LOGINLara's POV
I never got the chance to tell Gerald that I was pregnant. Or that I was dying in six months. I didn't want to believe that he would actually bring Ria to the house, so I didn't clean the room as he told me to.
The doctor specifically told me not to stress myself and I wouldn't do that for a lady who didn't care if I was alive or dead.
In two hours, Gerald's car drove into the house and I stood by the window, watching as he stepped out of the car and rushed to the passenger's seat. My heart flew to my throat when he opened the door and Ria stepped out.
He brought her here. He actually brought her here.
I watched as she slumped into his arms and he held her closely, wrapping her arms around his neck before picking her up in his arms. Gerald had never carried me that way in years.
Ria clung to him like a leech, an exhausted expression on her face as Gerald walked into the house with her in his arms. I walked out of the room, my heart shattered at the sight in front of me and the moment Gerald saw me, he looked conflicted.
But then Ria let out a cry of pain and Gerald immediately looked away from me, rushing her to the room I was supposed to clean. Ria’s eyes met mine and she smirked, a condensing look on her face as she held Gerald even tighter.
Gerald kicked the door open but froze when he realized I didn't touch the room at all.
“Lara??” He called out and I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against the wall. “Why didn't you do as I said?”
“I didn't think you were serious. Who brings their ex to their matrimonial home?” I asked nonchalantly, and Gerald turned to me with a murderous glint in his eyes that had me flinching in fear.
“I understand that you don't want me here,” I heard Ria say as she held Gerald even tighter. “I'm not trying to steal him from you like you stole him from me, I'm not that petty. I just want a place to stay.” She whispered, looking like the victim and I scoffed, shaking my head in amusement.
She just accused me of stealing Gerald from her when, in fact, she had been the one who left him for another man.
“You'll sleep in my room, is that alright?” Gerald asked her, his voice gentle and soft, and I almost doubled over at his words.
“Gerald, that's our room,” I muttered in confusion but Ria shot me a smile that immediately faded when she turned to Gerald.
“I don't want to be a third wheel.” She whispered, shaking her head. “You can see my own sister hates me and doesn't want me here. I think you should let me go.” She was on the verge of tears now and it was my turn to be frustrated.
“Don't listen to her. She can stay elsewhere, I don't care. You need to be comfortable.” He replied, shooting me a glare and walking into our room with Ria still in his arms.
Gently, he placed her down, and she winced slightly before lying on the bed. She held Gerald's hand in hers, a smile on her face as she thanked him for giving her a chance to stay at his place.
This was absurd. And unacceptable!
“Get some rest. I'll bring in your things.” He said, walking out of the room and without hesitation, I followed behind him.
“Gerald, you can't do this—”
“It's my house and I can do whatever I want. I can bring in whoever I want into the house because it's mine. If you're uncomfortable, leave.” He said, making his way to his car but I didn't leave his side.
“Do you still love her?” I asked and he paused before turning to me.
“What does it matter if I do?”
“I… I'm dying, Gerald.” I whispered and he froze. “You asked me why I went to the hospital yesterday. I found out that not only was I pregnant, but I'm also—”
“You're pregnant?” He asked in surprise and I nodded immediately. “And you're just telling me now?”
“You didn't give me a chance to tell you!” I said, my heart pounding fast in my chest. “But that's not the only thing, Gerald. I'm dying. The doctor told me I had six months to live.”
He slammed the trunk shut and turned to me with an amused expression that had me feeling confused.
“Really now, Lara?” He asked, chuckling. “You would go so far to get my attention? Faking that you're going to die? Or that you're pregnant?”
I couldn't believe my ears.
“Why the hell would I lie about that?” I asked in horror and he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Oh, you tell me. I bring Ria back, and suddenly, the whole world is dying. You didn't tell me yesterday or this morning that you were dying or that you were pregnant—”
“That's because you never gave me the chance to—”
“And now!” He yelled, interrupting me. “Now, I bring your sister back, but apparently, you can't bear to see her get all the attention, so you think of a lie so crazy that it would move God's soul in heaven. I have to give it to you, Lara. You're good.” He said, shaking his head in disappointment and tears rolled down my cheeks in disbelief.
“You really think I would go so far as to lie about something so dire? You think I wanna die in six months? You really don't trust me, do you?” I asked in disbelief, wiping my tears as I pulled on my hair and strands fell off.
“See! My hair is falling! I have cancer, Gerald.”
“Lara, quit it—”
“If you want proof, I'll give you proof. I have the results in my purse. I'll show you everything! It's in there!”
I turned, pointing to the room when I saw Ria’s silhouette standing by the window. I didn't give it any thought as it disappeared immediately, and Gerald scoffed before nodding.
“Fine. Show me. Go on.” He said as he grabbed Ria's luggage with him, and I rushed to our room, glancing at Ria who lay on the bed with a sick smile on her face.
My purse was sitting on the desk so I immediately grabbed it and opened it. My heart stopped when I saw that it was empty and that there was nothing in there.
“No…” I muttered, shaking the purse and hoping that I was seeing wrongly. “They were in here. The results were in here.”
“Will you keep lying even though you have nothing to defend yourself with?” Gerald asked as he walked into the room, clearly disappointed.
“I swear I had it! It must have—”
It suddenly dawned on me that Ria had been listening to our conversation and she must have heard when I said the results were in my bag.
“You took them, didn't you?” I asked, turning to Ria who looked at me in confusion. “You heard everything I said and hid the results, didn't you?”
“What are you talking about?” Ria asked with an innocent expression, sitting up but I wasn't buying her bullshit.
“I know you did—”
“Enough!” Gerald yelled, making me flinch as I turned to him in shock. “Get out, Lara. This instant.”
What?
