Blood gushed from his head, he staggered and his entire body lost balance. Lyra took a step back, the blood-stained knife in her hand. And as soon as she did, the mighty Jagger slumped to the floor. Lyra watched with shaky breath as he writhed and gasped for air. Fearfully, she watched and could do nothing. His widened eyes looked at her, calling for help. Until finally, he stopped struggling. His eyes remained open, but she could tell they weren't alive anymore. He was...dead. The knife fell off her hand, and only then did she realize the gravity of what she had done. With her bare hands, she just killed her own father. She killed him! "No..." She muttered inaudibly, fear eating her up. Disgust crawled into her stomach, making her throw up instantly in the room. Tears spilled from her eyes as she dabbed her lips and looked at her father's corpse on the floor. How did she become this? How could she become this? "No!" She let out a painful cry. Her anger had gotten the best of her. How could she possibly live with the fact that she murdered her own father? The man may have been a monster, but she had his blood in her veins. Emotions swirled within her. Still crying, she thought of what to do. There was no way she could get rid of the body herself, someone might see her. She danced her eyes around the house and concluded no one saw her. Wiping her face, she ran out of the house. Her hands were shaking, and her entire body quaked with fear. She was about entering into her car when she spotted a police car driving towards the house. What? She froze immediately. Why were the cops there? Fear enveloped her. Without further hesitation, she hurried into her car, turned on the ignition and began driving out. But of course, the cops had already seen her, so they intentionally blocked her way with their own car, forcing her to a stop. If there was a word greater than terror, Lyra felt it at that moment. Two policemen came out of the car and approached her. Knocking on her side window, she rolled down. "Good day, Miss. Sorry for the interruption, but we noticed you coming out of the house of Mr. Jagger. What's your connection with him?" One of them asked. Lyra swallowed hard, her fingers sweating. Her life was over, she was done for. "Miss?" The man drew her attention. The second man began walking away, leaving his colleague with Lyra. This tripled Lyra's fear. He was going into the house! He was definitely going to see the body. "I have no connection with Jagger. Can I go, please?" She didn't know how to hide her anxiety. Over the years, her father and brother had been the ones doing the dirty work, like taking of lives. She's never had to kill anyone herself, and neither did she ever dream of her first victim being her father. The policeman saw how edgy she was. His hand moved slowly to his gun. "I'm sorry, miss, but we might have a few questions for you." He said politely. Lyra could tell the situation was getting out of hand. He had just gotten suspicious of her. She looked around to find another means of escaping, but there was one. Their car war still blocking her way, and there was no way to revise to. "Officer Stefan! We've got a body in here. Apprehend the lady!" The man shouted from inside. Lyra's eyes dilated in a blend of shock and fear. Immediately, the officer took out his gun and pointed at her. ****† She sat in the cold, dark room, tears dropping to the table as she wept profusely. The interrogator was in front of her, on the other side of the table, watching as her tears poured.Initially, they were on their way to arrest Jagger after getting a report from Ophelia. They never expected to meet the scene they had found at his place. "You killed your father, Lyra." The young man said, the tone of his voice being neutral. "Do you realize the gravity and penalty of what you've done?" He sighed and reclined in his seat, putting his arms across his chest. "Tell me everything. Why would you do this?" Lyra wept bitterly as the memories flooded in. It was pointless trying to our about it. Her life was over. "It's all my fault." She whimpered. "I grew up poor, but happy. For twenty years, I stayed with my family. And yes, we were poor, but I lived a peaceful life. Until my father came for me. I was too blinded by the offer he gave, I forgot the fact that this same man abandoned me from childhood. I forgot all about it..." She paused and sobbed for a few seconds."He wanted revenge against the Kensingtons. He claimed they took the one woman he loved from him, so he wanted to take them down. He pushed me into marrying Mr. Thatcher just so I could get him to change his will. The plan was to kill his eyesight and alter the will, so when he's signing it, he'd have no idea that the will has been altered. "My father was so evil, and I let it rub off on me. He...he didn't have a conscience at all. He just..." She shook her head and sank her teeth into her lower lip. Lyra didn't withhold any information. She went on to tell him every single details, including the fact that Jared was enjoying a wealth that shouldn't be his. She told him how her father had forced Jared into Mr. Wyatt's life, until the man trusted him so much and treated him like an abducted son. Then, they forced him to will everything to Jared's name, after which, they killed him. She told him of how cruel and money-hungry her father was, and the length he could go for it. "I'm so sorry." She whimpered. "I feel so had, I feel terrible. I only wish I could turn back the hands of time. I'm sorry." ****†****† Adira