Her Return, His Regret

Chapter 14-A call

"I promised to marry her, Grandpa," Ryan replied.

Ivy got hurt because she was going to meet him. If he abandoned her, he didn't think he could live with himself.

Charles Kingsley frowned as he stared at his grandson. He couldn't understand how someone so smart could allow a woman to trick him.

"As long as I'm the elder in this family, I'll never allow it," Charles commanded. "Ivy Williams can never become a Kingsley."

He spoke with authority and Ryan didn't dare try to convince him. Even though Charles was old, he was still the Chairman of the Kingsley Group and still carried an air of dominance and authority. "Grandpa, she got hurt because-"

"I don't care about what lies she's told you to make you this way. Ryan, if you want to end up like your father, continue entertaining that woman. I was already disappointed with how you treated Larisa. She was such a sweet, kind woman and you blew it," Charles remarked..

Silence fell over them. For Ryan, the mention of Larisa caused him so much pain. He regretted losing her. His failure to protect her will always come back to haunt him.

After a few seconds, Ryan sighed and said, "I'll arrange a meeting with Lora Davis."

Thereafter, he turned and left the room. However, he almost bumped into his younger half-sister, Isabella Kingsley.

"Oh, R-Ryan-"

"What are you doing here? Were you eavesdropping?" Ryan questioned, his eyebrows knotting in anger. He wasn't close with this half-sister of his because they shared different mothers. Ryan hated how his father moved on so fast after the death of his mother. Isabella shifted nervously in her stance and stammered, "I- I wanted to see Grandpa! There's something I want to ask him."

Ryan narrowed his eyes and walked away. Apart from his grandfather and his sister, Diane, he didn't get along with the other members of the Kingsley family.

Once Ryan disappeared from her sight, Isabella let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

That was close.

Ryan almost found out she had come to spy on him and listen to what he was talking about with their grandfather.

She took out her phone and sent out a message to report what she had heard.

"Girl, I didn't expect you to run straight into Ryan's trap the moment you returned. Didn't you learn a lesson?" Bianca Jones, Lora's best friend, remarked.

Lora sighed as they left the cafe where they went to grab some coffee before going to work. She replied," I didn't fall into his trap... it's just business."

"Business? When you look like his dead wife? What if he finds out?" Bianca asked, shaking her head." After what you went through, I didn't expect you to walk into the lion's den of your own volition."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of making myself suffer ever again. I'm only interested in keeping the board members off my back as I do my work. I'm only using the Kingsley Group like they're using me," Lora said.

Bianca sighed heavily. She glanced at her friend and hoped she was right. Ryan was shrewd and cunning. If he found out Larisa was actually alive, who knew what he might do?

"All I'll say is make sure he doesn't find out about you... if he asks again, just say you're a doppelganger," Bianca uttered.

The two women glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

"Haha! That's a good one... I'll use it if he asks me again," Lora replied.

Unbeknownst to them, someone who was driving in the street happened to see them.

"Enough about that scumbag... how are my little angels?" Bianca asked, referring to Lora's twins.

A gentle smile crossed Lora's face at the mention of her children. She said, "They are fine... Dad picked them up and took them to their new school."

"I can't wait to have them over at my place for a sleepover," Bianca remarked and Lora smiled.

"They will be ecstatic."

Bianca and Lora had kept in touch after Lora left the country with her parents. They maintained their friendship and updated each other on what was going on in their lives. Meanwhile, Ryan had just gotten to his office when he received a call from his best friend, Adan Nicholson.

"Ryan, my God, you can't imagine who I've just seen," Adan said.

Listening to the voice of his best buddy, Ryan didn't bother to reply. 'He probably saw one of his ex-girlfriends again,' he thought in his mind.

After not getting a response from Ryan, Adan didn't care and continued, "I saw Larisa, she was still alive!" Adan was one of the few people who knew that Larisa and Ryan were secretly married, and he also knew that Ryan had been in a bad state after Larisa died in a warehouse explosion six years ago. Hearing Adan's words, Ryan finally reacted. He said, "I think you're talking about Lora. We've already met at her party. She's not Larisa, they just look alike."

"God, Ryan. I'm very sure she's Larisa, She and her friend Bianca are exactly the same as they were six years ago."

Ryan's eyebrows creased and he felt his heart skip a beat. Lora was with Bianca Jones?

"Adan, take a picture and send it to me," he requested, his heart beating like a drum.

After Ryan received the photo, he confirmed that the woman who was with Lora was Bianca, Larisa's bestie.

'Damn it, Lora. Is it all a coincidence? Why do you have the same friend as Larisa? You kept denying that you weren't Larisa, but what are you doing with Bianca Jones?' Ryan mused.

Without wasting time, Ryan got to his feet and rushed out. It didn't take long for him to arrive at his new jewelry company since he knew Lora would be working from there for the time being. He went straight to Lora's office and barged in, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

Lora raised her head to look at the door. When she saw that it was Ryan, she arched an eyebrow and asked, "Can I help you? How rude of you to barge in-"

Ryan approached Lora's desk. When he looked into Lora's familiar eyes, he calmed down and said, "Lora, I have something I want to confirm with you."