A month had passed by since Jonathan’s abrupt confession.Liliana had not heard from him apart from work. Although he would visit the twins, it was less frequent, and he maintained an appropriate distance between himself and her.Liliana did not know whether to laugh or cry.She knew he had returned to their wedding house and was looking for her.But she was not someone he could look into at will. He needed to know that.Liliana guessed that Jonathan was probably not ready to face the truth yet.She did not mind. She had waited for almost 20 years - she could wait some more.Seven years ago, when their families forced them into marrying each other, it was the worst timing.She had been upset about how their marriage had ended, but time was a great healer. And as the hurt subsided, the clarity that even if they had stayed together, their lives would have been miserable came shining clear as a day.They had too many enemies back then, and the one thing she wanted to protect was in the h
“Wow!” Mariana was the first to break the silence, “Is this a set with ... you know what I mean?”“Uhm!” Liliana casually agreed.Jennifer was left gaping at her.“My lovely Lil, you also have matching jewelry. Isn’t this already too magnificent?” She said tremblingly, “I guarantee if you drape yourself in some sheets and wear it - you would still outshine everyone!” “Silly girl! It is not something I can wear casually.” Liliana was amused at her reaction.James asked, “Is this a family heirloom?”Liliana nodded.“What does this mean to you?” Jonathan asked.Liliana looked at him and took off her necklace as she recounted, “This was my mother’s necklace that went missing a few months before she passed away. My people had it and did not let it be stolen and safeguarded for years. My mother did not see it again before she passed away.”She caressed the necklace slowly and said, “I remember she had been searching for it a few days before…well…I guess she had some inkling that she would
They all laughed at Jennifer’s cute expressions.Liliana enlightened everyone.“This is a family heirloom with a history. If I sell it to a collector with the rest of the set pieces, it’ll be over 200 billion dollars. It will bring its worth to more than 20 billion. At least that was the price a prominent collector offered me a few years back.”Henry was curious, “What else do you have along with it?”Mariana explained, “Tiara, necklace, three different pairs of earrings, a few rings, two different bracelets.”They were all stunned.James asked her curiously, “You know it so well.”Mariana pouted at Liliana, “This is the one set of jewelry she won’t let me wear.”Jennifer asked, “Why?”Liliana wrinkled her nose at Mariana as she turned to Jennifer, “It’s a family heirloom. People outside the family can’t wear it.”Liam asked, “Are you going to put everything up for auction?”Liliana shook her head, “No, just the necklace for now.”They all caught the implication. Jennifer asked, “For
Jonathan frowned at James’s suggestion.He would have happily done anything for Liliana a few weeks before. But after finding out that he was married, he wanted to keep a distance.At the same time, he did not want to reject the idea in front of everyone.Liliana bit the inside of her mouth to hide her smile.She sipped the juice and composed herself before she answered, “Let’s think about that later. Let’s go over other details. I don’t want any slips.”They discussed the plan in detail, and everyone left after an hour. Jonathan stayed back to talk to Liliana.“Worried your wife will misunderstand?” Liliana asked him before he could even say anything.“Yes,” He frankly admitted.Liliana clicked her tongue as she nodded thoughtfully, “I would have thought you would be more interested in taking revenge on Vivian Stone.”She looked at him and cocked her head, “I can’t tell you the details, but how about this? Humor me this time, and I promise your wife won’t misunderstand, and you will
Jonathan listened to her silently and felt a lot better.“You should be my therapist.” He joked to lighten the mood.“Let me be your friend and confidant first,” She replied with sincerity.“How is my wife doing?” He asked.“She is fine. She asked me to keep an eye on you if you must know. She does not want to show up now because she wants you to realize by yourself who are the people trying to separate the two of you and how far they would be willing to go.” She answered.“Does she hate me?” He asked, his voice thick with different emotions.“No, she does not. You mean a great deal to her in ways you would not understand until you know the entire truth.” She answered as clearly as she could without giving anything away.“What do you mean?” He asked.“She knew you before. Her family coerced her into getting married, but they never told her who the groom was. She had planned an escape for herself. She discovered that you were the groom by mistake and so she agreed. She has never blamed
Jonathan was wise enough to see what she was planning.He could not have brought Smith Group to its heights without seeing through people’s schemes.Liliana was a bundle of surprises. But whenever she said something cryptically, he could always decipher it accurately enough.“Did you plan this with my wife? Who is she to you?” He asked.“She is the one person I failed to protect in the past. I plan to make up for that error as soon as I can.” She said, looking into his eyes.Jonathan got suspicious at that. The way she said it and the emotions in her eyes were hiding a big secret. But what was that?The suspicion that she was his wife grew stronger.There was something very similar about her sad smile, the color of her eyes, the vibe he got with her, the feel of her body when they had danced together, the steely determination in her eyes, and her indifferent face. Those things strongly reminded him of his wife of three days.But if she was his wife, why would she not say anything?Mo
Liliana took the three kids to the Petrova Private Hospital. Henry, Jennifer, and a pre-selected team of doctors were already ready for them.Liliana was the major shareholder of the Petrova Private Hospital, followed by the Smith Group.Henry had accumulated some shares in exchange for a life-long contract. Liliana had talked him into it with a generous offer and flexible timings.It allowed him ample time to do research without worrying about finances. At the same time, Petrova Private Hospital gained a talented doctor for perpetuity. His research would also benefit the hospital. Moreover, it helped strengthen the connection between the Petrovas and the Qazis.Jonathan had arrived at the hospital a few minutes before Liliana did.Everyone was on their toes with such bigheads making personal visits.They directly went to the VVIP ward, which was exclusive for the Petrovas and the major shareholders who had more than 10% shares of the Petrova Private Hospital. Only four families were
Liliana and Jonathan, however, purposefully ignored Vivian even though they had seen her seething at them.“It looks like your entanglement with her will be over soon,” Liliana whispered to Jonathan with a coy look.Jonathan smiled at her and shook his head.‘She is so playful. How many different sides does she have?’To Vivian’s eyes, they were sweet-talking in public. She stormed into the surveillance room and made an excuse to get the footage.Little did she know, the manager had informed the security guard to let her take the footage.In her arrogance and rage, Vivian did not realize she had been lured into a trap.If she had been sane, she would have realized something was fishy based on how quickly she was allowed to make a copy of the surveillance tape and delete the original from their servers.All Smith Group businesses were famous for their privacy and security. She had been recently infamous for latching onto Jonathan despite his uninterest.Alas, her lack of control got th
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