Trina’s POV Taking Jayden and Eleanor to and from school has become a normal routine now for me for the past week. Since I don't go to work anymore, from their school, I normally head straight to the grocery store, pick up the freshest ingredients, and return back home to do some household chores. And when it's time for lunch, I prepare sumptuous dishes which I know the kids love before picking them up from school again. I had found some semblance of peace and solace in these small, everyday tasks. When I’m with the kids, their lively banters and the way they care for each other and even me as well, warms my heart a lot and when they are away at school, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking different dishes, making different homemade, healthy juices and baking lots and lots of goodies just to while away time until it's time to pick up the kids from school and most importantly, to take my mind of thoughts… of Him.Even though I acted as if I was perfectly fine, as if my life
Trina’s POV Before I could say a word in response, Justin disconnected the call, leaving me standing frozen in place, with the phone still clutched in hand and my breath hitching. And then, as if the weight of his words physically struck me, my knees went weak and my body slumped onto the cold kitchen floor. I leaned my back against the counter behind me as my chest tightened— not just for myself, but for Justin. For the love he had harbored for me all these years. A love that, with those final words, he had indirectly told me that he had finally let go of. The love he has selflessly sacrificed for my sake.And that made my heart go out to him. Justin, my best friend, my rock, my safe space— the man who had always been there for me through thick and thin, the man who had been silently loving me, hoping, and waiting all these years. The selfless man who had always put me first, even if meant letting go of his love, just like he just did. He really didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deser
Trina’s POV I just couldn't believe my eyes or what I was seeing. I was utterly and completely dumbstruck so I just remained standing there rooted on the spot staring at him with my breath caught somewhere between a gasp and a scream. Just to be doubly sure I wasn't hallucinating, I closed my eyes and opened them again but sure, there he was, my father. Standing in front of me. In my doorway! Duncan Ryder. The man who had destroyed my mother. The man who had built his empire on deception and betrayal. The man who had chosen his vile wife over his own daughter and adopted son. The man who was all over the news for all the bad deeds he had done. The man whose once-proud shoulders were now hunched and looked nothing like the powerful tycoon the world once feared. And now he was here, right in front of me!Before I could recover from my shock, before I could even think of slamming the door in his face, he gestured towards his hoodie and fake beard and with a sigh, spoke to me in a low,
Trina’s POV He gave me a tired, empty smile. “I’m divorcing her and I needed… evidence since… well, since her affair with my best friend happened even before we got married so I can't use that against her.I couldn’t speak, couldn't say anything in response. Dad is indeed divorcing Emily but that's their problem, not mine. What struck me is the fact that all this while, all that time when Mom thought her family had abandoned her, they had been trying to contact her!I inhaled sharply as my mind flashed back to the nights I had woken up to find my mother crying, mourning over the fallout with her family, believing she had no one. Believing she had truly lost everyone and everything. I can never, ever forget the pain in her eyes, the pure anguish I saw in them and the loneliness she had suffered…And to think it was all the handiwork of Emily, that it was all the fault of that devilish, manipulative bitch! Even though my mom's family had tried to reach out, she had deliberately interc
Trina’s POV My father, the heartless monster Duncan Ryder was in a very, very bizarre and unusual mood, one I had never seen in my entire life. And it suddenly clicked on me, this is a very good and very rare opportunity for me to get all the answers I have been craving for, for so long since he seems to be in a very rare honest mood. This is a very golden opportunity which I am definitely not going to waste! It wasn’t just about the honesty lacing his voice but the vulnerability in his posture, the way his usual mask of indifference was now slipping and cracking. I guess he had come here expecting resistance, coldness, maybe even hatred from me, but I'm sure he wasn’t prepared for my questions. And that was exactly why I intended to strike while the iron was still hot. After all, opportunities like this are very hard to come by.So in a sharp, unwavering and stern voice, I began questioning him. “Since we are on the topic of telling the honest truth, tell me Mr. Ryder, how did Mom
Trina’s POV I felt my head spinning as I stared at the man I had grown up hating for most of my life. The same man who had tormented my Mom, Mason, and me. The same man who had accused my sweet, innocent Mom of infidelity. The same man who was now claiming he had feelings for her all along. What an irony!I didn't know when I let out a bitter, humorless chuckle before fixing him a look and saying, “So, let's assume I believe you have some sort of… feelings for Mom.” I paused a little as I raised my brow at him before continuing, “Mind you, this is purely hypothetical, just a mere assumption for argument’s sake because I never said I believe you.” Dad flinched slightly but said nothing. My gaze turned colder as I added, “So if that is the case, explain to me why you accused her of cheating and even divorced her? Let us not even get into all your other crimes and atrocities against her right now. Just explain this one thing for the time being.”As I said that, I narrowed my eyes at h
