The kitchen was equally empty as his entire house seemed to be. Only the necessary appliances and a big refrigerator in the corner. The gas stove laid as new as the microwave oven and other appliances, clearly showing no one comes to the kitchen much, let alone using the utensils. Plates and spoons scattered in the basin, waiting to be washed, but he strode straight to a high cabinet to find some snacks and, taking a kettle, he walked back to them. Tea pot on a tray and three cups arranged with three tea bags in each. He strolled out of there. On the way, he noticed a picture of a woman in a worn-out photo frame smiling at him delightedly stood crooked; he paused for a second but then walked off there as his both occupied hands found no way to fix it back.Ashton took a cookie from the tray as Ryan poured hot water into the cups, dipping the tea bags into each, which delivered a pleasant aroma from their cups. In a minute, the cups turned clean yellowish green as h

Chapter 54: The board roomThe long meeting room filled with undistinguishable murmurs from the table. Some elderly board members nodded in disagreement with whatever their peer member told him to and the one he was so eager to meet sat at the very end of the table, looking thoroughly bewildered at this attendance and his large rounding eyes gawking at them like a lightning struck there and a deity descended through heaven.The lady Ryan saw before twisted her face so much that she looked like a smirking pig. Her narrow cheekbones flaunting her sunken cheeks and the distracted pout on her pointed chin confided her annoyance. Ryan walked to a vacant seat right opposite to Owen who stared at him blankly the moment he noticed his presence and, quite astonishingly, trying to say something, but his throat seemed dried out with no sound coming at all.“Well, I know I have disturbed all of you a big time. I apologize.” Ryan took the chair and looked straigh

Chapter 56: Livin’ bar“WHAT!” Bellowed Jim. His influential voice resonated through the walls and forced its entrance into Ryan’s ear, which he pressed shut, expecting this reaction. Jim gasped at the news he just received and took the seat beside him on the armchair. Eyes widened to the size of a ping-pong ball, Jim gawked at him for more information. Yet Ryan reluctantly waited for his excitement to subdue.The room filled in silence for an entire minute when Jim broke it. “What that cracked nut came here for!”“What nut?” Ryan asked. The words he said sounded foreign to him. He rested himself on the armchair beside Jim.“Cracked nut not walnut,” Jim corrected him, thinking how could he hear cracked nut, a walnut. But the topic was what Owen was doing here. Of all places, how could he know his residence and what about the confidentiality procedure they applied? It was nonsense to think of him

 A faint caramel aroma spread through the table where Amanda sat alone. People around her gossiped on their table in their own world, trying out the delicious desserts they ordered. The walls on her side had peculiar looking arts hanging through the entire wall.Maybe art lovers will see the beauty in it, but Amy only saw some unusual blocks and colors mixed together. The owner must be a well off art lover to afford these art pieces, she reckoned when a gentle young boy, around in his teen, walked in with a tray full of desserts and served the ones she ordered. He looked as delicious as those desserts, but she had to refrain her hungry heart from doing some terrible act of flirting with a teenager. The boy left for another table and she addressed the desserts. The mouthwatering fragrance choked her. Now she understood why this place was so popular on the internet. It was far from where she worked now but a safer place in case someone eavesdrop at the

Chapter 60: The eventRyan looked up at the enormous chandelier hung from the white ceiling, sparkling the whole place with its mesmerizing shine. It covered the entire ceiling of the great hall of the banquet palace they hired for this event. He himself dressed up like a prince in his all white three-piece suit, a glimmering wrist watch, his grandfather gave him two days ago.His grandfather called him a day before yesterday evening suddenly to his mansion. Although not quite satisfied with this family, Ryan reconciled with him and decided to throw this event on his grandfather’s eighty-fifth birthday. He was more than delighted to hear his arrangements and Lavenda too, threw a family get together for her father but on Ryan’s request they turned it into a big event.He looked at his square golden watch. Mr. Dayholt specially ordered it from France to gift him. It was around eight o’clock and the hall was filling with their expected guests. He