CHAPTER 51
ROBERT’S POV
I paced the length of my office like a crazed scientist while waiting for Frank, restlessness gnawing at me to the bones. It’s been a week since I asked him to help me find Lily. Still, he hadn’t reported any progress he’s made to me so far. We were supposed to meet over half an hour ago but he was nowhere to be found. Plus, his line was unreachable. I don’t know what could be keeping him. Time was dangerously passing away.
Three days ago, the remaining clients that had Lily managing their campaigns and projects stopped working with us, having lost their patience. They had no other choice as the delay was hurting their business and drawing them back. The impact was so devastating it nearly drove me to commit suicide. I hadn’t fed well and had a good night’s sleep since then. And now, to make matters worse, we’d sunk to the bottom of the top ad agency rankings in the country and were dangerously sinking even lower than that. I never imagined sending Lily away would have such a devastating effect on me and the company. Terrible regrets assailed me as I popped out a blast of breath.
Gosh…. I need her back. Right now, if possible. Even though what she did to my grandpa was unforgivable and I wanted nothing more than to avenge him and make her pay, I don’t mind overlooking it. Even my grandpa won’t want the company, the family’s legacy to crumble like this. Our enemies and competitors will make a laughingstock out of us. Not to mention my father will see me as a big disappointment and regret handing over the company to me. I’ll just do my best to prevent my family members from seeing Lily and knowing she is back when she returns. I just hope she’ll agree to work for me again. Agree to be the personal assistant that always had everything under control like a supermom.
Yesterday, I was so restless and desperate, that I had to put everything I was doing on hold and visit the prison where she served her seven years imprisonment sentence. I needed every information I could get to find her. According to her prison records, she was released two years ago and since then, hasn’t been heard of again. Her phone line was blocked, and all her social media accounts were deleted. It was like she vanished from the face of the earth, never to be heard of ever again.
But then I found out something else. Something that sent my world spiralling. Her records also showed she gave birth while in prison. Not just to a baby but to twins, a boy and a girl. I couldn’t believe it. I was so dazed by the discovery everything else around me faded into a blur. It took almost an hour for me to regain control of myself.
After I found out she was pregnant, I coldly presented her with an ultimatum either she got rid of it or said goodbye to the financial benefits that came with our contract marriage because I knew how much she needed the money to take care of her sick mother who I learnt died on the hospital bed. Since I wasn’t in love with her, I didn’t like the idea of her bearing a child for me and I thought Scarlett’s pregnancy was mine so I felt I had nothing to lose.
I believe she terminated the pregnancy because the female detective who was initially heading the case said she arrested her while she was coming out from a hospital. The detective even claimed to have found a hospital card, appointment slip and abortion pamphlet in her bag. All these were enough proof for me to believe she had gone through with the abortion. But then her prison records revealed she’d given birth to twins toward the end of her first year in custody. Conflicting feelings clouded my mind, leaving me unsure of what to believe.
This was the more reason I needed to find Lily. I needed to learn the truth. She was the only person that could clear me on this. With Scarlett’s betrayal still lingering painfully inside me and the constant pressure from my parents to find a new wife and start making grandkids for them, this was just what I needed twin babies who were my flesh and blood. I couldn’t wait to see them. To hold them and know what they looked like. No doubt, the girl will be beautiful like her mother and the boy will take after me or my father or grandpa since he was born right after his death.
I had already spent nine years away from them and that was very bad, far too long. No parent will want to be apart from their kids for that long. Children always find someone else to fill that role. It made me wonder if another man had taken my place in their lives. Did they even know I was their father? Had Lily told them? Time was running out, and soon, they’ll be teenagers. That was a challenging phase where they might find it hard to let me into their lives, hating me forever for not being there for them when they needed me most. I needed to act quickly.
All pacing got me sweating blood, growing more restless with each passing second. But I didn’t mind. I just needed to see Frank and know the progress he’s made so far. I was paying him a lot of money for this so he should put in his best effort, find her and bring her back to me and not delay like this.
As I managed to sit down and take out my phone, about to place a call for the umpteenth time to Frank, the doors of my office pushed open and he rushed in.
On seeing him, I got up from my seat as if it was a reflex action.
“Sorry boss for not answering your calls and making it on time,” he said with a flushed face, shrugging off the bag he had slung over his shoulder. “My phone died on the way and the ride I took broke down. I had to find another.”
He was sweating, and with his flushed face, he looked like he’d run all the way to my office. He probably needed a moment to settle down and a glass of cold water to cool off, but I didn’t have the patience to wait.
“So…?” I asked in a gruff, impatient tone. “Did you find her? Where is she?”