CHAPTER NINE
Author: Davedee
last update2026-01-11 20:09:26

Ansel could not bring himself to fall asleep all through the night. He kept thinking about his wife's words and the fact that he had the power in his hand.

He listened to the rhythmic breathing of his wife as she slept, and it only made him think more about the step to take.

The sun brushed against his face, caressing his skin softly and he opened his eyes. He had dozed off only a moment ago and now his wife was nowhere to be found.

He quickly freshened up and went to check for her in the living room. He saw his mother-in-law and father-in-law in the living room.

Tim and Ella were busy watching their favorite early morning show. Ella sliced up some apples for them as snacks.

"Good morning mum, good morning dad." Ansel greeted both of them, knowing well that they would not respond.

Just as he had expected, he was met with their silence. Ella chewed on a slice of apple and let out a soft laugh at the show she was watching.

He didn't press further about the issue and just walked outside. He was opportune to meet her outside the house. She was about to leave.

"Lara Jane!" He called out her name.

She turned around, taken aback. Then a soft smile spread across her face as she remained fixed to a spot while waiting for Ansel to join her where she was standing.

He stopped in front of her and smiled. "Good morning. When did you leave? I wanted to see you off."

"You don't have to. I know you just fell asleep this morning. I am on my way to

King's corporation to submit my proposal. I have worked on it for so long and I can only hope that they accept it. I'm going with full faith, so wish me luck." She squeezed softly on the envelope as a gentle sigh drew from her lips.

She was very anxious, and she didn't bother to hide it in front of Ansel. He was her husband after all.

Ansel smiled and took her hand in his. "I promise you, you'll get this deal no matter what. It's yours, and I'll make sure of it."

She stared at him, feeling confused by his words, but she didn't ask him any questions. She nodded her head and smiled.

As she turned to leave, she stopped and turned back to face him. Taking his hand in hers, she spoke softly. "Ansel...? Could you... Maybe... Go out today? Maybe just meet up with a friend or anyone, but don't stay at home. You understand, right?"

Ansel turned his head to look at the house, but the picture of her parents played before his eyes, then he looked back at her and nodded his head with a smile. "I understand. It's fine. Call me when the presentation is done. I will treat you to something nice for a celebration."

She didn't believe Ansel could actually treat her to something nice, but she didn't argue either. After saying their goodbyes, Lara Jane left the house and Ansel went to a nearby café.

After a cup of refreshing coffee, he went to the hospital to see Mr Albert. Albert had healed up quickly since the bills were paid.

The hospital took proper care of their VVIP patients, so they treated him very well. Albert's face lit up when he saw Ansel walk into the room.

"I was starting to wonder when you would visit me again," he said with a smile.

Ansel smiled. "Did I keep you waiting for too long? I was just trying to sort out my thoughts about something."

"It's fine. Come. I have something to discuss with you." Mr Albert tapped on the side of the bed as he spoke, ushering him to have a seat close to him.

Ansel walked over to the bed and sat down. "Is something wrong? Are you feeling any pains?"

The man shook his head. "I'm perfectly fine! In fact, I had a visit from the doctor this morning, and he said I would be discharged next week if I wanted to leave."

Ansel immediately disagreed. "No way! You must stay here for as long as it takes. You need to heal completely, and I won't let you leave until you do."

"I know, but the bills?"

"Don't worry about the bills. I'll handle everything," Ansel cut him off softly.

The man sighed, accepting defeat. "Ansel, a man visited me last night to tell me something. About your grandfather wanting you back home."

Ansel sighed, shifting his attention to the window and staring into the distance.

"Ansel..." Albert's voice was soft as he spoke. "I always knew you would have to go back home one day and what better time than now? They are willing to offer you the whole world just to have you back. Your grandfather regrets everything, and he seeks your apology."

"I don't want to stay with him, I don't want to even meet him ever again."

Albert knew Ansel's pain, but he wanted him to think rationally at the moment. "You need this, but I want you to see that they need you more than you need them. You can always place them under your conditions, just accept this and change your life. Your wife will be able to live happily too."

At the mention of his wife, Ansel melted. He remembered how she had left very early to go to the king's corporation for a contract and knowing that he could make her dreams come true with one word was like a wish come true.

For her, he was willing to do anything, just as she was willing to sacrifice her family just to be with him. A sigh drew from his rose pink lips, and he knew he had accepted the offer a long time ago even though he kept denying it.

"Excuse me, I need to make an urgent call."

Ansel stepped out of the room and immediately called Carlos. "I'm willing to accept the offer, but firstly, make sure Lara Jane Cree's contract is approved."

"Immediately sir! It is great to have you back!" Carlos excitedly responded.

