LOGIN“You don't look like you are from here,” he said, scrutinising Ralph with his eyes.“Yes.” Ralph agreed. “But do you just sneak up on people and assume they're not from around here?”The man scoffed. A small smile formed around his lips. Ralph looked him over, observing his frail frame, and he was confident he could give him a good beating if it came to that.“Not always,” he said, extending a hand to Ralph.“I am Yakov. I no bite.”Ralph hesitated for a second before taking his hand. He was glad he had a glove on.“Cross.” He went with the last part of his new name. Michael Cross sounded too formal for a man he had just met.“Cross,” Yakov repeated, as if confirming it was actually correct. Ralph gave a slight nod.“Cross my friend,” he said, arching his brow as if he needed permission to call him that. “We are friends now, right?” He didn't wait for an answer.“I will warn you. This place is not very safe, so it's good you not wander very far. They're wild animals, and they won't p
The bell hanging above the door announced the entrance of a customer. Ralph didn't look up. He was far too used to the sound after working here for more than three months. He had lived in isolation for almost a year, surviving on bread and canned food. Sometimes he would hunt; the deep forest had plenty of meat. Ralph felt the need to go out again – to mingle with people, to do something other than hide away in his cabin in the middle of nowhere. Or so he thought. So far, he had made only one friend – Yakov. He met him sometime when he went hunting, and Yakov noticed he wasn't from there after a closer look. He told Ralph what he needed to know about the place – where he could hunt and which areas had boundaries. Of course, Ralph had done his own research, but Yakov’s warnings were a big bonus. He was grateful to the kind stranger. The tight-lipped team that had transformed his appearance into being unrecognisable to anyone who had known him before had given him two contacts – pe
Back in Ralph's cabin, he was boiling with anger. He didn't expect I'd figure out who it was when he had called without thinking. He just wanted to hear my voice. He felt a pang of pain in his chest. He shouldn't be here, hiding away like a rat. He threw himself on the floor, and began planking, panting heavily as he lost count. This was his way of dispelling the anger he felt inside. Ralph was doing well for himself, but he felt empty. He didn't have that freedom he wanted – doing the things he loved in the city he loved, with the woman he couldn't take out of his mind. He felt trapped. Ralph had been taking fighting lessons for the last four years; it was needed if he wanted to stand up to the Black Triad and Aldwin when he made a return. He was determined to learn everything possible, to become dangerous — and he had.He stood up from the floor, facing the mirror. His rugged reflection told him he was no longer the Ralph anyone remembered. He was a different man. He didn't like
Ralph seemed to have settled pretty well in Kyrgyzstan over the last five years since he ran away. But no day passed without him thinking about me and what my baby looked like. He would wonder if it looked like Aldwin or me. If only he knew it was twins.A strange number called my phone. I was hesitant to take the call, but I had a strong feeling it might be Ralph."Hello," I said calmly as I answered the phone, praying the voice I’d hear would be Ralph's.A few seconds passed, and it was still silent from the other end. The only sound that came was the TV, which was on a low volume."Hello," I said again, somehow convinced he was the one. "Who's this? If you can hear me, then say something."A heavy sigh came this time, nothing more.Then I felt the urge to ask. "Ralph?" I called out cautiously. "Is that you?" It seemed whoever it was was determined to stay quiet.On the other end, Ralph sat on the sofa in his wooden cabin. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. He was conten
"What? How did you come up with that?" Lisa seemed shocked. She was clearly not expecting to hear that."Of course, without Aldwin's knowledge, and that's why I won't be doing this myself." I let the words hang, hoping she would catch on."You want me to do this instead?""Yes," I said without skipping a beat."I already have their hair samples. All I need is for you to take them to a different hospital and run the test.""You're serious about this, aren't you?" The disbelief was evident in her voice."I labeled them using random names, so no one would guess who they actually are," I explained further, ignoring her question."Kora," Lisa said slowly, the way she always did when she wanted to talk some sense into me."Lisa, please."She exhaled loudly into the phone. "You realize what you're asking me to do? If Aldwin finds out…""He won't," I cut in. "That's the whole point of sending you. He doesn't monitor your movements."She sighed, heavily burdened by the task I was assigning her
Aldwin had eyes and ears even in unimaginable places. I didn't want to risk him knowing what I was about to do. But how else could I make such a move without him finding out?I’d already thought about not using their delivery hospital, which was the only hospital we went to, and which already had Zane and Zion's information. I collected samples of their hair from the comb I had used this morning and was pacing the room, not sure how to go about this without raising suspicions. A brilliant idea came to mind – Lisa.It took one ring before she answered the phone.“To what do I owe this morning call?” Lisa groaned, almost mumbling. It seemed like something was blocking her words from coming out freely, cutting off some of her words.It took me a second to realise what it was.“Are you making out?” I asked, furrowing my brows.Lisa was taking time to reply, then I heard lips smacking, kissing sounds.“Wait. Is that what I'm thinking it is?” I asked, almost irritated, but it was another m
We arrived at the Marriage Bureau moments later; our drive there had been a silent one. Aldwin held my hand as we walked up the row of steps. We were just in time. Tommy joined us as a witness,“I can't believe my eyes, no way!” Tommy said aloud, his tone laced with disbelief as he saw me walking u
Ray led me towards the far edge of the office, while Aldwin watched silently from his desk. As Ray tapped a thumbprint scanner, circled in a faint blue glow on the stainless coating, the wall split open before us. I gasped out of shock, not expecting that. We stepped onto the platform. Ray looked b
“Come have a seat, my lawyer will be joining us shortly,” Aldwin said, gesturing towards a sitting area decorated with plush leather seating.“Thank you,” I replied as I sat down. He sat beside me. “Did you go through the document thoroughly?” He asked, his gaze held mine.Why was he sitting this
I was amazed at the sight of the luxury dresses on Mannequins. I caught incredulous stares from the workers, a subtle reminder that I was now famous. I hadn’t seen many nice comments about me since the news broke. They didn’t like the fact that their revered billionaire sweetheart was marrying a no







