CHAPTER 1 “Congratulations Mrs. Wilson,” the nurse said with a soft smile. “The test came out positive, you’re a month pregnant.” I felt a cold wave of shock wash over me as though someone poured a bucketful of ice water on me. My heart jolted painfully in my chest and my lips parted involuntarily as the memories that led to this unexpected event came rushing back at me like a violent wind. Robert, my childhood crush and husband who I was in a contract marriage with returned that night drunk and overjoyed, the reason being the advertising company landed a huge advertising deal with one of the biggest luxury establishments in the city. I knew he was drunk. I knew he wasn’t in control of his actions. I shouldn’t have let that night happen. But I have loved him dearly for a very long time and was unable to resist him. I was willing to do anything for his satisfaction and happiness. For a long time, I have craved to have such intimate moments with him. Since we got married two an
CHAPTER 2 The other woman was Scarlett Johnson, who I learnt was Robert’s first love and ex-girlfriend. She had just returned after a long time of being away to who knows where. And since then, has been all over Robert like a moth to a flame. Even though I didn’t know much about her, I hated her. She seemed fake. But Robert can’t see through her façade. I know she was his first love, beautiful with doll-like features and enchanting figure but she wasn’t worth the kindness and care he was giving her. I could tell she was taking advantage of that side of him. If she could leave him hanging years back, there was every chance she could leave him again. I wish Robert would open his eyes and see that. See she wasn’t good for him or the company. Ever since he offered her job at the advertising firm without going through the normal procedures, she has been treating me like trash and trying to make me look bad in front of him and everyone because of how close I was to him as his personal
CHAPTER 3 “Now isn’t the right time. I’m planning to surprise him and everyone back at the family house during an important dinner,” I lied to her again, managing another smile. She shrugged, believing me anyway. I was full of lies today. This was my third lie today. And to Jane, I have been lying to her ever since I got into this marriage with Robert, always defending him and trying to paint the perfect picture of everything being alright while they weren’t. I hated myself more than anything now. Shortly after, Jane left to pick up her child from school and make lunch for her family. My mum was admitted to the same hospital, but in a different ward a bit further away. I wanted to take the pregnancy test first before visiting her because I knew I’d spend a long time with her. I still couldn’t believe Robert didn’t recall me mentioning she was sick to him at some point. I did tell him several times this week when I wanted to leave work early to visit her. Despite that, I
CHAPTER 4 Though I had an apartment I stayed in at times, I lived here. With Robert when it was necessary to play our parts as a couple. The mansion was a sophisticated one situated in the upscale part of the city, surrounded by luxury and servants. I got in and quickly prepared myself for the dinner. As I was making my way to the dining area, I stopped by the mirror in the hallway to adjust my cocktail dress; the sapphire blue colour brought out the blue in my eyes. I also adjusted the wealth of my long brown hair, making sure my appearance was intact before his mother could see me. I learnt his mum was a star actress while young. She has been away since Robert and I got married. We only met briefly, so I didn’t know much about her. Though I overheard the servants once complaining of her being too excessive, easily irritated and difficult to please. So I was in for one heck of a ride. I didn’t understand why she called for such an abrupt dinner. But whatever the reason, I jus
CHAPTER 5 That evening, immediately after what occurred at the dinner table, I took a ride to my apartment. I didn’t have the heart to stay in that mansion after the last statement Robert made. It hurt more than his mum’s own, and I could tell he wasn’t going to spend the night there either. I was so stupid to think he was standing up for me. I should have known better. After undressing and getting ready for bed, I suddenly felt sick, coming down with a fever. I took something to slow the fever and pain and decided to sleep early so I could wake up early for work tomorrow morning. I had a lot on my table this week so I can’t afford to be late or worse, fall sick. Gently, I wrapped my hands around my belly, shaking off every bad thought and feeling. Shaking off everything Robert’s mum said about me. I wasn’t a barren desert. I was a real woman with no fertility issue, and sooner or later I’ll prove it to her. That night as I dozed off without knowing, I had a dream. A sweet d
CHAPTER 6 At the office, I was going through the details of my presentation, and putting everything together when I received an SMS from Robert through the company’s private line, informing me to schedule all his meetings and visits till after the presentation later that evening. I took note of that, and just then saw Scarlett making her way past me like a proud peacock to his office. As much as I didn’t want to admit, she looked radiant in her professionally done makeup but her gown was way too skimpy and seductive to be worn in a workplace such as this. Quickly, I left what I was doing to stop her from going in. “Miss Scarlett you can’t go in now. Come back later in the evening. Mr. Robert is busy.” She washed me head to toe with an icy glare, snorting derisively in disbelief. “Excuse me, and what are you supposed to be? Have you forgotten who I am? Because it seems you have. How dare you stop me going to see the love of my life!” she growled. I sighed nonchalantly and ro
