Declan drove to the hospital hastily. Hannah's distance from him was still driving him insane, but he was not going to see her.
Lord Rowland had sent for him, but there was this gnawing need in him to just catch a glimpse of her at the very least.
He had also decided to relate his new business idea to Lord Rowland for a sort of approval, which he did not need, but thought necessary.
He swerved into the driveway and parked his convertible car in a safe spot. A knot tightened in his stomach as he entered the hospital.
His nose scrunched up with the antiseptic smell that he had become accustomed to, the perks of having a nurse for a girlfriend.
As
Daniel paced about in his office continuously, thinking hard. He could not help but assume that Declan was up to something, but he could not wrap his head around it."You know you can bore a hole in the ground with those endless pacing", Patricia said, her eyes still glued to her phone as she tapped away.Daniel had requested that they see and talk this morning. He had not spent the night at the house, but he had told her that he had a late-night meeting with some investors.She knew he was lying. He knew she knew he was lying, but they had a silent agreement, to always come to terms with an unspoken truth. They chose silence instead, as always."You know, I just know he's up to something but I can't pla
Hannah dialed Declan for the umpteenth time but he was not answering. Lord Rowland had sent for him earlier in the day and was unable to reach him.After so much reluctance, she had decided to dial him herself, but he was still not answering. "Good riddance", she muttered under her breath. Was he ignoring her?She tried to wrap her head around why Declan would choose not to answer her. Maybe he was trying to get back at her for the days she had been aloof.It was not her intention. A part of her yearned for him too but she deserved more from him than just mere affirmations of his love for her. She wanted to know that she could be respected around him.She finally gave up trying to reach him and wal
Declan sat quietly in the plane. His gaze had been focused on the window since they took off. Seeing his father after so long did many things to his mind and he would not know how to react.Lord Rowland had given him the details of where to find his father and if he succeeded, bring him back home."Your drink sir", the air hostess said, bringing him out from his pool of thought, and averting his gaze for the first time."Thanks", he muttered with a wave of his hand, signaling her to leave. He held the glass for a bit and soon gulped down the entire content.Soon, he picked up the files Michael had neatly packaged for him, the ones he had promised to look through on the plane.
Declan moved swiftly and was soon wrapped in a warm embrace by his father. For a moment, he wanted to reside at this moment. His father was a bit frail but it was obvious that he was living well.When he disentangled from the embrace, a tear had already escaped his eyes. "It's so good to see you son", Ferdinand said with a big smile, tapping him gently on his shoulders.Declan nodded in response. He had not yet found words to express how excited he felt."I'm glad you're all grown and doing well. I'm sorry you had to go through all that neglect after my disappearance. It was all for the better", Ferdinand continued, his voice a bit hoarse, perks of advanced age."I thought you were dead dad", Declan spoke for
Declan was restless throughout the entire flight back to work. On hearing about the fire incident from Micheal, he had left in a haste, despite his father's pacification. He had sent for the private plane immediately and hopped on it.Abigail had sent him a message too, but he had not heard from the other members of his new team. The fire department had done their bid to put out the fire.He could not believe that the entire automobile firm has been burnt to the ground. He was unhappy, a lot of money had gone into it, including the company's funds, and he knew that debt was knocking.He thought of the next strategy to take before Daniel got to know about it, and used it against him. He had informed Micheal that the news should not go public.
