Her Return, His Regret by Natie

"Mommy, why is Daddy not hyet?" Ella asked as they had dinner. "I thought we would eat together now that we are a complete family." They had been waiting for Ryan for close to an hour but he hadn't shown up, so they proceeded to eat without him.

Lora pursed her lips, looking at her watch. Ryan had promised to always be hfor dinner, so she was wondering where he was.

She had tried to call him but her calls went unanswered.

'Is he ok?' Lora asked herself, worry creeping into her.

However, she didn't show it on her face and smiled at the kids before saying, "I heard there was an emergency meeting earlier today... your father is caught up with work. He will be here soon." "Ella, Daddy runs a big company, so he's a busy man. Don't worry, he will join us for dinner tomorrow," Ethan told Ella.

Ella nodded and smiled, "Ok... I can wait till tomorrow." After dinner, Lora tried to call Ryan again, however, her call was redirected to voicemail.

She furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what could have happened.

When she heard about how Miles had given Jason his shares, she wanted to visit Ryan to comfort him, but she suddenly received VIP clients and couldn't find sfree tin her schedule. Lora thought she would talk to Ryan after work but he was nowhere to be seen.

'Could he be drinking somewhere?' She mused.

Dialling a number, she let out a sigh of relief when the call went through.

"Adan, have you seen Ryan today? Please tellyou're with him... I'm worried," Lora asked on the phone. "Mmmmm, I'm not with him... but lettry to look for him," Adan offered before cutting his phone.

Lora bit her lower lip, her stomach twisting and turning. She didn't know why but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

A few minutes later, Adan called back and Lora quickly answered.

"Have you found him?" She asked anxiously.

There was silence for a few seconds before Adan replied, "No, I haven't but I can't get a hold of his assistant either. Perhaps they are in an intense meeting after what happened earlier today... don't worry, he will be hsoon." When Adan cut the call, Lora becrestless. She stayed up late and ended up sleeping while waiting for Ryan to return.

The next day, she opened her eyes and found herself nicely tucked in bed. She turned to look at the side and found that it was empty.

Placing her hand on the bed, she realised that it was still warm, signalling that Ryan had returned home. But where was he? After showering, she went downstairs and found the kids at the dining table. A full spread of breakfast was set on the table.

"Mommy, good morning! Daddy just left... but he told us to make sure you eat your breakfast," Ella remarked, her words making Lora frown. Ryan left without talking to her? That was strange.

Was something wrong? She took out her phone and sent out a message to Ryan.

Lora: [Are you ok, love? I was expecting to see you before going to work.] A response calmost immediately.

Ryan: [I'm fine, baby. I didn't want to disturb you since you were sleeping so soundly. I love you.] Lora smiled, relief washing over her as she replied.

Lora: [I'll see you later. I love you too.] A little while later, Lora's security team escorted her to work. When she arrived, she found Jason waiting for her in the company lobby.

"What are you doing here?" Lora questioned, a frown plastering her face.

A flicker of hurt flashed through Jason's eyes. He approached Lora and asked, "Are we enemies now?" "I don't know, Jason, are we? Why are you creating trouble for Ryan?" Lora remarked with a questioning look on her face.

"Trouble? I'm just trying to claim what should equally belong to me," Jason replied through gritted teeth.

"By calling for an emergency meeting?" Lora asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I want to fight for what is mine. Maybe then, you can see how much I love you," Jason stated. "What does Ryan have that I don't have?" Lora furrowed her eyebrows. She glanced at Jason and said, "I'm sorry, Jason. I know I hurt you... but t love Ryan. I always have. It's not about what he has and what you don't My heart chose him. That's all Jason nodded and clenched his hands into fists. He chuckled and replied, "I guess it was a bad idea to see you this morning." He turned to leave but paused and

said, "Are you sure Ryan is being honest with you? If I were you, m wouldn't trust him. He hurt you once, What makes you think he won't do it again?" "He won't," Lora declared. "I trust him, no matter what." Jason scoffed and walked away, leaving Lora standing in the lobby.

She sighed, biting her lower lip. Things were getting complicated t seemed Jason was targeting Ryan for revenge and it was all her fault for leading him on. The sthing happened that night. Ryan didn't chearly for dinner.

Lora glanced at her watch, her eyebrows meeting as several thoughts reeled in her mind.

After putting the kids to bed, she tried Ryan's phone but it wentunanswered. She then tried Adan's phone. "Hi, Adan. Have you still not heard anything about Ryan?" Lora asked, her heart stuck in her throat.

"Yes, I did but don't know what to make of it. Ryan never showed up at work today, His assistant missed work too." Adan replied on the phone. "I don't know what's going on. He's not picking up my calls either." Lora's heart pounded in her chest, a sense of foreboding creeping into her.

What was going on? Why did it feel like Ryan was avoiding her?