NAYAI tried to brush away the conversation I had with Kayla but what I didn’t get was her saying she was supposed to get married to Leon originally, I didn’t understand what she meant by that, and that somehow found its way to remain in my mind as I waited for Leon to return so I could ask what it was about.I sat in the living room waiting for the door to open up. After about an hour the door opened and Leon walked in with a smile on his face but I didn’t return it. I needed answers. “Did you miss me?” He asked placing a peek on my forehead“Why the long face?” He asked pinching my cheeks playfully “Did anything happen today?” I asked“I was waiting to get to you so I could tell you what went down,” he said“What is it?” I asked“It is quite interesting but expected to be honest,” he said with a smile as he sat beside me“But first you tell me what’s up with you,” he said“Well I got a call from Kayla,” I said“Really?” He eyes widened“Let me guess she tried to threaten you?” He
AMARIEThe next few weeks were hell everything had completely destroyed in our faces, it was bad to the point that James started selling off things we owned to try to keep the project going. He started with our vacation home then Kayla's car that he got her for her birthday but that wasn't enough still so I started to sell off some of my jewelry but all that was still not enough. The reporter kept calling and demanding for money or he would expose the news to the press but we have given and given that there was no more to give.Kayla locked herself in her room and refused to come out, I didn't know what that was about but she needed to go be with Ryan and get him to love her so we could ask for his help and tell him the truth rather than the truth being revealed through the press because that would be let all hell loose on us.“Kayla open the door” I knocked on her door“Let me fucking be Mom I am not going to meet Ryan” she hissed“This is for your good, everything can crash to the g
RYAN Everywhere I turned, Leon’s face was either plastered on a billboard or the main topic of conversation. It was impossible to escape him. His product launch was all anyone could talk about, and there were massive campaigns and promotions happening everywhere. I couldn’t stand it. The mere sight of his name or company logo made my blood boil. I made sure every single TechNova product was thrown out of my office and my house. I didn’t want to see anything that reminded me of that bastard. But no matter how much I tried to erase him from my space, he was still everywhere. What pissed me off the most was that I still didn’t understand how he managed to build something so big from the ground up without anyone noticing. How had he done it in complete silence? How had he kept it hidden for so long? It didn’t make sense. I refused to believe he built it on his own. I was convinced he must have acquired the company and was just pretending to own it. So, I had people look
NAYAI felt horrible, the moment I opened my eyes, I knew something was off. My body felt sluggish, my head was pounding, and there was this awful taste in my mouth that made me want to gag. I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the discomfort, but the second I moved, a sharp wave of nausea hit me so fast that I barely had time to scramble out of bed.I ran straight to the bathroom, dropping to my knees as my stomach twisted painfully. My body leaned forward into the toilet bowl, and before I knew it, I was throwing up everything I had in me. The retching didn’t stop. I held onto the toilet bowl, my fingers gripping the edges as my stomach continued to churn. My eyes felt heavy, and my throat burned.What the hell was this feeling?When I finally stopped, I slumped against the bathroom wall, completely drained and tired. My body felt weak and my bones heavy. I took in slow, shaky breaths, trying to steady myself. Maybe I ate something bad last night? That had to be it, I thought to my
JENNIFER I decided to invite all the board members for a meeting so I could convince them to vote for Ryan in the upcoming election. The last time I tried to reach out to them, they were stubborn and refused to meet with me. They claimed Ryan had to terminate the contract because the only other option left was Leon, and the idea of giving him the title was unacceptable.But after Leon revealed himself as the CEO of TechNova, things changed. I heard that some people were already rallying votes for him, and I had to shut it down before it got out of hand.Leon was smart and calculating, I would give him that. He had always been that way. Unlike others who underestimated him and mistook his quietness for weakness, I knew better. That was why I bought the idea of getting him married, to at least put a leash on him. But that plan failed miserably, and now we were stuck dealing with the consequences.Ryan, on the other hand, couldn’t get anything done. He had been like that his entire life
NAYALeon didn’t let me lift a finger. If I allowed him, he would even bathe me every morning. He didn’t let me out of his sight for a second, always hovering around me like I was going to disappear into thin air if he looked away. It was sweet, really, but sometimes, it was too much.I loved how much he cared, but I also needed my space. Every little thing, he wanted to do for me, pulling out chairs, opening doors, carrying things I could easily handle myself. If I so much as reached for a glass of water, he was already there, handing it to me before I could even touch it. I knew he was just being protective, but at times, it felt like I couldn’t even breathe without him watching over me.“Good morning darling, I brought breakfast” he smiled walking in with a tray“I’m not hungry” I whined putting the blanket over my head “Come on love you have to eat” he turned over the side of the bed tugging the blanket“I feel nauseous, and I think you are feeding me way too much” I whined“You