Chapter 7 LILY'S POV "What's going on here?" Robert's gruff, provoked voice sounded as he came out of his office. Quickly, as Scarlett looked at him, I wiped the teardrops threatening to spill from my eyes and held back the sobs forming at the back of my throat. I summoned the courage to lift my gaze to Robert's eyes. The eyes of the boy I fell in love with the first time I saw him walk into our class. The eyes of the man I longed for his love and wanted to spend the rest of my life with even though he was so dumb he couldn't see it that way. It was hard to believe that one day those eyes would be seeing me out of his house and life forever, welcoming Scarlett as his new wife. No doubt his family members will approve especially his mum since Scarlett will be giving her what I couldn't - a child. A child that didn't come about by mistake. A child Robert approves of. "Nothing is happening," I said and forced a smile, my heart as heavy as a rock in my chest. "Everything's fine. I wa
Chapter 8 LILY'S POV My heart raced as I paced restlessly like a mad scientist in Robert's office after the disaster that just happened in the conference room. Robert told me to wait for him here. The only time he does this, especially with that tone of voice is when a worker behaves badly or does something wrong. In this case, not only did I do something wrong, I messed up like no one else has in the company. This was our company's biggest campaign project for the month and I blew it. Panic welled up in my chest as I awaited the inevitable, my mind racing with what Robert would do to me when he got back. He was still in the conference room with the clients and some of the board members. He was trying to address the issue and calm them but I doubted he was making any progress. I could hear their raised voices from where I was and it only made me more anxious. I didn't know how Scarlett managed to get access to my slides and swap them with those embarrassing sex memes and p**n adve
CHAPTER 114LILY’S POVFirst thing the following morning, I was in Noah’s office, waiting impatiently for him to arrive. He usually left his office unlocked so the cleaning lady could come and clean it early in the morning before he arrived for work. But I preferred to lock mine before leaving because I don’t like people tampering with my stuff. The cleaner lady only cleaned it when I was on shifts as I kept it tidy most time.I don’t usually come over to Noah’s office. It was always the other way around. But the matter at hand was driving me insane, choking me to the point of death I just had to leave everything else I was doing and come here.I can’t believe Robert showed up at my place. Digging up where I worked and sending those whack flowers weren’t enough he had to come to my house when it was almost dark, whining like an adult child. How did he manage to find my address? Who gave it to him? Or did somehow install a tracking device in my phone or anywhere around me? I doubt th
CHAPTER 113ROBERT’S POV~ The sudden beep of my phone in my pocket startled me a bit, pulling me from my thoughts. I quickly pulled it out and glanced at the screen to see it was a notification from none other than Martin. After leaving me hanging for hours, he finally responded to my chat, his reply shocking me. ~“Robert, I understand perfectly. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’m only this way towards her because she’s my friend and I care for her. You married her, she’s all yours. Just do your best to bring her and the kids back. I promise I won’t overstep my boundaries.”I stared at the phone screen for quite some time, contemplating my response. His reply wasn’t quite what I expected. Can I truly trust him to stay clear of Lily? Their close relationship in the past, while we were still married bothered me so much that I wanted to stop her from seeing him entirely. If he took this long to reply to me, that meant he thought deeply about this. That meant he still had feel
CHAPTER 112ROBERT’S POV~ “Stay away from us and never come back here or else I’ll alert the estate security!” Lily shunned me fiercely. She didn’t even wait for me to utter a word as she quickly pulled the kids inside and slammed the door in my face, leaving me to stand there in crushing silence, staring at the closed door as the weight of my past mistakes pressed heavily on my chest. ~“Lily…! Lily…!! Please you can’t be doing this. You can’t keep them away from me…” I kept calling her name but there was no answer. She was ignoring me on purpose.I wanted to bang at the door, even knock it down if I had to. But I realized doing that would only be to my detriment as it was getting dark and I’ll be drawing the attention of the neighbours, and people passing by the estate road. The estate was very quiet and serene, so any little noise could constitute a nuisance.I rushed to the windows, desperate for another glimpse of them, but the thick, drawn curtains blocked my view entirely.
