His Devious Rule

At Nest Regency,

Carrying sleeping Zane in her arms, Anya looked at her villa covered in darkness. She voluntarily invited Liam, his wife, and their baby to the Oasis mansion but she didn't trust  Liam completely and she didn't know Lilian.

Liam might not be the bad guy but Casper had influenced Liam to send her away from the city. He made his judgment and didn't mention anything about her to Alvin.

She doesn't hold any grudge against him. However, what if Casper could manipulate Liam again?

What if everything that happened in the evening was just a small show to distract her and Alvin?

What if they had planned to capture Zane in the Oasis mansion, to threaten them to let go of Gianna?

Even if she was overthinking, Anya didn't want to take a chance by staying at the place where she didn't feel safe for her son. So she brought Zane to the place where Liam wouldn't be able to enter and Alvin won't bring them here.

She wasn't sure how much Alvin trusted Liam. She didn't want to create any problems between the brothers or cause misunderstandings. So she didn't voice anything to Alvin and dropped him a message.

"Momma…" Zane grabbed her dress and murmured in sleep when she tried to lie him down on the bed.

"Baby, Momma is right here." Gently coaxing him, she removed the extra layers of his clothes that would be uncomfortable to sleep. Then she cuddled him so that he could get comfortable on the bed.

The silence slowly drifted her mind to the day of events. 'Sharing!!?' Anya heard it countless times from a lot of people. They say she should share what she was going through, what was bugging her, and what she feels.

Is that so easy?

It wasn't easy for her. She was trying to share it with Alvin but there were a lot of things she couldn't voice to him. For instance; if she tells Alvin that she doesn't trust Liam, won't she be sowing suspicion among the brothers?

If Alvin trusts Liam despite her opinion, how will she feel about that? Won't she feel ignored by it?

She won't be able to trust Liam just because Alvin says. Will she have to pretend in front of Alvin as she trusts Liam?

She was still trying to learn about their relationship. She didn't want these differences to affect them. So she could only take it slow until the Matthews family won't be a threat to them.

Anya didn't realize when her exhaustion turned to drowsiness and dozed off. Shortly, she felt the mattress sink next to her and fingers graze over her cheek. A tender voice rebuked her, "Goofball."

Flipping on her back, her lashes fluttered open in drowsiness identifying the intruder. Amidst all the fiasco, she still couldn't believe she was married to the one she never dared to dream of. And he came all the way to the villa instead of resting in the insanely magnificent mansion. That undoubtedly put a silly smile on her face.

Alvin sighed softly watching her goofy smile, and drooping eyes, sleeping in her party dress. "You should have taken a bath, Little Donut."

He saw her lips move but no words reached his ears. Knowing she was exhausted, he rummaged through her wardrobe under dim light and grabbed a lounge dress hearing her murmur, "Alvin… Alvin…"

He chuckled looking at her hand in the air, waiting for him to hold her. Either she will be adorably cute or intolerably reserved.

Instead of holding her hand, he caught her fingers between his teeth and earned a punch. "Lazybones." He tugged her up to help her change.

Anya smiled sleepily leaning on his shoulder, being treated like a baby when he could have asked her to change or she could have just changed. "Do you know!?" Her slow, tired voice was quite clear.

Alvin hummed in response.

"Mom said sharing our feelings with our life partner is key to a happy relationship." Anya struggled to say between her yawns.

Alvin wasn't sure where this was going. Anyway, he tossed her heavy dress away and chided her, "Then why did you invite them if you don't trust them?" She should have told him. If she wanted to arrange a stay for them, he could have sent them to a hotel or some empty apartment.

Anya pouted, being scolded. She was talking about feelings. Anyway, she tried to complete what she was saying but her heavy eyelids refused to open.

"I think…" She murmured sleepily when he laid her on the bed, "I'm falling harder for you." And she drifted off to sleep without worry.

Alvin failed to catch her words and tucked her in the duvet.

—--------

Meanwhile at the Matthews Mansion,

There were a lot of times Secretary Harrison didn't like Casper's decisions. He was voicing his opinions if necessary or staying quiet. However, he was bewildered at Casper's actions and irritated by the calls once the rumors spread among the directors and shareholders of the Matthews Industries.

Harrison would have even accepted if Casper was picking a person of high caliber, suitable for the CEO position of a conglomerate. But Casper was blinded by rage and hurt pride.

To shun his sons, to show his dominance and his power over the people, Casper announced that he would pick one of the shareholders or their son for the position.

Harrison never heard such a ludicrous thing in his whole career.

How could he just watch when Casper was planning to damage his own company?

Considering Casper's anger, Harrison waited for Casper to grasp the situation and think it through but it didn't seem to happen. Finally, he lost his cool and placed his Ipad and office mobile on the desk.

Casper glowered at Harrison when the latter stopped carrying out the orders. He wouldn't be surprised if Harrison also goes against him like Liam. Crisis tests loyalty. So Casper clenched his teeth and glared at his secretary.

Harrison truly wanted to open Casper's mind but he didn't. Casper was enraged and he wasn't in the state to listen to anybody. So Harrison apologized without meaning it, "I'm sorry, Chairman Matthews for my incompetence due to lack of rest. I will resume my work in the morning."

He neither asked for permission nor waited for Casper's acknowledgment. He didn't bother even if he was going to offend the man.

Casper's eyes followed Harrison who left without a hint of hesitation or fear of him. 'Lack of rest?' He scoffed in his mind. They had worked together for more than two decades. There were times he and Harrison had worked long stretches while on business trips with just naps or food breaks.

Although he believed his secretary wouldn't divulge the company information, his anger caused him to instruct people to monitor Harrison.

On the other side Harrison, who drove his car to the exit, pressed on the brake looking at Steve Hanks at the gates of the mansion. Generally, he would have notified Casper or sent the visitors away.

However, Casper needs to understand the people he was going to hand over to his company. Rolling the window down, he instructed the security, "Let him go." Then he drove off.

Fuming mad, Steve Hanks drove into the estate. He was trembling in rage recalling his millions of cash turned into piles of ashes.

Storming inside the study room, Steve Hanks pledged to Casper, "I have to become the dean at any cost. I will do anything you say but I'm going to teach that wench a lesson." He was ready to make a deal with his enemy to make Anya suffer.

Casper crossed his legs and looked at Steve Hanks who was always against him and his decision in the shareholder meetings. If Steve Hanks was in his favor, most of the shareholders will blindly follow him. He snickered, confident to tackle Alvin and his plan.