Niko who had just returned from the cafeteria with dinner for him and Adam was stunned to see Winston in the ward. He was not expecting him until the following day. "Who are you?" Winston asked, turning his gaze in his direction. "Are you by any chance Mr. Winston, Raymond's father?" Niko asked, although he already knew who he was. He just wanted to play dumb. "Yeah. Who are you?" Winston asked with an impatient tone. "I was the one who picked up Raymond's phone when your call came through earlier." He rapped. "Oh, I see. How long has he been hospitalized?" He asked with a friendly tone this time around. "Today is the third day but hopefully, he will be up before a week runs by." "I just hope so." He replied, nodding slowly. He was trying to hide his disappointment that he was going to postpone his mission until another time. "So, who are you to him?" He asked, taking Adam and Niko by surprise. Adam tried to answer but he couldn't find his voice to do that. "We are h
"A minute please." Julia yelled, wiping her hands dry with a napkin. Ever since Niko informed her that Raymond was on his way home, she had been in the kitchen making different dishes. Raymond, tired of waiting, was about to press the doorbell for the second time when the door flung open and Julia jumped on him in excitement. He had to hold the frame of the door else both of them would have been on the floor. "I've missed you so much." She mused on his shoulder. Sniffing, Raymond set her down then hurried to the kitchen where he was certain the aroma was emitting from. He was surprised to see the table littered with different ingredients. "Hey, what are you up to?" He asked, popping a slice of cabbage into his mouth. "Nothing. How was your mini vacation? I hope you had a swell time with your friends." She smirked, pushing a plate of salad towards him. "Uhm… Expecting anyone?" He dodged her question as he texted Niko so that he would fill him in with everything that he had told J
"You don't look good. Is everything alright?" Niko asked Raymond who was sitting in his office. This was the following day. "Better start talking now. I don't want Anderson to start making a fuss." Adam chirped in as he turned on the fan. Raymond refused to speak to them. Since the previous night, he had been trying to discover how Julia got to know about his plan against Winston. If she knew about Winston, that means, she knew about her family too but didn't want to voice it out. The thought of this made fear grip him as goose pimples appeared on his skin. "Are you still thinking about your father's attempt? Come on, we already have an upper hand against him now, if we present it…" Niko was still speaking when he interrupted. Balling his hands into a fist, he said, "That's not it." "Then what?" His friends asked in unisom with their gazes fixed on him. "She found out." He blurted, sending his fist into the papers on the table. "She? Who's she?" Adam asked, exchanging glances w
After paying for her fare, Julia rushed inside the house hoping to see Raymond in the living room playing video games as usual. When she didn't see him, she checked the kitchen, his room and other places she felt he could be, but he was nowhere to be found. "Calm down girly, you can handle this." She repeated, trying to calm herself down as she took in deep breath. She was still in this state when her phone began to buzz in her purse. Rejecting the call was the top most thing on her mind but when the caller wouldn't give up, she had no choice but to pick up. It was Erica on the line. "No wonder you married him. I was wondering why a whole Julia Brooks,a girl swimming in opulence would stoop so low and marry a peasant. Come on, deceiving your friends wasn't fair." Erica mused at the other end. Irritated with her words, she hung the call only for Stella's call to come through. Frustrated, she swiped to receive the call. "What do you want?" She scowled, trying to restrict herself
"I'm your father, don't you forget that." Winston yelled. Smirking, Raymond turned on the TV then plopped on the couch opposite him. "Julia." Winston called, turning in her direction. "Uh." She replied with a raised brow. She wanted to give him an attitude because she felt Raymond had done more than enough. "Aren't you going to say anything?" "No." She replied, shaking her head vigorously. With an injured pride, Winston stormed out of the house and almost immediately, Julia banged the door on his face. "Good riddance." She hissed, wiping her brow as her eyes fell on Raymond who was staring at the screen of his phone. "I'm still not talking to you." She said with a loud voice. When Raymond didn't respond, she snatched his phone from his grip and then tossed it on the couch. With her arms across her chest, she said, "Mr. CEO, I know you have been itching to leave, right?" Wondering what she was up to, Raymond didn't reply. He was just staring at her as if he hadn't seen her befor
Immediately the meeting with the investors ended, Xavier dialed a contact on the intercom and within a minute, Jaime was in his office. "You sent for me." He said, staring back at him. "Send messengers to get Mayor, Antonio and Julious right away." "Yes sir." Not wanting to lose his position for the second time, Jaime decided to change his attitude to work. He was up and doing, swift with assignments and was always ready to render a helping hand. When the trio arrived, Xavier rose, making his way to the middle of his office where they stood. "I need Raymond's contact and home address." He smirked. "Sir, ever since he left Dexx, I have been unable to reach out to him. I tried visiting but his previous house is now occupied by a new tenant." Mayor countered."Me too." Julious chirped in. "Same here, " Antonio replied. He had promised Raymond not to reveal his whereabouts to anyone, and that was exactly what he was going to do. "Really?" Xavier asked, chuckling dryly. "Sir, you
"Hey man, you're there?" Antonio asked. "Yeah." "Xavier is hunting for you." "Why?" Raymond asked, jumping out of his bed as he glared at the wall. "I don't know. He offered me a million dollars to give your contact and home address away." "Look, I will give you two million." He rapped, reaching out for his cheque book. He was going to send Julia to deliver it to him the following day. "Come off it man, I ain't selling you off. I just wanted to keep you updated. Moreover, I still can't reach you with your former contact. That's why I called your wife." He said. "No, it's fine. Thank you, I really appreciate it." He replied then hung the call only to start staring into space. He was still staring when Julia returned. Sensing he wasn't himself, she poked him in his ribs with all her might, eliciting a groan from him. "I thought it wouldn't hurt. Remember you are always working out." She mocked, retrieving her phone from him. "I'm still human, okay." He scowled, rubbing his ach
After breakfast, the four of them set out to the new mansion. While Adam rode with Niko, the couples rode in the new car. At first Julia was silent but it wasn't as if she didn't have anything to say. "Where are we heading?" She asked, breaking the comfortable silence."Our new home." Came the swift response from Raymond who was smirking. He was excited because he was living his original life now and was no longer pretending. "So… tell me, how did you do it"? She asked with her gaze fixed on him. "Do what?" "Hide your identity so well." Chuckling, he marched the gas then swerved towards the right, "It's not a big deal." When they arrived at the mansion, they stepped out to join Niko and Adam who had already arrived and were chatting lightly. "Did you enjoy your ride?" Niko smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked towards them. "I feel good. It's been a while since I drove a luxurious vehicle." Raymond replied, cranking his neck to the side. "Here, these are th