Reina's POV
I gasped out with sweat running down my face, and my chest heaving heavily, I flipped my gaze around taking in sight of the room I was in when I saw Nina, seated on the long couch, how long had she been sitting there?A wave of pain shot through my body, numbing me for seconds, and I reclined against the wall, squeezing my eyes tight as memories from what had happened came back just like a running train would have.Did he hate me that much already? I could remember vividly well that I had stretched out a hand to him, hoping that he would hold me but he had flashed a grin at me before stepping back."My babies" I gasped out, running a hand on my stomach, were they gone?"Reina..?" Nina's voice came through and I flicked my eyes open,"My babies….." I whispered with dread filling my voice, that shallow feeling in my stomach seemed to have worsened,"Don't tell me I lost them?" She averted her gaze to the ground and my heart flipped, my hands lay limp by my side and I could feel life snuffing out of me with each moment that passed. Does it mean I have lost everything? My children also?I clasped a hand over my mouth as I tried as hard as I could not to let out the muffled cries, I couldn't do that. The bed dipped when she sat beside me, before taking my hands in hers."Your babies Reina" She tilted my head to face her, placing a finger underneath my chin. "Are fine"I sighed in relief, pulling my hands from hers before caressing them, and cooing gently to them. "I thought that I had lost them…. I did…when I slipped down and hit my head on the tile…I thought" Tears cascaded down my face and I let them down as my body convulsed, Nina pulled me close, patting me gently on the back"Why do you keep making excuses for him when he doesn't deserve them? Why…."" I didn't" I shrugged, but I knew it was all a lie."You did Reina, you didn't slip and I know it…the doctor said you were pushed," she palmed her forehead, a hand on her waist."Tell me how exactly did it happen? What did you do wrong that Richard had to treat you in such a way? Not minding the fact that you were pregnant, with his child"" He doesn't know that I am pregnant" I whispered under my breath, but the look on her face told me she heard what I had said perfectly well.She squinted her eyes at me, a dumbfounded look on her face," You said you were going to tell him, so why didn't you?"I gazed up at the ceiling, fixing my gaze on the one hole in it, the one that seemed to pull me in the longer I stared at it. "Ariana is back"The silence that ensued was deafening and I could tell she was going to have a hard time also" He is leaving you for Ariana? Isn't he? That's good for nothing man, the same person who you shouldn't have given an effing chance is leaving you for his ex-girlfriend?"I nodded my head at her" That jerk who you had given it all to, your shares, Reina, gosh" she palmed her head, stalking toward the door.My body shook when I remembered all that I had done for him, I remember how he kept calling me his helper when I had stormed the company, just to vote for him, my family had the highest share after his and he had been glad when I had handed it all to him, wasn't I foolish? Thinking he wouldn't leave?" I. Told. You. I. Warned. You but you didn't listen, you told me that he wouldn't hurt you and that he had promised never to leave you now this"" Is this all you get in return, for your years of helping him, like how….tell me how…does this even make sense?"" Nina, please stop" I fiddled with my hands while staring at her with glossy eyes, remembering how I had chased her away only to know that she was the only one who had been here," Let me tell you what you are supposed to know, Richard hasn't been here for over two weeks, two weeks Reina" she raised two of her fingers, pointing them at me."And this…" she picked up a piece of documents, one that I could recognize even at first glimpse, she threw them at me. " He gave instructions that you should sign them whenever you are awake" I picked up the documents that were thrown at me."Don't you think I should talk to him? Please hand over the phone…I need to place a call to him…I need him to know that I am awake and I want to tell him that we are having babies…please Nina," I placed both of my palms together, rubbing them."Just this once…this once and I promise not to look back…let me talk things out with him and I will make a decision"She sighed heavily and dipped her hands into the bag by her side before stretching the phone to me.I fidgeted as I tried to type in Richard's number and when it finally went through, I placed a hand on my chest when it hit the voicemail."Hmmm..'' I gulped in, trying it countless times,"He isn't picking, is he?" I continued, not wanting to listen to whatever it is that Nina was saying."Come on…please pick up" I pleaded as I tried again, and relief washed over me when he finally answered." Richard.. this is Reina and I am calling to let you know that I am fine now and that I am expecting our babies, not just one but two of them... you know you always talked about twins…I am finally pregnant..can you have a change of heart?" I fiddled with my fingers as I waited for him to give me an answer" Richard isn't here, and he would never know about your babies, I will make sure of that Reina, so get rid of them"The phone slipped through my hands, hitting the bed I was on as my chest tightened, everything seemed to be working against me, why? My eyes glistened with tears on them as I stared at Nina who had picked up the phone, flipping it in the air."He didn't pick up," I said amidst tears, "Richard