Tyler’s POVThe thing is, you can never find the perfect person. It’s either the person you found was beautiful in all ways, but when it came to her face, you had to convince yourself each morning that she was beautiful—especially when the first thing you saw was her horrible face staring back at you on the pillow.Or, she was beautiful inside and out, even her face was flawless—but she nagged so much, it left you mentally exhausted.That was me, right about now.Lola was beautiful. Sexy. I mean, her body was what made me start imagining all kinds of things about her from the start. But seriously, she nagged. A lot. And there was nothing I could do about it. She was my wife. The mother of my only child. So, I told myself I had to deal with it.This evening felt off, though.I followed her behind the kitchen counter, quietly observing her as she opened the fridge and brought out the coffee. Her movements were deliberate, almost too calculated.Coffee was naturally bitter. Most of us sw
Lola’s POVWomen, they say, have the sly actions to control men as they see fit. What kind of a woman would I be if I didn’t leverage this power to control Tyler?I faked reluctant, vulnerable eyes at Tyler, my gaze darting like a little girl trying to manipulate her father into buying her some cups of ice cream. The act came naturally to me, soft, innocent and calculated.Having known that he loved me too well because he believed he was Jasmine’s father—I knew he would do anything I asked. But still, asking him to give something valuable to someone he’d never heard of, especially when he believed I was an orphan, might hit a nerve. Yet there was always a way. Almost three years ago, when I found him, I crafted a heartbreaking story—how my parents died in a fire that burned our home to ashes. It was tragic. It was emotional. And it was all a lie.I told him strangers had rescued me from the blaze. I painted myself as a helpless girl who barely escaped death. That lie was one of the k
Tyler’s POVLola opened the door after much of a struggle from me. Earlier on, when I stepped beyond the staircase board at the front of our front door, I inserted the key and saw that no matter how much I turned the key, the door wouldn’t open.“Aggh!” I sounded frustrated.This was one of the things I hated most in my life. Knowing fully well that there was obviously no reason Lola would have locked the door from the inside with the swing lock, I thought the lock was broken—especially since it had happened before.But not when I was with Lola. Eunice and I were still married at that point in time.So tonight, when the same issue seemed to occur—on a night when I was tired and not particularly happy—I assumed the worst. “Couldn’t this key just work?”I placed my thumb on the fingerprint sensor on the door. This was another method we used to unlock it, though not frequently, as it was so fragile that careless use could break it very easily.So, we only resorted to using it during deli
Lola’s POVI stood frozen at the doorway, heart pounding like a war drum as Logan smirked at me—as if his sudden appearance was all part of some twisted plan. Like this was something he had meant to do since the very moment he was sentenced to prison. The familiarity of his face felt like a haunting I wasn’t prepared for.“Is that how to welcome your boyfriend? The one you truly love?” he asked coldly, brushing past me like he belonged here, like nothing had changed.He stepped into the living room, bold and unbothered by the fact that anyone could see him. It was already 7 p.m., and Tyler would be home soon. I could barely breathe.“Logan, you have to leave. Now,” I said, my voice low but urgent. “Tyler will be home any minute and I can’t let him find you here. I’ll give you an address. I’ll come see you.”“But before I do that,” I added, “I need to know how you got out. How did you even find me in the first—”He ignored my plea, his voice rising with demand. “And you think I give
Lola’s POVI stood behind the cooking counter and mixed another little amount of Latentoxin into a freshly brewed coffee.I knew Tyler was going to arrive soon. I mean, why wouldn’t he? He only went to work, and after work, he was supposed to update the next of kin—just like I demanded, right?At 7 p.m., at most, he was supposed to be home. So, at 6 p.m., I had instantly brewed the coffee, anticipating his arrival like clockwork.I opened the fridge and placed it in there, letting the coffee chill a bit more before Tyler would get back. A chilled drink was always easier to mask in taste.There was something about coffee—it was naturally bitter due to certain chemical compounds created in the beans during roasting. That bitterness had a purpose now.If Tyler were to drink this coffee already laced with Latentoxin, the added bitterness would make it far less drinkable. But that was the point. I didn’t want him to finish it all at once tonight; I wanted him to sip it over time through th
Eunice’s POV“Annie, please can you bring me some cubes of sugar?” I said to Annie with a smile as she served me a cup of coffee in my room. I had just returned home and finished talking to my mother on the phone, which was something of a nightly ritual between us.Each night, as my mom continued her adventure of flying to every country in the world, she made it a point to call me. Just hearing my voice, she said, gave her comfort, and in turn, her words always brought me peace. She’d always assure me that everything was going to be fine.And truly, those words had kept me going through the toughest moments. Look at me now—I've even gained more weight than I used to because I’m finally relaxed, finally at peace.There is one thing revenge does to you—it settles something inside you. When you enjoy the satisfaction of seeing those who wronged you pay for their betrayal, it makes you feel powerful. It makes you feel justified.That’s exactly how I feel now. Every ounce of pain crushing
Tyler’s POVHave you ever been so emotionally troubled that you do not know the next thing to do? This was me right now.I had too many concerns at the moment that I didn’t even know which one to focus on.There was the staffing crisis staring me right in the face like a bull getting ready to strike with its horns. And then there was the next of kin update—something Lola wouldn’t let me rest on.As I thought about how to get new staff—because without a company, what was the essence of the next of kin paperwork?—I also couldn’t ignore the pressure mounting from home.Yet, I knew how Lola would make a big deal out of this if I failed to do it before I returned home tonight.The weight of indecision bore down on me, and I was already exhausted. But who was I to complain to?I took my hand to my jaw and placed my elbow on the table like a worried man.The desktop screen was still on. But what next to do, when every hiring site I visited, every hire button I pressed, returned a red decline
Tyler’s POVI slumped into my office chair the instant I stepped into my office. It had never happened before that I would be the only one in this building, as big and wide as it was. The silence felt foreign, almost hostile, as though the walls themselves were whispering questions I didn’t want to answer.The month in the year Eunice and I got this place for our business, it had been just the two of us managing everything. But even then, our lawyer had been with us on that first day, reviewing documents and helping us through the paperwork. So, there had never been a moment when I experienced this place in complete isolation. I had never felt how big and empty it truly was until now, with business not running.The silence was eerie. If a pin dropped to the ground, it echoed all the way down the hallway—maybe even to the downfloor, and I just knew I had to do everything possible to fix the staff shortage that had suddenly struck my company like a storm.Trying not to panic, I turned on
Tyler’s POVI arrived at work, and what I saw made my stomach churn.I stood frozen at the entrance door. It was locked — like no one had been here today.My company opens at 7 a.m. for employees and at 10 a.m. for customers to come and enjoy our best-of-the-best services.But even at 8 a.m., when I got to work today, there was no one around?I already knew my directors and top stylists had stopped working for me. They didn’t even bother to resign properly. No notice. No formal resignation letter. Instead, they simply started working for the beauty company that had just opened down the street.Could it be that my regular stylists and makeup artists had followed the same path?My heart began to race as that horrible thought settled in. Before I knew it, I fumbled into my pocket and brought out my key to unlock the entrance door.When I got inside, my eyes scanned the room — and my heart dropped further. The place was spotless. Sparkling clean from end to end. Not a single stain anywhere