~ 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.”

~ 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."

~ 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.