue. Still struggling to escape from her grip, the door creaked open and Katherine stepped in followed by Raven. “What is going on here?” Raven yelled, clutching her dress tightly as she glared at Chase who was as surprised as they were. “She tried to…” Chase wanted to explain what had happened but before he could even complete his sentence, Katherine sent her palm to his face, causing him to stagger backwards. The next time Chase raised his head, the strange woman was nowhere to be found. “She…” “Shut your mouth, you filthy thing.” Katherine yelled, she was seething with anger while Raven paced around the room as she bit her bottom lips. “Not only are you incompetent, you are also a cheat. I would have known long ago but I was blinded with pity.” “I didn't do anything. She was the one who…” another slap followed and this time around, he staggered backwards until he fell to the ground. “Get the lawyer this minute.” Katherine yelled at Raven who quickly picked up her phone as she muttered incoherent words. “Raven, please you have to believe me. I wouldn't try to cheat on you, never.” He was trying to hold back his tears but they kept rolling down his cheeks. Raven made a quick call to the lawyer who didn't waste time in showing up. After everything was explained to him, Raven requested a divorce paper but instead of giving her one, he said, “I’m afraid, the late family head isn't in support of a divorce.” “What?” Mother and daughter yelled in unison. “He stated clearly in his own handwriting that if there was a cause to get divorced, each party should be given a month break to pull themselves together…” “This is trash.” Katherine yelled, tossing the paper in his face. “There must be a divorce… I can't put up with a cheat.” Raven yelled, seething with anger. Suddenly, the bathroom door creaked open and Zara stepped out, drying her hair with a hand dryer. When she noticed all attention was on her, she recoiled and then went back to the bathroom only to return a few minutes later. “Making a video was a hassle though.” Zara said, walking towards them. Crouching beside Chase who was just staring, she patted his shoulder, “Well done.” “How did you get here?” Raven asked, her blood turning cold. The sight of Zara was enough to give her goosebumps and seeing the way she was smiling now was making her go crazy with each passing minute. Ignoring her sister and mother, she turned on the TV which played out what had originally happened. Chase was relieved with this, only for her to switch the video to that of Raven making out with someone else. Startled, Raven pushed her and then turned off the TV. Cheeks flushed with embarrassment, she was unable to raise her head as she panted in anger. “You're the cheat here.” Zara snapped at her. “Shut your mouth.” Katherine yelled back at her, her neck veins popping out. Ignoring them all, Zara made her way towards the window only to turn around the next second and with a loud and firm voice, she said, “I overheard your plans of setting him up with a random lady and out of pity, I decided to come save his ass.” “What plan?” Raven asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about. “Are you even a part of this family? Why are you denting our family's name in public?” Katherine yelled at her. She was livid and if looks could kill, Zara was sure to be dead long ago. “I see no reason when you all decided to hate on someone who has nothing to offer.” She shot back. Pushing her hair behind her ears, she turned towards the lawyer, “Mr. Moon.” She called. Still stunned from the twist of the situation, he just turned towards her with a blank expression on his face. “In father’s will, he said Chase shouldn't be thrown out of the family, right?” “Yes, that's true.” “Get the divorce paper for Raven and Chase then wed me and Chase.” She said. “What?” Chase gasped, staring back at her with widened eyes. With her hands across her chest, she let out a low chuckle before passing him a wink. “Zara, what the hell are you talking about? This man here has nothing to offer.” Katherine screamed. Closing the gap between them, she grabbed her shoulder and began to peer into her eyes. “Daughter please, join us and send him away.” She cried. “Zara, you shouldn't settle for him. Mom already said he has nothing to offer. He is a parasite and he will live off your hard work.” “Do I look like I care?” she yelled in her face and pushed her off. “Do it.” Shs snapped at Mr. Moon who was just staring. He had been trying to speak for a while now but words had refused to form. “Mr. Moon, proceed with the divorce and not the wedding.” Katherine yelled. “Then I will have no choice but to release the video of Raven making out with someone other than her husband.” She said with a smirk as she waved a flash drive in their faces. “Stocks will drop rapidly, the company will begin to fold up and everything you have worked so hard for will crumble right before your very eyes, not a threat though.” Shs shrugged, chuckling at the same time. “Mrs. Bernard, what am I to do now?” Mr. Moon asked, arranging his glasses that were perching in his nose. “Go ahead with it.” She replied, her gaze to the wall and her face rigid. “I know you will make the right choice.” Zara said and then began to shriek with laughter.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
Ignoring Chase, Zara kept pressing on. She felt if she had the chance, she would be able to change the restaurant for better and she would stop at nothing until her request was granted. “Can you just stop it already?” She yelled at Wembley who was scowling at her. “You're rude, we don't want you working here.” He snapped at her, wrapping his hands across his chest. “Really? I only pointed out your mistakes to you and as it should be, you're supposed to make corrections instead of making a fuss about it.” “Correction you mean? The last time I checked, no one asked you for that.” While they were arguing, Chase plopped on the chair, his gaze never leaving Zara even for once. Since she had proved herself without him asking, he felt that he needed her and at the same time he was skeptical about the whole thing because of her family. “They're going to try and ruin everything if they find out about this.” He said more to himself but everyone heard what he had said. “Boss, what did yo
Stamping her feet against the floor, Zara looked around the restaurant, leaving the rest of the staff in suspense, even Chase was not let out in this. He never allowed his gaze to leave her even for once as he tried to guess correctly what she was up to. “Aren't you going to say anything?” Maurice scowled. “Of course, I was going to commend your new looks.” She winked at him, causing a smile to appear on his lips. Just when he was about to respond to her compliment, she waved her hand in his face, “Now you have to work on your clothes? It looks like what the slaves in history passed down to you.” “What?”“You heard me.” She affirmed with a smirk, rolling her eyes at him.“You're rude, that's not a nice way of speaking to someone.” Wembley muttered. “Why do you look scary? Are you a part of the Mafia in Italy? Your accent screams it.” At once Chase exchanged glances with Wembley who took a step backward, digging his hand into his hair. “I'm on the roof, please excuse me.” He mu
During the one-week duration, while they were trying to put things in order, Zara kept raising awareness on her social media page. She was an Instagram influencer with over three million dedicated followers so the awareness went a long way to help. Chase and Wembley focused their energy on repainting the restaurant in bright colors and replacing the bulbs and different decorations with more appealing colors. A night before the reopening, Zara arrived at the restaurant but before she could walk in, her phone began to buzz and at once she pulled it out of her pocket. “What does she want?” She mumbled, glaring at the screen which displayed Raven. Pushing her phone back into her pocket, the call came through again, and then time around with a frown she yelled, “What?” “I know you're busy but can you spare me five minutes?” “Why?” “We need to talk and it's urgent.” She snapped and at once Zara swirled around, her gaze falling on the vehicle that was across the road. “Yeah, come si