65

Ace's POV:

I pulled the front door open and walked back inside my apartment, allowing her to usher herself in since she prolly knew her ways around.

"Is there any reason why you're in London Mom?" I asked, sipping slowly on the cup of orange juice in my hand.

She sat down on the couch, dropping her birkin bag on the coffee table and elegantly removed her sunglass from her eyes.

Elegantly.

That is the definition of everything Veronica Hampton does.

Nothing comes as a surprise to her.

Everything she does has always been elegantly and calculative.

I feel like something ain't right.

I'm sure that she's not here just because Chelsey called her about our supposed marriage that she wants to happen soon.

She doesn't like coming to London.

It reminds her too much of him.

The man she took for granted.

The man she ignored until he was snatched away from her.

It reminds her of the day she lost her husband.

But it is also the place that holds the only person she can't wait to destroy.

Catherine Meyers.

Mother might have been open to not do anything to her, I still have the feeling that she hasn't given up yet and won't waste any slight opportunity to end Catherine and her family once and for all. Which piqued the burning question inside my mouth yet again.

"Why are you here in London, Mother?"

"Be a darling and offer me a drink will you? Seen that you paid more than 3 million pounds for this penthouse, there should be drinks inside it."

I groaned throatily.

I wasn't happy that she came and I didn't bother to hide my displeasure either.

I walked inside the kitchen, opened the fridge and brought out a bottle of champagne with a glass cup.

Nothing lesser than champagne will be tolerated.

I uncorked the champagne and pour some wine inside the glass cup before setting it down on a small coffee table beside the couch and sat down opposite her.

"You have your wine, what brings you to London, Mother. You're not really a fan of this particular place." I pointed out.

She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip and sighed.

"What is more fun than conquering companies here and there?" She said and chuckled. "I just happened to hear about a very juicy opportunity that I couldn't miss."

Juicy opportunity?

Whatever it is wasn't good.

I didn't want to know the details but I had to.

Whatever brought Veronica Hampton to London after more than a decade must be really interesting indeed.

"What is going on Mom?" I carefully asked.

"Catherine Meyers and her mother are in trouble, what harm would it cause me to help them out of their misery? Absolutely none. So here I am, trying to help them." She explained.

The only help is to destroy them even more.

What is going on with Catherine?

Ever since that day at the airport when Anitra kisses the crown of her head I have tried as much as I could to stop checking for her.

Though Talia doesn't miss the opportunity to tell me that Catherine is doing great in Harvard. Trying to get a reaction off me.

"Is Catherine and her Mom in trouble?"

Mom stood up from the couch and grabbed her handbag, her eyes slanted to me and she smiled. One if the rare times you'll see a genuine smile on Veronica Hampton's face.

"Concentrate more on your relationship with Chelsey Black, I let you make a decision to end it with Kisa Queens but I won't let you off on this one. The Meyers girl is not your problem." She said and started walking away from me. "I'll be visiting the Queen tomorrow. You might want to come along with Chelsey...... Only if you want."

And then she was out.

I can't believe this woman.

What is going on with Catherine?

My mind went back to when I saw her at the parking lot.

She was crying but I was such a jerk to even ask her what the problem was.

She was not good to me.

She didn't try to even make our relationship work.

But I should have been the bigger person and still ask what the problem was.

Because I wish the best for her, and the best is definitely not Anitra Steele.

I brought out my phone from my pants pocket and goggle Meyers Enterprise.

Her family company.

Merde.

How the hell did her mother take all that loan without any possible way of paying back?

What sort of bitch move is that?

And then there is her uncle.

Catherine has a lot on her plate. So much fucking lot.

She must be going through a lot right now. Poor thing.

Mom doesn't like the Meyers.

She still hold grudges against Catherine for what happened to Dad. She wouldn't miss the opportunity to see the family suffer. And now the family is in trouble with a huge possibility of losing their only hope; the company.

Mom's plan must be to buy the company. Strip the Meyers of the company and pay the bank loan.

I shook my head and sat down on the couch, my eyes still going through the business insider article that I was reading.

This is all shade of fucked up.

How are they going to survive this?

With Mom interested?

I closed the goggle page and brushed my palm down the side of my face.

It was too much.

Everything happening was too much.

That was why she cried.

Everything was turning into ashes before her presence and there was nothing she could do about it.

Absolutely nothing.

I scroll through my phone contacts and stopped when I saw the name on my phone screen.

I clicked on the number and pressed the phone against my ear.

"Hampton." The rough edge of the voice slice through the quiet space of my living room. Echoing loud and clear.

I must have woke him up.

"Uncle Scott."