CHAPTER 10LILY'S POVRobert came closer. Though I was crumbling on the inside, I strengthened and braced myself for whatever scolding I might receive. If he could lash out at me the way he did when Scarlett lied that I had hit her on the stomach, who knew what he could do now that I accused her of something this serious?"Lily..." He pronounced. I know I wasn't supposed to feel this way now but the way he called my name ignited a spark I didn't know existed inside me for some time now. I took in a deep breath, trying to maintain my feeble control as I waited for whatever it was he had for me.I realized that no matter how much he pissed me off or how far he pushed me away, no matter what he did to me, I still...loved him. I can't help loving him and I can't stop loving him. I hate him for everything he's doing to me. I hate him for not noticing me since high school. I hate him for seeing me as nothing more than his secretary and a wife to please his grandpa. Despite all that, I lo
Chapter 11LILY’S POVI wanted to go visit my mother at the hospital but changed my mind after seeing how miserable I looked. It’ll only get her to worry about me and the last thing I wanted was for her to worry in her state especially now the doctor mentioned she was responding to treatment.I felt like a lost puppy – alone, lost and unsure of what to do next. I thought of going to the family house but after remembering Robert’s harsh words and false accusations, I quickly erased the thought. I wasn’t ready to see him again for now. I feared he might have told his family members I was on a mission to sabotage his company and steal it from him. They’ll see me as a bad person and might never accept me as a part of the family or worse, throw me out. I was already struggling to fit in. Robert might use that chance to convince his grandpa that I wasn’t the right wife for him, that I wasn’t the good, decent woman he believed me to be. If he manages to do that and his grandpa believes him,
Chapter 12LILY’S POVAfter spending time at the bar, I made my way back to my apartment, grateful today didn’t end as badly as it started. Robert will be pissed I haven’t completely moved out of the apartment to the family house but at that moment, I didn’t want to think of it. His happiness was my top priority but with everything that happened today at the office, I just needed some time away from him. I wasn’t ready to face him after he treated me harshly and unfairly.I tried to keep myself from thinking of the worst-case scenario of him telling his family members what happened at the office as I approached my apartment. However, I noticed something unusual.My apartment was already open and some men were carting away with some of my property. I thought they were thieves but thieves don’t come stealing in broad daylight and my neighbours would have alerted the police if they were. They were dressed in special uniforms, looking like construction workers from a reputable constructi
CHAPTER 13 ***Please note all the chapters of the book are written from Lily's point of view unless stated otherwise.*** My breath caught and my hand instinctively ran up against my mouth to hold back the gasp about to escape. I was in a rush to leave for work this morning so I forgot to hide the pregnancy test result. I had left it on top of the nightstand. Now he’s found it. Something I promised never to let him find out about till the time was right. How could I been so forgetful and careless? This is bad…very bad. My heart was pounding against my rib cage. I tried but unsuccessfully to steady it as I lifted my gaze to meet Robert’s raging eyes. I don’t think I have ever seen him this angry. Normally, couples are supposed to celebrate the news of pregnancy especially if it has taken a long time to come. Any husband will be happy about this. Any husband but Robert. Was pregnancy really that bad a thing for him? Did he despise it, or did he just hate the thought of me carr
Chapter 14With that said Robert turned and made his way to the door. But I said something that dragged back his attention.“So it’s okay for Scarlett to be pregnant with your child but not me?” I asked with painful tears that hurt my eyes streaming down my face.“What did you just say?” He turned and asked, his brows knitting in sharply like he didn’t hear me correctly.Trying to maintain a tough demeanour, I vigorously wiped the tears off my face and tried to blink away my tears. I looked at him directly in the eyes. “I know everything. From how you got her pregnant and have been sleeping with her behind my back to your plans to get rid of me once your grandpa is no more and this contract marriage is over,” I scoffed in disbelief, that feeling of hurt and betrayal I felt when Scarlett told me all this creeping back into me. “I know you don’t love me like I love you, Robert but the last thing I expected you to do is betray me like this. All these years all I have done is stay true a
Chapter 15The TV was playing and the noise that came with people talking and walking around could be heard as I was seated in the waiting room of the hospital. But I barely paid attention to any of that as I was drowned in my thoughts. Robert’s hurtful words and the doctor’s message last night daggered my mind, leaving me feeling very anxious and uneasy. The thought of having this abortion only made it worse. I hadn’t done it before and didn’t know what to expect. As much as it scared the hell out of me, it was the only way I could get the money I needed to save my mother. I had to report back to Robert later in the day with the proof of the abortion procedure for him to give me my monthly paycheck for the contract marriage agreement. I couldn’t wait to get the procedure over with so I could go see how my mother was doing and give Robert what he wanted.Last night after Robert left, those men came back and carried the remaining furniture in the apartment which was my bed. I proved s
