They were still talking when Desmond walked in with Daniella, holding hands like couples.
"Wow! My son and my potential daughter-in-law are here already! They look like a perfect match from heaven." Desmond's mother stepped forward and embraced her son.
"Desmond!" Anabel called. "How can you cheat on me?"
He turned his attention to Anabel. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"Do you want to deny it? Don't even try to. I called you this afternoon to share some good news with you, only to find out that you are cheating on me. I guess the husband snatcher picked up the call and left it so I could listen to her sick moans."
"I've warned you to desist from calling my potential daughter-in-law a husband snatcher!" Desmond's mother intervened. "What good news do you have for him other than telling him that you found another sex style that will make you pregnant?"
"Son." She turned to Desmond. "You don't have to be hiding it from her. You are doing the right thing. Daniella is perfect for you. You two look good together."
"I'm still waiting for my answer, Desmond." Anabel alerted.
"Why are you disturbing me? Even if I cheated, it's not my fault. For two years, you have not given me a child. Not even a miscarriage."
"But it's not my fault… I'm perfectly okay."
"Oh! It's my son's fault? Is that what you are trying to say? You mean my son is impotent?" Desmond's mother asked.
"I didn't say that."
"Anyway, even if it's what she means." Daniella spoke up. "I have evidence to prove that Desmond is perfectly okay. Yesterday, I got my test result. I'm 2 months pregnant for Desmond."
"Wow! This is great news! You are pregnant with my son's child?"
"You didn't tell me," Desmond said.
"I want it to be a surprise, and I think that this is the right time. To prove that you are a real man." She dipped her hand in her handbag and pulled out the test result. "Here is the test result."
"Wow! This is great! I'm going to be a father." Desmond hugged her.
"Yes, very soon. What gender do you wish? A boy or a girl?" Daniella asked.
"Any gender. I don't care if it's a boy or a girl. What matters is that you are pregnant and I'm going to be a father soon," Desmond replied and gave her another hug.
"Now! I think it's time for you to sign the divorce letter. It's now obvious that you are barren." Mrs. Elizabeth turned to Desmond. "I think you will support me this time and divorce her for good. You can confirm that she's barren. You had been wasting your money and strength on her. Divorce her immediately."
"What if I'm pregnant?" Anabel countered, and the room went silent, then Bella burst out in laughter.
"You? Pregnant? No way! So because Daniella is pregnant, you too want to claim to be pregnant as well. Brother, don't listen to her. She's lying."
"You pathetic liar." Desmond's mother sneered at her. "You were never pregnant for two whole years. Now you have become pregnant all of a sudden. Do you take us for fools?"
"But I'm telling the truth. That is the good news I was talking about."
"Anabel, Why are you lying?" Daniella spoke up. "I know you don't want to lose Desmond because of his money, but it shouldn't make you lie. Just accept the fact that you are barren. You cannot be pregnant."
"How could you? You think I will fall for your cheap lies?" Desmond asked.
"I'm not lying. I'm with the test result." She picked it out of her handbag and stretched out her hand to give it to Desmond, and Daniella snatched it from her."
She scanned through it and shook her head in disgust. "This must be a fake test result. I won't let Desmond fall for this." She tore the paper into pieces and threw it at Anabel.
"Why will you tear that report? It's legit and not fake."
"Just shut up, Anabel!" Desmond cautioned her. "I can't believe you can do this. So you have become so desperate to the point of forging a fake pregnancy report."
"You all have to believe me. The test result is not fake."
"Desmond, Will you stand there and listen to this pathetic liar? This is the perfect time to divorce her. Daniella is the perfect wife for you. You can see that she's pregnant for you." The mother said.
"What if the child she's carrying is not his own?" Anabel questioned, and Desmond turned to her in anger.
"How dare you!" Desmond slapped her hard across the face, and she lost balance and fell on the floor. "How can you accuse my future wife of infidelity? I can tolerate any other thing but not this."
"Can you stop this drama and divorce her?" Mrs. Elizabeth couldn't wait for Desmond to divorce her.
"I don't think it's good. Let her stay. She doesn't have anywhere to go." Desmond replied.
"What are you saying?"
"Let her stay. She will be good as a house help." The word pierced into Anabel like an arrow. She couldn't believe he just called her a maid.
Daniella frowned and held his arm. "But I don't need a maid. She can poison me out of jealousy. You know she's angry you are bringing me in.
"Don't say that about her." Desmond cautioned her. "Anabel is not like that."
"Are you defending Anabel?" Bella asked, "Daniella is right. Send Anabel away. She's a parasite."
"Anabel, get back to the room. We will talk later." Desmond said, and Anabel hesitated before leaving. She knew she was free to go back to her father's house, but she didn't want to lose Desmond, even after the humiliations.
"So you are going to let her stay?" Daniella asked just as Anabel went out of view.
"She's still my wife. I can't let her go. She will be here, helping us with house chores since she's very good at it. Anabel won't harm you, but if you are afraid she will poison you, then be in charge of cooking." He said and left to meet Anabel.