CHAPTER 111ROBERT’S POV~ Just then the door opened and a little girl of about eight years came running to her, shouting “Mummy! Mummy!” ~The little girl clung to Lily’s side, staring at me as though I was a strange creature that appeared from nowhere.“Mummy,” she called Lily that for the third time, looking up at her. “Who’s this man? Why is kneeling in front of you and what did he do for you to be screaming at him like that?”Lily was irritated by her sudden presence. She looked away to avoid her gaze, hiding her flushed face and trying to steady her laboured breath.Before Lily could get a grip, the little girl looked back at me again, her brows furrowing deeply. She was staring at me like I was something of interest. Something she was trying to understand.She rested her chin on her tiny fingers, her face adorably scrunched in deep thought. She cocked her head at me, throwing a question. “Hey Mister, who are you and why do you look so much like Liam?”“Huhh…” I grimaced in con
CHAPTER 110ROBERT’S POVMy chauffeur arrived late yesterday and got a car for me. We rode on it, following Lily from a considerable distance so she wouldn’t suspect anyone was following her. My chauffeur once drove for undercover operations for the FBI, so he was a master at that.Lily lived in a luxurious estate which made me believe her job was paying her really well. The security was tight. As a result, it was a bit hard for us to get in. Apparently, the security men at the entrance/exit gate won’t let anyone enter without proof in the form of an ID card showing you are a resident of the estate. And if you’re visiting, they’ll have to get a confirmation call from the resident you’re visiting before they can let you in. We were only able to get in because one of the security guards knew my family and I also tipped them.Arriving at Lily's house – a luxurious but simple bungalow with a well-manicured lawn, neatly paved driveway, a cosy porch, and walls painted in a soft cream hue,
CHAPTER 109ROBERT’S POV ~ “I’ll send you the details of her company. I need you to hack into her laptop and wipe out everything work-related. Can you do that?” ~Frank was silent for some time, almost as if he wasn’t on call anymore. What I said must have disoriented him completely. But I didn’t expect him to be that way.“Hey buddy…Are you still there?...” I brought my phone down from my ear just to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected. And it hasn’t.“Hey boss…” His voice sounded. It was low almost as if he was afraid to speak.“What happened?” I asked, bringing the phone to my ear. “Why did you suddenly black out on me?”“I’m sorry, boss,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But why are we doing this? Is it really the right thing to do? After what Scarlett made me do to her, I promised myself I’d never be part of something that could hurt anyone like that again. What I did cost Lily so much, and the guilt still eats at me. I can’t bring myself to put her through that kind of pain
CHAPTER 108ROBERT’S POV~ Noah sat down on the seat in front of her. He no longer had that troubled and angry look he once had. It had softened. I couldn’t understand what was happening between them. It was making me boil. As if that wasn’t enough, Lily reached across the table and took his hand in hers.“That’s it!” I said as I furiously got up and started packing to go. I can’t take this anymore. I’m heading there. I don’t care what happens. ~I was at the entrance of the building, about to enter when the security guard showed up to stop me. “Where are you heading, Mr. Robert?” He asked, his eyes wide as he was surprised to see me.“To her office,” I said through clenched teeth, fury propelling me forward.“No… no… no…” He scrambled to stop me, his hand pressing against my heaving chest. “That isn’t the right thing to do right now…”He was tensed as he glanced around furtively, making sure no one was watching as if afraid something bad would happen if anyone saw us together.“Why
CHAPTER 107 ROBERT’S POV ~ As I waited for him to return my chats, I peeped into the surveillance equipment. On seeing Lily had arrived and was already seated at her table, working on her laptop, everything else I was doing became history in the blink of an eye. I swept off the potato chips and beer from the tabletop, making a mess. My phone nearly fell too. But I didn’t care as I adjusted the equipment and began to watch Lily. ~ From the focused distance, I could see she was frustrated. She pushed her seat back away from the table. She ran her fingers through her lush hair, disheveling it and there was this angry look on her face almost as if she regretted doing something. I took my eyes off the equipment, my brows furrowing. She was too beautiful to be in this kind of distress. If she was acting this way, that meant she also had a bad night like me or even worse. Maybe she felt guilty for what she did to me yesterday. Maybe there was a chance she still loved me but was fi
CHAPTER 106ROBERT’S POVLast night was hell. I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about Lily. Where was she? In her house or somewhere else? What was she doing? Who was she with? Will she ever forgive me and take me to see my kids so we can become a family? These questions daggered my mind throughout the night. I had to pass the time by drinking, eating leftover pizza and watching TV.I wondered if she was thinking about me too. Surely, she wasn’t. She hated me too much now to even care whether I existed or not. If I’m ever going to regain her trust and forgiveness and win her back then I had to put in a lot of effort. I’ll have to go the extra mile and do things the old me will never think of doing. I had to take gentle steps, give her the time and space she needed and prove to her I was a changed man who was ready to love her till the end of days.After I paid that security guard and promised to pay him more if he continued to give me all the information I needed, he spilt all the de