Ryan's POV My hand sluiced around Julia as I rained dainty kisses on her face that had her giggling. “ Why do you think I am going to leave you, princess?” She shrugged, mumbling out words before she flipped her head to Julian, who had stomped away. “ We both did. Julian kept assuring me that you were fine, but he looked like he could break down at any moment as well” My gaze trailed that of Julian as he stalked off. I couldn't attest to the fact if it was because he was cold, or like to be out of everyone's way, but I needed him to know that it was fine showing emotions. I had a long way to go, he did same, and I was going to put it to work. Gladys, who had been stealing glances at me, nodded. “ I knew you were fine” I could take her as a motherly figure already. She was always there by my side, and now she was by the kids as well. I sauntered over at her, bending down as I threw my hands over her shoulders. Her tears ran out before they stopped. “ I am glad you are back” I
Ryan's POV “ You told him about the vault?” It was coming together now. It has to be her and here I was thinking she was the one who had sent men in there. My eyes turned bloodied, with hands wrapped around her neck, I attempted to strangle her. Kill her and no one would know. I could snuff her life out right now and no one would know, but I pulled my hands away. With eyes seething with rage, I pulled away before she could drop dead. Her eyes turned misty with tears as I asked. “ Why?” I demanded. “ Why! Did! You! Do! It?” I demanded an answer. She had made me lose one of the men I had grown up with, that we had shared bonds, that had loved me as much as he loved himself. “ You never wanted to see me. You are here, aren't you? If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have come searching for me. You would have sat back home, relaxed with her…with that thing you claim to love and…”My hands punched the wall beside her, denting it in the process.“ She isn't a thing,” I warned. “ Nina
Nina's POV I waited at the door for him to walk in, for him to walk past the door. My hands clawed into my palm while I did so, as time drifted away, and I was left to my thoughts. I knew that I was supposed to go alongside him, but he had clearly rebuffed me doing so. It was at times like this I wondered if indeed I had any use to him. I had caused all of this, every single thing happening was because of me. If I hadn't insisted that he should fight for the company, then, maybe everything would have been fine. I dropped to the couch behind me, my hands patting my face. I needed to know how he was. I needed to know what he was thinking and what he wanted to do, I needed him to tell me, to talk to me. When the door beeped, revealing his slanted form, I held out my hands to him. He hugged me, squeezing me so tight that I had to push him a bit just so that I could breathe properly. His alcohol scented breath wafted into my nostrils, before I held him to myself. “You are drunk,” I
Nina's POV “ What do you mean? Why would he do that? How did he know where exactly you were at? Who told him?” I threw those questions at her, wondering what exactly was going on. It wasn't supposed to be this way, we were supposed to have the upper hand here. We were supposed to be the one dictating what we wanted, how and where exactly, but it seemed that was it right now. “You should be fine here,” Ryan added. His hands clasped around mine. “ Do you have proof? A video or anything? There has to be something that would help” he said to her. She placed her hands into her bag, before drifting a car to him. “ Here, the hotel management handed it over to me. It is where I usually stay at, and they also promised to testify when the needs arise” I didn't know if anything was more fucked up than this situation right now. Reina had parents who loved each other, they loved each other so much that they couldn't let go of each other, they even teased themselves with how they were going
Ryan's POV My gaze was on Rivolty who had a smile on his face. I didn't know what to make of it, but I knew that there was no way that I was going to let him go. I was going to make sure everything turned against him today, and maybe only then would he know who I was. My hands held the microphone, before it went to the judges who were seated in three’s. “ Plead your case” I began, reading out every single thing that I had filed, the smile lingered on his lips, but I was sure it would leave when I was done with him today. “ Mr. Ryan, the charges you read out are outrageous, are you sure that you have proof to back them up?” I nodded, giving her an answer. I wasn't going to be a fool without one. When I said I wanted the company back, I meant it and I wasn't going back on my word. She turned to Rivolty. “ I will listen to the accused now” Rivolty tapped on the mic, flashing a smile before he spoke. “All of these charges are false, and my client is aggrieved. He hasn't been ab
Nina's POV Blood. That was the only thing that rang out in my eyes as I stared around, the courtroom was a mess and I knew that I couldn't be here anymore. My eyes went to Ryan, who was pushing past the crowd just to find me, to get to where I was. I screamed, screamed so hard when he did so. My heart relaxed when I felt myself become wrapped around a body of muscles, so tight that I didn't know what else to do. Reina stood, fixed to the ground, and that was when it stuck in me. Richard had raced out to get him. “ Take” Ryan placed the car key in my open hands. “ Take Reina and go to the car. I will be back soon”Reina didn't say a word, she stood transfixed to the ground before I held her to myself. “ Fuck it, get yourself together” I screamed loud enough for her to hear me. “ Let's go” I threw a glance at Brian who was walking over, his eyes glared at me before he sauntered past. “ He is fine. He will be fine” I assured her. “ Why?” She demanded. “ Why does it have to be hi