had already been released and arrived home with Nikolai. Nikolai was the one how got discharged from the hospital, yet he was the one wrapping his hands around Adira and holding her like he was scared she might fall off. They both sat on the couch, while the new maid took their things upstairs. "Are you sure you're fine?" Nikolai asked in hushed tones, and Adira gave a nod. "What would you like for dinner?" She glanced up at the ceiling. "Anything light. Don't really have an appetite at the moment." For the next minute, there was silence. "Adira, are you pregnant?" Nikolai's question came as a shock. Adira's eyes gleamed with surprise as she looked at him. Since they reunited the previous day, they hadn't had the time to talk about it yet. And she had been there, thinking of ways to break the news to him. "H...How did you know?" She asked lowly, her cheeks turning all red. Nikolai smiled. "I believe you told me about it at the hospital. I heard it all in my sleep." She gasped lightly. He heard everything?! She lowered her head, fiddling with her nails. "So...is it a yes? Are you really pregnant?" He asked again, smiling this time around because her reaction already confirmed his thoughts. "Yes." Her response was almost not heard due to how low her tone was. Nikolai pulled her close and planted a kiss on her forehead. He hugged her afterward. "I love you, Adira. So much. And I'm sorry for doubting you the whole time." His words melted her, she nearly spilled a tear. "I love you too."The sound of his phone interrupted the moment. Nikolai cursed under his breath as he reached for it and discovered it was his father calling. "Dad?" "I need you here, Nik. Your mother has just been arrested!" ****†****† Vincent, Nikolai and Adira sat in the visitor's room with Bellamy, watching as she cried. "Why did you do it, mum?" Nikolai was hurt. "Why would you agree to a thing like that?" "Because I was tired." Bellamy whimpered. "I was tired of Jagger always ruining our lives and hurting you especially. He...He promised to stop bothering us if I did this one thing, this very last one. He promised me." Tears streaked her face. Her pain was evident, she couldn't even look at any of them in the face. "I didn't know why he wanted your grandfather dead, I didn't have time to think. I just grabbed his offer and believed he was really going to stay out of our lives. I wanted the best." She finally had the courage to look at one of them, and that was Adira. "He asked me to pin it on you if possible. He didn't say it was a necessity, he only said if possible. Unfortunately, you returned home at the exact time. So, when Lyra pointed an accusing finger at you, I went along with the flow. I was looking for someone to put the blame on, and you were just perfect for it. I know I was crazy, but I hated you, Adira. To escape my guilt, I imagined you really being the killer. I'm so sorry." Sobs took over her body. She lowered her head and wept profusely. Uncontrollably. Everyone looked at her in shock. Adira didn't even know how to react. She couldn't believe she was locked up for over a week, by the very person who was the killer. She felt betrayed. Nikolai put his hand around her, rubbing her arm. And until they left, they couldn't say another word to Bellamy.... They walked down the street, hand in hand. It was so quiet for them and gave them enough time to reflect on all that had happened. "I'm so sorry, Adira." Nikolai stated calmly. "I'm sorry my mum did this to you. I'm sorry we..." "Hey." She cut him off, lovingly. "Just stop, okay? You have nothing to be sorry for." They stood face to face with each other. Nikolai cupped her cheeks. "It's been hell of some months, don't you think? We've had to go through some bad times, good times... But in the end, it's all over." Nikolai cooed. Adira smiled, happy that it was indeed, over. "How about we rest for a little while?" He continued. "I'm talking about traveling far away, just the both of us. We'd stay as long as possible and welcome the baby there." Her brows arched. "Huh? We're talking months. What about the company? Your grandfather..." "Urgh! Everything can wait. I've been serving the company for years now, I believe I deserve this break." He leaned closer and kissed her lips. "I just want to be with you, Adira. We'll have a lot of fun, visit the most amazing places and welcome our child to a perfect life. Let's do that, okay? It's only going to be for eight months. Then, we can return back to the company you love so much." He added the last part sarcastically. Adira laughed. "But... what about Na-ri?" Her smiles faded as she asked. Chuckling, Nikolai kissed her again. "You really don't get it, do you? I don't care about anyone but you. You're my wife and will remain so until our last days on earth." He cooed. Adira still looked worried. So, he pulled her into a hug. "Na-ri won't be a problem, trust me. I'll talk to my father, and she'll be out of the way. Okay?"Adria nodded. Pulling away from the hug, he looked into her face. And they locked lips again. ..... Few days later, Adira reached out to her family and rendered help to them. Jared was arrested, of course. Kalina tried going back to Mikhail, but he had already moved on and didn't want her in his life again. Adira and Nikolai knew no problems. They gave birth to their little one and had a blissful life. ...... THE END. ....... Thanks for reading. I appreciate all the love and support guys, they meant a lot to me. I hope you'll stick around for my next book.