Chapter 5Her heart beats rapidly against her chest as she hops out of the car, holding the flower in her hand tightly, like she's seeking comfort from it. Looking around the parking lot where many cars are parked, her nervousness increases rapidly as realization dawns on her that there'll be many people in the magnificent villa in front of her. "Behave yourself in there," Ren warns him for the second time as he stands side by side with her, while having a disgusting look on his face. As much as he doesn't want to do this, it doesn't seem like he has an option at this point. "Where did you run off to, Ren? I have been trying to reach you, but your phone was switched off," Mrs. Bradford says as she hurries up to them, but she stops on her track and pulls a puzzled look when she spots Lilian standing beside her son. "Mom something came up that needed my attention. Nothing happened to my phone, maybe it was the reception. I'm here now," He replies to her, but her gaze is all over Lilia
Chapter 6"Nate!" The lady snorts angrily, earning a smirk from Nate. "Hey! Do you need help to stand up?" Nate squats down in front of Lilian who's still on the floor, holding out his hand to her while having a warm smile on his face. Raising her head up slowly, her mouth drops open in shock at the sight that welcomes her. His ocean blue eyes are the most charming she'd ever behold, his red hair although is messy, he looks super hot in it, his pointed nose compliments his cuteness. His smiles is enough to brightens anyone's day, because it just did. "Huh?" She blinks her eyes repeatedly. For some seconds, she become lost staring at those beautiful eyes of his, forgetting that she's still on the floor, and getting the attention of the congregation. Is this man from this earth, or one of those magic creatures she sees on TV shows. Her hand tremble as she slowly pushes it forth and places it on his palm that's still waiting for her. He finally helps her up to her feet. "What do you
Chapter 7Ren parks his black Lamborghini roughly at the parking lot, and hops out. He rushes over to the entrance door of the hospital, and barges in, heading to the reception. "Hey," He calls the receptionist's attention, causing her to raise her gaze to look at him while having a questioning look on her face."Hello...""An accident victim was taken here minutes ago. It's a woman. Please where's she?" He asks worriedly and restlessly. He had gotten a call while he was still at the villa earlier, that Tracy got into an accident on her way from sorting out the issue her brother had with someone. He had to rush down here as soon as he got the news. "She has been taken to the ER. You should wait for the doctor over there," The receptionist says to him calmly as he points to the chair in the lobby, earning a scoff from him. "Where's the ER?" He asks impatiently. "Sir, you can't...""Where is the damn ER, young lady?" He snaps at her as he slams his hand on the counter, causing her to
Chapter 8"You can't do this to me, Ren. You can't force me to donate blood to a stranger...""Point of correction, she's not a stranger. That woman in there is my woman. She was my supposed bride. Her life matters to me...""Even if mine doesn't matter to you, it does matters to me. You can't just bring me here and expect me to donate blood to someone, just because you want me to. That is inhumane," She cries out, shaking her head. She's a human, even if she's ugly and fat. She was aware of his hatred for her, but she never imagined that he'd do this to her. What has she ever done to him? "You have no right to say 'no' to me, Lilian. You belong to me, and you must do whatever I want you to do. If anything happens to that woman in there, you are going to spend the rest of your life regretting it, I promise you!" He snaps at her, and she flinches fearfully. They have arrived at the hospital for close to twenty minutes now, and she has refused to donate blood to Tracy. She scoffs as m
Chapter 9"Hey, Lilian. You mistakenly took my phone. I'm outside your gate, please come outside," Nate's familiar voice sounds through the phone when the phone rings again, and she finally answers the question. "I'm sorry about that. Can I return it tomorrow, please? I am not free now," Her voice sounds dull and stressed enough to get anyone worried. "Are you OK? Did something happen?" Nate's voice sounds through the phone, and she shakes her head like he can see her. How's she supposed to tell him that after being forced into marriage with Ren, she was forced to donate blood to his fiancee or whatever he called her again? "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired after a long day, and...""Alright, it's fine. You can return it tomorrow," His voice cuts off before silence reigns on the other end, which means that the call has been disconnected. She sighs briefly and in relief as she brings the phone down from her ear, and drops her hand on her lap. "Do you need me to get you anything?