He kept driving, driving so fast that if anyone had asked him where exactly he was going, he wouldn't have been able to provide an answer, but he needed to clear his head. Things haven't gone in his favor, they were all messed up, not only had he been ordered to give back the company he had collected, he had also been given the orders to give all other one that made up his subsidiaries out. He didn't want to think about Ryan right now, he was only going to get pissed off, and it wouldn't even help if that happened. He slammed hard against the steering wheel while he contemplated on what to do. He had no choice, had no single choice right now. He would have gone back to his mistress, or rather his gf since he wasn't betrothed to Nina, but he didn't want to. She had mad mood swings that weren't favorable, and he knew that he needed to stay away from her right now, he would rather not end up with her blood in his palm. Brian has been patient enough, and he didn't want anymore than
Nina's POV I hummed while I ran a hand on my lips, a smile that bloomed straight out to the edge of it. “ Sooooo, what exactly is going on that I don't know about?” I threw my head above my shoulder at my mother who wouldn't stop asking. Dragging in a breath, I reminded her. “ I have a date with Reina and Richard” “ And why aren't you doing so over here?” My eyes were in slits as I stared at her. Why exactly weren't we doing it here? “ We needed privacy, we have been through a lot and we thought just us doing this would help” She exhaled before prompting me to go ahead. “ I wouldn't want to keep you behind then, you should go ahead” My lips lingered against her cheek before I stepped out. She was home, so the kids were fine. It wasn't like I didn't trust Gladys, but she needed rest most of the time. It was easy working this way, so she needed her beauty sleep when she could get it and the kids could be a handful. I was considering getting a nanny, though, but that would com
Nina's POV I beamed at the hand that had wrapped itself around me, before kissing me noisily. Pushing him off gently, I let out a plea. “ Let me sleep a bit, hmm” I pleaded while trying to shut my eyes a bit when the scent of freshly baked potatoes and cabbage lamb roast stew had me opening them in a sec. “ You surely do know how to get me” I gave him a slight jab at the arm before staring around, my mouth watered at the sight before me. “A little bit burnt, but I guess it's the intentions that matters” Ryan said while being nervous. I could tell because he was unusually jittery, which wasn't a fine attribute of his person, unless he had done something wrong, or he intended to do something that has him this way, I hope it was the latter because I could do without any huge thing at the moment. “ Spill” I urged, taking a scoop of the delicious goodness in front of me. A moan escaped my lips sending a little tingle in-between my legs when he stared at me like I was the most delic
Nina's POV “ Mother” I ran across the pavement after slamming the door shut, accepting the hand she had given me. “ Nina” she enclosed me into her arms, savoring the moment. “ Are you okay? I heard about the verdict?” I bobbed at her, giving her an answer. “ It was nothing, I feel better now, and I am glad that I had to watch” She searched my eyes probing before she pulled away, grasping my hands in hers as she sauntered off with me in suite. “ Is something wrong?” She shook her head. We were at our house, the one where everything had gone down, where I had been poisoned, where I had come to seek refuge after Ryan, and where my father had decided to get. We had memories from this house, a lot of it and I would have kept them all if the very last wasn't as painful as it had been. She smiled briefly before shaking her head. “ Would you want anything else? I am bringing down the house”“ Mother” I exhaled. That must have caused a lot of decisions and I didn't really know if
Nina's POV My hands squeezed around Reina as as we waited for the judge's verdict, my heart slammed so hard as she made a point on how he had committed murder, and had burnt an orphanage killing kids as well. Everyone had watched the video and it had been brutal. So brutal that I had shut my eyes through it all. “ Brian is sentenced to death by shooting for mass murder, and it should be carried out immediately” she snapped the pen she held into two. He stood up, eyes bloodshot as he glared at the judge. My heart spiked as I recalled what he had done the last time, thinking of how he might make a repeat of the same thing, it was going to be heart-wrenching. “ You won't be able to kill me. You won't be able to, what makes you any different from me? You do the same thing as I do, and you are still alive, you can't!” My eyes brimmed with tears in them, as Ryan punched a hand up in the air, his eyes were on me as he mouthed out. “ We did it” I knew he was also trying to tell me abou
