Acknowledgement. My sincere appreciation goes to all my ardent readers who unlocked several chapters and followed up with this book from the beginning till the very end. It's been six months of roller coaster. I couldn't have pushed through without you all. This is my first urban book, I know I flipped in several places, but trust me the next urban book will be entirely different and unique. Thank you. I sincerely love you all.
As the rain patted softly on the window pane, Declan watched the city from his small apartment. The landscape of the city in the early hours of the morning always hit him with a whiff of nostalgia.His mind wandered like it always did these past few days. He was coming to a full realization that he was suddenly turning into a full-grown man with nothing to show for it.Life had done him a lot. Growing up was not very easy for him. He had not learned to speak properly as a child, and thus, he was not considered fit to be at the forefront of the family business.Daniel, his younger brother, was the trophy child that everyone applauded, thus Lord Rowland, his grandfather, thought him fit to handle the family's business despite being the younger one.Things took a drastic turn after his parents passed in a ghastly accident. The coldness that came with their death seemed to dry up every ounce of love that he could ever receive.Lord Rowland no longer regarded him as a vital part of the fam
Judging from his expression, Declan did not want to get married to the daughter of Lord Rowland's rich friend.Over the last couple of weeks, he had been forced to go on ridiculous dates with her, what his grandpa had referred to as "getting to know each other".Patricia seemed uninterested too, and very much irritated by him, just like the rest of his family. They had managed to finally hold a good conversation on their last date, where they both admitted that they were sick of the decision to get married.Declan took one last turn before the full-length mirror that leaned against the wall. As he looked up, he could not miss Daniel's face behind him. It wore a smirk as usual."See who's getting married today", Daniel began with a tone heavily laced with sarcasm. Declan let out a small smile, with his eyes on the ground.He would not look Daniel in the face. For some unknown reason, he was intimidated by his brother. He was more learned, smarter, and even more handsome than he was, al
Lord Rowland was red with rage as he flashed Declan, who was confused, a deadly look."Take him out of here", he commanded. Two pairs of strong arms grabbed Declan immediately. He was scared to the bone."And I don't want to ever see you anywhere near this household, or the company", he said as they took him out.Declan insisted that he would speak up on this matter. Even though he was an adopted child, accepted by his father into the family, there was no way it was his fault.A tear slipped from his eyes, and another followed until he was sobbing like a child.Reminiscing on how much he had endured, he thought this marriage would land him a place in his family, then this happened.At this moment, more than he ever desired in the past, he wished his father was alive, the only man that was always solidly behind him."Please grandpa, hear me out just this once", his stuttering was worse because he was not just angry, but he was also scared of how his life would turn out after this.He w
Declan knew that he had to start from somewhere to achieve what he wanted. He started thinking of a plan. When he came up with one, he discussed it with one person he knew was on his side.Samson was Declan's close friend, since childhood. They worked at the same coffee shop and their shifts always collided. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Samson asked, sounding very worried for his friend."It's the only way to get out of this shit hole and make a life for me, before that people that call themselves my family succeed in making a total mess of me".Declan had applied online for an internship at an automobile firm in another city. He was among the few that was accepted months ago, and he had made up his mind to go for the internship.He knew that there were a lot of opportunities this internship would bring his way. He was seeking his fees and flight ticket."I just feel like you should calm down and take some time to think about this", Samson said, in a bid to change his mind."I'
Declan stood facing the glass walls in his new office. Numerous thoughts rummaged through his mind. He could not stop thinking about how far he had come.He was grateful for all that he had achieved. Just last week, his name appeared on the Forbes list as one of the most successful businessmen.This was something he could not think of three years ago. Despite his speech defect and his inferiority complex, he had managed to scale up the financial ladder, and amass so much attention.Everyone wanted to be friends with him, and every girl wanted to date him, but he was not like Daniel."Hey Declan", a familiar voice called behind him, startling him. He had not heard the door open. He turned around immediately and Patricia stood before him.She looked ravishing as ever in her black suit and red colored coat. He flashed her a smile which she did not return."I did not hear you come in", he said pointing to the seat before him, motioning her to sit. Patricia looked disgusted with his speech
Daniel paced about his office as soon as Patricia left. He was thinking of a new scheme to take Declan out again.He did it three years ago, making sure that he had no recognition in the family business, and he could still do it again. Everyone still saw him as the face of the family business, but he knew that with time, all that would fade, and Declan would fully be in charge.He had to do something about it, but first, he would put Declan in his place for kicking Patricia out of his office.Declan was flipping through some files and talking with his new assistant when Daniel entered. He glanced at Daniel but did not stop speaking.He showed Daniel to a seat instead, which he surprisingly took. "Let us continue this later Abigail", he said to his secretary with a small smile.The bubbly bright young lady smiled back at him and made her way out of the office. She seemed so at peace working with Declan. Daniel had been a piece of work when she was working with him.Declan proceeded to
Declan exited the company building just in the nick of time. He had a 4 pm appointment with Lord Rowland, and he did not want to be late.Mondays were usually hectic and today was not an exception. He had a couple of meetings with some investors, with whom he wanted to do business.He had started his project to reestablish the company and everything was going well so far. Daniel had not shown up to work for days, but that was the least of his worries.The only thing on his mind as he entered his vehicle was what Lord Rowland wanted to discuss with him. The old man had fallen I'll some weeks ago and was taken to the hospital where he was duly cared for with the company's funds.Declan had made sure of that. Thinking about it, he had no reason to be angry with his grandfather. Daniel had been the root cause of everything that had happened, and Lord Rowland had acted out of ignorance of what was not.Declan scrunched his face as the familiar antiseptic smell of the hospital hit him. He w
On the day that Hannah finally called, Declan was sitting beside the pool in his penthouse. He had bought the house and other properties before he came back.He had thought of numerous ideas on how to arrange the perfect date for Hannah.He wanted her to know that he liked her and wanted to go for a long-term relationship with her. He had not dated any girl properly before, so he had asked Samson for ideas."Just take her out to a nice restaurant for dinner", Samson had said, after turning down his idea of a small trip, that Declan had come up with, insisting that it was too much for a first date.Declan had insisted that a girl like Hannah deserved the world. It was what love did to a person, partly ridding you of your normal sense of reasoning. Samson laughed so hard.Her voice sounded like music to his ears over the phone. She was not working for the next three days. She also updated him on his grandfather's state of health.He was still in a coma. Declan finally agreed to send a c