MasukIt wasn’t that she really cared, but this was surely shocking. He had just been with her a few minutes ago. Death, right?“Ian is dead?” she asked.“I have no idea. The crazy thing is he came to attack me, then someone else started attacking him.”“I don’t get it. What do you mean by someone else?”“Well, he ran with me. He had a bullet. He might be fine.”“So you two escaped?”“I can’t drive, so he had to drive.”“What?” This was confusing for Fatima. “You’re saying that you and Ian rode together and he didn’t kill you?”“He was not going to kill me in the first place. He just wanted to bruise me. But yes, I needed to leave that place ASAP.” Fatima understood what he was saying.“So, you both have a new enemy?”“It looks like it. Whoever it was, they were prepared. They shot up the place and seemed to be aiming for both of us. They might have heard we were both there. They wanted to kill two birds with one stone,” he explained.“Great. That means the two of you are now cool, right?”
Fatima went on and told Ryan how, even five years ago, Madelyn had tried to force herself on Nicholas.“I don’t know, but I think she was only with you because you’re Nicholas’s cousin.”“She was celibate before meeting Nicholas.”“They just hooked up in a club,” Fatima clarified, because he was starting to make excuses for her.“Yes, and you know how she is. She probably got attached.”“After one night? Listen—”“I’m sorry, are you the reason Madelyn is in this condition now?”“Huh?” Fatima was confused.“Maybe you found out about the hookup and—”“You know I’m not that kind of person. What are you trying to say?”“Well, to think of it, Nicholas was the first person arrested for her accident. She said she saw him, so maybe you’re trying to cover for your baby daddy?” Ryan sounded serious as he raised his eyebrows.Fatima remembered the last time he had even called the police on her. She knew he didn’t play about Madelyn.“You know what? It’s fine.” Fatima realised she would just be w
How the hell was that even possible? Being in love with two men at the same time? Both jerks? What was wrong with her? She wasn’t some teenager. She was twenty-eight, for goodness’ sake. What in the world was this?Okay, Fatima decided she had had enough of talking about her messed-up love life. She dismissed the conversation before her therapist could dig any deeper, said goodbye, and promised to call back soon.Right then, a knock sounded at the door. It was Mrs. Wilson and Bonnie.“Mommy, why is she here?” Bonnie asked as soon as Fatima opened the door.“Honey, it’s business.”“She still works with Daddy?” Bonnie sounded judgmental. She didn’t want Leslie anywhere near her mom. “And why was she asking for you?” Fatima looked at Mrs. Wilson, whose facial expression clearly showed she agreed with Bonnie.Yeah, Leslie had been rude to her kids before. Fatima still remembered that day when Leslie insisted she would rather Nicholas take her to the hospital than drive the kids to school.
On the other hand, Fatima didn’t give a damn about either man. Sure she would have felt a little bad for Ian because of how sweet he had been to her, but that goodwill vanished the moment he threatened her children.As for Raphael, who would want a man who used and threatened her daily? Deep down, a dark part of her hoped one of them would get hurt badly. Maybe even killed. That would finally end this nightmare.Fatima had never wished death on anyone before. That wasn’t who she was. But right now, if either Raphael or Ian died, her life would become so much easier.“It’s not my business,” she told herself firmly as she dialed Leslie’s number instead. “Come to my house,” she said the moment the call connected.“Alright. I’ll be there in an hour.”“Great.” Fatima ended the call, then sat down at her computer and started her therapy session.“Mrs. Ashford, I was expecting your call,” the therapist said warmly. “I’ve heard what’s been happening in your life. As a fellow woman, I’m truly
They say the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. Right now, Fatima was starting to believe whoever came up with that quote knew exactly what they were talking about. Because as she stood looking at the man before her, fear coursed through her veins.“You showed up with a bullet in your arm,” she began, her voice low. “When you invited me to the club, I had to do my research.”“That’s how you met Raphael?” Ian asked, watching her closely. She shook her head. “Don’t lie to me.”“I have kids. I had to check you out. I needed to be sure you were safe.”“Understood. So you’ve been working for Raphae, how long now?” He was only interested in that.“I hired a detective to run a background check on you. He flagged your enemies… and Raphael came up.”“Okay. So…?”“They say keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.” As a doctor, Fatima was smart and quick.“I don’t understand.”“When we got married, I had to know who Raphael was. I’m sorry. I was just looking out
Just as Fatima had guessed, right at the bottom of the gallery were photos of Leslie and Ian. They appeared to be in a club, judging by the background.The pictures were crystal clear, whoever had taken them had been very close. It was obvious from the images that Ian and Leslie had no idea they were being photographed.“When was this?” she asked.“Two years ago. But that’s not even what will shock you.”“What do you mean?” Fatima was already shocked. She hadn’t expected this from Ian. Sure, he was a player, but this was different.“Remember the big contract Nicholas was working on? The one that required Leslie’s partnership?”“Yes?”“Well, guess who nominated Nicholas for it.”Fatima didn’t even have to guess. She remembered how excited Nicholas had been that day, saying a friend had put his name forward. It had been Ian all along.“Ian?”“That’s not all. From then on, he planted Leslie in Nicholas’s life without either of them knowing.”“No… this is too much. I can’t…” Fatima pushed
This might not seem like a big deal, sure, she didn’t know Ian that well to care whether he had a fiancé or not, but last night… she had kissed him passionately, and he had let her.All those flirtations, she knew he was like this, changing women like clothes, but now seeing that he had cheated on
‘Ian?’ Fatima thought, but she shook it off immediately. There was no way. He disappears for days, practically contributing to her pain as Nicholas only went extreme because of the lie he told him, or at least that was what Fatima knew. And now he was here, sounding like nothing had happened. Like
Fatima ran out of the place like a crazy woman, holding in the rage of seeing Nicholas with that girl, and the crushing reality that she was about to lose her kids, with no one willing to help her.That was it. She had tried everything. She really had. And right now, even though she didn’t want to
Both Fatima and Nicholas looked startled by Madelyn’s sudden appearance.Fatima hadn’t told her sister anything yet. She planned to keep it that way until the divorce was finalized.Nicholas, on the other hand, simply feared Madelyn. According to him, she was crazy. To this day, he still wondered w







