Her Return, His Regret

"Sir, there's been a cyberattack on your personal assets!" Lawrence Scott, Ryan's assistant, reported.

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. He had a question mark on his face as he said, "That's not possible. My assets are well protected."

"Clearly they are not, Sir. This hacker was able to log into the system and made you lose a hundred million dollars. They've also hacked into your crypto portfolio and distributed one hundred thousand Bitcoin tokens to other traders," Lawrence explained. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. He opened his portfolio and sure enough, his bitcoin had been tampered with. As he was assessing the impact of the attack, his screen suddenly blinked and a message popped up. [This is for hurting your wife.]

'My wife? Larisa?' Ryan's heart skipped a beat when he read the message.

Did someone know Larisa and how she died six years ago? Was this their way of making him pay for not saving her?

Ryan's heart clenched with guilt and his stomach churned as the image of the warehouse going up in flames flashed through his mind.

"Sir, I've told the tech team to trace the IP address of the hacker. I'll also report to the police immediately-"

"No," Ryan remarked firmly. His jaw was tight as he tried to rein in his emotions. "Don't call the police."

Lawrence's eyes widened. He hesitated and said, "B-But Sir... You've lost a lot of money-"

"It's fine. It's just a few million dollars. I'm a billionaire," Ryan remarked cockily, but the smirk couldn't reach his eyes.

Lawrence fell silent, seeing the pained look in Ryan's eyes that he was trying to hide. 'Since when is the boss so generous?' He mused.

When Lawrence left, Ryan laughed at himself mockingly. If there was someone out there wanting to make him pay for Larisa's death, then so be it.

After all, he really thought he could save her in time six years ago. However, he didn't expect those thugs to blow up the place before he could do so... Now he had to live with the guilt of watching his wife die in a fire. His mind suddenly drifted to Lora... if only she was Larisa, he would do anything to make up for the past.

Meanwhile, at the study in the Kingsley mansion, Charles was on a video call with Ella and Ethan.

"Grandpa, can we call you big grandpa?" Ella asked on the phone and Charles laughed heartily.

"Of course, little one. You have two Grandpas and it could be confusing. So, you can call me big Grandpa!" Charles remarked, smiling from ear to ear.

He was very happy to have an opportunity to meet his great-grandchildren and he wished everyone knew about them.

Looking at the screen, he asked, "So, do you still not want me to tell your father about you?"

Ethan scoffed and replied, "Not yet. Although I taught him a lesson, he still hasn't apologised to Mommy. And he's still with that other woman."

Charles' heart broke when he saw how angry Ethan was. As an adult, he knew the little boy was hurt by the situation they were in.

He smiled and said, "I won't tell him but I'll make sure he apologises to your mother."

A little while later, Ryan entered the Kingsley's mansion where he had been staying the past few days to avoid Ivy.

When he walked into the living room, he found his grandfather waiting for him. Arching an eyebrow, he asked, "Grandpa, why are you still awake? What did the doctor say about getting enough rest?" "Getting enough rest is not the problem here. Ryan, are you really going to make your engagement with Ivy official?" Charles questioned immediately.

Ryan fell silent for a few seconds. He sighed and answered, "Yes, I will, Grandpa."

"Why?" Charles asked, narrowing his eyes at Ryan. "She's a vicious woman and I don't want her as my granddaughter-in-law. How can you fall in love with such a woman?"

"It's not like that, Grandpa. She can't walk because of me. I have to take responsibility for her-"

"Nonsense!" Charles yelled. "Larisa died because you neglected her. Why didn't you take responsibility for her? She was your wife and yet you neglected her."

Ryan's eyes turned red. He hated being reminded of how he failed Larisa.

"Are you kidding me? She's dead! How am I supposed to take responsibility for her... I can't even ask for forgiveness because she no longer exists in this world!" Ryan yelled through gritted teeth. Silence fell over them after those words.

Charles glanced at his grandson, his heart breaking at the anguished look on his face. He sighed heavily and asked, "Are you sure Larisa is dead? You just saw some ashes and e concluded that it was her... why didn't you look for her?"

Ryan clenched his hands into fists. Memories of how he secretly looked for Larisa flashed through his mind No one apart from his best friend knew Ryan was in denial that Larisa was dead. So, he spent a lot of time searching for her...

However, no matter how high or low he looked, he couldn't find anything about Larisa or the thugs that had abducted her.

In the end, he had to accept that she was gone. And it was his fault... that was why he did nothing when he found out about his condition a year ago.

"Oh, now you can't talk? Listen to me, if you really need to get engaged to someone, I would rather you choose Lora. After all, Lora and Larisa look alike," Charles added.

Ryan raised his head sharply, frowning as he looked at his grandfather. He said, "Grandpa, please... just let it be."

'Marrying Lora?' Ryan thought in his mind. Being around her gave him a sense of calm and peace... but he was a dead man inside who didn't deserve happiness.

Charles sighed heavily. He

remarked, "I said I won't force you to

do what you don't want to do. But hope you think about what's best for you...you might lose your second chance at true love if you marry that wicked woman."

Meanwhile, Isabella stealthily walked back up the stairs, her heart pounding in her chest. If she hadn't woken up, she wouldn't have heard what Ryan and their grandfather were talking about. She rushed to her room and called Ivy to report what she had heard.

On the other side of the phone, Ivy dug her nails into her palm. 'So, Ryan's grandfather is urging him to marry Lora? Does the old man know who she really is?'

Her heart raced and hatred for Lora bubbled up within her. She would never allow Lora to ruin the marriage she had been looking forward to for so many years.