"Daniel hired me", Micheal continued in trepidation. He did not know what reaction to expect from Declan, whose face wore a blank expression.Declan was stunned. Daniel always had a way of crawling back into his life and making him miserable. He just stared at Micheal. There were murmurs in the room, and Declan could not find words to express himself."What did I not do for you, Micheal?" He asked quietly after a while. All eyes were on Micheal already."He had my family, sir. There was nothing I could do", Micheal cried out in defense."What do you mean?" Declan asked, still burning with rage."He asked me to tell him all I knew about the startup and when I
"It was a heart attack. We tried but we could not save him. I am so sorry", the doctor said slowly, counting his words as he broke the news of their grandfather's death.Daniel and Declan had both driven to the hospital and headed for the ward immediately.Declan bowed his head as he heard the news. He had been entertaining bad news since the previous day."Thank you so much for everything doctor", Daniel replied curtly. His tone was bland. He was neither sad nor excited and at that point, Declan wanted to punch him in the face."The man is old already. I guess it was high time he died", Daniel said, turning to Declan, who glared at him in reply."What?" Dani
The next few weeks passed by quietly. Declan buried Lord Rowland. Daniel had opted to go on a vacation with Patricia, probably to celebrate the success of their schemes.Ferdinand made an appearance at the burial but was under strict disguise. Samson and Hannah supported Declan throughout the entire process of planning.Abigail had shown up at the ceremony too. She had on a sleek black dress that put her curvy petite frame on full display, making her the cynosure of all eyes.Declan had spotted her from afar. She carried an aura that depicted comfort and ease.She made the entire process less disturbing for him. She had offered to serve the guests, and he had spotted her on one or two occasions tal
It had been over two months since the doctor told them that their babies had high chances of survival as they showed massive improvements with their treatment. Samantha had stopped going to the office totally, and Declan had requested that an office space to be set up in the executive ward for him. Lucy was getting so much better and she was able to breastfeed the children as Samantha had required of her. It was as though they were living in the hospital with their children. Declan's heart swelled with joy with every inch that was added to their height, and every iota of flesh they put on. He would spend most of his time looking down on his boys, wondering if it was the same way his father looked at him and Daniel when they were babies. As he thought about Daniel, the events of the court's final verdict the previous week all came rushing back to him. He had always dreamed of the day Daniel would be sentenced to prison, and he would rejoice and rub it in his face. But on
Samantha was the first to notice his dazed expression once he was done with the phone call. He entered the private chamber of his office and stayed there.When she saw that he was not going to come out anytime soon, she went in there to search for him. "A celebrant can't leave his party, you know," she began in an attempt to lighten up his sour mood. He looked up at her and would not say a word. "What is going on?" She finally asked him. He dreaded saying anything to her. The news that he had just heard was capable of breaking her, and he did not want that for her. "You don't need to worry about it. I will fix it," he replied. "I did not ask you if you could fix it," she said. "I asked what was the matter," she was insistent. "Abigail just called me and she informed me that Lucy was rushed to the hospital," he finally spilled. "What are you talking about?" She asked, very bewildered. "Lucy was rushed to the hospital," he repeated. "And what are you doing about it?" She asked
The news about the court case had spread like wildfire, but Declan was not disturbed because he was on top of the case, gaining some level of victory over Daniel. The best part of it all was that he now had the judge on his side without having to try so much. It was in the course of these coincidences that he learned of the good legacy that his father had left behind because of his good deed. The judge had told him how he knew his father. When he kicked off his career as a barrister, he encountered different types of attacks from his rivals on the court. It was very unsafe for him and he was always running. One particular night, some armed men attacked him and beat him up so much that one could hardly recognize him except if they looked closely. He went about, knocking on doors and asking people for help, but no one would attend to him, especially because it was very late at night. They thought he was a thief or killer in disguise.Ferdinand was the only one who opened up to him.
