Jack gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other arm loose over the gear shift as he drove through the quiet evening streets."Well. Chris?" Jack finally broke the silence."He's my ex-husband," she replied coldly, staring out the window.Jack hesitated before he said anything. He was giving her the opportunity to say more, but Lilian didn't want to play along. And that kiss—almost.She exhaled sharply.Jack’s voice pulled her back. “I thought he was with Rita?”“He is.”“Then what’s the deal?”Lilian adjusted in her seat. “It’s complicated, and I don’t want to talk about it.”Silence again.Jack nodded as if he understood what she was telling him, but he really didn't. "Okay… I won't push it." "Just so you know, I'm here if you ever want to talk to someone at some point."Something in his tone—gentle, peaceful—soothed the tension in her She had never received that from anyone else before. If she was having an issue, she took care of it herself. There was never anyone there to
Lilian was shocked to find the woman standing before her, arms folded and eyes blazing with anger. Rita. The same woman whom she had so endeavored to erase from her mind, the one who had been bothering her at every turn whenever Chris was present.Lilian's hand made a fist on the doorknob, annoyance coursing through her veins. She was exhausted, sleeping on duty, and had no use for drama at the start of the day."What do you want, Rita?" She snapped abruptly, in annoyance.Rita's chin lifted, her fine features unmarred by the early morning sunlight. She carried the untrained elegance of a woman who had spent years mastering the art of being distant in a black, skin-tight, navy-blue pantsuit that clung to her like a second skin. Even now, with her temper boiling just beneath the surface, she looked as if she had just walked out of a high-rise office building and not as if she had dashed over to talk to someone."I'm here to warn you," Rita told her, her voice sharp and cutting. "Stay a
A driving, aching pain went through her head, a never-ending thud that refused to abate. Lilian's body felt foreign to her, all her muscles refusing to let go, all her limbs rooted to the spot. A mist enveloped her mind, thick and unbreakable, devouring all her efforts at understanding. She attempted to lift her eyelids, but they were jammed, pressed down by heavy stones. Fear crept in through her, a silent, malignant fear that engulfed her heart. She struggled to say something, but nothing emerged.Then, movement.She wasn’t still. Someone was moving her. Every move brought fresh waves of pain all over her body, searing and limitless. Her brain commanded them to stop, to decelerate—to cease the pain—but the cry remained locked inside her, muffled and unheeded. A voice pierced the fog.Immediate. Panicked. "We need a doctor!"Doctor? What happened?The pain increased, pulling her back into the darkness again. She let herself be consumed by it, drowning in the darkness like a ship pound
"Miss Lilian.?" he started cautiously.She spoke in a hoarse voice. "Please call me Lilian."A bright smile swept across the doctor's face. "Okay, Lilian." It's marvelous to have you up. "You really had us worried."He brought over a stool and sat beside her bed. "Do you know where you are and what happened?"Lilian's forehead furrowed as pieces of memory surfaced in her mind. I'm at a hospital. I recall when I opened the door of my car, then. a severe push pushed me backward. "I must have struck my head."The expression on the doctor's face hardened. "In fact, the car had a bomb attached." The explosion injured you with its blast."His words weighed heavy upon her. To consider that one had attacked her so brutally was inconceivable. Her temples started the dull pounding, heightening the maelstrom of feeling.Noticing she was in pain, Chris held her hand tighter, anchoring her. Their eyes met for an instant, no words exchanged but a silent communication between them.The physician wen
"How is she doing, Chris?" Diana's voice cut through the stillness like tension-strung glass—soft, controlled, and yet with suppressed feeling. She fought back tears. The last two days had been terrible. Uncertainty lingers in the air, and apprehension dangles in the air like smoke on fire. "She woke up yesterday," Chris said, entering the empty hallway outside Lilian's room. "A few seconds before falling asleep again." The doctors had told him it was nothing. Patients with head trauma sleep more in the beginning. He heard her suck in a sharp breath, as if she'd been holding it for some time. Diana had changed since her husband died. The once lovely woman now clung to hope like a widow would cling to the final photo from the past. She had been trying to re-open lines of communication with Lilian for months, hoping to bridge the pain and loss-filled gap. But Lilian had shut her out of everything, closing the world away with an impenetrable will and no reason. "Is she going to be all
Chris stood in the hospital corridor, his eyes on Rita and Kelvin. Rita was calm, but Kelvin's disheveled state gave away the restlessness inside."Has she woken up?" Kelvin's voice was barely above a whisper, laden with concern.Chris shook his head. "No."Rita stepped forward. "You need to head home, Chris. Take a shower and change clothes. You look like a zombie."Chris's jaw tightened. "I'm not leaving, Rita.""You're no good to her or anyone if you collapse from exhaustion," Rita retorted.Kelvin interjected, "Rita's right, Chris. I promise we won't leave her even for a second."Chris glanced at Lilian through the glass window. She remained motionless. "Okay then, but don't leave her side. She was attacked; who knows if these criminals would return to finish the job."Kelvin nodded solemnly. Rita's eyes softened. "She'll be okay. Lilian is too stubborn to surrender to death," she said with a faint smile, pressing a gentle kiss to Chris's lips.Chris nodded and left. The ki
