Davide scoffed at her words as the atmosphere became tense for a moment. His lips are pursed tight as he stares at the woman indifferently.
He didn't know if she was serious or if he looked like a random stranger she thought to pull off a joke with.
With this thought, Davide swallowed and squinted his eyes at the lady, waiting for her to bluff out that she was mainly joking.
As he contemplated within himself, the woman slowly got out of the car.
"I'm sorry for coming at you like this, but you see, I'm sought of in a hurry." The lady walked closer to Davide, but he took a few steps backward.
"I'm sorry for not properly introducing myself." She cleared her throat and then stretched her hand towards him, "I'm Zeta, secretary of the West's accounting firm."
Davide pouted. His eyes trailed her outfit and her shoes, and it instantly narrowed as he said,
"You are not joking, are you?"
The woman looked at Davide, and a proud smirk played on her lips, "You seem to know about the firm."
West's accounting firm was famous. It was the biggest and most successful firm in the country.
Davide had always admired the firm back then, so much that he looked it up and saw the only way to guarantee a permanent position was to be an intern.
But after marriage with Avery and the past three years of his life wasted, there was no way he could apply for a position at the company.
Davide snorted, knowing how hard it was to get a job at the firm, he thought she was a scammer.
"I'm sorry, but I won't fall for your jokes. You can leave now."
"I'm not joking." Zeta reached for her ID card in the car and showed it to Davide.
But Davide still didn't believe.
"Don't tell me that this was a well-thought-out plan? Is this how you pick a random stranger just to deceive them?" Davide's cold voice contained undisguised mockery.
Zeta's face immediately fell. The relaxed look on her face was gone, and a hint of hostility flashed in her eyes.
"I'm not some psychopath who derive joy in teasing people I don't know."
She looked at Davide's hostile gaze and knew that there was nothing she would say that would make him believe her, so instead of trying to be civil, she folded her sleeves.
"What are you doing?" Davide wondered what she was up to until she grabbed his arm, trying to drag him towards her car.
He was baffled. He never knew she would result to such a low standard for someone dressed elegantly, and her car was just as luxurious.
"Let me go." Davide frowned and tried to release her grip on him, but this woman wasn't an easy one.
Just then, a luxurious white car stopped in front of Zeta's car. Davide paused for a moment as he stared anxiously at the car.
When the door opened, a familiar brand of red shoe gently collided with the ground.
Those shoes were similar to the ones he got for Avery on their first wedding anniversary. He saved money and had one of her diamonds pierced to the heel.
The woman stepped out of the car, and indeed, It was Avery.
'How come she is here?' Davide's heartbeat suddenly skyrockets. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, despite the weather being cold.
Zeta had stopped trying to pull Davide to the car, and her gaze was fixed on the lady.
Zeta's hand was wrapped around Davide's arms, and as they stood so close, it seemed as though she was latched romantically to Davide's arms.
"Avery..." Her name left Davide's lips so faintly that he didn't realize he had muttered her name.
Avery stopped in her tracks as she noticed Davide and the pretty woman. Her gaze fell onto their hands which looked as though they found it hard to be apart.
There was a sudden impulse that rushed through her spine, one that made every bone in her marrow feel as though it was being crushed.
Avery tried to hold herself back, but she couldn't control the rage that engulfed her.
However, as if Davide couldn't sense her anger, he glanced at her passively, "What are you doing here?"
Avery tried to calm down after seeing his nonchalant expression. "Have you been here all this time? I've been trying to find you."
Her tone was light, neither humble nor arrogant, but it pricked, "It seems like you're trying to find another wealthy woman."
Davide found her words exhilarating. Despite being filled with rage, he said no words to her.
"Davide, why are you beside the road holding hands with a woman?" Avery's gaze drifted toward the woman latched onto Davide, and she balled her hands into fists, the muscles of her bottleneck tightening, making her veins visible.
Avery felt a bit suffocated and parted her lips so as to breathe in the air to calm her nerves, but it didn't help.
