It's been four days since Lily was admitted to the hospital. Derrick bought an apartment in the city and moved with Lily to the place to recuperate. Derrick hired a servant to take care of the cooking and to attend to Lily. He left early hours in the morning for the office to handle some urgent matters. Lily was in her room. The servant served breakfast and got Lily to eat something. After breakfast, Lily went back to her room. She sat on the bed and closing her eyes she remembered the words of the lady who was with Ivy'Derrick is married. You don't seem like the one to go after married men. He is just using you, remember that. I will let you go but I will punish you for forcing yourself on him'Among everything Ivy's friend Michelle said to Lily this was the most painful."Derrick is married. He is using you," Tears filled her eyes and they flowed down her cheeks freely.She felt betrayed and used. She was raped because of him."I will not forgive them. I will make them pay for this
Derrick was downcast, it appears everything is turning against him now. Just when he thought life was beginning to make sense, this happened. Lily missing and his mum is on the bridge of death.It was past midday, Derrick called Marcus to take his father home and he stayed back to look after his mum.Barely 10 minutes after Marcus and Mr Mingle left, Ivy walked in. She saw a dejected Derrick sitting in the patient waiting area. She walked up to him, sat on the seat next to him and pulled him into a hug."What happened Derrick?" she asked calmly.Derrick said nothing but took solace in her embrace. She hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head lovingly."Everything will be alright," she assured him.Derrick nodded and stayed in Ivy's arms for a while before freeing himself and walking to his mother's ward. He forgot his phone on the seat which he had placed there after using it to call Marcus. Ivy's eyes caught sight of the phone as soon as Derrick left and she took it intending
Lily sent a message to Marcus to deliver to Derrick when she couldn't get through to him directly. She met with a lady at the coffee shop who offered her home to her as a temporary shelter. Lily and the strange lady whom she later got to know as Brenda arrived at the small apartment in the evening and after freshening up set up to watch a movie when Lily questioned Brenda on why she was helping her. Back at the hospital in Washington, at the same time, Marcus made his way to the hospital and informed Derrick about Lily. Ivy had stepped out of the ward when Marcus delivered the message to Derrick. Derrick was happy to know Lily was in Hoboken in New York City."She called but couldn't get to you," Marcus informed him.Derrick immediately checked his phone and realized Lily had called and he remembered Ivy saying she mistakenly picked up a call."I am glad to hear Lily is okay. Kindly get me her address I need to see her," Derrick said and his mother's hand moved at the mention of Lily.
"Aunty Abigail killed my mum," Lily said faintly, almost like a whisper and dropped to the ground."Lily!, Lily?" Brenda called out her name as she pulled her into her embrace.She slapped her face a few times but no response. She picked up her phone and called the ambulance. Soon Lily was in the emergency. Brenda was just pacing up and down the hall."No, no, this can't be happening. This is not how things were supposed to happen. I hope they don't find out," She thought as she paced up and down the waiting area. "The only way out of this is to separate Derrick and Lily. They will spare me if I do that," she concluded Back in the city, Abigail sent a message to the black dragon. "She knows,"Her phone buzzed immediately with a reply'Idiot, you mess up again. The truth can't come up. initiate the next plan,'Abigail read the message and texted back, 'Okay'She came downstairs carrying a suitcase. Nora was about to go to bed when she saw Abigail coming down with a suitcase."It's late
Abigail Shawn had moved to Venice. Nora was arrested for the murder of Mr Adam Shawn and the investigation was still ongoing. Brenda's apartment exploded. The news was all over the TV channels. Fire service was already at the scene battling the fire. Mr Mingle went to get some coffee and was returning to the ward of Mrs Mingle. Upon opening the door, the first thing he saw was the news on the TV. He recognized the apartment immediately."That is Brenda's apartment. This means Lily is also there," he thought to himself.He placed the coffee on the table and, taking a glance at Mrs Mingle, who was lying peacefully on the bed with her eyes closed, went out of the ward pulling his phone out of his pocket. He made a call to his assistant and asked him to get the car ready. He went straight to the doctor's office and requested his wife be discharged. The doctor advises against moving the patient in such an unstable condition but Mr Mingle will not give in. He insisted his wife was discharge
Lily is recovering well from the injury. Joshua walked in with lunch and fed it to her. All the food prepared for her had special ingredients and herbs to aid her healing. Grandma came to check on Lily and later that night, Joshua walked in with supper, after feeding her, he began to sing;"Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream"Lily's eyebrow joined on her forehead as she looked at the boy surprised."What are you doing?" She asked."Singing for you to sleep," replied Joshua happily.Lily's jaw dropped. It did not stop Joshua who started singing another lullaby and stroking Lily's hair gently like a baby."Go to sleep my darling, close your little eyes. Angels are above us, peeping through the skies. God is in his heaven, and he watches doth keep," he paused, placing a finger to his cheek and tilting his head to the right, he squinted his face and asked;"Do you know the last line of the song?"Lily's face darkened and