She held the phone to her ear, her bruised fingers trembling."I missed you, sister." "You haven't spoken to me for some time," William answered quietly and sorrowfully.She shut her eyes to fend off the sting of tears."I apologize, my love," she murmured gently, pushing the falsehood past her lips. “I lost my phone.”It was a poor excuse. She knew he’d see right through it, but what could she say? That someone had tried to blow her to pieces? That the charred wreck of her car now sat behind a police barricade as evidence of an attempted murder?There was silence on the other end—brief but heavy.“Can we do a video call? Are you okay? I want to see you,” William asked, voice tinged with urgency and something deeper… fear.He knew. Not everything, but enough.“I… not right now, dear,” she replied, adjusting the oxygen tubes across her face. “They don’t allow video calls where I am.”Another lie.“That’s a stupid rule!” he yelled. “Who makes such stupid rules?”She bit her lip and let
Lilian tapped her fingers against the cold glass of her office desk, her mind buzzing with a determination she hadn’t felt in years. “Call off all my appointments for the rest of the evening,” she instructed, her tone unyielding as she glanced at her assistant.The assistant, wide-eyed, stammered, “But, ma’am, we have a crucial meeting with clients—this could make or break the quarter, and rescheduling won’t be possible for six months!”Lilian’s gaze flicked away dismissively. She didn’t need reminders of the stakes; she knew them all too well. But tonight, work would take a backseat to something far more significant. Nothing mattered more than Chris, the man she’d shared three years with. They’d grown apart, no doubt, but tonight was her chance to bridge that gap. Her heart swelled at the thought of surprising him. She’d be preparing his favorite dinner—an act of love that, perhaps, would rekindle the spark she missed. After stopping by the grocery store, Lilian headed home with bag
She held the phone to her ear, her bruised fingers trembling."I missed you, sister." "You haven't spoken to me for some time," William answered quietly and sorrowfully.She shut her eyes to fend off the sting of tears."I apologize, my love," she murmured gently, pushing the falsehood past her lips. “I lost my phone.”It was a poor excuse. She knew he’d see right through it, but what could she say? That someone had tried to blow her to pieces? That the charred wreck of her car now sat behind a police barricade as evidence of an attempted murder?There was silence on the other end—brief but heavy.“Can we do a video call? Are you okay? I want to see you,” William asked, voice tinged with urgency and something deeper… fear.He knew. Not everything, but enough.“I… not right now, dear,” she replied, adjusting the oxygen tubes across her face. “They don’t allow video calls where I am.”Another lie.“That’s a stupid rule!” he yelled. “Who makes such stupid rules?”She bit her lip and let
Chris stood in the hospital corridor, his eyes on Rita and Kelvin. Rita was calm, but Kelvin's disheveled state gave away the restlessness inside."Has she woken up?" Kelvin's voice was barely above a whisper, laden with concern.Chris shook his head. "No."Rita stepped forward. "You need to head home, Chris. Take a shower and change clothes. You look like a zombie."Chris's jaw tightened. "I'm not leaving, Rita.""You're no good to her or anyone if you collapse from exhaustion," Rita retorted.Kelvin interjected, "Rita's right, Chris. I promise we won't leave her even for a second."Chris glanced at Lilian through the glass window. She remained motionless. "Okay then, but don't leave her side. She was attacked; who knows if these criminals would return to finish the job."Kelvin nodded solemnly. Rita's eyes softened. "She'll be okay. Lilian is too stubborn to surrender to death," she said with a faint smile, pressing a gentle kiss to Chris's lips.Chris nodded and left. The ki
"How is she doing, Chris?" Diana's voice cut through the stillness like tension-strung glass—soft, controlled, and yet with suppressed feeling. She fought back tears. The last two days had been terrible. Uncertainty lingers in the air, and apprehension dangles in the air like smoke on fire. "She woke up yesterday," Chris said, entering the empty hallway outside Lilian's room. "A few seconds before falling asleep again." The doctors had told him it was nothing. Patients with head trauma sleep more in the beginning. He heard her suck in a sharp breath, as if she'd been holding it for some time. Diana had changed since her husband died. The once lovely woman now clung to hope like a widow would cling to the final photo from the past. She had been trying to re-open lines of communication with Lilian for months, hoping to bridge the pain and loss-filled gap. But Lilian had shut her out of everything, closing the world away with an impenetrable will and no reason. "Is she going to be all