Chapter 16Someone tell me I’m dreaming. Tell me this isn’t true. Robert can’t be dead. He just can’t. I had just seen him yesterday. Even though he rejected my love and treated me cruelly and harshly, I still loved him with all my heart and didn’t want him gone at all. I had grown so attached to him I could barely go a day without seeing him and knowing how he was doing even though he might not want to do the same for me.I couldn’t seem to understand how someone could have done something this heartless and pinned it on me. He didn’t have any enemies that I knew of. The last thing I’ll do on this earth is kill someone, much less the father of my unborn child. The love of my life. My lifelong crush. If the police had come for me, that meant the news had probably gone viral. What will his family and the entire city think of me now? What do I tell my child when he grows up and wants to know what happened to his father?My head was bowed low in despair as the police car sped through. I h
CHAPTER 17“What is your relationship with Mr. Ronald Wilson?”I swallowed a lump around my throat to find my speech coherence. “He is the grandfather of my husband. As such my grandfather-in-law.”She scribbled on her notepad and continued.“Do you perhaps have some personal grudge against him maybe because of a past conflict or disagreement?”Her question caught me off guard. Grimacing in confusion, I stammered, trying to reiterate my point, “No…no, I don’t. Why would I hold a grudge against a man who has been so good to me from the very first day he set his eyes on me…”“I don’t know,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “You tell me.”She was taking this the wrong way. Robert’s Grandpa and I have been on good terms right from the start. He was my late grandpa’s best friend. The long-standing promise they made to each other before my grandpa died was the only reason I got the chance to be this close to Robert as his wife after all those years of not seeing him and being far away from him. B
LILY’S POV5 years later… The wedding bells rang softly in the cathedral and everyone rose to welcome me, the bride as I graced the aisle in my wedding gown which flowed like a river behind me. My face was covered with a veil, and in my hands was a delicate bouquet of white roses and baby’s breath. My arm was entwined with Frank’s who escorted me down the aisle, to the altar. After I came back to New York, he confessed to helping Scarlett sabotage me at Robert’s company fifteen years back which led to me being sacked. He asked for my forgiveness and I granted it. If he hadn’t brought up the incident, I don’t think I would have remembered because it’s been long. As sign I had truly forgiven him and my intentions towards him were good, I couldn’t think of any other person asides him to walk me down the aisle. We became closer than we were years back after that happened.. The guests were extravagantly dressed, beaming with smiles as their head turned and gazes glued to me in adm
CHAPTER 172LILY’S POV All my life, I don’t think I have ever felt this much hatred radiate from a person. I thought Scarlett’s was intense and overbearing. But Noah’s was on a whole different level. So cold, so menacing, so consuming it chilled my spine. Just how can someone harbour this much hatred to people related to him? He had gagged me, and tied my wrist because I wasn’t making it easy for him with all my persistence and reluctance in going to which ever place he wanted me to go with him. I once heard him say we were going to Fiji, a quiet luxurious island country far from US. Not to mention he had me caged in his brutal dominance. I couldn’t move a single muscle as he pressed the muzzle of that gun against the side of my head, the cold metal reminding me that the slightest move would end it all in a heartbeat. Being at the forefront of all these, I bore the brunt of all that angst, hatred, malice, anger rolling off in waves from him and crashing against me as he shout
CHAPTER 171 NOAH’S POV ~ You might be a lot of things son but you’re not a murderer,” father said, drawing my attention. He’d been torn and shaken to the core after I pointed the gun at his beloved wife, not knowing what to do. “You’re good,” he continued gently, careful with each word that left his lips as if afraid not to provoke me further. “I can see it in you. Just put down the gun, let’s talk things through. We have a lot of things to tell you. A lot of explanations to make. I know you think we abandoned you but we never did.” ~ He attempted to come close, taking slow cautious steps to me. “If you could just let us…” “Don’t come any close or else I’ll put a bullet through your mouth hole!” I snapped like one possessed, pointing the gun at him, my fingers gripping the handle so tight my knuckles turned white. "Did you watch me grow? Do you have any idea what I endured as a child?" I shouted, throwing the words at him like daggers, each one more vicious than the last.
