"You mean you drove Nancy to depression?" asked Randall."No! Her depression came back.""Is there any difference? Her situation back then was caused by you as well."Yaacob was speechless. He had not expected to be rendered speechless by Randall one day. He took a long drag from his cigarette irritably and fell into silence.Randall, however, had no intention to stop talking when he had already opened the can of worms. As the oldest in the group and seeing from Nancy's perspective, he could not help but scold Yaacob, "You're indeed being very unethical for trying to steal Celica's custody from Nancy.""Then tell me what I should do?"Yaacob's situation with Nancy was different from Randall's situation with Rowena. Nancy was already married to Benson, so there was no chance for Yaacob to court her. Nancy probably would not even give him the time of day unless he took some drastic action.As expected, Randall could not come up with a good idea. They would be in a deadlock unless
When Yaacob returned to the hospital, he heard a man's voice coming from the ward. Benson had arrived, and he was peeling apples for Nancy and Celica.Nancy was already awake. Yaacob opened the door and went in just in time to see her smiling. However, her expression darkened when she saw him.Nancy and Benson were obviously not happy at Yaacob's intrusion, except for Celica, who did not understand anything. Everyone present felt more or less awkward.Yaacob walked straight over and picked up Celica, who was sitting on the hospital bed. Celica glanced at him blankly and stretched out her hand to grab Nancy. "Mommy...""Celica, your Mommy is tired. Let her rest. It's time for us to head back."Nancy's expression changed again when she heard Yaacob would take Celica away.Celica did not want to be separated from Nancy either. "I want to stay with Mommy…""Your Mommy can't go back today. She has to stay in the hospital. It was her own fault for catching a cold."Yaacob became angr
Yaacob went to the next room, but he was still worried about Nancy. He called Randall and asked him if he was with Rowena. If she was, would she mind coming over to check on Nancy?Rowena was giving Randall the cold shoulder because he lied about his injury. Thus, he thought he would use this opportunity to make up with her. He immediately drove over to her house and did not even kick up a fuss with Yaacob for exposing him in the afternoon.Afterward, Randall, Rowena, and Yvonne arrived together. Yaacob called Randall and Rowena over. Nancy probably called Yvonne over.Yaacob decided not to question it. He closed the door after Rowena and Yvonne went into the bedroom Nancy was in.Randall glanced at Yaacob, sitting at the junction of the stairs between the second and third floors, and asked, "Do you need to go to the hospital?"He asked because Yaacob's face was really ashen. He had always been in good health. Except for the time when he was infected with the virus, Randall had ne
Nancy vanished into thin air, along with Celica and Yvonne.They failed to meet up with Benson as originally planned. Thus, Benson did not know their whereabouts.Yaacob always had a stronger volition than most people. Coupled with the fact that he realized he would pass out having been drugged by Nancy, he managed to regain consciousness in less than twenty-four hours.Even though the relationship between Yaacob and Benson had always been strained, Benson took the initiative to contact Yaacob after losing contact with Nancy and Yvonne the night before.Benson was extremely anxious because he could not find any traces of Nancy and Celica's whereabouts after almost 24 hours of searching. He had no choice but to go to Yaacob.He was well aware of the power and influence Yaacob enjoyed in Athenapolis. Even though he knew he would be ridiculed and taunted by Yaacob for going to him, he put his feelings aside for the sake of his wife and daughter.To his surprise, Yaacob did not pick
That was the first time Yaacob and Dorothy met in private, even though they had met at certain political events.However, this did not prevent Yaacob from getting straight to the point."Mrs. Melton, I was told that you took my family. Where are they?" asked Yaacob.When Dorothy heard this, she looked confused and raised her eyebrows as she replied, "Sorry, Mr. Getson, but I don't know what you are talking about."Yaacob slammed his coffee mug on the table, spilling some coffee. "My partner and my child have been missing for nearly twenty-four hours. If you so much as harm a hair on them, I won't be responsible for my actions.""Mr. Getson, now I'm really confused. I heard that you called off the engagement with the President's daughter just recently and now you're saying you are with another woman? Who could that be?" quipped Dorothy.The Brownings never had any dealings with Yaacob previously. Having a strong military background, the Brownings never liked businessmen such as Ya
Yvonne breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Tom had come to her rescue.However, her eyes widened, and her face paled as she asked, "You, you, you've killed them?" "Don't worry. Those are tranquilizer shots." Tom walked up to her hastily and grabbed her hand. "They are coming. Let's hurry!""No, wait! My friends! Nancy and Celica are still in there! We have to go back for them," said Yvonne."Your friend is Yaacob's partner. She will not be in any danger, and it's not up to you to worry about her," replied Tom."But we drugged Yaacob, and he might still be under! Even if he's awake, he might mistakenly think that they ran off with Benson!" explained Yvonne."Do you think Yaacob is a fool like you? He's already on the way," replied Tom.Tom could not help but mock Yvonne while comforting her at the same time.Just as he was grabbing Yvonne to leave with him, Yvonne shook off his hand."You're a mean and heartless lying bonehead who does not care for anyone. How would I
A week had passed since. Nancy brought a bowl of chicken soup for Benson. He quickly took over the bowl when Nancy sat beside his hospital bed."Please let me do it myself." Benson was still weak from his injuries, but he was able to take care of himself.Besides, he did not like to appear too weak to Nancy. He was the man of the family, after all.Benson always hoped that he could be the protector of his family and offer them a sense of security.Even though he rushed in, intending to rescue his wife and daughter, he ended up being hospitalized for the past week. That made Nancy and Celica anxious about him.Having been married for three years, Nancy could tell what Benson was thinking by observing his expression."Benson, I really wasn't sure that you could find us that night. You made it in time to open the door. Otherwise, Celica and I would never be able to make it out alive from that fire," Nancy comforted him.Hearing this, Benson sighed and said, "But I ended up holding
Yaacob drank the soup very slowly, savoring each sip as if it was priceless nectar hard to come by.Celica saw how much he was enjoying it, and she could feel her mouth watering. She looked at Yaacob and asked, "Uncle Yaacob, does it taste good?""Yes, indeed! Mommy's cooking had improved greatly compared to three years ago," replied Yaacob."I want some too…" Celica hugged Yaacob's arm with her chubby hands and pouted expectantly.However, Yaacob rejected her request and said, "It's already cooled down too much."He took more than half an hour to drink the soup. It would have been cold after all this while.Nancy took a look at the time and went to carry Celica from Yaacob's lap.She said, "Time for Celica to go to bed, I'll bring her home now. You can finish the soup slowly and I'll collect the thermos another time.""Wait." Yaacob stopped her before she left. He knew that she was just saying that in passing. She would likely never want to drop by again if he let her leave ju