Chapter 1

Everything changed when his Ex-girlfriend returned…..

Larisa Bennett thought the news of her pregnancy would improve her relationship with her husband, Ryan Kingsley. However, before she could tell him the pleasant news, his ex-girlfriend, Ivy Williams, reappeared and turned her life upside down. It was like she was starting from zero all over again.

Ryan suddenly became distant and detached, his attention now focused on the woman he always loved.

Larisa was hit with the reality that Ryan would never love her. She was the third wheel in her own marriage and she was tired.

Resorting to the only thing that would set her free, she asked for a divorce but surprisingly, Ryan refused, not wanting to let her go but his actions told a different story.

His ex-girlfriend always came first.

In a shocking turn of events, everything turned south when Larisa found herself kidnapped at the same time as Ivy.

Ryan is faced with a difficult choice.

He can only save one.

Will he choose to save his wife or ex-girlfriend? What are the consequences of his choice?

If he chooses to save Ivy, will he regret it and will it be too late?

Chapter 1~ Leaving in the middle of the night

“Congratulations, you're pregnant!”

Larisa seemed a little absent-minded tonight... all she could think about was what the doctor had said to her that afternoon.

"What are you thinking about?” Ryan asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

Looking at Ryan's sexy chest, Larisa blushed. They had been married for three years, but every time she saw Ryan's nakedness, Larisa couldn’t help but be shy.

Without waiting for Larisa's answer, Ryan turned and went to take a shower.

When she heard the shower go on, Larisa opened the drawer and pulled out a pregnancy test report.

In the afternoon, she had gone to the hospital because she was unwell. She thought it was an ordinary stomach ache, but the doctor told her that she was pregnant.

Finally, after three years of trying, she was finally going to have a baby!

She beamed and held the report to her chest as she waited for her husband to finish his shower.

They had been married for three years, however, their marriage remained a secret to the outside world.

Even though they had not made it public since they got married, and even though others thought she was just his secretary, she still felt very sweet. She could already imagine herself with a little baby in her arms.

With a huge smile on her face, she decided to tell her husband the news. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when he learned about her pregnancy.

Minutes later, Ryan had just come out of the bathroom when Larisa excitedly rushed to his side.

“Ryan, I’ve got something to tell you,” she stated, holding the document in her hands. Her heart was pounding erratically in her chest from the excitement she was feeling.

“Oh, what is it?” Ryan asked with an arched eyebrow, his gray eyes studying her.

“Well, you won’t believe it. After so long, I’m finally-”

Unfortunately, Ryan’s phone started ringing, stopping Larisa’s words mid-sentence. He furrowed his eyebrows and went to the balcony to pick up the call.

Larisa glanced at her phone and saw that it was almost twelve o'clock in the middle of the night. Who could be calling Ryan? Larisa felt inexplicably uneasy.

Whatever the person who called said made Ryan change his expression. He was no longer calm and he looked a bit anxious when he returned from the balcony.

“I’m coming,” he said to whoever was on the other side of the phone.

Larisa’s heart sank when Ryan quickly changed his clothes and began to walk away. She ran after him and called out, “Wait! Ryan. It's too late, you can't-”

“Something important has come up,” Ryan replied without looking back at her.

Before Larisa could tell him she had good news, Ryan was already out the door.

It seemed he was in a hurry to get wherever he wanted to go.

Larisa stood at the door, her heart clenching in pain. It had always been like this. Ryan never put her first.

It didn’t matter if she had an important issue to discuss with him or if she just wanted to spend time with him, to him, she always came last.

The only time he gave her attention was when he wanted to sleep with her. Afterwards, they lived like strangers.

Larisa thought having a child would improve their relationship and that was why she was excited to share the news with Ryan.

However, just like always, he left without hearing what she had to say.

A few hours passed and Larisa couldn’t fall asleep. She was in bed when she received a call from her best friend, Bianca Jones.

“Hey, Lisa, are you in a wheelchair now?” Bianca asked on the phone.

Larisa furrowed her eyebrows at her friend’s question. She replied, “No, I’m not. Why would you ask me that?”

“Strange, I just saw someone who looks like Ryan. He went into a fancy restaurant while pushing a woman in a wheelchair. I thought you were with him.”

Larisa’s eyes widened. ‘A woman? Who could that be?’ She thought in her mind.

“I might be wrong anyway,” Bianca added.

