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“Lawrence, take down the trending news right now,” Ryan ordered his assistant on the phone. He cut the call and drove to the Williams’ mansion. Although he had ordered the removal of the news, the damage had already been done. Anger that he could barely contain rushed through him.His heart clenched painfully, an ache that had become all too familiar every time he thought about his past. That night… he saw the warehouse explode before his eyes, enveloping Larisa and drowning her in a sea of fire. There was nothing left… No body, no bones… all that was left of his beloved wife were her ashes. She must have died resenting him, thinking he had abandoned her… Ryan blinked and a lone tear rolled down his cheek before he quickly wiped it away. He laughed at himself self-deprecatingly. He didn’t deserve to cry for her… not after he failed her. However, he wouldn’t let anyone drag her name through the mud. The least he could do was protect her memory. As he drove up the driveway leadin
It was the weekend and Lora had just finished reviewing some reports in her study when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and a smile crossed her lips when she saw Jason’s name. “Hello, Jay,” Lora answered. “Hi, Lora… or should I say Miss L now since the cat is out of the bag?” Jason teased on the phone. “You keep being in the limelight and now, there’s no day that goes by without the media houses talking about the highly talented designer, Miss L. Perhaps I should be good to you in case meeting you becomes so hard in the future… You’re more popular than idol stars now.” “Oh, stop it, Jason,” Lora said but her voice was light with mirth. “You’re exaggerating! I can’t be more popular than idol stars.” “Are you sure?” Jason remarked. “I’m afraid you’re going to need security soon because a lot of your fans will be flocking to you for autographs. With that said… can I be the first in line? Can I have the honour of inviting the talented designer to lunch today? I’ll get your a
Ivy’s hands trembled when she looked at the photos in her hands. Anger and hatred flashed through her eyes as she yelled, “No! No… it can’t be!”Her eyes were wide with shock as she went through the pictures. After realising she was losing Ryan to Lora, Ivy hired someone to follow Lora so that she could find out something she could use against her. However, what she received shocked her to the core when she saw photos of Lora with two children by her side. “Lora has kids?” She whispered to herself. Gulping air, she went through the photos again and studied the kids’ faces. The little girl resembled Lora, however, it was the little boy’s face that made Ivy’s heart sink. He looked so much like Ryan Kingsley. “What’s going on? How could Lora’s child look like Ryan? Unless…”“No! No, it must just be a coincidence!” Ivy squashed her thoughts immediately. She didn't want to think of the possibility. However, she couldn’t deny it… the evidence was right in her face. Both these kids had a
“Grandpa, what’s going on? What’s the emergency?” Ryan asked worriedly when they got to Charles’ study. Charles cleared his throat. He sat back in his chair and said, “Before we get to that… there’s something I want to ask you. As Lora’s work partner, what do you think of her?” Ryan frowned, not knowing why his grandfather asked that question. He replied, “Lora’s very talented, Grandpa. Her skills are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before… It’s a pity our partnership ended, she would have been a great asset to our Jewelry company.” Charles studied his grandson, a knowing glint in his eyes. He knew his grandson so well and knew that Ryan was already seeing Lora in a new light, although Ryan himself was unaware of this.He smiled and remarked, “Knowing how it’s not easy to impress you, you must have a high opinion of Lora Davis for you to speak so highly of her.”Ryan shrugged and said, “Well, she’s good at what she does, Grandpa.” Charles let out a chuckle. He grinned and replied,
“Can you stop pestering me? So annoying!” Lora’s cold voice rang in Ryan’s mind and her harsh words kept replaying in his mind like a broken record. Her attitude confused Ryan to the core. He couldn’t take her off his mind. This was new to him, after all, he was used to women throwing themselves at him and no one had ever dared to reject him. Lora Davis being the exception. Ryan sighed internally as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass. He was seated on a leather couch in the VIP section of his club and soft music played in the background. After that call with Lora, he had been in a bad mood and needed a drink to calm down. “.... Davis’ daughter is so proud. She needs to be put in her place.” Ryan’s ears perked up when he heard that. His eyebrows creased as he turned his head to glance to the right side of the club. A few old men were playing pool while others sat on an L-shaped leather couch, smoking cigars and drinking expensive whiskey. ‘Davis’ daughter? Are they talking
“Are you sure you received all the shipments for this month?” Lora asked one of the personnel at the port. She had received a lead earlier but it turned out to be a false lead. That was when she realised someone was deliberately trying to lead her in the opposite direction. So, she decided to go to the port and check for herself whether the shipment was missing or not. The personnel looked through his records and confirmed, “Yes, all the shipments arrived safely. None was lost at sea.” “Ok, did anyone from Davis & Co. sign a release document for shipment XXXXX?” Lora questioned seriously. The man appeared to hesitate. He gulped and said, “No, Ma’am. No one has signed yet. It seems they couldn’t find the shipment.”Lora frowned. “But you said all the shipment arrived.” “Yes… but yours mysteriously disappeared and no one signed for it,” the man said. “Ok… I’ll search for it myself,” Lora remarked, she was about to turn around when she heard a familiar voice. “Lora!” Lora froze wh
