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Chapter 25
Last Updated:
2025-01-31 09:27:24
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My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 26
Dera’s povDetective Jameson’s voice cut through the cold air, “Where is Emma?” I sighed inwardly and gave up on any further pretense. “The old warehouse on 5 th and main, you will find her in the east wing, second floor.” Detective Martin tightened his eyes at me, “Is she alive?” I nodded, “Yes, she is. I didn’t hurt her.” Jameson said, “We will see about that.” In the next few minutes, the police’s radios came alive with orders to the dispatched units. I waited an eternity until the door burst open and Jameson’s face cleared. “She is safe, we found her right where you said.” I swallowed down guilt. Martin said, “Tell us about Emma’s kidnapping. How did you do it?” Briefly, I told them, from Vivian’s appearance to our elaborate plan. I admitted, “I helped Vivian take Emma at the gala party. We dismissed her maid and just took her.” After they asked me about my motives and Vivian’s role in Haylee’s death, I shook my head, “I didn’t know about this, it was all Vivian’s doing.” However,
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Rosa’s pov Shivering in the hospital waiting room, I paced back and forth as I clutched my phone with sweaty hands—my heart racing in response to what Detective Jameson had just said."Emma’s safe, Rosa. We found her."That feeling came within a second, tears pouring out of my eyes. All I could do now was wait, the seconds never-ending, every tick of the clock amplifying my growing excitement—and stomach pains—at having sat out an entire round. Shakily, I looked toward the door hoping to see my daughter walking in so that I could hold her tiny body and again feel the warmth of those little arms around me.The minutes felt like hours. I heard voices out in the hall, muffled sounds of footsteps and talking. Every noise had me jerking my head up in hopes it would be Emma, that this wait would finally end.Finally, the door creaked open and my heart skipped a beat. There she was – my sweet Emma. There was my mother, small in frame, standing in the doorway with Detective Jameson and a ki
Last Updated : 2025-01-31My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 28
Third person PovThere was a buzz of excitement in the courtroom, an audible expression of tension, anticipated anxiety. Dera, once an imposing presence, composed and confident in her way to prison with security escorting her, was now diminished and begging, staring at the judge. In a voice quaking with emotion, she said each time in distress.Your Honor, the sparkle of her tears in waiting. "A final opportunity to see Emma, a final chance to apologize and redeem myself." Her voice trembled, faltering slightly. “Is… you know I can never change what I did but, just allow me to hold her for one moment please.On the other side of the room, Detective Jameson had his arms crossed, jaw tight, expression stony. Oh no, he said, as if my question had been the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. Your honor, she has shown no remorse. Dera has exploited and victimized common folk. These are nothing but just new efforts to pull the wool over one's eyes.The judge glanced toward Rosa, face serious, eye
Last Updated : 2025-02-24My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 29
Bethel’s povSuddenly the train ground to a halt and I snapped out of my reverie. And gazed outside into the well-known station, falling under the tender autumnal sunlight. Cool air, a country smell of leaves and rain, poured over her shoulders as she stepped from the platform; like magic you think the world out there is all the same. But something about me fidgeted, as if the house I had wanted to return to were slightly recast in nameless ways.Before long, though, I was pulling my bag up to the charmingly ancient doors of the train and disembarking onto the platform. Like a flood I was filled with all the sights and sounds of home: dulcet tones of chatter, departing train whistles, creaking wooden benches at the station. It made my heart race with excitement. I had just come back to the area after spending four years at college — all of a sudden these four years went by so fast and here I was finally back. I was anxious, thinking about the warm reunions I would have when I returned
Last Updated : 2025-02-24My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 30
Bethel’s povThe following weeks were a revolution in silence. He also wound up in a rhythm of healing and rediscovery with me and Emma — us three bonded by trauma and petty tenacity to begin again. There were times when it was not easy, but I felt flashes of clarity and joy—reminders of the real reason I had returned.Mornings usually began with Emma at the dining table, tiny fingers wrapped around a paintbrush. Her work was mostly silent, and the intensity in her gaze was hypnotizing. Art was her voice — she spoke the things words could not. Through brightly color-splattered windows, her drawings depicted emotions she was yet to learn how to process in any other way.“Look at this one!” One morning Emma held up her latest creation — a rainbow-blue on the canvas.I knelt beside her, It gorgeous Emma. “You’re so talented.”She smiled, a little timid as always but bolder with each passing day. I mussed her hair affectionately, pride swelling in my chest at how far she had come.Rosa, a
Last Updated : 2025-02-24My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 31
James povI was sitting on the edge of my bed, watching shadows move across the wall. It hit me through the calm of the night, echoed Bethel’s words earlier in the week: James you should have told me. I would have been with you… for Rosa and Emma.)She was right. There was no way around it. Keeping her in the dark, I thought, would save her some pain; I imagined I was protecting her from perhaps being haunted by picturing what Emma went through. However, I kept that as a contingency excuse for not being able to face it all myself. My so-called, protection had just been pride dressed up as concern.I felt hella guilty, not only because I had let Bethel down but Rosa and Emma as well. I had worked that case for months, determined to track down and apprehend her. I felt that conquering the issue would make it all okay. What remained instead were empty chasms in the bonds that were so dear to her.While Bethel catered to Rosa and Emma in their journey of world-creation, I watched from the