It felt as though the woman was trying to cross her territory. Avery has no idea why she felt threatened by the woman's presence.
Seeing that Davide was in no way fond of the strange woman, Zeta lifted her head as she asked, "Who are you?"
Upon hearing this, Avery scoffed at the woman. Avery had no business with her. She slowly walked closer and fixed her gaze on Davide, "You have to come back with me and do what you are supposed to do, to donate blood to my mother!"
Her words pierced his heart. She was only concerned about his blood, "I'm never going back to you."
Avery scoffed, "You know that isn't true; there's no way you can survive out here in the streets without anything. I'm your savior, Davide; without me, you can't survive."
Avery's eyes drifted towards Davide's hands, still tightened around the woman's arms, and a scoff escaped her lips.
'Pathetic!' Avery thought, seeing how Davide gripped the woman's arms.
For a moment, Avery wondered-
'What is she to him?' Avery's eyes suddenly wavered anxiously-
"Let's go back." Avery stretched her hands to reach for Davide.
There was a sudden glint of affection that was instantly overshadowed by hate when Davide erupted into laughter and locked hands with Zeta.
"You don't expect me to go with you and leave my girlfriend here, do you?"
Zeta's eyes widened at Davide's words. She looked at him with great perplexity. Her gaze kept drifting between their hands and Davide's daring demeanor.
Zeta's gaze drifted towards Avery as she wondered-
'What relationship is there between these two?'
Avery's hands curled into fists. Her eyes fired shots at Zeta. She could feel the muscles of her heart tightening, making her unable to breathe.
No response came from her lips for the longest time. Atlas, when she could part her lips to question Davide, it was rather late.
Davide walked towards the car, hand in hand with Zeta. He forced her inside the car and drove off.
Like a statue, Avery watched them leave, and her eyes reddened as if blood would trickle down her cheeks.
Her lips shook in a fury, and just when the rage coursing through her veins overwhelmed her, she stomped a foot on the ground and screamed.
...
In the car...
Davide's hands tightened around the steering. He was biting down his lower lips. His eyes were fixed on the road, but he didn't see the traffic lights turn red, and only when Zeta screamed did he step on the brakes forcefully.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He loosened his tie and took a deep breath.
His gaze fell on Zeta, who stared at him as if nothing had happened earlier.
"I'm sorry for what I did, and I couldn't think of other ways to hurt her."
"That's not a problem, sir." Zeta smiled.
"Sir?" Davide's gaze flickered, waiting for Zeta to explain what she meant.
"Yes, sir. I will gladly follow each one of your others." The smile on the woman's face only widened, making Davide even more uneasy.
"Why do you refer to me as 'Sir'?" He questioned her.
"I'm only a maid of the West family, and you, sir, are the only heir."
Davide's mind spun as he processed Zeta's words. The traffic lights turned green, but Davide didn't seem to notice. "Davide, the lights." Zeta whispered to him. Davide drove to the corner of the road, as he stepped on the brakes, and he gave Zeta a death stare. "Wait, what did you just say?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.Zeta looked at Davide with a mixture of sympathy and amusement. "I said that you're the young master of the West's family," she repeated patiently. "You're the heir to your family's fortune."Davide felt a jolt of shock shoot through him. He had grown up in the orphanage, and he had no idea of who his family is or if his parents were alive. "You must be mistaken," he said, shaking his head. "That can't be true, I'm an orphan."Zeta smiled gently, "Oh, it's no mistake, Davide," she said softly. "Your family's wealth has been kept a secret from you for your protection. But now that you've come of age, it's time for you to claim what is rightfully your
A black luxury car drove into the West's plaza and stopped at the parking lot.Davide looked out of the window and saw that they had arrived at a grand plaza, adorned with towering skyscraper and opulent architectural designs. "We are here." Zeta said as she turned off the engine of the car. "This is the headquarters of your family's business in the city." The two stepped out of the car, and entered the plaza. Davide subconsciously studied the plaza in awe, his lips left opened. The skin of his forehead tightened as his eyebrows remained raised. His eyes were wandering around.As they walked towards the receptionist, Davide saw a familiar silhouette appeared. He stared straight at the man, and a scoff escaped his lips. It was Noah.Davide thought, since Avery will no longer be part of his life, then he wasn't going to see Noah again, but he was wrong.He tried to look away, but every step closer to the reception only made him glare at the man. He recalled how he treated him back