Chapter 10The blurry ceiling welcomes her as she forces her eyelids to move slowly. She stays still for a few seconds, trying to get used to the strange room she finds herself when she hears a familiar voice speaking with the doctor.Her heart wrenches and she curses under her breath as she closes back her eyes. She didn't want to wake up to see him with her again, this is how much she despises him so much. "You're awake?" Hearing his voice throws her off her patience, and she takes a deep breath as she finally forces her eyes open. No doubt that she's in the hospital, and it's clear to her how she ended up here. "What are you doing here?" Her voice sounds cold and angry as she turns her face away like she doesn't want to see him. Yes, she doesn't want to see him around her, she hates him so much that she can't even stand his presence. He disgusts him. "What are you saying, Tracy?" Confused, Ren asks as he slowly reaches out for her hand, but she yanks his hand away, as she finall
Three days later After the incident at the hospital, Ren has been keeping a long distance from Tracy, not because he doesn't want to see her again, but because he just wants her to be fine. After a long day at work, he drives to the hospital and asks about her from the doctor. This is what he has been doing after what happened. He would go to the hospital before he goes to work in the morning and after he leaves his office, to check on her secretly. He really loves her, but too bad that he can't stop being a bad person. "She will be discharged, hopefully, tomorrow," The doctor says to him before he finally leaves the hospital. Being by her side and accompanying her home later is what he would've loved so much to do, but he knows that he needs to stay away from her so she will have enough time to come around. Driving down the road, his mind keeps drifting away with many questions flooding his mind. 'He kept cheating on me' her painful voice replays in his head, and he sighs for th
Chapter 12"Let go of her," The loud music stops abruptly, followed by a cold voice that sends chills to the air for some seconds, and Ren stops abruptly, while still having Lilian trapped in between his arms. Lilian blinks his eyes repeatedly, arguing with herself about the voice she just heard. Although they haven't known each other for long, she could always recognize his voice anywhere. It's Nate's. What the hell is he doing at the bar? The thick sound of footsteps drawing close to them makes her heart beat nervously against her chest, and she gulps down nothing nervously. Still trying to register what's happening, someone suddenly pulls Ren forcefully away from her, now revealing Nate's face. He's staring at her with a blank expression on his face. "Hey, man. How dare you interrupt me? Are you out of your mind?" Ren rumbles angrily as he staggers back and forth. It's obvious that he's drunk and not thinking straight right now. "You better now touch me with that hand. You won'
Chapter 89Lilian POV"Babe, are you ready?" Ren's voice sounded from outside the room before the door opened, revealing him. He was graced in a pair of black trousers and, a purple button-up shirt that had the sleeves folded up to his elbow. His hair was styled beautifully in a wavy style, and all I could say was admit that he looked cute."Why are you staring at me like that?" He asked after he walked inside the room and covered the distance between us. He pulled me close and, our bodies pressed hard against each other, and my heart fluttered. It had been two weeks since we started dating, and those days had been the best of my life so far. I couldn't pray for any life happier and sweeter than this."You look cute," I admitted, and he raised his eyebrows as he pouted his lips."Feels good to hear that from you. You look gorgeous too, my love," He smiled at me heartily as he tucked the strands of hair on my forehead, behind my ear. Furthermore, he wrapped his arms around my waist and
Chapter 88Ren stared back at her wordlessly, not knowing what to say. This was something he had waited almost all his life for, something he had always daydreamed about... The day he had wished and prayed for every time. It was finally here, and everything still felt like a dream to him."Lil...ian?" He called to be sure this wasn't a dream. Slowly, he touched his lips and blinked his eyes."I love you, Ren," Lilian said again, and this time, he pulled her into his arms and claimed her lips. It was literally their first proper kiss together, and he felt like never stopping this. The way her body made him feel, the way his heart beat rapidly, he knew that yes, this was love. He was finally experiencing love. Although he had been with women in the past and even with Tracy, none of them ever made him feel the way this lady was making him feel. None of them had ever made him so helpless the way Lilian had made him. He kissed her slowly and tenderly until they were breathless, and when he
Chapter 87Lilian POVRen had been there for me since the last two weeks that my Dad had been buried, and although the pain is still there, Ren was there to fill up the space, and denying the fact that I felt something for him now was the last thing I would do. Even if I did, deep inside me, I knew that I was just deceiving myself.We would be leaving for LA first thing tomorrow morning, and our things were ready, but deep inside me, I wasn't ready to leave this place. I still wanted to stay back here and spend some time with Ren.It was night already and Ren had not yet returned home after he left three hours earlier, and I was worried about him. For the fifth time, I dialed his number as I sat on the couch in the living room, but just like every other time that I dialed his number earlier, it never went through, and it got me scarier as many thoughts came parading my mind. What if something bad had happened to him out there? What if he got into an accident and his phone stopped work
