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GENERALLexi's gaze was unwavering and determined. She pierced it into Ryan's and deadpanned, "Guess what you did, Mr. Ryan." The gaze was so fierce and intimidating that it made Ryan gulp uncomfortably. He rummaged through his head, struggling to remember what he had done to request Lexi's wrath."Could it be because I claimed Isabelle as...?" His eyes widened when it finally clicked on his head. He returned his stupefied countenance to Lexi, who smirked evilly and nodded."Yes! You dared mention my princess's name with that filthy mouth of yours. And what did you say? She's your child?" Lexi remarked, clasped her lips and burst into laughter. "That must be the funniest joke I have ever heard in my life. I guess you've been misbehaving because you have a lot of time in your hands. You are going to realize that there's more to life than creating nuisance in my company and embarrassing your age around me when you start looking for a job to sustain your family and your lifestyle," she
GENERAL"We are here!" Donald announced, stepping on the brake. Isabelle stood up and glanced out of the window; a beautiful smile was etched on her lips. The glints of excitement and satisfaction glimmered brightly in her eyes."Wow! The mall is so beautiful," Isabelle muttered, grinning.Lexi and Donald shared stares and chuckled. Lexi knew she would like it, so she wasn't extremely surprised by her reaction."You are yet to marvel. Let's step into the supermarket at the mall first," Donald remarked, opening the side door for the little girl to step out. Excitedly, Isabelle descended from the car and leaped into the mall with her mother.Donald had asked to take Lexi and Isabelle out, and Lexi obliged after a brief hesitation and reluctance. On the other hand, Isabelle refused blatantly because she didn't like him and didn't want to choose a man like him for her mother. But when Donald showed her that he was behind and capable of taking care of her and her mother, she took a liking
GENERALThe little girl blinked and took a step backward, her eyes fixed on the strange man's face. Her body trembled as she clutched her fingers on her dress. She gulped hard."I am sorry, sir. I don't want toy again. My mummy will be upset if she doesn't see me," Isabelle fluently let out, her voice shaky.The man's dark lips curled into a sinister smile, sending chills down Isabelle's spine. Looking at the smile, goosebumps surrounded her and gripped her body tightly."You cannot reject my gift, darling. You just need to wait so I can pick up the money in my car. We are already beside the car, aren't we?" He muttered, grinning. With a horror glare, Isabelle shook her head and planned on taking steps backward. However, as soon as she did that, she hit her back against a strong surface, causing her to tilt her head. "Ah!" She gasped in fear when she saw who was behind her. It was a man who had different scars on his face, and his eyes were as red as fire. He had bad intent as he gla
GENERAL"Are you sure she came to this place?" Ryan questioned with a frown, holding his phone tightly in his right ear."Yes, boss. She went in with her daughter and a man." A masculine voice answered on the other side of the phone.With crinkled brows, Ryan heaved, pinching the space between his brows. "Okay then. Continue to keep watch and let me know as soon as she leaves here." He ordered, and the person at the other side shouted in understanding, "Yes, sir."Ever since the challenge between Ryan and Lexi, he has been trailing her and stalking her. He knew that he had lost the battle, and the only way he could take back all that belonged to him was getting Lexi to forgive him and perhaps fall in love with him again.It wouldn't be easy, but he was ready to give it what it takes. He wanted Lexi's love so that he would be able to get back his company, which she took away from him."You will be in trouble if I do not find her here," Ryan threatened coldly and disconnected the call.
