03

Adira's eyes fluttered open to the soft hum of machines beeping quietly in the background. The air smelled of disinfectant, and Adira felt the scratchy sheets of the hospital bed under her skin. She was in a hospital?

 At first, everything was blur and she couldn't make out any details. But slowly, her vision began to clear and she saw the familiar figures of Lancelot and Jardine beside her. What?

Adira's eyes widened in realization. No, no, her baby.  

She gasped as she shifted her hands to her tummy, holding it tight. 

"What happened to me? Did I lose my baby?" She asked with eyes brimming red. 

Jardine had a tear trickling down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Adira. Nobody deserves to go through this."

Adira's breath started getting laboured. It couldn't be what she was thinking, was it? Did she lose the baby?

Lancelot, who had been sitting next to her, suddenly took her hand into his. "I'm truly sorry. I never wanted to cause you so much pain."

"Get me a doctor! Is my baby fine?" Adira yelled tearfully. 

Jardine sobbed. "I'm afraid so. I'm so sorry,"

Pain clutched at Adira's chest. Hearing those words from Jardine were the most hurtful she's ever had to hear. She lost her baby? The only thing she had left?

"No," she shook her head. "It can't be. It can't be."

Lancelot sighed. "You had passed out in the bank, rushed over here and the doctor informed me. I hope you can forgive me for this, Ad..."

"NEVER!" Adira yelled in his face, her voice vibrating through the room. "I'll never forgive you, you monster! You killed my child!" Angry tears rolled down her cheeks. 

"Adira please, you probably lost the baby out of stress. I..."

"Stress that was caused by you!" She interrupted him again. "You all have taken everything from me! You, your mother, and your damn mistress! Why don't you just take my life. Huh?! Take me!!"

Jardine dabbed the tears from her face. 

"I want you out of here!" Adira continued yelling. "Get out of my life, Lancelot! Let me be! Oh! I hate you! I hate you and your damn lover! I regret the day I met you! I regret the day I fell for you! Get out of my life, you demon! Let me be!" Her voice echoed through the walls, it didn't take long before some nurses came running in.

"Ma'am? What's going on here?" They asked, concerned.

"Get them out of here!" Adira pointed at Lancelot and Jardine. "Please, get them away from me! Get them out of here!"

The nurses were perplexed, wondering why she hated them that much. However, her screams were a disturbance to the other patients. 

"I'm afraid you have to leave, sir. Ma'am. Please," they turned to Lancelot and Jardine. 

Lancelot was shocked. He's never seen Adira that way before, not even on the night he had told her about the divorce. He rose from his chair, his eyes still settled on her. Then, feebly, he exited the room, while Jardine followed. 

***

The ride home was a very quiet one as Lancelot and Jardine didn't utter a word to each other. With so many thoughts running through their minds, they let the silence stretch and so it lasted until they got to Lancelot's family's house. 

They both stepped out of the car and walked into the living room which was empty. 

"I...I need sometime alone, Jardine. For now," he said without looking at Jardine and took the stairs. Getting to his room, he whacked the door closed and plonked himself on the bed, running his fingers through his hair. 

"What have I done? What have I done?" He mumbled to himself.

Recalling the pain in Adira's eyes, it shattered him completely. She definitely didn't deserve any of it - she was too nice to deserve it. Unfortunately, he had gotten tired of struggling with her. For over a year, he tried all he could for his parents to love and accept her, but they didn't. His father cut him off from the company and made life really unbearable for him. Then, Jardine came along. He couldn't forget how sweet she had been in the beginning and made him realize the benefits of returning to his parents. 

"I can't believe you abandoned your family's fortune just to be with this lady, Lan" those were her words to him. "Do you deserve this? Does she even deserve this? Would she have done the same if she were in your shoes?"

Lancelot lifted his face and grunted softly. He had truly loved Adira, but the love of money finally stole him away. Honestly, he couldn't tell if he was fully in love with Jardine. He knew she was beautiful, attractive, and rich, but was his heart fully in love with her? He wasn't making a mistake, was he?

Memories of when he had met Adira for the first time came flashing in his head, seventeen years ago. That day at the pool, he had seen her come in with her sister. She had been laughing so purely, he couldn't refrain himself from walking up to her. They had greeted casually and after which, she ran along to play with her sister. Some minutes later, he found her drowning in the pool and jumped in to save her. Lancelot couldn't recall what exactly had happened, but one thing was sure, and that was the fact that he didn't save her. 

When he had jumped into the water, he remembered passing out in the process of saving her. The next time he regained consciousness, she was beside him with everyone thinking he was actually the one that had saved her. The pool workers said they had found them lying next to each other when they arrived. So, they figured Lancelot must've passed out after bringing her out of the pool. But Lancelot was very aware that didn't happen. He couldn't remember bringing her out of the pool. He knew someone else had saved them both, but since he couldn't tell who it was, he kept quiet about it and made everyone believe it was truly him that had saved her. 

And that was how they became friends, with Adira being indebted to him.

...

The door of his room slowly went open and interrupted his thoughts. He glanced up to see his mother coming in. 

"Son, what's going on? I saw Jardine leaving, and she wasn't looking so good," Madame Winslet inquired as she approached him.

Lancelot said nothing until his mother sat next to him. "She lost the baby, mum" he whimpered. "She lost the baby because of me."

His mother took a deep breath. "Come on, don't tell me you're being all moody for Adira's sake."

"Of course! I... I had truly loved her. I don't know if I still do..."

"You don't," the woman cut in rasply. "Listen to me, you love Jardine. That's the reason you ended things with Adira, right?"

Lancelot scoffed. "I'm beginning to think I ended things with her 'cause I wanted the company back."

"Well, that is not true, alright? You love Jardine, and you know it."

Lancelot covered his face with his palms. Maybe he truly loved Jardine. Maybe he truly did. He was twenty-eight years old. He should definitely know what his heart wanted. 

"Listen to me," Madame Winslet drew him towards her bossom. "You made the right choice. That lady never belonged to this family, and I am so proud that you finally realized it. So, stop being all moody and get to work." She planted a kiss on his forehead before ambling to the table to decant some wine. 

Lancelot listened wearily as the wine poured in from the bottle to the first glass cup. 

"Your father's worried about the Yonder Dynamics. His last proposal to them was declined, still" his mother worded as she filled in two glasses and handed one to Lancelot when she returned to him.

Lancelot's brows arched as he took the glass from her. "It still wasn't approved? Why's the Yonder Dynamics so selective?"

"Well, what do you expect? They're the richest empire in the country, son. We aren't the only ones trying to invest with them."

This got Lancelot so worried, making him forget all about his worries with Adira. 

The Yonder Dynamics was the biggest name in the country - with over five hundred brands connected to them. A lot of people wanted to do business with them 'cause it was certain to be a success, but unfortunately, they were very proud and selective. 

The company was being ran by Nikolai Kensington - the grandson of the founders who's considered the most powerful man in the country. He was every woman's dreams and also a friend every man would love to have. Unfortunately, Nikolai was a very hard man and rarely kept friends, or women. He was hardly ever seen and that was the reason a lot of investors didn't have the privileges of being friends with him. He could only be seen for business purposes. 

Lancelot was pained that his father's proposal was still being rejected. For a long time, they've been trying to get favoured by Nikolai, but unfortunately, it's been seeming impossible.

"When you finally get married to Jardine, I hope her family would be able to help. I heard they're investors with them," his mother said, sipping from her glass. "I wish someday, we get accepted, Lancelot" "How happy your father would be."

Lancelot clutched his fingers tightly as he drank from his. Nikolai Kensington, he needed to double his efforts and get favoured by him.