Chapter 16…MARIA..I am unable to concentrate on work as my mind is filled with images of what I had seen in Benji’s office earlier, how can Stella do this to me?, I am way more angry with her than I am with Benji.I had spent five good years trying to get Benji for myself, I used all the tricks in the book in hopes of him looking at me as a woman he can be with but all my efforts were in vain and now Stella shows for a few days and they are already having sex.Stella should have told me if anything was going on between them, am angry she didn’t mention it and pretended to hate Benji in front of me. A knock on my door drives me out of my thoughts, I compose myself before answering“come in” I say, Dad walks into the office looking angry, it is then that I realize I have not gone through the documents he had sent me earlier“its been almost two hours, what the hell are you doing?” he asks“I was a bit busy, I will go through them now” I say picking up the documents among the pile of f
Chapter 17…STELLA…“what sort of deal?” I ask Benji, whatever he has in mind surely it cant be a good thing“I want Zoey here with me but since you cant live without her by your side, I want you to move here, there is prenty of rooms in my house, both you and Zoey can be comfortable, plus, I can open up a bigger restaurant for you here” I laugh upon hearing Benji’s words, had this man lost his mind or what?,“so what do you think?” he asks with a smile,“what I think?, am not a charity case Benji, am capable of taking care of myself and my daughter, we don’t need any of the crap you just said” I say,“fine, I was hoping we do this the easy way but since you are proving to be sturbborn then I will have you arrested and take my daughter away from you” he threatens making me sign,“you want to separate me and my daughter?, she is five for pete’s sake Benji!” I exclaim“that is not my intention so I would advice you to think about this carefully cause am not bluffing” he says, I let out
Chapter 18…Stella…Right in front of everyone, Dad calls two of his men who begin to check up on me, am angry and disappointed, why would dad even accuse me of stealing, however, when one of the guards take out a diamond necklace from my purse, I am left tongue-tied“I swear I don’t know how that ended up in my bag” I try to explain“you dare steal from me?” Dad looks more furious than ever“honey, its no big deal” my mom tries to say but he silences her with his hand“call the police” he says to one of his guards, by now, I begin to cry bitterly unable to control my emotions, was this my family?, how can they treat me like this?,“Dad please, you cant do this” Maria says“stay out of this” Dad says shoting a warning glance at her,I am made to knee down by the two guards as we wait for the police“you could have asked if you wanted money instead of trying to steal from us, there is no better place for someone like you except prison” Dad says, I continue to cry feeling my heart get m
Chapter 19…STELLA…“marry me Stella, that way, you will save your honor while I raise my kids together” he says, I move my head near his month“what are you doing?” he asks, I sniff near his mouth“have you been drinking?” I ask, he shakes his head“am as sober as anyone can be” he says,“I don’t know what gave you the impression that I can ever agree to marry you Benjimen Edwards, you are pathetic” I say. What the hell is wrong with him, he is Ben’s twin brother for heaven’s sake, how many more times did he want to disrespect him, isn’t he even ashamed of himself“I loved Ben, I still do, I can barely look at any other man since his passing. You are dating Selina, why don’t you ask her to marry you instead?”“I broke up with her” he replies“why?” I ask, did he just realize that it wasn’t a good pairing?,“we don’t have feelings for each other” he says“well, I too don’t want to be married to someone I don’t even like” Benji is quiet and starts the car again,I notice he has a sad
Chapter 20…BENJI…“did you look into what I asked you to?” I ask Garvin on a phone call“yes sir, it was Maria who had anonymously made that post about Stella” Garvin replies“alright” I say and hang up the phone, Maria was really crossing the line, I have to give her a warning.I did think of telling Stella everything about her sister but I know she wouldn’t believe me and even if she did, she would be hurt as she considered her an important person in her life.I stare at the wall clock, it is already half passed midnight, I close my eyes trying to get some sleep but then, Stella’s face appears in front of me,How would I manage to woo a sturbborn woman like her?, I get up from bed and grab my diary, I then begin to write down the things Ben did that made Stella fall in love with him, maybe if I do those things, I would have a chance with her…The next morning, I have Garvin take me to the Adams company before going to work, when Maria comes in, she finds me waiting for her,“you ar
Chapter 21…STELLA…Am pissed at Benji’s statement“just because you have all the money in world doesnt you know anything about parenting cause if you were good at being a father, Daisy would have been seeing everyday instead of only weekends” I say, I can see my words have affected Benji“yes, maybe I haven’t been a good father to Daisy that’s why I want to make sure I don’t repeat the same mistake with Zoey” he says,I go to my room and get Zoey’s teddy bear, I then go back to the living room and carry Zoey in my arms“you will go with Daddy okay” I tell her, she looks excited as she hugs me“thank you Mummy” she says, seeing Zoey been taken away hurts in ways I cant explain but I believe she also derserves to get to know her father a little more“take care of my daughter, if anything happens to her, I will cut off your head” I warn Benji pointing a finger at him“don’t worry about that, she will be fine” he says as he gets her from me, I walk them outside and wave at Zoey as the c
…Benji…Its 11pm and I hear a car enter my yard, Garvin calls me and I answer the call“who is it?” I ask“its Miss Stella” he says, am surprised Stella would come to my house at this time of the night“who is she with?” I ask Garvin“with Mario and she seems drunk” he answers“okay, let them in” I respond and hang up the call, I stand up and go outside where I find Mario helping Stella out of the car, am instantly furious that he made her drunk to the point of her failing to walk“what did you give her?” I ask as I carry her into my arms“she only had two bottles” Mario answers,“get out of here before I lose my temper” I say to Mario who immediately goes back into his car.I carry Stella inside looking at her drunk state as she sleeps soundly in my arms, I take her to my room and make her lay down, she opens her eyes and looks at me,“Ben, you are here” she says as she hugs me tightly crying, I want to tell that am Benji but I find myself tongue-tied and only pat her back in comfort
CHAPTER 23…BENJI…Stella and I head to the hospital as Zoey begins to cry,“does this happen on a regular basis?” I ask Stella whose eyes are already watering by now“no, Zoey doent get sick” she says touching her forehead“her temperature is raising” she says,“she will be fine” I assure her even though am worried out of my mind.Zoey suddenly begins to cough out blood, this makes me stop the car as I carry her in my arms,“Benji, there is Blood” Stella cries out, I start the car again as Zoey passes out and drive at an insane speed,. One hour later, Stella and I stand outside the ICU room as the doctors attend to Zoey, after what feels like forever with Stella crying the whole time, I follow the doctor to his office while Stella goes with Zoey and some nurses to her ward room.“I believe you are the father of Zoey Adams” the doctor begins“Zoey Edwards, am in the process of changing her last name” I say, the doctor nods“your daughter was experiencing seizures in the ICU room, I be