GENERAL"You will be in trouble if you lay your filthy hands on my daughter," Ryan warned, his voice lingering in the air and interrupting the action the man was about to make, causing his hands to hang in the air as he tilted his head in the direction of the voice just to see what was happening.The little Isabelle's eyes widened when she sighted the man from the airport. She heard that he called her his child but never ascribed meaning to it. All she wanted was how to save herself from the dangerous men hovering around her. Just to make the plan go smoothly, she joined in and shouted, "Daddy!" For a few seconds, Ryan was dazed by the name Isabelle called her. Different questions ran through his head. "Does she know that I'm her father? Has Lexi told her already?" He thought. To be honest, he found the name he called her with her tiny little voice satisfying and relaxing. He enjoyed it and wanted more of it. When she was still two, she referred to him as "Dada." Thinking about it no
LEXII knew the way I spoke to Donald was wrong, but I had no choice. He really needs to stop chiming in on my discussion with Ryan. I am the only one who knew the reason I have been acting this way. It was already embarrassing enough that I had misunderstood Ryan and accused him of hurting my daughter when he, in fact, saved her. He shouldn't worsen the situation by rubbing it on my face that I just accused the wrong person.But I don't care. Ryan got what he deserved. He was a bad man and wouldn't be known for good things even if he did them."Mommy, that Mister really didn't do it. He saved me from the bad guys who tried to take me away." Isabelle's voice echoed in my ears, dragging me out of my train of thoughts.Thinking about it now, I couldn't help but be scared. Goosebumps lingered on my body and gripped me tightly as I thought about the whole thing. Some people really tried to kidnap my daughter? But why would they do that? Who would want to kidnap a little but sweet soul lik
LEXI I couldn't keep thinking about what happened during the weekend. My daughter was almost kidnapped by some people, who I knew nothing about. I did my best to hide the news from my parents because I wasn't ready for the drama they would perform when they learned about it. Leaving home the next day, I drove straight to the nick and reported the situation to the cops. They promised to look into the matter, and I hoped they did that soon because I failed to imagine what I would do if anything happened to my daughter. I decided to listen to my favorite music as I drove to work. The morning was bright, and the air was fresh. I felt so at peace like never before. However, just as I got to a U-turn and was about to twirl, a car sped past me and swerved, halting in front of me. "Ah!" I shouted as I roughly rammed my foot on the brake. My head hit the steering many times as I eventually stopped my car from bumping into the car in front of me. It took me two minutes to comprehend the s
LEXI"You wench! How dare you call my daughter a bastard?" I shouted, seething with anger as I dragged Emily's hair aggressively. It caught her by surprise, so it took a few seconds before she retaliated.Yelps escaped her mouth, "Shit! You bitch! Get your filthy hands off me. Ah!" She struggled with me and grabbed my hair. However, before she could pull it, I jammed my forehead against hers, nodding her and forcing her to release her grip on my hair."I don't joke with my princess. Do not call my baby a bastard with that lousy mouth of yours. I tried my best to run away from your trouble, but your mannerless self wouldn't let me be," I screamed as I continued to pull her hair. We had garnered a lot of attention, but I cared less about it. Since Emily was shameless and wanted to roll in the mud, it wouldn't be bad if I rolled in it with her. At least, just this once, so that I could put her in her place. "Ya! Let me go. You are going to pay for this, Lexi. I promise you. I will repa
GENERALIsabelle ran out of the classroom when she sighted the chauffeur. "Uncle!" She shouted, running toward him. The chauffeur tilted his head in the direction of the voice and smiled brightly when he saw the young girl running toward him."How was school today, Isabelle?" He asked, holding her hand and taking the lunch box and backpack from her. "It was fine, uncle. It feels good to be in school again," she answered heartily, leaping and reciting a nursery rhyme as they walked to the car.Getting into the car, she hopped into the back seat, and he assisted her to do her seatbelt. Afterward, he went back to his seat to begin the trip.However, before he could do that, Isabelle stopped him. "Excuse me, uncle," she said. The chauffeur's hand froze. He left the key he was about to turn in the ignition and tilted his head to give her the attention she requested. "Is there any problem, Isabelle? Do you want me to do something for you?"Clamping her mouth, she shook her head. "Can yo
LexiDriving into the car park, I turned off the ignition and stepped out of the car. I walked into the elevator, and a ding sound ripped through the air as it reached the floor where my office was located. The moment I stepped out, a loud sound filled the air, startling me and causing me to take a few steps backward. Widening my eyes to look in the direction of the sound, I realized that it was a party popper. Before I could comprehend what just happened, I heard, "Welcome back to work, President Lexi. And congratulations on your recovery," my staff said in chorus, and that was when I saw everyone's faces. Aside from the staff from other departments, the office area is filled with staff from the Presidential Department.My heart tingled with admiration and excitement. I loved that. They all clapped their hands afterward. Donald sauntered out of their midst, holding a bouquet of red roses. "Welcome back to work, Lexi," he mumbled, handing over the flower to me.I narrowed my gaze as
