Sir Stanley's party was in full swing, and the gifts were yet to arrive, making Jason a little antsy, he had sent a couple of messages to Raphael and he had assured him that the gift would be delivered in time, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the celebrant has a few words” the MC announced with a smile, and handed the microphone over to Sir Stanley who was seated regally in his wheelchair, Sir Stanley gave a speech of appreciation and then cleared his throat, his entire face beaming, while his face was all smiles, that of his wife and every other person was gloomy and unhappy. Jason cast a glance at Faith who was seated beside him, her face lowered and he felt a pang in his chest, before returning his attention to the ongoing speech, “As you may have all heard, my granddaughter, the favourite one at that, my sweet Faith Reynolds is engaged”, The crowd broke into applause, beaming and subtly looking to get a glimpse of Faith and her fiancé, Sir Stanley waved his hands to calm
Sir Stanley's party was in full swing, and the gifts were yet to arrive, making Jason a little antsy, he had sent a couple of messages to Raphael and he had assured him that the gift would be delivered in time, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the celebrant has a few words” the MC announced with a smile, and handed the microphone over to Sir Stanley who was seated regally in his wheelchair, Sir Stanley gave a speech of appreciation and then cleared his throat, his entire face beaming, while his face was all smiles, that of his wife and every other person was gloomy and unhappy. Jason cast a glance at Faith who was seated beside him, her face lowered and he felt a pang in his chest, before returning his attention to the ongoing speech, “As you may have all heard, my granddaughter, the favourite one at that, my sweet Faith Reynolds is engaged”, The crowd broke into applause, beaming and subtly looking to get a glimpse of Faith and her fiancé, Sir Stanley waved his hands to calm
Mrs Rita who was still beaming, darted her gaze between the approaching delivery man and Ryan who stood beside her, she was very much aware of the delivery company and knew that they only dealt with the creme de la creme of the society and that they never delivered any goods that wasn't less than twenty million, She clasped Ryan to her side before she spoke loudly, drawing the attention of people around, “My God Ryan! You never cease to amaze me! Even though you didn't end up with Faith, here you are, about to present a luxurious gift to her grandfather. You're such an honorable man, and I'll always choose and refer to you as my son in law" Ryan's brows creased, and he blushed, almost shifting from foot to foot; he didn't understand what Mrs Rita was driving at; he had only approached her to inform her of his exit, with a promise to send Sir Stanley’s gift later, although the old fool wasn't deserving of it. He nodded and smiled back weakly, knowing better than to talk, “I won
Mrs Rita was the one to break the tense silence as she gazed at the delivery man, whose cheeks had tinged. He didn't want to offend any of the high social people. Mrs Rita broke through his state as she spoke up clearly, “Sir! You have to clear up this shenanigan, so I can put this fool in the right place! Whose name is on the sender tag?!" She asked loudly, and the delivery man heaved deeply, almost turning blue, his eyes darting between the two men. Faith nearly scoffed but said nothing else, wondering what he could possibly present that would impress her materialistic grandmother, and he didn't seem like one to be able to afford her grandmother’s taste. At that same moment, Ryan Cape got to his feet, with his hands in his pocket, he strutted towards Sir Stanley and Rita's table, with a small smile on his face, Rita who had seen him approach, smiled widely and spread her arms to receive him with a hug, just as the door barged open, distracting the party and causing everyone to tur
Jason smirked; what she didn't know was that it was his company, one of many others, and he had the power to help elevate her status in her family, but like all others, she didn't know what he was worth. The majority of them had looked down on him because he wasn't flamboyantly dressed like the elite; practically judging a book by its covers,Faith was different; though she was reluctant to this union, she was willing to keep to her words, and he was going to do everything to help her out and prove herself to her grandmother.He smiled at her and nodded, while her eyes glared slightly at him, she was wondering what could make him smile after making such a ridiculous statement,Still, Jason smiled at her and nudged her slightly, his eyes twinkling as he watched her. He equally lowered his voice and responded,"Just tell her." He straightened himself to his full height, and smirked before he continued,“I'll help you; I know a few people who can make it happen, the meeting, and more.