"I honestly don’t know," Mr. Kane admitted. "I’ve been reviewing the numbers myself, and they don’t make sense. I can't tell where the problem is coming from. It's been giving me sleepless nights. We have spent a lot and gained nothing." "Show me the advertising template the company used. The banners and the video. I didn’t get the chance to review it before they launched it". Mr. Kane nodded quickly and retrieved his tablet. He pulled up the campaign templates and handed them over to her. As she watched closely, her expression began to shift into disappointment. She wasn't satisfied with what she was seeing. The video lacked everything that could capture a buyer’s attention. It was generic and predictable. The kind of template people had seen a thousand times before. There was nothing fresh, nothing creative. Worse than that, it failed to display the full range of the product’s usefulness. "This is it?" she asked with some trace of frustration in her voice. "This is the campaign
"I don’t think so. Maybe she’s still occupied with taking care of her father." He replied and Vanessa rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with his reasoning. "Taking care of her father won’t stop her from sending the money. She’s delaying, Sylvester. That’s all this is. She doesn't want to send it. Can't you see it?" "No, I don't think she is delaying intentionally. There must be something holding her that we don't know." "I don't believe that. Maybe she found out about our plan. Think about it." "Nobody knows about our plan, not even her Ex-Husband. So there is no way she will know." Sylvester assured her. "Why don't you call her?" Vanessa asked. "I should call her?" Sylvester repeated, seeing it was quite a bad idea. "Yes," Vanessa replied without hesitation. "Call her and ask her why she’s failing to fulfill her promise. Tell her that if she doesn’t send the money soon, you are going to lose your business to the man you borrowed from." "It's a nice suggestion, but
Desmond pulled into the driveway of his family home, still buzzing from the evening’s events at the Orton mansion. He stepped out, adjusted his suit, and walked up the steps to the front door. When he opened the door, he found his mother and sister sprawled comfortably in the living room. The television was casting gentle flickers of light across their faces. "Welcome home, Desmond," his mother welcomed him warmly, pausing the remote before turning to him. His sister smiled broadly, clearly excited. She couldn't wait to hear from Desmond. She was expecting a good news. "How did it go?" his mother asked in curiosity. "I hope it went well." Desmond dropped his key and smiled at her. "It went better than I expected," he said and settled onto the sofa next to his sister. "Sir Orton forgave me." "That's great! I'm happy to hear that." The mom said in excitement. "Not only that. He welcomed me back into Orton’s Group. He even promised my company a five hundred million dollar co
"Who is Sylvester?" The dad asked. "The man who came around when you were in the hospital." Jethro answered, and Sir Orton’s expression hardened slightly. "I’m going to talk to her." With that, he walked toward Anabel’s room. He got to her door and knocked lightly before pushing the door open. She was sitting on her bed, flipping through her phone. When she looked up, she immediately knew why her dad was there. "Anabel, are you seeing another man?" He bluntly asked without wasting any time. Anabel raised a brow and dropped her phone aside. "Why are you asking me that?" "Your behavior shows that you’ve seen another man that you plan to marry." He replied, and she scoffed lightly and shook her head. "Stop assuming too much, Dad. This has nothing to do with that. I just don’t want Desmond anymore. I despise him already." Sir Orton exhaled and stepped closer to her. "I knew how much you hated him, but I think he has changed. You can give him a second chance." "I've moved o
Anabel raised her head and looked at him to know what he would say and their eyes met. Desmond didn't look away. He kept looking at her while Anabel held on with an unreadable facial expression. It was as if the time was paused. Anabel was waiting for Desmond to say something but he just kept looking at her. The eye's battle lasted for some seconds before Anabel held back and went back to the food she was eating. Desmond smiled lightly and shook his head before looking back at Sir Orton. "I don't think I have any other thing to request for. I’m well satisfied with what you have already done for me. What else should I ask for? I’m grateful for your forgiveness, and for welcoming me back to work with your company." Lady Orton, who had been keeping quiet, glanced at Desmond knowingly before speaking. "Are you sure you don't want any other thing?" she asked. "You don’t need any other favour from Sir Orton." Lady Orton asked, expecting him to say it out. She knew he wants Anabel bac
Sir Orton closed his eyes and prayed as usual before signaling for everyone to begin eating. Desmond took his first bite, savoring the sweet tastes, but something else caught his attention. There were no maids. No servants. Despite all the wealth, the Ortons handled everything themselves. Like his family, they don't have any helpers. As they were eating, Sir Orton finally spoke up. "Desmond," he began, and Desmond raised his head, "I invited you here this evening because I wanted to personally thank you for saving my life. This dinner is more than just a meal—it is a celebration. A celebration of life." He said, and Desmond nodded slightly and set down his glass. "I’m happy that I was able to help, sir," he said sincerely. "I saw it as my responsibility." "Responsibility?" he repeated. "Yeah, it's my responsibility. My father was a great acupuncturist. He passed his knowledge down to me. Over the years, I’ve helped people in comas and similar cases requiring acupuncture. So w