Her Return, His Regret

Adan Nicholson had been closely monitoring Bianca's messages in the past few days hoping he would find anything about Lora.

However, the two women never talked about anything that could disclose Lora's secret. Adan was even thinking about giving up, thinking maybe they were just being paranoid.

He was at the engagement party when his phone suddenly buzzed and he saw the conversation that Lora had with Bianca.

His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the kids that were in the picture that Bianca had sent to Lora.

"These kids..." he murmured to himself, his eyes searching for Ryan.

This was big news! Lora had children and one of them resembled Ryan so much! This couldn't be a coincidence.

The MC called Ryan and Ivy to the stage and Adan's eyes widened. 'No. I need to show him this conversation before he goes up there.'

Adan rushed towards Ryan and showed him the conversation.

"What is it?" Ryan asked as he got the phone, his eyebrows knitting in confusion as he read the conversation.

"Read that and tell me what you think," Adan remarked.

Everyone was watching, wondering why Ryan had stopped to see something on the phone instead of proceeding with the event.

Ivy's face flushed. She smiled at the guests awkwardly, trying to look like this was normal. What was Ryan doing in front of all these people?

At the same time, Ryan's hand that was holding the phone trembled when he saw the photo.

Why was there a picture of kids that looked like Lora and himself?

How did this happen? He didn't recall meeting Lora in the past and he's only ever slept with one woman- Larisa.

This could only mean one thing... Lora was Larisa.

Ryan felt like a knife had been stabbed into his chest, twisting deeper with each second.

"Larisa... it's really you," he whispered just as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "You're alive..."

"Ryan, what's going on?" Ivy asked Ryan but he ignored her, his eyes focussed on the twins on the phone.

'These kids... are they mine and Larisa?' He mused, his heart clenching in pain.

Regret filled him completely, followed by guilt. Larisa had been nearby all along and he failed to recognise her. Looking at his friend, he asked desperately as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "Where is she?"

Adan shook his head and replied, "I don't know, bro. I last saw her with Jason Anderson."

"I need to find her," Ryan said, his voice low and hoarse.

He knew that the evidence pointed to Lora being Larisa but he needed to verify it himself. He wanted her to confirm her identity... he wanted to find out if the kids who looked like them were theirs and why she hid them from him. Most importantly, he wanted to make sure she was Larisa and that she was alive.

Ryan turned to leave but Ivy grabbed his arm and said in a trembling voice, "Ryan, where are you going? We are supposed to make our engagement official."

Ivy's heart raced anxiously. She

didn't know what Ryan had seen in Adan's phone to make him look so devastated. But all she knew was that she couldn't let him go. Somehow, she knew that once he left things between them would never be the same again

"Please don't leave, Ryan. This is our engagement ceremony and everyone is watching," Ivy pleaded, her eyes watering with tears. However, without sparing her a glance, Ryan shook Ivy's hand off and stormed off, his eyes searching frantically for Lora through the crowd.

A murmur swept through the crowd when Ryan left his fiancee just before they could proceed with the main program of the event. However, Ryan didn't care about the confused looks or whispered gossip echoing from the crowd.

"Lora!" He called out, looking around the hall desperately. "Lora, where are you?"

Adan followed after him to help him search for Lora. He said, "I can't see Jason. Maybe they left together."

A ripple of jealousy rushed through Ryan. He replied through gritted teeth, "Let's check the restroom first."

Sure enough, they found Jason standing outside the restroom with a confused face. Ryan approached Jason and questioned, "Where's Lora?"

"Why are you so interested in my woman, Mr Kingsley? Please stay away from- Hey!"

Ryan ignored Jason and barged into the restroom. However, Lora was nowhere in sight.

His heart began to pound in his chest as a sense of unease settled in the pits of his belly. Did something happen to her?

'No... not again. I can't lose her again,' he mused in his mind, running a hand through his hair.

"What's going on?" Jason followed Ryan into the restroom when he noticed that something was amiss.

Lora had taken too long in the

restroom so he followed her but he didn't expect her not to be in the

restroom. Did she leave without telling him? Perhaps she was uncomfortable at the party

Ryan didn't reply to Jason. He took out his phone and dialled Lora's number.

When he heard a ringtone echoing in the restroom, his heart dropped beneath his feet. He looked around and saw Lora's phone on the floor, his stomach churning at what that could mean. "That's her phone," Jason remarked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Ryan picked the phone up, his hands trembling as fear like no other twisted his stomach.

Was this a test? The moment he found the woman he had lost... she was taken away before he could see her.

Ryan's jaw tightened as he clenched his hand around Lora's phone, his heart breaking into a million pieces. 'Not this again...' he murmured in his mind.

"Fuck!" Ryan exclaimed.

He turned around and punched one el

of the mirrors in the restroom,

creating a dent and cracks in the strong glass. Blood trickled down his fist but he didn't care, the thought of history repeating itself hurt more than a few cuts on his skin.

"Ryan-" Adan approached his friend, his eyes sad.

Ryan glanced at his friend, his eyes bloodshot as he said, "She's gone, Adan. Someone took her."