When the call cut, Larisa’s heart felt heavy for some reason. She was about to put her phone away when a piece of gossip news popped up on her notifications.

It had something to do with jewelry design, so she developed an interest in the news.

[The famous jewelry designer Ivy Williams has returned. A mysterious male friend accompanies her.]

The man's name was not mentioned in the news. But the news stated that Ivy was accompanied by the Moonstone City’s most eligible bachelor who was also a billionaire.

Although the picture of the couple wasn’t clear, Larisa recognised the man. It was Ryan, her husband.

Ivy was back.

Larisa’s heart pounded hard as she read the comments that praised the lovely couple.

“Miss Williams might be in a wheelchair but she’s still elegant and sophisticated. Her fiance is rich and looks handsome too. I wish I could see his face.”

“Miss Williams is back! Are we about to get a new collection of her jewelry? It’s been so long since we got new designs from her. I can’t wait!”

“Who’s the rich guy she’s with? Are they getting married soon?”

“I managed to get a close-up photo. He’s so handsome!”

As it turned out, Bianca was right after all. The man she saw with another woman was none other than Ryan Kingsley.

Larisa’s heart felt like it had been stabbed by a knife.

So he left his wife late at night just to pick up his ex-girlfriend, his first love, his beloved as soon as he knew she returned to the country?

Chapter 2~ A mistress

In the morning, Larisa got up and went to the company on time although she didn't sleep all night.

"Have you seen the news? Ivy Williams has returned!" Tatiana Jenkins, one of the employees at the Kingsley group, remarked.

She was talking to her friend while they waited to get into the elevator. Behind them, Larisa kept quiet as they continued to talk about her as though she was invisible.

“You mean that jewelry designer?" The other colleague, Judy Brooks, asked.

"Yeah, she's not just an ordinary jewelry designer, she's also the only girlfriend our boss has ever admitted to dating in public. I heard she's his first love."

"Wow, but isn't it rumored that our boss and Larisa have some-?"

“Of course, not! She was just a mistress!”

“Haha! What a failure. She thought sleeping her way to the top would make the boss fall in love with her. Now that the woman that he loves has returned, I’m sure she’s not only going to lose her position as the mistress, she’s also going to lose her job.”

Larisa clenched her hands into fists. She gritted her teeth but didn’t say anything. After all, her marriage was a secret only known to Ryan and his family.

She was Ryan’s personal assistant but no one knew that the two had been married for three years.

Everyone just assumed she was Ryan’s mistress because of how close they were. However, Ryan never corrected them and Larisa had no right to correct them either. Ryan made her promise to keep their marriage a secret.

The doors to the elevator opened and they all entered the elevator. Tatiana and Judy shared a look before continuing their conversation.

“If I were her, I would resign on my own. It’s clear the boss has someone he loves. It’s so degrading to cling to him like a desperate chick,” Tatiana said, her words full of mockery.

“Hey… chill. She can hear you,” Judy whispered loudly and laughed.

It seemed they were having fun at Larisa’s predicament. They had been among the many women who were jealous of her closeness with Ryan Kingsley. Now that his real woman had returned, they found an opportunity to ridicule Larisa.

“I’m just saying the truth. She’s a mistress who’s about to be abandoned now that the future Mrs Kingsley has returned to the city,” Tatiana stated.

Larisa clenched her hands into fists at those words.

Mistress?

She was the rightful wife! And yet, she couldn’t even say that loud.

Larisa pursed her lips, her heart aching. Ryan had not returned home the previous night. He didn’t even have the decency to call her to let her know of his plans.

She concluded that he had spent the night with his ex-girlfriend. Just thinking about it made her feel like a cat was clawing at her heart.

Her colleagues mocking words echoed in her ears and her throat ran dry. She was the legal wife but she couldn’t even speak out to defend her position. Could she even defend her position?

How can she defend something that wasn’t hers to begin with?

It didn’t take long for Larisa to arrive at the CEO’s office. However, she wasn’t in the mood to work that day. So, she went to the office to ask Ryan for leave to go home.

Sure enough, when she knocked and entered his office, she found him seated in his swivel chair wearing different clothes from the ones he wore the previous night.

“You’re late,” Ryan said in a cold deep voice.

“Yes… I slept late. I’ve come to ask for a one-day leave,” Larisa requested, trying hard to hold back her tears.

