"They have broken through the fence!", Robin cried out from behind . The air suddenly became tensed around everyone waiting to for the battle of their lives. While Ruth turned to Sean who kept his gaze at the last stronghold. "Sean, please let me and the kids go", "You know I can't do that. They'll kill you and take the boys away once you step out there", Sean said without looking at her and she was already crying and tried to wrench herself free from his grip but failed yet again for the third time to loosen herself from his grasp. "Let...us go back, Sean. I want to go back to my old life", "It's too late for that", "Then why didn't you tell me sooner? Why now?!", She screamed. "Because I didn't want you to lose that side of yours, yes, Ruth, that side of you being a CEO taking care of your late dad's business empire. He worked hard to build a life for you and I didn't want to you to give up everything just to be with me...", He replied searching for a response from her bewildered face and continued when he received none. "The way we were before things went bad was okay to me and I don't want to lose that side of me either", "What side, Sean? She questioned. "The side of me being the father of the children standing next to you and I may have lost the right to be chief but I don't want to lose you to them because this side of me is the only thing that matters to me right now", Those were the words of Sean and deep down, his words bore a hole in the center of her heart. Ruth knew that he was telling the truth that she had long been trying hard not to accept...
Owing to a great number of factors, Ruth's father had to retire early from the army and had to involve himself in some sort of trading which instilled in him a well driven muse and desire to migrate from the main city to the remote countryside of Ireland, seeking to establish some sort of business outlet that would fetch him some lucrative sources of material wealth and cash on which a whole part of peasants living there, mostly depended on.
Having settled there in 1996, he began life as an employee in some other local sawmill which already existed before he came to the town though not up to the equivalent standard to which he later built his own and subsequently found interest in enhancing his day job which wasn't sufficient to cater for his needs when he discovered the potentials and benefits of cutting wood for sale that he could richly gain profitably if he were to set up a running but he still held on to it tenaciously primarily because of his ambition to have a timber milling factory under his name despite having to put up with the boorish attitudes of those above his status including his boss.
He got married to a teacher living in the same town when he turned forty-five and had a nuclear family that had to put up with intrigues of other families living in the same neighborhood and a partially sustainable life in the rural areas, on which they struggle to live in since the town had low amenities and poor income from scanty firms, fully present in the town.
His meagre salary wasn't sufficient enough to cover for the needs of his two children as well as his wife until he suddenly got fortunate to strike a secret profitable deal with one of the most popular company in the main city primarily through the inside help of an old friend whom he knew to have gotten employed by the company some years before his retirement.
Afterwards, he didn't hesitate to quit his job and succeeded in establishing a more firmer mill which soon surpasses his former boss's wood factory fourteen years later after he left his work to pursue his dreams, in terms of producing and supplying quality timbers to enabling markets in the distant city where his valuable merchandise was often needed though not among the top ranked companies involved in the same line of trade but his woods was still recognized by many buyers to be durable and long lasting in construction works especially most of the houses situated at the central side of town, at the remote areas far off south from the seashore, that were roofed and partially built using the hard barks of his strong timber together with the use of concrete to build the house.
He used some of the funds which he got from his lucrative business to erect a fancy mansion on a hilltop which turned out to be a significant eyesaw of every single person living in the same town with the affluent fellow especially his workers that came visiting his luxurious manor each time to submit periodic reports of the day to day sales of his small but functional enterprise including those working in his crop plantations located twenty five miles far inland away from town but was somewhat a short distance away from the wooden signpost with the name of the town inscribed on it.
Before that, when his infant business was still yet to attain a greater level of expansion, quite a few locals in the poorly developed community who were finding it hard to provide for their basic needs, were given chance to generate some income to sustain their families members for the being but as time went progresses, his timber empire began to expand .
