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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Once, when I was just a little girl, my father brought me to his office. It was not ‘take your child to work day’; it was just something he had decided to do, and that day had moved on to become the best day of my life. My father had packed in the garage below the company’s building, in the executive spot reserved for people like him, and then we had made our way into the company’s building. My father’s company had been huge—not as big as BlackBrick, of course, but in my small eyes, it was the biggest building I had ever seen. People respected my father then—they stopped while he passed, bowed their heads, and stuff. I had thought they respected him just because that was how it was supposed to be, but I came to learn later on, when I was much bigger, that they respected him because of his position, and if he were to lose that position, he would also lose all the respect that came with it. My father sat us down in his office and began to show me things about the company on his compu
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cameron called again. I don’t know what this feeling within me is, but it is similar to what I used to feel for André before everything. It is tingly, and it tickles. Well, since I was smiling through the entirety of the call for no good reason, I must watch myself. It would be wrong for me if I, with my eyes wide open and a past full of experiences, allowed myself to repeat Andre all over again. We would not be able to meet tomorrow anymore. Cameron and I. He had to reschedule his flight because something came up. I did not mind. I was almost late for work myself. I rushed through preparing the kids for Darby and rushed through breakfast.Darby arrived just as I was about to leave. She had a frown on her face. “Good morning, Darby.” I greeted her with a smile on my face and placed a kiss on her face. “I’ve prepared them. Their food is in the warmer, and I packed their clothes and extra nappies. They’re in the bag.”I rushed to the door. Darby was saying something, but I was not l
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Look, as I said. I’m only here to work. I have no idea what you are talking about and I'd like to return to work now.” I was trying to be calm, to rein myself in. But Paula was stubborn. She held my hand and stopped me. She started it, I told myself. One thing working in the bar had taught me was the best way to deal with jealous, arrogant, sorry ass bitches like herself but first of all I respected this company and secondly, I respected her position. I wanted this job but not as much as I wanted her out of my sight right now. She did not get the gist. “I could make life miserable for you here, Lana. Do you know that?” she whispered. I smirked. “And I could make life worse, Paula. I do hope you realize that and let go of my hand before I do something we both regret.”It registered. The seriousness of my threat and I saw her contemplate it. I did not have time for this. I yanked my hand from hers and walked out.Andre was nowhere to be seen when I returned and I almost jumped with
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
There were a lot of reasons why I felt the need to write my resignation and send it to BlackBrick. For starters, Paula might decide to pick up where we left off yesterday. What if she still held them against me? I dreaded seeing her just as much as I dreaded running into Andre again, but Darby would not have it my way. She sat on my bed and watched me like a hawk while I dressed. She had been the one to pull me from bed this morning, drag me into the bathroom, and talk me into preparing for work. More like threaten, I thought. I had reminded her of the saying, You can take a horse to a river, but you can never force it to drink, and she almost bit my head off. Apparently, she could force this horse to do anything. I rolled my eyes and tucked my shirt into the trousers. Darby stood from the bed and looked me over and smiled. “Good.” She commended. She grabbed my bag from the bed and plastered it on my chest. “There you go. Don’t get so easily fazed.” Her eyes strayed to the twins w
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The files were ready.I checked the watch again, and it was exactly twelve o'clock. I had to go to Paula’s office now; no matter how much I avoided her, I still had to report to her. I picked up some of the files and made my way out of the office, towards Paula’s floor. My heart was almost beating out of my chest by the time I got to her floor, and I tried various breathing techniques to calm myself down. No one worked. I saw Paula first. My heart jumped. She was directing one of the staff in her department furiously, and I could almost see the man shaking in his pants. I felt for him. Then her eyes turned to me. I smiled. “Lana.” She called and began walking towards me. I tried to still my racing heart. It did not work. I put on a straight face, so at least she could not tell I was nervous. “My office.” She stated it flatly and began walking back towards it. I could tell that almost all eyes were on me. Perhaps they tried to feel sorry for the situation I was in now. I gripped t
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER NINETEEN
I woke up with hints of a headache and a frown. My eyes immediately strayed to the clock on my nightstand, and I squinted so I could better see the time. Six o'clock. My mind reminded me immediately that it was the weekend and not a workday. I almost immediately fell back in bed, but then I remembered the children. I was awake too late for them already. I peeled myself off the bed and staggered into their room. I was still groggy from sleep, so I rubbed my eyes and stretched my bones. They made no difference; my mouth tasted sour and my hard bangs There was a constant ringing noise in my ear, and my body felt like I had been dragged through hell all night. I winced as I felt a bone crack, and then I pulled my hands through my long bangs. It had a lot of knots in it. If I could find the time between today and tomorrow, I needed to visit the saloon. But as soon as I started thinking about it, I was not so sure anymore. I peeled at the children’s cot and smiled when I still found the