After the party, Jason and Faith returned to his hotel room, and she didn't waste time regretting her plan and the bet. She bit on her fingers, and blinked rapidly, “What am I going to do? What kind of deal have I made? No one has contact with these people. I'm in trouble, Grandma is going to alienate me finally! My dignity will be finally ruined” She mused loudly, almost sobbing this time, tears lodged painfully in her throat. Jason's heart wrenched at the sight; he wanted to discard his clothes and don the socially appropriate ones to show Faith that he was indeed capable of helping her and solving all her problems, but he had chosen to help her from the sideline and give her all his support. She needed it if she was going to stand against her grandmother and whatever she could possibly throw her way. He could see that Raphael was right about Faith, and he was going to do all he could to protect and be there for her. He walked to her and lifted her chin, looking straight into h
The next day, Faith and Michael arrived at the Greenlife Group with Faith’s heart a little heavy and weary. She had so much to prove to her grandmother, yet her grandmother had ensured Michael tagged along.Michael glanced at her staring at the building and sneered,“Are you going to stand here all day, or are we going to make a move and proceed? After all, you claimed they called you, well let's move it," he sneered at her, and Faith huffed before pushing herself to the entrance.Jason, who had encouraged her to take the lead, was nowhere in sight; even if he was, she doubted he could do anything about it. Heaving a sigh, Faith rubbed her damp hand through her clothes, straightened herself, and strut with confidence through the doors of the company,As they walked in through the doors, a man dressed in a crisp and elegant suit walked towards them with wide steps, smiling as he did. He stretched his hand to Faith and beamed at her, completely ignoring Michael who was right beside her
Faith swallowed hard with her eyes blinking, her mind riddling with different thoughts,‘Had Michael called her?’, ‘Why was she calling?’ ‘Didn't she know she was currently in the meeting’. Faith was extremely pale and she gulped at intervals, Ethan caught sight of her expression and raised his brow at her, Faith subtly shook her head, and whispered,“Please excuse me, I have to take this call"She immediately stood up to pick up the call, moved to a corner of the office, and was immediately greeted by her grandmother’s loud voice when she clicked the green button,“What the hell do you think you're doing, you insolent child?! How dare you double-cross Michael?”Mrs Rita didn't let Faith get any word in as she kept condescendingly berating her, Faith's eyes were brimming with tears. Meanwhile, Ethan could hear the harshness of her voice as it was a little loud, his brows furrowed, and he thought it was a good thing to inform Jason of the situation. He quietly tapped away on his phone
As Michael's lips neared Jason's feet, the room fell silent with bated breaths, all of their eyes fixed on what was happening before them, Jason's face was inscrutable, but he had a slight smug expression on his face,Faith's face was a mix of expressions, on one hand, she felt vindicated by Jason, knowing that Michael was finally having a taste of his medicine; Michael had been coming for her and today was no exception, but on the other, she felt a deep sense of guilt as well as a pang of pity or was it sympathy? She could hardly believe that her cousin had been reduced to such a humiliating state,At that moment, if a pin had dropped, everyone would have heard it but probably not paid attention as they watched keenly to see if truly Michael was going to kiss Jason's feet,“Is Michael truly going to kiss his feet?" One of Faith's cousins inquired with her mouth agape as she watched with keen interest,“Hmph! You see his lips close to those filthy legs, yet you wonder and ask if he wo
Uhm…ehh”Michael stuttered as she shifted from foot to foot,"Don't waste our time! Make the payments.” Mrs Rita responded, and then faced Faith,"Faith, call out your details so he can make the payments," she said with authority; she wasn't going to direct it to Jason, as she deemed him insignificant.Jason chuckled before he shook his head and responded,“You see, the thing is," he drawled, taking his swell time to continue while they sneered at him. He was enjoying seeing the beads of sweat on Michael's face trail down to his chin, clearing his throat he continued,“Well, the bet isn't a monetary one. I actually do not need his money"Scoffs went around the room at his statement, but he ignored their subtle remarks, gazing intently at Michael. Mrs Rita's face turned sour just as her brows furrowed, she glanced between Michael and Faith, throwing a questioning gaze at the former, as though she was asking him,‘What in the world have you done?!’In response, Michael shook his head an
At that moment, Michael was reminded of the stupid deal he had made with Jason at his insistence and he nearly shuddered. One look at Jason and he knew the same thought was running through the bastard’s mind and it caused a whirlwind of emotions within Michael, he felt anger and humiliation, internally wishing for the ground to open and swallow him or for an apocalypse to take place, he couldn't imagine himself apologizing to any of them, he would rather die.As though the universe was against him, his grandmother turned to him with a tight smile and gave him a curt nod,“Don't keep us waiting Michael, apologize and get on with it" Michael swallowed and nearly toppled over, it was as though something had slammed into him. Blinking furtively, he glanced at his grandmother who had her brows raised, and also spared a smirking Jason a glance,“We're waiting, Michael. Apologize to your cousin, so we can get on with the preparations,” his grandmother called out once again, and Michael visi