He didn’t even look bothered that he slept out.

“Why? Are you sick?” Ryan asked nonchalantly, his gray eyes studying Larisa’s frame.

“I’m not feeling well,” Larisa replied, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

The thing is… she wanted to ask him where he had spent the night but she didn’t want to know that he had spent it with another woman.

Thinking about it and hearing it from the horse’s mouth were two different things.

“Ok,” Ryan replied and when Larisa didn’t move, he arched an eyebrow and asked, “Anything else?”

Larisa shook her head. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Ryan didn’t even attempt to explain where he had spent the night. He was acting like what he had done was normal.

With a broken heart, she left the company and went to the parking lot. However, she bumped into someone in the company’s underground parking lot.

It was none other than Ivy Williams— the woman of Ryan Kingsley’s dreams.

In that wheelchair, she looked very vulnerable, giving the people around her the urge to want to protect her. She was moving her smart wheelchair and stopped in front of Larisa, blocking her way.

“So, you’re Larisa, Ryan’s wife? I’m Ivy. Nice to meet you,” Ivy said.

Larisa turned pale, she didn't expect to meet Ivy so soon.

“Thank you for taking care of Ryan in the past three years,” Ivy added with a smile on her face.

Larisa internally scoffed! She made it sound like she was just a caretaker! Was she indirectly asking her to back off now that the owner had returned?

“You don’t need to thank me for doing my duty as his wife,” Larisa replied through gritted teeth.

She felt sorry for the woman since she was in a wheelchair but she felt like her statement was a mockery of the real situation of her relationship with Ryan.

Ivy smiled gently. She replied, “Of course. See you around.”

She began to wheel herself away when her phone slipped from her lap and dropped to the ground. Looking at Larisa, she asked, “Can you help me pick up my phone? I can’t reach it as you can see.”

Larisa nodded and approached Ivy. However, just when she crouched down to pick up the phone, Ivy suddenly fell on the ground and screamed.

“What happened-”

“Ouch! That hurt!” Ivy cried as blood trickled down her face, making Larisa’s eyes widen in horror.

“What the-”

“IVY!” A deep voice resonated in the area.

Larisa’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that familiar voice. It belonged to her husband and she had never heard him sound so worried before.

He rushed towards them and held Ivy in his arms. When he saw the blood dripping from her forehead, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. He glared at Larisa coldly, giving her the chills.

Wait did he think she did it?

Larisa’s eyes widened in shock when she realised what was happening. She was being framed!

“Ryan! I swear, I didn’t push her-”

“Get lost!” Ryan yelled and pushed Larisa who landed on her ass.

He carried Ivy bridal style, his eyes filled with worry. He looked at her and whispered gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Chapter 3~ Let's part ways

“What the hell is going on?” Ryan asked Ivy after the doctor attended to her. Guilt crept into him as he looked at the bandage on her forehead. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why Larisa has changed. She used to be so kind.”

When he went to the parking lot, he thought he saw Larisa pulling Ivy out of the wheelchair. He got so nervous that Ivy would get hurt.

After all, she hurt her legs because of him. He wouldn’t want her to get hurt because his wife got jealous.

“I hope you can forgive her. She usually doesn’t get worked up,” Ryan added.

They were in a VIP hospital room with Ivy lying on the small hospital bed since they had left her wheelchair.

Ivy smiled and grabbed Ryan’s hand, saying, “Hey, don’t get it wrong. This is not Larisa’s fault. I fell on my own… it seems my wheelchair has some problems.”

Ryan’s eyes widened slightly. He asked, “Are you saying Larisa didn’t push you?”

Ivy shook her head, biting her lower lip. She replied, “No, she didn’t push me. Please don’t blame her for this. I don’t want the two of you to have a misunderstanding because of me.”

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. He recalled how he had roughly pushed Larisa away. He didn’t even turn to see if she had hurt herself when she fell on the ground.

Who knew he had misread everything and blamed her for something she didn’t do?

Guilt crept into him. ‘Come to think of it, I overreacted without finding out what happened,’ he mused.

“I had no idea…” He murmured.

Ivy gave him a sweet smile and said, “You should go to her and clear up the misunderstanding.”

Ryan glanced at Ivy. He thought Ivy was still as considerate as she used to be. Nodding, he uttered, “I’ll go and see her but first, let me take you home. We left your wheelchair at the company. I’ve called someone to get you a new one since that one is faulty.”

