For the surprise worth its name, the family arrived in Buea—the city of legendary hospitality—from Limbe—the city of friendship—very late. When they knew Ace will be deeply buried in the environs of his hotel room doing what he knew best. Thanks to another one of his historic tantrums, their parent's susceptibility headed as far as granting his stay in a hotel for three consecutive years. St. Claire was their stop at roughly 10:30 pm. Tired yet not sleepy due to the excitement of seeing her brother again after months, Eloïse manipulated a little with her phone. True to her perception, Rilla had grown into a radiant mother of one consequently crowning her a grandma: as captioned on the videos she had posted on social media. Gombu was the male born's name as reported by the game guard. And was only two years old. Rilla's mother was reported to have died a couple of weeks back. A piece of agonizing news it was. Eloïse had tried Craig's line twice to no avail. Minutes later, he messa

"We should have told him everything. There were chances of him changing his mind," Zaphrina complained as she neatly hung her husband's shirts in the closet. To say Ace's behavior didn't trouble her will be an understatement as she happened to have observed that it worsened if anything. Perhaps flying him out wasn't the best idea. Perhaps she thought wrong; that Ace would someday change and that, that was the best and only place. That it was the only solution. "I doubt that. You know how he gets whenever the company's mentioned. His mind is made up." Marley typed away on his laptop. Zaphrina's eyes glistened with sorrow thinking back to her son's profile after mentioning the reason for their visit. He must have felt like an outcast. Bethany was right after all. "Honey," Marley pulled out his glasses, set aside his laptop, and deserted the bed after realizing his wife's withdrawal. "Come now, you need to rest, relax, and not think too much." He gently massaged her shoulders whilst

Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.8:13 a.m "Mr. White," The man in a beige Bisht atop an unblemished white kandoora called in his thick Emirati accent as he received his guest's hand for a shake. "Nice to see you." "The pleasure is all mine, Sayyid Kareem." "Have a seat." The tall brunet young man in a black tuxedo obeyed with a smile on display. Almost immediately, waitresses filed in with assorted platters of breakfast pastries to occupy the entire table. "How are you enjoying your stay in Dubai so far, Mr. White?" "Wonderful is an understatement." He watched his cup being shaded with black coffee, expressed his gratitude to the waitress, and watch her leave. "My delight to do business with you is beyond words, Mr. White." "Same here. After all, what other bank can I rely on with my money, eyes closed, but yours?" He watched Sayyid Kareem sip his coffee with glee. "I've heard a lot about it from associates running their businesses over here. It's been reported to have be

Craig had respected the curfew to the latter; he'd taken her back home seven minutes to time. Four of which they'd spent walking the short distance he'd parked his car away from Eloïse's home. When she asked why, his retort was to spend a little more time with her hand in his. "How do you cope living here?" He asked. "In what context?" Partly conscious, as a result of his big hands warming hers in addition to the circles he made with his thumb at the back, Eloïse wondered. "It's serenity. A little too deafening." "I'm used to. Born and raised in it. What I find deafening is the commotion out of this area." No one spoke for a while. "Don't you admire such places?" "I do. A lot. I love me some alone time every once in a while just like I love some commotion." "How's that?" "It's the way I grew up; my mum was the quiet type and my dad, the calm irritated type. They didn't last long. Spent time fluctuating from one to the other. Eventually lost both and had to live with granny." "I

"I uh..." Craig soothingly tightened his grip on her fingers, rubbing them simultaneously. "I have to leave the country soon fo—" Craig's beautiful face instantly tensed, a conspicuous frown in sight. "How soon is that?" "Less than a month." Eloïse's eyes denied meeting his. "Sorry I interrupted. Please proceed." "My designs were exhibited to an haute designer who approved them and he's willing I work with him. So...yeah." She shrugged. Eloïse felt Craig's stare warm her face all through her little speech. "How long will you be gone for?" "Six months or so, I'm not quite sure." Craig pondered. "Is this the trivial situation you referred to?" Eloïse said nothing. "You assume you're insignificant to me?" She still did not speak. "Where is it?" "France." Craig sighed, "I have nothing to lose as of now. As much as it hurts to admit, I'm tremendously skeptical about getting this job any moment soon. Implying that I'll have to start applying for a job in France then." Eloïse would