“Well, Dad is here now; he is in this house as we speak, but he looks so unkempt, but he has gone to bed after having some healthy food. He will be going for a checkup tomorrow because of the high intake of alcohol he got himself into," Aella growled.“Oh! Goddamn, how is... How is he doing? Where has he been all this while? We have been looking for him, you know. Aella I am going to stop by tomorrow to check up on you all. I have lots of questions to ask him.” Collins said.“No! Coll, no way, alright, there is no way you are going to ask him questions; he needs to recover first. Any other questions you have, you can ask him some other day.” Aella growled softly."Okay, Aella, as you say for now, I will do it. But no later, I will ask him questions. Anyway! You should sleep, huh?" Collins said.“Okay cool! Good night, and send my regards to Mike,” she said.“Actually! He is not here tonight; he went to hang out alone.” Collins said.“Whoa! Alone? But why? Isn't he supposed to?Anyway,
The thought of how to get the money kept winding and ringing in his head, and he suddenly came up with the idea of stealing jewelry from Damien, which he would probably not worry about.Mr. Thompson went up to Damien's room to see if he could find anything he could take. And there, I found one of Damien's designer watches, worth about twenty thousand dollars. He quickly took it without thinking of what the outcome of taking this wristwatch could be, and he left the room.He came downstairs quickly. Everything was to his liking; as Mike was sick, he could go and come anytime and anyhow he wanted.He went to a black market store down the street, where they buy used stuff, to sell the wristwatch.“Hey man!” How much for this?” He questioned him as he kept his eyes out for other thugs and thieves.“Yeah! Howdy fellas, what! Hey, this is a pure gold designer wrist watch. Why do you want to sell it? The merchant asked curiously.“I went bankrupt, and now I need money. What is the use of all
Kevin's voice was gruff and laced with amusement. He yanked Thompson back from the swirling memories. He forced a smile, and there was the familiar mask slipping into place. "Just passing through, old friend. Looking for a bit of excitement, you know how it is."Kevin's sharp eyes narrowed, and some anxiety was etched on his weathered face. "Excitement, or escape?" His words hit a raw nerve, exposing the hollowness beneath Thompson's bravado. He looked away, his shame warring with defiance."I don't need your psychoanalysis, Kevin," he muttered, clenching his jaw. "I'm just trying to have a good time."Silence stretched between them, and it seemed thick with unspoken truths. Kevin leaned against the grimy bar counter, his gaze distant. "Good times. It seems like a long time ago for both of us, doesn't it?"Thompson felt a pang of guilt. He knew Kevin was right. Their shared past, a moment woven with reckless abandon and desperate choices, had left them both frayed and scarred. His gaz
It was like the shadows were after him. His eyes caught sight of the entrance, and without checking up on Kevin, he slowly walked down to the entrance so he could escape, but got caught up by Kevin.“Oh jeez…” Thompson yelled with so much fright in his voice."Hey, it's me! Never mind what just happened; it was an electricity outage. It will be taken care of." Kevin said.“Oh! It freaked me out. Anyway, I'd better leave now; I have somewhere else to be.” Thompson said as he gave Kevin a goodbye hug and left.******* Hours quickly flew by, and it was already time for the company to close, and Stacy was standing at her desk waiting for Aella to finish packing up so she could say goodbye to her, “Hey Aella.” Stacy interrupted her as she was packing up. “Uhm.” Aella hummed as she swiped her attention from what she was doing to Stacy, who was about to bid her goodbye."Good, hey, huh, oh! By the way, I actually noticed that you both weren't talking to each other today. I mean, not even a
Aella walked out on Damien as he was asking her questions, which displeased her. Aella went back to her room to relieve herself of the stress she was going through mentally and emotionally.Meanwhile, Damien is sitting on the dining chairs, lost in his thoughts and wondering how she could be such a person. He couldn't shake the feeling off his mind but somehow grabbed onto himself and went back to his room after he ate.Aella laid down on her bed after she entered the room and began to whisper and throw numerous questions at herself. “Does it have to be me? Why? Why? Why?” she asked. “Others get what they always wish and want, but me! I ended up getting married—that too a contract marriage with the CEO of the Damien fashion world company. What a world! Who does that? And now he is even questioning me as though I have not enough trouble to deal with.” She muttered endlessly, and as she was deep in it, her phone began to ring. “It's Collins!” she whispered as she picked up the call.“A
Chapter 40The morning sun sliced through the opulent drapes of Damien's bedroom, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air. He stirred, the remnants of last night's restless sleep clinging to him like cobwebs. His mind still grappled with the missing watch, a constant ache he couldn't seem to soothe. A quick glance at the clock jolted him upright. He was running late. "Damn!" He muttered. He reached for the notebook beside him and stood up. Quickly he cleared his eyes and went into the kitchen without knowing what he needed there. He went out from there and tried focusing his thought.As he rushed down the stairs impeccably dressed in his Vanquish Li bespoke suit, he found Aella already seated at the dining table, picking at her breakfast. The air crackled with unspoken tension, thicker than the freshly brewed coffee steaming in the centre. He thought about something but couldn't say it out."Morning," he mumbled, forcing a smile that tasted metallic in his mouth.Aella met his
Staring intently at the judge, Aella sat there, anxiety written all over her face as she awaited the verdict of the judge concerning her brother's case.Her brother, Collins, was accused of a crime he never committed: rape.Her gaze went up to her brother as he shook his head, indicating that he was innocent and knew nothing about what he had been accused of.Hurt and betrayal were clearly written on his face as he averted his gaze from the judge to the family that had framed him. The family that housed the real culprit.They were the people he worked for as a cleaner in their mansion, along with the victim, who happened to be his girlfriend.She was raped by the son of his boss, but in an effort to manipulate the situation, they bribed the girl's family to coerce her into accusing Collins instead of their own son."After hearing from both parties," the judge's voice resounded in the court, and this brought Aella out of her thoughts as she focused on the judge to hear the judgment tha
Tears welled up in Aella's eyes as she stared at her grandmother, who lay motionless on the hospital bed."She's not dead, and she's not in a coma... She's just...somewhere in-between," she recalled the doctor's words from earlier when she came in.Sitting there and just watching the older woman, the soft hum of machines and the distant chatter of hospital staff provided the backdrop for this uncertain moment.It felt like time had stopped.Aella's heart ached with a mixture of hope, fear, and uncertainty, not knowing what would happen next with her grandmother's life hanging in the balance, like a paused scene in life's movie. Her stillness was unsettling, and she couldn't help but wonder what it meant to be 'in-between'.She reached out and gently held her grandmother's frail hand, hoping to get some kind of response or at least anything, even though it was little to prove a sign of life.The room felt heavy with pent-up emotions as she whispered, "Grandma, it's me, Aella. I'm here