Last Updated : 2025-02-24My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 32
Rosa’s povOutside, the rain lightly tapped on the windows of her home, providing a steady and serene sound to the coziness of her living room. Bethel had always lived in a cozy house — couches with tight arms, hand-knitted blankets thrown over the chairs, vanilla notes lingering in the air. For me tonight, it felt like a safe and sacred space where I could finally let go of what I had held onto for so very long.Bethel sat across from me, holding her tea. I fidgeted at the edge of my cup while her soft pools of understanding met mine. I had invited myself, as if I needed company (the real reason was for courage)“Okay, we — like, maybe tonight you could try to not be a mute,” Bethel replied, voice heavier with curiosity. “Is everything okay?”I let her words hang in the air for a moment, and I thought about backing off. It would have been really easy to brush the conversation off, to smile and nod and say I was okay. But I wasn’t fine. I had not gone in a long, long time.I put my te
Last Updated : 2025-02-24My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 33
Dera’s povThe soft Bethel living room light made the comforting womb of non-judgment an uncomfortable juxtaposition to the cool grasping fear that had frozen my heart. What this storm in my mind felt like pale compared to what weather it was about. My steady rock, Bethel, sat across from me looking straight into my eyes and supporting me like a bull mastiff.All right, Rosa,'" she said slowly, sounding like the voice of a well-meaning grandma preparing me for this talk.I nodded, gripping the rim of my mug like I could cling to it. “I’m so scared, Bethel. What if I say the wrong thing? What if he walks away?”Her expression softened and she inclined closer, gently putting a hand on mine. “Fear is part of it, and I understand that, Rosa, but you can’t run from this anymore. James deserves the truth, and you deserve to move on—whether that be together or separately."I swallowed, my throat parched even after earlier drinking tea. “Where do I even start?”Bethel gave a slight smile, pra
Last Updated : 2025-02-24
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My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 117
James’s PovThere was a charged air, electricity hanging in the atmosphere — waiting for a spark. The energy in the room was palpable—anticipation, excitement, and disbelief. Rosa was pregnant with twins. Our twins. Years of love, toil and growth had built up to this moment, it was almost surreal in its enormity.I scanned the room to find our friends, family and colleagues filling up the venue for the grand opening of The Harden Family Foundation —the foundation we had worked so hard to build. This initiative was something we had both cooked up, helping young entrepreneurs and artists with the tools needed to build their dreams. This was the beginning of our next chapter, a one that would create an impact much larger than we ever could alone.Still, all of that felt secondary now to the fact that Rosa was mere hours away from delivering. Her body had been through so much already, the ability to carry this pregnancy now along with everything else—it was nothing short of a miracle. Yes
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 116
James’s PovWatching all those little kids in their funny caps and gowns from the back of the auditorium felt strange. It filled me with a combination of pride, nostalgia and disbelief. Emma, our daughter with the wobbly knees walking into her first day at school was long gone. She was at the threshold of something more—her life. And it was happening literally in front of me.Rosa was next to me with her hand resting lightly on my arm, staring at Emma as she stood in front of the podium. I could almost taste her tension, the pride and love she'd been brewing there for more years than I could count. The moment was not only for Emma. It was ours. We had forged this, together, following our lead, with us being there to support and love her through her trials, and victories. And here she was now, standing ready to address an auditorium full of people, preparing to tell the world what she needed them to hear.My heart raced with anxiety as Emma walked to the mic. She was steady, composed b
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 115
James’s PovThe day had been a long one. Too long, in fact. With the business problems, Bethel came back, and was still looking for whoever had started messing with Rosa's designs—my brain was like a one-person track team going around in circles. Through all those storms there had been one constant—Rosa. She was the peacekeeper, the nucleus of everything that revolved around it.That evening when she entered with a pale face, an absent look in her eyes, I knew something was wrong. I recognized the expression, my mind saying to keep it together baby girl as though something heavy was on her. Not that she needed to say anything. Not even for a moment did I doubt that always in the air, there was tension.“Hey, what’s wrong?” I said, putting down the coffee cup. Not waiting for an answer, I knew that she needed to talk and I was all ears.But what she would open her mouth and say next would leave me breathless.“I’m pregnant.”My initial reaction was disbelief. I found it hard to take in
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 114