At first, his workers were satisfied with the way they were treated at their workplace and the wages they earned at the end of the each month for having paid on time which was suffice enough for them to cater for their families especially those working in his plantations despite the harsh climatic conditions they doggedly faced throughout the year when its the rainy season while his workers tending to the timbers at the sawmill under the profound supervision of Sean's father, didn't show any sign of insubordination with his managerial skills though partly discontented with the way he handled minor quarrels and brawls that frequently occurred amongst the poorly fed workers of the lower class secretly incited by his private bodyguards whose presence in his firm intimidated the workers whenever he paid a visit to see how his merchandise are being sold and how the operations are well handled by all the staff workers down to the least employee who does the menial job in his enterprise.
But as time went by, things slowly began to change between him and his workers whom himself as well as his bodyguards started to taunt with every little chance they get as a result of his hidden pride that started to manifest itself to everyone that comes in contact with him including his family members as his wealth grew larger though there were no complaints against his cruel management found amongst the workers since bulk of the profit gotten at the end of the month were shared at a sufficient amount to all the workers equally without any reduction in their salaries which made majority of his staff workers remained ignorant and endured his poor dictatorship in terms of prolonging the usual duration of their working hours into the night, and later adjusted it to the next day when they were supposed to resume after retiring to their abode to hibernate in their homes with their families who were getting frustrated with their frequent absence at home due to the late night working hours they frequently engage in without caring about the consequences of endlessly working throughout the week without rejuvenating their strength profoundly by resting their weary body though night shifts were set up to avoid the complete breakdown of human labour and machinery in his timber firm which would cost him dearly but it was no practical solution to the problem the workers faced every year.
Only the supervisors of his firm and those holding vital offices in his firm felt and notice the wrongdoings occurring in the enterprise which would affect the majority of workers in a sort of way that would worsen the ill conditions the workers face especially the assigned hours each workers were meant to perform their duties in the timber factory as well as the plantations and all these were secretly perpetrated by his bodyguards under his instructions as a way to enslave the workers and to reap the benefit in the end but they didn't act on it and remain silent since the workers never showed any serious sign of total discontentment.
Although some were not happy with the way things were, the workers kept to their duty even if it means staying out all night without the thought of going home the following day, working in his plantations each time the sun was at its summit and harvesting perishable crops whenever heavy downpour of rain occurs during the rainy season. For twenty years ever since he started his business, things slowly went bad to worse amongst his workers but no one was able to say anything about it, let alone come out in mass numbers to protest against the discreet mistreatment his thugs perpetrated at the expense of those working in his plantations and his mill including the men meant to supervise his two major sources of wealth since the economic conditions were favorable for the town and they were able to fend for themselves without relying too much on the meager earnings they received from him.
Two-faced and talented, Gabriela Adelaide is the lone surviving heiress to her father's prestigious royal wealth and living a rosy life of being a married bride with a man who happens to be her childhood crush but with sparks of ominous karma in her father's life and the discovery of her second face, her status is threatened and her relationship at the brink of being sabotaged by someone whose ties not only seeks to rob her off the man she had crushed on her entire life but the comfortable life she had enjoyed under the luxurious comfort of her father's royal roof. Will she defend what's hers and safeguard her relationship from being shattered or succumb to the cards of fate in favor of her twofold
Soon after a ghastly accident on the road to a distant prison on an island at Galapagos as a result of a mine bomb, eight survivors seeking freedom from the cops escaped the wreckage into the deserted plains and ended up stranded inside a jungle of dry woods near Arizona where their worst fears of escaping death fully came to alive when they encountered the unknown
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
"Miss Brown, I am the butler here at your service," the butler replied. "My master wants to buy the baby in your belly." "What?!" Does that mean the abortion didn't take place? Did they kidnap her from the operating table just to buy the baby? But why her? "You..." Alice was about to ask a question, but the man in front of her calmly continued, as if he had expected her question, "You're pregnant with his child, and he needs a child. That's all I can tell you." Alice was forced to sign a surrogacy contract and eight months later gave birth to two healthy babies. Fortunately, the man was unaware of her daughter's existence. It wasn't until five years later that fate brought them together again...
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"