Zeta's heart raced as she faced the board of directors. There was a sudden calmness running through her veins that slowly drowned the rage piercing deep into her bones. She flashed a confident smile at the board of directors, who seemed puzzled by Noah's presence.Zeta then turned to Davide who seemed confused.Davide was stunned, seeing how they lowered their heads to Zeta made him want to question everything but instead, he caught a glimpse of Noah.A smirk played on Davide's lips, seeing Noah still trembling. He wanted to pull his tie and punch his face. He wanted to embarrass him like Noah did to him, but Davide suddenly felt Zeta's hand on his arm. He stared at her hand, his brows raised in curiousity, he looked back at her meeting her gaze. Zeta met his eyes, she urged him to calm down silently praying that he gets her message.Davide nodded slightly."Who is this man?" Zeta asked the board of directors.She could feel rage coursing through her veins. She pointed at Noah, he
Davide looked at the board of directors and accepted their apology in a composed manner. His eyes wavered between their faces, expecting to see a glint of familiarity in their eyes, but they didn't seem to know him.'They don't know me?' He scoffed and his gaze drifted to Zeta. Zeta's lips widened as she smiled at Davide. She held Davide's hand, "Let's go." Davide stared at her for a moment, and sighed. When he looked at the board of directors, the confusion on their faces seemed to have worsen seeing Zeta was holding his hand but none said a word.They entered the elevator, heading to the 54th floor which was the highest floor in the building. Within minutes, the elevator opened. Seeing how big and exorbitant the plaza was, a sudden rush of doubt rushed through Davide's spine. His heart thumped faster, and his mind was a whirlwind of emotions. He couldn't believe that he was now the owner of the biggest company in the city. Excitement, fear, and a sense of overwhelming respons
The middle-aged woman sat in her office, her face red with anger. She had called Sarah, the underling, to her office, and she was not happy with what she had to say."Sarah, how could you not tell me in advance?" the woman cursed, her voice rising in frustration.Sarah felt wronged by the accusation. "I sent you an email, but you didn't reply," she protested.The middle-aged woman sneered at her underling. "You think that's an excuse? You should have made sure I got the message, it's all your fault."Sarah's heart sank. She had been working hard to keep up with the demands of her boss, but it seemed like nothing was ever enough. She tried to speak up, but the woman cut her off."Enough. You'll just have to help this young man finish the process. And don't mess up again, or else you'll be out of job."With that, the woman sat back in her chair, pulling out her cell phone as if nothing had happened. She suddenly paused and turns to Davide who gave been quietly watching her and Sarah."G
The hours dragged on, and finally, the work day had come to an end. Davide remained in the office because he had no clue where to go, and he needed to talk to Zeta about the things he noticed in the office.Under everyone's watchful gaze, the manager still sent lecherous looks toward Gwen. It irritated Davide and made his heart boil with rage.The company was the biggest in the country, and only the workers knew what was happening behind closed doors. There were problems that none of them could speak about, and if they attempted to, they would be silenced or tagged as whistleblowers, which would greatly affect their opportunity of having a job in the future.This was one thing that Davide understood regarding the matter concerning the manager and Gwen, and he also guessed that Gwen wasn't the first woman that had gone through unspeakable things in the company. There was Sarah, who was underappreciated and was going through a lot of maltreatment from her superior. Davide couldn't even
Davide absorbed the information while nodding his head. He checked the wristwatch tied around his wrist for the time. He still had a few hours before the dinner. "You should get rid of that". Derek pointed at his wrist. "You're going to inherit all of this and you shouldn't be caught wearing something so cheap". Davide chuckled, he instinctively hid his wrist away, "nobody should know I'm alive just yet. I cannot head a company as big as this when I have no past experience about working. I made the decision to work as an employee first before I'm announced as the head." Derek smiled, "you're just like your father; humble and naive". Davide chuckled. "You should meet my son, he's twelve years old and he is almost a teenager now and he isn't holding back on his rebellion. He's nothing like any twelve year old boy and he keeps getting on my nerves. I don't blame him though, when I was his age, I gave my parents a hard time." Davide laughed. Derek led him out of the study and Ze