Trina’s POV As that thought came to my mind, I took a deep breath, trying to steady the storm of emotions that were buzzing inside of me. And then all of a sudden, something registered in my brain, making a frown to instantly materialize on my face.My mind back tracked to something my dad had said earlier. As at then, my mind was too jumbled up with thoughts so it didn't quite register on my brain but now it did. He had mentioned that the head nurse was on his side and had even helped him in his investigations. But… but isn't the kind nurse who had helped Mason and me when Mom was hospitalized the head nurse at the hospital then? Could this mean… My breath hitched as I snapped my head towards him, and with my voice laden with disbelief and incredulity, I said to him. “Wait a minute…. that head nurse you mentioned, was she the one who deliberately left clues so that my friend Justin could easily trace where Mom was buried? Were… were you the one who asked her to do so?”But Dad did
Zane's POV Ever since I did all that I did for Duncan and Emily Ryder, my mind hadn't been completely at ease at all. From the stories I have heard about them and all that I have discovered when I investigated on both of them, I know first hand how ruthless and devilish they can be.What bothered me the most and the reason why my mind hadn't been at ease since exposing them to the public was because I didn’t know how they would react, how they would retaliate, or worse, who they would unleash their fury upon. I didn’t trust Duncan, but I distrusted Emily even more. And the way she looked after everything was exposed… the murderous rage in her eyes… I feared she might try to harm Trina just to quench her anger. And that was my greatest fear of all.So I did what any man in my position would do; I instantly took action. Immediately, I hired a team of professional, highly trained undercover security guards to shadow Trina and both of our kids twenty-four hours a day. They are former s
Trina’s POV After her proclamation, Aunt Livvy wasted no time at all. The moment both Mason and I nodded our heads in agreement that Mom really deserved the grand funeral she had been cruelly denied, Aunt Livvy immediately sprang into action. She handled everything with a precision that portrayed her years of experience of managing the Caldwell empire and also, her deep love for her niece Sarah Caldwell Ryder. Within hours, she had called the archbishop, contacted every relative and every family friend across the country, arranged for caterers, and ensured that media outlets announced the passing of the Caldwell heiress to the world. The obituary was finalized, and invitations were sent far and wide. What surprised me is that as soon as she made those calls, even those people who had never once shown interest in my mother’s well-being while she was alive now clamored to attend her funeral after hearing that she was the Caldwell heiress!By the time Aunt Livvy finally finished all he
Trina’s POV From the address Aunt Livvy sent to me, I know she lives about an hour and a half drive away from my house. But when I inputted the address on the Google maps and let it direct us, it felt as if the drive to her estate was much longer than the hour and a half that I had estimated. Or perhaps it is because of the daunting task ahead of both Mason and I… of breaking the news of Mom's death to her loving aunt, that I felt so.As I drove, I kept biting my lower lip at intervals, which is a nervous habit I got from none other than Dad himself. Shaking my head as if to get rid of the numerous thoughts buzzing in it, I turned to the side, stealing a glance at Mason who was sitting at the passenger seat beside me. Just like me, he had been silent for a long while now, deep in thoughts. He was staring out of the window and I could see his clenched fists tightly around the large envelope containing the stack of letters we brought with us. I know exactly what he was thinking becaus
Trina’s POV With the amount of earth-shattering revelations we have been having these past few days, it has been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for both Mason and I. And this latest revelation about our late Mom being the sole heir to the vast multi-billion dollar Caldwell empire left me feeling completely drained, yet somehow more complete than I had felt in years because even if nothing, I have come to realize that my late Mom wasn’t really abandoned completely by her family as we had thought. All that while when both she and I thought she had no one but Mason and I, her aunt and father had secretly been yearning for her and loving her in secret. The only sad thing is that Mom never got to know this before she died, all thanks to that devil incarnate Emily Ryder!Heaving a deep sigh, I turned to Mason, my dear younger brother who was also as emotionally drained as I was. Then in a tired voice, I said. “What do you think we should do now, Mas? This… this is something I hav
