Her Return, His Regret

"Are you ok?" Jason asked Lora on their way to her apartment.

When Lora left Ryan's ward, she found Jason waiting for her outside. He offered to take her home for a shower and a change of clothes. Even though he had a lot on his mind, he didn't say anything to Lora apart from that question. Lora glanced at him and sighed. Jason was so good to her, but she just couldn't bring herself to love him.

However, she couldn't hurt him either when he had done nothing to deserve that.

"I'm ok, Jason. I wasn't hurt that much compared to Ryan. He's in a bad state," Lora replied.

An awkward silence fell upon them for a few seconds before Jason remarked, "I wish I was the one who saved you."

Lora frowned. She glanced at Jason and said, "Don't say that again... I already feel guilty about Ryan's injury, I wouldn't want someone else getting hurt because of me."

"I know but... perhaps him saving you would make you love him again," Jason uttered in a low voice.

"Although Ryan saved me, I can't just forget about how he treated me in the past," Lora responded, her eyes turning sad at the memory.

Jason kept quiet but deep down, he knew that things between them had changed. Lora wasn't as welcoming as she usually was towards him.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Lora's apartment building. Lora looked at Jason and said, "I'll rest a bit but I promised Ryan I would stay and take care of him in the hospital." Jason clenched his hands around the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. He was jealous but he didn't show his emotions on his face.

Smiling, he replied, "I understand. Since he's hurt, that's the least you can do."

Lora smiled, loving how understanding Jason was. She bid him goodbye and went up to her apartment.

The moment Lora stepped into her apartment, the twins rushed towards her.

"Mommy, you're back!" Ella exclaimed. She looked up at Lora and asked, "Are you ok?"

Ethan looked at Lora worriedly. She was wearing Jason's jacket but her dress inside was torn and dirty.

"Of course, I'm ok! See, I can walk and talk... I'm all good!" Lora replied, smiling widely.

The twins already knew what had happened through their great grandfather but they didn't tell their mother that they knew.

Ethan grabbed Lora's hand and pulled her towards the couch, saying, "You rest, Mommy. You must be tired. Should I give you a foot massage?"

Lora laughed and willingly let her son "pull" her toward the couch. She said, "Let me take a shower first and then you two can give me a foot massage, how's that?"

"Ok!" The twins said in unison.

When Lora went to her room, Bianca who had been babysitting the kids followed her. She closed the door and asked, "Girl, you got me so worried. Thank God you're safe. Has Ivy been arrested?"

Lora shook her head. She replied,

"No she hasn't but she will be

arrested soon. Ryan said he has a

plan to expose her. I also want to find evidence of how she arranged my kidnapping six years ago + want herto rot in jail. She's a danger to all ofus."

Bianca nodded. "I can't wait for her to pay for her crimes. How did Ryan find out about you and the kids though? Did he figure it out on his own?"

Lora frowned and shrugged before replying, "He hasn't told me how he found out. Everyone now knows who I really am and Ryan asked if we could get back together..."

Bianca folded her arms across her chest and arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"And what?" Lora asked.

"What did you say? Do you want to get back together?" Bianca pushed.

Lora bit her lower lip. She recalled how Ryan saved her... the look on his face when he thought she was dead. His confession as he held her in his arms... It all felt surreal. Was this the same Ryan she was married to six years ago?

"I'm with Jason now," Lora replied absentmindedly. "I can't hurt him."

Bianca sighed. She exclaimed, "Come on, Lora. You're just feeling sorry for Jason. You don't even love him. Don't you think leading him on is worse than breaking his heart right now?"

"I don't know, Bee. I had made a

decision never to love again in my life. The truth is I just buried my feelings and raised walls around my heart can't believe Ryan cracked those walls so easily when Jason couldn't," Lora admitted.

"So what's your plan?" Bianca asked. "Are you just going to forget how Ryan put his ex-girlfriend first before you? Even if he saved you now, he didn't save you back then. You might still love him but what's the

guarantee that he will treat you

better this time around?"

Lora's heart clenched. She recalled the words that Ryan spoke when they were both trapped in the fire... she could feel his pain and how much he regretted not saving her. But, was that enough to forget about the past and move on? Was she willing to take a risk? What if she got hurt again?

"Look, I'm not discouraging you from reuniting with your husband but girl, stay woke. Why didn't he report Ivy immediately? What if he's just trying to help her escape with the guise of wanting to expose her?" Bianca reasoned.

Lora's heart sank at her words. She didn't know what Ryan's plan was but what if his love for Ivy was really that deep that he was willing to buy her time for her to escape?

"I'll put a plan in place but let me wait and see what Ryan is up to," Lora remarked. "Either way, Ivy is going down."