LILLYDarren's words caused my breath to hitch. I hadn't expected to hear them from him. Nor did I expect to see those blue eyes darken as they pierced right through me. A shiver coursed throughout my body, forcing me to take a step back as if I felt that distance was the only way I could keep my sanity.“Come in,” I rasped, gesturing at him, and I didn't miss the faint smile curving his lips. Pretending to know exactly what I was doing, I led him into my living room. For a moment, it felt like a reasonable idea until I realized that most of the room had been covered by all sorts of documents. Gasping, I lurched forward and hurriedly grabbed half of the files to clean up at least a part of the sofa. “Have a seat,” I muttered nervously.He nodded and sat down, but kept his eyes on me as I stashed the rest of the printed reports and contracts on the coffee table.“Sorry,” I murmured. “I did not expect guests today.”"I apologize for coming late… and unannounced,” he said.I studied him,
Darren offered to drive me to the clinic, and I was thankful that he did. My mind was too occupied figuring out the best treatment option to focus on driving the car or even calling for a cab. My whole body rattled as I was getting dressed, so concentrated on my task that I almost ignored the fact that Darren was watching every move I made.“Let me,” he said, taking my coat and helping my shaking hands find their way into the sleeves. This caring side of him felt strange. It slightly reminded me of him from the day he saved me and brought me to his penthouse, but that was mostly an act. The Darren I saw before me at that moment was… genuine and sincere… and it seemed more than just a little terrifying.He parked the car in front of the clinic's main entrance and then followed me inside. I was too consumed by analyzing data in my head to process what our showing up together would look like. The realization came as soon as I saw Sakura, Suraj, and Tim waiting for me in the main hall. Th
I had woken up from a nightmare. It was the third night it happened and the third night since I had made my decision. These nightmares were new. In those dreams, I saw myself handing a syringe to the doctor. He injected it into Josie's arm, and then she started dying, turning into dust… Every time I woke up screaming.It was obvious what triggered those dreams. I kept telling myself that Josie would die if we didn't treat her. That argument seemed to be acknowledged and accepted by every part of me. Then there was a matter of choosing the right gene combination. Perhaps the version that had given worse results in our trials would have turned out to be more suitable for Josie's young body. Perhaps there were other aspects I should have thought about before making the final call.All the what-ifs were killing me. Surely, I hadn't made this decision alone. Josie's doctors had accepted the treatment and agreed with my choice. I kept hearing that this was the only reasonable way, but that
I could feel my wildly pounding heart long hours after our call ended. Darren's words were like a warm blanket tightly wrapped around my body. A dumb smile curled my lips and stayed there for—I wasn't sure how long. This wasn't a confession, but it was the beginning—the beginning of us. It was a sign that he wanted this… thing between us to progress. And I was beyond happy he had chosen this way.Certainly, my blissful state lasted only until I arrived in front of the clinic the next day and saw Callan's car. Muttering a curse, I entered the building and strode straight to Josie's room. I found Callan outside, talking to Kathrine and her father.“Lilly, so lovely to see you,” Callan called out, his smile satiated in pure mockery.“I wish I could say the same.” I smiled back at him before glancing at Kathrine. She seemed confused, perhaps even intimidated. My hands fisted. “What do you want, Callan?” I snarled.His cold smile widened. “I'm only here to congratulate you on your success.
Our celebration after winning the first battle didn't last long, or, more accurately, it was over as soon as we returned to our lab, filled with research documents spread like litter all over the floor.“We need to get all the data and the special equipment we bought for this project out of here,” I said. “This lab is no longer safe.”Suraj frowned. “Why? Isn't it like you said? This place belongs to you, doesn't it?”I pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, looking at my team. “My father didn't really have a place for me in this company, but I wanted to work, and he agreed to my terms. When I studied, my father kept sending me monthly allowances, which were almost impossible to spend. I invested that money instead. Then, after graduation, he agreed to give me a part of Hayes Labs, which used to be a warehouse, and I used the money I invested to buy the equipment I needed. The problem was that hardly anyone knew about it, and, back then, I didn't think I'd need any legal documents
Mr. Dawson ran me through our strategy for the final time. I was supposed to focus solely on the night Kenneth attacked me. Certainly, I was ready to tell the judge and the jury about everything that had happened during my five-year marriage, but Mr. Dawson insisted I didn't say a word about it.“If you mentioned anything about your life together, his lawyer is going to say that it's irrelevant to the case. That is why we will wait for the other side to make an opening for us,” Dawson explained. “I'm convinced that they're going to try to prove that you provoked the attack yourself. Their lawyer will say that you were vengeful, vicious, and hell-bent on destroying the Welch family.”Anger buzzed in my veins. “That would be a low move,” I said.“Of course,” Dawson agreed, “but they will hold on to whatever is able to sway the jury's emotions.”I ground my teeth. “I will not let that happen.”Dawson patted me on the shoulder. “Let's hope that everything goes smoothly.”Twenty minutes la
DARRENA smirk tugged at my lips as I took in the courtroom scene. The asshole of an attorney, who seemed to be determined to torment Lilly, turned speechless. He must have realized that he had just fucked up the entire case. Jeffrey Dawson, Kenneth's prosecutor, had played his cards well. Once Terrell mentioned Lilly's alleged infertility, he cracked open Pandora's box. Now it was my turn to push this lid a little further and let the hell loose.The judge announced a break in the court session, and Lilly stepped down from the witness's seat. She looked at me, and I could see the faint blush heating her cheeks, but it was Mr. Dawson who walked to her first.“You did great,” he told her, patting her on the shoulder.“Thank you,” she muttered.I could see that she was exhausted, and I doubted that it was only because of the testimony. She seemed thinner and paler, which instantly triggered some irrational annoyance within me. I could literally see the weight of responsibilities someone
LILLY“And then the hell broke loose.” I let out a long sigh before sipping from my wine glass.Raven grinned, restlessly shifting on the sofa. “Details!” she demanded.“Mr. Dawson said that not only will Kenneth be found guilty, but my and Darren's testimony allows him to charge him along with Alistair Pearson and Grant Denson. Dawson is going to demand twenty years for his attempted first-degree murder. Including him in Nicolas Rogers's case will be the cheery on top.”Raven gave me a look. “That's great… but I want to know about you and Darren.”“We could barely leave the court building once the session was over,” I said, feeling a blush on my cheeks. “The reporters were everywhere. They began to insinuate strange things like that there was a love triangle between Kenneth, Darren, and me…” I drew a deep breath, and a bright smile spread across my face. “Darren handled everything. He stood by my side, and we told the reporters the truth… mostly.” I drank from my glass and cleared my