Derrick left Hohoken angry, broken and sad back to Washington. He went straight to his office. All he could remember was Lily kissing another man."What has his mum got to do with this? Lily has never met his mum, so what was she talking about? What nonsense was that?" Derrick thought."No, she just found someone else. Whatever she said was pure nonsense," he thought.He remembered their first kiss including subsequent ones. He could tell she loved him as much as he loved her. So what caused the sudden change? Why is she pushing him away?"I am so stupid. She has another man, that is why. How can I forget she was in another man's arms? She kissed him right in front of me," he said angrily.He was pacing up and down his office and had emptied a bottle of wine already. He closed his eyes and fell onto the sofa. Marcus walked in. Derrick looked at him and smiled. Marcus looked at Derrick who was looking miserable. He helped him to the car and took him back to the villa.Ivy was there and
In the morning, Luis and Lily made a trip to the courthouse. He was successful with his appeal and managed to push the execution back by a month. He met Nora and they spoke at length. He recorded their entire conversation. He requested the case files and went through the accompanying evidence gathered. He saw the video from the house surveillance. He watched it and asked if he could get a copy. They gave it to him. On his way out he heard some officers talking."Is that the famous lawyer Luis from Hoboken?" one officer asked, and another replied."Yes, it is. I just don't know why he wants to handle this case all of a sudden," another officer passed a comment"Did you guys ever think for once this lady may be innocent after all?" one officer chipped in."What do you mean, aside from the polygraph which she passed all the evidence points to her," replied another officer."Shut it guys and get back to work. If he wants to handle the case, how is it your business" came the voice of the se
Derrick went silent and lowered his head shocked by the news of his father's death."I was informed yesterday but I knew you were out on a date and I didn't want to spoil your evening with such news," Luis added and Derrick just nodded."I will be returning to Florida, later today. Just let me know if you need anything," Luis said and got up to leave.Derrick got up and escorted Luis to the door without saying anything but just nodding to whatever Luis was saying. He closed the door after Luis had left and out of anger punched the wall so hard, that he got injured in the process. As if he could not feel the pain, he gave the wall another punch. He turned and pressed his back to the wall and sank to the ground.Luis walked to his car and called Isabel."Hello Isabel, are you busy?" he asked."No, what's up?" replied Isabel."Kindly come over to Derrick's place. He is not alright. I just told him about his father," replied Luis."Okay, I will be there in 10 minutes," Isabel replied."Gr
Derrick lowered his head, disappointed. He did not know how to react to the news he had just received. It was his father all along. All the problems he and Lily went through were because of his father. Technically, Lily never had a moment of peace because of him. He recalled what Lily had said about having months of peace since he was out of her life. She was right after all. "When did you find out?" Derrick directed his question to Luis."Err, things become clearer the day you left Florida. I had always had my suspicion though," replied Luis."Why didn't you say something to me?" Derrick queried."Would you have believed me then without the undeniable evidence?" Luis asked advancing towards him.Derrick went silent and Luis patted him on the shoulder."I am truly sorry about your father. I wish he didn't do what he did," Luis consoled and left the two standing there."And you," Derrick said shifting his attention to Isabel who was still standing with him. "Did you ever love me or was
Luis, knowing what was going to happen, had already taken the first flight to Washington to defend Derrick.Arriving at Washington Central police station, Derrick saw on the TV screen what had transpired the night before, while he was in bed hugging Lily's dress. He was shocked to see what was showing on the screen."So that is why he got arrested?" Derrick thought as he was sent to the withholding cell.Derrick knew his father could do the unthinkable like when his father killed his friend and made him lose his memory but that was a long time ago. He thought he had changed."Drug and weapon trafficking?" Derrick thought. "When did he start doing such business?" he continued in his thought. "But why? As the head of Homeland Security, he earned good money, so why would he do this?" he thought. "Or did someone set him up?" he frowned while trying to understand why his father would do such a thing."Lucky you. Your lawyer is already here," came the voice of an officer interrupting Derric
