“We’re doomed.” Despite the lingering unwillingness, Jet had started to accept his total defeat.There was no way for him to come back now. “What? No. We still have a chance. The projects can still be restarted, we can still make a comeback!” Aloysius thought about the island project and it could be restarted with some funds. “No matter what we do, he will stop us. No projects can be cleared.” Jet finally accepted his fate and knew the danger he was facing. If Kaze wanted them to lose, they could never win, and neither could they resist or challenge absolute power. “So we are just going to accept our fate like that? It’s unfair. We’ve done so many things and we are going to just give up?” Aloysius said, his tone saddened. They worked day and night for the project, for the company, yet now Jet wanted to give up just like that. Even Aloysius felt bitter. He did not want to give up just because of some obstacles. “But we’ve tried. There’s nothing else we can do.” Je
Katie decided to send her daughter to test Kaze. No matter who Kaze really was, it should be anything but a common man. She recently found out that Kaze had beaten up Jet due to some conflict. The news was contained until Jet’s business ran into the wall and people started to take advantage of him by releasing some of his embarrassing news. Katie got a hold of the news and it made her certain that Kaze was not an ordinary man. “I understand. I’ll tell Leah.” Joey had no idea why her boss would change her mind all of a sudden but Leah was fond of Kaze and the girl would be thrilled if she knew about this. “Tell her right now. Tell her to dress nicely and ask Kaze Lee out for lunch or dinner.” Katie eagerly wanted to see this done. “I’ll go talk to Leah now.” Joey sighed and went out to carry out the task. She was just an employee, not someone with actual power, working for her boss. Leah had been staying indoors recently because she did not want her mother interfer
“It’s for your own good. Besides, Kaze is a good person—he’s chivalrous, he helped you on your birthday and it’s only appropriate if you bring him to lunch,” Joey said. Leah pursed her lips and softened her attitude. “Yeah. He’s kind to me.” She turned around and continued to pick her outfit. She thought of wearing a dress but she could not make up her mind. “This dress is nice. It’s pure and snowy white.” “Nope. It’s too plain.” “What about this? This black one looks elegant.” Joey picked a black strapless dress with the laces at the chest; it was beautiful. The sewing patterns looked delicate as well. However, Leah was not fond of it. Her entire closet was full of beautiful dresses and exquisite accessories yet none seemed to her liking. “There’s nothing I could wear here!” Leah plopped down on the couch and grumbled. There were rows of expensive clothes in her closet yet she felt like there was nothing she could wear. “Why don’t you go get something new?
Leah kept the thought to herself but no matter how she buried it, she could not forget the feeling of the day she first met Kaze. “It’s been an hour. Why don’t you take some rest? I’ll get someone to keep watching. If he comes back, we’ll call.” Joey ran out of patience. She had other work to do and could not afford to waste her whole day waiting. “You can go if you are busy. I’ll go see my mother later,” Leah said. She did not want to leave just yet. Joey sighed looking at the persistent girl but she could not do anything to stop her. “We don’t know when Kaze is going to show up. It’s kind of useless for you to wait for him here. Why don’t you go up and take a rest? If he really shows up, I’ll tell the hotel staff to inform you.” Joey was worried and she did not want Leah to wait alone. “It’s okay. I’ll just wait a little longer.” Leah knew Joey was busy and could not wait with her, so she asked Joey to get back to work. “Are you sure? I’ll go back to the office then
Leah’s expression darkened. Her mother’s request today surprised her and she was delighted by it. After all, she had had a crush on Kaze from the first time they met. Yet her mother had upset her. “So I am just a tool to you, something you can throw away when you don’t have any use for it,” she said. Her eyes widened with rage as she stared at her mother. She did not want to be her mother’s puppet for the rest of her life but she just could not get rid of the strings on her, which saddened her. “What are you talking about? Didn’t I agree for you to see Kaze Lee?” Katie frowned. There was no need to make things explicit every single time, yet Leah was still too naive and innocent. The girl believed love was all that mattered in the world but she did not know love could not pay bills. Everything she had was bought with money, not love. While enjoying a prestigious life, she still naively thought that love was most precious. Katie somehow felt that she raised her daugh
Perry liked Leah before and spent a lot of effort to ask her out. However, not all men were gentlemen and when he finally dated her, he did not value her. He did the sweetest thing for her when trying to get her attention but when they were truly together, he forgot how hard he worked to win her heart and got carried away by his ego. He became entitled. Leah was the popular girl on campus, the star among her friends. Perry thought if he could make her his girlfriend, then he would look good in front of his friends. His competitiveness made him work hard to chase Leah. As time went by, he slowly and truly fell for her, but the temptation in society was strong. He made a mistake by cheating on her. When he cheated on her, he thought it would be a one-nighter and nothing would follow. However, Leah found out and they broke up. Perry thought Leah wanted to break up in a moment of anger. He tried to make peace and save their relationship. Then, Kaze came into the pic