Zeta was distraught by the sudden emotions that washed over her. It couldn't be denied that the main reason she reacted that way towards him was because Davide was a handsome man.It was a truth that could not be put forward for more investigation. And then, such a handsome man was wearing a suit.Davide had a lithe figure, his skin was marvelous and his body was perfect. He had long legs, slim build and an aura of beauty. 'of course, it had to be that. It had to be because he is so handsome'. Zeta thought.Her once raging heart was finally put to rest and the smile that appeared on her face couldn't be anymore platonic."Marvelous!" She exclaimed. "It's such a perfect fit".Davide chuckled shyly, darting his eyes away, he removed the jacket and handed it over to Zeta.She collected it with raised eyebrows and a teasing smile, "what is this?"Davide chuckled, "I don't know if it's a good idea to own things like this. I still have to go to dinner and it's already past hours".Somehow,
Davide and Mr Lee decided to check on the designers. The car ride had been silent, upon the discovery they just made considering Avery and even Mr Lee himself, one would believe they would be talking non stop about it but surprisingly, they weren't.They were both silent. Keeping their thoughts in, wondering if the other would like to talk. "How do you feel?" Mr Lee broke the silence, "you've been quiet, it makes me anxious".Davide chuckled, "I'm just thinking about what happened"."You have a suspect in mind" it wasn't a question, it was more of a declaration because it was the truth. These past few days, Mr Lee could say that he knew Davide to a extent and he knew that Davide had been thinking about this since Avery had said itFor Davide to have been told that he knew who the person was, his thoughts had not been able to settle, the erraticness of his heart was what shut his mouth up. He could not voice how he was feeling, where was hurting or would he come up with what to do abo
Cassie and Avery were no doubt excited about this. Seeing that Avery knew a lot about fashion and knew a lot of designers, Cassie decided that in this secret mission of theirs, Avery was going to be her assistant."I think it'll help tremendously if we were to leave the country". Avery said.Cassie, Davide and Mr Lee looked at her in confusion. They couldn't understand how this would help, they couldn't see it from her point of view.Avery recognized the confusion in them and only smiled before further explaining: "I know Cassie would be the last person they would think to search, but she will still be on the list, they know you guys are together and that Cassie is obviously on your side. So the best way to ensure that they don't find out about this, is to do this in another country".Davide nodded his head, "you're right," he said. "Leaving the country is a good pla
Mr Lee sounded so broken as he talked about his father. When he had told Davide about his family, he never really went into details about anything, only sliding over the surface as he spoke about the things his parents had put him through. He didn't talk about the punches, about how he had to defend himself against them, about how he had felt to see the man he called his father, the man he was supposed to love, the man that was supposed to be his hero turn into his greatest adversary. He never spoke about how those punches destroyed him, he only talked about how his mother's words broke him acting like the effect of his father's actions had not in any way affected him when in actuality it had made him less of a person. He had lived with the trauma, he had received abuses, punches from people just because it felt natural. But he was an adult now and he knew nothing about fighting back. He could not fight back because he was broken, he had been made less by the most important person to
Davide's heart was beating against his chest violently like drums at a carnival as he waited impatiently for Avery to say what she wanted to say. He was anxious, he wondered if Avery was confident in her own answer, if she really believed that she knew the person.He figured that if she really does know who it was that had come for the gold, then he would know that person as well. Sure, Avery did know a lot of people that he didn't know but the list of suspects was reduced to the people that Avery knew who also knew Davide. This attack, this hate was only against him. It was too strong to be said that It was targeted at the people that were around Avery. This person was coming for Davide directly and so he must know them.A fear gripped his heart, he had known for a while now that the person who was plotting against him in such a way was an acquaintance or even a friend, but being met with facts that proved his deductions had been corr
