THIRD PERSON'S pov. >>Norman's record label<< Mr Pedro entered his office, was surprised when he walked into Norman's record label and found everyone working seriously, every staff's focused on his or her job and there were weren't no side talks. This is something very rare, but he didn't read too much into it, and headed towards the elevator. The elevator ride was short, it soon stopped on his floor and he stepped out, then headed towards his office. A confused frown appeared on his face when he realized his office's door was open, he slowly and quietly pushed it open and entered, thinking a staff sneaked in and he was hoping to catch him or her red-handed. He quietly walked towards his table, but suddenly stopped on his tracks as his eyes landed on a man sitting on his (Mr Pedro's) chair, with his back facing Mr Pedro His eyeballs almost bulged out immediately he recognized the man, that's when he realized why the staffs were all working seriously. He dropped his briefcase by the table and cleared his throat quietly. "M-mr Liam"he called in a slight stutter. The chair swivelled around, a baldhead man, with overgrown beards and fat stomach glared at Mr Pedro "What brought you here, Mr Liam?" "Can't I come here?" Mr Pedro shook his head quickly, afraid that Mr Liam might have misunderstood his question. "I mean, you can always send for me if you wanted to see me urgently, you don't have to go through the stress of coming here to see me" he explained. Mr Liam reached for his phone and started scrolling through it. "Have you seen the news?" he asked Mr Pedro. "No, boss" This response earned Mr Pedro a very harsh glare, but he quickly looked down and avoided Mr Liam's eyes by all means. "Here" he threw his phone on the table. Mr Pedro reached for it, his frown deepened as he stared at the screen and he tilted his head in confusion, as if he's just seeing whatever he saw on the screen for the first time. "You don't know about that, do you?" He shook his head. "The news about Justin quitting Norman's record has spread rapidly immediately he posted it on his Instagram account, and you knew nothing about it? Is this how you manage him?!" "Calm down, Mr Liam" but Mr Liam's glare increased instead. "Justin did make mention of quitting yesterday, but I didn't know he's serious this time, because he's always saying he'd quit everytime there's a disagreement between us" Mr Liam got up, he rounded the table and snatched his phone from Mr Pedro. "Justin can't quit, get in touch with him and make him revoke his statement" "But Justin is very stubborn, I don't think he'll listen to me now that he's made up his mind" Mr Liam narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "Quitting is not an option for him, tell him to see me right away!" "Yes, sir" Without saying another word, Mr Liam walked out, leaving Mr Pedro to released a long sigh of relief. He quickly reached for his phone and started typing away. ♣♣♣♣♣ Steffany's pov. >>Bieber's Mansion<< "Hold your horses, I'll be with you shortly, I'm trying to catch a cab" I lied smoothly. I'm currently on the phone with Divya and she's talking off my ear, she has been calling my phone non-stop since I was taking my bath, and I know she wouldn't stop calling if I don't lie to her -hehehehe. "You're lying" oops! She saw through my lie. "I'm not" I replied seriously, hoping she'd believe me. "Then why can't I hear cars honking?" "Uh...." I trailed off as I thought of what lie to tell now. I checked out myself one last time in the mirror, snatched my small handbag off my dresser and dashed out of our room, then rushed down the stairs. But my steps faltered when I overheard Justin's words. "He said quitting is not an option for me?!" he asked someone, his phone was pressed against his ear and I knew at once he's on call. His shoulders were tensed, and could tell from his stance that he's angry at someone. What is he quitting? And why can't he quit? "I don't care if he's the big boss or whoever he is, he's not the boss of me!" My eyebrows furrowed slightly. Big boss? Who's Justinn's big boss? Why did he made it sound as if he's involved in some kind of illegal stuff? "... are much, is she even listening to me?" Divya screamed loudly, making me wince. "Yeah, I gotta go" I whispered to her and quickly hanged up before she could say anything else. Justin's back's facing me, hence he wasn't aware of my presence. I walked down the stairs quietly to hear more of his conversation. "No matter how dangerous it is without his protection, I'm not coming back and..." "Mrs Bieber!" His assistant called loudly immediately he raised his head and saw me. I angrily narrowed my eyes at him, because I know he doesn't want Justin to say whatever he wanna say and that's why he called me so loudly, to notify Justin of my presence. "M-my Queen, you're ready for work?" he asked with a wide grin as he turned around to face me. "Hm" I hummed