Without hesitation, Michael quickly picked up the remote and turned on the television; at the same time, a couple of his cousins and a few colleagues were glued to their phones, with their mouths wide open. Every other person's attention was glued to the television,The man from earlier appeared on the screen, and Michael sneered, seeing his face was a brutal reminder of the embarrassment he had faced there, still he tried to shake it off and concentrate on whatever the man had to say,“Whoa, that's the COO of Greenlife Group, he's also the acting CEO. He's not handsome but intimidating”"Yeah, he must know and be close with the CEO who remains a mystery, nobody knows what he looks like" A few people whispered amongst themselves while their eyes remained on the screen, Mr Ethan was about to speak, he was in a conference room that was filled with the men and women of the press,“Thank you all for joining me at such short notice. I do not take it for granted as time is valuable.” He im
Whack “How dare you?! How dare you lie to me, you ingrate?!" Mrs Ruth snarled at Faith who was rubbing at her stinging cheeks with tears clouding her vision. Claire, Michael, and everyone gaped at them, occasionally glancing at each other and their grandmother; they could see Faith's cheek already forming a bruise, and some of them snickered with smiles on their faces; it served Faith right. Jason was livid; his eyes had turned molten, and his clenched fists were digging into his palms without notice. He wished he could drill a wall through the blasted woman and every other person that antagonized Faith. All eyes remained on Mrs Ruth as she went on snarling at Faith, jabbing her hands at her, “Did you think you would lie to me and get away with it? That I wouldn't find out you twat?! That was Ryan, and he just confirmed to me that he's been unable to reach his source, and Greenlife, therefore, hasn't spoken to him." Gasps filled the room immediately, as some of them covered
"You know, sometimes I wonder why you all have such little faith in Faith. Why you would choose to believe the words of a scum over that of a classy human” Jason promptly interjected. He was disgusted and disappointed by their words and reactions, they had all but concluded that Faith was incapable, concluding that she hadn't gotten the contract. At his interruption, everyone glowered at him, while Mrs Ruth glared and snarled at him, "I wasn't talking to you, you pauper! Don't you dare interrupt me ever in your life!” In response, Jason shrugged and smiled at her, before he continued, "My apologies. I just thought it fair that you know you're making the wrong mistake by dismissing Faith, seeing as she kept to the deal, and secured a contract from Greenlife Group." All eyes immediately snapped in Faith's direction, then back at Jason, who was smiling smugly; Faith had managed to lift her head, a little smile gracing her face while her cheeks were still tinged; she had yet to
Jason who had a slight idea of what was passing through Faith's mind, bent his head to glance at her,“Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, and Faith glanced at him, before shaking her head,“N-no, it's nothing" As she spoke, she swallowed and glanced at Jason once more before shaking her head. Jason hid a smile,He could guess and understand her dilemma. Ethan had disclosed to him that Faith had questioned him on who had set the meeting up, and she had assumed it was Ryan; he chuckled to himself at that insane thought. Ryan's family's wealth was like a cup of water out of his bottomless well.Sighing, Faith swallowed and shuddered; Michael had ruined her joyous mood, and the thought of having to face her grandmother didn't bode well with her; she couldn't imagine all Michael must have told her and more. Swallowing once again, she echoed,“I- I have to go, I need to give Grandmother the report" Smiling enthusiastically, Jason nodded,“That's good. I'm coming with you" Faith was a li
Ethan gazed intensely at Michael and quirked his brows at him, “What do you have to say for yourself, Sir?" he asked Michael with an edge to his voice, and the latter gulped once again. He was currently unable to string words together, luckily for him, Ethan wasn't done speaking, "Well, it's quite obvious you have nothing to say for yourself. If this is how you behave in your company, we do not condone such attitude here at Greenlife and it makes me wonder what the hell you all are doing in that company, and how someone like Ms Faith is surviving there as well” Michael's eyes nearly bulged at Ethan's use of Faith's first name, he couldn't understand what had transpired between the duo. Still, he nodded numbly and responded, “I apologize Sir. It won't happen again, I was only trying to help, but I thought wrong” "You're damn well right! It sure won't happen again!” Ethan interjected loudly through gritted teeth, before he rose himself to his full height, raising his chin he looked
Jason's smile widened, and he nodded briskly at Michael, who returned his smile with a contemptuous smile, curling his lips at him. “You've got yourself a deal," Jason announced and turned to wink at Faith, who, though he was smiling a little, had a crease between her eyes; she couldn't understand what Jason was driving at.Michael on the other hand, bent and began laughing once more, pointing his finger at Jason,“Y-you really think much of yourself you fool! Haven't you ever heard the saying pride goes before a fall? I proposed to help you, yet you think you can intimidate or surpass me. You clearly do not know who you're talking to! If I wanted to get that contract, I would have, with a snap of my fingers…”"Is that so Mr Michael?”Ethan suddenly interjected in a loud voice, he had an air of authority surrounding him. Immediately Michael sighted him, he paled and lost a sense of his bearing,“Uhm…” he mumbled slightly, before straightening himself and plastering a saccharine smile