Lahat ng Kabanata ng Protecting The Heiress : Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

LIAKate rushes toward me. “What did he say?” I glance around until I find Nikolai before I start walking. “The presentation is in three days,” I mutter through clenched teeth.“What?” Her shock mirrors my own internal panic. “You were supposed to get more time, not less.”I bite back the frustration. “Three days, and that’s final.” The last thing I need is for someone to question me right now. I’m doing that on my own. “Yes, ma’am,” Kate says, and I feel guilt trickle in for raising my voice. As Kate walks ahead, Nikolai falls into step beside me,“I can’t believe I let him provoke me like that,” I say,. “I was supposed to get more time, and now—” I wince at the thought. “What the hell was I thinking?”"What did he say?" Nikolai asks, his voice somehow annoyed. "A lot." I sigh. "That damn asshole." I was in a good mood this morning and Gareth just had to ruin it. "I wish I could make him disappear

NIKOLAIOn getting indoor, Kate creeps behind Lia, making her jump. This isn't the first, second or third time Lia had told Kate not to do that, but she never listens. Frankly, she never listens to Lia at all. Creeping behind Lia is something that scares the living daylight out of her, but Kate doesn't care.Lia stops, a cold glare turning towards Kate. "Do that again, and you’re getting fired." The surprise on I and Kate's face mirrors each other. Lia has never been assertive about what she doesn't want so I'm slightly proud of her for this progress. It's okay to be friendly, and assertive at the same time. "I'm sorry ma'am." Kate bows her head curtly. The rest of walk to the elevator continues in total silence. On getting to the elevator, we walk in, and just as the doors are about to close, a foot wedges in, forcing them open.The face I see next is enough to sour my mood for the whole day. Lia's step brother. Lia shares the same sentiment with me because of how she rolls her

NIKOLAIHer forehead creases as she process my words before her brows furrow in disbelief. “You’re serious?”"Yes," I answer without a moment of hesitation. Fuck, what am I even doing? "Yeah, sure." Her surprise transforms into a soft smile and it squeezes my chest. I miss that too. "Tomorrow, then,” I say. Lia nods before disappearing into her room. My shoulder sags as a wave of relief washes over me. Damn, I didn’t even realize how nervous I was asking Lia that.I spend the rest of the night searching for the perfect park until I begrudgingly settle for one. I don't understand why I'm doing any of this, why I’m so invested in cheering Lia up. All I know is I want to, I’m desperate to. The next morning unfolds like any other day. I breeze through my routine like I usually do while looking over my shoulder, expecting to find Lia right behind me, but she doesn’t show up. Now, it's time for our outing, and I'm pacing the end of hallway waiting for Lia. I won't call it panic, but i

LIAAs we step out of the store, Dr. Daniels sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about my son, again. He can be quite a handful.”"Aren't they all?" I chuckle, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear that the wind sweeps across my face.“Yeah, they are,” he says, casting a fond glance at his son, who is busy tugging at his sweatshirt sleeves, completely absorbed in his own world. Dr. Daniels rests a hand over the boy’s shoulder. “I look away for one second, and he’s already causing trouble.”I smile at the boy, but my heart clenches. Kids are so innocent. I’ve always wanted a house full of them, but now the dream feels further away than ever. My smile fades away as my gaze drifts to the evening sky, where hues of purple and orange paint the horizon. The park is emptying out, and the once lively chatter has faded into a quiet lull.“How’ve you been coping?” Dr. Daniels cuts through the silence, his tone cautious, like he isn’t sure how to breach the subject. The trut

LIA The ride to the ROQ is quiet. Nikolai drives with his usual calm stoic, but I feel his eyes on me, glancing every now and then, like he’s searching for what to say. My mind is a tangled mess and too chaotic to start a conversation so I don’t say anything either. I can’t stop thinking about Kira and why she quitted. Kira was my father only for so long, there is no way she wouldn’t be aware of what was happening? Also who could Gareth be talking to on the phone? What file could his life depend on? I wish any of these make sense. I wish I could tell Nikolai about this—about Gareth, about my father, about everything —but I can’t. I won’t drag him deeper into this storm. He’s already done more for me than I deserve. I know for a fact that he’s already tired of me as it is judging by how insufferable I’ve been this past few days. I’m so sure he’s already reaching his breaking point. His voice pulls me out of my thoughts. “Are you still mad at me?”I jump slightly at the sound, ca