“Ok… I can wait alone though… don’t leave Larisa alone for too long,” Ivy remarked.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain to her and she will understand,” Ryan replied.

…

Meanwhile, Larisa met her best friend at a cafe before going home.

“What? You’re pregnant?” Bianca’s eyes widened into saucers. “That’s incredible news!”

A sad smile crossed Larisa’s lips. She said, “I don’t know if it is… you were right about last night. The man you saw was Ryan. It turns out the woman he was with is the woman he has always been in love with.”

“What the hell?” Bianca hissed. She clenched her hands into fists and asked, “Is he cheating on you with his old love?”

“I don’t know. I always knew there was no love between us but it hurts to confirm it. Perhaps I should do what I have been delaying to do all this while,” Larisa responded, her heart clenching.

“Are you crazy? Why would you leave your marriage? Especially now that you found out you’re pregnant? Being a single mother is tough, hun. I say, get rid of that homewrecker. You’re the legal wife here!” Bianca proclaimed. “If you can’t tell her off, I can do it for you.”

“And then what, Bee?” Larisa shook her head. “You should have seen how worried he looked when he thought I had pushed her. He didn’t hesitate to push me for her sake. I don’t think I can handle seeing him defend her… moreover, I can only keep a man who wants to be kept.”

Bianca felt bad for her friend. She nodded and remarked, “Try to tell him about your pregnancy. I’m sure the temporal excitement he’s having at seeing his old love will disappear once he knows he has a child on the way.”

Larisa placed a hand on her belly and caressed it slightly. She recalled how hard Ryan had pushed her away. He didn’t even try to check on her to see if she was ok… what if he didn’t want to have a child with her?

He may end up asking her to get rid of the baby so that he could be with the love of his life.

Shaking her head, Larisa said, “I’m not going to tell him about the pregnancy. He never wanted to marry me in the first place… I’m sure having a child with me is the last thing he would want right now. I’ll only get in the way of his happiness.”

Bianca sighed heavily. She realised that Larisa had made up her mind, so there was no use in talking her out of it.

“I’ll support whatever decision you make, hun. Just know that I want you to be happy,” she remarked.

...

A little while later, Ryan returned home and found Larisa waiting for him in the living area. Looking at her, he recalled how he treated her earlier and his heart was completely filled with guilt.

“Larisa, look, about earlier, I’m-”

“I’ve got something to tell you, Ryan,” Larisa said, cutting off Ryan’s words.

She had a look of determination on her face as she got to her feet and gave Ryan the documents she had in her hands.

Ryan frowned in confusion as he looked at the documents. He asked, “What is this? Is it work? Can’t it wait till tomorrow? I wanted to us to talk about-”

“No, it can’t wait. These documents are my resignation and divorce papers. Let’s part ways, Ryan. It’s been long overdue,” Larisa proclaimed. "Let's get a divorce."

Chapter 4~ Kidnapped

A divorce?

Ryan couldn’t believe his ears.

That wasn’t a word he was expecting to hear coming out of Larisa’s mouth.

He took a look at the documents in his hands and sure enough, they were divorce papers and Larisa’s resignation letter.

He glared at Larisa and questioned, “Are you throwing a tantrum because of what happened earlier today? Is that why you’re giving me these documents?”

Larisa shook her head and replied, “It’s not that. I’ve been wanting to have a divorce for a long time now. Now that Ivy is back, you can freely be with the woman you love.”

Ryan scoffed. He tore the documents in half, making Larisa gasp.

“Why did you do that? You don’t love me, why won’t you divorce me?” She yelled.

There was a desperation in her voice that even she was aware of. Her heart was racing and aching at the same time.

This was because, in their three years of marriage, Ryan never loved her. He had never opened up to her or showed her any affection.

Larisa was madly in love with him and that’s why she agreed to marry him, hoping that if she was devoted to him and loved him unconditionally, he would learn to love her.

Alas... three years had passed and Ryan’s heart was still as cold as ice. No matter how much she tried, Larisa couldn’t make her husband love her.

“Please, Ryan. Let me go so that you can be happy,” Larisa added in a low voice, her eyes watering with tears.

“Never. Divorce? You want a divorce?” Ryan sneered. “After ruining my life you think you can just wake up and demand to divorce? In your dreams, Larisa.”