Derry stared at Luis not sure how to react to the information."Does your wife know?" Derry inquired."No," Luis said and turned to face Derry. "When I found Derrick, I sent Isabel to his location to monitor him. Well, I didn't give her so many details aside from telling her I want her to monitor Derrick and report his activities to me and also to keep an eye on his father, Mr Mingle. I had found out the two were living together. Isabel got herself employed in Derrick's new company, Armani or something. Some weird name, I don't know how he comes up with company names. Anyway, Isabel got close to him and he found solace in her. I am not sure what happened. Isabel is very professional in her dealings but she yielded so I let them be," he explained."So Derrick doesn't know," Derry said."No, he doesn't. Isabel is a CID, but now she is in love with Derrick and she will come clean after our operation. She is a strong woman; she can handle rejection if things don't go well," Luis said raisi
Derrick spent some time with his children before leaving for his apartment. He decided to stay around for a while before going back to Washington. Derrick was back in his apartment, he stood in the living room recalling memories of himself and Lily. His eyes shifted to the dining area and he remembered the first time he had cooked for Lily. He recalled all the good times they had together. He went up to the bedroom. He opened the door and the familiar fragrance that used to greet him when Lily was in the room was no longer there. He scanned the room and the dressing table still had Lily's stuff on it. He opened the closet and her clothes were still in there. Neither Lily nor he returned to the apartment after Lily was rushed to the hospital. He removed one of Lily's dresses from the hanger and hugged it. It did carry traces of her scent. He walked to the bed and lay down on the bed hugging Lily's dress feeling regretful. His phone rang interrupting the moment. He searched for it and c
Derry left and Lily turned to face Derrick. There was silence in the room for 10 minutes but it felt like a whole day for Lily. Derrick cleared his throat and got up to sit next to Lily but she stopped him."Please, just sit where you are," Lily said with a straight face and Derrick sat back on his seat."I am sorry about that," Derrick said."Okay. Why do you want to see me?" Lily asked going straight to the point and Derrick exhaled deeply."Lily, I came here to apologize. No matter my explanation it doesn't change the fact that I abandoned you when you needed me most," Derrick began and Lily looked on with a straight face, constantly reminding herself Derry was just in the living room to keep herself calm."So, why did you leave? All I remember was you apologizing," Lily asked and Derrick remembered that day.He had spoken to his father and he left the hospital after. He recalled Lily's state when he left. Derrick narrated their entire life together as a couple and explained he didn
Derry felt Lily needed to know the truth and that would help her make a decision she would not regret. If Derrick's reasons were justified, she could go back to the man she had once loved. She hated him now because she didn't know why he left.He turned to look at Lily, she was asleep but the expression on her face said she was not happy even in her sleep. He got out of bed and went to the washroom and stood under the cold shower. The weather was that cold yet he took a cold shower. He returned to the bedroom to see Derrick had replied indicating he wasn't asleep himself. He sighed and left the bedroom for his study. He dialled Luis's number and he picked up after two rings."Hey men, do you have something against marriage fun?" queried Luis as soon as the call connected."Sorry to disturb you, I just needed someone to talk to," replied Derry sounding sad.Luis looked at Rose who was still sleeping and he went to the balcony."Hey, you don't sound okay, what happened? Is Lily aright?"
Derry joined his third and last meeting for the day. In the meeting, he was a bit distracted. He felt content in his heart, having adopted the children but was still afraid to advance his relationship with Lily, especially now that Derrick was back in Town."Will Lily go back to him?" Derry thought recalling Luis's several warnings."Sir, what do you think of the idea?" asked one of the board members.Derry sat at the head of the table surrounded by 6 board members, 3 on each side of the table. He could see their lips moving and images flashing on the projector screen but nothing they were saying was registering on his mind."Sir, Mr McClean?" the board member sitting closest to him called out to him."Yes," Derry responded snapping out of his thoughts."I just wanted to know what you thought of the idea for the project," the board member who had done the presentation asked again."Send it to my email, I want to go through it again and decide," Derry replied. "Is that the last idea pre
"Perfect," Luis said and Rose looked at him wondering what was on his phone that he was smiling about but he said nothing and continued driving."What is it?" Rose asked curiously."Just work," Luis replied and rubbed her chin with his thumb gently before putting both hands on the steering."Okay," Rose replied and kept her eyes on the road.As soon as they got home, Luis kissed Rose on the cheeks and quickly proceeded to his basement. Rose immediately knew the notification; he received in the car was probably a lead on the investigation. Meaning he had found something on Mr Mingle. She smiled and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and after she started preparing some tea for Luis.In the basement, Luis turned on the light and put all his machines on."My babies, Dad needs you to do something really fun for him," Luis said while opening some apps on the machines and waiting for other machines to fully boot.He connected the headset to the machine and put it on. He pulled a se