Chapter 119 Raymond's POV"You know, you just have to surrender. There's no way you can beat us. Besides, Michael left you," Alexis mocked as I wrestled to break free from the chains that bound me. I could still feel the pain from Ambrose's beating last night. "If you have nothing else to say, leave," I growled, my face bent towards the floor."Must you do this to yourself? The almighty Raymond bound by chains... this isn't you. Just stop it," she whispered in a breaking voice, but her words were never real, and I wouldn't fall for it. "I'd rather die than do this with you all. You don't know Ambrose just yet; he's going to make you his dog, and he's going to trample on your crown until there's nothing left in you to offer him. And boom, he's going to get rid of you," I said, laughing hysterically as Alexis began shivering in fear."You don't know anything about him. Look, I'll help you escape if you promise to cooperate," she offered. I laughed. "Cooperate? Do I look like I need an
Chapter 120Michael's POVI closed my eyes as I held my fist tightly, trying to calm my nerves. I forced a smile after the court officers had ordered me to take a step. "Mr. Jason, you're not allowed to accompany the defendant. A car will be provided for him," one of the court officers said to Jason, who had tried to drive me down to the court."Hey, man, you'll be okay," he assured me as I nodded, forcing a smile. Not long afterwards, I was taken in the same car that had brought me down for the bail hearing. The truth was, I had no witnesses for today's trial. I'd only gathered the evidence, which I prayed would make a difference. At a time like this, Ambrose was a desperate man who would definitely seek desperate measures to get what he wanted.I caught sight of Emma as she walked side by side with Alexis and Raymond. I closed my eyes for a while, feeling down and broken. I didn't know why it hurt me to see Raymond again with them. But then, seeing the bandages on his face somehow g
Chapter 121Michael's POV"Bella!" I whispered as my eyes became glued to her as she walked side by side with a strange man. "Bella!" I called out as everyone stood in shock. Grandpa almost collapsed as Jason held him firmly. But then, I glanced at Ambrose, who gave me a sly smile but later faked it to everyone like he was shocked. Bella hadn't looked in my direction as she kept holding hands with the strange man. The courtroom had turned into a disaster.I knew the judge would have ended the interrogation process and would likely give the verdict. How could something like this come up? "How dare you!" I growled, bouncing towards the strange man's direction, about to eat him up, as I was held firmly by the people present. "Bella, Bella!" I cried, wrestling with the people who had held me.All efforts by the judge to put everyone in order failed. Bella suddenly moved her face in my direction as our eyes locked. I already had tears flowing on my cheek, but then she took her gaze off imm
Chapter 1Freya's POVI stood frozen, my eyes fixed on the grand staircase as my life flashed before me. I had vowed never to get involved with rich and influential men like Michael Smith, the billionaire I had just married. But life had other plans."Miss Rogers, we don't really have to maintain an intimate relationship when we're alone," Michael said, his voice piercing through my thoughts. "The contract doesn't apply except when a third party is involved."I turned to face him, my heart sinking. His words were cold and detached, his eyes devoid of emotion. I forced a reply, trying to keep my tone neutral. "Oh, yes."Michael's gaze swept over me, his eyes lingering on my face before he turned to leave. I watched, feeling a surge of resentment, as he ridiculed me with his towering height."Mr. Smith," I called out, my voice firm but polite. He paused, his back still turned to me."Where's my room?" I asked, trying to keep my tone even. "You didn't show me my room."Michael turned, hi
Chapter 2Freya's pov"I have to apologize for my cousins' unannounced visit which contradicted our initial arrangement," he said. " But don't worry, I'll find a way to let them out and everything can go back to how it was".There was something about his eyes; sad and lonely, but I guess my pain and misery were greater. My gaze rested on the portrait of a beautiful woman in Michael's room. He did have a woman in his heart, I wondered. Why were they apart? Was that the reason behind his loneliness and sadness?." Miss Rogers," he called, bringing me from my trance. " My cousins won't come here without an ulterior motive. I know it's going to be difficult, addressing me like a husband publicly, but we have to stick to it. That way, we both get to save the only thing that mattered to us," he paused , but I was unable to say a word, " so in the meantime, you have to stay in my room. I assure you, they'll both leave when they don't get what they want""Pretending to be a happy couple, you
Chapter 3 Michael's POV [You're a murderer. You think no one knows, but I do. You're a murderer, Michael. You remember five years ago? The world will know about you now!] Horror gripped me, my mind racing with Emma's sudden return and its connection to the ominous message. Memories of that fateful night five years ago flooded back. I knew someone else probably knew about the incident of five years ago. Someone aside Emma and I knew about Bella's death. Bella; my little sister. Who on Earth would send this message? The weight of guilt still crushed me, refusing to lift its oppressive grip. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was responsible for Bella's death. The pain of losing her was worsened by the fact that I never got to say goodbye, never got to hold her one last time. The worst part was not being able to find her body. She was buried before I even regained consciousness, leaving me with a gaping hole in my heart. The thought of her being laid to rest without me being there