in reply, staring at both him and his assistant suspiciously. A proud smirk appeared on his face as he checked out my body, lust was playing around his blue iris as his eyes trailed down my body and I saw him gulp. "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought my wife has secretly signed a contract and turned into a model overnight" he said and chuckled lightly, he walked closer to me. "Or would you consider signing a contract with my company?" he asked, referring to his personal company. "No, thanks" I rejected his offer. "There will be a lot of benefits for you, one of them being the boss's wife and nobody can boss you around, you can also..." "Thanks, but no thanks, Mr Bieber" I cut him off. He laughed and shook his head at my response, he shoved his phone in his pocket, rushed towards me and helped me down the stairs. "I'm off to work" I said and made to head towards the door, but he stopped me. "Wait, I'll drop you off" he offered. I glanced at his assistant who's now focused on his phone, I know he's just pretending to be busy with his phone, or maybe he's really busy -I can't be so sure. "Don't worry about me, i can go by cab and besides, you must have a lot of things to do at work" I said, I was indirectly referring to the phone call he received few seconds ago. He stayed silent for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Fine, I'll pick you up after work" "No, I.... " "I wanna take you somewhere" he interrupted me. I raised an eyebrow at him. "And why would I go anywhere with you? Aren't you afraid the paparazzi will spot us and start spreading rumors? Isn't gonna have a bad effect on your career?" He sighed and rolled his eyeballs. "To hell with the paparazzi, just come with me" he paused. "I wanna tell you something very important and it's something you must know" "Something I must know?" "Yeah, it's about me" he replied. Huh? It's about him? Does that mean he's finally ready to tell me about his past? "Yeah, it's high time I told you" he said. "Did I say that aloud?" He nodded with a small smile and I slapped my hands over my mouth. "Oh" He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to himself, then planted a lingering kiss on my forehead. "You really don't want me to drop you off?" he asked once more. "Nope" I replied, popping the p. I wiggled out of his grip and dashed out the door. ♣♣♣♣♣ THIRD PERSON'S pov. >>Ken's Mansion<< Ken smiled as he reached for a tissue paper and wiped his mouth,Pamela started clearing up the table immediately he finished eating. "You outdid yourself on this" he commented on the food. "Yeah, I told you I'll show a better version of me this time" she replied. Ken's eyes landed on her scalded hand and injured fingers, he grabbed her hand and studied her fingers with a frown, then realized she sustained the injuries from cuts. "You hurt yourself" he said. Pamela quickly withdrew her hand from his and chuckled lightly. "It's nothing" "You're... you're just starting to learn how to cook, aren't you?" he asked. "Yes, but I'll get there" she paused. "Nothing good in life comes easy, we've gotta work and fight for everything we want" Ken's frown deepened, he stared strangely at his fiancee as if he's just seeing her for the first time. "Are you still Pamela?" he asked and she nodded. "My fiancee, Pamela?" she nodded again. She smiled at Ken's surprised expression, she rounded the table and hugged him from behind, with her chin rested on his head. "I know my change is kinda abrupt, but trust me, I'm not faking it and I swear, I'm gonna become the woman of your dreams" "But you don't really to... " "Shh" she cut him off. "I've made up my mind and you can't change my decision" Ken was rendered speechless, he simply nodded with his mouth slightly open because that's all he could do at the moment. "Right, I'm thinking about starting a business and you're gonna help me make a plan after work, yeah?" "Uh... " "Don't say no, please" Ken sighed, he smiled to himself and nodded. "Fine, I'll help you" "Thanks, baby" she kissed his head. "I'll quickly do the dishes and see you off to work" then she carried as much plates as she could and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll help" Ken said, he carried the remaining plates and followed her. ♣♣♣♣♣ Steffany'S pov. "I swear I'll break your legs if you dare lie to me again!" Divya snapped angrily and impatiently. I almost laugh out loud as I tried to imagine her angry face, she'd look so funny by now and I know she's so gonna kill me later. "And why isn't she saying anything?" she asked. "I swear on my life this time, Divy, I'm really in a cab but we're stuck in traffic" I told her. I tilted my head and tried to see what's happening upfront, but couldn't see anything. As if God wanted to bear witness for me, some cars started honking and drivers were impatiently barking at someone at the front. "Fuçking maneuver your way outta there this instant, the cafe is fully packed and I can't attend to everyone alone" she sighed dramatically loud. "In fact, I can hardly breathe right now" "What?!