2024-03-24 05:34:30
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The rule of three The screams
Florenza stayed away from Gustavo the whole evening because he was in a dark mood. He had been his usual calm self when he came home earlier that day.But his mood suddenly darkened after whatever it was he had read on his computer. He shouted at her to leave, and stayed locked up in his room since then. Later that night, she heard commotion from the living room downstairs. She was on her way to meet the butler to confirm Gustavo’s schedule for the next day, when she heard the sound of a glass shattering against a wall.“You're not my father.” She heard clearly. That was Già's voice. Florenza froze. She had been inches away from stepping into the living room. She started turning away when she heard Gustavo’s voice.“You!” His voice trembled. “Of course I could never be your father. No child of mine will act in such disgraceful manner.” Già laughed derisively. Florenza gasped. How dare Già? Had she forgotten who she was speaking to?“Don't judge me.” Già said. “Since you hav
The rule of three Success
It was several weeks later and Dean’s company was in full swing. He worked late into the night for weeks and was finally beginning to see progress. His business had their very first mention in an article, after an international celebrity mentioned ALLY, his e-commence app on a television interview. He read out an excerpt from the article as his company's project managers nodded and smiled. I CAN BE VERY INDECISIVE WHEN IT COMES TO SHOPPING. THE DAY I DISCOVERED THIS NEW APP, I WAS UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHAT TO WEAR TO A BIG EVENT. ALL THE SUGGESTIONS MY COSTUME TEAM MADE WERE NOT HELPING, IT MADE ME EVEN MORE CONFUSED.SO I SIGNED UP ON THIS APP AND FILLED OUT THIS QUICK QUESTIONNAIRE ABOUT MY PERSONALITY AND HABITS, MIND YOU, ALTHOUGH IT WAS MANDATORY IT WAS FUN. THEY HAD JOKES AND SARCASTIC COMMENTS ABOUT MY ANSWERS AT THE END OF EACH PAGE THAT WERE SO FUNNY I WAS UGLY LAUGHING BY THE
The rule of three A good day?
“What?”“I am here to offer you a loan. It is an awesome package, trust me. We see what you are doing and would like to be a part of it.”Dean knew he may have to take out some loans in future. Few people ran their business with personal funds the way he was doing. Especially those who wanted to be successful like he envisioned for himself.But he would be damned if he ever accepted a loan from this shark sitting before him.He decided to entertain himself a little bit, so he asked the general manager about the terms of the loan. He listened to the man explain how much loan he was eligible to receive, and that the loan would come at a 40% interest rate.He went on to boast about all the businesses his bank’s loan funded.“Thank you for your offer.” Dean said when the man was done talking. “But I am afraid I would have to decline.” “You mean to think about it, d
The rule of three Regret
“No, It's not necessary.” Dean tried to protest. “Oh rubbish! This is your first big break.” Lyda responded and walked off to the kitchen. She returned with wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. She filled both glasses past halfway and handed one to him.“Do you plan to get me drunk?” He laughed“You're no fun at all.” She playfully sneered at him. “If we are celebrating, why hold back?"Despite all Lyda's faults, Dean appreciated what she was doing now. All the people who had congratulated him so far have been strangers.She was the closest thing he had to a family. Even though theirs was a peculiar circumstance and was going to be temporary. So he relaxed and talked about his day with her, and the visit from the arrogant bank manager. They laughed at the man’s foolish arrogance and drank glass after glass of red wine.He knew it was playing with fire to get drunk with Lyda, but this was the first time he had felt somewhat at peace since he had gotten out of prison and he wanted
The rule of three For last night
Lyda was long gone by the time Dean woke up the next morning. He felt groggy even as he got on his feet and headed to the bathroom. The images from the event in this same bathroom last night haunted him. He got out of the shower and took up his phone to call Lyda. That was when he noticed the text message she had sent him an hour ago. THANK YOU FOR LAST NIGHTDean frowned in disgust at himself. What exactly was she thanking him for, not resisting her seduction or for keeping her company during the thunderstorm. He hoped it was the latter. He wished to forget that last night had ever happened. THIS CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, he texted back.He wore a suit, strapped on his work bag and headed out the door. He jogged all the way to his office.As soon as he stepped out of the elevator into the wide reception area of his company, he knew something was terribly wrong. “Good morning boss.” Rosa greeted him with a bow from behind the reception desk. He returned her greeting, and notice
The rule of three Winning tip
