Liliana and Jonathan returned to the Petrova Mansion the next day.Jonathan asked, “Any news?”Leonardo updated him on the progress.Liliana asked, “Did you find Jonas Kent’s father? Edward Kent?”Alice answered, “Yes, he is in the P city hospital now. Thankfully, Jonas came clean before anything bad happened.”Jake said, “There must be spies inside the Mansion. Don’t let Jonas know the truth for now.”Jonathan seconded him, “Either they have spies everywhere - Aprice Mansion: quite likely but inconsequential, Smith Mansion: I doubt it as everyone went through extensive background checks, the Villa where we are currently staying: also doubtful, and this Mansion. Or someone very close to us is helping them.”Liliana nodded thoughtfully.Leonardo laid out his guess, “I think it’s the latter. I doubt they have managed to rope in our assistants or butlers. Besides, everyone’s roles are distinct. Apart from Alice and Vincent - no other person is involved in everything. And I don’t have a s
Mariana went about her days in a mundane manner.She would go to work and come home on time. She would often visit Liliana’s house and play with the kids.James worked as her assistant and even asked for a valid contract for the role. She would be a fool not to take such an opportunity.James was qualified to be the CEO. Because of him, her work improved tremendously, and she learned a lot.He took care of her subtly and never overstepped his boundaries. He let her handle decisions and decide for herself. He only spoke up and taught her if she asked.The entire office saw the change in their dynamics but did not comment on it.The upper management and shareholders relaxed upon seeing this change. They had been worried about their future CEO having such an unusual dynamic with James Miller, the CEO of Miller Group. But now that James had resigned from Miller Group and legally worked as Mariana’s assistant, their fears proved unfounded.On the other hand, James’s parents were getting re
Ordinarily, Liliana and Jonathan would have helped Mariana suppress the news.But with the Military getting involved, they could only wait and watch.Liam got suspended - temporarily until the investigators resolved the matter.An investigation committee started to look into Liam’s personal life.Liam panicked. He rushed to Liliana’s place, where he knew he would find Mariana and James.Liliana saw the panic on Liam’s face and went to hug him immediately.“We will figure something out. Don’t worry! Worse comes to worst - I will take care of him.”But Liam did not feel reassured. The secret he was protecting was too precious to relax his vigil.Mariana saw his panic and hugged him to show her support.It all happened because of her. She did not know how to resolve the issue.Mariana choked and apologized, “I am sorry.”James felt a lump down his throat. He bowed to Liam and apologized.“This is my mistake. You got dragged into my equations with Mariana because of my incompetence. And m
Jonathan looked at his wife in surprise.Liliana was always well-mannered and polite - she could be sassy, but she was always nice to the people she liked. He had never seen her looking at someone so condescendingly.Liam felt his hair rise on the back of his head.Liliana looked between Liam and James and chuckled.“You suck!”“Your families are influential. You have better things to prioritize, so you think you can push my best friend around.”“Did you think Mariana is incapable of defending herself or proving her innocence?”“Just because she keeps mum and doesn’t speak up because she values you as her friends and wants to give you a face - do you think you can go around toying with her life?”Mariana looked at her horrified, “Lil!”Liliana was on a roll. She snapped at Mariana, “I will get to you later.”She turned to James and asked, “What do you plan to do about your family? At first, we let go of Alice Moss because of your family. Which ultimately resulted in Mariana’s accident
Mariana went to her parents and told them that she was already married.She cried and lied.She told them she felt sorry for the child she had lost. She was mildly depressed and wanted to bury him properly. She married Liam in a rush because of that.James had buried all the remains and used disposable tools from her abortion. He had bought a small place on a hill and marked a grave.Coincidently, he had not wanted to draw undue attention to Mariana, and the grave was marked vaguely.Ivy - Mommy, and Daddy love you. If there’s a next life, we will do better by you.Mariana was able to spin the lie easily to console Merideth.Andrew Jacobson, however, already knew the truth. He was surprised about the grave. He had seen the changes in James since the incident and was expecting something from James.But Mariana’s sudden marriage to Liam surprised him. He kept quiet and let the mother and daughter talk.Mariana explained how Military marriages have other significance, and they were still
Two weeks later, when the buzz on the internet had died down, another news began to float on the same issue.Mariana’s assistant had posted Mariana’s marriage certificate and pointed out the date.The date was almost three months prior. It left the speculating netizens speechless.The person they accused of abandoning his lover and the shameless hussy - they were a legit married couple.Mariana’s assistant also posted another picture for a private banquet introducing the family only.She added a simple caption without any explanations.“It’s troublesome being rich. People try to break your marriage when they know you are married. And people try to force you into marriage when they don’t know you are already married. The men are always bastards, and women are always sluts.”It was sarcastic but explained the marriage debacle between the two best friends.The netizens recalled how Liliana was targeted and realized both girls were dealing with shameless people who could stoop very low to
After a pregnant pause, Mariana braced herself and explained.“I started liking Liam a few years back. I remember the first time I realized my feelings for him when I had to kiss him while playing truth and dare. We had played such games before, and a simple peck was not a big deal amongst friends. But that time, I felt butterflies on my stomach and all the jazz.”“I never said anything because we were friends, and I did not want to change our dynamics. I was scared of ruining our friendship and making things awkward for our friends.”“Around six months ago, James Miller, a close friend of ours, started to pursue me as he thought I was single and unattached. I did not deal with it very well. It’s a lame excuse, but I wasn’t sure about my feelings and strung him along.”“His ex became jealous and created trouble for me. During that time, Liam and I made drunk confessions and got together. However, we were still unsure of the depth of our feelings, so we kept it a secret.”“I relayed th
Liam and Mariana stayed quiet and absent-minded throughout their way back.They returned to Liliana’s place as Liam had moved out from Preston Mansion and was staying at Liliana’s house temporarily.As soon as they entered the living room, Jonathan came down the stairs, and Mariana ran up to him.She hugged him tightly and laughed.She exclaimed, “I did it!” and did a happy dance.Their issues had caused such a commotion that Liliana and Jonathan had been working from home most days.Liliana looked at her and shook her head. She sat on the couch as Mariana kept hugging Jonathan.James was still in Jacobsen Textiles. Being Mariana’s assistant, he needed to be at work even when she was absent.Jonathan left Mariana and sat by his wife’s side.Liliana murmured, “I love how quickly you two are becoming friends.”Mariana’s movements paused. She had forgotten that she had hated Jonathan for close to eight years.She made a face and slumped on the couch opposite them.Liam sat beside her and
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