James kept caressing Mariana’s hand. Her hand was cold. He stroked her fingers and rubbed them softly, trying to warm her up.“You bite the top of your pen when you focus on work. You bite your lips when annoyed but want to keep your temper in check. You eat hot pot or anything spicy like you are on a mission. It makes me wonder if you actually like it. Or you got used to it some other way.”James smiled through his tears.“You treat all your employees very well, not because it would ease your way when you take over from your father or with any diabolical agenda. But because you genuinely think that’s the right way to treat your employees. You remember all your maids, drivers, bodyguards, and things about their families because you care about them. You are kind and compassionate. You are short-tempered and easily annoyed. You roll your eyes more often than you smile.”James laughed a little as he pressed a kiss on her palm.“You love the kids so much. You would take a bullet for your
James woke up feeling disoriented but light.He hated himself. He had hurt Mariana so much. How could he feel light-hearted just because he drank himself into a stupor?His feelings validated his opinion of himself. He was a conscienceless bastard who did not deserve Mariana or anyone or any happiness.When James freshened up and came out, everyone was already seated at the dining table.“You look well,” Liliana said sarcastically.“Liliana, I am a bastard who deserves to be miserable for eternity. I don’t deserve happiness at all. I got drunk, and now, I feel light-chested. How could I feel better after hurting her so much?” James self-deprecatingly asked.He did not care to hide his self-loathing at all. His pride had long vanished.Jonathan did not want to see James so miserable.“Last night...” Jonathan started, but Liliana cut him off.“It’s good that you realize it,” Liliana said brutally.James had hurt Mariana. Because of him, Alice had injured Mariana; because of him, the Mil
James stopped the live video and took a deep breath.He was not satisfied with just that. He wanted to toss Alice in jail for at least a few years.For that, he needed more evidence against her. He must disclose that she had drugged Mariana before. It was his secret weapon. He would only take it out later in court to catch them off guard.He reluctantly called Liam and asked for his opinion.Liam was already keeping an eye on his actions.Liam told him to send the waiter to him. He would interrogate him as possessing a banned drug was a bigger crime than spiking a drink.James followed Liam’s advice. Liam was the expert, after all.Liam then asked him to keep an eye on Alice.Since Alice had hit a dead-end, she was likely to take drastic action. If caught red-handed, she would be doomed.Following Liam’s advice, James thought hard and kept a watch on Mariana’s ward.He sent one of his subordinates to follow Alice discreetly.James kept himself updated on everything Alice was doing. Wh
A week went by as Mariana recovered slowly.Most of the flesh wounds had scabbed away without any scars.Some deeper ones were healing nicely.A few good news came one after the other.Alice Moss was convicted. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison, 200 thousand dollars in compensation towards Mariana within a week, and 1000 hours of community service within two years after her release.The Mosses went to the Millers and asked for an explanation.James’s parents had nothing to say. They had not been able to process the events that had happened in a few days.James had resigned from the company, returned his shares, left home, and had not contacted them after that day. He had fallen for a woman but had ruined all his chances with her.They had offended the Jacobsens and Jonathan’s wife. If she was Petrova, that was even worse.Alice, whom Mrs. Miller had publicly supported as her daughter-in-law, turned out to be a convict. She was involved in illegal drugs, spiking drinks, assault, d
Liliana gave Jonathan a quick kiss on his jaw and continued.“To secure her position, Vivian went to the Aprices and congratulated my father on having a talented daughter who always scored “A+” and asked him about his plans to celebrate my being a Valedictorian.”Jennifer exclaimed, “What?”Mariana gritted her teeth, “That’s why I hate her so much. She was the first person I wanted to take revenge on. But Lil let her go.”Jonathan asked fearfully, “What happened then?”Liliana shrugged, “On the pretext of going to the bathroom, I wore that body shield. After Vivian left, Lester got one of his bodyguards to find him the most painful whip and personally whipped me until he was sweating and tired.”Mariana trembled in rage, “Rose had her thrown to the room and forbade them from treating her wounds or calling a doctor. Dad went to rescue her.”Liam asked, “The clip about your father rescuing her - was it the same?”Liliana nodded, “Yeah. I never went back to Aprice Mansion after that.”Sh
No one pried on the details, and everyone left in the evening.James was not aware of his drunken rendezvous with Mariana. He had tried to talk to her the entire week but had not mustered up the courage.This time, aware that Mariana was upset about something, he stayed back after everyone left.“Mariana,” James softly called.He was too scared to call her name out loud.“Yes!” She stoically replied, not knowing what to say.“Are you alright?” James gently asked.“How do I look?” She remarked instead.“I am sorry!” James sincerely said.“It’s alright!” Mariana said. She did not know what else to do with his apology.“It will never be alright,” He involuntarily murmured loud enough for Mariana to hear.“I am still pregnant,” Mariana told him out of the blue.“What?” James was shocked and walked in front of her to check if she was being honest.“I said I am still pregnant,” Mariana repeated.James’s shocked face turned into pure delight.Since that night, she saw his happy expression fo
