Thank you for reading this chapter :)
Josh had barely stepped out of the house when another car—an unfamiliar one—came to a halt behind the car that was parked in front of the house. The one in which Josh had planned to drop Caleb at school first, followed by heading straight to his office.But before any of that could happen, confusion crossed his handsome face when he caught the person stepping out of this new car.Her similarity with his dead wife almost left him dumbfounded for a good minute.For a moment, he couldn’t tell if he was awake or dreaming.“Josh!” The woman came rushing to him, her eyes and cheeks reddened to a deep shade of red, as if she had been crying for a long while. The look of grief upon her beautiful features cut straight through his chest, making him breathless, and hurt, and broken.“Oh my God!” The woman cried, hands on her mouth, as if she was just as startled to see him as she was. “This is really you.”She hugged him. Glad to see him after so long.How long has it been? He wondered quietly, s
Simon stepped out of his car and shook hands with the man waiting for him at the entrance of The Golden Oasis, a grand casino in Queens.“Welcome, Mr. Walsh, it’s so good to see you returning after so long,” said the man named Billy Rogers, guiding Simon inside the building.“You exaggerate too much, Mr. Rogers. It was only last month that I came here. Hardly a long while since my last visit. But let me say that it looks like the business is thriving well. The Golden Oasis sure does live up to its reputation.”Billy Rogers smiled at that, looking way too eager to appease the special guest of the night. “Of course. We do try to give the people what they want.”“Of course you do,” Simon said, smirking. “That’s the reason I always find my way back here, isn’t it?”Rogers only smiled before leading Simon into a room that looked like an office of sorts. The room was also soundproof, ensuring nothing came in or went out.Simon took his seat while Rogers moved across the desk and dropped int
When Josh entered his office building, he had to stop in his tracks to glance over at the commotion at the reception.Men and women were crowding the place as if something of interest had caught their eyes. But that wasn’t what forced him to stop, however. It was the loud and annoying sound of someone that made him frown and gesture Hudson to see what the hell wad going on.Hudson followed the order right away, rushing over to the crows, he pushed everyone out of his way, only to return with his face slightly pale.He approached Josh, wiping sweat off his forehead.“What’s wrong?” Josh asked, wanting to get done with this already.Hudson slipped the folded handkerchief back into his pocket. “I think you shouldn’t worry about this, sir.”Josh frowned, getting more and more curious. He looked over Hudson’s shoulder at the crowd, and tried to understand what the person was yelling about.“Nonsense,” he grumbled, before deciding to handle the matter himself. This was so unprofessional of
Angelina had no intention of making a scene, but when people sucked at their supposedly jobs, she couldn’t help but snap.A day before, when she had come to office, asking for her compensation, the woman behind the reception had showed her the door, saying she was wasting her time and that no one in their company reported something like that.Angelina had done what she did best, she had warned the woman that she would come the next day, and if she didn’t get her compensation, she would make each and every person in that building regret their whole lives.And that’s exactly what she came in today to do. She was going to make that receptionist’s life miserable for taking her lightly the day before, for not doing her job. But when the man who gave her the card showed up, she ignored all the lies that came out of that receptionists mouth. The way she had turned pale seeing that man, and was stumbling over her own words, as if afraid she would lose her job for sure, she felt sympathy for h
It was the worst night of her life.Elena Matthews sat in the dimly lit movie theater, her fingers absently tapping on the armrest as she watched the huge screen flicker to life with images of love and betrayal.A sudden vibration in her purse, alerted her to a new message.With a furrowed brow, she discreetly retrieved her phone and unlocked the screen, her heart racing at the sight of the notification. A text from an unknown number. The message was brief yet jarring, causing her breath to hitch in her throat as she read the words that would forever alter the course of her life.“Hotel Sunset. Room 721.”Her hands shook uncontrollably as she brought the device up to her face, reading the last text once again.Suddenly, Elena was consumed by rage. Clutching the phone tightly to her chest, she grabbed her purse and bolted out of the theatre.She could explain to Danika later. Her best friend’s new movie screening was important, but it paled in comparison to the chaos now unfolding in h
The slap on Elena’s face stung like a bitch, but instead of snapping back or stopping the abuse of her mother-in-law, she chose to swallow her anger down her throat.It was not the time. Or the place.“How dare you do this to my son? How dare you? It is because of you he’s in this condition right now. All because of you.”Well, that certainly wasn’t a lie. No matter which way you looked at it, the truth remained the same. If it weren’t for the rage that blinded her, she wouldn’t have struck her husband with the largest vase in the room. And she certainly wouldn’t have stood there, watching him bleed to death after the blow to his head.Thankfully, Cecelia knew what to do, the same adopted sister her husband had been fucking for God knows how long. Even the thought of his betrayal brought a bitter taste to her mouth, shot a piercing pain through her chest and made her want to scream her head off.Elena clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought to keep her compo
The Aristocrat Health Institute was one of the best private hospitals in the world.Not only was it the most prestigious, but not everyone could afford to pay its exorbitant fees. Despite this, many people high on the social ladder, including powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business tycoons, sought medical treatment here. The highly trained and experienced doctors and nurses working there were always ready to go the extra mile for their patients.The Aristocrat Health Institute was also owned by the Matthews and Sons Group.But ten years ago, Elena Matthews had left everything behind so she could prove her worth to her father.If her father’s words were to be believed, Elena was never going to get anything in the business anyway. Her brother was everything her father wanted: smart, obedient, and business-minded like their father. However, the one thing that set the father and son apart was the faith her brother had in Elena.Her brother, Josh Matthews, always had her back, no m
For hours, Elena sat next to her brother. She held his hand, whispered prayers and words of encouragement in his ear, anything to keep him with her. But nothing seemed to work. He was in a deep, seemingly endless, coma. When the doctors finally came in and asked her to step outside, she refused. “I’m not leaving,” she told them firmly. “But Madam—” “I said I’m not leaving.” The doctors shared a concerned look before turning back to her. “All right,” one of the doctors agreed. “But we’re going to have to run a few tests on him, so if you could please step outside the room for a bit, we’d appreciate it. And I’m not sure if someone informed you or not, but Mr Matthews' son has been shifted to the children’s ward. He might wake up soon, so maybe you should…check on him.” Elena swallowed, wiping her wet lashes. The doctors were right. She should check up on Caleb, now that he was out of the observation room. She could always come back to Josh later. Or maybe she should finally visi