Chaoter 4Freya's POV"This isn't good. How did my ex-boss end up as Mr. Smith's stepbrother?" I thought, feeling uneasy. Michael seemed to sense my tension, but before he could say anything, my worst fear stood before me. Ambrose was too engrossed in giving Michael a deep look to notice me."Enough of me, Meet Freya Rogers, my wife," his introduction hung in the air like a challenge, and I felt a surge of anxiety. I coughed suddenly, the sound forced and awkward. It was now or never; I had to face this."Hi, I'm... Freya..." I started, but Ambrose cut me off."What! Is this your wife, Michael?" His eyes widened in shock, clearly stunned to see me among all the women he could have met. He might have controlled me and my body in the past. I might have loved him foolishly. But this time, I was no longer the naive and lovesick Freya. I was a desperate woman fighting to save my mother."C'mon, why the look?" Michael asked, oblivious to the tension. "I should be the one surprised; everyon
Chapter 5Freya's POVWhat has rain got to do with driving? I wondered, watching Emma's hand on Michael's arm. There was no reason to watch from afar; it wouldn't be a problem to walk over. I wiped away the tears that had mingled with the rainfall as I walked over, with Emma noticing my presence and clinging more tightly to Michael's body. I cared less, after all; there was nothing special between us, and Michael loved her."Sweetheart, like I said, I have to drive you," Emma said, reaching for the front seat, when Michael caught her hand, making her stop. "I'm fine... Emma, my wife will drive me," he said with a cold face, staring intensely at her. I closed my eyes, wincing inwardly as I watched them. Michael didn't have to be so hard on himself."Drive? She doesn't even look like one who's ever owned a car. Come on, Michael. You wouldn't want to repeat..." Emma's voice trailed off, but Michael's stern tone cut her off."Emma!" Michael's warning was sharp, and Emma's eyes flashed wit
Chapter 121Michael's POV"Bella!" I whispered as my eyes became glued to her as she walked side by side with a strange man. "Bella!" I called out as everyone stood in shock. Grandpa almost collapsed as Jason held him firmly. But then, I glanced at Ambrose, who gave me a sly smile but later faked it to everyone like he was shocked. Bella hadn't looked in my direction as she kept holding hands with the strange man. The courtroom had turned into a disaster.I knew the judge would have ended the interrogation process and would likely give the verdict. How could something like this come up? "How dare you!" I growled, bouncing towards the strange man's direction, about to eat him up, as I was held firmly by the people present. "Bella, Bella!" I cried, wrestling with the people who had held me.All efforts by the judge to put everyone in order failed. Bella suddenly moved her face in my direction as our eyes locked. I already had tears flowing on my cheek, but then she took her gaze off imm
Chapter 120Michael's POVI closed my eyes as I held my fist tightly, trying to calm my nerves. I forced a smile after the court officers had ordered me to take a step. "Mr. Jason, you're not allowed to accompany the defendant. A car will be provided for him," one of the court officers said to Jason, who had tried to drive me down to the court."Hey, man, you'll be okay," he assured me as I nodded, forcing a smile. Not long afterwards, I was taken in the same car that had brought me down for the bail hearing. The truth was, I had no witnesses for today's trial. I'd only gathered the evidence, which I prayed would make a difference. At a time like this, Ambrose was a desperate man who would definitely seek desperate measures to get what he wanted.I caught sight of Emma as she walked side by side with Alexis and Raymond. I closed my eyes for a while, feeling down and broken. I didn't know why it hurt me to see Raymond again with them. But then, seeing the bandages on his face somehow g
Chapter 119 Raymond's POV"You know, you just have to surrender. There's no way you can beat us. Besides, Michael left you," Alexis mocked as I wrestled to break free from the chains that bound me. I could still feel the pain from Ambrose's beating last night. "If you have nothing else to say, leave," I growled, my face bent towards the floor."Must you do this to yourself? The almighty Raymond bound by chains... this isn't you. Just stop it," she whispered in a breaking voice, but her words were never real, and I wouldn't fall for it. "I'd rather die than do this with you all. You don't know Ambrose just yet; he's going to make you his dog, and he's going to trample on your crown until there's nothing left in you to offer him. And boom, he's going to get rid of you," I said, laughing hysterically as Alexis began shivering in fear."You don't know anything about him. Look, I'll help you escape if you promise to cooperate," she offered. I laughed. "Cooperate? Do I look like I need an