Mariana continued to hold James.She was trembling, and he provided the emotional support she needed.“I have never thought past your revenge on what happened abroad.”Mariana confessed after a long time.“I never expected anything from you. Because in my eyes, you were just taking revenge. I was a nobody to you, and you were not obligated to care about me.”“I never saw past that. I never tried to get to know you or understand you.”“When I saw you kiss Alice, or when someone sent me a photo of two of you kissing while you stood me up for our appointment that day, I believed it without second thoughts. I was not heartbroken, just humiliated.”“That day, I wanted to clarify matters with you. Talk face to face in a calm and non-urgent environment, and be open. Whatever was going on, I did not want to drag that any further.”“But when I got the picture, I felt so humiliated. And so stupid for expecting you would give me that basic respect.”“I was leaving when I ran into Jacob. And you
A few months had passed by in a blink since Rose’s surgery.Lester and Rose continued to scheme against each other while playing dumb.Rose had only one kidney. In the months during her recovery, she had the flu and some stomach problems.Moreover, she continued to hire private investigators to track down the doctor who had scammed her.Lester had to agree to keep up the pretense. So, he continued to give her large sums of money.Rose was amassing all the money to prepare for her exit plan. She and Romeo had already bought a small villa and put it under Romeo’s name to avoid suspicions.That's where Romeo lived in those days. They had already squared away some loose cash and created FDs for later.Neither of them knew anything about business or stocks. So they could not invest in shares.But one day, Romeo overheard someone talking about a large piece of land in the suburbs close to a lake. Rumor was - the Smith Group was planning to build an amusement park less than a mile from there
Liam finished his narrative and went close to Kyle.He knelt beside his half-brother and said, “Kyle, you are my brother by blood. But in my heart, you have always been my son.”“I will do anything and everything for you. Not because I feel obligated or you were a responsibility thrust onto me, or because my mother ruined your mother’s life. But because I love you from the bottom of my heart. If anything happens to you, I will lose my mind.”“What happened to previous generations is their karma and their lives. What we do defines our life and our karma.”“You are my son and will remain so until you return to P City Military as the Colonel. Until then, you mustn’t tell anyone about it.”“I never told you about your mother because I have immense respect and compassion for her. I did not want to lie to you or gloss over her story. I wanted to tell you when you are older, so you can appreciate her sacrifices.”“Nevertheless, you will always be my son and my highest priority. I love you so
Liam took a while before he braced himself for the next part.“My mother thought my father was cheating on her with Aunty Keira.”“My father kept everything about Aunty Keira a secret because he hadn’t identified all the people on the inside who worked for him. So for her safety, he dealt with everything directly. He had created a fake ID and passport for her for an emergency. If she ran into any trouble, or if he died, then she could flee and settle down abroad.”“My mother thought he was planning to elope with her. She went after him when he had sneaked out, and she took photos. The next day, she posted all those photos in the newspaper calling Aunty Keira a bad person for flirting with a married army man and ruining a military marriage.”“Naturally, everyone found out, and the bad people captured and bullied Aunt Keira.”“The plan was almost complete. As per military protocols, my father had to prioritize the mission. My father had the last bits of information in place. So he hasti
Liliana began when Liam stalled for time.“Kyle, your mother comes from a long line of military spies. You know what a spy is, right?”Kyle nodded.“Traditionally, only men are sent as spies because women are physically more vulnerable and comparatively more emotional. However, during your mother’s time, there was a very powerful mafia in Z city. He was extending his terror in P city. He had bribed and coerced many people at higher positions - so he would not get caught. Someone inside the Military betrayed us, and he found our spies.”Liam added, “He killed 25 of our most trained and skilled spies within a week. It left the P City Military in a very vulnerable position. My father was the Army Commander at that time. My Grandfather was in a higher position, and the mafia approached my grandfather for something. When he refused, he killed him.”“Among the 25 spies, three were from your mother’s family. Apart from them, almost 100 people from the force - Police and Military - lost their