Rosa’s PovThose next few weeks were a series of meetings, lack of sleep, and questioning. Bethel had returned to the family home for some time, looking for a sense of stability. Yet, she was merely rebuilding things in her life — There lay an ambiguous journey the next. The search didn't let up for whoever was leaking our designs and the business was feeling that heat. Yet all that remained unchanged, despite the ruckus swirling around us, was James and I locked in as teammates who would bounce forth whatever lurked next.But while the storm raged on we did something weird — something that felt like a cosmic nudge in my direction to say life was still happening literally throughout all this.I had missed a few periods. I initially presumed it was stress. I had hectic days behind me and felt a whole range of emotions. But as days passed, a subtle dread grew in the belly of my stomach.So I grabbed the phone, called my doctor's office. They were able to squeeze me in the next morning f
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 113
Rosa’s PovThe first days in the world after moving out of my family home, was like a strange kind of birth. I had reconciled my past and was okay with it, now I would get on with my life. The burden that held me down was finally removed. But as life likes to teach us, we donÕt get change without a fight.The first of many challenges hit James and me while we were sitting at our favorite restaurant, enjoying dinner together. Suddenly, there was a little buzz on the table where his phone was resting. His eyes scanned the words on it, narrowing as he read a message.“What’s wrong?” I half asked, my fork freezing in the air, the pleasant buzz of the restaurant dulled.James, with clipped vocals, replied: "It's about Bethel."I had put my fork down; I could hear the tension behind his voice. And his sister, Bethel, had always been the wild card of the Harden bunch—free-spirited, reckless and bold. Yet lately, she had been making more than a couple of bad choices.“What happened now?”"Of
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 112
Rosa’s PovAs we neared the house, which had once been my world, now a rundown old heap. The car came to a slow crawl. I had completely forgotten how much I missed that creak of the tires rolling on the gravel driveway. When I stepped out of the car, a surreal sense of nostalgia and unease washed over me. It was the first time for me back here in years, not since everything had changed. Not since the day I left in search of making a life for myself: so far away from here and all this history that hung around like an echo.“Are you sure about this?” Uh oh what happened James asked down beside me with concern in his voice.I shook my head, probably too fast and grinned at him with a tight smile that was only half reassuring. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”He gazed at me for a second, dark eyes roving over my face, the furrow between his brows growing deeper. He didn't follow up, but I could feel the question line hanging in the air. James had watched me go through hard times over and over,
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 111
James’s PovThe morning light was spilling through the blinds of my office, casting long shadows on the floor. While outside, the city hummed quietly in comparison to the storm in my brain. I had been expecting this. And I knew that after all we had done together Reginald would never let things like this slide. Defeat was not one of his words–not easily, anyway. So when I saw his name flash on my phone screen bright and early that morning, I knew it meant something.The door opened and Rosa, a placid but attractive figure of a woman always ready to chat broke into my thoughts. The question if she too had seen the message didn’t even need asking. There was already a heaviness between us.I said, and the words came out like an accusation — though I hadn't even finished speaking.Rosa’s gaze hardened. We knew that walking away quietly was not going to be an option for him. What does he want this time?”I sat back in my chair, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I pondered our choices. Such
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 110
Rosa’s POVOn a lazy Sunday afternoon, Emma surprised me with a question that caught me short. She had just finished her homework and was on the couch with her legs tucked under her, watching TV without really paying attention. Her innocent voice interrupted the soft hum of the house.Someday, at some point in our lives, one of us will ask the question — “Mom, why do you and Dad get married?”I paused, as the shock of words were more impactful than I had anticipated. Emma had never been dull — she always asked the kinds of questions that forced you to consider things in a way you never had before. I knew this day would come, but so early I didn't expect My thoughts were tumbling a bit as I tried to find the most appropriate words; how do you explain the mixed feelings behind our choice, or rather why the decision was not so simple for me or us?I looked at James, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper, with his back toward us. His eyes glanced at mine for a split sec
My Enemy Is My Lover Chapter 109
James’s POVIt was something I had always prided myself on: knowing where I came from; understanding the legacy of my family. I thought I knew everything about our wealth, our power, the empire we had created; that little part of my life which I imagined was mine. But when I sat across the table from my mom, her hands shaking a little as she passed me an envelope with a strange, faded insignia ironed on it, I knew just how little knowledge I had.“James,” her voice wavering, she continued “I have to tell you something. The family history around how we came by our money, I guess.I frowned and focused on my breathing. “What do you mean, Mom?”After some delay, she opened the envelope and took out a few creased yellowing sheets of paper. “Of course, I never wanted you to know this but today feels like it could be time. You have to know the real story about your father, about what it took to build the Harden dynasty.I leaned in, heart racing. Decades of effort, well-placed investments,
