“What are you talking about? How did he get in here?” Lake asked seriously, wiping her tears with the thumb of his hand, but Coco choked on more tears.Michelle came around and comforted her. Seeing her torn dress, she was enraged. “I sent him to prison, and the case was still in court,” Michelle added her voice. “Are you alright? He hit you again, didn’t he? And he wanted to force himself on you?”Pain registered in Michelle’s eyes, and she was about to call the cops when Coco spoke through tears.“He videoed our intimate moments and wants to send it viral.”Lake ground his teeth so hard, it almost cracked. No wonder Coco was behaving strangely.However, his concern at the moment was in saving her dignity. It would be unwise for him to allow something like that to trend. Lake did not even want to see the video and remembered that his hacker sent another hacker’s number to Ezrah and called his hacker, but the number did not go through, so he called Ezrah. “Can you send me the conta
“Release it.”Michelle’s fingers shivered on the keyboard, and Coco’s face drained of color. Only Lake trusted that Ezrah was up to something.Rush was shocked at the end of the line. Clearly, he did not expect such a response from him.“What?” Rush could not hide his confusion. Ezrah added more fuel to it.“What makes you think that I care for Coco? Michelle is fine, and that is all that matters to me. I’m not even the one who dealt with River.”If he showed that he cared for Coco, then Rush would use it to his advantage. Hence, he chose this style in dealing with the matter.Michelle wondered if it was right for Ezrah to handle it per Rush’s response.“Isn’t it that Lake guy? I’m releasing the video,” Rush said with determination. Ezrah spoke from his side of the line, his voice heavily loaded with a warning.“You have to know that he already saw it. Coco would still live a good life even if her image in the media is destroyed. She has a man who loves her to bits, but what about you
“Michelle?” Coco asked, but she shook her head. She did not want to be anywhere near Ezrah after embracing her newfound independence.“You guys can go. I have a few things to take care of, but you can bring me takeout.”She was working on her computer when Ezrah leaned against the edge of her desk, facing her.Knowing she was avoiding him, he was not willing to let it continue like that. He placed his hand on her keyboard, halting her movements as he spoke seriously.“For how long are you going to avoid me, Zora? If Lake and Coco get married one day, you won’t be able to avoid seeing me.”It was a sad truth Michelle had to swallow, but she also felt she was strong enough to overcome every obstacle alone.“I don’t care for you, Ezrah. I’m busy.”She wheeled her swivel chair slightly to the back to avoid any skin contact as Ezrah shook his head bitterly.“Lies. I see it in your eyes. If you claim to not love me, then why do you keep avoiding me? I won’t believe it’s because you are disgu
Knowing there was no way to avoid seeing him, Michelle spoke seriously.“Ezrah, the only thing that would make me happy is if you stay away from me forever. Don’t talk to me and don’t ever come close to me.”“You hate me that much?” Ezrah looked pained, but Michelle did not care. She was equally suffering emotionally.“You have no idea.”Ezrah had no idea how he even drove her back to her office. All he wanted was to make her happy, so if that was what she wanted, he had to respect it.Pulling over at her underground car park, Ezrah returned her earpiece to her.“Since you don’t want to see me again, I promise not to disturb your life anymore, but you have to forgive me for this.”“What?”Michelle asked, looking lost as Ezrah unbuckled his seat belt. His hand snaked around her head, and without permission, he pressed his lips against hers.Michelle was furious and out of breath, though the kiss was not deep. When Ezrah pulled away, a slap met his cheek.“I hate you,” Michelle said and
“Margo, what are you doing here?” Madison asked. Margo was full of smiles, dressed decently in a long designer pleated dress, looking stunning. She and Madison lived together in the new mansion she purchased for Sebastian.She even insisted that Madison drive one of the luxury cars to the office but had not informed the latter that she would be coming to her office.This made her intentions suspicious to Madison. Margo’s attention was only focused on Ezrah. The man was aging like fine wine, making her blush at the sight of him.“Margo?” Ezrah asked, still on the phone. “Ezrah, is Lake’s sister with you?”Madison had told Sebastian about Margo since the two had gone to purchase the house and car together. Margo surely had great taste, influencing everything Madison bought.When Madison thought the mansion and car were too expensive, Margo insisted they add another car since the house was too big and would look empty with just a single car. She had ended up feeling like she spent to
"Everything about Lake is now Coco. Please, Ezrah, just this once and I will be leaving for Hawaii after," Margo pleaded.There were some old friends turned models who were pursuing her after her return.She told them she was dating Ezrah, not expecting to be rejected by him.When it so happened, she intended to meet them with Ezrah, just to show off.After that, she would live permanently in Hawaii and whatever happened after would not concern her.Ezrah went quiet, and when she saw that his hand was reaching for his phone, she feared he was going to call Lake and added,"I have a guy who loves me, but the truth is, I've always had a crush on you since you saved me back then. Now that I know your heart still belongs to your ex-wife, I won't cause you trouble. I would accept the love knocking on my door, so what do you say?"Madison had heard Margo continuously reject someone on the phone but never took an interest to ask about it. It seemed to her that Margo was telling the truth.Ez
Ezrah did not want anything to hinder the progress of these projects and was not amused by Madison’s silence.“Be quick about it, and why have you not told me until now?”Madison pursed her lips before speaking again. “That is because you never wanted to take advantage of Michelle by using these projects.”“That’s not what I mean. The secret garden should still be ready nonetheless. When she left, there was no trace of her except for that diary.”Ezrah recalled how Michelle had slept on the couch downstairs that night, leading him to his insomnia and suddenly took an interest in her handbag.That was where he took the diary from and hid it.He was just trying to get something on her so that if she turned against the contract, he could use it against her, but he never thought he would see the things he saw.“I decided to fulfill everything in it for her soul to rest in peace. Who knew she was just in Los Angeles under a disguised name?” Ezrah’s lips stretched into a remorseful smile.G
Madison thought over her relationship with Lake. To her, it was pure friendship, and though she never wanted it to end, she never considered the possibility of marriage.“I honestly never saw him that way, and if that had happened, it would have ruined our relationship.”The corner of Ezrah’s lips curled up a little. It was just what he thought, and since Madison was picking on Sebastian’s personality, she was caught up in her own trap.“Then you never loved him as a boyfriend or considered him someone you should spend the rest of your life with. Why was that when he was so fun to be with?” Ezrah asked. Madison was dumbfounded.“I honestly don’t know.”Ezrah equally did not have an answer. If he knew the things about love even a little deeply, he would not have suffered the pain he was in now.“Matters of love are complicated. I’m no expert, and I’m still trying to crack the woman I love, so please get out of my office.”Ezrah was suddenly embittered and helpless. Thinking about Madi