Jardine had a wide smile on her face as she sat in front of Lancelot, spoon-feeding him. It's been hours since he regained consciousness, and after a thorough checkup by the doctor, they were advised to give him enough food. Jardine's joy knew no bounds. Seeing her Lancelot right in front of her with his eyes opened was a sight she'd prayed for over a year. The love of her life was finally back to her. "Do you like it?" She beamed at him, trying to scoop in more with the spoon. "I sure am," Lancelot smiled. Then she fed him more. His parents were there as well and just watched from the cushion. "It's so good to finally have you back, son. The past nineteen months have been hell for us." Mrs. Winslet chimed in. Lancelot had almost broken down when he was told he had been in a coma for nineteen months. Nineteen months was a whole lot of time, and it hurt him to know he'd missed a lot of things, especially Jardine, who couldn't enjoy the marriage. "I know, right?" He lisped. "I'm sorry for keeping you all worried, especially you, Jardine," he touched Jardine's cheek. "I'm truly sorry for making you worry all this time." I mean, we were on our honeymoon, and you..." "It's fine," Jardine cut him off, sweetly touching his hand on her cheek. "How long I had to wait doesn't matter anymore. I'm just so happy you're finally here." She leaped forward and kissed him. Somehow, Lancelot noticed his parents were not fully happy. He knew they were happy to see him regain consciousness, but there seemed to be something else bothering them. "Dad, how have things been at the company?" He looked at his father. This made Jardine's heart skip. Oh, no. Mr. Silas wouldn't say a word about Adira, would he? Mr. Silas sighed. "Son, I would want to tell you that everything's fine and you have absolutely nothing to worry about, but I'll be lying. Things at the company have gotten very bad. Most of our top investors pulled out all at once, and what we have left is just too petite. I'm not saying we've gone broke, but our revenue is no longer what it used to be. I was aiming for us to go higher, not lower." "I don't think you should be bringing this up," Mrs. Winslet, who was sitting next to him, tapped his hand and whispered. "But why? He needs to know. Action needs to be taken as soon as possible," Mr. Silas whispered back. Lancelot had gotten so worried. Now he understood why his parents had been acting that way. Things were pretty bad at the company. "But, have you been able to trace the cause? Why did our investors pull out all of a sudden?" He arched his brows. Mr. Silas glanced at his wife, who threw the "do not tell" glare at him, but he ignored her and went on. "A new director was introduced to Yonder Dynamics. Mr. Nikolai made her so powerful that she was regarded as his next in command. She... obviously has a grudge against us. So, she talked our top investors into pulling out with us and gave them a slut in her own company. Of course, any investor would choose the YD anytime, anywhere. That is it, Lancelot," he narrated. Lancelot had become fascinated by this and wanted to know more about it. Who could it be that Nikolai had made so powerful? "This woman," he shook his head. "Who is she? A relative?" "Nope. She's..." "Why don't you let him rest, dad?" Jardine butted in, her tone cold and nervous. "I don't think Lancelot needs all these details." "No, love. I think it's fine," Lancelot reached for her hair. "I'm totally fine now and would love to get back to the company as soon as possible." "I... I don't think so," Jardine protested. "Maybe he can tell you later on, but for..." "This woman is Nikolai's wife," Mr. Silas sidetracked the conversation, giving Jardine another heartache. All eyes turned on him, especially Lancelot's, who expressed shock. Nikolai was married?! It came as an even bigger shock when his father added, "And she's actually your ex-wife, Adira." ****†****†****†****†****† It was a stressful day for Adira, and getting home was something she wanted at the end of the day. She vacated the car, with Bonnie accompanying her in with her bags, her suitcase, and other important files. Getting to the living room, Adira stopped in her tracks when she found Nikolai at the wine bar, pouring himself a drink. The dim lighting cast a warm glow over his features, accentuating his sharp jawline and chiseled cheekbones. In that instance, she felt her breath catch in her chest. Her heart hammered against her chest when he turned to look at her with his icy blue eyes. He sipped from his glass of wine, and stupidly, she found herself staring at his lips. "Good evening, sir," Bonnie was the first to greet excitedly. Adira averted her gaze immediately. "Hi," she addressed him. It took a few seconds before Nikolai responded. "Welcome." Taking another sip from his glass, he began walking away. "Um... Ma'am, what about the outfit you got for him?" I have it here with me." Bonnie asked in a whisper, and Adira turned quickly to see if Nikolai had heard her. He was already at the door, and she hoped he didn't overhear it. "Watch your mouth, Bonnie," she chastised and walked away, while the perplexed Bonnie followed. Getting to her room, Bonnie set everything down in their rightful places, but for the outfit, she didn't know what to do with it. So she handed it to Adira. "You can leave," she instructed. "Thank you, ma'am. I can't wait to see you tomorrow again. Bye," she giggled and left. Adira drew a deep breath as she walked into her closet with the outfit. Ambling to one of the shelves, she smiled ruefully as she kept it among the others where his name was boldly written: "For Nikolai." That shelf in particular had other amazing outfits she had gotten for Nikolai but hadn't had the courage to give him yet. It hurt her that she might never get the chance to give them to him until they got divorced, but she wasn't going to stop buying them. She heard the door open from the bedroom. "Ma'am? I heard you were home. Where are you?"She knew it was Nessa. ****†****†****†****† Lancelot sat propped up in his hospital bed, the white sheets rustling as he shifted his weight. The room was silent except for the occasional beat of the machines checking his vitals. His face was etched with lines of pain and sadness as he looked at the images of Adira on the internet. His fingers trembled slightly as he scrolled more and more. He couldn't believe that was the Adira he used to know. Although her face was recognizable, a lot had changed about her. She had gotten prettier and looked so powerful. She looked nothing like the woman he was married to. How did this happen? The harsh fluorescent light overhead cast a cold, clinical glow over the room, emphasizing the starkness of the surroundings and the starkness of his grief. He'd never forget how shocked he had been when his father told him about Adira. "Nikolai got married to her and gave her a powerful position in the company." His father's words were still fresh in his head. How did someone like Nikolai get attracted to Adira? He knew Adira was very beautiful, but he also knew she had no connections back then. It was very rare to even find Nikolai around. So, how did she meet him? "She talked our top investors into pulling out with us and gave them a slut in her own company." He recalled his father's disturbing words. Was Adira really trying to exert revenge? He scoffed at the thought of it. Looking at her pictures again, he wondered how he hadn't seen such beauty in her. He had truly loved her back then, but he never knew she could be so beautiful. The door to his room went open, and he knew instantly that it would be Jardine. Swiftly, he turned off his phone and placed it beside him. Jardine had gone to get some snacks, and she kissed him when she got to where he was. "How're you feeling?" She cooed. "I'm great!" Lancelot forced a smile. His mind was too troubled to relax. "That's a relief to know. Your health is my priority right now." She placed his head on her belly. "Jardine, can we go home as soon as possible?" He pulled back from her waist to look into her face. "We'll definitely go home, but you need to get as much rest as you need." "I've been sleeping for over a year. So, I've definitely gotten enough rest. I just need to go back to the company and handle things. Dad seemed really worried. And I feel my presence there might make a lot of difference." This got Jardine worried. By going to handle things at the company, does it mean he would have to meet with Adira?