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Chapter Forty-Nine
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TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty
“Toast to more wealth.” Freda announced, raising her glass in the air. “Cheers.” “Cheers.” I and Kathy resounded, except I was a little less enthusiastic. I don’t think my mother noticed, though. She brought the glass to her lips, took a sip, and then set it on the table. “Now, let’s get down to business. Shall we?” Freda said, settling into her seat. We all did. “The Lukems have their stocks pivoting high on the ceilings, eh?” She smiles, and the lines around her eyes crinkle. She was getting old, and that age was beginning to show on her body. Her once porcelain skin now had a few wrinkles here and there; I spotted more veins every day, and I also noticed the dye, which she seemed to use more often than before. I nodded. “They seem to be getting better these days. They did change most of the board members recently.” “Yes. It’s been bought, and you know what’s interesting? It’s the fact that it was not bought by another company or cooperation. No, we weren’t willing to take that
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-One
Cameron gave me a light kiss on the lips. “You look beautiful in that dress.” He said. Sally had made me change into a dress ‘fit for galas’ immediately after the board meeting. A tight—it hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe—black dress decorated with metallic gold roses and a gold clutch. A dress did make a person. “Thank you.” We had just arrived at the venue for the gala, and Cameron and I were still seated in the back of the black limousine Lukem provided us. My head was resting on his firm chest, and all I thought about was the speech I was going to give. Lukem was not throwing this gala just to announce their new CEO; it was also to invite new and big investors to do business with us. Sally had, in some way, convinced them that making me the face of the new Lukem would guarantee us that. It was only a business strategy, but it made me nervous. I had never been in the limelight before. Maybe I would have had the chance if my father had stayed alive to keep his comp
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-Two
Our car stopped at the entrance of Sol’s conference, and I could see that the event had already begun. Kathy sat quietly by my side, and for the third time today, she was wearing something different. I stepped out as the driver opened the door and walked around to help Kathy get out of the car. In the eyes of the public, we were still husband and wife and happily married following my divorce from my previous marriage. It was not going to be easy keeping up the façade, especially as my head and heart were somewhere else, but it was only for a few hours, and I’ll be done with her. She hooked her hand with mine and smiled for the camera. It was so easy for her to fall into these roles that it scared me. It made it hard to know when she was being her real self and not putting up an act to get what she wanted. The conference hall was filled with top businessmen and women, most of whom he recognized. Lukem had really outdone themselves this time; no one would leave here today, as I still
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-Three
The anchor was on the stage announcing something, but my head was elsewhere. Why was Lana here and in the company of Cameron? Was this the kind of life she lived now? Hoping from the arms of one rich guy to the other? If it was so, then she was no different from Kathy. My heart was constricted; if it was so, then it was all my fault. Lana was not that kind of person; she was never like that. Could I have pushed her into this new lifestyle? I scoffed; she wanted nothing to do with me.But when had I ever let that stop me? I knew that it was not just the guilt that drove me to find her. It was this feeling inside of me that grew every day. I wanted Lana, and I was going to have her, no matter what. “But we all know that with more success comes more responsibility,” the anchor was saying. “And it is on this note that I would like to introduce to us the CEO and face of the new Lukem. Lana West.”“What?” I heard Kathy’s shocked voice beside me and smiled. I was also rooted to the spot wi
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-four
I was thankful for Cameron and his foresight. Pulling me out of that crowd before they swallowed me whole had saved me. I felt like I was drowning, thrown back in time to when my parents had just died. The way the reporters had swarm methrusting their microphones and cameras in my face, hounding me with questions upon questions, I had no time to think. I felt like it was going to explode, and then my flash would splutter into their mouths and maybe shut them up for a minute. That was how I felt again today. Helpless, drowning till Cameron came and pulled me out. “Are you okay?” He asked, gazing down at me with a worried expression. I smiled, more to assure myself than to dismiss the worry that was settling over him. “I’m fine, Cameron.” I replied. “You don’t have to worry. But thank you for…”I gestured with my head towards the reporters, who had moved on to their next victim. “You know?” He pulled my arm and hooked it with his. “It's why I’m here, always.” He began to lead us back
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-five
The limousine dropped Darby, Cameron, and me at my parents villa, and we said goodnight to Sally. I sighed in relief as soon as I saw the twins—fast asleep—in their cot and Ruby (Sally’s friend and our nanny for the day) draped across the couch, the baby monitor laying on her chest. “She looks tired.” Darby whispered and drew the blanket to cover her better. “I bet I’ll be able to sleep that deep once this sack of bodies hits the bed.” I went over and kissed my babies. “You deserve it; you had quite a long day.” Darby remarked. “I’ll bring the kids to their room and probably spend some time with them.” "Darby, you should rest. We all had a long day.” “It's okay,” she replied, shrugging off my concerns. “I don’t feel tired anyway." You did most of the work. Alright goodnight.” “Good night.” I greeted Cameron and retired to the room, which Cameron and I now shared. I smiled. We were already acting like married couples, and then my smile morphed into a frown. He’ll be leaving soon;
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-six
Andre’s POVI could hardly believe my eyes, but my heart and head told me I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. Lana was really the CEO of Lukem, and she was the person my mother sent me to. Of course, I had seen her before, but I assumed she was here with Cameron—I have no idea what business he has here, but well—and the speech that she gave should have brought my mind up to speed, but I guess believing that Lana was a CEO was that hard for us. But seeing her there, hooked to his arm and still oozing that confidence, which I thought made her kind of sexy, probably kicked my head to the present. How did she achieve all of this in less than two years? Kathy did mention that Cameron was Grant Myer’s son, and everyone knew Grant was a filthy billionaire. Of course, he could afford a company if he wanted one, and something like Lukem was flimsy to him. Could Cameron have done this? Perhaps not. I, too, have to admit that there is a limit to everything. But not if he was in love wi
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Fifty-Seven
I was wrong.My mother reacted better than I thought, even a little too well for my comfort. I despise the fact that I couldn’t read her as well as she read me. She told me her thoughts through the expression on her face, because she never had any expression on her face. She was always so composed and straight. It was chilling. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for her, none of us—neither I nor Hermione—took after her in this aspect. I think I was a good businessman, but she would always beg to differ. I was the worst businessman alive, and that was solely because I did not know how to land cold deals like her or trick partners into doing business with us while we gained more and they just lost. I was even too tired to think of why she was so composed when I had just given her the most shocking news of the century. “Lana West is the CEO.” I had announced. “And for that, I’m sorry, but I could not get her to agree to a meeting.” She had simply taken a sip from the china set on t
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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