LEONPain shot through my body the moment I opened my eyes. It was sharp and burning, but it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. The only thing that did was her.“Naya.”I managed to say her name and it came out in a whisper, barely audible but it was the only thing I could say. My vision was blurry, the hospital ceiling above me spinning, but I forced myself to move.I had to see her.With every bit of strength I had, I pushed myself up. A sharp stabbing pain shot through my ribs, and my arm screamed in pain, but I didn’t care. I ripped out the drip attached to my arm, ignoring the sting, I dragged my legs off the bed. The floor was cold against my bare feet, but I barely felt it.I needed to find her.My knees failed me the moment I tried to stand, but I gritted my teeth and held onto the wall tightly using it to balance myself. Step by step, I forced my body to move, ignoring the shouts of the nurses behind me. I staggered through the hallway, my mind drowning in the only thought t
LEON“Let me fucking go” I hissed at the doctor trying to clean up my wounds“But sir you are bleeding,” he said“I don’t fucking care!” I roared “I want every doctor in this hospital to attend to her, she must wake up or I would burn this place to the fucking ground!!” I shouted, there was a banging in my head as I spoke but I ignored it. I had to make sure Naya was fine“We have been able to stabilize her, we can only hope that she wakes up,” he said slowly like he was scared of the words as they came out of his mouth“Don’t tell me that! I would pay any damn amount just make sure she is fine and she wakes up please” my voice cracked as tears filled my eyes, it was unbearable to keep watching her lay still like that“What is going on? What happened?” Nick rushed in looking between me and Naya“We will try our best you have my word,” the doctor said I crashed on the couch holding my head tightly trying to stop the banging that refused to stop“Why hasn’t this been covered up?” Nick
RYANThe taste of bitter powder still lingered on my tongue, mixing with the metallic flavor of blood from where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek. I didn’t even know how long I had been lying there, curled up on the same dusty couch in that dark apartment, the air thick with smoke and the stench of liquor. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking out the sun, or maybe it was already night again. Time had stopped meaning anything.My head was spinning. I’d taken too much this time, too many pills, too much alcohol. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to feel anything not shame, not the loss or the rage that burned deep within me.I tried to stand but a wincing headache rushed through my spine causing me to fall on the couch, I let out a groan and took a big gulp of the bottle of whiskey in my hand before reaching for my phone. The brightness of the phone almost knocked me out, it was past two in the afternoon. I was scrolling through the notifications when I saw something that caught my ey
NAYAWhen I opened my eyes, the room was quiet except for Leon and Nick’s voices. They were speaking in low tones like they didn’t want to disturb me. I didn’t catch everything they were saying at first, but when I listened a little more, I heard them mention something about a video and the press.“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice still a bit weak.Leon quickly rushed to my side. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you,” he said gently.“You didn’t,” I replied, shaking my head slowly.My eyes landed on the laptop screen, and I noticed a video was paused. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to it.Leon’s eyes followed mine. “I should go get the doctor to check you,” he said quickly, trying to change the subject.“Don’t do that, I am fine” I said firmly. “Just tell me what’s going on this time, Leon,” I told him He hesitated for a moment. “It’s Jennifer,” he said finally, and my eyes widened.“What? Did she try something again?” I asked, suddenly alert“No, nothing like that,” he answe
LEONThe anger in her voice was very loud and clear, I had never seen her like that it was like watching a different person but in a good way. Although it happened at a rough time she had the last laugh and it was so satisfying to watch. Their faces as they watch every word come out of her mouth, they must have forgotten she wasn’t the same girl they taunted and trampled on. They thought her words were just her bluffing because they thought she was weak and there was nothing she could do to them.And she showed them, they didn’t know how much she gave her all into making sure she brings them to their downfall, how persistent she was during that period was what drew me to her. I was so proud of her because she fought that battle against them and she won after they laughed in her face repeatedly, now it was left to them to waste away wishing they could go back in time and not get on her wrong side.She laid in bed and just stared at the ceiling without uttering a word and I sat beside h