Ryan was about to reply but he paused when Lora’s words echoed in his mind. He smiled at Lora and asked, “Are you jealous?” “What?” Lora was bereft of any words, she stopped walking and glanced at Ryan in disbelief. How did he come up with that conclusion?"Well, you seem so angry that I have a fiancee... the only explanation is that you're jealous," Ryan said with a smirk. "You-" Lora glared at the man. Ryan’s smile only grew wider and Lora felt the need to correct him. She firmly said, “I’m not jealous! There’s no reason to be.”However, Ryan was convinced Lora was jealous. Why else would she be so angry that he was flirting with her when he had a fiancee?His heart felt light for some reason. He smiled and stated, “I’m taking you to the hospital for a checkup.”Before Lora could tell what was happening, she was swept off her feet. Being carried unexpectedly, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck. When she realised what he had done, she began to kick her legs, dem
Meanwhile, Ivy's phone buzzed and she checked the message she had received. Her eyes turned vicious when she saw the photos on her phone. She dug her nails into her palms, anger bubbling up within her. The private investigator she had hired just sent her photos of Lora. However, she didn’t expect to see Ryan in those photos. ‘Ryan, why do you keep following Lora around? She’s not working with you anymore…’ Ivy thought in her mind. Deep down, she knew the reason Ryan couldn’t stay away from Lora. It was because Lora looked like his late wife. Perhaps like her, Ryan also wanted to confirm Lora’s identity. Ivy couldn’t have that. She had to find out before Ryan so that she could get rid of Lora and her kids. After enduring for many years, waiting for Ryan to finally marry her, Ivy wouldn’t give up so easily. Hatred flashed through her eyes as she muttered to herself, “I can’t afford to lose Ryan… Not to that bitch, Lora!” …The next day, Lora was in her office when Hannah knocked o
Hello, lovely readers, We have come to the end of this book and I'm so grateful for the support I've received. Please if you can, support this book by leaving comments in the chapters and showering it with gems. It will help to make it get noticed faster. If you're new to my work, you can check out my other books on my GN profile, I'll highly appreciate it. I will be coming back soon with a new book. I hope you continue to support me even as I challenge myself as an author. Please find me on my socials using my penname. We can interact and get to know each other, haha. Thank you once more and I hope you like my next book. Love you lots. Kisses. Natie.
Months later… “Is it ok if we leave the children with you?" Ryan asked his family. It was the weekend and Ryan and Lora had decided to take the children to the Kingsley mansion so that they could spend time together. Charles Kingsley was already holding little Lucas while Miles was holding Riley. The twins had grown so fast and could now toddle around all over the place. “I don’t mind staying with them if they are this cute,” Charles remarked while making funny faces at little Lucas. Ella and Ethan were already following Diane around, asking her to take them shopping. They seemed not to care that their parents were going to leave them there. Ryan and Lora shared a look before laughing. Lora said, “It seems we are not needed.”“That’s because they know they are in safe hands,” Ryan replied. He called out to Diane, “Sis, you can use my card-”“Come on, I have my own money to spoil my niece and nephew,” Diane replied. “Besides, the only friend I have went abroad and is yet to be ba
Three months later... Adan carried Bianca into their villa. They had just arrived at the place they would spend their honeymoon at and Adan wanted to carry his wife into their villa. He went upstairs and placed her gently on the bed. Looking down at her, he grabbed her left hand and kissed her wedding ring. “I’m happy to be here with you, Mrs Nicholson,” he said in his deep velvety voice. Bianca’s face flushed pink. The last couple of weeks had been nothing but wonderful. Adan had taken her on several dates, they spent a lot of time together and had grown closer during that time. What was supposed to be an arranged loveless marriage turned out to be a marriage that they both wanted, the contract long forgotten. They held a grand wedding in the city and after the reception, they immediately got on a flight, not wanting to delay their honeymoon. After all, tonight was the first time they would make love to each other. Biting her lower lip, Bianca remarked, “I’m happy to be you
