ALEXAThe news making the rounds about Donald and I seemed to make me uncomfortable. Worse, he had already sent me flowers twice in one day.He exactly was he hitting at?He was very particular when he said he wanted friendly, which I granted because I didn’t see anything wrong with being friends with my client, but flowers and the news in the blogs? It was getting too much.For the tenth time that day, I dialed Noelle’s number again and she eventually picked up.“Goodness, Noelle, I thought you had fallen off the face of the earth,” I said immediately, breathing with relief.I missed Noelle so much. It was like I was now alone in the entire universe and I was finding it hard to navigate my way around it. Not that I always accepted Noelle’s opinions, but her presence always strengthened me in a good way.“I have been so busy, Alexa. I’m sorry,” she said.She sounded like she was in a hurry or something. “It has been a crazy week here,” Noelle said. “It has been a crazy week here as
MARK“Paris billionaire, Donald Shell, who has been away for a long time, arrives back in the city. He has just signed a multi-million dollars contract with Alexa Silver, the new ATOM fashion tycoon, and rumors have it that they have a spark as they have been seen twice together. Do we sense something romantic building between them? Did Donald Shell return to Paris because of Alexa? Will he be Alexa’s ray of light after her divorce?”Right underneath the post are pictures of Donald signing Alexa’s contract. Beside him was Alexa. They were so close to each other, and in some other pictures, Donald was touching Alexa. I clenched my jaw in annoyance and stark jealousy as I gave the phone back to Vector. I wasn’t even thinking about the rift Vector and I had before now. All that had disappeared with the latest news. Besides, he knew exactly what went down between Donald and me.“That bloody bastard,” I swore under my breath.I balled my fingers into a fist and slammed it on my desk, cau
MARK“Alexa?” I asked Clara. “She knew all these?” “Alexa might look like the good girl, but she is not, Mark, and you have to believe me. She makes everyone around her think that she is better, but she isn’t,” Clara answered. “She knew what Ivy went through for you. She knew that Ivy suffered greatly, but yet, she went ahead to take Ivy’s place without a second thought, because that was what she always wanted,” Clara added.The whole story was beginning to make twists and turns in my head now.First of all, it was Ivy revealing that Alexa was in love with me and now this. I tried to talk to Alexa about it, but she didn’t exactly deny it or admit to it.Was Clara right about Alexa’s character?“Why do you think she acted so meekly and submissive to you for years, Mark?” Clara asked, plunging me into deep thought. “She did it because she wanted you to think that she was better, but I bet you can see now that she is not the quiet girl you knew for years. Now that the marriage is over a
MARKI was still bothered about what Mr. Devon revealed to me. I hadn’t seen or heard anything about him in the blog, and if the news didn’t come from Mr. Devon, I would have doubted it.Donald Shell is a big name, or was a big name, so why would he be back in Paris and no one was talking about it?Did he come back a loser? Was something wrong with him? Did he sneak into the city?These questions flooded my brain. If he came back a loser, I would be glad, because not everyone knew that Donald was a slimy bastard who was looking for people to swindle. The only news that came out about his illegal dealings and threatened to destroy everything he had worked so hard for was the one Vector paid the blogger to publish, and even that had died off when he fled.I was certain that he amounted to his wealth and power by ripping people off their hard work and sweat, but the real question was, what was Donald Shell doing back in Paris?A knock on the door distracted my thoughts for a moment.“Yes
ALEXAThe next couple of days were very busy for me. From the little money I had gotten from the few clients I had before, I did some shopping and rebranding.Noelle had gone out of the city for a few weeks, leaving me alone to deal with the business, but being busy made me very happy and relieved.At least, for the entire week, I didn’t see or hear anything from Mark.A tiny part of me was disappointed. He had come to my store to strike a deal and I had turned him right down, which was the right thing to do anyway, but then again, I wouldn’t have accepted his deal, not with everything that came along with it. I had half-expected him to stroll into the store to try to persuade me a second time; not that I would accept it, but just the thought of being chased and sought after by Mark, even though it was on a negotiation basis.Ever since we got to know each other, I had been the one always doing the chasing and seeking after, and for once, I wanted him to do it even though it would ha
IVYThe pain I was feeling on my head had subsided greatly. When I opened my eyes, I was still in my bedroom, thankfully.My horror was passing out and waking up in a hospital, which would have led to many questions that I didn’t want to answer to, to begin with. I couldn’t recall the last thing I said before I passed out, or what the conversation was all about. The only thing I could recall was the fact that my mum had been talking to me.As for what she was talking to me about and what my response was, I had no clue.The door creaked open and I closed my eyes. Then peeped to see who it was. If it was my mother, then I would simply pretend that I was sleeping. Somehow, I dreaded seeing her and having a conversation. Something in my guts told me that the conversation wasn’t one that I was willing to hear.But it was Mr. Silver, and so I opened my eyes.“Ivy, are you awake?” He asked calmly and I nodded.He walked into the room gently and sat on the couch beside my bed and he peered at
MARKMr. Devon had advised that I paid Donald Shell a visit and have a conversation with him. He had told me that a man like Donald Shell would not back down, and that the earlier I paid him a visit, the better.“If you play your cards right, he could even throw in some investment that would help you get back on your feet,” Mr. Devon had chipped in that last piece of advice.So I had booked an appointment with Donald.Seeing him had made me jealous of him. He was almost about the same age as me, but yet, he was filthy rich and powerful. His name alone had caused quite a stir in most companies, and he had a huge influence and control in the city.“Mark Ronaldo, to what to do I owe this visit?” Donald had said when we eventually met up at one of his establishments.“Donald Shell,” I had also called. “Thank you for meeting me,” I had said.“As you already know, Mark, I am a very busy man with a tight schedule. I suggest we don’t beat around the bush,” he had suggested coyly.“I was told
MARKThe name Donald Shell brought back a lot of horrible memories that I thought I had left buried inside, especially when he left the city. As I thought of him and his face flashed in my head, my mind flashed back to one of the worst days of my life.I had just been appointed as the CEO of the company, taking my rightful inheritance and position, and it was revealed to me by Mr. Devon, who had always been there that the company had been going through some rough patches, majorly because some bad deals have been made.I was hardworking and determined, so I wanted to fix things at all cost.“What do I do now, Mr. Devon?” I had asked him, because even though I wanted to fix things, I didn’t exactly know where to begin from.“Some people have been exposing the secrets of the company,” Mr. Devon had revealed to me.I trusted him so much, and I still do, because even before I officially became the CEO, he had always been very helpful. He was a man that was very trustworthy. My dad trusted
IVY“How the heck did this happen?” Clara asked worriedly.“I think we should get her to a hospital,” Mr. Silver suggested.“No, not yet,” Clara declined. “Why not, Clara? She is badly injured and bleeding from her forehead, and I am certain that she has lost a lot of blood,” Mr. Silver insisted.“Not yet, honey,” Clara said. “Why don’t you call your doctor to come in and take a look at her first?” Clara suggested.“He is not going to get here in nothing less than thirty minutes, Clara, and that is if he is not tied down at the hospital. Are you saying that we should let her continue bleeding and putting her life at risk simply because you want home service when we could easily take her down there right now?” Mr. Silver asked.“I bet if it was Alexa you wouldn’t be talking about time and your doctor’s schedule,” Clara fired, consciously ignoring the other things he said.Mr. Silver’s mood took a nosedive instantly.“Ivy treats you as though you are her biological father, and instead