Why?” Dean asked. “That’s not a thing. Every shop allows for window shopping.”The shop manager kept quiet. Regardless of Dean's financial status, his presence commanded respect in most places. Not everyone was eager to take him on, because of his size. “And who said I was here to window shop?” He continued. At that moment, he decided that he would buy everything he needed here. This was not even a VERY fancy shop and he could afford to buy everything here if he felt like it.But they did not know that. Especially the Rossanos, and he intended to keep it that way. For a while at least.He would only show them an inch of what he was capable of today, and leave them guessing. He looked around and picked the tennis shoe he had been looking at, then he picked a tennis apparel, without looking at any of the price tags.He moved down the aisle and selected a pair of hair bands and some other tennis gear you would expect to find at a random fancy shop.“Let's go see if I am a bum.” He
The rule of three The ultimate goal
All the men around stared open-mouthed, stunned. “Christian never wins.” Patel said in shock. “Well he did today.” Another man said, coming to stand beside them. “I wonder what our man here told him.” He added beaming. “Dean Connor.” Dean said, stretching his hand out for a handshake. “Levant Goldberg.” The man said cheerfully, taking his hand. “Connor eh?" The game loser said walking up to join them. “You don't know what you just cost me.” He said, but he was smiling.“No one told you to place a difficult bet.” Christian Baker, the man of the moment and winner said, finally joining the group that were now gathered around Dean like a celebrity. “How would I have known you would win? You never win.” The game loser, who Dean , still did not know his name, said.“Such nice words to say to a friend, Mathew.” Christian Baker replied in a mock hurt voice.“I love you man, but it's the truth. Now I have to sit and suffer through your niece playing the violin.” There was brief silence,
The rule of three Playing with fire
Florenza indulged the child who followed her around the house, as she monitored the staff to ensure everyone was doing their assigned tasks for the day. As the chief domestic staff, she took her responsibilities very seriously. She ensured the mansion was spick and span and that domestic operations ran smoothly without any hitch. “Is it not weird to wash the walls?” The child asked, pointing to two maids who were brushing down a large white pillar with stiff brushes dipped in soapy water. Florenza laughed at the question and shook her head. “Alanna, those pillars are out and often exposed to dust. To keep them clean, we have to wash them often.” Florenza tried to explain as simply as she could to the seven year old. She smiled down at the little girl. She was happy about the progress the child was making. Alanna spoke more often now than she did when she first arrived at the Rossano mansion.
Latest Chapter
Leilani escapes
Leilani crouched low. Despite the painkillers, despite the fact that she'd lost the baby for days now, her belly still cramped painfully.She winced as she turned to her side on the bed.Her nurse was busy watching television, ignoring her completely. The woman hated her gut now. No one found out that the nurse had been drugged, the monster thought she was careless and punished her severely. She hated Leilani for this and was extra high handed with her.Leilani silently watched her now. The nurse turned suddenly. “Lost something?” She frowned angrily. “Why are you staring?”Leilani winced as her belly twisted again. “I need painkillers. My belly hurts.” She managed to get out. The nurse scoffed at her and looked away. Leilani closed her eyes as the pain enveloped her body. She should have known the woman would not help. She clutched the bed sheet and clenched as the pain coursed through her body and seized her thigh, back and pelvis in a vicious grip. When the pain dropped again
Trouble is brewing
“A serving for five this evening. Everyone will be home.” Florenza said to the cook.“Yes ma'am.” The cook responded.Florenza wanted to say something, but she hesitated and kept quiet. She walked out of the kitchen and hurried upstairs. The maids looked away when they saw her coming. Florenza pressed her lips together. They blamed her for what happened. She saw it in their eyes. They all acted coldly towards her, and two more people had resigned.She went back upstairs to Alanna, and they continued their lessons. At least, the child was her usual warm and friendly self around her. She wondered how the child would treat her though if she knew and understood what happened.She doubted she would remain this friendly if she did.She had not had one good night's sleep since she heard that scream and gunshot. Her guilt became worse when Rhoda went missing. In her heart, she knew something bad had happened to her, but she did not want to believe it.Perhaps the girl had decided to resi
Another big break
Dean sighed. Not again, Not today!He maintained a calm expression though, and walked around her to open his front door. He had forgotten how persistent Lyda can be. He should have known she would not back off easily. He went in, she followed him and closed the door behind. He hoped she would not try any of that seduction trick today. He went to the room and confirmed the painting was still hanging on the wall. “What do you want Lyda?” He said as he stepped out. She looked calm, not as distressed as she did yesterday. “Why did you not tell me you were leaving for another woman?” She asked.“What?”“I worried something was wrong with me.” She said dropping her purse on a nearby couch. “I really thought something was seriously wrong with me, that is why you could not like me even though you were single and straight.” Dean kept looking at her.“Why did you