didn't pick up, he had given Ariana the phone, or maybe…he isn't there…yes," I nodded," That is the only reason why Ariana would pick up because I do not understand why this is happening"Nina walked closer to me, cupping my cheek, before forcing me to stare at her. " You look just like a mess" she whispered to me, while caressing my face gently." And you do not look like the Reina I had grown up with, get a hold of yourself and do the needful"I shook my head, there was no way I could, " I cannot let him go, Nina, not Richard, I cannot do that and…"" He has let you go!" Her voice was cold, and it penetrated through my heart, numbing me for a second"And you should too"" Do you think it is for the best? What if.." I shrugged but I couldn't find the right word to say anymore, I knew I had kept making up excuses for him" Do it, Reina…" Nina fixed her eyes on the documents, " Do it and let's get away from this place together, away from him and let's start life anew"" With you?" She nodded before flashing a smile at me.I let out an exasperated sigh, before taking the documents,skimming through them, life with Nina didn't seem so bad. I took the pen I was handed, scrambling gently on the paper" I think it is time I let him go, Nina"Richard's POVI sat on the chair, the air heavy with dread, as my eyes drifted to the papers that littered about the office. The scent of the coffee that I had ordered my secretary to brew for me a while ago lingered in the air, but still, I couldn't take my eyes off the documents that had just been placed on my table, the one with the large font in front of it that read divorce papers.A while ago, Ryan had walked in, holding them in his hands, and although I had prayed that it was just a figment of my imagination playing out on me, I was faced with the sad reality that it wasn't when he had slammed it on the table again, jolting me out of my thoughts My heart ached as I reached out to take it, fiddling through the pages. I just couldn't believe Reina had signed them, my chest tightened, and a lump formed in my throat, one that stayed, no matter how hard I tried to force it down. “Richard, I'm sorry,” Ryan apologized, his voice dripping with sympathy, that made me chuckle, why wa
Richard's POV“I don't care whatever it is that you intend on doing or how exactly you are going to search for her but get me Reina!” I screamed at Darren, my nerves bulging out as I punched the wall, denting it in the process,He stood still, not moving an inch further away, “I have searched everywhere for her, It has been weeks, and she is nowhere to be found, Why don't you just give up on her?” I shot him a glare, one that I was sure as hell sent shudders down his spine as I demanded him to say what he had just said again, “What did you just say?” I asked, while tapping on my knee earnestly, waiting for an answer,He said words that came out in muffled sounds before shaking his head to the side, “Nothing boss” he answered before turning on his heels and making his way out of my office.I ran a hand through my locks, before letting out a hiss, I was vexed, vexed at everything happening. Why had she gone that far? What happened to our promise to be with each other forever? I wondered
Richard's POV It was taking all the restraint in me to keep my sanity in check as my eyes bore through the laptop in front of me, the stocks were plummeting with each minute. I stood up, with my hands placed on my waist before kicking the chair in anger, my feet stung, but I couldn't care less as I fumed in anger, I threw a glance at the door when it was yanked open and Darren stepped in, his face was stormy, and I could tell the answer already, “She is nowhere to be found” I took in a deep breath, hoping that it would help me think better, but it did little to help, it was times like this when I needed Reina more, months without her felt so dark and I needed her,“The shareholders? What exactly is going on?” I was trying everything inside of me to be calm, trying not to look at the system in front of me, but I couldn't. I bit on my nails anxiously as I waited for an answer, “Speak!” “ Somehow the news of what you have done found its way to the reporters, and they were all eager
Richard's POV“ They are here” Darren announced as he pushed the door open, his eyes fixed on mine, I stood up, picking up my blazer with me before storming toward the door. My heart stomped fast against my rib cage, “ What do you think it's going to be? Do you think it will be in our favor? The shareholders, do you think they are going to listen to me?” I blurted out, I knew that I shouldn't be having cold feet, at least not presently but I just couldn't help it." They should, you are still the CEO of the company” he answered. I knew that he was trying to help, but it wasn't helping at all. “ I hope so” I placed a hand on the doorknob before pulling it back quickly like I had been scalded by a hot iron. I could hear them all, chattering and talking, I knew that I had to prepare myself for the worst, but I didn't want that either.Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door gently before stepping in. Contrary to what I was expecting and how it should have been, they didn't stand up li
