CHAPTER NINE

" Hey! That's mine. I picked it first.!!" She shouted in despair. 

"I didn't collect it from you. I met it among the displayed goods and since I'm a customer, I have a right to choose what I want. " He replied her coldly. 

Mina was so angry she almost vomitted blood. She stretched out her hand and made to grab the figurine out of his hand. He was slow in reacting and she was able to grab one end of it. 

They began to tug it towards each other with both of them arguing and claiming their rights over it. 

Chris didn't bother about her and turned to the seller and asked the price for the figurine.

"Oh. That's sixty dollars and it's the last one remaining." He replied to Chris. 

Mina was too busy fighting for her rights over the figurine to bother with the crooked seller. When she arrived earlier, she had seen a makeshift shelf behind him filled with the same figurines but now, he claimed that was the only one remaining because he had seen she and Chris fighting over it. 

She looked over and saw that he had covered the shelf with a tarpaulin sheet. 

Secondly, he had told her initially that it was sold for thirty dollars but now, he had doubled the amount. 

She didn't bother about calling him out over his crookedness because doing so would mean she had to concede the very one she had picked first to Chris and she didn't want that. 

She wanted the very figurine she had fallen in love with. If Chris wanted the same thing, he had to also select his own figurine. 

"Okay guys. Let's do it this way. Why not put this on the table and try to get your money out. Whoever gets out his or her money would go home with it." The seller suggested for fear that it would crack into two places and he would end up losing the money meant for it. 

The arrangement seem fair to both Chris and Mina and they instantly began a mad rush to retrieve their money. Mina confidently unzipped a side compartment in her bag and sipped her hand into it with the intent of taking out her wallet but she came up with air. 

She furrowed her brows and searched the compartment but it was empty. She left that portion of the bag and opened the main compartment while searching frantically for her wallet but her search yielded no result. 

She could hear Chris behind her as he paid for the artefact and the seller wrapping it up for him. He looked down at her from his lofty position and smiled smugly while displaying the figurine he had acquired proudly. 

"I thought you had enough money to buy off this store. So what happened?" He asked her while laughing. He stopped when he saw the dejected look on her face. 

"What's Don't tell me your bag has been picked? Oh, that's pretty bad for a country bumpkin like you." He told her and took off. He had seen his friends on the other side of the road and they all had to head home. 

For Mina, the loss of her wallet meant she wouldn't be able to get home that night. She was now tired, weary, hungry and without hope of a place to stay. 

A quick glance at the sky told her the day was fast going down. She had lost her only hope of getting home that night. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of how much she desired to come to New York without proper authorization. 

Bending down wearily, she picked up her bag and began to head back the way she had come. A lot of depressing thoughts filled her head and she had no where to turn to.

Suddenly,she felt sick of everything and all she wanted at that moment was to lie down beside the road and start crying. She walked on ahead until she got to a busstop and decided to rest her weary body. 

Roger drove on until he left the interstate highway and connected to the road leading to the suburbs of the city. He got to an exit point on the right side of the road and drove into it. 

Several other cars also followed his lead and he only smiled. He knew the road lead to the elite suburban areas and was well developed inspite of if being on the outskirts of the city. 

He drove till he got to where he was headed. He approached the gate and opened it with the aid of a remote control. The gate opened in the middle and allowed him enter before closing back. 

He drove the car to the assigned garage and parked it well. He got down from the car and took his sweet time to assess the compound. 

Although the house was a mansion, it wasn't as grand or as big as the Park's residence but he did his best to make it look beautiful. 

The entire compound was well laid out with well mowed lush green grass. The pathways were laid with brick interlocking tiles and were well proportioned to create a beautiful road network. 

The entire compound was fenced round with flowers which created an hedge around it. There was also a netted iron fence that ran along the breadth and length of the compound so that trespassers wouldn't stray into it. 

A gazebo could be seen beyond the building, in the far back corner of the perimeter fence. Lamp posts were scattered here and there to give proper illumination at night. 

Roger could see the two live in gardeners working on the hedge that ran along the back part of the compound. He watched as their shears and hands worked in unison. 

"It's beautiful right? I always find myself attracted to this place." A singsong voice spoke behind him. He was about to turn around and face her when he saw her arms encompass him in a hug from behind. 

He stood still as she placed her head against his broad back. He wanted to push her away but relented. He didn't have to be that callous, after all her father was still very useful to him. 

"How are you feeling? I was told that your father passed away this afternoon." She told him in a gentle voice. 

Roger was reminded of his pain. No matter how he felt or denied it, it was still there. It's very existence was staring him right in the face. This reminded him that he needed to announce his father's death. 

He dipped his hands into his pocket and brought out his phone. He dialled the number he had dialled earlier and as before, Hales didn't wait for it to ring before he picked up the call. 

"Inform the media team to announce father's death." He said simply and ended the call. 

His mind flashed back to what had happened earlier in the day and he felt the anger rise within him. He pried Nicole's hands away from him and stalked into the house. 

Nicole didn't follow him. Instead, she allowed him to go into the house before bringing out her phone and rang up her father. 

"Hello dad. What happened today?" She asked as soon as her father's baritone voice sounded on the other side of the line. 

"A lot happened. Chairman Park died and pleaded with Roger with his last breath to make sure he assists Chris in taking over the company. 

I don't know what happened after he got home but he called me about an hour ago and told me to look for the secret note his father left before Chris would get to it." Hales examined to his daughter who only nodded in response. 

"Alright dad. I just want to take his suffering away. He has suffered too much and I wish to do all in my power in order to help him." She told her father. 

"You can't do anything out of the box for now. You can only do what you've been doing to soothe him. Do you hear me? Let me take care of every grave matters for him while you find a way of consolidating your position as his fianc茅e." 

Hales warned his daughter who agreed with him. 

After her call, Nicole headed into the house and saw Roger where he was sprawled out on a two seater settee. She went to him and lifted his head to rest on her thighs. After stroking his hair like a kid, she lowered her head and kissed him passionately on the lips. 

That was all the prompting Roger needed. He seized control from her and dominated her lips. He brought her closer and made her submit herself vto his will. 

Like a beast, he devoured her ravenously.

When he was dated, he emptied all of the rage and anger he had been dealing with into her.