Without delay, he transported her to her residence and deposited her directly outside. Once she had ventured inside, he captured an image of the apartment. "Mission accomplished," he declared gleefully within himself.
Arriving at his house, he discovered it was still early but the sound of footsteps and hushed voices seeped through his bedroom door. It sounded like heavy breathing and a phone conversation in progress. Unsure whether to barge inside or wait for an explanation, he opted to quietly listen in before informing his bodyguards - just so he could be sure of what awaited him on the other side of that door.
"I can no longer keep it a secret. Would you please stop contacting me?" Stephanie expressed. "You constantly call me, even though I'm getting married soon." Drake overheard the conversation from outside and was perplexed as to whom Stephanie could be referring to.
In a soft voice, "I miss you too. But as you know, there's nothing I can do."Stephanie said
Without heeding what was happening, Drake slammed the door open. He felt restless and bewildered about the situation at hand.
Stephanie was frightened as she thought her secret was about to be exposed. Stephanie said to the caller, "I will talk with you later."
"Whom are you speaking to?" he asked sternly, with possessiveness evident in his tone. She gazed downwards searching for the right words to respond.
"Stephanie, who do you miss? Did you suddenly become dumb?" He asked loudly.
"It's okay, don't worry. My younger cousin from Canada called and said he missed me. He has a habit of always asking for money though, so I'm hesitant to give in this time. I was trying to coax him with something else," she explained with a forced grin.
"Why do you not want to give him money?" Drake asked seeming convinced
"Because he will return for additional," she stated frankly.
"It shouldn't matter because your father is wealthy, so don't stress about your cousin requesting money," Drake stated. She stood there feeling speechless and uncertain of how to respond. "In any case, I'll transfer five hundred dollars for his maintenance. Please make sure he receives it," said Drake as he placed down his suitcase before sitting ."
With happiness, she expressed her gratitude by saying "Thank you so much."
"He chuckled and said, 'That's just a small gesture for my little inlaw.' Also, he added while removing his tie, 'By the way, ask him to get ready to welcome us because we've decided to spend our honeymoon in Canada.'"
"I dislike Canada!" She shouted.
He asked in surprise, "How can you hate a country to such an extent without even visiting it?"
She feigned a tear and lied, "Canada is not my favourite place. My aunt passed away there."
"Truly! I apologize deeply. It wasn't my intention to make you cry," he uttered as he comforted her with a soothing pat on the back and wiped away her tears.
"Okay, we will choose a different country," he said to reassure her.
Happily, she stated that she desires to enjoy the best of it without any painful memories.
"It is alright. You are my queen and I will do as you command," he said, gently stroking her gleaming forehead.
The decision was made to visit the garden.
Drake and his future wife found solace in the peacefulness of their garden, surrounded by a serene atmosphere as night fell. Above them, twinkling gems adorned the vast sky like an intricate piece of art. With fingers interlocked, they laid beside one another and started a journey into imagination - assigning names to each star that crossed their vision until exhaustion took hold and they drifted off sound asleep.
********
While working in his office a week later, he received a call from an unfamiliar number which instantly alerted him that it was the contracted hitman. Due to the soundproof building architecture of his workplace, he stood up before answering to ensure no one could overhear and made sure that the door was locked.
Drake's leg was shaking as he picked up the call and exclaimed, "No!" while fidgeting. He slumped back on his chair
"How could this have happened?" He asked himself severally.