Lahat ng Kabanata ng STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA: Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 110

Liana's PovThe walls of the safe house were still, the silence between Serena and I thick and settling like dust. The TV played in the background, muted, casting flickers of color across their faces. Serena sat curled up on the couch, arms folded across her chest, eyes blank as she stared at the screen.I sat beside her, phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly. I wasn't really looking at anything, my mind was still processing the events of the past few days: Serena's close call, the hospital, the stalker, and everything in between.Then my phone rang. My mother's name flashed across the screen and it made my heart jump. I hadn't checked on them. Immediately, already rising to my feet, I picked. "Mummy?"“Liana,” she called out, her voice trembling slightly. “Where are you?”I froze. “I’m with Serena. What’s wrong?”There was a pause although it wasn't too long.“It’s Lee.” She breathed and my heart dropped.“What happened to her?”“She’s sick. She fainted in school and they took her to t

Lee's PovI woke up to the insistent beeping of a monitor and a faint smell of disinfectant. The room was quiet except for that incessant sound and the quiet rustling of movement far away. My eyelids creaked apart, the fluorescent light hanging over my head blazing a harsh glare on the white ceiling. I blinked, groggy and having no clue where I was.Then I remembered. The hospital. I remembered the pain and grandma's worried face. My body felt weak, like I'd been hit with a heavy object and my arms were pinned beneath a tangle of tubes and wires. My mouth was as dry as cotton. I moved a little, and a gentle gasp slipped from me."Lee?" A voice called out. It wasn't grandma. It was deeper. Softer, but uncertain and trembling.I turned my head around, and I saw a man. The same man that made mummy cry. He sat by the window, his body leaned over his knees, elbows propped there with his eyes focused on me as if I was the key to all prayers he ever made. It was him."Why are you here? Wh

Dominic's PovI was in the sitting room trying to get some rest. The house was quiet, and my mind drifted like clouds in a colourless sky. I leaned against the sofa, my head thrown back, when suddenly… I heard a thud.There was a loud crash upstairs. My heart jumped in alarm and I rushed to my feet."Serena!" I called out, already scared as I thundered towards the stairs. My footsteps on the tiled floor rang out louder than my own voice.I took the stairs two at a time only once. I ran up them, fear clutching my chest with each step. The hallway was dark and the air felt thick, as if something was dreadfully wrong. Or maybe it was just my mind. As I headed towards the bedroom door, it was slightly ajar so I pushed it open.Serena was on the ground. Curled in a tight ball and seriously shaking. Her arms were clasped over her head, and she was sobbing, her face pressed against the cold tiles."Serena!" I rushed to her, my knees striking the floor with a sudden jolt as I collapsed bes

Liana's PovThe safe house was very still this evening. I reclined on the couch cushion, draped in a throw blanket. Serena had gone to bed, and Stanley was wiping the tables clean of our barely touched meal. My head lay back against the couch, eyes closed, but sleep was far from reality. The weight of the impending court case pressed down in my chest, like I'd gulped down a rock that I couldn't spit up. It was so draining. Three days. Three days from now I'd have to confront Dominic and the entire courtroom to defend my daughter, defend myself, and explain why I had kept Lee in hiding for so many years. And the truth? I still had no idea how I was going to do it.I heard Stanley's footsteps approaching, soft and light. The couch made a soft sound as he sat beside me."Has she slept at last?" I asked without even lifting my eyelid.He breathed out. "Yeah. She didn't say much after you left the room. I sat there staring off into space for a bit… then he asked me to go lie down."I nod

Liana's POVToday is the hearing and I woke up with a physical weight on my chest. I hardly slept, neither did mum.The house was quiet, almost somber, as if it also knew what was impending. I paced the hallway, back and forth, my bare feet gliding across the cool tiles as the sky outside slowly lightened with that dull, grey hue of dawn.I was half-way through brushing my hair when I heard a sharp knock on the door. For some reason, I was tensed. I wasn't expecting anyone today and who even visits a person on a Monday morning? I opened the door and was shocked by the sight of Stanley, panting like he had run all the way here. He didn't even wait for me to ask him in before he walked in, phone in one hand and a black USB in the other."You're not going to believe this," he said, his voice half disbelief, half grim determination. "I got something for you. A real ushakeable surprise.”“What is it?” I asked, interested but not exactly excited. I was feeling too many emotions at the momen