LOGINRICHARD I stood in front of her door the next morning and checked my wristwatch again for the time; hoping she had woken up by now. I had already finished breakfast, gone through two newspapers, skimmed emails, and even reviewed part of a report my assistant had sent earlier. On a normal day, I would have been out of the house by eight sharp; no delays, no lingering.But today… I wasn’t in a hurry.My first meeting wasn’t until noon, and that had given me the opportunity to slow down so I could see Felicia before I leaving. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She had already slept by the time I got home last night. So I haven't seen her since she returned from the hospital. I lifted my hand and knocked twice.Her voice came from inside.“Come in.”I pushed the door open slowly and stepped inside.She wasn’t on the bed like I had half expected. She was sitting behind the desk, obviously doing something on the computer. It was a sharp contrast to the woman I had seen days ago;
FELICIA The drive back to the penthouse from the hospital had been smooth, almost too smooth, and I had spent most of it staring out the window, my thoughts drifting between uncertainty and something dangerously close to calm. The driver had said very little, and the maid seated beside me had only asked once if I was comfortable.I appreciated the silence.When the car finally pulled into the compound, my chest tightened slightly.This was it.No turning back now.The driver stepped out first, opening the door for me carefully. The maid followed, hovering close by as I stepped out, as though she had been instructed not to let me strain myself.“Careful, ma’am,” she said softly.“I’m fine,” I replied, though I didn’t push her away.We walked in together, my steps slow but steady as we made our way through the entrance and into the quiet elegance of the house. Everything felt just as I remembered it, calm, polished, almost untouched.She led me down the hallway and Miranda appeared wit
RICHARD The conference room was silent except for the low hum of the air conditioning and the faint shuffle of documents being aligned neatly across the polished mahogany table. Noon light filtered in through the tall glass windows, casting sharp lines across stacks of regulatory files, tablets, and printed reports.I sat at the head of the table, flipping through a submission draft, my pen tapping lightly against the margin. Felicia was to be discharged today, I couldn't go because of this meeting, so I have asked Miranda to send a driver and one of the maids to the hospital to pick her up. “Let’s begin,” I said without looking up.Immediately, the room straightened, not out of fear, but readiness.To my right sat Clara Benson, Head of Regulatory Affairs; precise, composed, and rarely wrong. Across from her were two legal advisors, Mark and Elise, both already poised with annotated copies of the submission package. Further down were the clinical documentation leads and compliance o
FELICIA I had been staring at the screen for the past twenty minutes, reading and rereading the words I had typed out on my phone, making tiny edits that didn’t really matter. My fingers hovered over the phone, my heart beating faster than it should for something that seemed so simple.But it wasn’t simple.This… was me taking my life back.A soft knock came at the door before it opened. And Richard walked in.He looked… composed as always. Expensive suit, calm expression, controlled presence. But there was something softer in his eyes now, something I couldn’t quite name.He stepped closer to the bed. “How are you feeling today?”“I’m fine,” I replied, a little too quickly.There was a brief silence.I didn’t want small talk. Not today.Not when everything was about to change.So before I could lose my nerve, I stretched out my hand and handed him my phone.“Here.”He glanced at it, then at me. “What’s this?”“My conditions.”His brows lifted slightly. “Conditions…?”“For going home
FELICIA Fernie adjusted the pillow behind my back gently, her movements careful, almost protective, as I sat up on the hospital bed. The midday light filtered softly through the blinds, casting thin stripes across the white sheets.“I think you should listen to him,” she said, settling into the chair beside me. “It’s his responsibility as the father of your child to take care of you.”I made a face immediately, scrunching my nose like I had just tasted something bitter.“I know,” I muttered, picking at the edge of the blanket, “but I don’t want to be under the control of any man again. I want to live my life on my own terms.”The words came out stronger than I felt.Because the truth was… I wasn’t as sure as I sounded.Fernie didn’t respond immediately. She just watched me, her eyes soft, understanding; too understanding. She had always been like that. The kind of friend who didn’t rush you, didn’t judge you, didn’t force you into decisions you weren’t ready to make.“I get that,” sh
RICHARD I stood there for a moment after the doctor left, watching her.“You’re not going anywhere anymore,” I said finally, my voice calm but firm. “I hope you know that by now.”Her brows drew together immediately, and there it was, that fire I had come to expect from her.“You can’t stop me,” she shot back, her voice still weak but her stubbornness fully intact.I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair. Of course she would say that.“Felic…” I sighed exasperatedly. “No,” she cut in, pushing herself up slightly despite how drained she looked. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”My jaw tightened.“I’m not deciding for you,” I said, though even to my own ears, it sounded like I was. “I’m trying to keep you alive.”“I was doing just fine,” she snapped.That made something in me snap too.“Fine?” I stepped closer, my voice dropping. “You call fainting at the dining table fine? You call barely being able to hold a cup fine? You call starving yourself fine?”Her lips parted s