I sat on the hospital bed staring into the distance while Leon sat beside me, he looked down and troubled, that it made me feel horrible. He also lost the same way I did but he was only trying to make me feel better while he battled with his own grief internally. I couldn’t even hold him and tell him everything would be fine, my mind wasn’t in the right place, we both needed each other and I couldn’t be there for him.“Have you had anything to eat?” I asked and he turned to me quickly surprised to hear me speak“Don’t worry about me I am fine” he said giving me a little smileHe still had his head wrapped with bandages and he hadn’t had any rest yet, his eyes looked red and heavy.“How could I not? Just look at you we went through the same thing and you are still trying to look after me when you are also hurting” I cried“Naya” he called cupping my face in his hands“Look at me, I am fine as long as you are fine,” he said the tone in his voice breaking my heart even further “But I’m
KAYLAIt was like a dream, one minute I was planning a holiday to escape everything that had been going on around me, and the very next minute everything was taken away from us. It was frustrating when our accounts got frozen but in my head I expected it to get fixed. Dad would take care of it was what I said. But it was like someone was actively working extremely hard to bring us down, I would never forget how Dad got arrested. I was still in bed when I heard a loud bang from downstairs, I was so confused and scared but I ran down the stairs to see what it was about just to see a sea of policemen storm into the house and whisk Dad away before we could react. Mom had to go around taking loans to afford a lawyer, it was embarrassing and unbelievable. I couldn’t wrap my head around how we could fall so fast, it didn’t happen with warning or little but everything happened at once and too fast for me to process. I cried myself to sleep every night because mom kept saying stuff like I ha
NAYA Being in that ward tied to the damn drip and the continuous beeping that filled my ears made me feel like I was being held captive. I wanted to leave the damn environment but they didn't want to let me leave. “I can’t stay here it is suffocating, I need to leave,” I said to Nick “Just a little more while and you will go home” Nick answered his voice laced with pity “I can’t, it feels like I am being held captive. I hate it here” I sobbed “How about we get some air outside” he suggested “Alright” I mumbled He took a wheelchair and tried to get me to sit on it when I stopped him “I can walk” I kicked the chair away as I got on my feet “Careful” he rushed to my side to assist me but the look I sent his way made him know better than to hold me I lost my baby and that was hard enough, staying in bed made me feel more helpless and way worse than I already was “Leon is now the CEO,” Nick said beside me “That’s good” was all I said It was good news but right
I headed back to the hospital so I could be with Naya while Nick could carry on sorting everything out, the evidence was clear and inevitable. The only way Jennifer could avoid getting arrested was if the evidence was destroyed and that would never happen not on my watch. I got down from my car and before I could step in an older-looking man with specks of grey hair scattered over his hair stopped me with his both hands stretched out by his side “Where is my daughter?” he asked a whiff of his alcohol-filled breath hit meI tried to walk around him and leave but he rushed and stood in front of me again asking the same question “Where is my daughter?!” he asked shouting this time“Go find your daughter or whatever else where to leave me and get out of my sight before I punch you in the guts” I threatened through my gritted teeth, I was in no mood to deal with a drunk“If you don't take me to her now I will come back with the press,” he said pausing me in my tracksWhat was the fucked
LEONIt was hard watching Naya devastated and broken and once again it was me who put her in that position. Just after celebrating that we were going to be parents it was taken away from us. It hurt so much but I couldn't show that in front of her, I had to be strong for her but I was moments away from slipping. I wanted to scream and crush them both to crumbs even after being named CEO. That wasn't enough, I need to finish them off for good.She clung to me tightly but didn't say a word after she cried her eyes out and I held onto her not letting her go. I couldn't tell her the good news since the moment had been stolen away and it didn't even sound like good news anymore with what we had going on. Our bundle of joy that we rejoiced over was gone, and I couldn't begin to imagine the pain that Naya was going through.“Congratulations boss you did it” Nick whispered once Naya fell asleep “Doesn't feel like a victory” I breathed out, he was talking about me becoming the new CEO of Valo
NAYAI slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first. Everything around me felt hazy like I was trapped in a dream I couldn’t wake up from. I tried to make sense of where I was, but the steady beeping sound filling my ears told me all I needed to know. I was in a hospital.I felt something strapped to my face and instinctively reached up, pulling down the oxygen mask. My body ached, but I ignored the pain and tried to sit up. The moment I moved, a sharp sting shot through me, making me wince.Before I could push myself any further, I heard hurried footsteps. Nick rushed to my side, his face filled with worry.“You are up,” he said happily “Stay still I will go get the doctor” he whispered“Where is Leon?” I asked but he rushed out to get the doctor I winced at every movement I made every part of me hurt and there was a throbbing in my head that didn't want to go away. Every time I close my eyes I see flashbacks of the car ramming into us, I thought that was it, I genuinely thoug