GENERAL"Can you hear me?" Lexi asked again when he didn't answer her previous questions. She stood up and held his arm, her brows raising and her eyes widening.Since he couldn't talk because of the oxygen fixed in his nose, he blinked his eyes and nodded to her question.At the same time, Zoe and Emily ran over and intentionally pushed Lexi away. Thankfully, she was able to maintain her composure with the help of the bed. She knew the two witches were just trying to frustrate her and make her act like a madwoman, but she would forgive them today and deal with them another time."My son!" Zoe called. "Brother!" Emily spurted out, holding his arm. The duo smiled, looking at Ryan, whose gaze was focused on Lexi."How are you feeling?" Zoe retracted her gaze from him and moved it to Emily, "Go and inform the doctor that he's awake," she ordered.Nodding, Emily left the room and returned almost immediately with the same doctor who attended to Lexi. As soon as he saw Lexi, his brows cre
GENERALAnger coursed through Zoe's veins as she heard what Lexi said. It was as though she was slapped hard in the face. Her face turned crimson red with lines of anger scribbled on her facial features. She gritted her teeth and took steps forward. "What! What did you just say? How dare you call me by my name?" She shouted, her veins popping out due to anger.Lexi chuckled nonchalantly, "What was I supposed to call you with? Your daughter's name? Zoe is your name, so I will call you by that. Or... What were you expecting me to call you?...." She paused, raised her brows, and glanced at her quizzically. When she finally thought of something, she erupted into laughter, covering her mouth with her hands, "Don't tell me you are expecting me to call your mother? Oh my goodness! Have you forgotten that you are not my mother? You reminded me many times back in the days," She taunted with her words, ignoring the murderous glares emitting from them. She was less concerned. She loved it. Tha
GENERALLexi darted her gaze between her parents. She found their reactions suspicious and scary. Her mind missed a beat. Has something happened to Ryan? "Mom...? Dad...? Where is Ryan?" She asked again, her eyes dilating in anticipation of what her parents' response would be. She just hoped that it wouldn't be bad news. She owed him a lot. She would have been dead before they got saved if he hadn't intervened and stalked enough time for them. The last thing she wanted to hear was that he was gone. "The doctor said that he was in a more critical situation, and it was only by a miracle that the bullet didn't get to his heart because it was just a tiny space between his heart and the spot the bullet pierced into. He has been operated on and is out of danger, but he hasn't opened his eyes since then," her mother explained calmly. There was guilt in her eyes. Even though Ryan had once maltreated their daughter, they couldn't help but feel indebted to him. It would have been a differ
GENERAL FLASHBACK TO 12 HOURS AGO Ryan sat in his car, resting his arm on the steering wheel and staring at the mansion in front of him. He was contemplating whether to enter or not. He was there to check on Lexi, but he was scared to step in because he didn't know the reaction he would meet. The memory of the humiliation he received at the hospital was still vivid in his head, and he wouldn't want to suffer the same thing again. "You just need to go. Isabelle isn't her daughter alone. She is also yours," he mentally told himself. Shutting his eyes for a few seconds, he sighed and opened them back. Just as he unlocked the door and was about to step out, he sighted Lexi running out of the house with an oversized gown that she clutched to avoid stepping on as she walked. His brows crinkled. Why was she running? Where was she going? She looked like she was in a haste, yet she didn't take a car with her. He suspected something and decided to discreetly follow her to find out what was h
GENERALSilence overwhelmed the atmosphere at the sound of the gunshot. Ryan glared at Jasmine, shocked and afraid. What was that sound? Where did it come from? "Mommy!" Isabelle cried out, her voice lingering in the air with a lot of worry mixed with it. Her voice jerked Ryan out of his reverie, and he looked behind him. That was when he realized what was happening. It turned out that the gunshot that reverberated in the room was real and Lexi had been shot instead. Blood gushed out of her side as she clutched it tightly with her hands. Her body shook. "Argh!" Lexi winced as her body hurriedly wallowed in the pool of pain. An excruciating pang of pain coursed through her like fire on dried leaves. Ryan blinked with his mouth widened, his eyes darkened, and tears rushed to his lids. What! Jasmine really did that...? "How dare you, Jasmine?" He growled. His voice resounded like thunder, sending fears down the spines of Jasmine and her men, but they were smart enough to conceal th
GENERALLexi flinched in fear as she felt a liquid substance splashing over her. Unlocking her eyes swiftly in fear, she was shocked to find Jasmine, standing over her and pouring water over her and her daughter. The craziest part of it was it wasn't clean water, and it was already emitting a stench odor. She almost puked as the horrible smell drifted into her nose. Thankfully, she had shielded Isabelle, which protected her from the water. "What are you doing, Jasmine? What water is this?" She yelled at her, hovering over her daughter. Her voice was shaky and pathetic. None of her words wafted into Jasmine's ears. She didn't stop pouring the water until she finished the one in the bucket. Then, she flung the bucket away. "What do you think I am doing? I am trying to wake you up. Is that a bad thing to do?" She responded to her with an indifferent expression. She was totally not bothered and nonchalant about her actions. "And you think waking me up this way is the best way? How
GENERAL "She is not picking up," Lexi's mother informed with concern in her voice, bringing her phone from her ear and staring at the screen, which was displaying her daughter's name.Mr. Alexandra's eyes skimmed over the clock that was glued at the top of the entrance. It was already 8 pm, and she hadn't gotten back since she left home. She didn't dress extra when she left in the afternoon, so they didn't think where she was going was far. They wondered if she was still with Donald, as she had said before she left the house.Mr. Alexandra picked up his phone and put a call across to Donald, who picked up on the second ring. "Hello, President Alexandra," Donald greeted on the other side of the phone the moment he picked up. For some reason, he found the call surprising, and he was curious. Did something happen to Lexi? It had been days since he last saw her because he had been busy at the office. Since the CEO wasn't around, he had to take over so that there wouldn't be any flop i