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  • CHAPTER THIRTY -NINE

    Ansel stayed by the window for the rest of the evening, his cell phone in hand, as if willing the storm to cease as quickly as he had ceased to want to run away from it all. It didn't and with a slight sigh he turned away again." We're not leaving tonight."Lara looked up from where she had been sitting all this time, serene in the glow of her exhaustion of the day. Her hair was a little messy, her wrist still bandaged, her entire being slumped in an uncooperative posture. She just gave him a tiny nod. "'Okay.'" It was a simple sentence, and Ansel held his gaze on her face for another moment, as if afraid it might change her mind, or the entire course of their evening. Lara then picked up her cell phone as if acting on a half-remembered reflex, and the glowing screen met her eyes in the dim light. She looked at the screen, saw the name flashing before her, Paul, and answered the call.His voice cut through, muffled slightly by the drumming of rain against the windowpanes. "I can

  • CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

    Ansel walked in, not knocking first. The ceiling in the room was lower than in any other room in the hotel, and the lamplight in here was the same muted gold that gave every impression of appearing far quieter than it really was, seeming muted more than muted. Lara stood up, as soon as Ansel had fully entered the room, looking as if she had held herself together for far too long and one tiny sound had prompted some part of her to snap. For a moment or two, nothing was said. Lara's gaze, hesitant, almost frightened, searched his face for what it held. For several hours she had been alone here, listening to the sounds of people walking down the corridor outside, distant conversations through the thin wall, and imagining any number of different possibilities that lay out of her hands. It was the waiting that was exhausting, far more so than any other factor involved. Ansel closed the door, adjusted his cuff, as if the row had not taken place in the room overhead; as if the things that

  • CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

    Ansel's office was a controlled emptiness, a space that seemed to expect subdued responses from the air within it. Outside the city had fallen to dusk, a gradient of gold into indigo; inside everything remained crisp and monochrome. Documents were neatly stacked and arranged on the desktop. Despite the stern authority and ordered calm that resided in the room, Ansel's attention kept straying from the file on Taiwan investors that lay before him and, toward nothing he would name.He stared at the folder with the company data, re-reading the same sentence over and over, taking in nothing. These kinds of deals were no new territory for him: negotiation, leverage, control-these were just shifting variables in any number of games he'd already played. But tonight a low, persistent buzz, just beyond him, refused to leave him be. Including Lara in the dinner plans seems okay at first but now it felt like a slap to his face. He pushed the file across the table, opening it and then slamming

  • CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

    Ansel stood at the head of the table looking his same self but something was still and quiet in him that seemed anything but relaxed; it was a sort of controlled reserve that accompanies an equation too overwhelmingly overrun by unaccounted variables.The Taiwanese investor, Mr. Hsu, shifted a cufflink and allowed his eyes to sweep slowly across the room before landing on Lara. His expression was that of such invasive assessment that Lara felt an automatic urge to sit up straighter, not out of anything hostile, but because it was there. Ansel registered the gaze immediately, and his jaw twitched almost imperceptibly."You want her to present?" Ansel asked, his voice carefully controlled but with the implicit demand that came with a question asked to stall rather than gather information.Mr. Hsu nodded curtly, his features blank. "Yes. I would like to speak with her directly on this project."There was something heavy in the stillness that descended.Carlos leaned forward slightly in h

  • CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

    Lara examined the piece of paper for longer than necessary, her grip on it tightening almost instinctively, as if it might change its meaning if she simply held on longer." A dinner with the Taiwanese investors attendance is mandatory, for observation and alignment of presentations." Lara read out "A corporate dinner like that is a negotiation wrapped up in something else," Paul explained quietly. "So don't be surprised if business isn't all they're interested in." Lara nodded, but she wasn't sure what exactly she was meant to be prepared for, yet she agreed because denying it would mean turning away from something that remained ineffable. That night as Lara stood in front of her mirror and adjusted her dress, she did so with slow, hesitant movements. Her reflection was staring back with a confused uncertainty she couldn't name. Deep down, Lara knew this dinner was more than an additional corporate engagement; it felt like a pivotal moment, though whether good or bad, she didn't

  • CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

    Ansel ignored the comment, and Carlos had already moved on, his fingers flying across his tablet. "The Taiwan deal went through. They checked in at the hotel." "Excellent," Ansel said. "Although, it might be in your best interest to have a look at them before things develop any further." Ansel's jaw tightened a little. "Set up a dinner reservation." "Tonight?" "Tonight." Carlos entered the information and when the two of them exited the boardroom, the hallway seemed to rewind time and start all over. The moment Ansel stepped outside, however, he stopped. Several feet away, sat Lara, an ice pack pressed to her wrist, Paul by her side talking to her in soft, hushed tones. Lara looked almost human, in a way that troubled something deep down inside him that he refused to identify. Paul said something and she smiled, not an polite, business smile, but a true, natural one, and it hung in the air for much longer than necessary. Carlos's eyes followed Ansel's gaze to where Lara and Pa

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