…A few minutes before.Little Lion was waiting for his mom to pick him up like she had promised when he saw a very familiar car. “Handsome Xin!“ he called and ran towards him.Xin lifted him up and kissed his cheek. “How have you been, son?“ He asked. It had been so long since they were close.Little Lion smiled. “I'm fine. I didn't know you were also coming,” he said. He was always wishing that both of his parents came to pick him up from school.Xin creased his brows. “Also coming? Who else is coming?“ He asked in confusion.And Little Lion pursed his lips. “Aren't you with mommy? She said she was coming too,” he said. Did Xin come alone?Xin sighed and put him in the car. “Let us wait for her then,” he said. He really wasn't ready to tell the child that he would not be able to see his mom for a while.“You are not busy?“ Little Lion asked in confusion. His mom had told him several times that Xin was always a busy man.But Xin raised his brows. “Why would I be busy for my son? I ha
…“You raised the kid all by yourself?“ Lawyer Tom asked, noting something down.And I hurriedly nodded my head. “Yes, the two of us had divorced. He had a fiancee, and I could never tell him about his child,” I explained. I was still crying.Lawyer Tom nodded his head in understanding. “There are high chances of us winning this case. First, the child is a minor and has all the right to live with his mother. Secondly, your husband divorced and cut all ties with you. That means that he doesn't have the right or say over the child.“I sighed in relief. “Thank you, sir,” I said. At least, there was hope. I looked at Eze, who was holding my hand. It was all because of him. “Thank you,” I whispered to him.Eze nodded with a smile. “Don't rejoice too early. Let us wait until we win. You know Xin won't just stay calm to let you win, right?“I was about to nod my head when I saw a strange look on the lawyer's face. His eyes opened wide, and his lips slightly trembled.“Sir, are you okay?“ I q
I looked at him angrily and only resisted the urge to spit on him. “Go to hell with your conditions. I will never marry a man as heartless as you!“He remained so calm as he listened to me. And he nodded his head when I was done. “Good, I understand.“I creased my brows. “What? Is that all you have to say? Xin, please, let me see my son. He needs me,” I said. I hadn't thought that I would hand to beg him.But he shook his head. “I can't. Don't worry, our son is in safe hands. Goodbye,” he said. He was about to close the gate, and I tensed a little.But just at the same time, a hand appeared out of nowhere and stopped the gate from closing. Before I had time to react, I heard a loud smack.And my eyes opened wide when I saw Eze retrieve his hand. He had punched Xin in the face.In fact, he was about to do it again,but I quickly stopped him. “Eze!“ I called. “You can't be doing this.“Eze took deep breaths to calm himself down. “I want to teach him a lesson. He should know that he is no
…I cried all the way home. I had to admit that Xin had become an animal. He didn't care about anyone else except himself.“Don't cry, Bella. I will make sure that everything is fine, okay?“ Eze tried to comfort me, but I didn't know whether to believe him or not.The whole night, I didn't sleep. For the first time, I missed Little Lion's little tactics and stubbornness in the house. It was so sad that he wasn't there.It was very late in the morning when I finally fell asleep. And when I woke up again, the house was filled with sun rays.Tensed up, I rushed to Little Lion's room. “Wake up, Little Lion. You are late for school,” I said. I was already planning on how to prepare him faster.However, I froze when I pushed open his door. It was then that everything came rushing into my mind. Yes, he was not with me anymore.I looked at his neatly spread bed, and tears fell from my eyes. That devil had taken away my son and my life. I sat on his bed and cried. That was the only thing I cou
“Mommy? Mommy, where are you?“ Little Lion asked. He almost seemed like he was crying.And my heart bled for that. “Baby, I'm at home. Do you want to come over?“ I asked. Maybe Xin would respect his decision.There was silence on the other side for some time, and I became scared that something could have happened. What if Xin had caught him talking to me? What if he did something to him?“No!“ Suddenly, he said, and my eyes widened in shock. “Mommy, I'm sorry. I can't come back home.“I sat up angrily. “What? This is your home, Little Lion. What happened to you? Did he threaten you?“ I asked. That was not the child I knew.“Mommy, I love you so much. I love handsome Xin too. He is good to me. Mommy, why don't you come and live with us?“ Little Lion asked, his voice trembling. I felt sorry for him.“Little Lion…” I called and wiped away my tears. I was trying to make sure that he didn't realize that I was crying.“Mommy? Um… I'm sorry… I just…” Little Lion struggled to talk. And I unde
…At the hospital.Five days had gone by just like that, but there wasn't any response from Chris. He was still lying there, lifeless.His mom sat on the bed beside him and held his hand. “Baby, you have to wake up, okay?“ She said this while crying.They had tried to look into the cause of the accident, but until now, they had no clue. Everything had happened like a dream.The doctor walked in to examine him. “He seems to be fighting for his life. Do you think there is anything that makes him want to live more?“ He asked.The woman paused. “Something or someone he loves more?“ She asked. “What are we supposed to do?“The doctor sighed. “It would be good if there was a person who talked to him and encouraged him. I'm sure he can hear,” he said. “Healing is psychological just as much as it is physical. He needs it.“Chris's mother stood up. “I think I have an idea,” she said. She knew clearly how addicted her son was to that tiny girl he went to see.But just at the same time, two peop