Bianca stood face to face with the woman who had run away earlier. She gulped, feeling a lump in her throat as she studied Serena Pierce’s facial features. Bianca had to admit she was beautiful. She had dark brown hair with captivating brown eyes and her body was to die for. “How can I help you?” Bianca asked, sounding a little stiff. She had no idea why the woman who had run away earlier was suddenly in her ward, so she had her guard up. “Are you worried that I’ll steal Adan away from you?” Serena answered with a question. "I heard you're having an arranged marriage."Bianca frowned, irritation flaring through her. She glanced at Serena and replied, “Look, if this is a confrontation about me staying away from Adan then please, save yourself the embarrassment and leave my ward. I don’t want to fight with you. After all, your parents saved my life.” “Do you love Adan?” Serena suddenly asked. "Or are you marrying him because you were forced to?"Silence fell over the place. Bianca
“Say that again,” Adan requested, looking into Bianca’s eyes. His heart was racing at a thousand miles per second and he could feel electric currents coursing through him, an aftereffect of the passionate kiss they just shared. Bianca’s face reddened. She bit her lower lip and sheepishly said, “I have feelings for you.” Adan felt like his heart had jumped out of his chest and soared high up into the sky. A grin formed on his lips, his eyes lit up with joy and he pulled Bianca in for a hug. “I know it will take some time for you to fall in love with me. But I’m willing to wait…” Adan remarked. The two continued to share a hug until someone at the door cleared their throat. “I see you lovebirds are getting closer.” The two pulled away from the hug and glanced at the door to see Lora and Ryan walking into the ward. Lora wore a smile on her face. She looked at her friend and was genuinely happy for her, knowing Bianca already had a crush on Adan but she didn’t want to accept it beca
"What?" Bianca blinked, her heart racing in her chest. Of all things, she didn't expect Adan to ask her such a question. "Didn't you say I wasn't your type?" She questioned, furrowing her eyebrows despite the millions of butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach. Adan chuckled. He cupped Bianca’s face and replied, "I lied. Why wouldn't you be my type? You're gorgeous. You're the most beautiful blonde, green-eyed goddess I've ever seen."Bianca’s face flushed pink. She bit her lower lip and said, "I now know why you're a playboy. Your game is smooth... if I didn't know you, I would have fallen for your charms."Hurt flickered through Adan's eyes. He sighed and replied, "I'm not a playboy. That's just what I made everyone believe." "What?" Bianca laughed. "Come on, Adan. I'm back and ok now. You don't need to come up with lies because you feel guilty for what happened. I already know why you never wanted to get married." "Bee... I don't know how to say this," Adan responded. "
Hours earlier. Bianca felt like she had been hit by a truck. Every cell in her body hurt. Breathing felt like she was swallowing molten lava. She hadn't eaten in the last two days, so she was very low on energy and her injuries were taking long to heal. "Have some soup. You're going to feel better and gain some strength," the elderly woman who had been taking care of Bianca offered. With difficulty, Bianca propped herself up and accepted the bowl. She then ate the soup quickly and the elderly woman watched her with a warm smile on her face. Bianca’s face was still swollen and bruised and it was hard to make out her facial features. "Thank you," Bianca said when she was done, her voice hoarse. "Oh don't mention it," the woman remarked. "My name is Rita Pierce. The man who saved you is my husband, Josaphat Pierce. Don't worry, you're safe here. We live with our daughter, Serena and our three grandchildren." Bianca nodded, looking around and realising she was in a modest bedroom
“Sir, we've found something.” Adan’s heart jumped to his throat at those words. He turned sharply to face one of the IT men, asking, “What did you find?” “Although we can’t see the kidnapper, we can see Miss Jones being forced into a second car on a camera near the blind spot. The license plate was fake, but we are working on tracking the make and the model to know who owns the car,” the IT man reported. “What about the thing I asked you to look into?” Adan inquired. He was referring to the background check he had ordered on Cheryl. “Yes, we did find something,” the IT man replied. “She had withdrawn about a hundred thousand dollars from her savings account two days ago. However, since she didn’t use digital transfer, we can’t trace where the money went. We just have to wait until we find the owner of the second vehicle.” Adan’s jaw clenched and Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder before squeezing it. He said, “We are going to find her, bro.”“I swear, if Cheryl has anything to do
“Are you telling me none of you were able to find my fiancee?” Adan yelled. “Then what the hell am I paying so much money for?” “We are working on it, Sir,” the IT man said. “We need time-”“Time? Does my fiancee have the luxury of time? Each second that she’s out there, she’s in danger. I need to find her as soon as possible,” Adan hissed, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. It had been two days since Bianca went missing. Two days since the one who had tampered with the CCTV at the club disappeared and two days without any news about Bianca. Adan was going crazy. Who would dare kidnap his fiancee? He didn’t remember having any enemies recently. Could it have been someone with an old grudge? Grudges were not a new thing in the business world. The competition was stiff and winning certain projects meant being hated by the others who wanted the same projects. Adan hired the best hackers in the city to track Bianca. However, they were only able to find the first vehicle she was t