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVENRIA'S POV.I had given him everything.Three years. Three years of staying when I could have left, of building a life in the space Lara vacated, of making myself indispensable in ways she never had been. I had been patient. I had been present. I had done everything when Lara's disappearance seemed to be the only thing on his mind. I had remained regardless and this is what I got?My mind kept returning to that night, Gerald's eyes fixed on the LED screen, that particular quality of stillness in him that I had learned to fear. I had gone in with a cup of water and found him staring at her face like she was something sacred. Like three years of me hadn't happened at all.I had set the cup down and left without a word. Gone to bed with something broken open in my chest.I knew I would have battles to fight next. And when I realised they'd met, my brain had screamed for me to find her and destroy her. She was supposed to stay dead!There was no doubt she was try
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.LARA'S POV.Later that evening, Bryan and I sat in the quiet corner of the hotel lounge, the city sprawled behind the glass walls like something that belonged to us.The champagne was cold enough to sting.I liked it that way.I lifted the flute to my lips without looking up from the tablet, scrolling through the third addendum of the merger contract with the same focused patience I had once given to Gerald's lies, only now, my attention was rewarded. Every clause was armor. Every subsection was a wall he would never scale."Page forty-seven," Bryan said from across the low table, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, a legal pad balanced on his thigh. "The indemnity clause still has a soft edge. If Gerald's lawyers are worth anything, they'll pry it open within the first sixty days post-close.""I know." I set down the flute. "I already flagged it. I'll work on redrafting the language tonight.”Bryan's gaze stayed on my face, delight and amusement dancing
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVEGERALD'S POV.For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. The words echoed in my head.I would be getting what I wanted eventually but at what cost? I remained glued to the board as I watched Lara's face. Cold and unreadable.I swallowed hard then looked down.An approval of the six billion dollar merger deal but I would lose my position and literally hand over the company to her. That was it.If I handed over as much as 51% to her, then I could have handed over ownership to her as well. She would be the one controlling the shares and that would indirectly make her my ultimate boss. That made no sense. She didn't even need the firm. It made no sense that she would make such a request.“51% of the company shares?” I said, my voice croaking. “That's not possible.” She leaned in the chair as her eyes gleamed. “You do not have a choice, Gerald.”I shook my head as I pulled out a c
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.LARA'S POV.Before I could feel the pain, before the landing, a male voice boomed through the hallway. “Don't you dare!”I turned to see Gerald. He walked past me then grabbed Ria’s hand that remained frozen in the air. He dragged her away, his voice echoing as he scolded her.I raised a brow and said nothing. Whatever was happening between the two of them was no longer my business and hadn't been for three years. I turned and walked to the boardroom. I settled into a chair and closed my eyes, easing the muscles in my face. Only when Gerald returned, panting like he had just run a marathon did I pry my eyes open.The presentation was better, in his space. Unlike the last time at my firm where he'd been in shock, he had prepared well for this.When he finished, he stepped back from the board and waited. His hands were clasped in front of him, his breathing still slightly uneven from whatever had happened in the hallway. I opened my laptop and went through the docu
CHAPTER TWENTY THREELARA'S POV.My stomach churned as we drove into the compound. One I was too familiar with, the same place I had worked to build only to be flung out after it all.My heartbeat picked as the memories flashed through my mind. Memories of me coming to support him during an opening, doing all I could to ensure he was as successful as he wanted.The buildings had changed in the past three years. A lot of renovations now made it look brand new. Different. But to me, it was still the same small firm we built together.“We’re here, ma.” My driver called out to me, when he noticed I didn't move an inch. He was next to me with the door open. I hadn't seen him alight from the car.“Oh,” I picked up my bag and alighted, keeping my expression neutral. If I had been here three years ago. I would've been regarded as Mrs Stone but it was better now. I was here as a force to be reckoned with. A new identity.The front glass door slid open as I walked towards it. I kept my head up
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO GERALD'S POV My voice resounded in the house as I stepped in, eyes searching furiously for Ria. “Ria!” I screamed. My eyes were already puffy from crying and the evidence of the hit I had taken from Byran on one side of my cheek had now darkened. Ria rushed down stairs, her eyes wide open. She grabbed my face before I could say anything, slightly moving her hands over the swollen cheek.“What happened to you?” She asked, pulling me to the chair but I only pushed her away.“Why did you keep the papers?” I asked, frustrated. She had me already. I loved her and I gave her everything. She had no reason to keep that sort of information. And as I stared down at her, the face that brought me happiness in the early hours of the day suddenly transformed into one I almost didn't want to look at.“What papers?” Her hands grabbed mine again. I stepped out of her reach and clenched my fist.“Why did you do it?” My chest tightened. “You already had me to yourself. It was a
LARAAfter Bryan left, I couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning, so I decided to get up and stretch around my room to see if that would help with the dull pain in my lower abdomen. I couldn’t just lie around feeling sorry for myself, even if my body didn’t want to rest.I got up and started doi
LARA“I didn't do anything, Gerald!” I pleaded, tears burning in my eyes. His eyes burned with hatred as he carried Ria up, her hands hanging limply. “She tried to hurt herself, and I stopped her.”“Stop lying!” he thundered, and I flinched. “Ria has no reason to hurt herself. You're so selfish and
Lara's POV “Your lies weren't enough and now you're trying to blame poor Ria? She doesn't even know what we're talking about. Must you be so shameless?” Gerald asked in annoyance and I gasped, shaking my head in disagreement.There was no way the results would just disappear into thin air. Somethi
Lara's POV My vision blurred as tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them off, picking up my phone again. The picture was still there, proving that I wasn't going insane.In Gerald's arms was the one lady I recognized too well without needing to look too much. She was my sister. My youn