Ryan's POV My eyes slithered into red when I saw him pinning her against the wall. “ Fuck” I cursed, pushing against the chair in my way before shoving the door open. It came open in a crank and shoving him away from her, I threw a punch into his face. He collided against the wall, before aiming one at me. He threw one on my face, which I returned before we were pulled away. “ I will make sure you live the rest of your life behind bars” I yelled at him, venomously. Even if it was going to take my last breath, I was going to make that happen. Nina stood at the far edge, a hand around her neck as she took in gasps of air, pulling off the jacket I had on, I threw it over her before guiding her out. I made sure we were safe in the car before zooming off. I didn't know what I was going to know if he had hurt her more than this, maybe send his body rolling, I would have made him regret every single thing about his life. I might have ended up punching him to death, the rage in me st
Nina's POVMy heart sledged against my rib cage while I watched Ryan navigate his way as he drove down. I thought of how Brian was in cuffs, how all of those girls were going to be served justice soon, even my secretary and I couldn't have been happier. The thought of her stabbing him even when he had shot her still sent shivers down my spine. I didn't understand why she had done that, I wouldn't have known until she had told me that I was the first person who had treated her in such a way. My hands moved on my gown, tapping on it repeatedly when a hand clasped around it, trying to get me to stare at him. “ I am fine, just focus and drive” “ You are agitated, are you fine?” “ I am” I answered, my voice betraying my words. He swerved off course, slamming the brakes before peering at me. “ I am not a fool, fluffy bear, what is in your mind?” He questioned again. I chewed on my lips, gazing at him before the words came out. “ I just think he should have been found earlier, I m
Nina's POV “I am fine” I tried to shrug his hands off. He was being a worrywart. “You don't have to come with me’’ I tried to get him off my back. I mean we were in the penthouse together, and although the kids weren't here, I knew they were okay. I was fine as well, but Ryan wasn't so sure of that, seeing how he was constantly on my heels. “Really? It is the same spot, it isn't that far from the stairs” I glanced up, directing his gaze to the spiral step. He shook his head, nor listening to me. “You can't understand how I felt when I saw you being bonded into the car, I had never felt so helpless, I mean, in the courtroom everyone knew me as the best, but there, I couldn't do anything” he confessed. My heart stilled while I watched him. “I know that I shouldn't think about that, but I was already doing so. I thought about what would happen if he used you as one of his trophies. I was already thinking of how to make him pay, but inwardly, I hope that you would be fine, for me,
Nina's POV When I had felt the needle prick my skin, I couldn't move an inch, no matter how hard I tried to, it was impossible for me to. I had pleaded, bawled my eyes even before I lost consciousness. When I was awake, I found out I was lying on the ground, not tied up, but I was lying down on skulls, and sharp bones which jabbed into me. I had tried to stand up, but a closer gaze at where I was had me wobbling, a scream had left my throat at what I was seeing while I had stumbled backwards. I hadn't known this, knew that he had this. He had always lived a spotless life, at least that's what my mother and I had known, we hadn't known about this, hadn't thought that he was capable of decapitating humans, of storing humans, of killing them, making trophies out of them. We hadn't known how much of a psychopath he was, that he had a habit of collecting trophies, human ones. Chills had run down my spine, countless times that I had forgotten to breathe. When I had finally pushed o
Ryan's POVI kept muttering out words which were incoherent even to myself while Nina was in my arms. I tried to get up, tried to think, I knew that she needed to be out of here, that we both had to be out of here, but my knees were stamped to the ground. A hand grasped my shoulders, jolting me up. “You have to leave, get her to the hospital” I flickered my gaze around, a string of curses leaving my lips as I did so. I searched around, for his gait, to see him with cuffs clicked on his wrist, but he was nowhere to be found, I threw the thought that told me he had fled away, that couldn't have happened. “Brian, where is he?” I questioned Richard, whose face gave an answer I didn't want to believe. A cackle left my lips, reverberating across the room. “You can't let him go, the kids, our kids, Reina, they are there, he might hurt them” He shook his head at me, peering once more in my arms. “Get out of here, let me handle the rest”I forced myself up, nodding at him before I tra
Ryan's POV A dip, that was what I had felt when I had pushed the door open, and she wasn't in there. I had tried to convince myself that she would be in the room, she would be in the bathroom, she might have taken a walk, but I knew that wasn't it. My third senses didn't just agree with what I thought it was, so I had pleaded with Richard to get access to the CCTV, and he had. “ She is heading towards the back door, I am going to give an order for all doors to be locked right away, get her back man”His words would have sounded right if I hadn't chased down like a mad man, and watched as she was yanked into a car, a midnight black sports car. I had raced down, sprinted down the stairs with both hands on my hips as I took in gaps of air. I chewed on my lips, until I could feel the crimson taste, the coppery taste sluicing through my senses. I heaved, before punching into the wall as I slipped into my car, chasing after them. I was going to be a fool to let him take her away from