Best friend
“Callaso.” Jasper responded. “Do you know him?” “I cannot be sure yet.” Dean said, as he sent a quick text to the cops in charge of Rob's case. When he looked up, Jasper was looking at him with a strange expression. “You look good. You look really good.” He said in wonder. Dean shook his head and smiled sadly. Then he launched into a long explanation, bringing Jasper up to speed with everything that had happened to him so far. The more he told, the more incredulous Jasper looked. Dean tried to hurry through the details as fast as he could. There was a time limit to every prison visit. Jasper had both hands supporting his chin by the time Dean was done. Dean sat back and watched his reaction. He understood it to some extent. He believed the reason he had not freaked out yet was because he had not had a peaceful moment to really think about it. Everything had moved fast since that night he got ou
Getting heated
Dean stepped back as if he had been slapped. He looked at Lyda's face, moist with tears. But he felt no pity. “That is not love. You were selfish. You lied because you were only thinking about yourself.” He shouted angrily. How could she claim to love him when she did not even know the most basic quality of love. How could someone as selfish as she was, claim to love him?He chose her because he needed her help. That was selfish. He could never claim he loved her. She brought in benefits and he compensated her adequately.“Do you understand that our marriage is null?” He asked, remembering what Jean had told him. “Our marriage was never recognized because you were married to another.” He ran his hands through his hair as the full implication of this hit him. He would never have been able to adopt Alanna, even if he had beat Già to apply first.They would have verified, found out his mar
Null marriage
“I know it's none of my business, but it came up in one of these investigations.” The private investigator said. It's confusing how you have a wife and then a fiance.”“It's not what you think.” Dean said, and explained the situation of things. Jean sighed and shook his head. “Alanna is fine. Just not in school yet.”“You're sure? How do you know?” Dean asked. Jean looked at him with a frown. “Of course, It's your job to know.” Dean said, feeling stupid. “I am just surprised they would take good care of her. You know by now how evil that family is.” “They have no reason to hurt her. She is important for Luke's campaign.” Jean replied. Dean paused. “Wait. You mean there is a chance Leilani and Alanna are in the same house?” He asked, as he got an idea.“I can go there under the pretext of going to visit Alanna.”Jean looked angry, and Dean
Dead end
Rob looked from Dean to the cop. Then he looked down at his hands. It seemed he was contemplating whether to reveal this big secret or not.“There was a ring tucked into a seat in the truck. Some drops of blood too.” Rob said. Dean felt his whole body go cold. “Blood?”“Yes. A few drops.”“Did you report this to the cops?” The cop asked. “No.”Dean lost it and punched him again. This bastard! It would have been so much easier to find Leilani if only he had spoken up when this happened. “I did not want to get in trouble. When I asked Charles he said to burn the note and mind my business.”“What note?” Dean and the cop asked in unison. “A note was tucked in the ring.” Rob said hesitantly. This was getting even worse. Was this man simply a dumb idiot who only knew how to hit women, or was plain selfish and could only think of saving his neck.
Hideout
Dean got off his zoom meeting with the celebrity with a smile. He had finally secured her contract with Ally.It had not been difficult. Just like he had predicted, she had been ecstatic at the fact that the CEO contacted her. The offer was also too juicy for any sane person to reject. Now, looking at the signed contract on his desktop, he could breathe a sigh of relief. There were currently no loopholes for competitors like Patel to infiltrate through.Things were finally beginning to take shape. If things continued like this, he would be rounding up all his goals soon. Now if only he would at least get an update about Leilani. He was beginning to worry more. This was taking longer than he had ever expected. As if on cue, his phone rang. It was the private investigator calling.“We’ve narrowed the search down to the driver.” Jean Akio said as soon as the call connected. He sounded
Two more mintues
Leilani watched her nurse clear the dishes away, and tried to convince herself about things that were not true. If she believed these things, she could play the pretending act well.She acted like today was a normal day, and the plates her nurse was taking away didn't contain her final approval for her escape plan to happen today. She felt like a duck on water, calm and serene on the outside and frantically paddling underneath the water in distress. She had no idea how she was going to spend the day pretending to be calm. She was bursting with anxiety. She hugged her still flat belly, hoping to draw comfort from her baby. She was mostly making this escape for this baby. She could not just sit and let them sell her child in some black market like a common slab of meat.“One day I would tell you about this sacrifice I am making just to keep you safe.” She whispered to her sixteen weeks old foetus, caressing her stomach. “Don't get too attached to that thing.” Her nurse said, start