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER TWENTY
Saturdays used to be the busiest days for me, but it was different today. I guess this was an advantage of not running more than one job. I could never find the time to do the things I needed—for me and for the kids. It was different now; everything was different. I felt better and relaxed, and most of all, I was not hurrying. I brought the twins to the park; this was the one day I got to spend plenty of time with them, and I did not want it to go to waste. From here, I decided to browse apartments on my laptop. Perhaps I could get a place by the end of tomorrow, and while I’m working, Darby can start moving in with the kids.The kids and I attracted a lot of passersby. Each stopped to comment on how beautiful we looked. I was impressed with myself for a moment. Just a moment. I still had calls to make—I could not forget that—first to Mrs. Sanders and then to Cameron. I called Mrs. Sanders first, but it seemed that she was not home. The phone kept ringing, and no one answered. Then
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I was getting uneasy. The children would be waking up soon, and once they did, they would begin to bawl their eyes out, and Andre was still refusing to leave. What did he say he wanted? I stopped listening a long time ago.“I am going to have to call security.” I snapped. Andre looks around the corridor we are standing in, then looks back at me with an amused expression on his face. I could tell what he was thinking; an obviously run-down building like this one could not possibly have security. We could not even keep a receptionist. “Look, Lana. I miss you very much. After you left, it just dawned on me. Kathy is: ” I grunted. I had gone one whole year without hearing this name. Why has André chosen to torture me this way? “I don’t care what Kathy is, André. I don’t care about you or what you want either. All I care about is myself, and right now I don’t want you here.”“I don’t think you mean all these things you’re saying. You still upset that the whole thing played out like that
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TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Two hundred and three
Andre’s POV Two Years LaterMy mother was upset that I had gone behind her back to sabotage her. To sell her company to that little brat—that is what she refers to Lana as now—who knew nothing about business, but I did not have to tell her that it was either that or see her remanded in prison. To watch everything I had and everyone I loved taken away from me. I did not need to tell her that we were lucky we had a choice. The poor girl had no choice back then and had to take life as it was handed to her. My mother would live—abort sourly—but at least she would still live. We could build back the company even if it took a long time. Thankfully, all she had back then was a minor heart attack. As for the little brat, Lana, she and Cameron got married two years ago and have spent the last two years of their marriage touring the world.I was envious of the love they found. The comfort they gave each other, the strength in their numbers, but as time went on, I too was beginning to live wi
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Two hundred and two
Lana’s POV The house was still the same way I remembered it. The chairs, the arm stool, and the and the settees All of the arrangements were still the same, and it struck a chord of familiarity within me. I settled into the plush armchair and watched Andre move towards the bar, his demeanour calm and composed. It was hard to reconcile this composed man with the man I had known years ago. Andre returned with a glass of red wine, just the way I liked it. He handed it to me, then sat across from me. “Have you come to a conclusion regarding what we discussed?” I crossed my legs, one above the other, and stared blankly at him. “Regarding what exactly? The only thing I remember that we have yet to talk about are the kids and how we’ll split their days between us. Other than that, I don't think we have any unfinished business. Except you are talking about signing the documents, which would see me as the new CEO of Ranhold.” Andre heaved a long sigh and rubbed his temples. Was he beginnin
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Two hundred and one
Lana’s POV We spent the next week gathering evidence against Freda and meeting with potential witnesses who could testify against her if we were to take her to court, but it seemed as though that would not be needed. It was some time towards the end of the week when what was going to be our break happened. It came in the form of André getting a recognition award. I had no idea what his relationship with Freda had been like following everything that had happened lately, so I cannot talk about that. But upon receiving the award, Freda was so happy with her son that she decided to allow him to make certain decisions that regarded the leadership of Ranhold. In the past, André had been nothing but a figurehead. Although he sat in the CEO position, his mother, Freda, usually handled all the decision-making, and everyone knew this. He was useless, and if it was important that his signature be appended to a document, he had to get permission from Freda first before doing it. But now, all
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Two hundred