“Why? Don’t you want to be with Ivy? Isn’t it why you spent the night with her last night?” Larisa couldn’t help but yell.

“Ah… so this is what this is all about? This is no time for unnecessary jealousy, Larisa. I didn’t do anything with her… Ivy wasn’t feeling well after her welcome party and I had to stay with her in the hospital. She was discharged in the morning,” Ryan explained.

Larisa clenched her hands into fists. She spat, “I don’t care about your explanations. There’s no love between us. It’s better to end this marriage.”

Ryan got closer to Larisa and grabbed her chin. Tilting her head up to stare into her hazel eyes, he declared, “I’m the one who’s going to say when this marriage will end. I don’t ever want to hear you speak about divorce, you hear me?”

“The woman you love is back and it’s clear you will never fall in love with me, why delay the inevitable?” Larisa questioned, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her heart ached.

She felt like someone was squeezing it with a metallic hand.

Ryan didn’t love her but he didn’t want to let go of her regardless. It was hard to tell what he really wanted. He wanted to be with Ivy, right? Isn’t that why he rushed to her the moment she returned?

Ryan’s eyes softened when he saw the tears in Larisa’s eyes. He cupped her face and wiped them away with his thumbs before saying, “No one is getting a divorce. Grandpa loves you. Let’s not worry him with petty issues.”

Larisa was about to reply when suddenly, she smelt a pungent smell emitting from Ryan’s suit. It was a female perfume that she assumed belonged to Ivy Williams.

The perfume was repulsive, accompanied by the knowledge of who it belonged to, Larisa heaved and clamped a hand over her mouth.

She pulled back from Ryan and rushed to the kitchen since it was the nearest.

At the same time, Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. He followed Larisa and found her puking her guts out in the sink.

“Are you ok?” He asked as he approached her and helped to hold her hair back as she vomited.

When she was done and rinsed everything off. Her heart raced… she didn’t know if Ryan had realised she was pregnant.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly vomiting?” Ryan asked again.

“Um… I had some spoilt food earlier today,” Larisa made an excuse.

Ryan narrowed his eyes down at Larisa. “You’re always careful with what you eat, Larisa. Are you hiding something from me?”

Larisa’s heart pounded hard against her ribcage and her stomach formed knots.

‘Has he found out?’ She asked in her mind.

Ryan studied Larisa for a minute. He could tell that she was pale and she looked like she had gained a little weight.

His eyebrows creased as he remarked, “Wait… are you-”

Larisa let out a sigh of relief when Ryan’s phone suddenly rang, interrupting his words.

Ryan frowned and answered the call, “Hello-”

“Mr Kingsley, Miss Williams is missing!” The voice said on the phone.

Ryan’s eyes widened in shock. “What? I’m coming!”

He didn’t even spare Larisa a glance and before she knew what was happening, he had already dashed out of the house with a look of worry on his face.

Larisa laughed at herself. ‘And here I thought he didn’t want to divorce me because he had some feelings for me. Turns out it’s my wishful thinking.’

At the mention of something happening to Ivy Williams, Ryan almost flew out of the mansion just to go and look for her.

Larisa wondered if Ryan would have that same look on his face if she were the one who was missing.

She left the kitchen and was about to head upstairs to the master bedroom. However, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and was plunged into darkness.

Chapter 5~ His choice

Larisa woke up and found herself tied to a chair. It looked like she was in an abandoned warehouse.

She recalled having been hit by a sharp object before she lost consciousness. Could she have been kidnapped?

Immediately, fear crept into her. She yelled, “Where am I? Help! Help me!”

“Larisa, calm down. Shouting won’t help… trust me, I tried,” A familiar voice reached Larisa’s ears.

She turned her head to the right and found Ivy tied to a chair just like her. Her eyes widened in horror.

“What’s going on here? Why have we both been kidnapped?” Larisa asked, her heart racing wildly in her chest.

In her heart, she was worried about the safety of the baby she was carrying in her womb. If anything bad happened to her, she could lose her child.

“Good question,” a man’s voice echoed in the warehouse.

Larisa turned to the source of the voice and her heart raced when she saw four thugs approaching them.

One of the thugs who looked like the leader stepped forward. He had a bald head and yellow teeth. One could smell the alcohol reeking from his body from a mile away.

“Don’t worry, Larisa. Ryan will come and save us,” Ivy said confidently.