Chapter 86 Lilian POV I waited along the hallway after Ren went to speak with the doctor about the arrangement to deposit Dad's body in the morgue. I couldn't deny the excitement I felt even amid the pain when I heard he was coming over. We hadn't talked in a week after the incident at the hotel, and since he said he was going to give up, I thought he already went back. I thought I was going to wallow in pain alone without anyone there for me, but when I realized that he was still here, I was elated. I sat on the bench in the walkway and buried my face between my palms. My eyes were dry of tears, so I just sat doing nothing. I thought my Dad was going to be fine, I thought he was going to come out strong, but I was mistaken. I sat there for thirty minutes before he finally showed up, and I stood up as soon as I smelt his familiar cologne. He walked up to me gracefully. "His body has been deposited in the morgue, and the preparation for his burial will begin shortly," "Thank you,
Chapter 85"I'm sorry, Ms Sanchez, but we lost him," Lilian froze on the spot as she stared at her dad, who had been covered with a blanket. Her head was numb for the next few minutes, unable to process everything that was happening because it wasn't all adding up no matter how much she tried to think it through. Her Dad dying? That was the last thing she would ever accept.Her heartbeat slowed down until she could barely feel it. Her body went cold, so cold that she could barely feel any part of her body. Slowly, she dragged her feet toward the bed, her body trembling fearfully. She finally stopped beside the bed, and her hand trembled as she reached for the blanket and removed it from her Dad's face, revealing the poor man's pale face."Da..." Her voice trailed off as her lips quivered. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Her eyes glistened with tears and in no time they streamed down her cheeks freely.Again, she swallowed nothing and finally turned to the doctor who
Chapter 84One week laterLilian stood in front of Nate's office, her heart pounding hard against her chest. Again, she asked herself if this was what she really wanted, but after giving it thorough thought although it was a difficult decision, she knew that this was the only way out of all the mess. Turning in her resignation was the only way she could get herself out of this mess. The last one week have been filled with her brooding over what happened, and she needed to get herself out of the mess at this point.She breathed in and out, then knocked on the door and waited for him to usher her in. "Come in," Came his calm voice from inside the room. She swallowed nothing as she pushed the door open and peeped inside to see him seated behind the desktop on the desk in front of him. She finally walked in fully and counted her steps toward him."Oh, Lilian, it's you?" Nate looked from his desktop and smiled at her."Good morning," He uttered, and she just nodded, looking everywhere els
Chapter 83Ren stared at the screen of his phone, contemplating whether to call Lilian or not. As much as he didn't want to care about her or worry about her, he couldn't help but worry about how she would be feeling after what happened yesterday.His thumb trembled as he held himself back from calling to check on her, and he eventually tossed his phone on the bed. He was supposed to leave for LA this morning, but he had canceled the flight for no reason. How was he supposed to leave here when Lilian was still here? Even though he said he was going to give up, it was difficult to do."Ugh! This is crazy," He ran his fingers through his hair as he sat up on the bed. He breathed out, then stood up from the bed and dragged his feet into the bathroom where he had a long and relaxing bath, and by the time he walked back into his room, he realized he'd spent an hour and a few minutes back in the bathroom. Not that he had anything to do that morning, anyway.His phone beeped just when he was
Chapter 82Lilian POVI tossed on the bed for the umpteenth time, finding it hard to get some sleep no matter how I tried to force myself to. Staying up for the whole night was the last thing I wanted, but nothing was working out no matter how hard I forced it. How was I supposed to sleep when I just realized that I'd been a fool all along? 'I have a girlfriend' she scoffed and sat up on the bed when she recalled those words. This was all her fault, and not Nate's. She was the one who assumed he had feelings for her, but why did he give her so much hope with his actions if he never liked her?"You have no right to blame him. It was still your fault," Her subconscious mind reminded her, no matter from which angle she tried to look at it from.The long-awaited time was finally here. The next morning Lilian had been looking forward to. She could barely get a good sleep last night, and here she was, awake at 5am for no reason.'Let's meet and talk tomorrow' Just before she was getting re
Chapter 81Ren drove the road, his eyes vision blurred by the tears that brimmed in his eyes. It hurt! No matter how much he tried to pretend that everything was fine, it wasn't just working out."Why can't I just stop loving her? Why do I have to be a pathetic loser?" He pulled over at the side of the road and slammed his hand on the steering wheel, venting out all his anger, but his heart didn't stop burning. Thinking about how obsessed Lilian is with Nate made him feel like he was losing his mind."Don't think about it. She doesn't want you, so you should fucking move on and stop brooding over her," He whispered as he rested his head on the steering wheel, but if only it could be possible to do, he wouldn't have hesitated to.His phone beeped and he checked to see that it was a text from Tracy.'Where are you, Ren? Are you safe? Why are you not answering my calls? I'm going crazy here' he tossed his phone back on the seat next to him after he read through the text that had just pop