Lana’s POV Back at my apartment, we laid out all the new information we had gathered. It felt like we were finally making progress, and the weight of uncertainty was beginning to lift. But then a call entered my phone, which was going to either bring everything crashing down on us again or continue pushing us forward.We had laid everything on the table in front of us, and we were about to start sitting through them when the ringtone of my phone shattered through the peace, quiet, and anxiety that had settled over us. Sighing and thinking it was from one of my colleagues at Lukem, I pulled the phone from my pocket and paused when I saw the caller ID displaying on my screen.“Hmmm... Andre.” I said it out loud, alerting the other guys to who the caller was. Without waiting for their response, I swiped on the screen and placed the phone in my ear. “Hey, Andre.” I greeted. “What’s going on?”“I found something.” He announced. From over the phone, I could not make out the time of his vo
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter One hundred and Ninety-nine
Lana’s POV Fred smiled warmly, taking a seat beside Clara. “It’s been a long time, Aunt Clara. We have so much to catch up on, but there’s something important we need to ask you about first.”Clara looked at him. “Of course, anything. What do you need to know?”Fred glanced at me, and I handed Clara the letter. “We found this among my father’s papers. It mentions a promise to protect you. We need to understand what happened.”Clara took the letter and began reading it. As she read through it, I noticed the change in her expression. She took a deep breath and glanced up at us. “This... this brings back memories I thought I’d buried. Your mother and Mr. West were the best friends I ever had. But there was more to it, and it brought trouble or would have brought trouble had Mr. West not decided to act in what he believed to be the best interest of everyone, including your mother. Fred’s face lightened up, as did mine. “What do you mean?”Clara sighed. “Secrets.” She whispered. “Anne an
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter One hundred and ninety-eight
Lana’s POVFred shrugged. “She hinted at societal expectations and family obligations,” he replied. “But she didn’t give specifics. I think she knows a lot more than she’s letting on.”I nodded slowly. “My father never mentioned anything about your mother or you and Kathy. And I started going through his papers; maybe I would find something.”Fred’s expression softened. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but it is not to be helped. I cannot say I know how you feel or what you are feeling right now. Finding out that a person you think you know has another side, which you have no idea of, can really do something to you.”I reached out and touched Fred’s hand briefly. “We’ll figure it out together. I have some of my father’s old letters and documents that might help us piece things together. Maybe we can confront Freda again with more concrete questions? What do you think? Right now, she’s the only person who can give us answers, and we are not even on good terms.”We returned to m
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter One hundred and ninety-seven
Narrator’s POV Freda’s smile faltered for the briefest of moments, a shadow crossing her eyes before she quickly regained her composure. She leaned back in her chair, interlacing her fingers and resting them on her desk.“That’s quite a heavy topic, Fred,” she said, her tone now more serious. “Why are you suddenly interested in this?”Fred shrugged. “Perhaps after Kathy’s death, I realised something. I just want to know why he abandoned my mother, why he chose his other family above us, and why he caused us so much pain and loss. I want to understand all of these things; perhaps it would help me forgive, let go, and move on.”A shadow of a smile crossed Freda’s face. “Ahhhh... I guess it runs in the family then.” Fred narrowed his eyes, wondering what she meant by that statement. “I don’t understand. What runs in the family?”Freda stood to her feet and approached the floor-to-ceiling window, which offered a great view of the city. From here, he could view the city’s skyline and wat
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter One hundred and ninety-six
Narrator’s POV Freda’s office was located on the uppermost floor of the skyscraper that acted as Ranhold’s headquarters, a detail that made Fred pause as he stepped out of the taxi five minutes ago. He blinked against the rays of sunlight reflecting off the monolithic structure of steel and glass, momentarily blinded. The reflective surface mirrored the city below, creating an illusion of infinite depth.The other buildings around it were similar in their grandeur, each with its own unique design. For the umpteenth time since his arrival in the city, Fred was reminded of how little he had traveled. There were places outside of his known world yet to be explored, and this city of steel and glass was one of them. He had spent—wasted—five minutes entranced by the sleek, modern design, temporarily forgetting his purpose for being there.Pulling himself back to reality, he straightened his suit and approached the entrance. The revolving glass doors spun smoothly, ushering him into a grand
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter One hundred and Ninety-five
Lana’s POVI took tentative steps towards the bouquet. Whether unconsciously or by some reflex response in our system, we all had taken steps away from the bouquet. For some reason, we felt threatened by it. This was not the first time we would receive threats disguised as gifts, and I guess that has taught us a lesson. Slowly, I pulled out the card in the bouquet and glanced at Cameron and Sally, who both gave me curt nods. I opened it and began reading it aloud. “Congratulations on Zoe’s recovery. Best wishes for the future. – Freda.”The room fell silent as the implications of the message sank in. Sally was the first to break the silence. “Freda has acted once again. First of all, it was an almost dead bird on my door, and now congratulatory bouquet?”My grip on the card tightened. “Is this supposed to mean something?”Cameron stepped closer, resting his hand on the small of my back. “Hey, we’ll keep our guard up. She’s only trying to play mind games, but we won’t give her the sat