It did not cross Avery's mind that that was a question she should be asking a perpetrator who was clothed in black clothes. She was, however, anxious and also very scared. The physique of the person was tiny, they looked short and for some reason very curvy.Avery kept scrutinizing the person as the two of them stayed in the same position, eyes focused on the other. Avery wss unrelenting, she was not going to back down, she had been trying her hardest to atone for her sins and now that it seemed she really didn't need atonement the least she could do was give back what she had taken. But this person was going to rob her of that chance.It was highly impossible that Avery was going to let them.The person's eyes darted around the room, possibly looking for an opportunity to escape, but it was unlike it seeing that the room was messy and the only way that they would be able to escape was to jump over heaps of clothes or maybe fly, and it was very impossible that the person could fly.Av
The car ride was silent. But it was mainly because they both just got in. Avery wanted to say a lot of things to him but they mostly just circled around the words: "Thank you".She didn't know where to begin, his eyes were on the road as he drove, she wondered if she was the only one feeling this way. It wasn't so hard to guess that he was just being nice, he just pitied her. Though she felt that maybe it was more than that, maybe there was something else but she couldn't really say. She didn't know how to start the conversation. She didn't know how to start telling him thank you.Mr Lee however was more nervous than she was. He was sweating in places he didn't think existed. His heart was beating very fast and he was surely in need of a conversation.He wanted to talk to her about what happened, however, he was worried that maybe she would get the wrong idea, it was mainly that he wanted to talk about when the depression started, when she started to feel like there was nothing holdin
Cassie had not been expecting that Davide would suddenly ask her that question and especially at a time that really wasn't conducive. They had just more or less had a slight misunderstanding, they were still regulating being a couple. This was the first relationship she had ever been in. And although for Davide it was different, he had even been married but this was all new to her.She had had flings in the past, she had had one night stands but never a relationship. She loved Davide, truthfully. She had always loved him and when he came back into her life, it had been an earth shattering effect on her. She did imagine how it would be like to get married to Davide but it was still so soon. It was too soon for her. "I know you might think that I'm crazy that I'm making a very hasty decision but if everything goes south with this then i want to have the experience of being married to you before I die" Cassie shook her head, "you're not going to die." She had wanted to deflect, probabl
I don't care," Avery said, "I don't care if I die, I have nothing, I have no one in this world anymore. I only bring pain so yes, let them exterminate me. I have lived a fulfilling life".Mr Lee's heart lurched at those words. He was the only one other than Avery who had ever found himself at that place in life where he couldn't bother himself to stay alive, the time where he had just left the hospital. Then it had dawned on him that his mother would prefer that he was dead. At that time, he actually wanted to die, he didn't know what he was staying alive for. His family didn't want him, life was too hard, nothing was going his way. He really wanted to die and get it over and done with.He related quite well with what Avery was feeling and he pitied her because he knew how hard it must've been on her to make that decision that she didn't care. She was being brave but also very suicidal. He recalled the conversation he had with Davide, looking at her, he could see the shadow of that wo
Cassie got serious, she adjusted in her car and then looked around to the people who were with her."An address came to my phone" she said, "it said I would find the person who tried to kill my mother there".Avery's heart skipped a beat. If she had been holding a glass of anything, that glass would've fallen down, scattered, never could it be glued together again.She didn't need a professor to let her know that those people had discarded her. Since she didn't have anybody they could threaten her with, now they wanted to do away with her. Avery wanted to laugh, she shook her head slightly, her mother left her, her daughter did and now even these people wanted to leave her. Avery felt like she was no different from a used tissue, once she had served her purpose, she was thrown away into a waste bin.This was the waste bin she had found herself. She was also kind of happy that they didn't try to kill her, rather they wanted someone else to send her to prison. "And of course I didn't