"Mum, leave Derek alone, i am sticking to him and never will get married to Wendell." His doubts about Brenda were suddenly erased, but he wondered why she put up the acts when she was still in love with him.

The arguments continued, and out of frustration, she mentioned her last word. "Mum, whether or not I'm not removing my baby, Derek is the father and he's obliged to know about it."

That was the last she said, Derek assumed she cut the call, he opened up and walked in. "Hey Brenda," he said softly, but she merely shot him a dead stare and walked past him.

Nevertheless, he followed tailing behind. "Brenda, I've got us good news."

She increased her pace towards the bedroom. "Darling, can you hold In a while, and we talk?"

"Derek, go get a job! Go get one!" She yelled out continuously till she reached the bedroom. 

She laid on the bed in annoyance and turned her face towards the wall. "Perhaps this isn't perfect timing," he said to himself. 

Derek went for a shower and laid on the same bed with her, allowing distance as he turned to face another edge of the bed. 

The silence that ensued between both of them was killing, Derek had a lot to talk about but Brenda insisted on living in her own shell.

She never liked the way her mom treated Derek, each time she did hurt him, it pained Brenda. 

However, the major means by which they survived was through her mum, she sent them little food per month and offered Brenda the lowest position in the Reid's group.

A whole daughter of the Reid, serving as a cleaner in her parent's company. How disgusting and degrading it was.

Brenda thought of several ways to free herself out of her mum's grasp, but all ways she thought of amounted to one thing. If they could feed without her help, and they were much more comfortable in the society.

Her pains were this, but she couldn't express it to anyone else but pass the aggression on Derek.

Early that morning, she had wanted to inform him about the pregnancy but before she returned he left unannounced, she had sent him a text hoping that he would call but all was futile.

Every passing minute, her blood was boiling hot to realize what devilish plan her mum had in mind towards her and Derek.

Just as she thought of that, Derek thought of their argument that morning, he remembered before she left, he had eaten nothing and was the same as she.

As a result, he broke the silence first. "Have you had anything for a meal today?"

For several seconds then in minutes, her responses were not forthcoming, he went over asking again. "Brenda, I don't know what I've done to hurt you badly but you know how much I…"

"I'm pregnant," she stopped him midway.

"Pregnant!" He spoke innocently. "That's good news for us…"

"No, it's not." Brenda added sharply. "We shouldn't have consummated our marriage in the first place knowing how much financially unstable we are." She bit her lips hard in regret.

"Do you regret it now!" Brenda was numb, really her whole life she would have shared her body with no one else but Derek.

Unable to give a response, she slides her eyes shut. "Good night Derek."

***

Derek did well to have a good night's rest, after passing through hell he ended the day with a very good story that changed his status overnight.

The next morning, Brenda was up first, hurriedly preparing to leave for work, and she tried all possible best to keep her movements discreet, she wasn't quite enough, Derek got to wake up from the squeaky sounds.

He rubbed his palm against his dreamy eyes after which he greeted Brenda. "Where are you off to so early?"

"There's a lot to do at the company today."

"May I know what it's about?" 

While she hurriedly dressed, she answered him. "The company isn't doing well lately, mum said Reid's group has to collaborate with Emerald, but Reid's is a small scale compared to the Emerald's. They wouldn't even look at us."

He played smart, probed further. "Has there never been a collaboration between the Reid's and the Emerald?"

For the first time in many days, Brenda laughed sarcastically and said. "The Reid's amount to nothing before the Emerald, we are not even worthy of scratching their tails not to talk of a collaboration."

Her voice fell as she added. "This is one of the reason's mom insists that I divorce you and get married to Wendell Walker, so we can build connections with them."

"I'm off, I'm running out of time already." She replied hurriedly.

"Hey, have you got something to eat?" He yelled, but she was out of sight.

Derek sank back into the bed, mumbled and said. "The Reid's had taken a part of the Emerald's fortune, converted it into theirs unknown to them it was just a piece of a hundred."

It was time for them to pay for their deeds one at a time, would Mrs. Reid ever have thought that he could be the owner of the Emerald group now.

Considering Brenda, she had been humiliated a lot just because she chose him over them. 

Derek said to himself. "Brenda, it's a matter of time, each of them will pay for their deeds and bow at your feet."

***

Derek rushed out to the Emerald group, he needed to meet with the Emerald's representative as arranged by Gage.

He alighted from a cab, took a minute to scrutinize the Emerald building. After taking a look that was worth while, he smiled within himself. "Now all of this becomes mine."

He dashed into the building, and while he tried heading for the elevators he bumped into a man.

"Hey, are you blind? Watch were you are heading?" Wendell yelled.

Derek lifted his head, dusted his body off, he was about leaving when Wendell pulled his shirt. "Hey, aren't you Derek? The loser who got married to Brenda?"

Derek was impatient to get to his destination, as such he remained quiet without a word. "Hey wouldn't you answer me?" He pulled Derek by the shirt with full force, causing Derek's frail shirt to tear at the behind.

Wendell scoffed mockingly. "See, you can even afford a reasonable cloth, it is such a shame to see someone as beautiful as Brenda married to you."

Throughout the talk, Derek refused to say a word but he was in a rage. Wendell however, moved closer and whispered. "It's either you leave Brenda peaceably or you get more of this embarrassment."

"I believe a company as big as this would never want to collaborate with a loser like you!" Derek spilled his first and final word.

Wendell's face flushed with anger. "Who do you refer to as a loser?"

Derek replied disdainfully. "You loser, what more can you do?"

"Damn you, stop right there, right now and right there!" Wendell yelled after Derek, he strode quickly till he caught up with him at the entrance of the elevator.

How lovely it would have been to throw into that face of Derek's two hot slaps, at least to realize the consequences that exist behind degrading somebody like him.

However, both of them were now within the building of the Emerald, and certainly they would have canera's all fixed everywhere. He was therefore worried that his partner would get infuriated at such harsh actions and what he came for wouldn't work, as such he dismissed the idea.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist together. "I would let you off the hook today, but another day would be entirely different."

Derek instead walked straight to the elevator, and with a smoke revealed on his lips he said. "Wendell Walker, you believe you really are powerful right! Then let's see who wins this…"

"You stenc…" he wanted to dash into the elevator and give Derek the beating of his life but he was wrong. The elevator closed at his very face.

Wendell's face flushed in red in a fit of rage, he stomped his feet on the ground severally, gritted his teeth and said. "I let you off the hook today, but I promise you, you wouldn't survive it next time."

***

Derek dashed towards the chairman"s office, after the elevator came to a halt at the top floor.

Gage had made all necessary arrangements for him to meet with the person in charge, each time he saw the tear in his shirt, he got enraged the more.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, he found the chairman's office. He had expected to see a man in so much splendour, but what he saw really amazed him.