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Chapter Sixty-Two
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TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Three
Seeing Freda again rattled my nerves. I could barely concentrate on my work; every time I tried to think, I heard her in my head. Her cold voice sent shivers down my spine, and my heartbeat accelerated. I had been bluffing earlier when I said I did not fear her; it was only the rush of adrenaline speaking.Now that I was calm and settled, I felt fear. It seeped through my bloodstream and attacked my heart until all I saw were illusions of Freda taking my children away from me. She had on a sinister smile, and every time I tried to fight back, I would only sip deeper into the quicksand—a trap that she had set for me to keep me from reaching my children. The more I tried to move, the deeper I sank. And her loud laughter roared everywhere around me. It was a nightmare that I saw even with my eyes wide open and would continue to see if I did not act quick enough. A warm hand touched me, jolting me from the daydream that I had fallen into. “Hey, are you okay?” Sally asked. “You look quit
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Four
“We are gathered here today to commend the soul of our departed mother, sister, wife, and friend, Mrs. Hillary Sanders, into your loving arms,” the priest droned. I stood stoically by Sally’s side, offering her the support I was sure she needed.I pressed down on her palm, which was intertwined with mine, and offered her a small smile, noting her red-rimmed eyes. She had been crying; all of us had been crying, and I was sure that the small mascara that I had applied this morning would have decorated my face. Although I had told myself that I would shed no tears, especially since I was being a pillar of support for Sally, I couldn’t help the tears that made their way to my eyes whenever I glanced down at the freshly dug grave. “Mrs. Sanders had been a remarkable woman.” The priest was still speaking, but my mind seemed to be filtering out his words. I fingered the rose that was held in my other hand and thought of all the times my father had taken me to the Sanders’ house to enjoy di
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Five
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE“I am ready to drink myself into stupor.” Sally declared as we headed back to the car. “You know, when I said family, I meant all of you.” She said, looking from me to Darby and Cameron and the twins, who sat in each of their arms.I smiled. “I know, Sally, and to us, you are our family too.” I glanced at Darby and Cameron. “Right guys?”Both Cameron and Darby nodded. “We are all we’ve got now. Each other, and we always have to watch each other’s backs and tell ourselves when we are walking into an obvious trap or doing something stupid like going to drink oneself to stupor.” I said, giving Sally a pointed look.Sally rolled her eyes. “I just came from burying my mother, Lana, in case you had not noticed. I need something to take my mind off everything for a while.” I scoffed. “And you think drinking yourself to stupor is the best idea?” I argued. “It’s the worst. We’ll come up with something we can do or a place we can go on our way home.”“Yeah?” Sally taunted. “
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Six
Andre’s POVMy mother was livid with anger, and I was even more upset. She glared daggers at me, and I knew that the next thing I would be hearing was how ungrateful a child I was and how much of a disappointment I was to her, but I really did not mind. Not now, not after what I just heard. “You did what?” I asked again. I was sure I had heard her say she was dealing with a brat, and that brat was Lana. “You will do nothing to Lana,” I continued, as she made no attempt to give me a reply.“I will do whatever I want to do, Andre.” She fired. “And when did you suddenly start caring about this girl? She means nothing to you or to us. You are married to a very good woman now, one who brings prestige to our family and is valuable to this company. Take that one thing that you have done well and leave with it. If you won’t help me fight Lana, then I don’t need you.”I sighed. “What did that girl ever do to you? Aren’t you satisfied with all that you took from her?”She shot me another glare
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Seven
The boardroom was a beehive. The noise could be heard from a mile away; everyone wanted to speak at once, but no one wanted to listen. It reminded me of kindergarten, where there were no rules and every kid just cried and played.The noise died once I opened the double doors and stepped in. Every head in the room turned in my direction, and one by one, they began to settle. I was like the teacher whom every kid feared in high school. Gates, who had met me at the lobby, slipped into one of the chairs reserved for secretaries and guests who were not part of the board and settled into it while I strolled to my seat at the head of the table. Their eyes followed me as I moved, like surveillance cameras.I placed my hands on the table and skimmed my eyes over everyone in the room. Before, I would have thought of something to draw confidence from, but now, my anxiety gives me enough confidence. How could they go and betray me like this? I called an emergency meeting without my knowledge, an
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Eight
It was why I began to wish Sally were here. After meeting her at the restaurant following my confrontation with Freda, Sally reiterated in so many ways how wrong I was to have sent Freda away. Fortunately, she foresaw this, and we came up with a solution to salvage the entire problem. Hopefully, it would work. We had drawn up a mock proposal of the one I would have gotten from Freda had I not sent her away and worked with it. Sally had many clients who had previously worked with Freda in one way or another, so she had an idea of what the proposal would look like. Freda, of course, was a very cunning woman, so we tried as much as possible not to underestimate her, and, in the end, we were able to fix every hole that our mock proposal had.The idea was that when the board got a hold of the news and met me angrily, then I would explain to them all the things they had to lose if they did business with Ranhold. But that would be hard to do since I never got the proposal from Freda.I ski
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Sixty-Nine
They all watched me, whether expectantly or hatefully; I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I had fully gotten their attention and probably their respect. Because one thing men in business feared was a woman with balls. They would never mention Freda’s name in the same sentence as mine, and they would not call a board meeting without approaching me with it first. We had come to an unspoken understanding.“We have been able to get ourselves a major deal with a very prominent company, and you will like the advantages they are giving us.” I said it with a smile. “A company bigger than Ranhold?” McCoy asked; he was still pissed. I could see that.“Yes.” I answered. “A company much bigger than Ranhold and with ten times more reach. They have offered us a deal, and we are going to accept it.”“What company is this?” Lou asked. Lou was of Chinese descent, but rumours had it that his father was an American, and honestly, when I looked really well, I think I saw his American side. He hel
TOO GOOD TO LEAVE TOO BAD TO STAY Chapter Seventy
It was hard to believe anything he said, especially since he is appearing here with his wife, Kathy. The same woman he threw me out for. Did he not say they were separated? What could have happened within the span of a few weeks? And why was he in town anyway? Was he not supposed to be at Hastvin for business? Was he following me?I narrowed my eyes at them. The idea of Andre following me around did not please me as much as the idea of him looking out for me and showing up at my company with the woman I was supposed to hate.“I cannot believe you are trying to do anything that will not benefit you in any way,” I replied. “So, let’s cut the bullshit, and you tell me why you are really here.”“That’s the truth. I was only trying to be a friend and look out for someone I considered a friend. But you look like you don’t need it.”I scoffed. “Andre. You haven’t been a friend to me for the past six years. What has suddenly changed?”Andre looked sheepishly to the ground. “I know, and this i
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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
