chapter 10

"Mr. Mark I think you'll be late for your meeting or you might even lose your job, please my maid will see you off" Sophia had tried to ignore him but the man didn't look like he was planning to leave anytime soon so she wanted to send him away politely. But it seemed like Mark planned to stay. "There's nothing for us to worry about, I'm the boss, you must be wondering why I had to take the bus the day we met, it's a long story but I assure you I have a lot of cars, I'm the CEO of Master cooperation limited, I'm sure you've heard of that before and the handsome young CEO, Mark Abel, that's me, and please let me spend more time with you, you're my priority, your parents don't live here, so you might need someone to look after you, I'm willing to spend all my fortune if only you say yes Sophia, your enemies are now my enemies, just let me do everything for you, please." Mark persisted. Something then clicked in Sophia's head, this man was even richer than her parents, she needed resources to fight her enemies and Mark here had just offered himself as the sacrifice, " Mr. Mark please I need some time alone, if you're really serious, give me space to think" Sophia said with a small smile on her face. Mark nodded as he instantly got up and left feeling relieved, he didn't even wait for someone to come and open the door for him, Mark just went outside, looked around to make sure no one was watching him, and then planted a small unnoticeable camera in front of the house before hurrying out of the gate. Meanwhile, Jaden had already left the restaurant and was going back home, he drove past a large grocery store and though he didn't really need anything, he just decided to grab some snacks for his grandma, she loved them and he gave her a treat from time to time because they weren't too healthy for her. As soon as he stepped down from his car and entered the grocery store, he heard someone screaming at the front "Does anyone here know CPR?" Jaden had taken CPR classes some years back and still had an idea of how it went, he rushed to the front of the store and saw a woman dressed in red lying on the floor and another one by her side giving her chest compressions, Jaden's heart immediately sank once he saw the person who was unconscious, he had spent months looking for the love of his life and when he finally found her she looked as pale as dead, and was even more helpless than a baby, his eyes became moist and a single tear dropped from it as he wiped his eyes that were now watery, he was jolted back to his senses when he heard the woman on the floor speak " I can't do it anymore, I'm exhausted" Jaden quickly got down on his knees and took over, he wasn't even sure if it was working but he continued, "someone please call an ambulance" Jaden shouted out but the woman close to him said they had already done that, he continued giving her CPR for what seemed like eternity and finally the paramedics arrived and took over, Jaden didn't want to leave her side but they didn't allow him to go with them to the hospital, Layla's driver had just arrived and indicated that he was her family member, Jaden was exhausted and couldn't follow them even though he wanted to, so he gave up and walked out like a sleepwalker, as he passed by the door a woman fainted but he didn't even turn to check who it was, he just continued moving till he reached his car, he collapsed in his seat as he tried to calm down his shocked self, he had missed Layla again but this time around he wasn't even sure if she was gonna be okay, he couldn't help but worry about her situation, what happened, how could she be alone? and if he had helped her, his mind was in chaos and he wasn't getting any better sitting in that place so he just drove off to his house, hoping that he would find her again and this time, she would be strong and on her feet. Jaden still lived with his family and his mom had been pestering him to get a girlfriend, she had even paired him up with Sophia, he wasn't interested till the time he met Layla, he had excited told his mom that very day and they were eagerly waiting for the person who conquered Jaden's heart, but two months had passed and still there was no news of her, Jaden's mom, Angela and her grandma watched Jaden come back home everyday sad but today seemed worst he didn't even hug his mom or kiss his grandma, he just went up to his room and locked the door. He was already frustrated but she was the only one he wanted, he didn't come down for dinner and his mother brought his food to him but he didn't open it, he was just lost in thought and soon fell asleep. Jaden was having a beautiful dream of how he Finally met Layla again and it was now time for them to get married but suddenly Sophia came out of nowhere and tried to sabotage the wedding, she was with another man and she had a knife, she wanted to kill Layla with it, Jaden was really scared but no matter how hard he tried to save Layla, he couldn't his legs couldn't move, they felt too heavy and he tried to lift them to no avail, Sophia kept approaching and Layla didn't seem like she was trying to get away, Sophia finally reached her and raised the knife to kill her but Jaden shouted so loudly and suddenly woke up. His phone was ringing noisily, Jaden checked the caller but it was a strange number and he thought it might be Sophia again but, something made him pick up the call as he reasoned out that the call might be important and he just had to hang up if it was Sophia. "Hello, Mr. Jaden" Jaden heard someone speak as he finally answered the call, he felt like he had heard this voice from somewhere before but he just couldn't figure out where "Hello sir, good evening, please how may I help you?" "This is Vincent, Layla's brother" The moment Jaden realized who he was talking to, shock was an understatement, if he had anything in his mouth at this time he would have spat it out, this man was too scary even though he looked younger, "oh no what does he want?". Jaden thought. " I've been observing you for a while now, don't think it has gone past my notice that you've been asking around, about my sister for the past two months, what do you think you are doing? I will spare you this once because you saved her life but if you continue with the rubbish you've been doing, your mom and grandma will be sorry" Vincent said in a cold voice that made Jaden feel uneasy. " How is she, is she ok now?" Jaden couldn't help but ask even though he was scared "yes, and that's not your business, don't ever call this number again and don't waste your time looking for my sister, I will make sure you never find her and I won't hesitate to frustrate your miserable life if you try anything funny, go back to your stupid girlfriend" Vincent spoke more than he usually did and ended the call before Jaden could say anything.

"Vincent is that Jaden you were speaking with? I told you he is just a friend and isn't like the ones that betrayed me, brother he saved me. I can tell he's different, please stop interfering in my relationships, I understand you are cautious because of what happened the last time but please I'm a big girl, let me at least take care of myself, please" Layla said, it was obvious she had been eavesdropping on Vincent. "Look, dear sister, I'm not saying he's bad but I don't like him and he's been looking for you desperately, that can only mean one thing, he wants you to be more than a friend and I won't have that! That bastard doesn't deserve you." Vincent tried to reason with his sister even though he was boiling with anger inside, his little sister had never spoken to him like this before. " What you're saying isn't true Vincent and even if he likes me, what's wrong with that, let me be the one to decide who is good for me and who isn't," Layla said with obvious irritation in her voice before storming out. Any worker from multiple would have been shocked now if they saw how boldly Layla spoke to her brother, everyone saw how indifferent the cold charming CEO was they only heard it as rumors that he pampered his younger sister to the core and never raised his voice at her.