Finally, the big day that Michelle had awaited all her life arrived. The artists who were arranged for making her the most beautiful bride of the century arrived. She slowly changed into the wedding gown and sat down for the make-up artists to weave their magic. But her mind didn’t have the excitement of fulfilment of a dream but rather the dull ache of killing the last remnant of her soul that dared to dream of true love. She knew that with this step, she would forever deny herself that little bit of self-respect she had and felt helpless inwardly. Daniel wasn’t in any better state. He truly did not want to go ahead with today despite the shame it would bring considering it was truly the eleventh hour. In all honesty, he expected Emile to call him in a panic and beg him not to go ahead with the wedding. Cancelling the wedding for her was going to be his biggest act of redemption and indulgence for her but the call never came. Instead, he did receive gifts with blessings from both t

Daniel could guess what the rest of the folders contained, he didn’t know why but he couldn’t stop himself from clicking on them, once again in the chronological order of their name. The next folder contained two videos but both of them were a short file. Daniel clicked on it wondering what could be contained in a 5 min long video. The first one was the video of a meeting between Grandpa Holston and Michelle at a café near the old house. Michelle had arrived early and could be seen to talking to a staff at the counter and giving him a small packet of white powder and a wad of bank notes. Shortly after Grandpa Holston arrived. “Hello Grandpa Holston” Michelle had a very appropriate smile as she stood up to greet him. “Call me Senior Mr Holston. We are not familiar.” Grandpa Holston didn’t have his usual amiable aura but rather the majestic aura of when he ruled the Holson industries single-handedly. “Senior Mr Holston.” Michelle quickly changed her words, her smile only tightened fo

Daniel walked straight to the south wing where Michelle was getting ready. The house was slowly getting filled with friends and distant relatives who had come to bless the happy occasion. The south wing was the noisiest with all of Michelle’s acquaintances and friends joining in on the fun. Daniel reached the south wing but was denied access to the bride’s room. It was bad luck for the bride and groom to meet before the wedding. The bridesmaids teased and refused to give him access before one of them responded politely “Mr Holston, Michelle is in the middle of getting ready. It won’t be appropriate for you to go in now.” “SCRAM” Daniel roared without giving anyone any face; his temper was on the verge of exploding. Not only was he not in the mood for festivities but the happy vibes were like blatant taunts lashing out at him, mocking him for his stupidity and gullibility. The bridesmaids looked at each other in horror before opening a path for Daniel to enter; once Daniel passed thr

Michelle knew that her past had caught up and all her schemes had been laid bare before Daniel and there was no future for them. She could see it in his eyes when he was questioning her. She knew how vengeful Daniel was and didn't want to stay and be at the receiving end of Daniel's anger. She had seen how brutally he treated Emile whom he loved; she didn't need to be a genius to guess what her fate would be if she stayed. She took all the jewellery that Daniel had given her on various occasions and left the house while everyone was in chaos from the news. She didn’t forget to take away the property certificates that she had tricked Daniel into putting in her name. Just because she ran away in the middle of chaos, don’t underestimate Michelle’s tenacity and presence of mind. Even if she ran away in a panic, she didn’t forget to pack away all her expensive luxury items, her designer bags, dresses and shoes, in short anything of value that could be exchanged for money that she had bough

“What wrong?” Chris asked once they got on the car on their way back home after settling all the affected kids in hospital. “Treasures, can you tell godfather what happened?” Neil ignored Chris’s question and turned to Chris Jnr and Emm. He knew Chris’s parenting methods, but he didn’t agree; his treasures had to be protected from the world of schemes. “Godfather, you don’t have to change the topic.” Chris Jnr spoke in a serious tone like a little adult; his sitting posture and mannerisms were an exact carbon copy of Chris. Neil stared at him in amazement 'how could the two who were not related by blood be so similar? Can nurturing have the same weight as being biological?’ “Godfather, I will tell you everything that happened in detail.” Chris Jnr continued in a serious tone “But you have to answer my father’s question first. Ignoring my father is disrespecting him. I cannot allow that even if you are my godfather.” “Whhhaaaa…..” Neil opened his eyes wide and pointed between father