Her Return, His Regret

"Don't come near me! You're a ghost! Stay away!" The thug yelled, his eyes and mouth rounding in shock. Was he seeing things? This woman who had appeared beside Ryan Kingsley no longer exists in this world.

He shared looks with his friends who were equally terrified and his heart jumped to his throat. They saw her too... which means she was alive. But how?

"It can't be... how are you still alive? I killed you myself!" The thug yelled, his body trembling from fear.

He was shocked to see the woman he had burned alive come back to life. Six years ago after they made a huge amount of money from working with Ivy Williams, the thugs left the Country to avoid being caught. However, they ran out of money and didn't really have connections abroad. So they decided to return to Moonstone City and see if they could reclaim their turf.

What they didn't expect was to be caught by Ryan Kingsley's men the moment they entered the City.

Didn't Ivy Williams say the woman they killed wasn't that important to Ryan? Why was he still on the case six years later?

What was even more shocking was the woman staring at him at that moment. She was supposed to be dead! Did she become a ghost and come back to haunt him?

"No, I'm not a ghost. I'm very much alive and will happy to see you punished for your crimes," Lora hissed, anger flaring through her.

She could still remember how helpless she felt when she was trapped in the warehouse with searing flames all around her. It was a traumatic experience.

"That's impossible! I burned you alive!" The thug shook his head, his eyes bloodshot. "The warehouse exploded! No one could survive that!"

"What's there to be proud of about burning someone alive? You're criminals who deserve to be hanged to death!" Lora hissed, her chest heaving from her rapid breathing.

Ryan saw that Lora was getting emotional, so he held her hand and stepped forward. He glanced at the thugs and ordered, "You're going to tell me what you know about the kidnapping incident from six years ago or else..."

The threat was left hanging but Ryan turned to look at the table on the side that had torture tools. There was even a cat o' nine tail whip, a weapon that could tear one's flesh brutally just from a few whips.

"Who instructed you to kidnap Lora? Was it Ivy? Did she have herself kidnapped to fool me?" Ryan questioned, his jaw tight. "Answer me or feel my wrath!"

However, the thug suddenly laughed and remarked, "You're not going to get anything out of us. We are not afraid of going to jail and we are numb to pain... you can torture us all you want... but you won't get any information from us." The thug thought that if he kept Ivy's secret, she would help them out and reward them handsomely. After all, she too was a wealthy woman.

It was better to ally with someone they were in the same shoes with.

Ryan laughed. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, so no one could tell that he was injured. His aura was still powerful and dominating despite the pain rippling through his body.

He said, "If you say so... then how about I use another method? I need to find the evidence that Ivy instructed you to kidnap Lora. If you tell me everything, whatever money Ivy gave you, I'll triple it."

Lora widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Ryan! No! You can't waste money on these thugs!"

Adan also chipped in, saying, "Lora's right, Ryan. We don't negotiate with criminals."

Ryan just smiled. He knew what he was doing. These thugs only cared about money. Torturing them wouldn't work and they would end up not getting any information at all.

He looked at the thugs and repeated,

"I already know that Ivy was behind the kidnapping. I'll give you triple the money that Ivy gave you... Give me the evidence of her crime and testify against her. Do we have a deal?"

The thugs glanced at each other. They were doomed to go back to prison anyway. But prison life was a little better if one had money.

The leader of the thugs looked at Ryan and agreed, "It's a deal. We will give you everything. Including the bank transactions showing how Miss Williams paid us millions to stage that kidnapping."

...

"I've handed the evidence to the police. Tomorrow, Ivy will be arrested at the ceremony," Adan said when he returned to the hospital.

After dealing with the thugs, Ryan and Lora returned to the hospital quickly because Ryan had to have his wounds cleaned and his bandages changed.

Ryan nodded, his expression turning serious. He remarked, "Right now, Ivy thinks I'm too busy with work, which is good because then, she won't try to bother me and we can hide the fact that Lora is still alive." He sighed and looked at Lora before saying, "I can't wait to get this over and done with so that I can meet our children."

Lora smiled. The children kept

asking when they would meet their

father, however, she still didn't want them to meet him in the hospital. At the moment, they were staying at their grandparents' house since Lora was mostly at the hospital with Ryan.

When Adan left, Lora looked at Ryan and said, "Thank you for saving me, Ryan. I really thought I was going to die this time... thinking of leaving my children was a nightmare."

"Our," Ryan corrected and when Lora looked at him with a question mark on her face, he clarified. "Our children... I'll protect you and our children with my life from now on. I promise."

Lora smiled, her heart doing a little flutter. She didn't know what the future held but at the moment, she refrained from making any life-changing decisions.

To change the subject, Lora asked, "Are you really ok with doing this to Ivy?"

She still had some doubts. After all, Ivy had been a part of Ryan's life for so long. It was hard to believe that he suddenly had a three hundred and sixty degree change and wanted nothing to do with Ivy- his life savior. Ryan narrowed his eyes at Lora. He asked, "Are you feeling bad for her after all that she's done to you?"

Lora shook her head, anger flashing through her eyes as she replied, "Not at all... It's just that, this is new... I'm used to you always defending and supporting Ivy."

Ryan sighed heavily. He grasped

Lora's hand in his and said, "I regret

doing all that..... It was her choice to× save me just like it was my choice to save you. I don't owe Ivy anything just like you don't owe me anything for saving you... I wish I had seen things this way before... I wouldn't have been deceived by her."

Lora bit her lower lip. She raised her hand, offering Ryan a handshake before saying, "Then, let's teach Ivy Williams a lesson tomorrow."

Ryan smiled and shook Lora's hand. He replied, "I like this... our first mission together."

Lora rolled her eyes but a small smile crossed her lips.

Indeed, it was strange to work together with Ryan like this... but she couldn't deny that they had grown close in the few days that they spent together in the hospital. Perhaps they could be friends since he was the father of their children...