Little Lion chuckled. He couldn't believe that was how everyone called Handsome Xin. He could imagine the look on his face when he heard it.“Do you believe me now?“ Ricky asked. He was still confused. They were living just in the adjacent compound, separated by a mere fence. All the time, they had their eyes on the house. How didn't they know that Xin had a child?Little Lion smiled. “I just thought about it. You wouldn't know his password at the door if you were an enemy,” he said.Ricky nodded, but before he could say anything, he heard Red Eye's voice in the mic. “Careful, Ricky! Someone is coming over,” he said.And just at the same time, the door was pushed open, and a man rushed in. It was all thanks to Isabel, who could hack through the door.“Stand still!“ The man ordered them, pointing a gun at them. Little Lion shrieked. He was scared that they were in danger.But Ricky remained unperturbed. “Congratulations man. You are really capable,” he said, a tiny smile at the corner
…For two days, I sat at the front door, waiting for Eze. He hadn't come back from Xin's house. I was so scared when I thought about the whole thing.Even though Dave, the man whom I had left with, didn't tell me exactly what had happened in there, I wasn't stupid. There was a very high chance that they had been caught.At last, when I couldn't stay calm anymore, I decided to do what was necessary. Who the hell knew what Xin was doing to him?What if he was being tortured to death? What if he was being starved to death? Xin would do anything to get information from them.And once he knew what they wanted to do, he was going to kill him. No! I wasn't supposed to let that happen. Eze was in trouble because of me.I quickly changed my clothes and headed for the company. By whatever chance, I had to help Eze.And luck wasn't on my side again. I ran into Skye, who looked at me with a taunting smile. “Look who is here,” she said, and everyone turned to look at me.She looked at her watch an
Xin seemed to have come back to his senses when I called him. He dropped the gun he was holding and held tightly onto me.“Bella, are you still there?“ He asked, his body trembling.I could feel that I was actually losing consciousness. So I could only groan at him. There were so many things that I wanted to tell him, but I could not.“Hang in there!“ He shouted and rushed to his car. “I am going to make sure that you are fine.““Xin…” I called. To be honest, I never felt like I could make it. “Take care… of Little Lion,” I said.“Bella!“ Xin called out fearfully, and that was the last thing I heard from him.…I tried to move my hand to get rid of the thing that was obstructing my breathing. However, I felt numb, like my body didn't belong to me.“Mommy?“ I heard a small voice beside me, and I quickly opened my eyes.I was confused for a second as I stared at the child before me. “Little Lion?“ I called. Wasn't I dead?“Mommy? You woke up?“ Little Lion asked and sprang to his feet. “
I felt my blood boil in anger, but I was too scared at the same time. I pulled Little Lion into my arms and hugged him tightly.He had been shot in the arm, and he was bleeding. I was scared that I would lose him if I wanted any longer.“I'm fine, mommy. We have to get out of here,” Little Lion said weakly. He was biting on his teeth, obviously trying to suppress the pain. And that hurt me even more.“Hold on a little longer, baby,” I said, standing up. I took the gun that he had been holding and pointed straight at the man in front of me.The others tried to shoot, but they were too slow for me. I shot at them, knowing that it was either me and my son or them.In a split second, most of them were lying on the ground. I didn't want to check whether they were breathing or not.The others, including my mom, looked a bit scared. They no longer dared to shoot.I took another gun from the man lying closest to me and pointed at them. "I am going to walk out of this place with my son," I sai
Knowing that he was talking to Old Xin, I felt so annoyed. “Old Xin, I want to talk to you. Why are you a coward? Come out and face me!“ I shouted.Why was he hiding in the shadows while trying to take advantage of us? If he wanted to kill us, then he should have done it himself.However, two men walked forward and captured me. “Watch your tongue, young lady,” they said.I struggled against them when they tried to pull me towards the gate. “You have to live and never come back. If you show up ever again, he is going to kill you,” one of the men said.I struggled intensely. “I am not going anywhere. I want to see my son. What have you people done to him?““Stop!“ Someone shouted when the gate was opened. And seeing that it was my mom, I felt even more terrible.The men paused, but they didn't say anything to her. They just stared at her calmly, as though nothing she said mattered.“I will get her out of here. She is going to leave and will never show up again, right, darling?“ She aske
