Chapter 4
Author: Celestial Clouds
The two men said that Samantha and someone named Mr. Devin were spending time alone in her office. But from what Rue said, Samantha was a loyal woman.

Why would a woman like that do what she was doing? Was there some sort of misunderstanding?

Adrian went up to the office.

***

CEO’s office, the Bailar Group.

A beautiful woman sat in the office. She had long hair and a nice figure. She was elegant and had a pair of long, slender legs that were crossed under the desk.

That was Samantha Cowell.

Her company had been kicked out of the Alyanz Chamber of Commerce because of sabotage from competitors, and she was accused of wrongdoing. To avoid going to jail, she was forced to give her company away.

That night was her last night at the office. Years of hard work were going to disappear, so she was feeling upset.

“Samantha, have you signed the agreement?”

The door of her office opened and a middle-aged man walked in. He smiled and asked her after walking in.

The man was Devin Williams, the owner of the Williams Group that was a part of Alyanz.

He had always wanted Samantha for himself but she had rejected him multiple times. He had worked together with the cousin of Alyanz’s chairman to force Samantha into a corner.

They made Samantha donate her company away.

“Here’s the agreement. There’s no longer any debt between us.” Samantha stood up when she saw Devin enter and handed the agreement to him. “After midnight, the company will be yours.”

“But before that, you need to leave!” she yelled as she pointed at the door.

Devin did not leave, but instead walked over to the couch and took a seat.

He lit up a cigarette. “Ms. Samantha, you know what I want isn’t your company. What I want is you.”

Devin was obsessed with Samantha’s figure, and his kink was that he was into married women. He knew that Samantha was married and her husband used to be well-known in Swallowston.

“I’ve given you what you want, so stop dreaming. Besides, I’m married.” Samantha stood up and packed her things.

If he was not going to leave, she would. The man disgusted her.

However, Devin said, “Your deadbeat husband is probably dead. Samantha, I’m showing you respect. If I don’t, you’d be nobody.”

He blocked Samantha’s path of exit.

Samantha wanted to ignore him and yelled, “Get out of my way!”

Devin took a drag of his cigarette and smiled. “What if I don’t want to? What are you going to do? You’re not going to win this, Samantha Cowell.

“I have connections throughout Swallowston. Even the legate who arrived today dined with me. There’s no one more powerful than me in this city.”

Devin did not even wince as he lied. He never met the legate anyway.

Samantha did not want to entertain him so she tried to push him away. However, before she could, a voice rang out.

“The legate dined with you? I don’t remember doing that.”

There was a bang and the door was kicked open. Adrian walked in.

Devin saw him and immediately frowned. “Who are you? Have you met the man?”

***

Adrian ignored Devin and walked up to Samantha.

She saw someone enter and was curious about who it was, so she took a closer look at him. She could not recognize him as the last time she saw him was seven years ago, and she had only spent two days with him.

Adrian recognized her though. He would always remember her face.

“Samantha, do you remember me?” Adrian asked as he touched her face.

Samantha was surprised. She took a good long look at him after he said that.

Suddenly, a flash of recognition went through her mind and she froze. “A-Adrian?”

Samantha recognized the healthy-looking face and familiar expressions. It was her husband, Adrian Xander!

She started tearing up.

“Sam, it’s me, I’m back.” Adrian excitedly said.

Samantha was shocked. Her tears started falling and she covered her mouth. She could not believe her eyes. This was the man that she had been thinking about day and night.

Seven years. It had been seven years!

“Aren’t you ashamed to come back?” Samantha suddenly slapped him and said through her tears.

Adrian felt a mix of emotions and did not know what to say. He felt guilty and blamed himself. Samantha had done a lot for his family, but he had suspected her of cheating on him.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Adrian said.

Samantha took a deep breath. She thought that her life would pass just like that and that she would forever be a widow while taking care of her mother-in-law and making money to send her sister-in-law to university. She never imagined that her husband would one day return.

“You think apologizing is good enough?!” she cried, “Adrian Xander, you’re nothing but trash! You owe me! You owe the entire family! I won’t forgive you! You left me for seven years! I will never forgive you!”

Adrian never expected her to forgive him. He only hoped that he could use the rest of his life to repay her.

He said, “Sam, go home. I’ll settle this and go home to you. You can then hit me and yell at me all you want. I won’t retaliate.”

Samantha took a look at Devin, paused, then turned and walked out of the office.

***

After she left, Adrian’s face fell. He turned to face Devin.

Devin understood what was going on and smiled. “I know. You’re Henry Xander’s son, Adrian. Samantha’s husband.”

“You want to sleep with my wife?” Adrian asked.

“Hahaha!” Devin threw his head back and laughed. “I’m glad you know. I’m part of the Alyanz Chamber of Commerce. I’m pretty powerful around these parts. We even managed to take Samantha’s company away from her, but what are you going to do about it?

“I have an in with the war legate too. Your wife is lucky that I’m interested in her.”

Devin had heard of Adrian. Ever since Henry’s passing, the family fell apart. Adrian was sent away to the army at the border and did not seem to have made any improvements since then.

When Adrian heard Devin’s proud tone, he laughed. “The war legate huh? Sure. I’ll show you who the real war legate is.”

He then pulled out his phone. “General Summers, bring some men to the Bailar Group.”