Liliana walked up to them and hugged them.She checked them from head to toe, much to the boy’s embarrassment. When she was satisfied that they were unharmed, she spanked them.Li looked at his mother incredulously, but she glared back at him.“How dare you run away? Didn’t you know the address of your home? If you encounter something you can’t handle, you come to me. Is that such a difficult concept to grasp?”“Look at how filthy you have become! Is this how you plan to set an example for your siblings?”Kyle hugged her and sobbed, “I am sorry, Mommy.”Li did the same, and Liliana hugged the two children close.Liliana exclaimed, “Ah! It reminds me of when we had just returned to P city. Jo - that traitor, left me for her father. I had the two of you to hug.”She led them to the ensuite bathroom and asked them to clean up. She sat them down and asked them to drink water and eat the pies she had made that afternoon.After the kids were well-fed and hydrated, she sat on the couch with
One day after the divorce, Mariana took the twins to see grandma Preston.Kyle was supposed to leave with her but changed the plans last minute when Nathaniel called, saying he had something to discuss with Kyle.On the other hand, James had taken Jacob’s twins out with him.Jacob did not realize that Kyle and Nathaniel were at home.He turned on Netflix and beer and enjoyed the rare me-time.Liam unexpectedly came back, and upon gathering that they were alone at home, they locked the doors and windows and started making out.Their time together was always short. They had to act like they were just friends.It was tiring, and Liam always felt sorry for Jacob. The man had left everything and followed him to P City, but he kept him away like a dirty secret.Their noise had attracted the two kids who were deep in discussion in Kyle’s room. They thought it was a thief and tiptoed to find him.Unexpectedly, they witnessed something not appropriate for their age.They hid behind the curtain
Liliana, Jonathan, and all their friends lived a non-gossipy, uneventful life in the next few years.Jennifer got married to Junior Doctor Cox.Jacob’s company got listed.Leonardo stabilized his business and left to complete his studies.Vincent and Alice McDraw tied the knot.Henry had a whirlwind romance with a difficult patient, and they ended up in a shotgun wedding.Henry collaborated with his cousin Amelia to perform some of the miraculous medical feats which brought the Qazi family to the forefront of the Medical industry as they had been for generations. Terry Draw ended up with his assistant’s sister. Surprisingly, that was the most challenging match as his assistant accused him of betraying him. He took a long time to accept the truth.Terry completed the Green Field orphanage within the stipulated time. His achievements were widely renowned, and he ended up as the spokesperson for Green Living.He would go on to collaborate with several charities and manage most of the no
James remained unperturbed and laughed.He added when he had calmed down.“Jacob said he kissed Mariana and realized that he was gay.”Jonathan was speechless. He hadn’t expected that twist.James ignored his friend’s expressions and slurred, “He said they were best friends and sort of dating. But the vibe between them was closer to cousins than lovers. When they kissed, he realized how much he never wanted to kiss any girl in his life ever again.”Jonathan had to stifle his laugh.‘Good for Jacob!’‘Poor Mariana lost her first kiss like that. Tch! Tch!’James continued his ramble.“Then they became even closer. Which may have been why Mariana never dated anyone.”Jonathan thought about it and added, “Makes sense! She wouldn’t have needed to look for a relationship, and others would have assumed she wasn’t available.”James continued, “Jacob once took her horse riding. She fell and had a fracture. Her hymen tore when she fell. Then I slept with her and shouted at her for making a fuss
The next four months went by uneventfully, except for Liam being missing for that long and the Preston family members trying and failing to get any benefits from Mariana.Finally, a series of good news came one after the other.Liliana was pregnant. The couple had wanted to keep it a secret until the first trimester ended well. Then when the doctor confirmed everything was alright, they made the big announcement to their friends and family members.Liam came back after completing two different massive projects.He had ended Bronsson Mcclory’s illegal business completely and had apprehended him.Jeffery Cruise kept Mcclory in strict custody until the courts sentenced him to life imprisonment. Then he was sent to a high-security prison that held long-term inmates.Mcclory’s entire business, all networks, all partners and associates, clientele - the police had nabbed all of them.Consequently, Liam worked with several different authorities to arrest everyone from the criminal underground
Jonathan and Liliana stopped talking and embraced each other while lying quietly on the bed.Jonathan was about to drift asleep when Liliana spoke.“Do you still want to have another child?”He was stunned and sat up immediately.“What do you mean?”She turned around and asked, “Well, you never brought it up since we talked about it half a year ago.”He couldn’t understand what she was getting at. He asked, “So?”She mumbled, “I just think it is the right time, and maybe we should try. I will turn thirty soon, and it might cause complications.”He asked, “I still don’t know what you are trying to say.”She rolled her eyes and asked, “I want to know if you still want another child. It’s been half a year since we started living together. What do you think? Are you ready? Do you think having Li and Jo is enough?”He lay down and turned her towards him.“This half a year is the best half year of my life. I love you very much and would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Jo and Li