“Killed? He won't kill his own grandson,” I said. Was something wrong with Kaycie?But she took the phone and threw it far away. I was sure it was broken into tiny pieces. “He is willing to kill Little Lion. Do you think he cares about a grandson who doesn't listen to him?“ She asked.Though shocked by the fact that she seemed to understand Old Xin so well, I thought Little Lion was more important at the time.His new phone indicated that he was within fifty meters of range. I had to find him before anything happened to him.I pushed Kaycie away and ran back into the house, checking every room and box that I could find on the way.And when I could not find him, I ran for the nearby houses. I didn't care about what others thought of me. I would know what to do after I found him.“Stop it, Bella. You are going to get yourself killed,” Kaycie said, running after me. But it was just too late for that.…“Hello? Hey, Bella. Are you there?“ Xin asked in fear when Bella stopped talking all o
I looked at her in confusion. “Mom? Is that why you called me here? Is that why you didn't want Xin to know I was coming?“ I asked.Kaycie held my hand. “Darling, it is for your own good. Once everything is settled, you can come back,” she explained.But I couldn't listen to her. I wasn't going to lose everything that I had once again. “I'm sorry, mom. I am going back.“She quickly held my hand and stopped me from going. “You are an idiot, Bella. That man is going to kill you. He gave you the lady chance to live. Don't go back,” she insisted.And I stopped to look at her in shock when something rang in my head. “You are working with him, aren't you?“ I asked.Her lips moved, but she didn't say no. I couldn't help but sigh angrily. “You have been working with her all this time. You sold him the company. Mom, what changed?“ I asked, tears welling in my eyes.She shook her head, her Dave turning pale. “Darling, everything I did was for our own good. We both wouldn't be here if I didn't d
…Once Little Lion was dropped off at the old mansion and Xin left, Old Xin made a call.“I have him here. How are things on your end?“ He asked.“Settled. She is on her way,” said the person on the other side. “It will be done soon.“Old Xin sighed in relief. “You will receive the amount on your account the moment you have it done,” he said and hung up.But when he turned around, he saw Little Lion standing behind him. He coughed awkwardly. “What do you want to eat for dinner, dear?“ He asked.Little Lion looked at him calmly for a while before raising his brows. “Do you want to hurt my mommy again?“ He asked.The old man pursed his lips. But he couldn't let himself be exposed at such a time. “What are you talking about?“ He asked, faking ignorance.Little Lion shrugged. “I don't know who you were talking on the phone with, but if you hurt my mommy, I will never forgive you,” he said and walked away.Old Xin quickly walked after him. “Kid, what makes you think that I want to hurt you
…On Friday morning, I was feeling so tense. I had told Xin that it would be a night out for me and Abby so that he didn't suspect that I was going somewhere.“You don't look well,” Xin suddenly said as he parked the car. And I looked at him in shock.“Mmh? What do you mean?“ I asked. Could he have suspected something?He looked at me for a while before shaking his head. “You seem deep in thought. Remember that you can share anything with me, okay?“I nodded with guilt. “Of course,” I said. “I can tell you anything.“Xin sighed. “Grandpa wants Little Lion to spend the weekend at the old mansion,” he explained.I was quiet for a while before I sighed back. “Xin, I think we should let him go,” I said. And of course, I got that look of shock that I expected from him.“What?“ He asked. “You know how things are, darling. Do you really think we should? Little Lion might not even be willing to do it.“I held his hand. “Relax, honey. Little Lion is his great-grandson. He will never do anythin
…For days, I kept wondering whether it was true that my mom was still alive. That thing had eaten up my brain.“Are you okay?“ Xin asked, waving a document in front of me.I came back to my senses and looked at him. “Do you think mom had something to do with dad's death?“ I asked.Xin seemed shocked for a second. Then he pulled me into his arms. “Darling, try not to think about it now, okay? Once you meet her, she'll explain everything,” he said.I nodded my head in understanding. More than a month had passed since I learned that she was alive. Yet, until now, I hadn't gotten any information about her.“What if she never wants to talk? What if she never agrees to see me?“ I asked. That could only explain some things to me.It had been fifteen years, and she never showed up. What made us think that she would finally do it?I could feel Xin tense up a little, and I realized that he could know something I didn't. A smile appeared on my lips. “You met her already, right? She refused to s
…Immediately after Xin left, Kaycie hurriedly made a call. “Did you tell your grandson where I was?“ she asked.The person on the other side was silent for a while. Then he cleared his throat. “Did he come to find you? What does he want?“Kaycie took a deep breath. “He wants to know what happened. He wants me to explain everything to my daughter. You know that I can't see her. You have to do something about it.“The person on the other side was silent for a while again. Then he exhaled deeply. “Kaycie, what if it is actually a good thing to meet her again?“Kaycie hurriedly shook her head. “No! That wasn't part of our deal, old Xin. I left everything behind, including her. I don't have the courage to see her. I won't know what to say to her,” she said while trembling.“Kaycie. Both you and I know that some rules have to be broken. You know my grandson, right? Nothing can stop him from doing anything he wants. Sooner or later, he is going to bring her right to you. You can never avoid