UNWANTED BRIDE のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

Dreaded conversation. LilaIt was past eight at night, I had finally finished getting everything back in the office in order as per Jake's instructions. I had expected working for a billionaire to be hard, but I had not mentally prepared for how exhausting it would be. My whole body was weak, I didn't even have the time to take a lunch break, I was starving. I slowly made my way home, with the thought of seeing my son giving me strength. The familiar sight of my small cozy house just right down the street brought a sense of relief but also a little bit of anxiety as I remembered the conversation I had managed to avoid this morning. I had been so busy that I didn't have the time to process how I was going to answer Kyle's questions. I had known at some point he was going to ask this question, but I always thought I still had some time left. I opened my front door and was greeted by the warm, inviting scent of dinner cooking. My best friend Jada, who lived with us, was in the kitc

Flashback to when Lila's mom died. Lila. I slowly stroked Kyle's hair until he felt asleep. I Walked slowly back to the waiting room and sat there texting Jade. As I sat there, the antiseptic smell of the place clinging to my place was starting to get to me. I was starting to feel a little dizzy. I hated hospitals. The cold metal chairs, the sterile environment, the way it seemed to stretch and warp, becoming an interminable void.. As I tried to look at the floor counting the tiles trying to lose myself in it, a sudden flash of memory gripped me, pulling me back to the last time I had been in a hospital room, under very different circumstances. It was almost fifteen years ago now. But the memories came back so vividly. I could almost feel myself back in that moment. I was sitting in another waiting room, another hospital but in the same uncomfortable chair, but back then the walls seemed to close in on me even more. My mother had been the one admitted in the intensive care unit

Lila. This was the last thing I wanted to do, and the last place I wanted to be. But here I was out of desperation. I stood at the edge of the driveway, looking at the house I hadn't entered in over five years. The large oak tree that had once provided shade to my childhood home seemed to have grown taller, the branches stretching like arms that could pull me back in. My heart was a mix of guilt and desperation, each thud in my chest a reminder of how far I had fallen. I thought of myb son, Kyle, lying in a hospital bed, his fragile body struggling against a sickness that wouldn’t let go. He needed surgery, and without it, his chances of surviving were slim. The medical bills had already drained what little savings I had, and now, I was here, back at my father’s doorstep, hoping for help I never thought I would need to ask for.I lifted my hand to knock but hesitated, feeling the weight of years of unresolved anger between us. My father, Robert, had always been a man who valued pri

Lila. I could not lose this job, not now especially when I needed the medical insurance the most. The drive back to the hospital was long and here wrecking, I was thinking about my next move the whole way to the hospital. As I walked through the hospital doors, I could feel my shoulders getting heavier by the minute. I walked into Kyle's room, he was still unresponsive, fighting for his life but he seemed to be sleeping so peacefully. I sat on the chair next to his bed, taking his hand, and I started caressing it gently as tears freely ran down my eyes. "I was looking for you." The doctor said from behind me, I slowly got up and gave my son a kiss before joining the doctor in the corridor. "I am so sorry Lila, but we can't keep him any longer without any payments, I suggest you take him to…" the doctor started and I immediately stopped him. "Please don't tell me to take him to a public hospital, he needs special care right now he is just a baby." I said in tears. "There is n

Jake. I finished with the last item of work on my agenda and turned to my file cabinet, placing the last document on my desk into its appropriate spot.Then I put my elbows on the desk and leaned forward, staring at the newspaper on the shining surface.I had studied the news story again when I had come back into my office.A scathing piece on how the impostor of the Andrew family moved people around like pawns on a chessboard. It was stacked with details about the man, Carl Johnson, I had fired last week for skipping out on an important meeting to go to a child’s sporting event.The press had covered it a week ago, too, since Carl had gone screaming to the papers over discrimination of some kind. In my mind, it wasn’t discrimination to expect an employee to attend mandatory meetings, no matter whether it was the last game of a five year old’s T-ball season or not.Still, it had been another of those juicy bits the media had latched on to to further stack the case against me and my l