Reina's POV“Hand it back” I snapped at Nina, stretching my hands out at her. Her eyes were fixed on me, a sullen look on her face, “ What do you think you are doing? Tell me Reina'' she held my arms, forcing me up, “Tell me you aren't thinking of helping him because if that is what you are thinking, I would never forgive you”.“Yes” I nodded, giving her an answer, "Yes, that is what I want to do, I cannot watch the company I painstakingly built go down the drain, I just can't”Her eyes darkened, as she flipped her head to the side, “He hurt you, can't you see he is facing the repercussions? Can't you see that? Why do you want to help the very person who broke you? Whyyyyy!” she yelled out. My eyes turned misty with tears, I was finding it hard to explain to her, “You love him still, don't you?” Her eyes widened in shock when I stared into hers, “ Whyyyyy? Why do you still love someone like him? He doesn't even want you back, he doesn't even respect you, and now you are talking abo
Reina's POV“ Stay with me, Reina” Nina held my hands tightly when I was lowered on the stretcher, the pain that shot through me made me gnash my teethA tear slipped through my cheek when the memory came back again, this time harder than the last, the way Richard's face had lit up when he stared at Ariana had broken me, why her? Why does it have to be her? I kept asking myself repeatedly until I couldn't anymore. I knew I needed to stay sane, the dark crimson color that had flown down my leg was there still and Nina's pleading voice for me to stay with her was still echoing in my head. “ I can't…. I can't…anymore” I flicked my head to the side as the intensity worsened, it was taking every single thing inside of me to keep my strength, I wanted to meet with my babies, they deserved that much.Her feet sank to the ground, “No…no…you can… Reina..you can't, gosh, Reina, don't do this, don't…” she pleaded as I felt darkness envelop me, I could feel myself drifting with each moment that p
Reina's POVI listened with a stern look on my face while holding one of the twins firmly, my chest beating fast.“ I can still remember when we were little, I keep thinking about what it is that you didn't like about me, but you just wouldn't say” Jackson shrugged, a frown on his face as he peered into my eyes. I was taken aback at what he had just said. It was true that I didn't really fancy him then, and it was still the same now. It has never changed. “I would have been a better choice, you know” he added while dipping a hand into his pocket, “But I guess, I wasn't fit enough to stand close to you” My heart ached as I clenched the blanket I was holding, Nina stood at a far distance with Kelvin and when our eyes met, she flashed a smile at me, while urging me on. It was amazing how she had managed to get along with Jackson in the span of a short time, and she was always chipping in words of how he was just perfect for me. I couldn't recall how many times I had to remind her abou
Reina's POVI couldn't stop the drumming of my heart as I stared into the mirror, everything seemed to be moving too fast. It seemed just like yesterday since I had Kelvin and Karen and when Jackson came into my life and now, this was happening.The door creaked open, and my breath hitched when a hand touched me," Nina" I whispered anxiously. “ You look so tense, loosen up a bit, would you? It is a date and nothing more, besides you have gone on countless other dates with him, so why are you looking this way?” I heaved, hoping that it would calm down my racing heart, but it did nothing to help," I cannot just fix my hands on it, but I can feel that something huge is about to happen” I loosened up to her while biting on my lips nervously. She closed the gap between us, leaning forward, “All you have to do is be positive, stay positive, and stop jittering around, take a deep breath and everything will be fine” she assured me. I snapped my head at her, nodding gently, it didn't seem
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
Nina's POVI felt like a mess, the only thing that no one else wanted to associate with, I didn't want to think about what exactly Brian would be thinking, I didn't want to know why I hadn't even thought about the fact that he had such tendencies, was I ever in love with him? No, so why was I unable to see it? I hated it, with each fiber in me when people were in such an uncomfortable place because of me. I could sense it, the hesitation, the hurt that filled Reina's eyes. I was the cause of all that. I always made things happen, and when they did, they always hurt everyone around me. I chewed on my lips before breaking off my thoughts. “ You aren't the cause of anything” Ryan cupped my face as he whispered at me. I tried to believe that I wasn't, it was going to mean a lot, but I couldn't do so. I always did this, I had done this to mum, and it hadn't been funny. “It is fine, I want to go home” she insisted. Home wasn't going to be the little white bungalow that Ryan had built
Ryan's POVThere was no way I would have known what exactly she was thinking, now that I was thinking about it, she had always kept her emotions cladded. So tight that I couldn't see through. Why would she ever think that? Why was she going to think that she would ever wreck my life? Even if she did, she would do so in a good way. She was the only thing that sparkled in my life, so what exactly had she been thinking? Was she really going to act as if she didn't know? That she didn't have a clue of how much she meant to me? What she actually meant to me? How I will raze everywhere down if it meant me being with her again? “ My fluffy bear” I flicked the tears off her cheek. “ Why would you ever think that? Why would you ever think that you wreck anything?”The tears ran down her cheek, while I patted her back, letting her lean on my shoulders. “ You will never be a wreck to me, you mean the whole world to me, don't you know how whole you make me feel? You made me love, you made m