Nasty things mostly happen to those who do not mind their business.And Adrian had a place to be too.Yet he could not just ignore that trembling voice.Mocking laughter echoed as Adrian silently moved closer.“Who you are? A dead man. That is what you will be if you don't give us what we ask for!” another man shouted.Adrian could see them clearly now. There were two of them.Thugs, from the look of them. One had a club in his hand, while the other held a knife.The one with the knife had it raised as he approached the old man, who tried to move back towards the dead-end alley.He tripped over something and fell hard to the ground. The men laughed as the old man groaned in pain.“Ready to cooperate now, or should I gut you like a fish first?”Taking those maniacs on with his wounded body would be a suicide mission, and Adrian knew it.He moved back from the mouth of the alley as he raised his voice loud enough for them to hear. He took his phone out.“Hello, is that the police? Yes,

“Please, let me have your number, and here is my card too. We need to talk soon.” The lawyer told Adrian before leaving as well.Still reeling from the unexpected event, guilt stabbed into Adrian's chest when he realised he only had a few minutes before the visiting period ended.He held the now-lukewarm food and ran towards her wing, earning disapproving looks from the nurses and others.He patted the hand cream in his pocket. Though it had burst during the beating, there was still enough in the tube to be used.The nurses knew him, so they didn't bat an eye as he headed to her door.He knew he had to be fast, though, or someone would come to send him out soon.Two years. It's been two years since she had slipped into a coma from an incident no one would admit was Daniel's fault.Two years that Adrian had committed to caring for her and staying by her side while others had seen it as a waste of time.The doctors had said having relatives around who could talk to them and bring famili

Sitting stiffly in the living room with a business brochure in his hands, an austere-faced man with the same jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes as Adrian looked up as they entered.Fit for his age and a force to reckon with in the business world, Richard Cross was the picture of domineering as he watched them approach.“Honey, I am home,” Patricia said excitedly, in a way that showed she had been very immune to his coldness in the past or maybe just good at pretending.His gaze flickered to her as he responded, “Oh, welcome.”“Couldn't you have come to the hospital to pick me up? I have been gone for two years after all. Don't you miss me?” Patricia pouted in a way that was very unbecoming of a fifty-two-year-old woman.Adrian was beginning to wonder if the coma had done more damage than the doctor had noticed.Richard probably thought so too, as he gave Patricia a long look.Face still expressionless, he clicked his fingers and one of the staff who were always silently around appr

Richard's forbidding look followed Adrian as the latter left.Getting what he wanted was second nature to him, yet bitterness mingled with that satisfaction.He hated it.He hated how much he could see himself in the boy.Adrian was the result of the mistake of his youth, and God had decided to punish him by stamping his own look right on him.Adrian looked younger. Not even Daniel took after him that much in looks and temperament.Yet Daniel was the son he owed.One night of weakness had brought Patricia and Adrian into his life.He had broken Annabel's heart and he did not even get to make her see reason before she passed away.Yet he could not do away with Adrian.Apart from Patricia's devotion, Adrian had caught Charles’ attention when he was ten years old.Adrian had been up to one of his shenanigans at his old friend's birthday back then.He beat his friend at arrow-pot throwing.When Richard would have punished him for stepping out of line at an event he had sneaked into in the

The maid looked guiltily at Patricia and back at Adrian. Had he not always taken everything they were ordered to do to him quietly? When had he suddenly changed? She wondered as Adrian turned to leave. “Stop right there! How dare you leave when I am not done talking? I want my tea. Go and make it for me right now!” Adrian stopped, his tone cold and gaze unwavering as he looked at her. He responded, “I will not be doing that for you anymore. In fact, I will be gone soon enough. It is better to get used to the maids doing it. I am done.” The truth was, one of the maids had tried to be helpful that morning when Adrian had not gone to the kitchen to prepare Patricia's tea as usual. Patricia grimaced as she remembered the taste. It had tasted horrible. The foam was not right. The texture was flat and the taste was not the same. “Adrian has a special way of brewing your tea, ma’am. The water was always at a certain degree, and we could never get the whisking just right the way he do