CHAPTER 170 NOAH’S POV ~ Once the kids were settled and ready to fly, I returned my full attention to the rest of the family. I pointed my gun straight to Juliana’s head. “Now, for the final rites.” ~ “Now, for the final rites,” I said with a crooked smile curving my lips, the cold metal clicking as I cocked the gun, ready to take the shot when suddenly, Martin lunged forward, throwing himself in front of her. “No!” he shouted, voice cracking with desperation as his chest rose and fell heavily. “Don’t do this please…! If you have to kill someone, kill me instead!” Fear and panic was written all over their faces. I could even pick out the heavy, disturbing sound of their breaths as it gushed out from the lungs. Did they think the gun was for fancy? Think I won’t shes blood before I left? I whiffed out a frustrated fume, facepalming internally. This Martin was a fool indeed. Was that his genius plan all along, to step in when I wanted to kill someone so he could take the sho
CHAPTER 169NOAH’S POV ~ “The kids now!” I returned my gaze to Juliana with a scowl. She quickly ran into the car and brought them out. ~ As Juliana brought them forward, they cowered in fear, almost on the verge of tears seeing the gun I had to the side of their mum’s head. Liam was in crunches and could barely walk properly while Lila was nervously fiddling with her hair. At the sight of them, Lily jolted as if triggered by their presence, almost freeing herself from my grip. Her muffled cries as she struggled grew louder, more disturbing and unbearable as she desperately tried to break free from my hold. “Keep quiet, woman, or else I’ll hurt them!” I snarled at her, and she became calm like a puppy, her eyes red and puffy as tears mixed with sweat dripped from her eyes and stained her cheeks. She was easy to control. All I had to do was threaten to hurt Robert, the kids, or anyone else close to her, and she’d comply. She was selfless, willing to sacrifice herself for ot
CHAPTER 168NOAH’S POV At the hangar… Lily and I waited at my hangar for Juliana to arrive with the kids so we can be on our way. My private jet was ready and the pilot was inside waiting for us. The kids were the only ones keeping us. If it weren’t for them, I would have left with Lily hours ago. We will be leaving for a quiet luxurious island country far away like I wanted, where no one will ever find us. It’ll be like going on a vacation only that the vacation will last forever. I doubt Lily even told the kids about the idea when I first mentioned it to her because she never liked it in the first place but pretended she needed time and their permission. Juliana, how much I hate calling her name and remembering her stupid face, was already five minutes late. Over the phone while she and Lily was speaking, I made it clear to her I don’t condone lateness. It seems she wants to taste my patience. I brought a gun along. After I take the kids from her, I’m going to kill her. Fi
CHAPTER 167 LILY’S POV I woke up feeling all groggy, like I had been out for days. Whatever sedative he injected me with must have been very strong for me to be feeling this way. Every part of my body ached and throbbed including the part between my legs as I brushed my thighs together to ease the pain and discomfort. Cradling my head, I let out a slight wince as I slowly pulled up from the bed. My vision blurred for a moment before adjusting to my surrounding. I didn’t know how long I’d been unconscious. It was hard to tell because the windows were shut, the room filled with bright, artificial lights, leaving no space for natural sunlight to come in. Then I saw him. Noah. He stood at the foot of the bed, completely unclothed with his member on full display. My breath caught in my throat, the shock of seeing him that way sobering me up completely. My brows knitted deeply, different questions racing through my head. Why was he naked in front of me? What was he planning on d
CHAPTER 166 LILY’S POV ~ A painful trail of tears left my eyes and stained my cheek. I wiped it and looked away, not wanting him to see me in such a state. Even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything. It won’t have any effect on him. The Noah I knew was gone, replaced by a cold, heartless monster of a man. I was too dazed by this discovery to think clearly. I found it so hard to believe. I could have sworn he was good. It felt real. I was sure I wasn’t dreaming. When did he turn into this? ~ “Why are you doing this?” I choked out weakly. “What did he ever do to you?…” “He took everything from me, Lily,” he said, his expression twisted with hatred so deep it made my skin crawl. “You’ve never been in a position where someone takes everything from you without even lifting a finger. So no, I don’t expect you to understand. I’m just returning the favour.” “What could Robert have possibly taken from you for you to want him dead? I mean look at you… you’re perfect. Your life is p
CHAPTER 165 LILY’S POV Arriving at Noah’s place, I quickly made my way to his room only to see him seated on his bedroom chair, his legs crossed on top of the table as he played with a lighter, flicking it on and off. I was shocked to see him like that. But worse, my lips thinned in exasperation as my gaze burned into him. I left everything else I was doing and drove to this place like a mad woman, almost running into a truck only to see he was in perfect condition. “How could you play with my feelings like that?” I shot at him, my expression filled with anger. “You told me you were dying. I left everything else I was doing… I nearly had a heart attack from…” “What exactly were you doing?” He cut me off with a cold, nonchalant tone, not bothering to spare me a glance as his eyes were fixed on the flame. He was looking into them with a ruthless expression as if he wanted to vent his anger by setting something ablaze. I couldn’t help but scoff in a mix of disbelief and