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Try your best to keep them all there, I'll find a way out of this traffic right now -we can't let so much money pass us by" She scoffed. "All she bloody cares about is the fuçking money and not my mental state" I rolled my eyeballs. "Of course, all I care about is the money, your mental state can't fuçking cloth or feed me" I laughed. "Whatever, just get your @ss here in time" she paused. "I'll be with you in a minute, ma'am" I guess she said that to a customer. "And try employing some staffs!" she snapped at me before hanging up. I checked the time on my phone and my eyes grew wide, now I understand why Divya's down on my throat, it's already 8:30am! "Excuse me, sir, may I know what's causing the traffic?" I asked the cab driver. "Oh, there's a mad woman laying on the road and wouldn't move away" he answered. A mad woman? Did she escape from a psychiatric hospital? She must have escaped when the nurse assigned to her wasn't paying attention. "Is there another route you can take?" I asked him. "Yes, but unfortunately it's too late to take a detour" he answered looking at his rearview mirror. I turned and understood why he said it's too late to take a detour, cars were already parked behind us and on both sides too. "I'll check the situation upfront, maybe I can try reasoning with her" The driver turned and gave me a confused look. "You wanna reason with a mad woman?" he asked. "I.. I mean.. I can try" I laughed at my own words. How do I even start reasoning with her? It doesn't even sound right. "Hm" the driver simply hummed and faced his front. I pushed the door open and stepped out, then rushed to the front. The mad woman laid on the road, she wore a pink hospital gown and her hair was all over the place -though it doesn't look dirty or unkempt. She was shouting, but her words weren't clear. Everyone around were just giving her disgusting looks, some were even abusing her and a guy was kicking her randomly and barking at her to move away from the road. Why is no one calling the cops in situations like this? I listened closely and caught a few words, my eyebrows furrowed as I recognized her voice and I tensed. Could it be my ears aren't working fine? "Nanny Grace?" I whispered, but it was loud enough for the mad woman to hear. She stopped shouting, she turned towards my direction and my jaw dropped as shock swallowed the whole lot of me. Nanny Grace squinted her eyes as if she's trying to recall where she's seen me. Of course she wouldn't recollect my face since I've changed a lot throughout the years, but how did she ended up in this state? Isn't she supposed to be dead in that earthquake? How is this possible? And where has she been all these years? "Hey, stop hitting her, I know her!" I shouted at the guy who was kicking her, and angrily pushed him off her, then threw him a malicious glare. I squatted to her level and smiled at her, but she didn't smile back, she was just staring blankly at me. "Nanny Grace, it's me, Steffany Daniels" I introduced myself. She tilted her head as she continued staring at my face strangely. "If you know her then take her with you" "Yeah, get out of the road and stop causing traffic" "Everyone's busy and some of us are even getting late" I rolled my eyes at their complaints, as if I'm not busy too or have somewhere to be too. There are no good Samaritans in this world any more. "You must be hungry, nanny Grace" she nodded. "Come with me and I'll give you delicious food, ok?" I told her slowly which she nodded at. I got up and helped her up, then brought her back to the cab with the help of my cab driver. "Thank you" I thanked the driver and got into the cab. Within seconds, the heavy traffic was gone as every driver started driving off. Our cab driver also drove off too. ♣♣♣♣♣ THIRD PERSON'S pov. >>An unnamed organization<< A man dressed in white t-shirt and black pants stood by a white board, photos were pasted on the board and some were marked with red markers. He smirked as his eyes landed on a particular photo, he reached forward and pulled it. "Boss" a young man called as he rushed into the office. He didn't respond, but the young man stated his reason for barging in anyway. "Boss, that old woman's escaped" He (the boss) pinned the photo back on the board and walked towards an office chair, then sat down. "I've sent men to find her before Justin gets her first" He shook his head. "Don't worry about her, she's mentally deranged and can't even remember her name" his smirk grew bigger. "Justin can't get any useful information from her even if he gets her first" "So should we... " "Carry on with your work" he waved the young man off, then threw his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.