Trina's POV The morning started as it always did this past few weeks since both of my children started living with me. It was chaotic, noisy, and filled with the usual back and forth of both the silent whizz kid Jayden and chatterbox Eleanor getting ready for school. Between helping Eleanor finding her misplaced shoes, reminding her about her forgotten lunchbox, listening to the mild bickering between the two siblings and last minute homework checks for Eleanor, I barely had time to dwell on my own thoughts. Mason and I drove them to school, with the car filled with Eleanor's usual cheerful chatter and Jayden’s occasional interjections. When we arrived, my little munchkin, as always, hugged and kissed me goodbye before she turned to do the same to Mason. After pecking him on both cheeks, she pulled back and raised her little finger at him in a warning gesture, saying, “Don’t you dare pull another one of your disappearing stunts on me again. You had better be right here in this car
Trina's POV Before I could react to her loud squeal of delight, my mischievous little munchkin had already sprinted towards us, with her little feet barely touching the ground as she literally flew to my brother. She crashed directly into Mason’s waist, with her arms automatically wrapping themselves tightly around him. Caught off guard, Mason almost stumbled back but due to his physique and balance, he fortunately didn't. He laughed out loud, obviously very pleasantly surprised as he exclaimed and greeted. “Whoa! Hi there, Princess Eleanor!” Hearing her beloved nickname, Eleanor instantly beamed. She tilted her head up at him, with her doe-like light blue eyes shimmering with awe. “It’s really you?” she whispered, before tightening her little arms around him, as if afraid he might vanish. With a huge, pleasant grin on his face, Mason knelt down to her level, and in a very soft and gentle voice, addressed her. “Yeah, kiddo. It’s really me.”She instantly threw her arms around h
Trina’s POVFor a prolonged time after we finished our discussions and staggering revelations to each other, Mason and I just remained sitting in the living room, not doing or saying anything more as we were still trying to process the tangled mess of truths and revelations that had we had unraveled to each other in the past few hours. I have no idea what was going on in Mason's mind but as for me, my own mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts which were mostly questions that I have no immediate answers for. Like what step should Mason and I take now after knowing all that we have come to know today. Just then, out of the blue, the sharp ding of the oven timer broke through the silence. At first, my brows furrowed in confusion as I was momentarily disoriented before I suddenly remembered what I was doing before Mason arrived.I exhaled deeply. Of course, it's the chocolate cheesecake. I have completely forgotten about it! Grateful for the distraction, I quickly stood up and made
Zane's POV The lawyer just sighed and shook his head before responding. “The only reason why you didn't find any evidence of that is because you only looked into his past, Sir. You didn’t check what he was currently doing in secret. If you had, your investigators, who I know are the best, would have definitely found it.” He paused before adding, “And as for his terrified reaction when you exposed the dirt in his name and everything else... it wasn’t because he was devastated that he had just lost money for himself, Sir. No, not at all. It was actually because of Ms. Sarah’s two children who are now the inheritors of the company, according to the last will Ms. Sarah had made before she went into a coma. The truth is, he was busy working very hard behind the scenes, desperately trying to source legitimate funds to clear all the debts and also erase all those crimes you uncovered which Emily had committed in his name, just to make sure that the company was completely clean before handi
Zane's POV I couldn't believe what my ears just heard. Duncan Ryder was trying to divorce the woman he loved so much that he tortured his own daughter and previous wife because of her? Is it because he had finally discovered that she never really loved him and was only just using him as the means to an end? Is the puppet trying to free himself from the clutches of his puppet mistress who had been pulling his strings and playing him as a fool all this while?The lawyer solemnly nodded and reiterated. “Yes, Duncan Ryder is definitely divorcing his wife. In fact, he had secretly started the process a long time ago. But after his ex-wife's sudden death, he was forced to halt everything because he wanted to conduct a secret investigation about her mysterious death first and didn’t want his wife Emily to suspect anything.” Hearing that, my brows instantly furrowed. Something about this didn't sit right with me. So in a cool voice, I ordered. “Elaborate.” The lawyer sighed as if preparing
Zane's POV Even though every single fiber of my being screamed at me to go after Duncan Ryder and demand answers about what had just transpired between him and Trina and why both of them had looked so shaken after he had left, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave. At least not yet. Not without making sure Trina was okay first. I knew that even if I did leave to chase after him, my mind would still be stuck here with her. So, instead of going myself, I spoke into my earpiece, giving my bodyguard Don a direct order. He had followed my car on his power bike and was the perfect man for the job. “Tail him.” I said to him. “Report to me about every place he goes and every single thing he does.” Don instantly responded, “Roger that, Sir.”And as he revved off his power bike and immediately zoomed after Duncan Ryder, I refocused my attention back on the house. Through the thin curtains, I could see Trina still sitting frozen in the exact same position she had collapsed into earlier.