CHAPTER 187: A GIFT FOR HIS PENGUIN

This Chapter is dedicated to Lucyfer84. Hey lucyfer, thanks for the golden ticket love. (⁠♡⁠∀⁠♡⁠)♡

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One by one, they rose to their feet, grass still clutched in their filthy hands as they wiped it on their own their dirty torn rag like dresses.

Their dresses, once worth thousands, now hung in tatters around them. Their skin was streaked with grime and sunburn. Most had cut marks on their skin from the running, Alicia who was tumbled a couple of time by the cow had multiple bruises and broken bone.

They each smelled the same. Like dead bodies and cow poop.

The car stopped a few feet away, its tinted windows reflecting their own pathetic shapes back at them.

Roselyn’s cracked lips trembled. "Do you think... they’re here to take us home?"

Alicia laughed calmly. "If they were, they wouldn’t have left us here like dogs."

The door cracked open, but no one stepped out. Instead different colour dust filled the entire place, each girl coughing so loud because of how bad it burned their nostrils, that and eyes.

They tried to move, to run but they couldn’t. Their body turned weak instantly, they inhaled the painful smoke and each person lost consciousness.

By the time they woke up again, the sky was clear, beautiful even. It wasn’t like they had inhaled any smoke from before, but one thing changed about them. They had no idea why they were here.

The memory of the engagement party and everything that happened after had varnished.

"What happened?" Roselyn asked looking around. One moment she felt like she had died. The pain in her brain was so unbearable and now, everything was back to normal.

Ariana’s swollen hands clenched around her bundle of grass. Her breath came in shallow bursts. She too had no idea why she was here, but something in her told her this was Penny’s doing.

Her sister has kidnapped her and place her here because she’s jealous of her engagement party.

How long has she been here?

Penny. This was Penny’s doing. She was sure of it.

But no matter how sure she was, until someone in their world offered a gift worthy enough for Osvaldo’s "Penguin," she and the others were nothing more than stranded livestock in his desert pen.

His little play things and he was just starting with them. He would break them in ways they wouldn’t expect.

While the Adkins hidden heir plotted his next move, in another part of the city, in the royal castle, Raphael stared at the men before him. Each held priceless treasures, gleaming under the warm light of the throne room.

These were not ordinary riches. They were jewels worn by the queens of the royal family for centuries. The royal crest, a symbol of their bloodline, had been locked away in the family’s museum for generations.

Even if the world’s richest man offered billions, or trillions, Prince Raphael would never part with them.

They were worth more than gold, more than kingdoms, more than life itself. They were the crown’s soul.

The first man stepped forward. In his hands lay a twenty-four-carat gold crown, heavy yet elegant, its frame carved with intricate vines of pure platinum. Every curve was set with fire-bright rubies the size of doves’ eggs, surrounded by smaller diamonds that caught the light like a thousand stars.

The second man presented a scepter, taller than a man’s arm, forged from pure white gold. At its tip rested an orb of flawless sapphire, deep and endless as the ocean, with golden dragons coiled around it, their tiny emerald eyes watching in eternal vigilance.

The third man carried a necklace so fine it seemed almost too delicate to touch. Strings of perfect pearls were interwoven with threads of moonstone and rare black opals, the colors shifting with every step he took. At the center was a teardrop diamond, legend said it had been cut from a single crystal found in the heart of a glacier a thousand years ago.

The fourth gift was a ceremonial cloak, woven from threads of silk so rare they shimmered in shades of silver and blue. The fabric was embroidered with the entire royal crest in gold thread, each stitch taking a year to complete. The inside was lined with white ermine fur, warm yet light as air.

The fifth man knelt, unveiling a ring the size of a small coin. Its band was carved from rose gold, and in its heart lay the Star of Adorah, a diamond so pure that light passed through it like water, casting rainbows that danced on the palace walls.

Raphael’s gaze was calm as he stared at the treasures in his eyes and that of the royal family.

He knew why they had been brought before him. He could not believe he was giving such treasure to one animal called Penguin.

Raphael was so angry, but he knew he was doing this for his child. If he didn’t do it, then his child would never return. These are the words of the Adkins lawyers.

"What did she really do to them? Are you sure we cannot offer something else?" Omaric Raphael’s brother asked staring at the gifts. He too thought it was too much, for an animal.

"They rejected the last gift we sent my lord. We’re speaking about Roselyn here, her life is at stake." Serenata cried out.

"No one asked her to offend the Adkins family. These treasures are worth more than her life!" He yelled.

"Nonsense!" Raphael shouted back. He is the crown prince and the head of the family. His words are final.

"My daughter is worth more than a jewel. If I have to sell out this entire castle for her to come back, I will." He said. He rose from where he sat and stepped out of the throne room.

While the royal family plotted the return of their daughter, the other families involved also ordered the best gifts money could not buy. They didn’t want to make mistake of the past or offend the Adkin’s heir’s Penguin.

And then there was the Willard’s, Maybelline have loved with her daughter for so long now and felt like she knew Penelope liked. She swiped through her phone with a smile on her lips.

"Make sure everything you bring is fake. Penny does not deserve real diamonds." May said calmly.

"Yes ma’am." The person at the other end responded. In less than two hours, he arrived with seven boxes of jewels, each containing fake jewelries imported by Maybelline.

Both Abby and May stared at the boxes. The women opened them and accessed the jewels carefully to be sure there was no loophole or sign of it being fake. Penny was nothing to be wearing expensive jewelries. Not when Ariana was probably suffering somewhere.

"This is enough." Abby said with a smile. "And they’re strong too. No one will know they’re a fake Maybelline." Abby smiled.

"Of course, my plugs are the best. This little conversation doesn’t mean we’re good now Abby, you’re now way beneath me, so you should know your place." Abby didn’t bother responding to her. Maybelline has always been a bitch, and a bitch she’ll be forever.

While Abby was still seated there, her cellphone rang, and a familiar number was on display again. Abby’s heart skipped a beat at who was calling.

For a week now, this person had been calling non-stop. At first she thought she could get away with their agreement through the Adkins lawyers, but right now, she was no longer a part of the Adkins family. She was a nobody at the moment, which meant, anyone could harm her.

"Why aren’t you answering, is it one of your debt collectors?" Maybelline mocked her deae friend but Abby’s face looked really serious and the smile on her face fell.

Abby picked the call gingerly. She was going to end this madness once and for all. Did he not see she has been thrown out of the Adkins family house. It’s not like she asked him to give her any money.

So what if he did? They had larvished the money of redecorating their mansion and on Ariana’s wedding and they had just little amount left.

"What is it?" Abby picked up the phone.

"Hello Mrs Peterson." The voice was calm and different from the man she had seen that day.

"You have two weeks left, have you killed him yet." Abby frowned at his words.

"Can’t you see I’ve been kicked out!?" She yelled. "I am no longer a part of the Adkins family. Find someone else for the job." Abby said.

"Alright." The man said calmly.

"Really?" She never thought it would be this easy to get out of this mess. Was he really agreeing to her demand.

"Yes. Christian’s life is worth the five billion issued to you." He said and Abby’s eyes went wide. What did he mean by Christian’s life?

"He’s on a high way right now, heading back home after a time with his friends. You can call him to confirm." He ended the call.