'Yes, Ryan, my husband,' Larisa mused, her eyes filled with hope.

However, when she saw Ivy who was also kidnapped, her hope dimmed again.

Larisa pursed her lips as she recalled how Ryan rushed out after hearing of Ivy’s disappearance. She thought bitterly, ‘He would probably only come for Ivy. I’m nothing to him compared to her.’

It didn’t take long for Ryan to arrive at the warehouse. He walked in and stopped in his tracks when he saw the two women tied up in front of him.

He clenched his hands into fists and glared at the thugs. “Let them go! It’s me that you have an issue with. Leave the women out of it.”

“That was fast. It looks like these two women are very important to you,” The leader said as he played with the knife in his hand.

“Let them go now,” Ryan ordered again.

“No can do. Since they seem so important to you, they have become a part of this issue,” the thug remarked. “I’ll give you a chance to save one of them. The other one will remain with us as a hostage.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ryan growled.

“You save one or none at all,” the thug stated. He laughed and said, “Oh, Ryan Kingsley, I would love to see who you will choose. I was going to have a little fun but I suddenly have the urge to know who you love more between the two.”

Ryan coiled his hands into fists. He clenched his jaw as he glanced at the two frightened women.

“Ryan, choose Larisa. She’s your wife! Don’t worry about me…” Ivy Williams remarked, looking up at Ryan with sad eyes.

She looked pale and weak. But she was still so kind and thought about Larisa wholeheartedly.

Ryan’s heart was filled with guilt. His balled fists tightened, threatening to draw blood from his palms.

“Go on, Ryan. You’re allowed to save one woman. The clock is ticking.”

Ryan hissed, his gaze wandering between the two women. Larisa’s heart pounded hard in her chest when she saw his gaze.

However, Ryan only glanced at her briefly, and then said to the thug, "Release Ivy."

Larisa’s heart sank to her feet.

“Are you sure? Is that your choice?” The thug asked, a huge grin plastering his face. He was enjoying this.

Ryan’s jaw clenched harder. His face was devoid of any emotion as he repeated, “Yes, I choose Ivy.”

Larisa’s whole world came crumbling down beneath her feet. She knew this would happen but a part of her hoped Ryan would choose her. After all, she was his rightful wife.

Seeing him choose another woman and leaving her to be the thug’s hostage hurt more than she could imagine.

‘Ryan… was I really nothing to you?’ She mused as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Ryan, it seems that you are as ruthless as rumored." The thug remarked and smiled wickedly. “Are you ok with leaving the other woman with us?”

"Let Ivy go," Ryan demanded coldly.

The thug chuckled darkly and untied the rope from Ivy's body. Ryan immediately took Ivy into his arms, cradling her to his chest like she was a porcelain doll that would break if it dropped to the ground.

"Ryan, you should choose Larisa. I'm a cripple and I'm going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I'm no use to you,” Ivy said in a soft voice.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," Ryan promised before carrying her out of the warehouse.

Larisa had no words. Her heart was broken into a million pieces. The only thing she was worried about was her innocent baby who would be killed because of her foolish love for Ryan.

If she could turn back time, she would never give her heart to such a cold-hearted man.

“Since Ryan has made his choice, I have no intention of letting you live,” the thug declared, playing with his knife as he glanced at Larisa.

“Go ahead. What are you waiting for?” Larisa hissed, glaring at the thug.

“I thought you would beg for your life… I wouldn’t have let you go anyway,” the thug laughed.

He instructed his minions to douse the place with fuel.

“But boss, is this the right thing to do?” One of them asked.

“She wants her gone,” the thug replied.

Larisa heard that but she had no energy to think about what he meant. Her heart was bleeding. Until the very end, she was never Ryan’s first choice.

Why did she live like this? Why did she allow Ryan to treat her like trash? She knew these were her last moments and she had so many regrets.

“Hey, Miss, any last words?” The thug asked Larisa, grinning widely.

Larisa’s eyes fluttered shut, accepting her fate....

Boom!

A powerful explosion shook the ground.

Ryan who was running back to the warehouse was thrown back by the sheer force of the powerful explosion.

He looked in shock at the warehouse in front of him, which had turned into a sea of fire, eating up the whole building.

Larisa, his wife was still in the warehouse.

“Larisa!!”

“NO!!!” Ryan’s anguished cry pierced through the air.