He stopped and faced the driver to ask, "And my father?" his brows rose.

The man's expression saddens as he lowered his head.

"Your father is ill and the young mistress has been wis.h.i.+ng for you to come back."

"Hmm…" without delay, he went inside the backseat of the car.

When he reached their home, he felt wistful. The mansion did not fade its glory ever since he left. But gloominess envelopes its surroundings, there's no liveliness that once existed in this house.

He released a breathy sigh before coming out from the car. He has no plan in coming back here, but upon hearing the state of his father who…

"My son...! you're here at last!" a shriek of joy echoed inside the house.

He saw an old but elegant woman standing in the middle of the ma.s.sive staircase in the motion of running towards him. He smiled, but his smile did not reach his eyes.

"Mother…" the woman is in tears upon nearing him and hugged him tightly.

"Sheldon… welcome back! I wouldn't know that you're here if my informant hasn't reported to me. How are you, son?" the woman wiped her tears and stared at him waiting for him to say something or give back to her affection.

However, Sheldon did not respond but stared blankly at her. He felt uneasy being in that house as it reminds him of his painful past. He wanted wanted to see his father who disowned him. He wanted to see

how pathetic he is now after all these years.

"So, are you now officially back, prodigal brother?" Sheldon looked back and saw his brother Simon standing at the door of the mansion with arms crossed over his chest.

Sheldon stood up, ignoring the mocking look from his older brother. Simon has been the favorite child and he's considered a wayward one.

"Simon, please, your brother has just came back…" there's much pleading in his mother's voice that makes him feel disgusted all the more.

Sheldon looks at his mother sternly and without a word he walked out from their presence.

"Sheldon, son! Please come back!" his mother shouted, but the man closes his eyes and he never looked back.

♥ . . . ♥ . . . ♥ . . .

The Howards and the Briggs agreed to have a beach theme birthday party for Clark. The invited guests are asked to wear their swimwear attires and to enjoy free access to all the amenities within the resort for twenty-four hours.

The elites are all enthusiastic and were all busy planning what to wear to show off and have plans to outs.h.i.+ne others and be the center of attraction on that day. Others were more curious of Clifford and Ingrid's son that they even had researched about the family.

The day before Clark's birthday, Ingrid was resting on a hammock with eyes closed feeling the soft breeze on her skin. Few moments later, she felt as though someone stares at her but when she opened her eyes, she found no one.

'Hmmm, maybe it's just my imagination…' she shrugged at her thoughts and closed her eyes again.

She felt so stress-free that she did not notice that she dozes off to sleep. When she's finally asleep, someone stood up beside her, slightly touching the contour of her face.

The man whispered on her ear. "Just you wait and you'll be at my mercy…"

Ingrid suddenly woke up only to meet the burning gaze of the only man who captures her heart.

"Cliff…" her heart thumps fast because she thought she heard someone telling her something.

"Hey, are you alright?" immediately Cliff touched her forehead to check her temperature. Ingrid nodded.

"Ye-yeah, how long have you been here?" Clifford scratches his head.

"Ughh, awhile now. Why?" he grinned because he did some naughtiness while his wife is wide asleep. He touched her everywhere and his wife moaned as she sleeps.

"Ahh nothing, I thought I heard someone other than you calling me." Clifford looked around.

"Huh? No one's here when I came, maybe it's in your dream." Clifford hid his grin.

"Yeah, maybe…" Ingrid notice something behind her husband's back. "…hey, what's that?"

Clifford smiled and took out a velvet box and gave it to her. "Open it, I hope you like it…"

Ingrid carefully opened the box and she gasps at the limited edition Chanel bracelet. Clifford took it from the box and he put on her right wrist.

"Love, promise me that you won't take this off from you to remind you that I'm always with you..." Ingrid cupped her husband's face and kissed him soundly.

"You are the best in the world, love. Your presence alone is enough for me because you are the greatest treasure that I'll always have."

Clifford scooped her up, carrying her to their room, he pinned her on to the bed, and said,

"Mrs. Briggs, you can never get away far from me, because wherever you go, I'm gonna follow you…"