"Miss Lilian.?" he started cautiously.She spoke in a hoarse voice. "Please call me Lilian."A bright smile swept across the doctor's face. "Okay, Lilian." It's marvelous to have you up. "You really had us worried."He brought over a stool and sat beside her bed. "Do you know where you are and what happened?"Lilian's forehead furrowed as pieces of memory surfaced in her mind. I'm at a hospital. I recall when I opened the door of my car, then. a severe push pushed me backward. "I must have struck my head."The expression on the doctor's face hardened. "In fact, the car had a bomb attached." The explosion injured you with its blast."His words weighed heavy upon her. To consider that one had attacked her so brutally was inconceivable. Her temples started the dull pounding, heightening the maelstrom of feeling.Noticing she was in pain, Chris held her hand tighter, anchoring her. Their eyes met for an instant, no words exchanged but a silent communication between them.The physician wen
A driving, aching pain went through her head, a never-ending thud that refused to abate. Lilian's body felt foreign to her, all her muscles refusing to let go, all her limbs rooted to the spot. A mist enveloped her mind, thick and unbreakable, devouring all her efforts at understanding. She attempted to lift her eyelids, but they were jammed, pressed down by heavy stones. Fear crept in through her, a silent, malignant fear that engulfed her heart. She struggled to say something, but nothing emerged.Then, movement.She wasn’t still. Someone was moving her. Every move brought fresh waves of pain all over her body, searing and limitless. Her brain commanded them to stop, to decelerate—to cease the pain—but the cry remained locked inside her, muffled and unheeded. A voice pierced the fog.Immediate. Panicked. "We need a doctor!"Doctor? What happened?The pain increased, pulling her back into the darkness again. She let herself be consumed by it, drowning in the darkness like a ship pound
Lilian was shocked to find the woman standing before her, arms folded and eyes blazing with anger. Rita. The same woman whom she had so endeavored to erase from her mind, the one who had been bothering her at every turn whenever Chris was present.Lilian's hand made a fist on the doorknob, annoyance coursing through her veins. She was exhausted, sleeping on duty, and had no use for drama at the start of the day."What do you want, Rita?" She snapped abruptly, in annoyance.Rita's chin lifted, her fine features unmarred by the early morning sunlight. She carried the untrained elegance of a woman who had spent years mastering the art of being distant in a black, skin-tight, navy-blue pantsuit that clung to her like a second skin. Even now, with her temper boiling just beneath the surface, she looked as if she had just walked out of a high-rise office building and not as if she had dashed over to talk to someone."I'm here to warn you," Rita told her, her voice sharp and cutting. "Stay a
Jack gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other arm loose over the gear shift as he drove through the quiet evening streets."Well. Chris?" Jack finally broke the silence."He's my ex-husband," she replied coldly, staring out the window.Jack hesitated before he said anything. He was giving her the opportunity to say more, but Lilian didn't want to play along. And that kiss—almost.She exhaled sharply.Jack’s voice pulled her back. “I thought he was with Rita?”“He is.”“Then what’s the deal?”Lilian adjusted in her seat. “It’s complicated, and I don’t want to talk about it.”Silence again.Jack nodded as if he understood what she was telling him, but he really didn't. "Okay… I won't push it." "Just so you know, I'm here if you ever want to talk to someone at some point."Something in his tone—gentle, peaceful—soothed the tension in her She had never received that from anyone else before. If she was having an issue, she took care of it herself. There was never anyone there to
Chris clenched his jaw as he watched Jack and Lilian from across the shooting range. There was something in her smile directed at the cop, something Chris had never witnessed, that felt like a blow to his pride. He had no justification to feel this way, and no cause to let it disturb him, yet it did. And badly."The fact that you're glaring at your ex-wife and her hero," Jude remarked dryly, breaking the tense silence between them.Chris didn't bother masking his irritation. "He's not her damned hero!"Jude smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "He is… in case you've forgotten, he did try to save her. That makes him a hero in her eyes."Chris's stomach twisted into a knot as he caught sight of Lilian giving Jack a look that made his blood boil. It was admiration—maybe even something more. His hands tightened into fists by his sides. He did not like it. He hated it."Shut the fuck up, Jude," Chris growled, his voice low and dangerous.Jude chuckled, shaking his head. "Look, you have to pu
Chris watched as Jack led Lilian away, his hand wrapped around hers like it was the most natural thing in the world. Irritation crept up his spine, twisting into something sharper, something unfamiliar. Why the hell did it bother him so much?His fists clenched involuntarily. He hadn't even noticed until soft hands curled around his, grounding him."Are you okay?" Rita's voice was smooth and concerned, drawing him back from the unsettling thoughts swirling in his mind.Chris turned to face her. Her beauty was striking as always, her features soft yet captivating. She’s the one I want, he reminded himself. Not Lilian. Never Lilian. It shouldn’t matter who held her hand. Who made her laugh. Who made her—His jaw tightened."Yeah, I am," he muttered, forcing a smile. Rita returned it, and for a moment, he almost convinced himself that her smile was enough. That her touch was enough. That she was enough.Then Lilian returned—still laughing, still at ease. And all his irritation came rushi