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    Adrian hung up and sat down to wait.After Devin heard what Adrian said, he chuckled. He knew that Daniel was a big shot in Swallowston and that he was the general who worked under the legate. That meant that if he stomped his feet, the city would shake.Devin thought that Adrian was just pretending to call Daniel. It was probably a fake number.“Hahaha! Henry was a genius. Too bad his son isn’t.” Devin continued to laugh.He knew very well what happened to the Xanders since he was a local of Swallowston.Devin said, “Sure, I’ll wait with you. I’d like to see if you can really bring Daniel Summers here.”He then sat down on the couch, lit another cigarette, and crossed his legs.Adrian ignored him and closed his eyes to rest.Within ten minutes, just as Devin was arrogantly enjoying his cigarette, the door of the office was kicked open again and Daniel, who was in uniform, walked in. Devin was shocked.Behind Daniel was the richest man in Swallowston, Damien Holland, owner of

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    Adrian gave a few more instructions before hanging up the call.“Celine Blanche… You’ll pay with your life.”***The next day, Adrian got up early and prepared breakfast.When Rue woke up and saw what he had done, she was shocked. “Adrian, why did you…”He smiled. One of the reasons he came home was to try and lessen her burden.“Breakfast is ready. Could you wake Ada and Sam for breakfast please?” he asked.Rue sighed because she no longer recognized her son. However, she was relieved that he was back. She did not plan to ask for more.Soon after, Adaline and Samantha stirred and walked out of their rooms.Upon seeing that Adrian had made breakfast, Samantha was surprised, but it soon turned into disappointment. She was disappointed because she thought that was the only thing he planned to do upon his return.“Sam, have some breakfast,” Adrian said to her.Adaline walked over and sat down on the couch. “If all you learned these past seven years was to cook, you’re pretty muc

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    It was better if Adrian had kept silent.After he spoke, Samantha was outraged. She slapped him and anxiously said, “Do you think you’re the war legate? Ask General Summers to settle this. Who do you think you are?”Rue was crying, and Adaline turned around to hide her tears. If Celine found out that they were fighting at Alyanz Tower, she would surely not let Adrian get away.“Sam, put your trust in me,” Adrian said to her.“Why should I?” She looked at him as tears welled up in her eyes. She never thought that Adrian would be so impulsive that he would start a fight here.There was no time to think. Samantha quickly said to Rue, “Mother, Ada, bring Adrian home. I’ll go in on my own.“I’m just one woman, I don’t think Celine will do anything to me.”She thought that was the only way out.Rue was nervous. “Sam, just let this go. Let’s all go home.”“Sam, we won’t be able to remain calm if you go in there alone. We should just give the company to them,” Adaline tried to advise.

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    After Samantha spoke, everyone burst out in laughter.“You came to Alyanz to reason? What’s going on in that head of yours?”“The business world is like a battlefield. If you lose, you lose. If you can’t deal with that, don’t run a company.”The crowd jeered.Celine looked at Samantha with a smug look, taunting her. Everyone there wanted to work with her, so they were willing to do anything to get into her good books.Samantha knew that there was no way she could win over them, but she wanted the truth from Celine. She said, “Celine, you forced me to sign the agreement to give away my company. I’m here to tell you that I’ll let it slide if you give Bailar back to me. We won’t have to go to court over it.”“Hahaha!” Celine covered her mouth and laughed so hard that her tears started falling.Everyone looked at Samantha as if she were a joke.Celine smiled and said, “Samantha, you’re going to sue me? With what? Do you think you’ll win? I’m going to tell you the truth. Yes, I play

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    Nobody there knew what to do. Alyanz was going to be disbanded!Daniel got approval from the legate? But where was he? Everyone looked around but could not determine who he was.Celine broke down and got to her knees. “Please forgive me, Legate! I didn’t take away her company on purpose! I-I’ll give it back!”She was afraid. She thought that the legate was there to make her acquaintance. But instead, he was there to help Samantha.“Take her away!” Daniel ignored Celine’s plea and commanded.As a few men walked over, Celine quickly crawled toward Samantha’s feet and grabbed her. “Samantha, Samantha, I’m sorry! Please help me!”Celine’s face was covered in tears as she wept. She was utterly out of her wits and was visibly trembling.Samantha, shocked at Celine’s actions, took a few steps back and fell into someone’s arms. She turned around and realized that it was Adrian.She blushed.“Go away!” Adrian boomed as he kicked Celine in her face, “General Summers, take her away!”“Y

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    Night time.When the family was having dinner, Adrian’s phone rang. It was Daniel on the line.“I need to take this.” Adrian got up and went to the garden.Once he picked up, Daniel said, “Sir, the Cowells sent you an invitation for a gathering at their home. I haven’t replied. Will you be attending?”“I don’t have time for that. Reject the invite.” Adrian hung up and went back inside.Samantha said to Adrian, “Go to my family home and meet my grandmother tomorrow. She’s my family.”“All right.” He nodded.“Don’t forget to bring her some gifts. I have some money here.” Rue quickly took out her purse and handed him a hundred dollars.He looked at the money and was touched. It was apparent she had been keeping this money for a while now because it was all crumpled up.Something came to mind and Adrian said, “Mother, how much money do you need for Ada’s tuition? Which university did she get into?”Adaline looked up and started paying attention.Rue said, “Swallowston University

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