Declan's eyes did not leave Georgina as she walked up to the witness box. He wondered what it was that she wanted to be a witness to. He saw the way she quivered as she stood there and he suspected that she had been coerced into doing what she did. He listened closely to her as she spoke, saying her vow on the holy book, even though everything that would come out of her mouth was all going to be lies. She did what he least expected. She said to the hearing of everyone in the court that she was raped by Declan the first time she came to be a surrogate for them.Declan was too stunned to say a word at all and just kept his eyes on her. She was crying bitterly. Looking intently at her, he was forced to wonder if these were just fake tears to back up her lie, or if it was a sign that she regretted betraying him. Daniel could have been the one coercing her to do this, but he did not say anything. His eyes still followed her as she walked down the witness box. She glanced at where Dan
If Declan could have collected all the pieces of evidence and witnesses he wanted in just a week or a month, it would not have been sufficient. But it took him three months, with Samantha solidly behind him. Micheal was not left out of the entire planning process for Daniel's court case. All they wanted to do was get him out of the way as soon as possible. To take down someone like Daniel, who hardly left any stone unturned or left loose ends, they needed to be well prepared, and Declan insisted that they were going to prepare well. The surrogacy plan kicked off in the second month. Lucy was giving off so many dangerous side effects at first that they kept wondering if her body could hold a child. She knew what she had gone through to produce a child that her body did not agree to. The one time that she thought she was close, was when the incident with Daniel happened. But Lucy's body adjusted afterward to the treatment. She began to respond positively and soon, she fell pregna
Declan paced about in the bedroom endlessly and Samantha was beginning to get dizzy from following him with her eyes. "You are going to bore holes in this floor if you don't stop pacing so much," she said to him. "That boy is making me go crazy," Declan said as he rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. Samantha wondered if it was Daniel he was calling a boy, but she resolved that there was no better way to refer to someone so petty than a boy. "What did he do this time?" She asked him gently, not wanting to piss him off further."He fired the entire members of the accounting department before I could come to the office," Declan complained. Samantha was left to wonder if Daniel was going insane or not. She had never seen someone that acted so much on impulse in an instant. He was so quick to act that one would think that he was not thinking at all. "I thought he was no longer CEO.""I nullified what he did immediately after I got the notice.""Then what are you worried about?""Don't
Samantha had never been pleased to hear the news before. Declan's agreement to still go ahead with having a child despite the Georgina drama was like music to her ears. She had not bothered to pester him about it anymore, as she did not want him to say he was right after all about Georgina. Instead, she had been more intentional about living her best life. She thought of the children back at the country home. They were enough to suffice for what she could not have. "Do you want to do an adoption or should we still search for a surrogate?" She asked him, deciding to lay all the cards on the table so they could deliberate together. She was not going to be selfish this time. Having a child was going to be a big step for them. It was not the financial aspect that bothered them. Declan's companies and businesses were worth an amount that could feed an entire city comfortably."We are both hoping to carry our child in our hands someday, so I guess surrogacy would not be a bad idea," he
"I will have to leave very early today," Micheal informed Declan ahead of time. He did not want to be faced with the challenge of having so much work that he could barely manage any spare time. "You have a date with your girlfriend, I guess," Declan said as he looked up at Micheal."Let's not say it's a date," Micheal began, blushing lightly. "It's just a little thing that I do with her every month," he explained. "What is that?" Declan asked, not feeling bad about prying. It was the same thing Micheal did as well. He could swear that Michael knew so many things about him that Samantha had yet to find out. He was very observant and he loved that about her. "We go to the prison for a visit before we head to the orphanage," Micheal said. "Shonda said she wants to own an NGO in Africa in the future, so this is a good start for us."Declan was highly impressed by this agenda. His father ran several orphanages and charitable homes before he died. It was conferred on him in the will. He
Daniel had been very cranky the entire week. First, all the money that he stole from the company's account had magically returned to it, and it still surprised him that they found out about the offshore account. He also received news that Declan hosted a birthday party over the weekend. He had not been invited nor did he have any knowledge about it. He knew what he could do with the knowledge of such a gathering. He was angry because, after months of being CEO, he had still not successfully convinced the board why he should take over the house. The will stated that it was primarily Declan's inheritance, and there was nothing that he could do about it. Declan, on the other hand, had suddenly banned him from entering the house. The security around it was toughened up so that no matter how much he tried to meander his way in, he would not succeed. This morning, Declan called for a board meeting that he said was going to be used to pass some information. He wished he could stop De