Chapter 118Michael's POV"So, what else have you found out about? How's everything in the office?" I asked Jason as he moved closer to me like he was trying to speak to me discreetly, even when there were only both of us present."The office right now is not in perfect shape. You're losing a lot of investors, and as we speak, Ambrose is on the verge of claiming Smith Tech," Jason said as I closed my eyes for a while."And Grandpa, what is he doing? Did he still trust Ambrose so much after everything that's happening?" "Don't think about stuff like that right now. But then, about your marriage with Freya, I..." "Enough, don't say anything about her." I snapped as Jason's face fell."You have to keep up with the marriage for the meantime. I know tomorrow's the day the contract ends. Yeah, like a dream, but it's freaking six months. But you can't afford to dissolve the marriage amidst the crisis we are right now.""I don't...wanna put Freya in my mess. There's no evidence to prove tha
Chapter 117Bella's POV"Ahhhhh!" I woke up with a loud scream as I began to shake. I didn't know why, but I had never had this dream for a while now. I glanced at the cinnamon drink as I began to breathe profusely.[Michel killed you! He stabbed you and he killed you] I kept hearing the numerous voices which were ringing in my head. I rolled up my shirt to see the large scar that lay above my upper abdomen."Hey, are you okay?" The door to my room suddenly opened as I shivered from the shock. "Mrs. Cooke, I'm so scared," I whispered as she glanced at the cinnamon drink that was placed on the table, giving me a wild look."That's why your nightmare hasn't ceased. You shouldn't skip these," she said, trying to reach out her hand to hand the drink to me, but I messed it up. I had thrown the cup angrily from her as I felt the noises in my head kept sounding louder. The truth was, I had stopped taking the cinnamon drink for a long time now, except when I was being watched."I don't want t
Chapter 116Freya's POVIt's been three days after reading Naomi's letter. It broke me into pieces that Emma had used us the way she wanted. And now, it was finally time to use her just like she had done. I made sure no one was following and no one would even detect that I was the one. The warm breeze greeted me as I got down from the cab. Funny how a billionaire's wife never got addicted to driving any of the exotic cars in the mansion."Thank you," I said, paying the cab man, who kept giving me unusual looks till I was out of sight. I looked into the letter as I kept following the address to find my right way. I stopped in front of an orphanage home; I wondered why she had sought refuge here."Ma'am, would you like me to give you a hand?" One of the children who were playing soccer suddenly ran towards me as I revealed a smile. I had disguised myself as an old woman, which probably felt so awkward to me. "Hey, my child," I said, moving closer to the young boy as he stared at me so
Chapter 115Freya's POV I didn't think I'd ever slept so well in weeks. I could barely sleep at our new home, where we had secretly moved to. Besides, Mom had confirmed that Grandpa had offered her VIP treatment. I glanced at my phone; it was past eight, and there had been no calls from Michael."Hey, you're okay? Seems like you've just seen a ghost," I froze as I turned around to see Jason bringing in a glass of warm milk. "I'm not hungry; you can take it back," I said, my expression stern, as he took a deep breath. "I still need to follow the boss's order," he said, as I frowned my face. "I don't care about the boss's order," I snapped, almost going back into my room, as Jason swiftly made a move that stopped me from walking away."Freya, I know it's hard for you, and I know how angry you are. But the boss risked his life and everything last night," he said, as I bit my lips, acting like it didn't mean anything to me. "Michael has been restricted and placed under house arrest unti
Chapter 114Ambrose POVThe wine glass shattered against the wall as I paced around my secret room. "Bring him to me now," I growled, ending the call as I began to think of various punishments I'd give to Raymond. How dare he disrupt my plans? There was no way I'd let Freya get to Michael successfully. No one would ever suspect where I'd hidden her old phone, no one.It was past ten when I realized they were present. My eyes were filled with anger as Alexis and I locked eyes. "How dare you? Emma would have done better than you. I gave you a simple task, and all you needed to do was to take them to the penthouse as safely as you could. You dare fall for Raymond's trick?" I asked as she began to shiver in fear."You still think of him even after everything he's done? He's a traitor, and you dare make irrational moves?" I asked, my voice echoing through the four corners of the grand room. She didn't say a word; all she did was make quiet crying sounds, which only grated on my nerves more
Chapter 113Freya's POVI kept holding the cellphone tightly as I felt my limbs almost breaking from running so fast. The penthouse, which looked familiar to me, suddenly felt like a different place as I didn't know what direction to take. Right now, Ambrose and his men would probably be searching for me to get the phone; for now, I needed to hide instead of running helplessly.But then, I needed to call Jason. At moment, Jason might be the only one who could help me. "Oh, no, no," I cried, realizing that I had run out of battery. "Fuck this," I wept, still trying everything in me to run as fast as I could. I began to wonder what might have happened to Raymond. But then, I had to get to safety in order to save him.The sound of gunshot was heard again as I began to shiver. I fell, not realizing something was blocking my path, but then, I got up immediately. I wondered why no one was walking along the road, and somehow, everything looked like it had been staged.********Michael's POV