The maids knew enough to understand that we would all get punished if I touched the baby boy.Everyone worked hard to sneak him in and out and let us spend some time together.It was oddly fun at that time. I practically raised that child on my own. At least I put a great deal more effort than all the three Aprices combined.It was because of him I never left.I had more options than I could count. But I let Rose and Lydia bully me and stayed back.I just could not let those evil people raise that innocent baby.The first word that my brother uttered was - Sis. The second was - Lil.When I was 16 - and he was 7 - we left home. Well, I left P city! And Lester sent him abroad. I made sure of that.I lost contact with all of them after that.The next time Lester called me was when I was already 21, and he forced me with the threat of my brother’s life and my mother’s belongings to marry someone.I did not know it was you, so I planned to fake my death in front of them. I knew I was to ma
Liliana looked Jonathan in the eye and spoke without hiding anything.“I don’t hate you, Nathan. I have never blamed you. I just hate that we will never have a peaceful life.”“Unless we truly have a strong bond, our marriage is doomed to fail. We will have other priorities, and we will also have enemies in the dark. We will have to wade through lies and schemes.”She took a deep breath as she said, “I did not tell you the truth because what was I even supposed to say? I wanted you to know me, to see me, and decide with a clear head.”Jonathan asked, “Why did you give me the divorce papers?”Liliana was surprised by his question. After everything she had said, that was what he was curious about.“I could not hate or blame you, and I could not prioritize or keep you. So, that’s all I could think of.”Jonathan sighed audibly and crouched before her as he said, “I don’t know if I cheated on you.”“You did not,” She laughed through her tears. She could tell that Jonathan had forgiven her.
Liliana leaned into Jonathan’s arms as she explained.“I told them you were their father, and there was an accident right after our marriage due to which you lost your memory. The bad people were trying to harm all four of us.”The kids were smart and wanted to know why she left him and why she came back.“The bad guys had kept their little uncle hostage. Hence, I ran away, but I left a guard to save your life and protect you from their manipulations in secret.”“Now that we are stronger, we can stay around you and slowly help you regain your memories. Also, this way, you get to know us and won’t believe bad people’s lies about us, even if you never recover your memories.”Jonathan was immensely grateful for her thoughtfulness.“Thank you!” He emotionally said as he tightened his grip around her waist.“Let’s not say - Thank you and sorry - for the past, okay?” She sighed.“It must have been hard for you.” He lamented.“Not really. I have always had people to love, people who loved me
Liliana and Jonathan took some time to calm their emotions.They had a late lunch before going to see the kids.It was late evening when they arrived at Liliana’s Villa.Liliana called the kids to the living room and sent all the maids away.“Nathan, these are our kids. Nathaniel Petrova Smith is older than Joyanna Petrova Smith by 15 minutes. I call them Li and Jo. I combined our names - Jonathan and Liliana - for both of them the best I could.” She formally introduced the kids to Jonathan.“Li, Jo - your father and I are very sorry for not providing you with a complete family all these years. Let’s start over, okay?”She explained to the kids and subtly hinted at them not to raise this issue again.“We both promise that we will do better from now on.”“Daddy!” Jo exclaimed right away and jumped into Jonathan’s lap.She already loved him very much but was coaxed by Liliana to keep the truth.“Father!” Li solemnly called.He also wanted to love his father carefreely as his sister did.
The day ended cheerfully for the family as they were finally united.Immersed in their happiness, they paid no heed to the situation outside.Vivian had finally made her play. Having learned from her previous defeat, this time, she refrained from going after Liliana directly.Besides, the Aprices were more than willing to cause trouble for Liliana, so she did not have to worry.Vivian intercepted Lydia’s investigators and led them to the intimate pictures of Jonathan and Liliana. She also used herself and passed her photos in bed with Jonathan.She knew Lydia would not be smart enough to use it, so she orchestrated an elaborate play to ‘let Lydia conjure a brilliant plan of tarnishing Liliana’s reputation’ by labeling her as a homewrecker despite being a mother.Lydia had been going nuts thinking about how Liliana stole her man. She had conveniently forgotten that Liliana was Jonathan’s wife and the little girl he had loved since childhood.She also overlooked that she could only get
The news spread like wildfire.P city was rife with discussions about the love triangle. The internet blew up, and people were commenting left and right while taking sides.‘She pretended to be so righteous while having an affair with someone else’s man. Poor Miss Stone, my heart goes out to her.’‘Poor Miss Stone, no wonder she acted recklessly in the inauguration ceremony. No one would stay put and swallow humiliation like this.’‘The homewrecker sure is crafty. Ever since she showed up, Miss Vivian has been falling into one misfortune after another. I wonder if someone is deliberately targeting her.’‘I did not think President Smith would be such a scum.’‘What did you expect? We all saw how he treated Miss Stone at the inauguration party.’‘I wonder who posted these.’‘I don’t think Mrs. Liliana and President Smith would be such scums. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.’‘Are these photos real?’‘Several experts have verified the photos are real.’‘Anyone else notice
Jonathan and Liliana enjoyed their time together with their twins without bothering about the news.For the first time in his life, Jonathan felt immensely happy and content at the same time.He vowed to protect his wife and children to the best of his abilities. He wanted to spend the rest of his life making up for his absence for the past seven years.Neither went to work or checked social media.The next day all their friends joined them for lunch. Liam, Kyle, Mariana, Henry, Jennifer, James, and Vincent were present.Liliana proposed an unusual toast to them.“If my husband and I are separated again, I hope you all will stay neutral and be friends with us both. And Mer, please don’t hold grudges anymore. I am equally at fault, and you can’t excuse my mistakes just because I got pregnant and chose to give birth without telling him. Cheers to a fresh start!”Liam knew it already, so he just congratulated them.“Congratulations! You finally fessed up, Lil. Jonathan - Lil is the siste
Liliana sighed, looking at her way too-mature son. She had hoped for him to be more childish, but he was growing up to be more and more mature and private.Jonathan rubbed her head and hugged her shoulders as she sighed with a defeated look on her pretty face.“He will be fine. I was also like that as a child. He may have taken after me.” He tried to console Liliana.She shook her head.“You were happy when you stayed the week with us on that beach. I feel like I have failed as a parent when I see Li behaving like an adult.”Jonathan rubbed her back and soothed her.“You are the best mother the kids could have hoped for - Don’t doubt that! It is my fault that Li is like that. He has assumed my responsibility. That and his natural personality have made him like that.”“Let me handle this. I will show our son that he can be carefree because I will be there for him, his little sister, and his mother.”Liliana sniffled and hugged him, “Do you hate me? It was my sole decision to hide this
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