Her Return, His Regret

"You're still my wife, Lora... we never got divorced," Ryan pointed out, his eyes locked with Lora's.

Now that he was sure she was the one, Ryan had no intention of letting her go. He didn't care if she dated someone else... she was his wife and he would do whatever it takes to take her back. Lora's heart skipped a beat at Ryan's words. He was right but...

She glanced into Ryan's gray eyes, conflicting emotions flickering through her.

Sighing, she said, "I'm not Larisa anymore... the person you were married to no longer exists."

When Ryan frowned, Lora added, "Just pretend that Larisa is dead and I'm someone else named Lora Davis. You and I ended a long time ago and I moved on with Jason."

Ryan's heart sank to the pits of his stomach. He tried to get up but pain shot through his body and he groaned from the pain.

"Mr Kingsley, can you stay put? You're going to open the wound on your back!" Lora scolded, her eyes flashing with worry.

When Ryan saw her expression, he smiled and asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Jason?"

"What kind of person would I be if I left after you got injured because of me? I'll stay until you get better but that's it... Ryan. You saved my life and I'm grateful, but... I don't want to be in a relationship where I'm an option again," Lora said. Deep down, she knew Ryan never loved her. The biggest mistake they made was getting married without the most important foundation of marriage which is love... without love, no relationship could work.

A painful lump lodged itself in Ryan's throat. He recalled how he treated Lora in the past. Because of his guilt for what happened to Ivy, he became blind to what was happening around him.

At that time, he just thought he married Lora to please his grandfather. He didn't know he had fallen in love with her during their marriage and when she died, he felt like he had lost a huge part of his world. Although he continued to live on, he always felt empty inside. Nothing made sense anymore.

It wasn't until he met Lora Davis that he began to feel alive again. Now that he knew she was the woman he thought he lost, he wanted to do everything and anything in his power to make it up to her.

He looked at her and forced himself to hold her hand, ignoring the pain in his body. Lora didn't pull away to avoid hurting him.

"Please, Lora. I know this isn't the right time or place... but, I want you back in my life. You have no idea how much I missed you... how much I regretted losing you. I cursed myself every day, hoping I could get some form of punishment for not saving you. I never told you this but... I love you, Lora."

"I loved you then when you were Larisa and even when I thought you were dead, I still loved you and I still love you now. Please give me another chance... I'll never make you feel like an option again. Will you forgive me?"

Lora's heart raced, aching even. To be honest, she was deeply touched that Ryan was willing to give up his life so easily for her. Seeing him rush into the fire for her sake stirred feelings she had buried deep within her heart.

However, there was also Jason who had been nothing but good to her. She didn't want to hurt him.

Sliding her hand out from Ryan's

hand, she replied, "I don't have to

forgive you for anything

you almost died saving my life tonight, so whatever bad blood we had between us is gone. However, I'm with Jason now."

A pang of pain rushed through Ryan's heart at Lora's rejection. However, he wasn't one to give up t wasn't easy to be given a second chance in life and he was

determined to not take it for granted.

"What about the kids... Ella and Ethan, is it? I would like to meet them," Ryan requested.

Lora's eyes widened. She questioned, "How did you know their names? And how did you find out about me anyway?"

Ryan cleared his throat, unable to

come clean about the method his friend used He replied, "I'll tell you about it later... but please, can I meet them? I can't believe I've been a father for six years and I didn't know about it. I want to meet my children... to hug and kiss them and to let them know they have a father and it's me."

Lora sighed... in the end, Ryan found out and would get to meet his kids. Life was indeed funny... a few hours ago she would have sworn that she would never let him into the twin's lives. Nodding, she agreed, "Ok, but not like this. I don't want them to meet their father while he's covered in bandages."

"Can I see their pictures?" Ryan asked, wanting to look at his kids again. When he saw them in Adan's phone, everything happened so fast and he didn't get to look at them properly. Lora took out her phone that was returned to her and looked for the twins' picture before showing it to Ryan. She remarked, "Ethan is older than Ella by four minutes."

The moment Ryan glanced at the picture, his heart melted and he instantly fell in love. 'So, these are my children? I'm a father?' He mused in his mind, warmth spreading through him.

Right then, he didn't care about the wounds or the pain that kept rushing through his body... Larisa was alive and she gave birth to two beautiful children for him.

'I'll fight for you, Lora. I'll fight for us to be a complete family,' he promised in his mind.

A thought suddenly occurred to Ryan. He glanced at Lora and asked, "What happened? Do you know who kidnapped you and why they wanted you dead? I swear, I'll deal with them when I find out who it is." Lora's face turned serious. She sighed, wondering if she should tell Ryan the truth. Would he believe her? Or would he believe Ivy?

"I know who it is," Lora replied. "She made sure I saw her before she ruthlessly set the place on fire."

"She?" Ryan asked, his heart racing against his ribcage. Something told him he wouldn't like what he would hear.

Lora nodded. Looking into Ryan's eyes, she revealed, "It was Ivy."

"What?" Ryan's eyes widened, disgust twisting his stomach. Ivy was capable of doing such a horrendous thing? "There's more..." Lora remarked seriously. "She can walk, Ryan. Ivy isn't disabled like she made all of us believe."