Leah curled up on the couch. She looked up with teary eyes, making her look pitiful. Her look extinguished most of Perry’s anger. “Without my permission, you are not walking out of this room.” Perry threw the whip away, and warned her before he went out as he slammed the door. Leah was imprisoned in the room. The burning sensation on her back did not stop her from trying to find an escape but the entire room was locked. There was no escape. She finally realized how severe the situation had gotten. Perry kept her locked in the room, occasionally beating and scolding her. After a few beatings, Leah learned to obey to save herself from physical pain. As long as it was not too much, she would obey Perry. Perry locked her in the room, so she leaned against the window and stared outside. Whenever he got drunk, he would come in and beat her up. Every single beating left her with bruises and cuts. Perry would then give her some cream and balm to ease the pain. Ever sinc
There were a lot of thoughts on Snow’s mind, but one thing stood out. She was eager to meet Kaze, who had been long absent from her life. Lugging behind a suitcase, Snow strutted out of the platform. An individual holding a bouquet of flowers stood in the distance. Snow took quick paces over to the all-too familiar, good-looking person. Kaze had not changed one bit. “Chairman Lee, you came for me,” Snow said gleefully while accepting the bouquet. “It’s the least I can do. You’re going to be busy from here on out.” Kaze was relieved to see Snow in one piece. It looked like things were going well for her. However, her little break was over. “Thank you, Chairman Lee. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have the chance to come back.” Snow dreamed about returning to the Frost family, but due to her limited capability, she could not pull it off. Now, Kaze recovered everything without a hitch for her. “Don’t get your hopes up high. You have a lot on your plate.” Kaze be
The incident did not sit well with Kaze, so he left them out to dry. After much searching, Kaze came across a café. Kaze bought a cup of coffee. Cupping the drink between his hands, Kaze sipped slowly. Many passengers swarmed the arrival hall in the airport, dragging along their luggage or pulling out their phones to get a pick-up. They all had a destination, a place they had to be in a rush. Intrigued, Kaze followed the crowd out. Kaze turned on his phone, and a text message from his airport pick-up came in. He glanced at the message, curious about who the person was. Nevertheless, Kaze trusted that the Westeros Branch members would not set him up out in the open. At most, they would pull little stunts to mess with him. Kaze was not the type to sweat the small stuff. However, he would not tolerate any extreme behavior. He had been keeping a low profile back in Butterworth, keeping the limelight off him. The purpose was to handle Jet without unnecessary complicati
“Alright. I will work hard to be the manager of the Northborn Group. You need to show me the ropes and teach me about management.” Leah looked at Katie with a smile. She believed Katie had not lost her mind. Katie simply had her memory mixed up. “You need to keep your people in line and reward those who deserve it. It all boils down to profits. “You need to work toward managing your people and working with rivals. You’ve got to keep the balance, and nobody loses out. “You need to build your own system when it comes to working together. Don’t be led around by the nose.” Hearing that Leah would start work soon, Katie imparted her knowledge. “Don’t worry too much about things. Joey is nice. You can go to her for help,” Katie said earnestly. Katie seemed to be herself at the moment. Leah wondered if Katie faked her insanity to escape the punishment. “What have become of you? Did they do something to you? “Did you really betray Kaze?” Leah whispered while leaning close
Leah kept working on her knowledge until late into the night. Just as she was about to hit the sack, she got a message from Snow. Learning was a hard enough process. The text message came out of the blue. Leah did not expect Snow to contact her at night. The message was strange as well. Leah could not understand why Snow would give her the address of a nursing home. Leah was determined to turn things around. She strived to become stronger instead of being a burden. She was grateful for Kaze’s help. At least, she had a job now. However, her gratitude was not extended to Snow. She believed Snow had gone too far. Snow left her feeling powerless. Leah did not think much about the message. She assumed that the text was not meant for her. Since Leah did not respond to the text, Snow put the matter aside and went to bed. Leah called Snow the next day. “Why did you send me an address?” Leah went straight to the question. She had been equipping herself with knowledge before
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a