ROBERT’S POV
It was all surreal and happening too fast. A part of me wanted to believe Emily but could not. The other part of me believed that Ariana was telling the truth and Flora had indeed committed suicide.
I had no idea what to believe more. Emily had pretended not to know me when we first met so how could I believe her now? And from where was she getting her information?
It was Mr Vanderbilt's voice that brought me back to the present.
“What do you mean by that?” His voice boomed.
“Ask Emily”, M
ARIANA’S POVRob and I drove back home in silence. The air in the car was thick with all the things we wanted to say but refused to say. We had silently and wordlessly agreed that my car would be left behind to be driven home later by a driver.For some reason, we both wanted to be together. The last few hours had seemed like a dream and I felt like I was hanging on a precipice. There were so many words I wanted to say to Rob. I wanted to yell at him and scream at him but another part of me just wanted to hug him for the way he had stood up for me to my father.He probably didn't believe Emily after all. But I was mad that he had even thought of it.By the time we entered the town, it had started to rain and as torrential rainfall tore at the sky, I was assaulted with flashes of memories of Rob and I created during thunderstorms. For some reason I could not yet explain, I needed him. In my arms. I relaxed on the passenger's seat and studied his profile now.He had always been hand
ROBERT'S POV I don't know what reaction I expected from Ariana but I know I did not predict she would sit so still and that I would be able to hear all the little noises in the house including the hum of electricity because of the silence that descended.I wanted her to say something, to yell, to cuss at her parents but Ariana sat so still like a beautiful porcelain doll I felt as though she would shatter into a million fragments if I touched her.“I'm going to work. I have a meeting with my board members”, she said standing up and heading upstairs.I was shell shocked that I stood there for several minutes. When I recovered, I bounded up the stairs after her.“What do you mean you're going to work?” I demanded.“You heard me clearly Robert, I'm going to the office”, she said undressing. Tossing her clothes on the floor.Ariana never did that even though the housekeeper wouldn't mind. Ari was too prim and proper to have her things lying around.As she stood in front of me, all I coul
ARIANA’S POVRob rose to his feet with immediate alacrity and he seemed to tower over Detective Parker who sat there looking scared for his life.“I suggest you leave my house this instant, Detective Parker”, Rob said thunderously.“Mr Stone, you do realize that if you do not submit…”““You do know who I am, right? I wouldn't want to get my friend, a mafia Lord, involved. But if you continue to use untenable arguments to hurt my wife, l'Il let you, and your family know what it's like to experience the wrath of a mafia gang”, Rob threatened in a cold voice that immediately shut the Detective.He silently packed his documents into the file and exited the house.As soon as he left, I flung myself into Rob's arms, embracing him. I knew he was just making a threat and messing up with the mafia is the last thing he wanted to do. I was grateful and relieved all at once. I felt seen. Noticed and most of all…loved.Rob said nothing but enveloped me in a hug and when I pulled away from him, he
ROBERT'S POV I had heard tales from my parents about how stubborn and formidable Mr Vanderbilt could be. He obviously had not climbed the corporate ladder by being nice. To have come from nothing to the second richest man in Chicago, he must have had to made ruthless business decisions.It was standing before him and trying to convince him to drop the case against Ariana that made it all real for me. I then knew that those tales about him were not fables but reality.Mr Vanderbilt was stone cold.“I know Ariana is your wife Robert but stay out of this. There's nothing you could say that would convince me to drop this case”.I sighed exasperatedly. He was tough as nails. Why on earth would a man want to see his daughter prosecuted for a crime as cruel as murder?I could not wrap my head around it.“You realize that if you continued with this and Ariana is found guilty, you would be losing two daughters?” I asked him. “If she is a murderer, then she's no daughter of mine”, he said fl
ARIANA’S POVIt felt like my world ended at that moment. I suddenly could not breathe and began to feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest. I swooned and felt Rob hold me steady. “What? What do you mean?” I asked.“Nate is Flora's son”, my father repeated.“What do you mean?” It was Rob this time around.I finally raised my head up long enough to look at him. I saw a shadow pass over his face. There was more than one question on his mind and my heart began to break into a million fragments. I was finding it difficult to wrap my head around this new information. Flora had a son? And my parents had withheld that knowledge from me? I stumbled again and this time held on to my father's desk for support.Life seemed to be dealing me blows from different angles.“Flora fell pregnant a year before her death”, my father said in a low tone.“You mean you've been hiding that child from me for years? Flora was hiding him from me too?” I nearly screamed.Rob started to walk towards me bu
ROBERT'S POV Damn! Ariana runned away in front of everyone.What was she thinking? Was this her form of revenge? Why couldn't she think of the little boy? A part of me wanted to stay back and handle the situation. Talk to Nate. Say something to him. Anything. But I ran after Ariana. Determined not to let her go. Thankfully, she had walked there and was now walking hurriedly to wherever she had parked her car.“Ariana, Ariana please stop”,
ARIANA’S POV The headline was a disaster. No PR manager could save me from this. Unless the investigation proved I was not Flora's murderer, I was doomed.Unable to bear it any longer, I abandoned Rob in the office and ran downstairs. It could only be Emily or Detective Parker that had told the press. They were out to get me and it showed.Rob did not come after me thankfully. I needed space from him. I had no idea why I had even run to him in the beginning. I had to learn that he would never love me as much as he loved Flora. They had a son together. I had avoided him for days since the encounter at my
ROBERT’S POV I was going crazy searching for Ariana. She was not answering my calls and I could not even reach her through any other means. Barbara had not seen her either and the thought that she was probably doing something to harm herself was driving me crazy. The media was having a field day with their story. Many news channels were doing commentaries on the case. Not only were the two richest families in Chicago involved in a paternity crisis, we were also under fire for an assumed unsolved murder.We were currently having a meeting with the board of directors and the PR Team.The Vanderbilts were present but Nate was nowhere to be seen and rightfully so. Better to keep him away from the paparazzi. They were a circus. The meeting dragged on for hours and we finally agreed that both companies will host a press conference to address the questions of the public and make sure the investigation of the murder was a transparent one. When the meeting ended, I cornered my in-laws.The